How does SHE do it?

I don’t WANT to be perfect. That would just be boring and make other people nauseous. But I am constantly disappointed with my own performance lately. Mostly in the parenting department, but also in categories of wife, employee, cook, eater, housekeeper, runner, friend, Catholic, neighbor, sister, daughter, citizen, and decorator. In short, there about a hundred things I wish I could do, do better, do more often or stop doing. Yes, I am being hard on myself today, mostly feeling sorry for myself after a rough Sunday evening trying very hard not to explode and night spent uncomfortably on the couch with Madeline. And looking at my 101 list, it is a manifestation of the desire to be better in all these areas. But how do I put the sorry-for-myself-I-want-to-be-better feeling into action? Right now I am too busy pouting to do anything about it. What does make me feel better, is Googling "Perfect Mom Picture". You get the expected Barbara Billingsley pic and a suprising Britney Spears photo. So maybe I should just stop whining and be glad that I am somewhere in between Mrs Cleaver and Britney.

I would much rather...

think about this:

Who wants to move to Taiwan?

Wouldn't it be just totally f-ing crazy if we moved to Taiwan? Just to mix things up around here? I think so. John thinks it is a great idea and isn't at all worried about SARS, Bird Flu, earth quakes or typhoons.

Can it possibly be December already?

WTF? It's December 1, 2009. I can't believe how a day can crawl by at a snail's pace, yet time seems to pass so quickly when you look back on it. This time last year I was ass deep in diapers, bottles, breast milk, crying babies and barely holding it together. Now.. well, now there are no bottles or breast milk at least.

Shop Sip & Share

The event: Shop Sip & Share
When: Thursday Dec 10th 6-10pm
Where: Mama Fu’s in the Triangle
Cost: $12 for dinner and a non-alcoholic drink, raffle tickets for the drawings are $2
Fun: food, plus shopping from lots of cool vendors, and a raffle with tons of prizes
Why: To support b club of Austin
How: send me an email if you would like to buy a ticket to attend, go to the website above, or show up on Dec 10th. I will also be selling raffle tickets.
How else: if you are a vendor who would like to attend and have a table, or if you have a product or service you would like to donate, go to the website or contact me and I will set you up with Renee.

What is b club? http://www.bclubaustin.com/ an organization that raises funds to support the breast cancer emergency support fund providing short-term financial and social service support to Central Texans living with breast cancer.

On a personal note: this event is being organized by one of my very best friends, Renee. Last September when I was at the hospital visiting my babies in the NICU I got a call from a friend telling me that Renee had breast cancer. I will never forget that moment. She was too young, too vibrant and way too cool for something like this to happen to her, I get teary thinking about it. It certainly put all my small problems into perspective quickly. I was devastated for her, but I also knew that Renee would face adversity head on and kick cancer in the butt. I am happy to say that she did both and continues to fight cancer through volunteer activities, raising funds and awareness.


Renee’s story:
Being diagnosed with breast cancer at the age of 30; married only 4 years and being a mother to a 13 month old was a real shock in my perfect little world. However, thanks to the support of my family, friends and my faith I was able to kick cancer in the butt, and have found a new calling in my life - to raise awareness and funds for breast cancer patients in my community. When I was given my diagnosis in September, 2008 I was fortunate to have the financial means to keep my energy focused on fighting the cancer and my family and not stress about finances. However not all women have the fortunate circumstance I was blessed with. And now as a breast cancer survivor, wife and mother; it is my turn to give back to my local Texans. I am happy to say that as of January, 2009 I have been given an “all clear” from my doctors and now onto the PARTY I call “My Life”! When I was approached by Jan to join b club as a queen b I was tickled PINK! Becoming a queen b with b club has instilled a passion and drive I had forgotten was in me to focus on my mission to inform, educate and make people aware of the day to day impact both mentally, physically and financially this disease can take on a woman and her family.After the mental and physical triumphs I have endured after my breast cancer diagnosis, fight and successful battle, I am always ready to CELEBRATE life, have a Party and B-INVOLVED.With much love,Renee

Format change

I liked that other blog background, but could not figure the damn thing out to edit. All blogs I read have really cool backgrounds and formatting, but I refuse to spend money and don't have the time to mess around with mine. For now, I think this will be it, but maybe some day I will be motivated to spend the time fixing it up.

101. Do something that I am afraid to do

Was I afraid to zip line? Not really, but this is not something I would have done on my own. Thanks to Monica for suggesting it when I started my list, to Jennifer for planning the day to go and to all the girls that joined me in celebrating my 30th birthday with Zipping and Sipping!

Jennifer picked me up at 9am and I could not have been more excited. The kids were going wild and I was counting down the minutes to leave. We picked up refreshments and met up with Kim, Renee, Christina, Karen and Monica. Kim was nice enough to drive everybody and we enjoyed mimosas and muffins on the ride to Wimberly. After lunch, we headed to the Wimberly Zipline Adventures. A couple of us had ziplinned before, but it was all new to me. We did 8 lines in 90 minutes and it was so much fun, we all had a great time.

After jello shots and some celebratory wine, we went to Mandolas Estate Winery. We did a wine tour and tasting. Then dressed up for dinner at Trattorina Lisina at the winery. By this time everyone was feeling pretty good. We were the loud party in the restaurant, looking back I feel a little sorry for the waiter and the manager who kept coming over to subtly tell us to shut it. I think we had 1 too many bottles of wine, but it was so worth it. The ride home was even more entertaining after I took a little nap.

It was a great birthday celebration - it was worth turning 30 for! A special thank you to John for letting me have the whole day off - that does not come easy for us anymore!

62. Have a backyard we can hang out in

I can’t take any credit for this one, but we have a pretty cool play scape for the kids to play on now – thanks to John. He found a play scape on Craig’s List and put it together a couple weeks ago (with a little help from Jeff and Marty). The kids love it. Unfortunately, it gets dark so early, we only have about 20 minutes a day on it. John has also put up an outdoor fan and shades over the porch. Only thing left to do is plant another tree.

81. Take a class in something creative

Last week I attended one of Renee’s card classes. We made 4 different holiday cards and they are so cute. She showed us some new tools and techniques I had never done before. It motivated me to make a couple other cards at home too.

46. Read to Gwen every day

Gwendolyn gets a bedtime story every night, and 90% of the time she insists I do it. I’m not sure why, as John really wants to. She seems to enjoy doing the girl thing and senselessly hurting his feelings. Jack and Madeline love books, but don’t let us read more than a page or 2 before they take over and turn the book upside down and flip the pages themselves. It’s a start though!

