Help!

So, yeah, it's been a while since I've posted. Oops. I always seem to think of ideas to post and then talk myself out of them.And now my first post in over a month is about digestive issues and all things potty training. Fun!

I started potty training the twins in the beginning of October. N is completely trained, and has been for some time now. She rarely has accidents, and when she does, she gets very depressed and embarrassed.

And in the other corner, we have A2. I've known since he was a newborn that he had digestive issues, specifically redundancies in his colon. As you might imagine, this can make potty training interesting. So, I began adding more fiber to his diet through fruits, veggies, and a fiber supplement for kids to keep things moving. And now, instead of constipation issues, he goes four or five times a day. This would be great if he cared AT ALL about doing it in the toilet. Seriously, my other boys were somewhat apathetic about potty training at the beginning, and even for a while would have an accident and just not care, but I've never seen apathy like this. He really could. not. care. less if he poops in his pull-up, underwear, diaper, you name it. And if he's going to poop in it, why not just pee, too?!

I feel like I've tried so many different tactics and nothing's worked—different treats and prizes, taking away the toy he was playing with if he had an accident, going over and over again what he should do if he thinks he might need to go to the bathroom. Nothing has worked. And I mean nothing. Friends keep telling me that I should try pretending to not care and that he might finally come around, once he thinks it's not a big deal. (You know, the whole, "Stop caring so much cause kids thrive on the reactions they get.") I really am trying, but I have difficulty not caring about cleaning up poop all the time. Right now, I'm just going to really concentrate on not yelling every time it happens.

So, I need help, cause this is really beginning to weigh me down. I know every kid is different and eventually, he'll come around, but I just can't seem to discover how to get there. And my patience for poop ran out a while ago.

Happy birthday, S!

Dear S,

I can't believe you're 11! I'm so proud of the girl you've become. You're kind to kids who need a friend, you sincerely try to be fair to everyone, and you're making such great choices. I'm so glad we got the chance to go on our special trip to the Bahamas. I know sometimes it's hard to have your voice heard in a family of seven, so it was great to have some special one-on-one time together. I love you, sweetie!

Love,

Mom

Paradise

Last week, S and I had the grand opportunity to go on a trip to the Atlantis resort in the Bahamas with my in-laws. The top leaders from our company attended, including several granddaughters around S's age.We were there for several days and had a fabulous time going on waterslides, interacting with dolphins, lazing down the lazy river (the longest and best one I've ever seen), eating and eating and eating, and snorkeling in the ocean. It was truly delightful and I'm so thankful to my in-laws for inviting us, and to my husband, who braved it at home with the boys and the twins.

Catch-up

And now, to do some catching up with recent activities. We had a lot of fun at my sister-in-law's wedding and reception. The boys (surprisingly, really) danced the night away and the twins were in heaven at the candy bar. We all had a great time. And a few weeks ago, I took the older kids to see Mary Poppins with some of A's family members. It was fantastic.

 

Coming home

A while ago, I noticed something about the twins. Whenever anyone in the family leaves the house, one (or both) of them will ask, "You come home?" They're fine with people leaving as long as they know you'll come back. And since taking them with you adds an extra amount of chaos to any activity, they stay home a fair amount.

 

After A's sister Megan got married a few weeks ago, she moved with her new husband to California. Months ago, N developed such a precious crush on Cam, Megan's then fiancé. And actually, she became quite attached to both of them, following Megan around my in-laws' house, wearing her rather high heels, stealing her lip gloss, and giving her kisses.

After Megan and Cam got married, I tried to explain to N that they would be moving far away. I wondered if her little mind could grasp the concept. Her first question, of course, was, "They come home?" Yes, sweet girl, they'll come back at Christmastime. Luckily, since little kids don't have a great concept of time anyway, it will seem like no time at all to N. And in the meantime, I get to hear N try and say, "California," which always makes me smile.

Beds and potties

When A2 climbed out of his crib one night, we realized it was probably way past time to put the twins in beds. And honestly, I can't believe it took them this long to climb out. So, we took advantage of a Labor Day sale and got new beds and a dresser. They stay in their beds for the most part, although I do lock their bathroom at night so they don't have fun with water.

And last week, I started potty training—for real this time. I've been doing it half-heartedly for a while, but I just decided to take the plunge and do it. They're doing really well, but I have to say, potty training twins is much harder than just one kid. And between potty training, work, helping with homework, making dinner, and everything else, I'm barely handling it all. So, let's hope these crazies potty train quickly. For all of our sakes.

Good one

"Hey, Mom, I hurt my eye," H said as he got in the car yesterday after playing at a friend's house.

