Day 4

30 Days of Me ------- DAY 4: You Parents

Oh where to begin?

My parents are, for lack of a better word, interesting :o)

They were married. Then Divorced. And then remarried to EACH OTHER....yep they are weirdos.

Mom....mom is a little bit....ummm eccentric???
She gets excited about the simplest little things (like a cute toy for a grand baby)
She favours Devin (just ask Julie :o))
Lauryn calls her Grandpa...and that makes me giggle....
Her name is NOT DAVE (me wondering if she will even remember this)

In my 26 years I have loved and hated her sometimes all in the same day!
I do not like to admit it but she has taught me a lot GAG :o)
She has raised 4 children (and it's not her fault 3 of them turned out far less awesome then me :o) JK she has 4 amazing girls!)
Anyone who can survive the teenage years with 4 daughters must be an amazing woman right? BC I am not sure my daughter will survive to see the terrific three's with me hahaha!!!

One of the traits that I envy in her is her ability to not care at all what others think of her :o) She is comfortable in her own skin and at Lonestar Steak House :o) As a matter of fact my whole family is pretty comfy there :o)

She will read this and understand that there are half a dozen inside jokes above :o) And I hope she laughs out loud.

Dad...
So much to say about that old guy!
My kids think he is Santa Claus bc his face hair is white HAHA!
Lauryn and AJ walk around pretending to walk with canes and loudly declare "I GRANDPA!" This makes me giggle!!!!

He is the only person that can call me fat and not hurt my feeling or cause me to fast for like half a day :o)
I look just like him (so there it is...it's not my fault; I have his genes)

When in doubt I can always call DAD....and while he never lets you live a favor down I still don't mind asking!

His name is Bill and I joke that his daughters are all WAY PAST DUE :o) He would spare no expense to make sure his TEN grandchildren had all they needed!

He is a workaholic and seems to not understand the meaning of no! he is as unemotional as I am, even worse, so I blame him for my lack of affection towards anyone but my kids and husband!

I have difficulty taking this post serious bc my parents and I laugh and joke together....we don't shop, and bake, and "bond" together we just enjoy each other and have fun!!!!

They raised me and I think they did a good job! I love them both to death! I would be lost without them!!!

Day 3

30 Days of Me--- Day 3: My first Love

I am going to go cliche on you for this post (well for the 3 of you who actually read this thing :o))

December 14th 1984 I met my first love. This is a meeting I have absolutely no memory of, but I sure must have made a good impression because he kept me around.

This is the same first love most girls have.

My first love was the man who protected me from monsters in the closet and let me put hair baretts into his hair.

He is the same man the walked me down the aisle on October 8, 2005 and gave me away to another man. The man that would, in theory, replace him.

The man who is now Peep-pop to my kids.

The man who I know I can call if ever there a problem!
The man who just can't say no to any of his kids.
The man I speak of is..

My Daddy

Day 2

30 Days of Me----Day 2: Meaning behind your blog name


Easy enough....

"The Sandor Six"

Not much explanation need in this department....

Andrew
Lauryn
Ava
Alyvia
Eric & Myself

The 5 most important people in my life plus myself :o)

DAY 1

Day 1 - Introduce yourself, recent picture, 15 interesting facts.

I am Melissa! Most commonly known as mommy :o) I am weeks away from 26 and was born December 14, 1984! I am happily married with 4 children. I am a toddler teacher full time, a full time mommy,a full time wife and a full time accounting student. Sometimes I wish there were a few extra Me's :o)

(I have no recent real photos of just me so this will have to do from Andrew's Birthday Party last week)

Interesting Facts??? Well I am a rather boring person. Opinionated but boring so here I stand High on My Soap Box as I use this post to let you know about me :o)

1. A few co-workers pick on me because I refuse to wear socks that do not match my work shirt. If my shirt is green so are the socks. If the shirt is red "ditto" If I do not have socks to match my shirt then they match my undershirt. On "clash day" for LL spirit week I wore pink socks with a green shirt but still refused to actually "clash" If I do not match it is purely unintentional.....I have a major sock issue LOL

2. I LOVE to bake, yet I eat VERY FEW things that I actually prepare. People routinely ask me how I have time to cook or bake etc...my response is that I WILL bake before 9am and after 11pm if those are the only times I have to bake. I get ridiculous satisfaction from other people enjoying what I make. One of the few things I KNOW I do well and it makes me happy.

3. I believe candy is part of the food pyramid. Specifically candies like Now & Laters, Laffy Taffy, Jolly Ranchers etc etc...

4. I have had braces for 1.5 yrs now and after I eat I still talk to people with my hand in front of my mouth because of my paranoia that there is food in my teeth.

5. I LOVE my husband and appreciate everything that he does for me and my family, from wash dishes, to cooking dinner, giving baths, working OT etc.. I am sad when he is not home and thrilled when he arrives home...I love cuddling on the couch with him and just being in the same room as him! However you wont see me giving him a shiny medal each time he does these things because I believe that as a Father and Husband he should take pride in his family and do these things without hesitation. Call me a feminist if you want or a B*tch BUT I don't get a shiny star each time I cook my family dinner, or bathe the kids, or work 40+ hrs per week why should he? I show my love and appreciation to him and he knows he is loved and he knows I would be lost without him. We live with this knowledge of each other and he is satisfied with this and that makes him a happy man.

6. I cannot stand Lauryn's hair. Every time I see a little girl at the daycare with dirty un brushed hair I get MAD. Mad that I got the hot mess of Lauryn's curly Afro while mom's who don't even run a comb their kids hair get a beautiful head of hair! Makes me jealous.....I do however Love Lauryn despite the cranial hair flaws.