My favorites: Chicka Chicka Boom Boom, If You Give a Moose a Muffin and Make Way for Ducklings

Gwen's favorites: High 5 Magazine (I ike it, but hate it for bedtime. It almost always ends in tears when it's over); Bible stories (MOST are great, but some are disturbing. Why are Joseph's brothers shoving him into that well?) and Ballet Kitty

Jack's favorites: Wiggles books, or whatever Madeline has

Madeline's favorites: Brown Bear, Brown Bear or whatever Jack has

24. Read 3 books that Jenna picks out for me

(1 complete 12/22, 1 complete 7/20, 1 complete 10/15)
I finished The Shack last month. If Jenna had not given it to me and it hadn’t been on the book club list I would not have read it. It was challenging subject matter, more than a couple tears over the story. I liked it, but I don’t think I was a moved as the author would like the reader to be.

Description of the book from Amazon:
Mackenzie Allen Philips' youngest daughter, Missy, has been abducted during a family vacation and evidence that she may have been brutally murdered is found in an abandoned shack deep in the Oregon wilderness. Four years later in the midst of his Great Sadness, Mack receives a suspicious note, apparently from God, inviting him back to that shack for a weekend. Against his better judgment he arrives at the shack on a wintry afternoon and walks back into his darkest nightmare. What he finds there will change Mack's world forever. In a world where religion seems to grow increasingly irrelevant "The Shack" wrestles with the timeless question, "Where is God in a world so filled with unspeakable pain?" The answers Mack gets will astound you and perhaps transform you as much as it did him. You'll want everyone you know to read this book!

27. Catch up on photo albums (2/33)

As of 11/6 Gwen’s is updated through 2 years and I started Jack’s. John bought and assembled a desk for me in our room for me to keep my craft supplies and work on projects. This was supposed to be in the office, but the office is officially Madeline’s room now. I have been spending time here and there working on the scrapbooks and making cards. The only caveat – I HAVE TO KEEP IT CLEAN. That will be challenging, but so far I’m doing pretty well.

What's so great about being 30?

I am a few ~gulp~ days away from a milestone birthday. So, my few dear readers, What is so great about being 30? Please post or email and I will post in an upcoming blog.

new format?

I don't know about this free template

27. Catch up on photo albums

UGH - well my plan to hae a space to work on the albums has failed. We made the decision to give Madeline her own room because she is not the best sleeper and wakes up Jack. Which means the children own most of the house now and I will not have space for a craft table. BOOOO! So the dining room table will again be my home base to drag out all my stuff. I just have to hope Gwen doesn't get into it. ~gulp~

Austin City Limits 2009

My parents and sister came to Austin a few weeks ago and we all went to ACL. The best part was that my parents brought 2 friends with them to babysit the kids each night - wow - how great is that?!?

Best parts of the weekend? No kids to worry about, great weather on Friday, great bands : Phoenix, John Legend, !!!, Airborne Toxic Event and Dave Mathews Band.

Not so great parts? The rain on Saturday, the swamp of Dillo Dirt Sunday and the crowds of people that would climb over us if we did not sit in a defensive strategy.

We had a lot of fun, it was great to spend time with my sister and family and see live music in beautiful Zilker Park.

73. Take a vacation with John

Hard to believe the last "vacation" I had was going with John to Dallas 3 months pregnant (note: pre twin discovery). We had another opportunity when my parents and aunt & uncle were in town and watched the kids for the weekend. John and I took off to San Francisco and it was wonderful. Not only was SF fun, but it was a much needed break from the kids. Not that I don't love them dearly, but a year of getting up around 5:30am wears on the soul.

We slept in, ate what we wanted, walked everywhere, stayed up sorta late, did a 10 mile long run together and some shopping. I didn't have to carry anybody, push a stroller, change a diaper or hear ANY whining. It was a real vacation. It was awesome. Unfortunely it isn't something we will get to do very often but will take advantage any time we can.

Where has September gone?

Wow, the month has really gone by fast without a lot to show for it. We have taken very few pictures, gotten very little done, and really don't have much to report. We are preparing for a fun filled October though! ACL, San Francisco, John's trip to MI, and Halloween!

So, let me think if I HAVE accomplished anything...

46. Read to Gwen every day - done. I restocked out books by buying some new paperbacks from school. Thank goodness, I was getting tired of the same ole stories.
50. Store unused baby stuff - better. I really need to sell more, but it has been slow going. Right now the clothes are the biggest problem but we still have some bigger baby stuff lingering around.
67. Return things that don't work out. I am totally in the dog house with John this week. No more Target for me - it is too dangerous! I am returning things out of guilt and have to get back on the wagon.
21. Join a book club - thanks to Renee for inviting me to her book club last week. This is something I have been wanting to do for a long time and I really enjoyed it. It was a great group of ladies and we had really good discussions, most of them NOT book related.

Just noticed I only have 10 months to get this shit done. Sigh.

A Letter to Jack-Jack on Your First Birthday

August 29, 2009
Dearest Jack –
Wow, I cannot believe that you are already 1 year old! You have grown and changed so much. You started out at a 5.1lb, little, tiny baby. Now you are 22.4lbs, a big, tall boy. I can still remember finding out that you were a boy at our second ultrasound. Daddy and I were both excited to be having a boy. And once you arrived you were so sweet. You have a special charm and smile that attracts people, especially ladies! You spent two weeks in the hospital, mostly because you were too lazy to eat, but you figured it out. Once you got the hang of eating, you never stopped! You were a sweet baby, as long as you were fed, and seemed content to wait for attention (since your sisters were demanding attention all the time).
Because you were so smooshed in my tummy, your head was a little misshapen. You had to wear a helmet for about 8 weeks when you were 5 months old. You didn’t seem to mind at all. I would decorate it with stickers and put your name on it. You LOVED your therapist, Amy. She could always make you smile and you flirted with her all the time.
Jack, you are a sensitive baby. Whenever you are teething or sick you do not suffer in silence. You usually keep me up all night with you. It is very hard to reason with a baby, but I try to explain that Mommy needs sleep, you do not care. A few times I think you have been faking so that you can stay up with me and get special time with Mommy. I know because as soon as I pick you up you stop crying and get excited. You get a devilish little grin on your face too. The past few weeks you have been VERY attached to me. You cry if I leave the room and follow me. If you catch up, you grab onto my legs. If you can’t find me, you lie down on the floor and weep. It is very dramatic!
Your favorite toy is the Animal Train that plays music and rolls across the floor. You really love to get under the kitchen table and move the chairs around the room. When you figure out how to climb onto those chairs we will be in trouble. You push anything that you can; boxes, bins, cars, and furniture. You are so tall that you can reach onto the table now. Nothing is safe from your reach, especially not the remote control.
You love your sisters and your Daddy. You like to watch Gwen rough house with Dad, I bet you can’t wait to join the ruckus. You are very sweet to Madeline, even though she swipes toys from you. You are learning to be a bit more aggressive though, yesterday you pushed her right off the slide. One of your favorite activities is when Daddy carries you in the front carrier. You go for walks, looking for golf balls in the neighborhood. You also enjoy eating! You complain about what we give you, but if you like something you will eat until there is nothing left.
Jack-Jack, Jackalope, Jackaroo, you are a sweet little boy. I am sad that you are no longer a little baby, but so excited to see you growing into a toddler. I love you very much and want to give you a big squeeze right now! Happy Birthday Jack!
Love, Mommy!

