End of NaBloPoMo...or is it?

Everyone,

30 days have come and gone. I feel like there should be some kind of rhyme at the end of that sentence but there isn't. So. 30 days. Yay to Laura, my Dad, Zuke and Melissa, Roommate Julia, Karen, and Valinda who all made it with me!

The last 2 years of doing NaBloPoMo has been good. This year was the easiest yet. And because I always go through blog withdraw after November, I don't want you to suffer the same fate. I intended to push myself just a little harder this year and write for another month. Yes people, every day you can come back here and see me.

I have always been a voracious journal writer (ask my parents) and I have found that writing in my paper journal isn't as fun anymore. Frankly, I feel like I never find the time to do it. When I do, Butterfly wants to color in it and crosses out whole sentences. (True story.) So I just gave up. I don't even think I've journaled the boys birth in there. I may have to put that one down.

I have about 30 journals. My first one was an early Christmas present from my Nana when we were living in Colorado. I was 7. It was white puffy plastic with little hearts and fairies on it. And it had a lock and a key. This made the book really indescribably important. I HAD to write in it. And I did. Off and on until I was 12. Mostly it was drawings of my room, the fish in my fish tank dying and how mad I was at my friends. Then when we moved to Utah and got all of our stuff out of storage and into our house in North 4o, I found that little book unpacking. I sat down right then and there and wrote about how upset I was moving to Utah and how much I missed Colorado.

I think from that journal entry on until Butterfly was born I wrote almost every day. I took my journal to camp, on trips, to college, even on my honeymoon. I even have a picture of Juice on our honeymoon writing in his own journal. I think he has about as many as I do. Yes, I have read them. No, he has not read mine because I think he gets bored or frustrated with me and stops. I even get bored and frustrated with myself and stop when trying to read them.

While people my wonder what the point is of journaling, I have one practical application for it. Right after Butterfly was born, we got a letter from the dmv. It said we owed over 1000 dollars in parking tickets and fees. We were dumbfounded. We had never even seen the ticket. Or any notices. We were over a year late pay and they were going to start putting a collection agency on us. Ouch. They stated where and when our car was cited, and I knew someone had to have made a mistake. Out come my journals, and I have a detailed account of what we did that day. (Mostly I was ill with being newly pregnant and went to work and came home that day.) Juice had to fax that over to the dmv to prove that this was an error. I think they might have been a little impressed that I would journal what I did on some random day. Either that or they were bored or frustrated with me because I moaned a lot about how ill I was. Ticket problem no longer a problem.

When we move from Maryland (which we always say we are going to but haven't actually done anything about it), I will shut this site down and open a new one for our new area. I intend to have this one published for my family history and my journal. I'd love to have both of these months on file. Who knows, I may even make it a habit and blog every day.

Then again, probably not. But I'd like to take this small step and hopefully get next month on the books as well. Hope you come along for the ride and maybe cheer me on a bit?

Thanks! See you tomorrow!
Safire

Thanksgiving Eating and Recovery

Everyone,

Thanksgiving was great! We had such a good time and had a bunch of good food. The turkey turned out perfectly (see picture). We had an impressive spread and enjoyed every bite. Butterfly and Vinny ate well. Well, Butterfly only wanted to eat cranberries (and probably ate 4 servings of it) and Vinny only wanted to eat butternut squash. And neither would touch the other. I had a great meal. It could have been relaxing.

Only that Lala and I decided to feed our babies solid foods for the first time. For all 3 of them. Mimi is just a few weeks older than my boys. We really didn't plan that for dinner time, they were just all hungry at the same time. So out come the sweet potatoes and the mess! I have to admit, I have been putting off feeding the boys solid foods. They were interested, they had had little bites. I just didn't want to go into the realm of actual solid foods because of the mess. But I am over that hurdle and on we go to solids! They both ate the entire bowl of sweet potatoes and were asking for more at the end.

Today was a little less messy because they learned quickly to keep their hands out of the way of the spoon or they don't get the spoon. Of course, Professor then sticks his hands in his mouth and manages to get it all over everything. Ahh...reminds me of Butterfly! Pirate is turning out to be a tidy eater and hopefully that will stay true.

Anyway, we got the kids ready for bed and put Vinny and Mimi (Vinny's baby sister) in Butterfly's room. Vinny had the bed and Mimi had our pack and play. We then put Butterfly and the boys in the boys' room. The boys are still sleeping in the same crib and our other crib is up. The boys in their crib, and Butterfly in her old crib. She was thrilled to be sleeping in the same room with them. It also reminded me how big she has gotten. The crib seemed to swallow her up when she was a baby, and now she barely fits in it.

One funny story about them being together. Each time one of them cried, she would pipe up "A baby is crying Mommy!" as loud as she could and they would both stop crying. There was one point when I heard shrieks of laughter coming from their room. I sent Juice up to tell everyone to go to bed. He asked her if she was playing with the baby brothers. She said no. He said to go to sleep. She said, "But Pirate isn't asleep. He wants to play." Uh-huh. You aren't playing with them huh? In the end, they all ended up sleeping. Even Vinny and Mimi slept.

The adults, on the other hand, did not. After we cleaned up a bit and started a load of dishes, we played card games. One specific card game. We love this game. It is hysterical! (If you want to get Juice something for Christmas, we do not have 3, 5, 6, or 7. Just a hint.) In what game can you have shiny false teeth of doom or mutilate Santa's body to go up a level? We stayed up till 12:30am playing this game. Poor Juice kept getting cursed (there's a chicken on your head! loose one small item! this item is now useless but stuck to you!, you have to be generous and give away your stuff!) and yet he still won the game 5 of the 8 times we played. Everyone won at least once. Everyone had a dismal game somewhere in there. And every laughed till we cried at one point.

A big thanks to Lala, Vinny, Mimi, and MP for making this a crazy fun Thanksgiving!

The day after...ah the day after. We put up our tree. We opened a great box from my mom with our yearly Christmas ornaments and treats. Music to listen to, Christmas pjs for the kids, and caramel hot chocolate. My mommy loves me. This stuff is AMAZING and I think I had 3 cups yesterday.

