first steps and haircuts

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a conversation

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uncle

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10 years!

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an hour

I've finally put my finger on the difference between now and the first year with the twins.  I do have some moments of peace right now, but the first year felt like chaos all the time.  I feel like I am barely treading water sometimes and drowning most of the time, but the first year felt like I was drowning all the time and functioned primarily on adrenaline.  I hope this doesn't sound like complaining, because I don't mean to be and I expect I am happier than most people who feel like they are drowning. ;)  This is just a fact of life right now.  I know someday life will not be this crazy and I'm sure there's a lot about these days that I will miss.  I already miss the days before the boys started crawling!

People often ask me what life is like with a 3 year old and twins.  I don't have time to type out an entire day (and most of it is very mundane), but here's an hour.  A wild and crazy hour.  

3pm.  All three kids were napping, but the boys woke up at the same time.  Neither one of them was ready to be awake and so they were both crying and sleepy and grumpy.  I tried holding both of them at the same time and they were really unhappy about having to share me.  Brian calmed down faster than Micah, so he crawled off to play a little and Micah calmed down once he had my lap to himself.  Brian kept coming by for some reassurance and it would just set Micah off again.  This dislike of sharing me is relatively new and I hope it is a quickly passing phase.  I knew they were hungry, so off we went to the kitchen where I gave them blackberries, tomatoes (they couldn't handle the skin, though), banana, cheese, bread, broccoli, and veggie sticks.  They both have huge appetites!

Brian finished eating first, and he was just a big blackberry mess (and really needed a bath, but there was no time) so I took him to the bathroom to get his soiled clothes off and used a washcloth to wipe him down really well.  Then I took him downstairs to play so I could get Micah cleaned up.  I made a mental note that Brian needed clothes.

When I came back upstairs, Noelle was awake and crying hard because she had wet the bed.  We're trying to get her out of diapers for sleeps, and she woke up dry this morning for the first time ever!  But we weren't so lucky with the nap.  I ran upstairs, apologizing on the way to poor Micah who was stuck in the highchair and unhappy about it, and held Noelle for a few minutes despite the fact that she was soaking wet.  I made a mental note to change my pants soon.  I quickly stripped her bed (and her), making the very unfortunate discovery that her 'waterproof' mattress cover was not at all waterproof.  We came downstairs and I threw a few veggie sticks on Micah's tray and quickly started a load of laundry with her soiled sheets and clothes since she'll need them tonight.  I came back upstairs to finally get Micah cleaned up and out of his highchair and then brought him downstairs to play and ran upstairs to get clothes for Noelle and Brian and me.  Got Noelle cleaned up and dressed and then searched for our bottle of vinegar, which I finally found upstairs.  I sprayed her mattress down with vinegar, then ran back downstairs and got Brian dressed.  Al came home around this time so he took over kid duty while I got ready to go teach some lessons.  Within that hour, I was up and down two different flights of stairs at least 12 times... no wonder I haven't weighed this little since college!

I think the hardest part is when all three kids need something from me at the same time.  I feel like I have many moments during the day in which I am just trying to put out fires.  But this is different, thankfully, from a year ago, when I felt like this all day and all night.  This was just one crazy period of time and then it settled down just a little.  I'm not sure exactly what happened after I left, but I know that all three kids were dressed and two of them were fed!  I'm pretty sure Al played with them for a little while and then made dinner.  So there you go - an hour of our day!  This is life with a 3 year old and twin babies.

an hour

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14 months, twins

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She doesn't miss a thing...

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photo shoot fail

This was just a comedy of errors... but not as funny as the disaster of giving 5 and 6 year olds flashlights to hold while they sing in church.  But that's Al's story to tell.

Anyway, I got a great deal on some studio time and a photography class and we decided to use our first hour in the studio yesterday.  I kind of knew ahead of time that there was really no way Al and I could handle keeping all three kids safe and contained AND get them to smile and look cute AND take their pictures with barely functional photography skills.  And I was right.  I've never been more right about anything in my life.  It didn't help that the studio had TERRIBLE colors and was all decorated for Christmas without a traditional red or green in sight.  And we had everyone all dressed up in cute coordinating traditional colors.  Oh well.  I got a handful of sort of cute shots, but nothing of all three.  Hopefully our next attempt will be better...

Aren't the pastels just awful with Noelle's dress??  Maybe I should make this one black and white...

I have no idea why, but on film Micah always reminds me of Joey from Friends: 

As if we weren't tortured enough, we decided to treat ourselves to the most unfriendly for children London Tea Room after we were finished.  The soup was totally worth it, though. :)  And taking pictures outside is a thousand percent easier than inside (even with the lighting of a studio).

If only I had managed to get his entire head in the shot!  Although, I can't believe he held still long enough for me to even get a decently focused picture.  But those eyes just kill me.