A Letter to Madeline on Your First Birthday

August 29, 2009

Madeline – today is your first birthday.  I am having a hard time believing that you are no longer a baby, but a busy toddler.  You are curious, funny, proud, detailed and pushy (with Jack).  You have changed so much in a year I can hardly believe you are the same little person. 

It was not too long ago that we brought you home from the hospital, then took you back to the hospital, then brought you home again.  For 4 weeks you were quiet, and then you turned crazy.  I never knew what “colic” was before you came along, but I shudder to think of your crying and screaming that we could do nothing about.  We desperately asked the doctor for medication, which they gave us, but it didn’t do much good.  Eventually you grew out of it, but it was a rough couple of months. 

At 4 months you finally began to sleep better.  You had been sharing a room with us, and then with Jack, but slept much better when you got your own room for a few months.  Around 6 months you were starting to crawl and then sitting up on your own.  At 7 months you started holding your own bottle, which was really great for Daddy and me.  At 9 months you were a crawling fiend.  You and Jack would hang out in the hallway upstairs, laughing and giggling at the marvel of being mobile.  You quickly learned to stand up on your own and are now cruising on the furniture and pushing things around the room.  You will be walking by the end of September for sure.

Madeline, you can say “Mama”, “Dada”, and “Ball”.  You also clap your hands, wave and point.  You are learning to communicate, looking at us when you want help.  You have 6 teeth and seem to have gotten over your urge to bite Jack.  We have a little slide in the play room and you quickly figured out how to crawl up it.  Even when you can’t make it too the top, you slide down and laugh.  You don’t seem to get frustrated, you enjoy figuring it out.  We do need to work on sharing; you are always taking toys from Jack. Even though he is bigger than you, you have no problem crawling over and swiping whatever he is playing with.  Your favorite toy is the Wiggles Guitar.  You push the buttons to make music and look at Daddy and I waiting for us to dance.  Lately, you have been cuddling with us, putting your head on our shoulder, it is very cute. 

You are a good eater.  You like to feed yourself.  You like green beans and Rudy’s turkey, but usually eat everything on your tray.  You love to drop your cup on the floor, too.  You look right at us, and if we don’t say anything you DROP it.  So silly. 

I cannot wait to see what the year ahead brings us, but I am also enjoying every day with you as a 1 year old.  I am often sad to put away your baby clothes that you have outgrown, but excited that you are growing up and doing new and exciting things.  You are an amazing little person already, Madeline.  I love you dearly – Little Mills, Mad Dog, Maddy, Sweet Madeline.

Love,

Mama

 

 

Picture Day!

We had the kids' pictures taken this weekend by Naomi at Pitter Patter Photos. It was an exhausting 90 minutes. I thought I had brilliantly scheduled it at a time after the babies had a nap, but Jr threw off my plans by sleeping in very late and not napping before we left. And, if I haven't mentioned before, Jr is... sensitive. Ok, a cry baby. G was her obstinate self. Only MadDog cooperated at all. Ah well, she got some good shots anyway, which is all I really wanted. These pics are our first preview.

July Updates

Progress:

 

49. Potty training complete! Took about 3 weeks of persistence, but she is a champ!

60. Baby proofing phase 122.  John put cabinet locks on the kitchen cabinets, which really frustrated J & M, but doesn’t keep them out of the kitchen.  All the door stoppers have been removed from the house as they love to play with them and take off the little rubber ends.  But there are still lots of little things, mostly G’s toys, that are still out and need to be hidden away for awhile.

37. Make healthy meals 4x week.  I don’t know about healthy, but I am getting better at planning meals for the week and leaving my plan out so I can prepare the night before. 

101. Something I am afraid to do?!  Looks like zip line tour it is!  Thanks to Monica for suggesting it long ago when I started this list.

63. Tracking spending.  J Sr has been giving me some crap lately about my spending.  I used to pay all the bills but transitioned that responsibility to him last summer, so I don’t see everything like I used to.  I have decided that I will report all my spending to John on a daily or weekly basis, categorize all the credit card expenses so we can track it and make a list of “Want to Buy” purchases.  Anything that I want to buy other than necessities (groceries, medicine) needs to be on the list for at least 30 days before I buy it.

93. Beat 10k PR.  I plan to run the IBM 10k in October, so I might be able to cross this off my list.  Before this week I was pretty consistent about running 4xweek, but haven’t had many weeks running over 20 miles total.  I don’t know how much earlier I can get up in the morning to add more miles!

84. See a play, so Dora and the Wiggles count?  I think so.  That Wiggles show was great!

 

 

I find myself stuck at home this week, the girls have the flu and can’t go back to school until Monday.  I have help, but it is hard to get much done.  When you’re sick, you just want MOMMY!  It is flattering and I’m glad that the babies are so bonded to me, but it is also exhausting.  I have found myself buried under a pile of kids several times this week when everyone wants a piece of me. 

 

 

A Letter to Gwendolyn, on Her 3rd Birthday

7/10/2009

Gwendolyn, Gdub, GMills,

            Tomorrow you are turning 3 years old.  I cannot believe that my baby is… well, not my baby!  You are a little preschooler now.  You tell the funniest stories and say the silliest things.  Sometimes I just listen to you talk and laugh thinking about where your imagination leads you.  A few weeks ago I told you that you were silly.  You said “that’s not silly, Mom”.  I asked “Then what is silly?”  You thought about it and said “Banana Pants.”  Well, you were right, banana pants are silly.

            We are working on potty training, after a few failed attempts.  Right now, it seems like you just don’t care.  You feel no shame and no remorse if you have an accident.  Bribes are not working, threats go unnoticed.  I guess we just have to wait for you to be ready.  I am sure that in a few months this will be a distant memory, but right now it consumes a large part of our time with you. 

            You still sleep with baby bear, a soft baby doll, and a floppy frog.  Oh, and as many blankies as you can sneak into your bed.  The floppy frog, or “Froggie”, is often kicked out of the bed, you seem to have a love-hate relationship.  A kitty has recently joined the gang as well.  Your favorite show is still Dora the Explorer, followed by Diego.  In a few weeks we are going to see Dora Live, so I hope that you enjoy it.  You like to dress up like a princess and talk on your toy phone.  Just like Mommy, you often just listen and say “uh huh”, as though you are listening to Aunt Jenna tell a long story.  You like us to read books to you.  And you are loving when Daddy rough houses with you, but it makes me nervous.  You really love candy, and get all wide eyed and wild after eating it.  You love shoes, pretty shoes, and wearing dresses.  Going shoe shopping with you entails you trying on 50 pairs of shoes, all of them too small for you.