In the Christmas box is a kids nativity that Butterfly had to play with instead of hanging up ornaments. Oh she hung a few up, but she "had important people to play with." The boys stare at the tree every time we turn the lights on. Pirate was especially interested in the ornaments and really really really wanted to eat each one. Professor liked the tree skirt. It's sparkly.

Now excuse me while I go have another cup of this and listen to my music. Thank you.

Safire

I See Now

Everyone,

I see now why parents of twins end up getting 2 of the same toys for their kids. It was not something I completely understood until this very moment.

You see, I got a small package in the mail today. It was a free sippy cup from a juice company. They only sent one. Well I've been letting the boys play with it by having one play with the lid and one play with the cup. It worked out great until I decided to be all cool and put a small green plastic ball on the inside of the cup and shut the lid. I showed the boys how to shake the cup and make the ball move around. Professor was most interested in it and immediately grabbed it out of my hands to play with it.

Then I looked at Pirate. Just sitting there. No toy. So I grabbed another green plastic ball and gave it to him. He took it in his hand. Our eyes met. His expression said, "What is this? You expect me to play with this little thing and you let him have that?" He looked at Professor with his cool cup. He dropped the ball and managed to maul Professor for the cup.

Toy wars begin!

Luckily Professor is as enchanted with the plain green ball. Even more so because he is currently crawling around the room chasing after it.

And of course, the cup is forgotten and Pirate is complaining that he can't get around the room and chase a ball too.

More on Thanksgiving tomorrow!

Safire

Thanksgiving 2008

Everyone,

I am (hopefully) enjoying the day spent with friends and good food. Here is a list of 20 things I am thankful for this year. In random order

1. Juice's job and it's stability.
2. Our house, small size notwithstanding.
3. Unlimited long distance.
4. Twice the baby love.
5. A spirited and sweet girl.
6. Juice
7. The internet
8. My lapple.
9. My camera and the desire to take better pictures.
10. Friends who buy us pizza because they heard we had a hard night.
11. Boys who go to sleep at 6pm
12. My healthy twins born safely
13. Juice's flexiblity with his schedule.
14. Juice's work proximity.
15. Pirate's happy kicking legs.
16. Professor's big blue eyes.
17. Butterfly's logic (she was having a really rough morning and we were trying to make it to church and she stopped crying long enough to tell us that she would be much happier if she was able to watch a movie to church. We laughed, no movie though.)
18. Good books that suck you in.
19. The gospel.
20. The church.

We are so lucky to have all that we do. I have been trying hard to remember the thanks more than the wants in every day life right now.

Safire

Thanksgiving Round Up

Everyone,

We are having Butterfly's BFF Vinny and his family over for Thanksgiving tomorrow. I am excited! I had planned out all week what I was going to do to prepare and make it easier on me. I'm thinking I just planned myself out a stressful week though because I am not even 1/3 of the way through my list. For lack of something else to say, here is my list: (bold I've finished)

THANKSGIVING 2008

Food:
Turkey (defrost starting Monday)
mashed potatoes, as soon as the turkey goes in
cranberry sauce, Tuesday
rolls, Wednesday
salsa, Wednesday
snack prep, Wednesday
veggie prep, Wednesday


House:
clean living room
vacuum
clean downstairs bathroom
put away favorite toys
dust tv
clean off extra table
wash table cloths
get out extra chairs
wash china serving dishes
clean out and pack up extra kitchen stuff (I have to explain this one. I typically take Thanksgiving week to go through my cupboards and put away things I have not used in a year or pull out the things I only use once a year. I also throw away things that are broken and we are holding on to for some odd reason. I also throw away old spices and clean as I go. I have not done this for several years so I had a lot to go through. Good news, I can now shut my junk drawer.)

Children:
bathe
love
adore
pick out nice clothes for pictures

Me:
blog for today and tomorrow
go to bed early
set out games we want to play
run to post office


See? Lots still to do. But the important stuff is pretty much done. Except for the rolls which I'm avoiding doing by blogging here. Juice came home early because he just couldn't stand it anymore and will helpful in getting everything done. Or at least playing with the children so I can work.

Lala (Vinny's mom) is bringing desert, and a side dish and a green salad. Yay I don't have to think about those. Hope every one's Thanksgiving is as wonderful as I hope ours will be!

Safire

2 Tags

Everyone,

I've been tagged twice this time (love these things during NaBloPoMo!) and so I thought that's what I would do today before I got down and messy with some Thanksgiving dinner prep stuff.

This first tag is from MommyKnows. If you're interested in some power ranger action, she's got a few to give away!

