Saturday, January 31

My Sweet Babes

Sarah
After her bath, I was trying to diaper and clothe my 9 month old baby. She was desperately trying to get back into the bath to play with the twins. Try as I might, I could not get the diaper on this determined baby. Dan had to pin her down while I got the diaper on her. She was not going to give in without a fight. Remind you of anyone you know?

Bethie
We were leaving the bathroom. With Bethie, everything is done in slow motion. She was moaning about something making her "ouchie". I said that her bottom was going to be ouchie after I gave it a smackie (a smackie is a love tap of sorts, a playful threat). She walked even slower. I reached over and "rap-a-tap-tapped" her bottom. She took off and jumped into bed. Then she looked at me and said, "I can't go to bed without a smackie!". Bethie does what she wants, when she wants, with little regard to anyone or anything else. Remind you of anyone you know?

Katie
It was Katie's turn for a kiss and a hug. I went over to her bed and was greeted with a detailed schedule of events. She said "Pick up The Baby". I picked her up. "Rock The Baby". I did as I was told. "Now put The Baby gently into her bed". Done. As I was leaving, she shouted out "Say 'I love you, my babies'". I said "I love you Katie, I love you Bethie". Apparently, there is no room for ad libbing. Remind you of anyone you know?

Friday, January 30

Reality Hurts

Today, Bethie, Katie, and I were sitting on the floor watching Sesame Street. Without warning or cause, Bethie jumped up and ran full throttle into the TV. I was shocked! I said, "Why did you do that?". She said with such sincerity and disappointment, "I tried to jump into the TV so I could eat that banana". I laughed until my stomach hurt.

Updates

  1. Katie and Bethie went to the eye doctor today. They won't need surgery, but they will need glasses all their lives. They are far sighted.
  2. Sarah is still sick, but nothing like she was earlier this week. She's eating more, but still not enough. She is also wheezy at times. We didn't go to CHEO.
  3. I went to take a picture of all Dan's laundry in the crib and Dan said, "Oh! Are you cleaning it up now?". He is still missing the point. So, the strike continues.
  4. Dinners are becoming a tad easier. I told the twins that the mothers of Dora and the Backyardigans gave me recipes. They are now enjoying "Dora's Favourite Chicken" and "Pablo's Pork". Thanks, Mum, for the suggestion!
  5. The Battle of the Poop continues, and I'm losing.

Thursday, January 29

The Heart of My Home







My kitchen would never be featured in some glossy magazine. A real estate agent would flip out if she thought she had to list my house. I have "personalized" my home - somewhat. But I love it! I love it so much that I thought I would take a picture of my kitchen and post it. But the twins are at daycare and Sarah's asleep, and the essence of my kitchen would be lost. The magic of my kitchen begins with the three Dora place mats and the matching Dora calendar. It's the highchair that we pull over to the table so the 5 of us can have dinners together. It's the massive toys (thank you, Dan's parents) lining the perimeter that provide endless amount of entertainment to the three girls. It's the fridge absolutely covered in coupons, magnets, and photographs. It's in the fruit bowl that always has fresh fruit for the kidlings. It's in the buffet that's filled with crayons and My Little Pony colouring books. These things might show up in photographs, but the camera can't capture the wonderfulness of my kitchen unless it's seen "in action".

Wednesday, January 28

The Scoop On Poop

When we were trying to potty train the girls, both kids refused to poop in the toilet. We had no idea what to do. Since they were obsessed with the Dora Themed Cakes from Loblaws, Emilie suggested that we tell the twins that if they did 10 poops in the toilet then I would get them a Dora cake. To track the poops, they would get a sticker and put it on the calendar. Bethie was very enthusiastic. She started pooping like a mad person. I couldn't believe it. She did so many poops that I started praying that she would poop in her Pull-Up so I wouldn't have to buy a cake so quickly. 38 hours after mentioning this deal to the twins, I was panic calling every Loblaws in the city to get a Dora cake for that evening. It cost me $30, but Bethie poops in the toilet.

Katie likes to wait until about 30 minutes after she's been put to bed and then she poops in her Pull Ups. I have tried everything short of buying a Dora slab cake. I told her that the princesses on the Pull Ups were angry. I told her that I wasn't going to let her have Pull Ups. I tried and tried to make her poop before bed. Nothing worked. Monday night, she confessed to Dan that she "saves" her poop so she can get out of bed and get another cuddle. That did it for me. Last night, I told her that she could have raisins and marshmallows with her breakfast if she didn't poop in her Pull Ups. She pooped in the toilet and I served my toddlers marshmallows with their breakfast! Tonight, she mentioned the deal and asked if it was ongoing. I told her it was, and up she popped up to the toilet and did her thing. So far, no poop in her Pull Ups.