            Madeline & Jack adore you.  They follow you and try to climb on you, which you don’t appreciate.  Now that they are crawling you are getting annoyed that they are in your toys and try to touch you.  Yesterday on the way to school Daddy said you suddenly screamed and said that Madeline pulled your hair.  I’m sure it won’t be the last time that happens.  Generally, you are very, very sweet to your brother and sister.  You talk to them, bring them toys and tell us when they are doing something they shouldn’t.  Sometimes you get jealous, but haven’t acted on it yet.

            You are still pretty shy.  It takes you awhile to warm up to new people, kids, animals and places.  Sometimes you get so nervous you lick me!  It’s a little odd.  But on our recent trip to Michigan you warmed up to your cousins, Megan and Marissa, quickly after they started playing tag – you love to chase and be chased. 

            This Fourth of July you saw your first fireworks.  You and I went to the end of our street and we could see the fireworks show a mile away.  The look on your face when you saw the first one go up was awesome, you were amazed.  A few minutes later you were using the flashlight to look for monsters in the grass.  We also had our first family road trip to Michigan last month.  You would not let me sleep in the car and cried if I tried to close my eyes!  You loved staying with Nana and Grandpa.  They have dogs, cats and a little swimming pool.  You would start out the day in your bathing suit, but would always end up running around the yard naked by the end of the day.  We went to a family reunion; my Aunt Pat brought you a bathing suit.  You wouldn’t talk to her, or smile, or anything, but when she showed you the suit, you slowly started to play with the straps of your dress, then pulled the straps down, then took your dress off, followed by your diaper and shoes.  We all laughed at your innocent way of saying “yes, I want to wear that bathing suit!”  You also made a great friend of ‘Uncle Joe Koester, one of Nana and Grandpa’s friends.  Anyone who will take you to the beach and play in the sand with you is OK in your book. 

            You are still a Mommy’s Girl.  If you ever have a choice, or even when you don’t, about who is going to help you or do something for you, it is always MOMMY!  When you cry, you weep and say “I want my Mommy!” almost like I’m an object.  At night, after I tuck you in, you always grab my hand and ask me to stay.  It is so sweet.  But, when you are playing, you still love your Daddy. 

            So tomorrow is your special day.  I hope that you enjoy your party and your gifts.  I am excited to see the day through your eyes and have fun with you.  There will be many more birthdays to share with you, each different as you get older and wiser. 

            I love you very much, Gwendolyn Lottie.  You are my little girl.

Love - Mommy

Never Shake a Baby... Even if They Totally Deserve It

This is one of those awful realizations.  Before having kids, I would hear about parents, step-parents, babysitters shaking kids and doing really terrible things in frustration.  How could anyone shake a baby?  What would be the purpose?  Obviously, it won’t make the baby stop crying!  And it’s a baby, defenseless, crying because something is wrong and needs your help.  But now, as a mother of 3, I can kinda see how in the heat of the moment, when you’ve been up for hours with a screaming kid who cannot be consoled, you would reach your limit of sanity and go to a crazy, crazy place.  I got a glimpse last night (or this morning) after being up with wee Jack until 2am. My legs were sore from leaning over the pack’n’play to pat his back, I could barely keep my eyes open.  He would get so close to singing, lulled by my singing and back rubbing and them “Waaaaaaaa!”  Just go to sleep already!!!  I know you’re teething and your mouth probably hurts like hell, but cut-it-out already!  GRRRRR….. Finally, I had to put him down and walk away for a few minutes.  He got even more pissed, but it was for his own good, and mine.  After his 4^th bottle he finally fell asleep for a few hours in my arms.  Now I just have to pray there isn’t another repeat performance tonight!!

 

For the record, I love the little bugger with my whole heart and soul, but man alive Mommy needs her sleep!

My Baby is Growing Up!

Just a few more days and she'll be THREE years old!

That's a Whole Lotta Gray

Wow, they have a lot of grandkids. From the left: Alexander, Madeline, Gwendolyn, Jack, Andrew, Henry, Sam and Lilah. All 6 and under!

He's Bringing Sexy Back

MEEE-OOOWW!

Notes from the MiniVan

I’m sure you’ve figured out by now that we survived the trip to Michigan.  Now that we’ve been home for a week, I would even say that we’ll do it again, but not more than once a year.  The trip north was ok – for the first 11 hours.  The kiss of death was John commenting (from the front seat) that it was going so well.  After that the babies reached their car seat limit and let us know for the next 5 hours.  We stayed the night in a hotel and it took about an hour to get everyone settled and to sleep.  Gwendolyn wasn’t too happy about the hotel stay (“What is this place?”), she wanted to get to Grandpa and Nana’s right away.  The second day is a blurry haze.  I rode in the backseat with the kids and was not allowed to even close my eyes – Gwendolyn cried when I fell asleep.  We arrived in Lexington about 9:30pm.  Grandpa made a welcome sign for the kids and they were really excited to have us.  We took over their house, baby stuff in every room.  We spent the week seeing family and friends, going to my cousins wedding and we even got to see a movie one evening. 

 

Note about my cousins wedding: At the reception, after they did their first dance, father/daughter dance, they had a dance for the bridal party.  It was some slow country song, I wasn’t paying much attention.  After attending wedding after wedding in my 20’s (which are almost over), the moments that are so special for the bride and groom seem very similar to me.  Anyway, all of the sudden, the music cuts to Michael Jackson’s Thriller.  The bridal party breaks into the zombie dance, perfectly coordinated and executed for about 3 minutes.  They even had smoke pumping.  It was pretty awesome.  Then they just went back to finishing their sweet slow dance like it never happened.  They must have practiced a lot!  I just hope they got it on video!

 

We also had the babies baptized.  The priest who married John and I and baptized Gwendolyn is retiring, so we took the opportunity while we could.  John’s brother, Jeremy and his wife Tara are Jack’s god parents and my sister, Jenna, and John’s sister Jennifer are Madeline’s god mothers.  We attended mass and then the baptism was after.  Gwendolyn was dreadful during mass, I think she had reached her vacation limit.  The babies did ok, but were getting tired, hungry and hot by the end of the baptism.  Afterward, my parents hosted a party at their house with lots of food and drinks.  Lots of our family came and enjoyed the beautiful weather and food.  It was great.  Grandma Mills cornered Father E and told him, what I can only assume, lots of inappropriate stories. 