7. I have twins. No they were not conceived with fertility drugs. I do not know if they are identical, yes they were premature, no they did not go to the NICU, they are both girls, yes they are small, I really don't know if twins run in our family, YES I have my hands full, etc etc (that's really not that interesting but strangers like to know :o))

8. 4 years ago at Andrew's baby shower a relative wrote on her "advice card (actually it was an "advice diaper" but that's neither here nor there) "Stop at 1. Anymore is too many" Yeah total B :o) I sure showed her didn't I. (yeah I never graduated middle school LOL)

9. I enjoy cleaning. LIKE A LOT. Cleaning puts me in such a good mood. If someone makes me angry I usually do something drastic like cleaning the cupboards, pantry, closets etc. When I a "bored" I clean. If I can take a nap I clean instead. I believe it is a control issue. I LOVE the smell of clean, the feeling of clean....the word clean. Don't believe me? Ask Eric :o)

10. I pretty much don't ever think about how what I am doing effects the environment. Not that I don't "care" but it's never really a thought. I'm not a bad person for that it's just me. No, I am not a big fan of gas guzzling SUVS and such but my light bulbs are cheap and my electric bill not as much. I don't recycle and I have no better excuse for this than I just don't do it. Yeah it makes me a little selfish but 95% of the time I am selfless for my family so it evens out ;o)

11. I have never breastfed. I have 4 children and I formula fed all 4. I do not actually believe in the saying "breast is best" because it is far tooo generalized. Most nutritious in my book isn't necessarily "best" Without too much over explanation....this is my opinion....BF was not for me and NOT A DAY has ever passed where I regret my decision. All 4 of my kids are happy, healthy, growing, hitting ALL milestones, some early some not, throwing tantrums, telling me NO, hitting, changing their eating habits daily, occasionally getting a cold, etc etc...you know all the NORMAL things even the BF kids do. AJ and Lauryn were both Similac babies and they are polar opposites SO....I refuse to argue that formula wasn't "best" for my family :o) I think the only way to make the "breast is best" a fact is by making it personal about your families choices. BC by saying that as a formula feeding mommy I CHOSE not to give my child what I felt was best just angers me :o)

12. I love to make lists. I make lists for everything!!! EVERYTHING!!!

13. I am the kind of Mom to twins that LOVES MATCHING. I have to have their bottles match as well. When I picked the babies up from daycare yesterday they had been given 2 different colored bottle and that literately made my blood pressure rise....though this may somehow fit into the OCD statement above???

14. My best friend is OCD. I love this trait about her! Most of my friends are OCD. Do we see a pattern? My blog however has proven to the world how CRAZY I really am.

15. I have a serious problem with my weight. By problem I mean I think I am fat when I am in fact not that fat, a little chunky maybe? but not fat. I have no self control so there are no concerns about an eating disorder LOL BUT regardless I weigh myself each and EVERY time I go into the bathroom and make several other trip into the bathroom just to weigh myself...DAILY...I have had 4 kids in 4 years weigh 120 lbs can wear a size 2 skirt and size 4/5 jeans and YET I feel like a fatty daily....:o(

30 Days of Me!

*I have copied this from a good friend's blog! :o)

Are you paying attention? I've decided to close out 2010 with this 30 days of me do whacka do.

Day 1 - Introduce yourself, recent picture, 15 interesting facts.
Day 2 - Meaning behind your blog name.
Day 3 - Your first love.
Day 4 - Your parents.
Day 5 - Your favorite recipe.
Day 6 - A picture of something that makes you happy.
Day 7 - Favorite movies.
Day 8 - A place you've traveled to.
Day 9 - A picture of your friends.
Day 10 - Something you're afraid of.
Day 11 - Favorite tv shows.
Day 12 - What you believe.
Day 13 - Goals.
Day 14 - A picture you love.
Day 15 - Bible verse.
Day 16 - Dream house.
Day 17 - Something you're looking forward to.
Day 18 - Something you regret.
Day 19 - Something you miss.
Day 20 - Nicknames.
Day 21 - Picture of yourself.
Day 22 - What's in your makeup bag.
Day 23 - Favorite vacation
Day 24 - Something you've learned.
Day 25 - Put your iPod on shuffle, first 10 songs.
Day 26 - Picture of your family.
Day 27 - Pets.
Day 28 - Something that stresses you out.
Day 29 - 3 Wishes.
Day 30 - Any picture.

Ready... set... go

"You're Gonna Miss This

"...You're gonna want this back. You're gonna wish these days, hadn't gone by so fast"



Isn't this the truth.

As moms we all say that we want our babies to slow down as they hit each milestone, yet at the same time we anxiously wait for the next milestone. Once they crawl we "can't wait" until they walk and etc.

While buying diapers and toilet paper tonight I stopped and looked at Bat shaped Halloween place-mats. I took two from the rack one for AJ and one for Lauryn. I knew how excited they would be in the morning to see the new place-mats. BUT as quickly as I picked them up I put them back thinking why waste the $2 on place-mats since October is more than half over. While I was paying two older children were in line behind me buying a whoopie cushion and make-up. Fighting with each other and spending their own money. It made me think about how simple life is with our children right now. A $1 place-mat can make my kid's entire month. An airplane in the sky get them more excited than payday does for me LOL. 1 single M&M lights up their eyes...and a hug from mommy can still make everything all better. When I walk in the door after work I get 2 kids yelling "MY MOMMY'S HOME!!!" Then the "NO it's my mommy" fight ensues which I secretly LOVE :o)

I really have a hard time looking to the older years. While new milestones lie ahead and new special moments will pave the road. I want to hang onto these moments for as long as I cant because who knows how much longer I have with my "babies" before they become big kids? I don't mind diapers, teething, and runny noses. I really don't. I'm not ready to deal with "real" make-up and boyfriends/girlfriends....etc

Needless to say, my kids now have 2 shiny Bat Place-mats :o)

I Just want my boy to want mommy's kisses forever:o)

Ants on a Log

I am on a mission.

