OK, now I'll eat some crow...

A couple friends of mine suggested I try swaddling Caleb to help him sleep. Well, I passionately disagreed with this, saying it's just a way of starting a bad habit. They said, try reading "Happiest Baby on the Block"... well, with great reluctance I checked out the DVD version, and listened with skepticism. Then, during the video Caleb woke up after his usual 45 min sleep period, with my knowing full well he is neither hungry nor in pain but also that he would not go back to sleep without being put into his swing. So I figure, what the heck? I swaddled the boy, laid him on his side, and shushed him for 1 minute. The kid fell fast asleep so fast like I've never seen before. Ok, so now I get to eat crow. Wow, I can't wait to see if this works at night, too! I predict Ryan will react with the same skepticism when I tell him of the day's events, but at this point, it's not like having just babies, and no other kids to worry about. I NEED this kid to sleep, and for as long as possible because I have two beautiful girls to worry about, too, who need fed and loved and played with, too. So I figure, lets give it a shot, and sorry all for being soooo prideful and thinking my way is the only way to get a kid to sleep successfully. :)

Oh Joy of Joys!

I got my old jeans to fit again today!! Oh ecstasy, for my size 6 Levi 525's to fit again! And they don't even look painted on! I couldn't resist telling everyone I know on every message board I belong to because I just really needed this happy thought, in between cleaning up baby puke and shuttling snotty-nosed sick toddlers to and fro. Yay!

Stupid toe!

Today was a bit frustrating. I started the day hearing Hannah announce over the intercom, "Mommy! I have a booger!"... at 6 am. After charging in and wiping said booger, I noted that Hannah has developed a cold. Wonderful. Then I got to wipe many more boogers over the next hour because my kids can't wipe their noses on their sleeves like regular kids. :) Then we had a trip to the drug store after everyone was awake and dressed to get cold medicine for Hannah and sty eye drops for Sarah's eye. Then later in the day, I tripped over Caleb's bouncy seat and broke/dislocated my pinky toe. So now all three of us have some sort of malady. Add to that Caleb's 6 wardrobe changes today after pooping up/out of his diaper and/or peeing out of his diaper and 2 wardrobe changes and a shower for me after he threw up in my hair/shirt, and it was a right fun day. But, on the up side, we ordered a fridge, so hopefully we'll be able to get more food soon. Hannah today, upon hearing that my toe was hurt, said, "Well, I'll kiss it later Mommy, but not right now." She repeated that throughout the evening until bedtime, and still, my toe has not been kissed :(. Maybe Ryan will do it. I figure, if it works for the kids, when in Rome...

My little Mommies

The girls are really loving being big sisters, and they like "helping" me with a number of tasks, esp. changing Caleb's diaper and bathing him, though usually their help consists of them wastching and goofing off with his stuff. They are getting better at it though. For instance, Sarah knows just what things are needed for the bath and will bring them into the kitchen where I bathe him for me. Hannah is my burp cloth fetcher when he spits up. And they are fascinated with nursing and baby care in general, often emulating me with their dolls and animals and carrying them around in slings I make out of blankies for them. Here are some pictures of my Mommies in action.

I love the stuff that comes out of their mouths!

Sarah was at dinner with my Mom last night, and apparantly stopped mid-sentence to ask Mom this question: "Nonnie, does Petie (Mom's dog) have a penis? And if so, it's ok, because baby brother has a penis, too." And then she went back to eating as normal. Great, huh?

An interesting week so far...

So far, I've been a busy little bee this week. It's amazing what one can accomplish on no sleep and whatever food you can dredge out of the farest reaches of a pantry. We started out with a 7 hour drive from NJ to home on Sun night, only to get home at 8 and find our fridge had broken over the weekend and we had meat juice running all over the floor. What a fun cleaning job that was! After disenfecting EVERYTHING, I got to bed at midnight and woke up Mon. morning a very grumpy girl. Mon. was uneventful (but grumpy), then Mon. night Ryan informs me I need to use up the fruit we had frozen in the freezer, so Tues. was spent making 6 jars of jam (and then nursing the various burns from boiling water canning... I'm all thumbs, ya know.), folding and putting away 5 loads of laundry and all our suitcase stuff, and making a big dinner in an attempt to stretch a few meals out of 2 pounds of stew beef (unsuccessful at the stretching... only lasted 1 1/2 meals). Then Sarah got a cold, or at least I think it's a cold... her cheeks are real red, though, so maybe 5ths disease, so now I have 2 toddlers (Hannah will not let her sissy "out-sick" her... my kids are such cold drug-seekers even though I rarely give them to them) running around crying for medicine and repeatedly reminding me, "I'm tick Mommy... *is the fridgerater bwoken till?" (*is the refridgerator broken still?). On the upside, we've now decided to renovate the whole kitchen, and now Ryan is out shopping every evening to find the perfect set (if you know him, you know it takes him MONTHS to pick out the simplest things, let alone a fridge, due to a compulsive need to comparison shop until every price in the city is obtained twice for a desired item).
The neatest part, though, is that a church friend generously gifted us a large sum of money two weeks ago, stating God had put it on his heart to give the gift. We thought at the time, "ok, well, I'm not sure we need it, but if God put it out there, then we can't really refuse"... fast forward now and we're really seeing God has given us a message with this gift. He's going to watch over and care for us, if we just trust him. Now to really put that trust into action...
On the kid report side, Sarah is much better today, and Hannah showed me last night that she's learning what lies are. I didn't think she understood the concept, but last night we were watching Veggie Tales ("Larry Boy and the Fib from Outer Space"), and every time the main character would tell a lie, Hannah made sure to report it to me as I was cooking in the other room, saying, "Mommy, he told a lie... lies are not good... he's a bad boy!" I was so impressed, as she figured out what was going on all by herself (the video doesn't explain the concept very well until the end). Also, the kids are really coming along learning their letters and numerals, thanks in part to a good healthy dose of Sesame Street! Caleb slept for 6 hours the other night, a new record, and Mommy woke up in the worst pain ever because of it. He might have slept longer, but poor Mommy needed him to nurse in the worst way! :) Alas, since then it's been 3 hours at a time again!

Jan 22nd, 2009, day 1- Can't believe I'm blogging!

It's day 1 and I can't believe I'm doing this! I always thought blogging was strange, but then, after reading a friend's blog, I decided it might be nice to keep a record for my kids to see all the wonders of life with them when they were small, and this is a lot neater and easier than memory books.
About me:
I'm 30, a former (still occaisionally practice) speech therapist, & a SAHM, with 3 kids. Hannah and Sarah are twins born at 35 weeks on April 17th, 2006, via CSection, now 2 1/2 ish. Caleb is 7 weeks old, also born via c section, but this time blessedly full term. I am married to my DH Ryan since Oct. 12, 2002, and he is my high school sweetheart and love of my life. Also, and most importantly, I am a Christ-following Mommy, so any/all opinions expressed will hopefully reflect this, but for those that do not, I would preface them that I do not claim to be perfect, but serve a Savior who is, and thankfully he is gracious and loving enought to accept me as I am and as I strive to be more like him.
This blog will serve multiple purposes: it will be a source for recording memories, both good and bad, and at times will be my way of venting when frustrations occur. If anyone reads this
(and I don't know many who would want to!), please enjoy and I hope you'll forgive any/all typos as I often type as I nurse Caleb and I'm very sleep deprived right now!! I'll post pictures later,but for now I have to go feed little man!