1. WERE YOU NAMED AFTER ANYONE? My Aunt and my great grandma. Two great names.
2. WHEN WAS THE LAST TIME YOU CRIED? Hmm...I may have cried two nights ago when the boys would not sleep. I was so tired.
3. DO YOU LIKE YOUR HANDWRITING? Only my first name signature. But I practiced that one.
4. WHAT IS YOUR FAVORITE LUNCH MEAT? Turkey or ham. Working at a cafeteria making 400-500 sandwiches a day turned me off of roast beef. Even though it's pressed meat, it still bleeds. Ew.
5. DO YOU HAVE KIDS? Yes
6. IF YOU WERE ANOTHER PERSON WOULD YOU BE FRIENDS WITH YOU? Probably, depends how nicely I asked.
7. DO YOU USE SARCASM A LOT? Some.
8. DO YOU STILL HAVE YOUR TONSILS. Yes
9. WOULD YOU BUNGEE JUMP? No. I would have before kids, now I'm turning into a scared cat.
10. WHAT IS YOUR FAVORITE CEREAL? Golden Grams, Strawberry Shredded Wheat, Cap'n Crunch...anything really sugary. Oh, and Basic 4.
11. DO YOU UNTIE YOUR SHOES WHEN YOU TAKE THEM OFF? No. They have no ties.
12. DO YOU THINK YOU ARE STRONG? Physically? No. Having the boys did a number on my body. Mentally, some. If I get enough sleep.
13. WHAT IS YOUR FAVORITE ICE CREAM? Anything fruity or Safeway brand moose tracks with fudge.
14. WHAT IS THE FIRST THING YOU NOTICE ABOUT PEOPLE? If they seem friendly and outgoing.
15. RED OR PINK? Red.
16. WHAT IS THE LEAST FAVORITE THING ABOUT YOURSELF? The twin skin flab of a stomach that makes it hard to fit into any pants.
17. WHO DO YOU MISS THE MOST? My mom. She needs to move closer. Or I do.
18. DO YOU WANT EVERYONE TO SEND THIS BACK TO YOU? Wait, sending? Did I miss something?
19. WHAT COLOR SHOES ARE YOU WEARING? I have bare feet at the moment, but I will spend a lot of the winter in my brown slip on shoes.
20. WHAT WAS THE LAST THING YOU ATE? glass of water
21. WHAT ARE YOU LISTENING TO RIGHT NOW? I can faintly hear the TV on in the living room, I am in bed with my laptop. (weird same answer as MommyKnows! Strange!)
22. IF YOU WHERE A CRAYON, WHAT COLOR WOULD YOU BE? blue
23. FAVORITE SMELLS? I love a horse barn...the hay, the manure, sweet smells!
24. WHO WAS THE LAST PERSON YOU TALKED TO ON THE PHONE? My parents answering machine yesterday. Funny they never called back...
25. DO YOU LIKE THE PERSON WHO SENT THIS TO YOU? Yes! She’s a cool chick.
26. FAVORITE SPORTS TO WATCH? Anything horsey, jumping, racing, pulling. I don't like to watch any ball sports.
27. HAIR COLOR? Brown
28. EYE COLOR? Blue.
29. DO YOU WEAR CONTACTS? Yes.
30. FAVORITE FOOD? popcorn.
31. SCARY MOVIES OR HAPPY ENDINGS? I much prefer a happy ending.
32. LAST MOVIE YOU WATCHED? The Nanny Diaries. Eh.
33. WHAT COLOR SHIRT ARE YOU WEARING? Pink.
34. SUMMER OR WINTER? Fall and Spring
35. HUGS OR KISSES? Kisses
36. FAVORITE DESSERT? Popcorn
37. MOST LIKELY TO RESPOND? Whoever feels like it
38. LEAST LIKELY TO RESPOND. Whoever doesn’t feel like it
39. WHAT BOOK ARE YOU READING NOW? Currently not reading anything. Huh. I probably should be reading something...did we have a book picked out for book club this month?
40. WHAT IS ON YOUR MOUSE PAD? I don't use a mouse pad on the lapple. But I did buy Juice one that has a picture of us on our honey moon on it. It's faded so bad you can barely see us but we looked cute and happy.
41. WHAT DID YOU WATCH ON TV LAST NIGHT? No tv, but I did watch Ugly Betty online.
42. FAVORITE SOUND. Silence.
43. ROLLING STONES OR BEATLES? Beatles!
44. WHAT IS THE FARTHEST YOU HAVE BEEN FROM HOME? England, no, probably Scotland.
45. DO YOU HAVE A SPECIAL TALENT? I can whistle through my tongue.
46. WHERE WERE YOU BORN? Colorado. Proud to be sort of a native!
47. WHOSE ANSWERS ARE YOU LOOKING FORWARD TO GETTING BACK? MusicMan because he hasn't posted in over a month yet he said he was going to try to do it once a week, Chef since she is doing NaBloPoMo and might need this, Karen just because, and Zuke and Melissa.


Second tag:

Here are the rules:
Go to your photos and open the 4th folder.
Post the 4th picture in your folder.
Tag 4 more people.

(I've seen this one with different numbers but since I was tagged with the 4, I will go with 4. My favorite number anyway.)
Look! Itty bitty baby boys! So cute!! Professor in yellow and crying, and Pirate in blue with his old man face. They were so tiny.

Tags for this one: Jill, Valinda, FlowerMaiden, and Julia.

Safire

PS- If you made it this far and want to see baby/kid pictures of me, go to my Dad's blog. He's been blogging his autobiography which I have been loving. Also included are pictures of him as a baby, my brother, my parents at their wedding, etc.

Remember I said I hit the jackpot? Yeah...

Everyone,

So a few days ago I blogged about how I thought I hit the twin jackpot because we had such easy going boys? And remember how I said it would probably change because that is just blogging karma?

Totally true.

Saturday night, the boys were up every. single. hour. Maybe I should say that I was up every single hour. The boys at least got some 2 hour shifts in there. They were off an hour so every hour I was up with one of them. I thought maybe I had gotten their sleep schedule off or something. It was a purely awful night. Juice was very helpful, if a little annoyed at the boys. I was just happy it was a weekend and he was home and willing to be woken up.

We did make it to church the next day. A little late, and all three kids were in tears. But we made it! Ugh. I had Professor on my lap laying down and he bent his head back to look at something Butterfly was doing and I got a flash of white. Wait...what was that?

Teeth. Two new ones. On the top. Ah ha! That would explain his horrible sleeping. But what about Pirate? Why was he such a terrible sleeper? I immediately stuck my finger in his mouth, much to his chagrin. My finger scraped on one tiny little tooth on the bottom. It's there. It's hurting. It's just not clearing the gum line. His little gums are so swollen and he is drooling up a storm.

They both went to bed at 4:45pm yesterday and slept until 10pm, 3am, and 7am. A much better night for me. But today I'm feeling it. I think I may go to bed early. They did again today.

Lesson learned. I am never going to blog about how wonderful the kids are again. Who am I kidding. I probably will tomorrow!

Safire

Service

Everyone,

Yesterday morning I had the great opportunity to serve. I have been feeling a little down in the dumps lately. Just going crazy by the constant need of three small children and the rising desire to change my name from Mommy and run away. I do love being a Mom and really it's all I wanted to do (that and raise and ride horses) but it's a draining job.

My church has started joining in with our community and doing the Share Program. Basically, you perform 2 hours of community service in a month and you are able to get discounted groceries. We did it last month and it was really great to have these groceries supplement our food bill. I actually forgot about it last month but luckily the ladies in the ward looked out for me and delivered it to our house.

This month, I was determined not to forget and showed up at the church at 7am. They put me right to work. I bagged meat for awhile, and then helped another lady put labels on peach pies that we got. I listened to my fellow workers and they talked about the economy, their willingness to help with whatever (or their teenagers lack of willingness to help) and we even sang a few Christmas songs. (And with me being the only white person in the group, these songs were rocking and beautiful!)