A mission to teach my children that crackers, chips, cookies, etc aren't the only kinds of snacks that exist.

While I admit I eat TERRIBLY I hope to teach my kids better. MOST of you agree the schools aren't exactly a good source for nutrition education. Even Daycare. As a teacher it certainly makes my like easier having processed crackers and cookie type snacks in the class every afternoon. As a mother it leaves me wincing as the kids eat the sugar and sodium filled "tasty" processed snacks. The kids love it, however and its far more "cost effective" in a group childcare setting.

Here at home we like our yogurts, cheeses, apples, crackers etc etc.... We are slowly working with Lauryn to develop a taste for the "good stuff" she recently discovered she like apples. But those veggies are still tricky.

THAT'S THE KEY TRICKY.

Lets make the good stuff fun :o) And that's what we did today! And Lauryn successfully ate Fresh Celery without having it spit straight out onto the table :o)

(note: we washed the celery first but chose to cut it at the end in order to make it easier for little fingers.)

That kinda night.

Lost.

My husband got home from work tonight expecting the usual. Well put together, bubbly wife, the kids in bed, the house clean....etc.

Tonight he got housework in progress, upset wife and kids in bed. He came to the playroom to find me working on putting toys away. I begrudgingly stated "I bet you expected this housework to be done when you got home." He said "Actually I did" Of course he did. Not that he expects me to have it done for him but just because its what I normally do.....

He then said he was disappointed that I was soo upset. Sadly I am too. I am disappointed that I don't think i can do this!

I have taken on far more than one person should have to handle. Today was the first day that I truly felt like it IS possible that my plate is too full. I am at the buffet and that last plate has given me a bad tummy ache. (so to speak)

Today was bad. Not like "ugh I can't wait for bedtime bad" but like "OMG I have become a horrible mother and wife" bad.

You cannot understand what I am feeling tonight. I can't even explain it. I have been overwhelmed in the past SURE, haven't we all? But I am happy with life; satisfied for sure! I REALLY AM...I look around me and think "amazing" TRULY.

But tonight I am struggling. I hated myself at the end of the day. My kids loved me. The love between a mother and her young children is unconditional. If my patience is low my kids still love me and if the kids scream and fight all day I still love them. Thats one of the best parts of being a parent.

Tonight I feel thankful for my child's unconditional love. As I sat at the end of Andrew's bed in tears repeating how sorry I was for being a "mean mommy today" AJ laid their playing with my hair and wiping my face, the whole time with a big smile. All he had to say was "I love you mommy. You sad mommy? I loves you mommy."

Once all the kids were asleep peacefully I started working on my schoolwork. Same as I do every night. But tonight I cannot concentrate. As I sit hear and type through tear-blurred eyes I feel like I have no one who I can talk to...Eric has a "simple" solution that isn't an option....

and NOW it wouldn't be a fitting end to my night if 5 minutes ago poor Lauryn didn't wake screaming and covered in vomit (which hasnt ceased) would it?

I love my life! BUT TONIGHT LIFE IS KINDA CRAPPY!!!

Wednesday September 16, 2009

These cards became more common to me than my own debit card or drivers license

"....did they discuss your ultrasound with you when you had pneumonia?.....Well, they saw 2 babies"

"WHAT?"

A question and sentence I will not soon forget. Exactly 12 months ago I was exactly 10 weeks pregnant and this day I found out just how drastically our surprise pregnancy was going to change our lives.

Amazing roller coaster this past 12 months have been. TEARS, SMILES, EXCITEMENT, SHOCK, THANKFULNESS, BLESSED, LUCKY, FEAR....name an emotion and I have been through it.

I had never been more shocked, and scared of the unknown as I was that night.

As I type this I look at Ava & Alyvia in awe. In awe that they are mine. They are healthy and happy and that they are HERE.

1 year seems like such a short period of time. This night 1 year ago I was looking at a computer screen and watching an ultrasound girl label a fetus A and a fetus B. Now I look at 2 perfect 6 month olds.

Life is beautiful. God is good. I am blessed. So thankful for all 4 of my kids and all of my family.

(Please Excuse the naked 2 year old we were trying to get ready for bed...and don't make fun of her spider undies...she picked em' and was excited about them.)

Chores

AJ is now almost 4 years old. He is starting to understand a lot more about the way our house works. He LOVES to help me do chores around the house. Both the older 2 have always been responsible for helping me pick their toys up in the playroom and in their bedroom, but we have decided it is time to let Andrew have "real jobs" instead of just gettign to "help mommy"

We are starting out easy. He has become responsible for setting the breakfast table every night. You would have thought we gave him the coolest gift EVER. He feels so stinking special that he gets to do a Big Boy job. I love that he loves it so much that the fact that not everything matches every night doesnt bother me nearly as much as it used to.

He gets to place a sticker on his "chore chart" every night when he finishes his job! While he has absolutely no understanding of money we are working on the understanding rewarding his hard work and working for the things you want :o) when his sticker chart is "full" he will receive a small 'gift' a concept similar to the treasure box at school.

I admit he has no clue of the concept that he must fill this sticker chart and get a reward but it doesnt matter as he is fully satisfied with just getting to place a sticker on his chart. 3 years olds are so simple sometimes :o)

He feels like such a big helper. I wish I could freeze time somedays. This simple excitement over his "chores" will NOT last as he ages.

The first morning after he set the table he was very proud of his work :o)

**On an unrelated note...it is possible to have a family meal even with a baby LOL... well family minus the mommy who spend her time catering the food :o)**

A New Look!

Thanks to the talented Mallory R. (I'd link you to her blog but don't know how yet :o) )

Miss Mallory took some time this past weekend to customize my blog.
It looks GREAT!