What have I learned? My kids are motivated by food. Praise and stickers are nice, threats can be ignored, but food is gold!

Tuesday, January 27

O What A Tangled Web I Weave...

I lie to my kids. A lot. I'm starting to feel guilty. They are going to have a twisted view of the world because of me. Here are some of my lies (sadly, the list goes on and on):
  • Santa is going to come back and take their toys if they don't clean them up.
  • Their juice only "works" if it's half filled with water.
  • When they jump, it makes the snow fall.
  • Dora's Mummy gave me the recipe for the pork because it's Dora's favourite meal. Also, Tyrone's (from the Backyardigans) Mummy gave me the recipe for the chicken.
  • Wee Willie Winkie (from Mother Goose) is angry because they are not asleep. This doesn't work so well because they think Wee Willie Winkie is their friend and they want to play with him.
  • All their bath toys are going down the drain unless they clean them up.
  • When they go to daycare, I have to take Sarah to Dr. Gfeller (who has retired) to get a needle. If they don't go to daycare, then Dr. Gfeller will give them a needle too.
  • The Reverend is suffering from some plague that has closed the church until further notice.

Monday, January 26

Mother of the Year 2009

I know that we're not even through January yet, but my chances of winning the Mother of the Year Award for 2009 are pretty slim. I was doing well in 2008, despite the fact that my kids were ALWAYS sick. I tried hard. I did crafts and baking and activities. I held the kids while they threw up, I cozied them in their beds, and I would always "Stop, Drop, and Cuddle". But 2008 was blown for me when my 3 year old Katie listed everything that was wrong with me and said that she would run "far, far away from home". I thought to myself "2009 is a new year. I can do it!". Then my baby Sarah got sick. It didn't seem that bad . I thought she had a cold. I thought her wheeziness was due to "ineffective coughing". WRONG. My baby has an ear infection and pneumonia! The doctor said that if her breathing doesn't improve within 24 hours, I have to take her to CHEO. I must be the only mother out there that thinks a 9 month old baby is faking!

Day 8 of The Strike

Last week, I went on strike. After 10 years of nagging, screaming, raging, and sighing, I have decided that I will no longer throw out Dan's empty pop cans. He likes to leave them on the counter next to the sink, expecting me to put them in the recycling bin or the garbage. Everyone has a pet peeve, this is mine. Also, Dan has magical clothes. He can leave them in a heap on the bedroom floor and they get picked up, washed, dried, folded, and hung up. No longer.

Day One of my strike, I left the pop can next to the sink. He didn't notice. I washed only the clothes that were in the hamper and threw them in the crib that is assembled in our bedroom (which I have asked him to take down for over 3 months). He didn't say a thing. After days and days of this, I had to point it out! Dan confessed that he didn't even realise that I was no longer dealing with the pop cans and (wait for it, ladies!) he thought that leaving his clothes in the crib was a great idea!

Where do I go from here?

A Plague On Our House

During this last week, illness has taken over our house. First, Katie got an ear infection. Then Dan got Norwalk. As he was getting better, Bethie got an ear infection. Today, I am taking Sarah to the doctor. She is wheezy and sneezy and grumpy. Wish us luck!

Thursday, January 22

They Grow Up So ... SLOWLY!

After 8 months and 20 days (I think, I only have a vague idea of what day it is), Sarah got her first tooth. Actually, it may have come in earlier, but she is our third and I only discovered it today. I discovered it because she bit me! Not entirely her fault as I did stick my finger into her mouth (to retrieve a fluff - thanks, Katie).

Sunday, January 18

And On The Seventh Day We Rested

When I went into the twins' bedroom this morning to wake up Bethie (Katie was in my bed), she sat bolt upright in her bed and asked, "What day is it today?". I thought about lying, but I figured that she's only 3 and I am trying to teach them the days of the week. I said "Sunday". Bethie grinned from ear to ear and said "Are we going to church today?". Damn. At that point, I knew I should have lied about the day of the week. I said (with mock sorrow) "No". Bethie was quite upset and demanded to know why I was dodging church.

I wasn't going because it was COLD outside. Because I had been up until 4am with Katie who was very ill. Because Katie was still sick and still sleeping. Because Dan got up at 4:30am to deal with Sarah and he had only just gone back to bed. Because we had skipped the baths the night before and if we went to church all 5 of us would have to bathe immediately. Because a week's worth of laundry, and cleaning, and groceries had to be taken care of and I was quickly running out of time. Because the Reverend had given us advance warning that his sermon was going to be extra long today. Because I HATE sitting in the church basement because the twins are too timid to go to Sunday school without parental supervision.