It was great. I left with my 2 bags of groceries and a hugely relaxed heart. I felt renewed, recharged. Something that I have been searching for this past week and not finding it. Nothing seemed to help and I always came away from these things feeling anxious and sad. But this was different. This was uplifting, different, easy. I came home with a bounce in my step, renewed patience and love for my family. And all it took was half an hour.

I had such a good time I am thinking of taking Butterfly with me next time. She would love to put things in bags and it would be a good way to show her some service. And hopefully we will both come home loving life.

Safire

Home Times

Everyone,

Today our short window of outing time was filled with going to the hardware store. I was kind of hoping to go out and do some kind of family outing this weekend. Juice had Thursday afternoon off, along with all day Friday this week. It has been wonderful to have him home. We were able to get all of our normal Saturday chores done on Friday and so I thought we could have a play day on Saturday.

Then I thought, it's going to be Thanksgiving next week and I don't want to go to the hardware store by myself/on black Friday. So we went today and will plan on doing something fun next weekend.

We left the hardware store with some no see no touch mouse traps for when he goes away next week. We also got some hooks for various art projects that are going on in my house and for stockings. I never know where to put Butterfly's stocking. I think last year we hung it from the corner of the blinds next to the Christmas lights in our window. That's not going to work this year since there are only 2 corners. So I bought some sticky hooks and we will hang them from the wall in our dining room.

On Friday, I was able to go to hang out with the ladies at my church and learn about vinyl lettering. This is a lot of fun! I even made something. I'm not terribly crafty so this is big for me. See, isn't it cute?
I put the letters on the board, and Juice hung the hooks and the wire for me. Originally I thought I would get more vinyl letters and make name tags to put up for everyone on the hooks. But then I thought I would do pictures instead. I've spend the evening browsing a bunch of sights for some small reusable picture frames and I think I found some on etsy. No matter that there are more things there than we have members of our family. We will just pick the most important ones...prayer, song, lesson, treat, prayer. It's what we do right now anyway. As the kids get older, we'll rotate through some things. Anyway, this is one of 2 home decorating projects I have in my head with vinyl lettering. The next one to come later.

Butterfly saw Juice making the marks for the hooks and asked if she could too. I said sure, it was just pencil and Juice would know his own marks. I went to do a baby related thing and came back to find her tracing the letters with her pencil. Good thing pencil erases or she'd be in bigger trouble.

Still no sign of mice. It's been almost a week now. Juice is convinced we have them but they have stored away enough food to sustain them for awhile. I kind of agree with that. I mean, the mouse I saw was not the first one I saw in the house (I thought I saw one in the kitchen about a week before I saw this one in the living room.) Soot periodically goes nuts at our heat vent in the corner so I'm pretty sure there is something in there. Also, we randomly get dog food under the couch. Hmm...all signs point to a mouse but not very active ones here. I am still banking on the fact that we have several. Hopefully when Juice gets back from his traveling he can plug up the numerous holes we have in our house. One can only dream.

Safire

7 Months Old

Everyone,

The boys turned 7 months old on Tuesday. 7 MONTHS! Wow time really does fly. I think I hit the twin jackpot because they are just easy going happy boys. (Now that I've said that, things will change.) They play really well on the floor and with others. Butterfly is a great entertainer and they think she is the most wonderful thing besides Mommy. They will even not eat if she is in the room because they insist on watching her. Makes for interesting times at our house. They are starting to really notice each other and I hear them chatting to each other in their crib in the morning. Yes, they are still sleeping together in the same crib. I do have 2 cribs, both up even. But I find they sleep a little better with the other there. On the down side, they do wake each other up at night. Mostly I think it's Pirate waking Professor up who then cries. I go get Professor because I hear him and then Pirate cries like I've taken his best friend away. They are both getting up at night lately. I think they must be growing. They down at 5:30pm these days, up at 11pm, up at 3am, up at 5am and then up at 7am to start the day. And really, those moments of them being up is about 6 or 7 minutes and back down. I have been feeding them but not feeding them as long as they want at night. Occasionally they will skip one or all of the feedings depending on their sleep during the day.

Pirate is my happy happy boy. He still laughs all the time, but has been a little more serious these past few days. I think he's getting a little bit of separation anxiety because he cries whenever we leave the room. He still does not sit up. Nor does he have any interest in it. He is up on his hands and knees a lot rocking furiously. Most of the time he is also crying when he rocks. He so wants to be able to move! He does scoot back and back himself into corners or away from toys. He still does the superman move which is very cute. The only thing touching the floor is his belly and his arms and legs move furiously. I keep trying to get a video of this but my movies are chaos. Kind of like life right now.

He weighs 17.5 lbs and is 27.5 inches long. This is according to my scale and tape measure since no doctor visit this month. I really feel like he grew all of a sudden this month. He seems a lot bigger than Professor. His eyes are also going through some drastic change in color. They used to be a blue with a brown ring near the pupil. Now, the brown is spreading out through the rest of the eye. He will have brown eyes like Butterfly and Juice. His hair also grows straight down like Butterfly's did. Butterfly and Pirate have the same coloring. I imagine they will grow up looking quite similar. He is my little thumb sucker and it's just so cute! He has a major fascination with Professor's binkie and swipes it all the time.

Professor is a mama's boy. He does not like to be very far away from me. Since he is moving, he always moves in my direction. He still leans in my direction whenever someone else is holding him. And when I hold him, he hooks his arm around mine and holds onto my shirt for dear life. Like I said, he is a mover. He has the rolling around the floor thing down pat. He can get wherever he wants to by rolling. He also does the army crawl thing. Elbow, elbow, hip in the air with leg flung forward, drag other leg up. It's still very early in his crawling and he gets tired and frustrated more often than not but he does do it.

He is 16.7 lbs and is 26 inches long. With my tape measure. And all of his clothes on too. He has 2 teeth on the bottom and bright blue eyes. When we give him a bath, he just looks so bright after. His hair is that bright shiny blond. And he's got a serious cowlick that makes his hair go over to one side. He has discovered his tongue and it's almost constantly out of his mouth lately. He is pretty emotional and cries/talks/moans/screams more often than Pirate. He is fascinated with paper and cups. He really really wants a drink out of any cup you put near him. He also is in love with food. I have given them little bits of bread to gnaw on during dinner and he cries big sobbing tears whenever his bread is gone.