Now I plan on spending the coming weeks learning A LOT about blogging and such. Like how to link directly to a fellow blogger's site and any other sites for that matter.

Maybe I'll learn how to make a button? Learn some more HTML? Anything that'll possibly make my blog look cuter :o)

Danielle, Mallory, Lindsay..etc? I am open to LOTS of suggestions :o)

THANKS SO MUCH AGAIN MALLORY :o) It looks adorable!

Father

"When a child is born, a father is born. A mother is born, too of course, but at least for her it's a gradual process. Body and soul, she has nine months to get used to what's happening. She becomes what's happening. But for even the best-prepared father, it happens all at once. On the other side of a plate-glass window, a nurse is holding up something roughly the size of a loaf of bread for him to see for the first time.



For a man who had NEVER in his life changed a diaper before Andrew was born he is doing AMAZING!

I do not say it enough but THANK YOU ERIC :o)

Blessed indeed is the man who hears many gentle voices call him father!

We ARE still around!!

Gonna try a quick update on us all!

Our baby girls are growing at a ridiculous pace! We are now 5 months old!!
I think I can feel confident in saying we are catching right up :o)
At their 5 month "sick visit" Ava was 11lbs (nearly) and Lyv was 12lbs (nearly) so GROWING :o)

We sit unassisted
We eat all solid food (minus meats)
We hold our own bottles
We use our arms to pull ourselves forward (scary to think crawling may be just beyond the horizen EEK)
When assisted they enjoy standing and being "walked"
We are slowly starting to "fit into" a few 3-6 mo outfits...but for the most part we are 0-3 still :o)
SOO much awesomeness....but don't want to bore you :o)
These girls are pretty darn awesome!!!





Lauryn is also doing extremely well!
She has a new favorite saying...
"This is ridiculous!!" Was soooo funny the FIRST time but not so much when its her most common responce when life doesnt go her way :o) It get's old FAST hearing things such as "Eric, this is 'ridicalis'" YES...Lauryn has begun thinking that Eric is an appropriate way to address her daddy....
She also likes to tell her friends at school when their behavior is "unacceptable" followed by a "OH MY 'GOSS'" She pretty much forgets she is 2 most days!

She knows her colors
Knows square, triangle, diamond, rectangle, circle, star, heart consistently and we are working on crescent and octagon :o)
Counts to 20 (occasionally skipping the number 7 or 8.. )
She talks like she is 30 yet sounds so sweet as she can be so soft spoken
Potty is amazing :o) SHE LOVES the potty...(especially the one at school)
Speaking of...SHE LOVES "school" she gets excited to be with her friends and play on the playground...


Andrew is Andrew :o) Gosh I love that little guy! He is doing well with his speech. In therapy he is working sooo hard. He has only been there for 6 weeks now BUT talking to him there is CERTAINLY an improvement. He has a lot of work to do but progress is being made. HE LOVES Speech and gets so excited to go. Hopefully in time his attention span lengthens and he gets even more progress.

Potty is pretty great with him as well. Speech helps him as now he expresses his need to go instead of us constantly asking (please don't respond with a story about your awesome kids and their awesome pottying...Andrew is trying his hardest and he DOES NOT need compared to other kids he already gets enough of that)

He likes school, but is still very clingy...a huge mommas boy and needs a bit longer to adjust. He refuses to eat daycare food however so I annoy his teachers by packing his lunches for him and sometimes all he eat the entire time is yogurt and watermelon(Don't judge...until you have to be at work for 11 hours and watch your child refuse to eat the whole time you can't understand the position I am put in)

He is going to be 4 in 3 months...HOW CRAZY IS THAT!
We are currently working on getting him into the preschool program at Lake Cable in order to help his language issues as well.





ME? Well lets just say I am busy.
Fall semester started last week. YES I am going...YES I do have 14 credit hours & YES I do want to make Deans List AGAIN! It will be a difficult semester and I will be okay if I don't make all A's BUT I am HOPING!

Work...OY well my average "work day" has been 10 hours m-f (with a lunch break of course) Yesterday my work day was 8a-630p...This makes for a FAST AND BUSY week!
I am tired, I miss the time with my family, BUT I AM HAPPY...maybe a bit overwhelmed...well truthfully I am DEF a bit overwhelmed but every work day I DO get to spend a lot of time with my kids...Lauryn is in my room...I spend my breaks with the twins, and AJ and I have our evening and Wednesday afternoons (I can't visit him in he Pre-K room BC it upsets him)

Things will calm...WILL become more regular...we have a nice family day coming up and I think I will appreciate it MORE THAN EVER.

I LOVE my life. I LOVE my family! I LOVE my KIDS! EVERYTHING I do is for my family :o) I have no regrets and no resentment toward anyone or anything (except our economy) for my busy life :o)

I am young...my family is thriving and we are happy :P

Whatever Wednesdays-The Furthest I've Ever Traveled.

5 years ago, On October 8th I said "I do" to my Best Friend.

2 days later we were on a plane, both of us for the first time ever.

Somewhere around 18 hrs later, with a few stops on the way we landed in Maui, Hawaii.

This is where Eric and I spent the next 7 days of our new marriage.
We were not only thousands of miles away from home, we were an ocean away from all of the weeding drama.

WHAT BLISS! 7 days of 80 degree Hawaiian sun and weather.... one afternoon shower and a GORGEOUS rainbow to follow! We spent 6 mornings walking the beach outside our condo as the sun rose, and repeating as the sun set. Going to a real Hawaiian Luau, shopping, A LOT of site seeing BEAUTIFUL mountains, ocean centers etc etc

While most of our time was spent on the beach we really enjoyed a lot of what Maui is :o)

I cannot wait for the day where I go back :o)

**I am at my laptop so my Hawaii photos are not accessible but they are GORGEOUS :o)

Something I love...Something I don't

I LOVE that when I got home from work this evening the cutest almost 4 year old in the world jumped up on my lap, grabbed both sides of my hair and said "Mommy, you beautiful!!" followed by a big hug.