I didn't say any of this to Beth. Instead, I said "We're not going because the Reverend is throwing up". She accepted this and said that she would colour a picture today instead.

Friday, January 16

Sarah-burra!


Sarah got her vaccination today. I told them my sob story of not being able to get another doctor now that ours has retired, and then asked her to weigh and measure my babe. The results are as follows:
Weight: 18 lbs
Height: 26"
Sarah is in the 50th percentile for both height and weight. At this age, the twins were in the 10th percentile for height and the 90th percentile for weight (I'd like to again stress how handy it would have been for someone, anyone to mention that I was over-feeding them!).
Today's Parent has an "updated (when? I don't know) list" of the most popular baby names in Canada. Sarah was #3. To the parent of Trystan and Grayson who wishes to remain anonymous for fear that her highschool friends might track her down and try to be sociable, Trystan was #44 and Grayson made another site's "hot list" of unique names.

Thursday, January 15

Mac 'N' Crap

I made the recipe from the magazine for dinner tonight: Mac 'N' Cheeseburger Casserole. Well, it was almost the recipe. I didn't have ground beef, so I used ground pork (cheaper and yummy!). I didn't have stewed tomatoes in a can, so I used spaghetti sauce. I didn't have celery, so I just skipped it entirely. Other than that, I followed the recipe. I popped it in the oven and went to pick up the twins from Emilie's (daycare). As we were thinking about leaving, I said "Who's hungry?". Both girls jumped up and down and said "Me! Me!" and they looked towards Emilie for their next meal. I said "We're not having dinner at Emilie's house, I made dinner". Groans and cries followed. I swear, when I cook, I cook well. Anyway..... here's the dinner conversation:

Bethie: THIS IS YUCKY! (food fired across the table)
Me: You've never had it before. Try it.
Bethie: NO! I DON'T WANT TO EAT THIS YUCKY FOOD!
Me: You eat this all the time at Emilie's house. It's the same! (Yup, I lie to my kids all the time)
Bethie: I WANT GREEN EGGS!
Me: I'm NOT making another meal!

Dan was feeding the baby. Maybe he let his shoulders drop. Maybe he broke eye contact first. I didn't see it, but Katie did. She went in for the kill.

Katie: I want a peanut butter sandwich.

And we lost. Again.

P.S. It was a really yummy meal. Dan had seconds and is taking the leftover for lunch.

Dinner Time Rituals

Some people sit down to dinner and say Grace. Some people immediately say "Pass the salt". We have a special ritual. We all sit down to dinner, Sarah included, and the conversation is as follows:
Bethie: I DON'T LIKE THIS! (and fires her plate across the table)
Us: Just try it.
Bethie: BUT I DIDN'T SAY PORK!
Us: It's not pork.
Bethie: What is it?
Us: Chicken
Bethie: I DIDN'T SAY CHICKEN, I SAID HOT DOGS!
This is when Katie gets interested. She watches for any sign of weakness in me or Dan. Weakness is a sigh, or a glance between me and Dan, or some subtlety that only she's aware of. Once weakness is shown, Katie jumps on the bandwagon. It's all over at that point. Last night, we served a lovely turkey and the girls ate hot dogs. Tonight I am trying a new recipe from the Today's Parent magazine. Cross you fingers!

Wednesday, January 14

A Blast From The Past

Dan and I were looking through old videos. We discovered the twins could dance before they could walk! They were about 16 months old at the time. Funnily enough, it took another 3 months for them to discover that they had more leg below the knees.

NORAD...Our Version of It

Katie loves fluffs (cotton balls). She loves to tickle her toes and her belly and her nose with fluffs. She leaves them in her shirt for safe keeping (this is one way we tell them apart in photos...take another look at the post that has the picture of Our Wee Ballerinas). She also loves to rip the fluffs into little pieces and leave them throughout the house, specifically on the floor. Dan and I spend our days picking up tiny pieces of fluffs. We have threatened to withhold fluffs if they are left on the floor. Why? Sarah eats fluffs. She can find a fluff anywhere. That's her super-power. We have explained to the twins that if Sarah swallows a fluff she will get very ill and we will have to take her to the hospital. Katie then swears that she will never, ever, ever leave a fluffs within Sarah's reach. Yet, the problem with fluffs continue. That's why we are lucky to have our Early Warning Detection Satellite, which we affectionately call Bethie. The Early Warning Detection Satellite keeps a very close eye on Sarah at all times. When Sarah gets a fluff, the Early Warning Detection Satellite shouts "Sarah, no!". This is followed by several shouts of "Mummy, Mummy, Mummy". If we haven't stepped in by this point, the Early Warning Detection Satellite will physically run to us, drag us to Sarah while shouting "SARAH HAS A FLUFF!". This allows us to mobilize before any fluffs are swallowed.