 

The trip home went better than we thought.  I think everyone knew what to expect this time.  Or maybe I just handled it better.  We were all very happy to be home.  I was a good trip, but hardly a vacation for John and I.  I would be so bold as to say you cannot take a vacation with little kids.  They are just way to demanding.  Even with my parents helping there was always something that needed to be done.  I’m looking forward to John and I taking a mini-break in October when my parents are here to watch the kiddos. 

pictures updated

website is updated: www.amandanjohn.com

Everybody Poops - Just Not Always Where Appropriate

This is about poop, so if you don’t want to hear about it, move along to the weather channel.  While a friend of mine has finally undertaken putting her 3 year old in a big girl bed, I have finally gotten around to potty training.  I have a million excuses for why we put it off (pregnant, pregnant with twins, pregnant with twins and moving – twice, having the twins, being lazy, taking a road trip, lazy, fear).  But she turns 3 on Saturday and we had a 3 day weekend, so no more excuses.  It went as expected, sometimes better, sometimes worse.  We are in no way “done”, but we’re in process.

 

Friday I stayed home with Gwen all day to focus on potty training.  She had 1 pee accident first thing in the morning (no surprise there). Then around lunch, John had taken the babies out and I was making lunch.  Gwendolyn wandered into the front room (should have been my warning sign), and runs back and says “Mommy!  There’s poop on the floor!”  Like someone had snuck in the house, pooped on the floor and she discovered it.  I was really banking that if she wasn’t wearing underwear or diaper, she would not just poop on the floor!  Then in the afternoon she did it again!  Gah!  She was being punished for something, I forget what, so I put her on the stool and went into the bedroom for a couple minutes to wait for her to stop crying.  I come back and there is a terd on the stool.  She didn’t even feel bad!  She was very matter of fact, yeah, there’s poop there, what of it?

 

Saturday was better.  She actually had no accidents, but didn’t poop all day.  She even held it while we went out to lunch and Target and ran in and peed all by herself on the potty.  We were very impressed.  It helped that she gets candy anytime she pees on the potty.  A fact she never forgets (even this morning at 7:30am).  There as a block party on the street one over in the evening, we went to that for awhile and then Gwen and I walked over to see the fireworks.  She was very impressed with the fireworks. 

 

Sunday I took the babies out during lunch and went to Ikea.  At this point, we are on high alert because she hasn’t pooped in 48 hours now – DANGER!  If she poops in the potty, she gets a ballet skirt and an ice cream cake.  John and I really want to eat some ice cream cake.  We are moving the potty room to room, so it is always with her.  Emily came over to do housework, and had a long conversation, via a puppet, about Gwen’s baby bear pooping on the potty.  She talked to that puppet for a long time.  Gwen is really getting annoyed with us talking about the potty all the time.  She has 2 accidents (pee) in the afternoon, even though we asked her 22 times if she had to go. 

 

Today she went fine before school, but it has been almost three days without pooping, so if she doesn’t go at school, we will have a problem.  Now I just feel bad, she must be really backed up by now. 

 

This is definitely a stage of parenthood that I don’t enjoy.  John was said that he had never talked or thought about poop some much in one day.  We both went to the bathroom more than usual, all that potty on the brain.  All this, and I get to look forward to Jack and Madeline going through this.  Oh Joy!

 

 

The Wiggles

The Wiggles make my panties go crazy!

Part One

Dear diary, we are on our way to MI for our first family vaca with the 5 of us. The first 11 hours actually went well, only 40 minutes of crying. But last night was rough, neither Jr nor MZ could sleep and they punished us for it. I was close to tears a few times myself. We did get 4.5 hours of sleep at the hotel, bonus! We are on the road again today, hoping to arrive at Nana and Grandpa's by 8pm.

Bring out your dead!

Well, not dead, just sick kids.

 

Surgery updates:

Gwendolyn had her ear tubes put in and adenoids out 6/5.  Surgery went fine and she was a trooper at the hospital.  Her recover was easy except for having some trouble sleeping.  It must have just been some soreness, a little Tylenol seemed to be enough to get her back to normal.  She had her follow up last week and is ear infection free!  Hoozah!

 

The babies got their tubes 6/12.  They were running behind schedule so Jack didn’t go back until about 8am, Madeline 8:45.  Jack was pretty annoyed by waiting around without having eaten sine 6:30pm the night before.  Both babies got rides in the hospital wagons and were entertained by pacing around and looking at all the other kids going in for surgery.  Jack went first and they assured us he would be back in 15 minutes.  After about 30 minutes we were getting worried.  Madeline had fallen asleep in my arms so I could no longer feel anything on my left side.  Finally, the nurse came out, first thing she said was “He’s Fine!”  Apparently he gave the staff quite a scare.  He still had an ear infection and was very congested.  After putting the tubes in the Doctor sucked as much gunk out of his ears, nose and throat as he could.  But Jack got something caught in his throat and they had to put a tube in to make sure he could breath and put an IV in, in case there was something more wrong.  I got the feeling he freaked everybody out pretty bad, but they downplayed it to us.  He was very grumpy with everyone after that.

 

Madeline did great though and had no infection, so she is all set.

 

Once Jack is done with his antibiotics we’ll see how long we can stay medicine free. Hopefully, more than a month.

The Kids: 9 Month Update & 3 Year Update

 

I just returned from Jack & Madeline’s 9 month checkup up.  Here are the stats:

Jack-Jack:

19lbs, 8oz weight 85%

28.5 inches tall 50%

46.8cm head circumference 90%

 

Jack is crawling, he does the worm to get around.  He really only crawls when he needs to, mostly to get toys or his bottle.  Jack loves to eat.  He will eat anything except squash.  Every time he starts a meal, he makes a face to taste the food and then decides he wants more – now!  He will even finish Madeline’s bottle if he can get it.  He is picking up puffs and feeding himself and had turkey meatloaf last night.  His favorite food is still avocado, but also loves strawberry apple sauce.  Jack loves the ladies.  Whenever we take him out alone he attracts lots of attention with his flirty smile.  Jack starting saying “Dada” last weekend and talks whenever his sisters aren’t talking, which isn’t often.  He still likes when John puts him in the front carrier, and he tries to kick his Dad in a sensitive region.

 

Madeline

18lbs 4oz weight 40%

26.5 inches tall 20%

44.7cm head circumference 75%

 

Madeline is a busy baby.  She is crawling all over, fast.  John put up a gate at the top of the stairs this week, mostly because Madeline is a flight risk.  She tries to chase Gwendolyn and gets frustrated when Gwen gets away at the last moment.  She is so busy she won’t sit still to have her diaper changed, drink her bottle or eat her dinner.  This week she started trying to pull up and can get onto her knees but hasn’t quite gotten to standing.  She enjoys taking toys away from Jack, and he usually lets her.  It seems like no matter how many toys there are and how far apart we put them on the floor, the babies always end up together trying to play with the same thing.  Sometimes Madeline is literally climbing over or onto Jack, which they both think is funny.  Madeline is saying “Dada”,”Baba”,”Lala” – but no “Mama”!  Madeline is also feeding herself and seems to prefer doing it on her own. 