I don't like that when the hug ended the same Adorable child jumped off my lap while still holding onto my hair.

Times Change...& FAST

I am working on a post...
kind of...
I'm not sure what I want to write.
I have a lot to say but not sure how much I want to share with the world.

SO FOR NOW:

~I am back to work!
~I love my kids more than anything.
~My husband is the worlds best father!
~I am one lucky lady to have the 5 of them!

I am just really busy & have A lot going on.
Thinking Facebook will be a MUCH MORE INFREQUENT hobby of mine...
Will still try to blog regularly (I will more once I'm online for school every night)

Adjustments all around. We will get there :o)

A Smile is as Good as a Laugh!

If you you have double the smiles :o )

I've been longing for the sound of baby giggles. Getting jealous when other moms talked about their babies giggling! Wondering if my girls would ever giggle HAHA. Then I was reminded that they girls are only 4.5 months old! Just because the books say they should giggle doesnt mean they should :o)

So, I remind myself that the girls are happy an healthy and when this is what I see ALL DAY I KNOW that the smiles are just as good as the laugh :o)

Especially when there are twice as many!!!

My Special Boy!

AJ's Speech/Language Evaluation Results were not what I Expected.

I'm feeling really down about it.

Being a mom is hard!

Eat baby Eat!

Since day 1 Eric and I have kept logs of everything we do for the girls. Every feed, every change, every bath, every time we give medicine etc. We thought with our busy lives it would be extremely helpful. This way if I am busy when Eric gets home and a baby starts crying he doesn't have to ask me when they last ate etc. he can just grab the notebook and look it up. SOOO GLAD WE HAVE DONE THIS! Has become second nature....At night I label the following days page and we start the days over at 12am...so each page is midnight to midnight.

This is Ava's first entry today


I post this just to take note of her bottle at 9:00am!

6oz!!! IN ONE SITTING. My baby Ava, who eats like a bird, took a FULL 6oz bottle!

(Alyvia's chart would show the she only took the normal 4oz; Ava out-ate her sister!!)

EAT BABY EAT!!!

Fun Times with the Big Kids!

The other Night The kids and I put our PJ's on at 6. Cleaned all of the toys and got the wooden blocks and "my first barrel of monkeys" out.

Lauryn would connect her monkeys, count them and exclaim "I DID IT"

AJ Built me a Train Track!

We practiced our colors...& Lauryn was FLAWLESS at this game. My clever gal

"AJ find me the green one"

&

nothing was better then seeing AJ hug Lauryn to show his excitement for her!!!

She LOVED it!

Pretty Perfect Evening!!

FOOD!

Today We had Carrots!!

Ava was ready to for her lunch!
Until She got a taste of what she was having!

After 10 minutes, she decided Carrots were in fact yummy.

Lyv, never hesitated to enjoy her lunch!
&
apparently I do NOT feed at the proper speed because she started to help!

My babies aren't such Infants anymore!
Is it weird that I think feeding the girls solids is like the most fun of my day! Also I get excited picking their food out! :o)

Evenings like this make me excited to watch the girls grow!
They will have a bond that I could never imagine.
A bond that I will forever ENVY.

Which one am I?

When I got pregnant with the twins I wondered if they were identical. (We do not know since they did have separate sacs, but its possible if the egg split at the right time; like 25% possibility) I STILL wonder if they are identical. Eric and I will sit and study their features and try to guess. I still do not know, they look A LOT alike, their feature are so similar Ava's are just smaller. Most people guess that they are identical and I will probably test to find out but for now it's fun not knowing.

It has kind of turned into a game around here.

Let's Play!

WHO IS THIS?

TODAY

I will Hug my children a little bit longer
Say I love you a few extra times.
Not get so frustrated when they act mischevious.
Be grateful they are here with me and able to act mischevious.
&
No longer take for granted what I have been blessed with!

Thanks to a friend I have been following a precious little girl's Caring Bridge Site. This sweet baby girl was born with CHD on July 7th (I believe) I just read the most recent updates. My heart hurts for all of the families who have to go through this with their own and even more for the innocent babies and children.

I have NEVER had to wonder when my baby might be extubated, whether my baby would live through the night, I have NEVER had to watch my baby have an OHS or even worse Pass Away.

My biggest struggle right now is getting a baby to take more than 4 oz per feed! At lunch time today I will just be thankful that I am feeding them in my arms, on my couch, and in our home!!!
I do not even care if Ava takes just 2oz!

Please say just a little extra prayer, or send a few extra thoughts to all of the sick babies or the world!!!

Miss Melissa

Has a nice ring to it?

I have officially accepted a Part Time Position.

I must be Crazy?

Sometimes...

It's not a spoken word that says the most!

18-20 hours in most days you will find Lyv in this position!

If only I could have 5 hours of that kind of REAL relaxation!

The Biggest Milestone!

...has nothing to do with rolling, cooing, walking, or crawling...

Today the Twins are 4 months old!
Today I cried. Today the girls cried. And then we cried together.
We were happy, we were sad and we were in pain.
We woke up, had breakfast and the girls and I talked.
Then the tears.
It wasn't a month ago that they couldn't even coo...now it is like having a conversation at times.

We saw the Pediatrician today.
Then the tears.
Alyvia gets on the scales and the nurse announces 10lb8oz. I could do a happy dance!
Then Ava gets on the scale. Nurse announces 9lbs15oz.
Tears.
For a moment I felt like a complete failure.

Then Dr. S examined both girls.
Skipping the lecture about the growth curve....
I have 2 healthy babies!