Cute cute boys!

Safire

PS- We got our first snow today! It fell but nothing stuck.

PPS- Still no other signs of mice. Hmm...maybe a fluke? Maybe they moved next door? Maybe word got around that Soot is a mighty mouse killer and they don't come over anymore? Please let one of these be the case. I'm sick of tiptoeing around the house.

Taken From Another Blog

Everyone,

I saw this list on The Busy Body and had to borrow it. By the end, I was wondering how many on the list I have done. Everything in bold I've done.

1. Started your own blog
2. Slept under the stars
3. Played in a band (does orchestra count? I think it should.)
4. Visited Hawaii
5. Watched a meteor shower
6. Given more than you can afford to charity
7. Been to Disneyland
8. Climbed a mountain (ok, we aren't talking about a huge mountain)
9. Held a praying mantis
10. Sang a solo
11. Bungee jumped
12. Visited Paris
13. Watched a lightning storm at sea
14. Taught yourself an art from scratch
15. Adopted a child
16. Had food poisoning - either that or just really bad gas.
17. Walked to the top of the Statue of Liberty
18. Grown your own vegetables
19. Seen the Mona Lisa in France
20. Slept on an overnight train
21. Had a pillow fight
22. Hitch hiked
23. Taken a sick day when you’re not ill
24. Built a snow fort
25. Held a lamb
26. Gone skinny dipping
27. Run a Marathon
28. Ridden in a gondola in Venice
29. Seen a total eclipse
30. Watched a sunrise or sunset
31. Hit a home run
32. Been on a cruise
33. Seen Niagara Falls in person
34. Visited the birthplace of your ancestors
35. Seen an Amish community
36. Taught yourself a new language
37. Had enough money to be truly satisfied
38. Seen the Leaning Tower of Pisa in person
39. Gone rock climbing
40. Seen Michelangelo’s David
41. Sung karaoke
42. Seen Old Faithful geyser erupt
43. Bought a stranger a meal at a restaurant
44. Visited Africa
45. Walked on a beach by moonlight
46. Been transported in an ambulance
47. Had your portrait painted
48. Gone deep sea fishing
49. Seen the Sistine Chapel in person
50. Been to the top of the Eiffel Tower in Paris
51. Gone scuba diving or snorkeling
52. Kissed in the rain
53. Played in the mud
54. Gone to a drive-in theater
55. Been in a movie
56. Visited the Great Wall of China
57. Started a business
58. Taken a martial arts class
59. Visited Russia
60. Served at a soup kitchen
61. Sold Girl Scout Cookies
62. Gone whale watching (not specifically but seen whales from a cruise ship)
63. Got flowers for no reason
64. Donated blood, platelets or plasma
65. Gone sky diving
66. Visited a Nazi Concentration Camp
67. Bounced a check
68. Flown in a helicopter
69. Saved a favorite childhood toy
70. Visited the Lincoln Memorial
71. Eaten Caviar
72. Pieced a quilt
73. Stood in Times Square
74. Toured the Everglades
75. Been fired from a job
76. Seen the Changing of the Guards in London
77. Broken a bone
78. Been on a speeding motorcycle
79. Seen the Grand Canyon in person
80. Published a book
81. Visited the Vatican
82. Bought a brand new car
83. Walked in Jerusalem
84. Had your picture in the newspaper
85. Read the entire Bible
86. Visited the White House (the outside, still trying to get inside)
87. Killed and prepared an animal for eating
88. Had chickenpox
89. Saved someone’s life
90. Sat on a jury
91. Met someone famous
92. Joined a book club
93. Lost a loved one
94. Had a baby (three actually)
95. Seen the Alamo in person
96. Swam in the Great Salt Lake
97. Been involved in a law suit
98. Owned a cell phone
99. Been stung by a bee
100. Totally copied a post from someone else's blog to your own

Hey, 45 out of 100 isn't bad! Almost half. There are a few things I would like to do, like see Paris and the Great Wall of China. There are things I don't want to do, like sit on a jury or be involved in a law suit.

Still no sign of any more mice. Maybe they don't like organic sugar free peanut butter.

Safire

Ahhh, or is that arg?

Everyone,

We had another day at home today. I had nothing planned. I thought I would be able to play with the kids and have a nice day and hopefully get the boys 7 month old stats and pictures done. Well, the boys woke up at 5am, ate for half an hour or so and by the time I had gotten back into bed, Juice's alarm went off. Normally I just roll right back over and go right back to sleep but I thought I may as well get up and get going so I would have all of nap time to go through my emails. The boys were talking too so I figured I would just get everyone up. Apparently I sleep through their talking and wake up when they wake up AGAIN in the morning because I threw the schedule off.

They napped at 8am. Only for 45 minutes. Not long enough for me to do anything. Especially since I had to get Butterfly all situated and play with her for a few minutes, clean the kitchen from breakfast, wipe the floors down again and clean off the kitchen table.

They napped again at 11:30. But only for about 45 minutes again. I was trying to feed Butterfly and myself lunch when they completely melted down and she ended up eating by herself. Then I ate cold macaroni which is not my favorite. They were up and down until I put Butterfly down for a nap early at 12:15pm because I was DONE. And it was only noon.

I let them fuss/scream/sob for about 20 minutes while I took a moment to myself. I hate doing it, but frankly, I had to have a moment. If I didn't have a moment when they weren't hanging on me or Butterfly wasn't jumping on me or anything like that I was going to run screaming from the house. I tried putting the boys back down but no luck. So I got Butterfly up after an hour or so and we all came downstairs to try and get some pictures of the boys.

No luck. These guys were tired, cross. I think I might have been too because it frustrated me and I had to put the camera away.

And then the internet went out. Ugh. I hate it when the internet goes out because then I can't do anything really. Kind of sad how much I depend on the internet.