"What happened?"

"I was riding L's rip stick and I had a slingshot around my neck. I fell off and the slingshot flew up and hit me in the eye. My eye was blurry at first but I can see just fine now."

Really?!! The first time ever that you attempt to ride a rip stick (kind of like a skateboard but it requires even more balance and finesse) and you decide that a slingshot around your neck is a good idea?

He has a nasty scratch above his eye and one below it and the eye itself is kind of red. I did a vision test and he seems ok, but really, sometimes I wonder about these kids of mine. I did instill a "no slingshot" rule, which I'm thinking now that we've probably gone over before. I asked H if at any point he thought, "Hmm, maybe my mom wouldn't want me to do this." He said no.

I think I need to work harder to instill the fear of their mom in these kids.

New school year

Yeah, not your typical "first day" picture, but I didn't remember until they were home. Oops.

So, the school year has begun. T is adjusting quite well to a longer school day (hasn't come home complaining once yet that school is too long, so I'm grateful for that). S is planning on doing "The Great American Challenge" which is memorizing things like the Preamble to the Constitution, the Gettysburg Address, all of the U.S. presidents, and names and locations of all the states. I'm excited for her to understand more about our country. H has a teacher who's brand new to the school and so, his class is out in the trailers.

During the day now, it's just me and the twins. It's definitely a lot quieter, but also more dangerous. I don't have my three spies anymore to tell me what the twins are doing. Sometimes a quiet house is a nice thing, like when A2 is quietly playing with toys and N is sitting on my lap. And sometimes it means they've yet again shoved DVDs into the PS3. (Luckily, one was sticking out, so I got all three out, with the help of my tweezers.)

Here's hoping it's a great year for all my kids!

Miss and not miss

As the summer draws to a close and the new school year approaches (one more week! one more week!), I have pondered about the things I will miss and not miss about this summer.

Not miss
1. The fighting. The whining. The complaining.
2. The twins trying to do whatever their older siblings are doing, which includes running outside to play, even if they have no clothes on.
3. "I'm bored."
4. Neighborhood children coming to my back door at 8:45 pm to see if my kids can play. I know it's still light out, but I make my kids get in bed early so *I* can have a break.

Miss
1. Lazier mornings. Sure I still had to work, but it was nice to not have to drag the kids out of bed for school.
2. The older kids helping me keep track of the twins and playing with them.


All hail the school year! Hooray!

A lucky break

About a week ago, the twins did something very, very naughty. They jammed discs into the PS3, and upon discovering the problem, neither A or I could get it un-jammed. Our two options were to either send the machine to Sony and have them fix it for $150 or buy a new system for $300. Neither option thrilled us.

Thankfully, my husband has a friend at work who has a friend who said he could fix it for $10. With nothing to lose, A took the machine to work and we crossed our fingers.

Lo and behold, those little rascals had somehow shoved not one, not two, but THREE discs into the PS3. The tech friend got them out, put everything back together, and tested the system and everything worked just fine.

Today, I'm thankful that my husband has friends who have friends that can fix things. $10 is much nicer than $150.

Sneaky, mischievous little people. What will they destroy next?

Happy birthday, babies!

I know, I know, you're three now, and you're not babies anymore. But you'll always be "the babies" to me (as evidenced by my favorite picture of the two you—see above).

A2,

You're definitely still more shy and reserved than your sister, but in recent weeks, you've stepped it up in the sneaky and naughty departments. I'm not in love with your attempts to hide Dad's wallet, knock plaques off the fireplace, hide Mom and Dad's wedding rings, and break the PS3, but I do admire your ingenuity. I love that you like to figure out how things work. You are a sweet, sweet boy who is incredibly loving and loyal to the people you care about most in life. I hope that never changes, Mr. A.

N,

Oh, sweet little girl. I don't think I've ever met a person quite like you. You never stop talking (which we unfortunately discovered on a recent long car trip) and you never stop moving. You flirt and talk with just about everyone, and you wholeheartedly believe that everyone is your friend. I hope you never lose your ability to befriend other people and love them with that fierceness with which you approach just about everything in your life. I love you, sweet lady.

Happy birthday, babies!

An interesting development

Over the past month or so, something interesting has developed. Maybe it's just because all of the kids are around each other a ton more, but the older kids have started vying for the twins' affections, arguing over who gets to sit next to them at meals, whose hand should A2 hold in the grocery store, and which twin loves which sibling the most. I do caution them to not let two year-old people be in control of things in our house, but I really love the fact that they want to be around the twins. And I recognize that the sentiment may wane from time to time (especially when said twins get into their precious toys), but it really does my heart good.