Then the Vaccines came.
Then more tears came.
I had to sit and help hold my poor little girl still while those mean nurses inflicted pain. I had to look into those sweet eyes, the same eyes that just minutes before were sparkling with excitement because I was making silly noises were now wide and full of fear, and then full of tears and pain. The eyes that were desperately calling for me, desperately asking me "Why mommy? Why are you letting this lady hurt me" The eyes that make me feel like the worst mom on the planet. Then it's over and I can hold her and make it all better. Seconds later & back to reality I realize I still have to hit the rewind button and do it all over again!
Then the tears.

I HATE Vaccines!

We leave the office. Get to the car.
Then the tears.
Why? Because for the first time in a year. I had an uneventful doctor appointment. I had no prescriptions in hand. I had no hospital orders in hand. I had no specialist appointments to schedule. I was about to take my 4 month old twins home to spend a regular day dealing with nothing more than the normal vaccine fever and reactions. No EEG, NO Echos, No Kidney scans, No blood draws. NOTHING

That to me is the BIGGEST and most rewarding milestone of my girls' lives

Out of the Mouth of Babes~

Will update on AJ's Speech Eval and Sandor Boot Camp tomorrow... I just wanted to share with you the conversation/interaction Andrew and I had in the VERY BUSY and CROWDED waiting room for his Speech Evaluation.

Andrew: (poking my belly) "Mommy, that your belly?"
Me: "yep, that's mommy's jiggly belly"
Andrew" (poking north of my belly) "Mommy that your boobies?"
Me: (trying to ignore his question) "AJ where is your knee?"
Andrew: "I DONT WANT MY KNEE"...(poking again)
Me: "NO AJ" "AJ can you touch your elbow for me"
Andrew: (very loudly scolding me) "NO MOMMY I DONT WANNA TOUCH MY ELBOW, I WANNA TOUCH BOOBIE!!!"

I cannot tell you how many people looked at us BC I was too embarrased to look...

This boy is working his way into never going out with me in public again :o)

DAY 1

Eric and I discussed about a week ago that our house was about to become "Sandor Boot Camp"

We were going to get all kids over the age of 4 months (LOL) Fully Day and Night potty trained.

We were going to get all kids at this address eating well!!

We were going to implement a discipline routine that worked on the kids rather than bribes and begging LOL

We KNEW in order to do this we had to be on the SAME PAGE as parents. What I say goes even when I AM NOT home.

Today was day 1. Our primary focus today was Lauryn and the potty. Through our experience with AJ that is at many times ongoing...we had a plan..

NO DAYTIME PULL-UPS unless we are leaving the house. These just confuse the kid and end up equivalent to even more expensive diapers.

We got up about 9am today and Lauryn went straight from her overnight diaper to her Dora panties (she chose them) Not 5 minutes later she was singing about going "pee on the potty" She spent about 1/2 of the day naked bc the girl thinks that in order to use the potty she must take everything 100% off. Hey you won't get a complaint from me if she's using the potty and not the carpet. We learned today that Miss THANG is fully capable of taking her panties OFF and putting the back ON when finished with NO PARENTAL assistance...This I was unaware of and the NEVER were on backwards...pretty impressive if you ask me! We also learned that she can open the bathroom door, open the toilet lid, place her Dora seat onto the potty, move the foot stool to the potty and climb on, do what she needs and get the toilet paper without assistance as well. SHOCKED!!! Then she can get down from the potty no issue!

The girl peed in her undies ONE time the entire day.

SHOCK is the only way I can describe my thoughts!!

Neither child napped today so at 6:44 when they asked for night night we weren't gonna turn them down! We put a diaper on Lauryn for overnight. 1.5hr later she woke up with a dry diaper asking to go to "pee on the potty" SCORE

MAYBE just MAYBE this will be a shorter and easier road than AJ's Potty Training Road!! BOY its amazing the difference in 2 kids!!!

Now that I sit and reflect on the day...I think Eric and I have been holding Lauryn back, unintentionally. She has hated diapers for a good time now, and OY the diaper fiasco's at bed time...maybe this was her way of saying lets do this FOR REAL mom...I totally think she should and could have been diaper free months ago!!!

And the Toddle Potty NO WAY she wants the real one!!

I am hoping things keep going well!!! They say when a kids is ready they are easy to train...lets hope this is the case because I am Optimistic!!!

Tomorrow we are throwing in the FOOD training dun dun dun...I will have a boy who eats more than chicken nuggets and a girl who will eat fruit that isn't watermelon and veggies that aren't potatoes!!!

Wish us Luck!!!

Ladies and Gentlemen it is NOT the same!

well, I had a fairly long winded post but I opted to delete and attempt a more generalized post.

I could totally handle having Octuplets! SERIOUSLY! I worked in a daycare and 5 days a week I took care of 8 2yr olds 8 hours per day. IT was way easier than you think. I could totally handle it!!!

Seem like a ludicrous assumption?? Yes, I think so too! I would SO TOTALLY go crazy if I had 8 2 yr olds :o)

Same goes:

If you have a 2 year old and NB and are temporarily babysitting another 2 year old IT IS NOT THE SAME as having 3 kids.

If you have a 2 yr old and infant and are babysitting a 2 yr old and 4yr old IT IS NOT THE SAME as having 4 kids.

If you have a 4 yr old an 1 yr old and your 4 year old is "hyperactive" IT IS NOT the equivalent to having 3 kids!

If when you were a kid you had 4 younger brothers and sisters its NOT THE SAME as having 4 kids of your own!

OR

When Julie or Steph bring their 2 kids over to my house and things go pretty smooth. I do not for a minute the "oh adding to is easier than adding to 2" How would I know?

Next time you think about saying this STOP. Consider what it is you are saying. THINK about EVERYTHING you do EVERYDAY for the children you have. INCLUDING the sleeping hours. Don't think just physical. Think emotional and mental. Think about how much you worry? Think about how much you love! Think about how much laundry you have LOL

Make a list of EVERYTHING you do for your existing children. When it is complete you probably look at it in amazement that you even have time to breathe some days! Even when it is just 1 child.