 

The babies are doing great.  We are enjoying watching them develop and grow.  They are back to sharing a room again and haven’t had any problems sleeping through the night, though they sometimes wake up too early.  They both like being outside and being around new people, sometimes I think they get bored with us. 

 

Gwen is 1 month shy of her 3^rd birthday.  The big THREE!  She is very excited about her birthday and throws herself parties with her stuffed animals.  I told her that she cannot turn 3 until she’s potty trained but I think she knows I’m bluffing.  She is potty trained at school, but we aren’t allowed to discuss it at home.  She “Doesn’t want to talk about it!”  Other than the potty battle she is doing great.  She talks all the time and is getting into storytelling, regaling us with how her day was or telling imaginative stories about being from Mars and eating bugs.  Gwendolyn does expect to get what she wants, when she wants it, in the manner she is accustomed to.  If her banana is peeled when placed on her breakfast plate she may flip out, tears streaming down her little face and then be fine 30 seconds later.  She does love her brother and sister though.  She talks to them, watches out for them and brings them toys.  She is concerned about their mobility, but hasn’t realized the full ramifications of Madeline being able to crawl over and munch on her toys.  Gwendolyn still LOVES Dora and Diego.  She likes riding in Mommy’s minivan with the DVD player so she can watch Bolt and Cars.  Unfortunately, for me, she is also a big fan of play dough.

 

After our rounds of spring ear infections, Gwendolyn had surgery last Friday to have her adenoids removed and tubes put into her ears again.  Next Friday Jack and Madeline are having tubes put into their ears.  After 4 rounds of antibiotics without being able to fully clear up their ears we decided to do the surgeries and hopefully stop the cycle.  Gwendolyn did great and Jack and Madeline should be back to normal within a day. 

 

Her first shot of tequilla

Gwendolyn had her surgery today. She and I left at 6am and got to the surgery center. She was in an excellent mood, which was a relief. She got a little something to ease the transition back to the O.R. that made her loopy. The nurse said "aren't you proud? Her first shot of tequilla." It was a little entertaining to watch her eyes glaze over and hands flop lazily as she watched TV. John met us after dropping off the babies. I'm glad he came since we were there for 3.5 hours. Gwendolyn came out of surgery sleeping and woke up a little freaked out. She was out of it for 30 minutes or so until she got a lollipop. The doctor put tubes in both ears and removed her adenoids. She still had an ear infection, after 4 (5?) rounds of antibiotics. I really hope that this keeps her healthy for awhile.

Right now she is up in her bed, not sleeping, singing to herself. Oh... please nap... please please please!

Next Friday it's the babies turn!

22. Read 2 Oprah's book club books

DONE. I finished The Reader by Bernhard Schlink. It was surprising. I expected it to be sad, and it was, but not the way I thought. This was way better than Anna Karenina, the other Oprah book I read. They are in different genres, but at least after finishing The Reader I wasn't angry for having wasted 3 years trying to read it.

Thoughts on Abortion

This is worth reading Posted by my friend Amy on her blog.

Have a backyard to live in

This is in progress, but no thanks to me.  John has spent some time the past few weeks cleaning up our back porch.  He bought a nice storage container for the kids toys, hung sun shades, put up a fan, planted flowers, power washed and bought a kid sized picnic table.  With all that and the outdoor speakers it is really pleasant out there.  Now we just need some 10 year old trees to provide shade and we’ll be all set.  Ha!  Good luck finding trees in Pa-flugerville!

 

 

 

 

I will not die a slow death

I’m getting a Blackberry.  John found me one on eBay and I will be joining the technology enabled people of this world.  Why am I getting a Blackberry? 

1.       The past few months I have found that with doctors appointments and other kid related tasks I am not always at my desk and able to check my email.  I would feel a little less guilty about taking time off for my family life if I can at least read my email and take care of any urgent issues.

2.       I rarely check my personal email anymore.  Getting on the home computer is the last thing on my to-do list in the evening.  If I can check it during the day I can respond to emails from family and friends more often. 

3.       I am… almost… 30.  Let me try to explain why this is a reason.  I don’t normally like new technology.  I expect to throw this new phone in violent rage more than once and to get mad at John for not magically making it do what I want.  But, I don’t want to be one of the old people in the Jitterbug commercials using the huge phones with only 3 buttons.  There will come a time when everyone is mobily connected and I don’t want my kids to be teaching me to use my phone, snickering at my stupidity, when they are 10.  I know they will do it when they’re 14, but I’d like to delay that day as long as possible. 

So, I will update on the joys and hardships of my new phone when I get it.

Pfun Run & Deuling Babies

This weekend was the Pflugerville Deutchenfest Pfun Run 5k. This was our first family race. I pushed Gwen and John pushed Jack & Madeline in the strollers. It was a nice race. Not a lot of people, which is key when running with a stroller. Gwen did great. She blew bubbles while I ran and yelled “Go Mommy Go” “Go Faster”. I was the first to finish pushing a stroller in 26:51, 2^nd in my age group! After the 5k Gwen “ran” in the kids K. She was SO excited about this all week and during the 5k she kept asking when it was her turn to run. But when the kids K began, all the kids started running, and Gwen stood there, fingers in her mouth. I walked with her, holding her hand, for 100 feet or so. She did not want to run. In fact, she appeared frozen. I carried her for a bit, then turned around to come back. When I put her down to run, she started to cry. Everyone cheered her on, she got lots of encouragement, but none of it mattered. She didn’t even want her medal. Gwen was sad. The only thing that cheered her up was a slice of pizza. On the way home, she told John and I all about her medal, how she ran and had a great time. I’m glad she remembered it better than the reality.

All in all it was a successful outing for the Mills.

Another note for the weekend, we have 2 crawling babies. Madeline is army crawling all over, going after anything that interests her, including Jack’s feet and anything he is playing with. Jack is doing the worm to get around, mostly trying to get a different toy, since Madeline has taken his. We are starting to see a little bit of jealousy. If one gets picked up, the other cries foul and gets upset if they don’t get picked up too. If I sit with them on the floor, they both make their way over to me and try to crawl in my lap.

This brings us to #60 – baby proofing. John got the gates out last night, so we are tying to figure out how to zone the house. Biggest concern is the stairs and all Gwendolyn’s little choking hazzard toys. I think some things, like the tiny little doll shoes, may get “lost” for awhile.