Our summer so far

Well, four weeks into summer vacation and we're all still alive. Considering my state of mind at the beginning of it, I'd say that's a victory.

The kids have played a lot, gone to the pool several times, and included at least 20 minutes of whining into each day. The twins didn't seem to know what to do with their siblings home at first, which meant I spent a fair amount of time chasing them down and getting them out of trouble, but they seem to have adjusted.

H played on an all-star baseball team and had a great time. Their team lost both games so they were out of the tournament, but he got two weeks of two-hour-a-day practices with a really great coach, so we're pretty pleased with how things turned out. H wasn't sure he wanted to play baseball at all this year so it's pretty cool that he did well enough to make the all-star team.

S has been taking piano lessons from a neighbor and she's having a lot of fun.

T has spent hours upon hours riding his bike, playing with friends, and even reading with me every day.

We had a great 4th of July and enjoyed a fantastic fireworks show (thank you to our home state for allowing the sale of some aerial fireworks again. Wahoo!)

(And sorry about there not being pictures of A2 from the 4th. Someone refused to even look at the camera.)

A confession, toddler speak, and lots of pictures

First, a confession. I can't seem to get motivated to write blog posts lately. So many times during any given week, I'll think, "I should blog about that"—like, say, Easter, T's kindergarten graduation, soccer, baseball, and so much more. But then I get sidetracked and forget about it. Oops.

Next... I love toddlerisms—when little kids mispronounce words, leave out words, and generally mix stuff up. One of my all-time favorites was when S would say, "toomarno"—for tomorrow, obviously.

A2 and N have a few gems of their own. Recently, N has become obsessed with birthdays, most likely because just about everyone in my husband's family has a birthday in May. So, at least a few times a day, N will ask, "When my burpay?" I don't think she really understands what birthdays are, what hers will mean, or even the fact that she'll share her birthday with that kid who is always around, but I just love the way she says it.

For every word he says, A2 puts his own little deep voice spin on it, which I love. He also calls every kind of superhero "Man man." He's starting to distinguish a few of them by "Spi-man" and "Bat-man," but I still love the original A2-ism.

Of course, whenever I hear the twins mispronounce something, I try to help them say it correctly. And I frequently tell my older kids, "You know how to say that word. Saying it the way she says it doesn't help her learn." I am the daughter of a former speech pathologist, after all.

One of the funniest ones is how N pronounces kitty. She says it with a t at the front. This is, for obvious reasons, amusing to my husband and me. She loves these Hello Kitty utensils that S got a million years ago—so much so, that she refuses to eat with anything else. She really loves the fork for some reason, but I haven't been able to find it lately. She'll beg for the kitty fork at every meal, and she just has to make do with the spoon. So sad to eat yogurt with a spoon instead of a fork.

This afternoon, I happened to be cleaning the floor in the pantry, so pulling crap out. As I was putting the bread maker back in, I heard a clinking sound. Lo and behold, the kitty fork was in there. N will be so pleased.

And now, a ton of pictures to make me feel better about not blogging so much over the past while.

Nap time

Nap time is very important to me. Vital, actually. So when N started crying in her crib this afternoon after a mere 45 minutes, I put off going to get her right away. Because as cute as she is, it becomes difficult to get things done when there's a little girl sitting next to you, asking you questions ad nauseum.

"Mom, what you doing?"
"Mom, when my birthday?"
"Mom, you hear me?"

(The last question she asks all the time. And she doesn't necessarily want to say anything at all. She'll just keep asking you if you hear her over and over and over again.)

Don't you wear your ballerina tutu on your head as hair ?
And to top it off, she insisted I put a clip on top of her "hair".

Happy birthday, T!

Dear T,

Six years ago, early, early in the morning, you were born. I thought you were coming about every day for a week before that, and I was starting to get impatient to meet you. But you wanted to come on your own time. And that's pretty much the way you do things. I can try and talk you into doing something, but it's always better if you decide to do it yourself. That can be frustrating when it's coupled with your strong stubborn streak, but I usually just need to wait for you to come around. And you always do.

I've loved watching you discover learning even more this year at kindergarten. I was worried that you might not like school, and it's been so great to watch you grow, learn, and just have fun. You're such a bright, imaginative kid and I love you so much. Happy birthday, sweet boy!