Not that I had any free hands to use the internet because the boys were cross and tired and only wanting to be held. Thank heavens my friend, we'll call her Lavender, came over after work. She is my kids eastern Grandma and she helped me so much by holding one of the boys so I didn't have to hold both. We had an adult conversation. Even better! I had a nice hour and half with her and then she left and Juice came home moments later.

The boys were all smiles and laughter for Juice. I started dinner, got the boys down, and ate. I helped Juice clean the kitchen again and then read Butterfly the same book 3 times. This is the first time I've had a chance to sit since my imposed break at noon. No wonder I am so tired and feeling a little frazzled.

My book club is tonight so hopefully I will be able to have a recharge with my friends. And Juice has Friday off since he traveled on Saturday so maybe I can get another recharge then too. I think I need it!

Safire

PS- No mice again today. We are bating the traps with peanut butter but nothing is disturbed. Either we're not putting them in a good place or they just aren't hungry. Juice is going to block off some holes before he leaves again in a week and we're going to get some no touch traps so I can at least set them out at night.

PPS- A very boring entry. Sorry. I'm feeling off.

Tagged

Everyone,

So I've been tagged by my friend Marisa and since I can't think of anything better to write about today, I'll do it. But I refuse to perpetuate the tag. Do it if you'd like.

8 Favorite TV Shows: (I watch most of these either online or by dvd)
1- Ugly Betty
2- Grey's Anatomy
3- Private Practice
4- Northern Exposure
5- Gilmore Girls
6- Pushing Up Daisies
7- The Dog Whisperer
9- Animal Planet (yes I used to watch that station all the time.)

8 Things I Did Yesterday:
1- Freaked out over a mouse.
2- Screamed and watched said mouse jump into the air.
3- Cleaned till I dropped.
4- Changed several diapers (around 9).
5- Blogged.
6- Set up my Christmas cards.
7- Walked to the post office.
8- Watched Professor and Pirate fight over Professor's binky.

8 Things I Look Forward To:
1- Seeing my family again.
2- Having my own mailbox near my house.
3- Having a garage.
4- Not having to worry about mice.
5- Seeing the boys and Butterfly grow up, along with any other siblings.
6- My 10 year anniversary (and hopefully accompanying cruise to Alaska)
7- Having a bigger kitchen table.
8- Having a horse and miles of near by trails to explore.

8 Favorite Restaurants:
1- Red Rock Canyon Grill
2- Canton Delight (Chinese take out)
3- Pizza Hut
4- Chipotle
5- Cheeburger, Cheeburger
6- Baja Fresh
7- Chick-Fil-A
8- Bajio (in Utah)

8 Things on my Wish List:
1- A horse and all accompanying stuff.
2- A bigger mouse free house.
3- A little trip by myself with my Mom and/or BFF Mink to some random place we've never been. (sans kids)
4- An itunes gift card.
5- Awesome lenses for my camera, with image stabilizer.
6- A work out partner.
7- Fios
8- Horseback riding lessons.

There you go Marisa!

A mouse update: no mice in traps today, but we are starting to find droppings around. Juice is thrilled that Soot was so helpful and plans to have her just as helpful if we need her to be. I am freaked over every little movement out of the corner of my eye. I am making plans to try and plug up some more likely holes and we are not leaving dog food out overnight anymore. We need to go get some different traps because I think they are running under the cupboards and the snap traps we have won't spring under there. I am never moving to NYC because apparently they have lots of mice there. (Every single website I read on it was geared towards New Yorkers. Sorry.)

We went to the resource center with friends from my moms group today and that was fun! They had shaving cream out for the craft and Butterfly managed to get it all over. My friend made mention about how Butterfly just really spreads herself out and boy does she ever. She is a boisterous little girl, but happy and friendly. They had a great time together and I had a nice chat. Seriously loving the resource center more this year than last. And I loved it lots last year!

Safire

Drained

Everyone,

One super cross, super bossy, super attitude pre-schooler.
Check.
One very needy boy.
Check.
One very sad boy today (also pretty needy...lots of crying from the boys today.)
Check.
One very long outing.
Check.
Three very short naps.
Check.
One mouse in my living room.
Check.
One scream from me. (which is why they were short naps)
Check.
One hysterical call to Juice to come home and deal with it.
Check.
One very nice Juice who did.
Check.
One very cocky dog who caught and killed mouse.
Check.
One afternoon spent in my bedroom with the door shut.
Check.
One total clean of the living room.
Check.
One half done clean of the kitchen.
Check.
Seven traps set out for tonight.
Check.
Six websites read before freaking out over what they said and stopping.
Check.
One very stressed, very tired, very creeped out mommy.
Check.

Send help.

Safire

Seriously Awesome Deal

Everyone,

I got this tip from another twin blog and I thought I'd pass it along to everyone who reads here. The Britax Marathon car seat in Granite is on sale at Target for $42. They are normally around $380 so you can save around $230. Check it out HERE. If the link doesn't work, just go to Target.com and search for the Britax Marathon seat in Granite.

I passed this along to my brother who bought two for about $90 dollars!

Safire

Wow Rain!

Everyone,

It rained SO hard today.  Sheets and sheets were coming down.  Of course, we were in the car.  And had to go inside.  It's not easy to carry both boys in from the car (we do not have a garage or a drive way, only a parking lot) and getting Butterfly to actually walk to the house is always...interesting.  Our neighbors must think we are crazy.  There have been days when Butterfly is screaming/crying "I don't want to go inside!" and I am pushing her along with one of the car seats.  (Of course, this is always worse on the days that she pitches a fit for going outside.  Fights on either side of the door.)   More often than not, the boys are crying because they are hungry and I've pushed our outting just a little to long.  There have been times when our neighbors will stop walking to their cars or whatever to watch us get to the door.  There were a few college aged girls living in the house next to us who used to laugh whenever I would haul all three kids out the door.  Just you wait girls, your day will come.

Anyway, back to the rain.  Tons of it!  I made Butterfly stay in the car with me in hopes that it would slow down.  We could only stay so long since she had to go potty.  Then it's me running around trying to get everyone inside before the cold sheeting rain melts us.  Butterfly and I were soaked, and the boys carseats were very wet and are now slightly mildewish.  The house is smelling a little like wet dog.  I do not like winter in the east.