#101 – do something that I am afraid to do. Skiing? I have never been skiing, and really had no interest. But Jenna and I are planning a trip for the fall/winter and I am actually considering going skiing. It is a debate between sitting on the beach, drinking, or falling on my butt in the snow. Hmmmm…

#22 – Oprah’s stupid book club list, I finally finished Anna Karenina. Worst. Book. Ever. I am now on to a totally different genre than classic Russian literature – Twilight, high school vampire literature.

Bath Time!

Tuesday night the little ones had their first bath together. I think they like taking bath's with Gwen better. Madeline was a little stressed out about keeping all the toys for herself.

My babies are growing up....

My new pet

Look how pretty! Thanks to lil' sister for buying me this sweet new purse. I love it! I want to take it with me to all my meetings.

Amanda's List

My college roomie Sandy read my blog and 101 list. This is her response:

Amanda's List

My friend Amanda made herself a crazy list of 1,000 things she wants to do by May 1st or something. I guess she did this because she has all kinds of free time now that she has baby-o-rama going on at her house. I don't know.

But as soon as I saw that nonsense, I told her to stop it right away. It's not that I'm averse to getting things on a list done, but this list was like some kind of list you might put together if you had spent all day at the engineering building at MSU and came home and were still in that mode of thinking. All people MSU will know what I'm talking about here.

So, I offered to make her a new list. This list, I think, is more practical and certainly more fun. You won't find any rubbish about saving money or buying a new pair of sensible shoes on this list. No, this is far more daring and exhilarating.

1. Find the tallest tree in your neighborhood. That way, when people come to your house, you can say, "Did you notice the tallest tree in our neighborhood?" I'll tell you right now that nobody will notice because people (unfortunately) are not usually that perceptive. Then, when they tell you no, you can point and say, "Yeah, it's that one over there."
   
   
2. Plan a day to clean the gutters on your house. Tell everybody that the day you've planned is gutter cleaning day. Make a big deal out of it. You could even send out an email. Then, when gutter cleaning day comes, get a ladder and go up on your roof. Then, take off your clothes to reveal your new snazzy bathing suit. And then get out your secret stash of suntan lotion. And then just lay out in the sun all day. When the day is over, come down off the roof and tell everyone it was a lot of hard work and the reason you're all hot and sweaty is that you were trying to get all this junk unstuck from the gutters. Then just go lie down and say that you're tired and need a nap. People will feel really sorry for you.
   
   
3. Come to Michigan and go real sledding. I almost cried when I saw the Texas sledding video.
   
   
4. Go to this website. It cleanses your soul and clears your mind.
   
   
5. Clean your house and get everything put away. Then, call someone from the National Association of Professional Organizers and ask then to come by and give you an estimate on how much it would cost to tidy up your house. Really talk your house up on the phone like it's really, really awful. Ask questions like, "What about if I just put all of the pizza boxes from the last five years in my closet? Then what?" or "How do you dispose of sour cream containers that have been left out on the counter for like...35 weeks?" or "I know I've heard of black mold, but what if it's magenta?" or "Do they sell things for like throwing away dirty baby diapers? We just put them all in the attic." Then, when they get to your house, be like...what?
   
   
6. Walk by a karate studio that has a big window out to the parking lot, and when the people inside look out at you, pretend to be a ninja. I did that the other day. Daryl was scared for my safety, but it was lots of fun.
   
   
7. Tell everybody that you smashed your car up and it's in the shop. Then, go and rent a Porshe and then when people ask, tell them that's what the rental shop gave you because they were fresh out of Ford Focuses. Drive it around for a week or two. Oh yeah, it should be yellow.
   
   
8. Give a little money to charity. What did you expect? You need to do something to make up for all the lying you'll be doing throughout the rest of this list.
   
   
9. You're going to need to take a few days off of work for this one. Read Twilight. Then, you'll of course want to read the next book and you will be addicted and...well, you need to take a few days off of work for that.
   
   
10. Listen to this song. Because how can you not be in a good mood when this song is on? Bobbyitsaybobbyiton.

So - what would YOU add to my list?

This is from our visit to the strawberry farm a few weeks ago. Cute little buggers. Gwendolyn received the dress from Grandma that day. I asked her to put on jeans before we left, and she complied right away. I obviously wasn't specific enough with my request.

Sigh... light years away

What happened? It has been over a month since I posted anything. Really, I never spend time on the computer at home anymore. If John isn't in here, then I am busy doing other stuff (dishes, cleaning, laundry, working out, sleeping, and occasionally watching TV). I do check in and read everyone else's posts, but I just can't be bothered to do my own. Lame? Yes. But necessary.

20 - Date nights. We have had a few. Moilanen's housewarming, daycare parent's night out, and Moilanen's wedding. We also try to meet once a month for lunch.

27. Catch up on photo albums. I did add a few pages to Gwen's and got all my supplies organized. I am looking forward to getting our office back so I can have my own work table.

46. Read to Gwen daily - nightly bed time story is embedding in the routing now. I do get tired of our selections though. We have a book of "baby lullabies". Who knew that lullabies are so disturbing? Geese knocking old people down stairs, babies falling from tree tops, children playing in the street at night? All terrible.

47. Get Gwen off crack, I mean, the pacifier. I can't believe this is done! A few months ago Gwen was complaining about her mouth hurting (teeth coming in). We pounced on the opportunity and blamed the paci. If was a few rough days, and I nearly broke a hundred times, but we are over it! There are days when I would like it back, and I still try and give one to the babies sometimes, but we are a pacifier free home.

49. Potty train Gwen. Wow, failure. From what I can tell (ie interpret from the daily notes), Gwen is potty trained at school as far as pee goes, not poo. But if we even hint about her going to the potty at home she gets uber pissed and punishes us for the rest of the day. As of last week John and I decided to ignore the whole thing and start over. Actually, it is convenient, when we take our 20 hour trip to MI we won't have to bring the potty for the ride.

54. Get new baby on a schedule. This is as done as we can get. Jack and Madeline sleep through the night and go to bed without a fuss. Nap time is a totally different story, but I'll take what I can get.

55. Find a babysitter in the neighborhood. Thank you, Lord, for Alex. She is so great. Alex is one of our after work helpers who comes twice a week. She does all the stuff that has to get done every night that beats us down and she helps with Gwen and the babies if one of us isn't home. She also babysits occasionally. I am always on the lookout for other babysitters though. I don't think I can have TOO many.

75. Take a family vacation. Impending doom June of 2009. Road trip. To. Michigan. WTF.

35. Get Waxed. Technically, I did get waxed, but it was my eyebrows. That was not the original intention of this "goal" and I still intend to get a bikini wax at some point.