Love,

Mom

Poor A2 gets wrongly blamed

As stated in my previous post, the twins have become a bit... hard to manage of late. A2 especially likes to find small things to play with that aren't necessarily his. Last Sunday as we were heading out the door for church, my husband announced that he couldn't find his wedding ring. He had left it on top of his office desk (not a great place to leave it, I reminded him) and A2 had spent a few minutes that morning sitting at Daddy's desk and looking through his drawer. Daddy wasn't too pleased about that. We both looked a ton that night—both in his office and up in our bedroom. I even took out a flashlight in case the ring had fallen behind his desk. Nothing.

The next morning, my husband came down to go to work with his ring on. It had been on our dresser, right where he usually leaves it. We had both looked there several times, but had somehow missed it. My husband apologized to A2 for wrongly accusing him.

Last week, I bought a new wallet. As I was transferring stuff from the old to the new, I realized I was missing a $100 bill. Now, I never have that kind of cash, but it was a bonus gift from work. I panicked, looked a thousand more times in my wallet, and couldn't find it. Then I remembered that earlier in the day, A2 was seen playing with a few coins. I concluded that he must have gotten into my purse. I looked and looked and couldn't find the $100.

Today, a room mom from T's class called about the money I had sent in for the class gift for his teacher. She thanked me for being so generous but wanted to make sure that I had meant to give $102 for the gift.

Poor A2—blamed for things he never did.

One step behind

I'm a person who likes to feel in control. I have schedules and plans and I like my children to have schedules and rules. Sure, little kids can get into trouble and mischief, but I've never had problems with crazy toddlers causing destruction at every turn.

That has changed with the the twin masterminds.

Over the past few weeks, I have begun to feel like the twins are running this house—not the parents. They've started to work really well together at being naughty. A2 is taller, so he'll open doors that N can't. And N will get fantastic ideas to go do something, like say, climb up on the bathroom counter and "brush" their teeth, maybe with their toothbrushes and maybe with other people's toothbrushes. And maybe using hot water and splashing it all over the bathroom.

Last week, they learned how to climb over the gate on the basement steps. Yes, it's amazing that it lasted this long, but I was really, really sad about it. When they were in the basement, I knew they were safe and the house was safe. Now, that's gone.

So, I lock all the bedrooms and I've turned on the door alarm so I know if they try to leave the house. And I keep finding new places to hide my huge diaper bag and purse so that they won't find gum and lipstick and any other treasures in there.

On Saturday, while I suffered all day with strange stomach pains that kept me curled up in a ball on my bed, the twins did some exploring. Since all the bedroom doors were locked, they had some fun in their dad's office and also learned how to open the fridge. They took out ham, yogurt, and even cracked some eggs on the brand-new rug in our piano room.

I told my husband that I feel like I'm always one step behind these people.

Don't they look so innocent?

The same?

T: Mom, is your hair and Dad's hair the same?
Me: Umm, no. Does our hair look the same to you?
T: I guess Dad's hair is darker.

Let's hope that's not all he thinks is different about his parents' hair.

N's boyfriend

I know she's a little young to be dating, but N's got a boyfriend—or rather, she's kind of commandeered my sister-in-law's boyfriend. When I told her Cam was coming to Disneyland (or "Dinsey," as she says it) N's eyes lit up with glee. She gives him kisses, hugs him, and loves to be near him. After the first day at Disneyland, I was back in the hotel, getting the kids ready for bed. I said to N, "What did you see at Disneyland today?" N: "I saw Cam." Me: "Oh, what else did you see?" N: "I saw Cam."

Apparently in N's mind, even the magic of Disneyland can't hold a candle to her beloved Cam. And I think the whole thing is precious.

Disneyland

After we got back last week from Disneyland, one of my sisters asked how it went. I replied, "Great moments and then crappy moments. Typical vacation with kids."

We did have a great time, and we even got the chance to go to San Diego Zoo, which was awesome. Everything went really well, right up until we got rear-ended on the way home. But we're ok and the car can be fixed, so all is good.

It's great to be eight!

H,

Eight years ago today, I sat in a hospital bed and watched the snow fall outside as I held my brand-new, two-week early baby boy—all nine pounds of you! You were a sweet, happy, calm baby, and you're a sweet, kind, and thoughtful boy. I love to watch you discover new talents and make new friends. You are kind and patient with your baby brother and sister and I'm so grateful for that. At times I fear for your tender heart because you seem to feel hurt so easily, but I love that you feel things deeply and I hope that doesn't change. I'm so excited for you to get baptized next month!

Happy birthday, H!

Love,

Mom

No pants

I tried to tell this little girl that she might not need to wear her coat in the house if she, say, wore her pants instead. Maybe even her shirt, too. She responded by dancing around the kitchen, singing, "No pants! No pants! No pants!"