Take that list and multiply it by the number of children you have... THAT'S A LOT of work! NOW imagine the scenario that one of the children get the flu. In a house with multiple children its likely that EVERYONE will now get the flu. SO now you have say 4 kids puking and pooping everywhere that still need fed and changed and loved and taken care of. They all need medicine and doctor visits and constant care. Now mom adds a boatload of worry to her list (is he dehydrated, is he losing too much weight, should we go to the doctor, etc etc)

As a parent of 1, 2, or 3 its a tiring job...

BUT as a parent of 4 I cannot be the only person who takes offense when someone with 1 or 2 kids mention how easy it would be to add on to the family.

I have 4 kids and "easy" is not a way I describe my life. Rewarding is a way I describe my life but NOT easy (then again when I only had AJ it wasn't easy then either) and for someone to assume after 1 afternoon with 3 or 4 kids that it would be easy is offensive! AND NO It's NOT just because I have 2 infants. I am sure parents of multiples can't be the only people who feel this way!

BUT I DO CARE!

When I got pregnant with Twins everybody and their brother's aunts had advice for me.

"Get them onto the same schedule RIGHT AWAY"
"Don't buy two of everything , you wont need it."
"Use just one Crib"
"Don't use matching names"
"Have a Csection it's safer"

and the list goes on....

I listened to a lot of what folks said and I do think we have been blessed. Ava and Lyv are on the same eating and sleeping schedule (although some days one might nap more than the other) but since they eat at the same time, play at the same time, bathe at the same timeish, etc they usually fall asleep around the same time. It makes our lives VERY livable because it means there are moments everyday where I have time without any babies needing anything from me!! This gives me time for school work, housework, time to enjoy with the older 2, and time with just Eric (This is of course unless as Murphy's Law goes...I need them to sleep..then they are typical lets defy our mommy boogers LOL)

We have actually bought 2 of a lot of things! I LOVE the whole twin thing. 2 of many outfits (not always the same color) 2 swings, 2 bouncers, 2 sets of bottles, 2 sets of bibs etc etc and I have found this to be very useful!

etc etc etc....I could go on and on about what we have done as our way to raise our twins but it's not necessary LOL....We have taken the advice that we wanted and discarded the rest. We do what WE need to do in order to make our family run as smoothly as possible. I must say for a family of 6 with FOUR kids 3 yrs old and younger I think we have a pretty darn good system down and for anyone who doubted us (MIL) We have once again proved you wrong. We DID in fact know EXACTLY what we had gotten "ourselves into" and WE WERE and ARE in fact able to handle things pretty awesome! SO NEXT time just keep your judgements and opinions to yourself. mk THANKS :o)

Back from my tangent:

BUT there was one thing that we heard OVER AND OVER AND OVER and several times it came from folks with multiples...

"It's a lot of work, especially with already having 2 so young, but you are going to be surprised at how you will no longer CARE how messy your house gets"

BUT I DO CARE!

Not a day can go buy where I do NOT dwell on how clean something might be. I will stay up til 3am to make it clean when I need to. When everyone is asleep and I have no school work I will NOT just sit down, I always am able to find something to clean. My kids make messes and I am not able to sit at nap time with a messy playroom. YES after nap they WILL remake the mess for me to re clean BUT at least I had my clean room for a moment LOL! I seem to get easily behind on laundry...but I CARE. Even when there is NOWAY for me to get caught up on a particular day its ON MY MIND. I scrub kitchen floors 3 times a week, bathrooms every other day and vacuum the living area twice daily and the bedroom multiple times a week. I reorganize the food cupboard twice weekly and clean out the fridge twice weekly. My sometimes cluttered desk gets organized EVERY night before bed and never will I go to bed with a dirty dish (aside from a bottle) in the house. Even when I am sitting at the computer to do schoolwork I usually have laundry or a dishwasher going.

All of what I mentioned above drives my husband MAD! It's a daily event that he gets to the point of asking me "if I even know how to relax?"

These all seem like normal chores for people so I never found it that odd, but when I talk to others it makes me realize jut HOW MUCH I dwell on things. Because even when it's "clean" it's not "clean enough" and MIGHT I ADD...I HATE when folks including my husband "help around the house" because they just can't do it "right" They can't clean it the way I would clean it...(Example: Eric put new diapers out on the changing table yesterday...but he didnt wipe the shelf first and he put them in the wrong direction and he overflowed the basket and laid diapers directly onto the shelf...so I got flustered and redid it...he also tries to help set the table at night for the next mornings breakfast..oy! In my OCD mind for the kids, the color of the the plate or bowl MUST match the placemat for that day and then the cup and spoon must also match (and TRUST ME WE HAVE PLENTLY of matching supplies) and if AJ uses any nautical or underwater cartoon placemats he MUST have his NEMO vitamins NOT his spiderman vitamins bc spiderman wouldnt match. These are the ridiculous expectations I have and Eric thinks its fine as long as there is a placemat, plate, spoon, cup and vitamin out. He doesnt care if its a blue and yellow spongebob placemat with a green plate, red cup, and normal spoon with spiderman vitamins. So AGAIN I end up redoing it or I WONT sleep. Things do not need redone if I just do them first time..saves us all time!

Do not misunderstand I have FAR from the cleanest house...midday my house looks its worst because that when we are all awake...that's when it looks "lived in" so to speak, but at night when I go to bed and in the morning when I wake up I look around and feel accomplished that things look so good! Its a shame my kids aren't quite as OCD as I am LOL I sometime realize I have some unrealistic expectations but that changes NOTHIGN!