This picture cracks me up.

Brian loves to 'talk' on the phone.  He'll pretend anything is a phone and if nothing is available, he'll just use his hand.  Below, he's saying, "Haaaaa!"  (his version of 'hi').

Al really likes this picture, so here it is.  I did take lots of pictures of Brian, but the best ones don't look that great because his hair was still wet from us attempting to tame it a bit (see last picture).

photo shoot fail

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12 and 13 month update twins

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conversations

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projects

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Also, there's another post below it I just realized I forgot to link....

reflections

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musical beds

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first dance class!

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11 months - twins update

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how to get 6 hours of sleep

http://stithtrio.blogspot.com/2011/09/how-to-get-6-hours-of-sleep.html

till we meet again...

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a conversation

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ice cream

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playdate!

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private joke

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9/10 month check-up

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Noelle at 3 and 1/3

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twins - 10 months!

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dancing machine

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reluctant crawler

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"you're a good mama"

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maybe Micah's first word

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satisfactory sectional

We started finishing the basement shortly after we moved in three years ago, but really buckled down on the project this past spring. We're thisclose to finishing, but one of the hitches has been furniture. It's a really large space, but there are small openings and tight corners to get through. The first sectional we bought didn't fit. Well, I guess we'll never really know if it would have fit or not because the movers didn't even try. They took one look at one of their entry options and laughed all the way back to their truck. The second sectional was a similar story, except this time we had math on our side and Al even took down a door frame. No luck, they wouldn't even try.

Al was googling some search terms such as, 'how to get a couch to fit in an impossibly small opening' when the Home Reserve site popped up. We were both skeptical at the thought of a wood couch, but we were pretty much out of options. It's a great site, I highly recommend you check it out just for fun.

The only couch that will fit down here.... in 6 boxes. We have smiles on our faces, but will they stay there???

Here is the first piece we put together. So far, so good. You can see the wood construction at the bottom (it's the same kind of wood they use to build houses so it's really sturdy and strong).

Every piece has storage underneath. All you have to do is take off the cushion and lift the lid.

Two pieces!

It took us a total of three evenings to put it together, but we could have done it a lot faster if life didn't get in the way. Here it is with one piece left to go.

Finished! Taking his first nap on it as I type.

So far, it's pretty comfy. The cushions need to break in, so it's just a little more firm than I would prefer. I'm also debating about adding another piece to make it symmetrical. Opinions, anyone? It was super easy to put together - a 3rd grader could follow the instructions and the only tools needed are a hammer and screwdriver. It would be simple to change the fabric if we didn't like this or got tired of it. I could also change the layout of it without much trouble.

first movie!

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mobility

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9 months - twins

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a day in the life

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Micah update

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first trip as a family of five

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Noelle's least favorite part of the park was the feeding area for the baby goats. They did have a sign that said Warning: Goats can be aggressive but these little guys are smaller than Noelle! I bought a little bottle of milk while Al took Noelle into the feeding area. She did fine at first, but then one of the stupid goats got himself stuck in the turnstyle and I couldn't get in, so I asked Al for a little goat removal service and he came over to help. That was our BIG mistake. When he took those few steps away from Noelle, a goat decided to see how she might taste. I looked up from the turnstyle situation just in time to see a baby goat with all of the hair on the side of Noelle's head (and probably her ear, too) in this little goat's mouth. Noelle was stunned, but quickly starting to freak out. So Al ran to rescue her (I'm so glad the goat surrendered easily). Once we got her calm, we went to the other side where it was quieter, hoping for a less aggressive goat so Noelle could feed it. We found a little one that seemed tame, but once it saw the bottle, it was immediately hysterical and drained it in about 0.2 seconds. And then was joined by several friends and we found ourselves surrounded. One of the goats latched onto my shirt and wouldn't let go, even when I stood up. I thought he was going to tear my shirt! Al had to come pry it off me. Don't they feed these goats?!?

Before we went into the feeding area for the goats, I saw a little (human) kid with a shirt that said I survived feeding the goats at Grant's Farm and thought that was kind of silly. But now I get it. So parents, beware!! I also realize just how insulting it was probably initially intended to be when children started to be called 'kids' by adults. A long time ago, I read in C.S. Lewis' Letters to Children (really excellent book, by the way) that some child hated to be called a 'kid' and Lewis said he understood completely. I was so confused at the time because it is such an acceptable term today, but now I understand. I understand better than I would have liked!

Here's a crazy little video of our experience with the goats (in case you don't believe us). Al had to rescue me at one point, so the camera got a little crazy. Hope it doesn't make you too dizzy.

a really nice day

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Twins Baptism

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Thanks, Mom!

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5 months

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family love

clici

for the love of puddles

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4 months!

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wordless wednesday

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3 months!

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33 months!

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Zoomagination Station

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