JUICE IS HOME!  Yay!  I went to pick him up at the metro (this is after the huge rain storm but it was still drizzling so another dash to the car to avoid major soaking) and the first thing I thought was that he needs a hair cut.  He was so happy to see us though and Butterfly was showing off all evening.  Loud happy noises.  I was able to leave Juice in the car with everyone and run into the grocery store on the way home for an essentials run.  It was the first time I had been without kids in 4 days and it was nice.  On the way out of the store, there was a beautiful rainbow.  Why I don't have my camera strapped to me 24/7 is a good question.  This would have made a beautiful picture.

We bathed everyone tonight which is always tiring.  The boys played with the bath cup and Professor tries to drink from it the whole time.  Pirate turns it over and studies it but Professor knows what this is for and gets mad there is nothing coming out.  The boys went down easy tonight.

Juice taught Butterfly how to play rock-paper-sissors.  I let him put her to bed while I ran off to Lala's house (BFF Vinny's mom).  We watched a series together and chatted.  So fun!  I love being able to have a small break.

When I got home, I planned out my next 3 weeks of meals.  Thanksgiving is coming and I'm cooking for BFF Vinny's family and ourselves.  We plan on playing games all day, watching movies together, playing with babies and kids, and kicking the husbands out with the small ones to the park (weather permiting) so we can cook and chat.  It's nice having good friends around.

Anyway, I am gathering recipies for Thanksgiving and I need to know what I'm making for dinners so I can get all the turkey stuff too.  So far on the menu is turkey, cranberry sauce, rolls, mashed potatoes and gravy, butternut squash puree, cranberry fluff and steamed veggies.  Lala is bringing over desert and drinks.  My question is snacks.  They will be coming over early (around 11am) and we probably won't have dinner until 4pm or so.  What snacky things can I have out so the children don't starve and the husbands don't haunt the kitchen?  I want it to be easy because I think I will be cooking for a few days before and I don't have all that much time on my hands.  Any suggestions?

I love having Juice home.  It's like a huge weight has been lifted.  At least for 2 weeks.  He leaves for another week the first day of December.  Sigh...

Safire

PS- Is it just me or did blogger get rid of spell check??

Lists

Everyone,

I am beat. This solo parenting thing is hard. Especially when I have to figure out what to do with Butterfly while I am putting the boys to bed. She either watches a movie or I'm yelling at her to stop jumping on the bed so these boys will stop laughing at her and eat. Of course, their laughing makes her jump more. They sure do love their big sister.

I think I must be tired. I'm rambling.

Things that got done today:

7 diapers changed
2 breakfasts, lunches, dinners
6 little boxes of Chinese food (yum!)
5 ponies colored
5 naps taken
1 living room vacuumed
1 bed made

Things that did not get done today:
1 sink full of dishes
80 pictures organized
1 kitchen table full of mail (sorry Juice)
1 bank trip

My list of things that got done is a lot bigger than my list that did not. A good but quiet day. Now I'm off to bed!

Safire

PS- Professor is army crawling! He's been moving around for weeks but today was the first time I saw deliberate forward movement. Butterfly crawled like: elbow, elbow, twinkle toes. Professor crawls: elbow, elbow, pop hip into air, drag other leg behind. It's very cute. I need to get a video of it. But my days of not shutting the gates are close to being over!

One Busy Day

Everyone,

What a busy day we had today.  Our original plans were to go to a battlefield near here with my friend Chef and her youngest, AlmondJoy who is a week younger than Butterfly.  BUT, it poured all day today.  So we figured walking around a battlefield in the wet and the muck was no fun.  Off to the thrift store instead!

I love going to the thrift store with Chef.  She finds a bunch and I always come away with bargins.  This time, I did a lot of impulse picking up but was brutal when I went to the check out stand and didn't get half of what I had put in the cart.  Mostly because I got Butterfly an electronic pad plus with math, reading and writing for K-1st grade.  Yes, it's a little old for her.  But I figured she can grow into it.  I thought I'd put it away for her birthday.  I just looked it up on amazon and it is selling for over 100 dollars.  I got it for 15.  It works and has all the parts too!  Awesome deal.

I also got some big legos to put in the boys' stockings (not that they will play with them right now but to help Butterfly understand that there will be toys that we all share), some 3 ring binders for church, a Christmas carol picture book, a Christmas present for Vinny, some side walk chalk (because AlmondJoy got some), and a freezer popsicle maker.  All in all, 25 dollars.  Did I mention I love going to the thrift store with Chef?

One thing I did put back that I almost wish I didn't was a nice brown scarf.  It was very soft and I have lost my super soft black scarf.  But I put it back because it was brown and I really want a black one.  We will have to go again and I can keep looking.

We had lunch in the car and then it was time to go home.  But the boys were sleeping so nice in the car that I was loath to take them out and wake them up.  It's becoming hit or miss if they will stay asleep in their car seats.  More often missing than hitting.  So I sat and talked to Chef while we watched the kids play in the huge pile of leaves.  And then I drove home intending on ordering chinese food for tonight from the car and going to pick it up.  Also the bank was on the list.  Both boys woke up on the way so I figured we would just go home.

Home was playing and preparing for my church activity tonight (thanks Mom!).  I am in charge of the 8-9 year old girls.  They come twice a month in the evening to the church and we have activities for them.  Today we were combined with the 10-11 year old girls and their mothers.  I had a mother against daughter game, where the mothers were asked things the girls should know and the girls were asked things the mothers should know.  So I asked the girls cooking questions, car questions, laundry questions (very basic stuff).  And I asked the moms about texting, music, and books.  I also had challenges for them.  The mom and their daughter raced against each other to see who could change a diaper the fastest (not on my boys, twin dolls), set an alarm clock, jump rope 25 times, sort socks, and do a spelling bee (which we never got to).  We also had desert.  Yum!  They seemed to have a lof of fun.  I know I did.

I did have to bring the kids along which was a little bit of a pain.  Butterfly sat in the corner with all the other kids that moms had to bring and watched a movie.  The boys were passed around between the moms and the girls.  Poor boys.  I had to wake them up from bed to take them and they were unhappy.  Professor especially.  They survived.  They both screamed the whole way home but they survived.  They dropped right off at home and so has Butterfly.  She didn't get a nap today but was very helpful and sweet all day.  Yay.