Bedtime Stories



This is my new favourite book to read to the twins. It's super funny. It's about a little girl who has a messy room. The mother keeps telling her to clean it up, and Jillian promises to, but she keeps dreaming up fun things to do! The best part is that the little sister is desperate to keep up. As Jillian moves on to a new activity, the little sister plays with the hand-me-downs from the previous activity. Funny, funny, funny!

One Person's Sick Day is Another Person's Vacation Day

Tuesday at 2am was when I knew I was so sick that I would die. I waited an hour and then informed the Love of My Life that he would have to take the day of work because I had Norwalk. My Love looked at me and shouted "YOU PICKED A FINE DAY TO GET SICK! I can't take the day off work, there's no one to cover me". I pointed out that there was no one to cover me other than him. When Sarah woke up at 4am, I told Dan that he would have to take care of her. Dan again told me what a lousy day I had picked, there was no one to cover him, I was out of luck.... Then the violence of the Norwalk kicked in and I didn't hear anymore silliness from him. In fact, I have learned that Dan can be absolutely exceptional if there is proof of illness!

When the twins woke up, they were VERY pleased to see Dan. Then they toddled into my room looking for kisses from me. Dan went beserk. While scooping them both up he was shouting "DON'T GO NEAR MUMMY. SHE'S SICK!". The kids were crying and I shouted down to Dan that they didn't understand. The Love of My Life explained the situation as follows "Mummy has little buggies all over her body. If you touch her, the little buggies will go on you too!". My kids are envisioning spiders or other creepy crawlies on me, not invisible germs! Katie said "I don't want little buggies to get on me. That would be YUCKY".

Sunday, January 11

My Wee Ballerinas!

Katie (left) and Bethie are absolutely thrilled with their new ballerina outfits. The colour is off. The body suits are navy blue and the tights are white. They had to show us everything they learned at dance class. This didn't consist of much as they have only have one lesson!

Ballerinas

They Share Everything....


including my Iced Tea!!! That's Katie on the left and Bethie on the right.

WARNING:


Mum was right: their faces stuck like that!

Thursday, January 8

Better Late Than Never

This is a video of the twins coming downstairs Christmas morning. It also has excellent footage of my dishwasher (thank you, Dan!). Bethie is singing "Nu Nu" over and over again. One of her many nicknames for Sarah is "Nu Nu". Sarah is sitting on the floor by the tree. Sadly, no footage of her!

The "Feather Dance"

This video is an example of why we have tons of snapshots and very little videos.

Helloooooooooo Mummy!


Sarah - up from her nap and ready to go!

What's The Record????


This morning, the twins lay in their beds and cried for 18 minutes (I timed it). At first they moaned and carried on, then they shouted down a detailed list of everything that was wrong with me and specifically how I've failed them. Why did this happen? I had said "Good morning".
When they finally calmed down but were still in their beds, I called Dan at work to tell him how wonderfully my day was going. For a laugh (and to prove to Dan that they've lost their minds), I shouted up "I love you" and they went off again. It's too bad that they have such a rotten mother!
It took me 2.5 seconds to get Sarah's snowsuit on this morning. It took me 40 MINUTES to get the twins in their snowsuits. I should win a medal for endurance!

Three Of A Kind




The twins have accepted Sarah as one of their own.... actually, Sarah just pushes her way in!

Boxing Day Blow-Out!


This is a picture of the twins watching The Wiggles on Boxing Day at about 5pm. They went until the dropped. This amused Sarah to no end! She was desperate to climb all over them. Dan and I had to keep pulling her off!
Yes, I know they are still in their PJs. When they expressed concern, I told them that we were having a pajama party. This was acceptable to them.

Wednesday, January 7

My Babies







Sarah


Our Grubs


"An Act of God"


God huffed and He puffed and He blew our roof off. That's what both the builder and the insurance company said.
Half way through temporarily fixing our roof, "the guy" remembered to take the picture. Doesn't look like much but it was quite a lot!

Christmas Morning


Bethie (left), Sarah, Katie
This was taken Christmas morning before any presents were unwrapped.

Christmas Eve


Santa came at 2am this year (he gets later and later). He was lucky because he got to sleep all of Christmas Day. I had to get up at 5am with Sarah. Dan and the twins got up at 7am. We were tired.
Hopefully, Santa will come at a more reasonable hour next year!

Christmas Cherubs