So tell me moms....where is the switch?? How do I turn this obsession off? HOW do I learn NOT to care as much?? I would love to be able to "relax" instead of cleaning BUT I can't. I cannot sit and enjoy doing "nothing" when I could be doing something...

SO, to all of you normal folks....I am JEALOUS :o) I want to not care as much too!

Super Mom?!

Eric came home from work the other day and asked me if I was okay. Said it seemed like something was bothering me. It was. I was having a bad day..AJ was acting up, Lauryn kept taking her clothes off at nap, and the twins hadn't slept a ton so I hadn't got as much done around the house as normal. I will add however that in the same day I was alone from 11-9 with all four cooked a real dinner, gave all four a bath, played with them, read them each a story did 3 loads of laundry and got a good chunk of school work done, so it wasn't as if I hadn't accomplished "Anything" Just compared to other mom's my kids just didn't seem to be well behaved or anything as everyone Else's...(or so it seems....) From that evening I walked away KNOWING that

* I am an amazing Mother & Wife
* I have an amazing Husband and Children
* I am NOT Super Mom

I mean spend just one day looking at my Facebook News Feed and you would NEVER call me Super Mom again.

Apparently I am the mom friend of some child prodigies out there! This is the problem with the Internet and social networking. Just because I have the option of typing that I am 5'8" 123lbs doesn't necessarily make it true. Just Saying.

FB will never again have me questioning my abilities as a mother. I am happy for all of those mom's out there who have the perfect children. You know the ones...the ones who go to bed when told with NO fights, and the ones who clear their plates at meal time, the ones one who hit all developmental milestones right on time or even early, the ones who are obedient when in public...etc.

I am a very positive person. I always look on the bright side of things BUT sometimes I can certainly be a realist.

I love my family. I have pretty amazing kiddos! But guess what? I wont even begin to lie to you or myself about them. Not a single one of them is perfect by the "book"...yep I admit it I do NOT have a "textbook" perfect child.

I have a 3.5 year old who has JUST recently started expending his vocabulary and communication skills. Who frequently has accidents in his underwear during the day and is not near ready for night potty training (even though he wakes dry many mornings) He does not know all of his colors and although he CAN count to 10 he cant ALWAYS, and the ABC's??? He knows the melody of the song and several of the letter but not all of them!!! He throws a fit when he gets told no and he even hits his sister for toys sometimes. Yep...I admit it my kid isn't perfect...but you know what...He has an unconditional love for his sisters and his parents that trump all of the other stuff. He loves Spiderman I LOVE watching him play spiderman and pretend to shoot webs out of his wrist. Hearing him say "sissy you pretty" and "mommy, I loves you" makes not knowing his ABC's a small issue. He might not be able to do everything your kid ("Your" being a general term) does but I bet "your" kid cant make spiderman sounds as good as AJ. LOL

I have a 2.5 year old who, for lack of better description, keeps us on our toes. Now this one DOES know many colors, can talk VERY well, knows many shape, can kinda count and kinda do her ABC's. However; she CANT stand still, she is always into stuff she shouldn't be, climbs onto tables, climbs over gates, stands on the back of couches, climbs into baby swings with babies, will NOT eat her veggies and she too throw tantrums when angry & the one thing that annoys me most of all is she wont keep her clothes ON!! I am tired of walking in on a Stark Naked toddler at nap time...SHEESH I think the girl needs wood flooring in her room, I am over the carpet. While I graciously admit she too is NOT perfect she is pretty amazing. I love it when She "fights" with AJ because I'm "her mommy" not his, I love the way her faces lights up when I mention cheeseburgers, and you haven't gotten the best of Lauryn until you see her in her "princess" (all pretty dresses)this is a girl that can pee on the floor intentionally than 5 minutes later giver Ava a sweet kiss on the head and make the world perfect again. What more could ANY mom ask for!

Then I have the twins. Our little blessings. My little stress makers. These girls have cause stressed since our intensive care stay while I was just 6 weeks pregnant with them!!! I do not have words to describe my pregnancy with them, but I cant tell you that as nearly 4 month old babies they are pretty awesome. They might not be as big as "your kids" (heck NONE of my kids are as big as yours) they might not be as photogenic, the might not talk as much as your kids...but you just cannot beat the smile that spreads from cheek to cheek when I talk to them. I cant put into words the blessing these two TRULY are. So what they aren't the definition of what a "normal" 4 month old should be...I can only say this...They are exactly who they are supposed to be!!!

As a mom I am very proud of my children!! Nothing is a better feeling in the world then watching your child get excited after mastering a new skill. The look in his/her eyes when they figure out exactly where that last puzzle piece goes gives me the best feeling in the world.

For some reason I find that many mom's feel like raising children has become a competition and a game of compare/contrast. I fell into this category at one point. I always wanted to compare my kids to others, but than I learned that no two kids are the same. By constantly comparing (even comparing siblings...which I am guilty of)you will ALWAYS end up disappointed. No matter how hard you try someones kids will always be bigger, faster, "smarter" or more advance. LIFE.

At least if I am honest with myself and friend NOW...next time you are with me and Lauryn throws a fit I don't have to use any excuses (for example: oh she's cranky bc she missed nap, oh she must be teething, she's weird around new people) You will just know that my kids aren't perfect and I accept that and LOVE that about them! :o)

I measure my success as a mom right now by how happy, emotionally "healthy", taken care of, and adjusted my kids are and not by how early he or she started counting. For those who do use this form of measurement; FORGIVE ME please because on your child's 5Th birthday when you announce that he has received his driver's license or high school diploma...I might have to laugh at you :o)

I've Moved

Blog Sites that is.

Bear with me while I work on changing some things.

I wanted a change and I wanted more options. With Blogspot I have a lot more options SO I plan to redesign my blog and start an online diary into our lives :o)

Stay Tuned as I plan to update at minimum weekly :o)