Of course, after getting everyone in bed, my work did not stop.  There were phone calls to return, dishes to do and milk jugs to put out for our milk man tomorrow.  I also should pick up the living room, clean off the table and put some laundry away but I think I may just go to bed.  It's hard not having someone else around to help me out with these things!

Missing Juice a lot today.  I'm trying to stay busy though so that his time away will just fly by.  And maybe tomorrow night I will be able to get the chinese food that I've been trying to get for days and I'll be able to sit down and watch a movie.  We shall see.

Safire 

What Is Your Baby Thinking?

Everyone,

Isn't that the most interesting question? A few months ago, I actually looked through my mail. I know, I'm not the best at getting let alone going through my mail. (E or otherwise.) But one day I did and I had a postcard from NIH. They were doing a study to see what babies were thinking. I did a language study at the University of Maryland with Butterfly a few times and I thought this would be fun.

We did our second session with them today. The first time, the boys sat and watched different pictures on a tv screen. They seemed to enjoy it and were good boys who didn't cry or hardly even move. Boy they are easy going.

This time, they put sensors on their wrists and on their backs and gave them different weighted objects that look the same. The sensors are to measure their arm movement. It was interesting to see their different personalities come out during the tests.

Pirate was so interested. The researcher would give him a toy and he would study it, eat it, study it some more. And when the researcher tried to take it away from him to do the next toy, he would hold on for dear life. When she did get the toy, he would watch it all the way back to the box and kick his legs in excitement when the toy was coming towards him. So intent the whole time. His eyes miss nothing.

Professor was a little more annoyed by the toy taking. He kept up a steady stream of talking while he had the toy (yes, even with the toy in his mouth) and kept up a steady stream of crying when the researcher took the toy away. He would reach out to her, his blue eyes tearing up, lower lip quivering when she took it and by the time she put it in the box he was full fledged crying. Eyes closed, face red, hand dramatically up on his head. But the instant he saw the toy in front of him he would stop, grab it, and talk. So funny. She had a hard time getting him to take the last one. He kept reaching for it and then looking up at her suspiciously. It was very cute.

They are so unique in their personalities. I find it so interesting to see them together and see how well they compliment each other but are almost opposites. It's interesting to see how Butterfly has an impact on their lives too with the whole toy taking away responses.

Anyone that has a baby 5-8 months old in the area can email me and I can put you in touch with the researcher at NIH. They pay you twenty dollars. Sweet!

Safire

PS- Almost didn't post today. I started this early this afternoon and am now finishing it close to 11pm. Juice has gone away on business and I'm working it solo here for a bit. I miss him because there was a huge cricket in the living room. As much as I tried to ignore it, it was being stupid and kept jumping into the wall making a small thudding noise that was awful so I had to take care of it myself. The horror!

Dearest Butterfly

Everyone,

Butterfly is now 3 and a half years old this month and I thought it would be fun to do a little update on her like I do with the boys each month. When they get older, it seems they don't change so fast but they do change. With alarming rapidity. So here is my update, in letter form.

Dearest Butterfly,

You are now 3 and a half years old. Wow, has it really been that long since you came into our lives small with a head full of dark hair? You have changed so much since that moment we first saw you. Lately, at bed time, you have been asking to hear this story. Of how the doctor put you on my belly and you were crying really loudly. How when I said "Hi Baby Girl." you looked right up at me and calmed right down. How the nurses said you were so quiet after that. How much you looked like me and how I noticed right away you had my hands and feet. At this point, you pipe up and say, "But I have Daddy's eyes!" The color may be Daddy's, honey, but the shape is all me. Or my family's. You are an interesting mix of me and Daddy. We each see things different in you.

One thing is for sure, you have your own mind. You demand to do things your own way. When we took you to vote for our new president this year, you played with two boys at the park before we went inside. Daddy said that you were trying to tell them what to do, and they were not amused to be swept up in your game. But they were. (Side story, you came back to me in line and said, "I played with kids! But they didn't say hello." "Really?" "Yes, they said something else. Um, la la or something like that." "Oh, hola." "Yeah, hola.") Your imagination is amazing. You think of the most interesting things at the most interesting times. You are never far away from a story or a game. You do get mad if someone doesn't play by your rules. And you can't be dissuaded from playing it your way.

You have a best friend, Vinny. He is 5 and I think you are taller than him. But you both have bright blond hair and play so well together. I think a lot of people think I have two sets of twins when he is with us because you guys are just so good together. You always greet each other with a huge hug, almost always falling over in your exuberance to see each other. You are also pretty popular at church. Your teacher says you are the ring leader, sweeping everyone into your world of play. It's going to be a good skill with two baby brothers.

You are a little perturbed that the brothers are starting to play with toys now. You always want to play with what they have. Having two of them just means you bounce back and forth between them and take their toys. We had to institute a rule that you offer them a new toy before you take the one they are playing with. It seems to work well when you remember to do it. You osculate between wanting to be a baby and insisting you are a big girl. We have put up the high chairs for the boys and you insist on eating breakfast in it every morning. Sometimes you want to switch between the chairs mid meal.

You are a good helper, even though you tell people you are not. It's nice to have you get more wipes for the container or give Professor his pacifier if I've got my hands full. You also want to help with inconvenient tasks, like sweeping the floor. Or cleaning the bathroom. Most days I let you help and sweep again when you take a nap. You love to clean the toilet with the little brush and are fairly good at it. You take your dishes to the sink after a meal (after asking "May I be excused?" So cute!) and you unload the clean silverware into the drawer. You love to help me make quiche and baby food.

I am just amazed at all the things you know. You know your numbers to 30, all the letters on sight and how they sound. You can recognize a few words. I don't think it will be long before you are reading. You have several books memorized. You know a lot of songs and enjoy singing in church. You know who each of your brother's are and rarely get it wrong. You know your city, your state, your country, your world. You know your area code. You also know how to push my buttons and drive me up the wall.

You are one amazing little girl. I look forward to seeing what you do with your life. Because whatever it is, it's going to be amazing.

Love,
Mommy

Safire