22. Read 2 Oprah's book club books (Anna Fucking Karenina almost done 5/09). I am seriously pissed about this stupid fucking book. It has taken me years and it isn't even good. I am about 20 pages from finishing and I don't even care.

40. Use all the fun kitchen appliances and tools that I have. I use my steamer all the time! For cooking veggies for dinner and for preparing the babies' food. Easy peasy.

92. Beat 5k PR (23:36) - wow, I can't believe that is my PR.

82. Take a fitness class - there is a yoga class in my neighborhood that I occasionally go to (whoops, it was tonight).

You Rock Tommy

I am excited for the game on Saturday, though I will not see most of it (three kids, a baby shower and a bachelorette party), but I will watch it Sunday and be just as excited. Go Green! Go White! Go Michigan State!

My kids are so cute

The week isn't even over yet

Well there's good news: Big boy Jack cut his first tooth! And he has slept through the night 5 days in a row. Jack only has a few more days with the helmet and he's done! He's got the most beautiful head that money can buy. I decorated his helmet with MSU and basketball stickers to celebrate March Madness. And that little beast is about to start crawling. I give him 3 weeks, but he is already wiggling around pretty good.



And there's bad news: All three kids have ear infections. Awesome. Jack has a wicked diaper rash, it hurts me to look at is (but he doesn't care because he's a gross boy). Madeline is NOT sleeping through the night, but we still love her.



AND - Gwendolyn got a band-aid stuck in her nose. Seriously. It was our first nasal extraction. John had to do it, I chickened out. See kids - this is what happens when you pick your nose! What goes in your nose? NOTHING! Leave the boogies in there, that's is where they live.

I worked it out

Yeah! I got to go running tonight. I have to find my Garmin, I miss my running buddy.

93. Beat 10K PR (51:10)

Ha! Not likely to happen soon, but I think Jenna is going to talk me into running the Cap10k with her in a few weeks. I will suck it up, but it will be a good motivator to get out and start consistently running again.

54. Get new baby on a schedule

This is probably as done as it can get. The babies both go to bed easily, but have an annoying habit lately of waking up at 5 fucking AM. Seriously. Good thing for them they are really really cute and happy in the morning and I just can't stay mad at someone who is genuinely happy to see me when I look like hell in the morning.

See... they are cute

27. Catch up on photo albums

I drug out all my stuff last night to start working on the albums again. In progress!

20. Have date nights with John

We have a babysitter on Saturday - YEAH!

A good picture of them, a lazy weekend picture of me

53. Nurse new baby for 12 weeks (or pump)

Whew - I kicked this goal's ass. It has been 5 and half months of pumping. I finally returned my turbo rental pump this week, and am down to pumping 3 x per day with my travel pump. Oddly enough, pumping for the twins was less of a mental battle than when I did for Gwen. I think that providing the essential nutrients and antibodies for 2 babies was well worth it. And I KNOW it made a difference. Even being in day care neither one has had an ear infection or gotten seriously ill. Well, until this weekend, Madeline has a wicked cold. I felt a little guilty about wanting to quit, until I went on the run I mentioned below and remembered how great I feel after running and I would like to do so more often, which is difficult when pumping 5 times a day. I do feel sad about not getting to really breastfeed. I would not have done it exclusively with the twins (16 x per day? say what?), but it would have been wonderful to have that special time with them.

It's been awhile since I...

Posted. It is just so busy here. Even with hired help a couple days a week I feel like I get nothing accomplished. But I have some good things going on too.

What am I MOST EXCITED ABOUT?!?! Running! I ran for the first time in about a year today. And I have to say it was awesome. Now I am just hoping not to have any weird pain tomorrow. Thoughts about running:
1 - Running in Pflugerville is fugging windy. It is ridiculous.
2 - I love running by myself. It is a rare opportunity to clear my head and allow myself to breathe.
3 - It was a beautiful day, sunny, crisp and clear
4 - I really missed running. I know I won't get to do it as often as I was pre-twins (4 times per week including a long run on the weekend), but I would like to run at least twice a week. We have jogging strollers to fit all the little Mills, so John and I both want to get into the habit of taking them out as often as possible.
5 - Running gives me a natural high that is better than coffee. After that run I was in a great mood. Probably the best in months (ask the random people that have called me out for being... less than cheerful lately).

Top Baby Names 2008

WTF? Madeline was only 61 last year! I thought staying out of the top 50 would keep her from being too popular. I had a whole spread sheet with my analysis.

	Girls Names	Boys Names
1	Emma	Aiden
2	Sophia	Jayden
3	Madison	Ethan
4	Isabella	Jacob
5	Olivia	Caden
6	Ava	Jackson
7	Madeline	Noah
8	Addison	Jack
9	Hailey	Logan
10	Lily	Matthew

An email message from Sandy

I just looked at your crazy 1001 list on your blog. I'm gonna call it like it is, girl...crazy. I think your list needs to more like...
1. Eat more ice cream (what the hell is the no eating after 8 pm rule?).
2. Look out the window and enjoy the fact that there is no snow.
3. Kick your feet up and relax.
4. Watch TV and don't think about your list because you have just had twins and plus you have Gwen and that has got to make you need to sit back and watch TV and relax and not think about the list.

In fact...I might make you a list. Hmm.... I think I'll roll it around in my head for a while. You need a new list. Yours is too "Been at the Engineering Building" all day for me. :-)

I'll let you know when your new list is done.

Love,
Sandy

*************************************************

I look forward to you list Crazy Schmals

#20 Date Night with John

Wow, how has it been since we've had a date night? At least 6 months. Anyway, darling Christy asked me what I wanted to do for my birthday a few months ago and I said "all I want is babysitting". I think I probably slurred it through a haze of exhaustion. She remembered and thoughtfully arranged to have a bunch of girls come over to watch my herd of children. Fortunately for them, we finally got the babies sleeping in the evenings, so they wouldn't have to deal with the insanity that we had been experiencing for 4 months. Christy even made Gwen's favority dish - baked pasta - for everybody.

We tried a new Chinese place and it was pretty good. Then we went to the movies and saw "The Spirit". It was terrible. Like, comically terrible. One of the worst movies that I have seen. 10 people walked out in the first 30 minutes. On our way home we were discussing the movie and all its badness when ... there were flashing lights behind us and... things got even funnier.

Oddly enough, it was a great date and we so needed to spend some time alone discussing Chinese food, bad movies and anything not relating to infants and toddlers.

Thanks to Christy, Lauren, Monica and Jennifer for babysitting and making this night possible!

It's coming...

Helmet Head!

Bad government, bad

Holy S - check this out:

http://babycheapskate.blogspot.com/2009/01/end-of-kiddie-consignment-shops.html

Definitely worth sending a letter to your congressman/woman about. Talk about a good idea gone bad.

Amy's blog about it