Mama in pajamas

A phone promise to myself

2012-01-23T19:30:00.002-05:00

I spent some time in Panera this afternoon while Frick and Frack were at Hebrew School. It was 5pm-ish and a woman about my age came in with her two little girls (about the same ages as Fred and Four) for dinner. They sat at a table right in front of me. It was pretty crowded there, and the younger girl picked the table because it had three chairs and they had three people. The girls sat nicely and waited for the food. They decided they didn't really like the food that Mom had ordered. But, they wanted the apple and chips, just not the soup or sandwich. Mom was ok with that and then the trips to the garbage can started. First the older girl found a chip that was green. Need to get that in the trash immediately. Then the younger girl found a brown spot on her piece of apple. Immediate trash also. Then they wanted more drinks. One spilled and the napkins needed to get into the trash can right away. Mom was not at all paying attention. She had her phone out and was checking her email or Facebook or any of a variety of things you can do on your phone. I get it. I do it all the time too. But it was very clear to me that these girls were trying pretty darn hard to get their mom to see them.

One thing that I think we're all guilty of is not seeing our kids. Sometimes life gets in the way. You are expecting that important email about something. Or need to obsessively check Facebook to see if your cousin posted pictures of her newborn baby. This is the way of the world these days. We are expected to be connected at all times. And we expected it of ourselves as well. So, in the (not-so-distant) past, if we weren't home when the important email came in, it would have to wait until we got home. And we'd have to wait until our cousin sent those pictures of the newborn to us directly, instead of seeing them on Facebook immediately. It was ok if things had to wait 30 minutes or 3 hours. The only life that happened in the immediate was what you were doing at the moment.

So if you were out to dinner with your kids, you didn't have the option of obsessively checking your phone or playing Angry Birds or Words with Friends, you had to see your kids. Really see them. You were given no choice but to notice that they were getting up and throwing things in the garbage can repeatedly. You saw them spilling the water and sometimes (not all the time, but sometimes) were even able to catch the cup before the water got everybody soaking wet. Now, it's just water, and it dries - no biggie. But the biggie was those little girls wanted to be seen by their mom. And she was too busy to see them.

This made me sad. Really sad. Not just for those girls - their mom is probably a great mom who does see them a majority of the time, but for my own kids. How many times have I been that mom. The non-seeing mom. I'll bet it's more frequently than I'd like to believe. So, I'm making a promise to myself right now. I'm going to be better about this. No more endless phone checking when I'm with the kids. I'm not giving my phone up, but I'm going to be more moderate about it. I will see my kids. I promise.

Awake? Yup. Of course.

2012-01-15T04:51:00.004-05:00

When you have insomnia, one of the things you learn to live with is having completely disjointed thoughts that seem to be the cause of your wakefulness. Since my normal thoughts can be pretty disjointed and random, it isn't at all surprising that the ones I have during my bouts of insomnia are equally bizarre.
I have this awesome Rabbi. Rabbi Matt is exactly the kind of person you want as your spiritual leader. He leads by example, isn't preachy, is accepting when others don't completely agree with him and always remembers the name of everyone he meets. Not only that, but he thinks my kids are pretty awesome. Most importantly, he's able to see the Holy (you know, those moments when you feel the presence of God) in things that don't seem otherwise Holy. At Family Services (the second Friday of every month) he generally tries to keep the kids engaged by asking them questions that somehow relate to the Torah portion of that week. This week we were talking about when you feel the presence of God in your life. And the first thing he did was address us, the parents in the room. He asked what is the last thing we do at night. We all knew exactly what he was saying - check those kids. They consume your waking thoughts, your worries, your hopes, your giggles. The last thing you do before settling down for the night is take one last look. When you have a baby in the house, you check to make sure the swaddle is still holding or that the tiny little tushie is up in the air. Is the pacifier within in reach? Is the room too warm? Too cold? White noise machine still on to hopefully glean an extra few minutes of sleep? When your kids are a bit older, it may be the only time you see them not moving. Are all the arms and legs still attached? Is the face relatively clean? Is the favorite stuffed animal still in the bed or was it accidentally flung to the floor? When the kids are still older, it may be the only time you see them at all! And really, you want to just take a nice long look to make sure they are still there. I'm not at this stage yet, but I am getting dangerously close with Frick and Frack. That folks, is THE moment. The last look of the day at the kids. That moment is when I know that I feel the presence of God. No matter what else has gone on that day, I know that God exists because I have these beautiful little creatures - the ones who I adore, the ones who get Double Stuf cream in my bed, the ones who leave their dirty clothes on the floor directly in front of the laundry basket, the ones who wrap their arms around my neck and tell me they love me, the ones who trip walking up the stairs because they are too engrossed in a book to put it down, the ones who had a screaming match with me - just beacuse they love to push my buttons. That moment, in the quiet of the house, is the most Holy moment of all.

I'm typing this post on my dying netbook. It's been dying since the end of November. A slow, painful death. I was hoping that it would die before Christmas/Chanukah, and someone I know would give me an iPad or Kindle Fire. But sadly, the last nail is not yet in the coffin. However, this week, the desktop computer started it's death dirge as well. So shortly, the only working computers in the house will be Apple products. Several months ago SS Dad purchased an iMac for us. Unfortunately, I haven't taken the time to sit down and properly introduce myself, so anytime I need to use it, there are a lot of four-letter words bandied about. I really need to just do it. To take the hour or so that it takes to learn how to use the stupid piece of machinery. However, until this past week, I didn't have an hour for that purpose. Perhaps now, with Four in preschool all day three days a week, I can find that hour. I hope though, that I don't kill it. Because lately, it seems that "I repel technology" (if you don't know what movie that is a direct quote from, you can google it. hee hee)

Finally, I worry that my grammar skills are starting to atrophy. I was a straight A student in English for my entire school career. If you look at this post, it would seem that my grammar is atrocious. I mean, half my sentences aren't actual sentences. I am appalled - and Mrs. Bolton, by 9th grade English teacher - would be appalled as well. (She's probably on Facebook and I should really look her up. See another disjointed thought.) But then I think that my blog is sort of stream of consciousness. Maybe it's more like Def Jam poetry than it is like "real" writing. It's sort of unstructured in a structured way. Right? But I worry. It seems they no longer truly teach grammar in school, so my kids are in need of a grammar paragon to look up to (clearly not me, since I was perfectly content to end that sentence with a preposition!) They love School House Rock, but is that enough? Should my own speech be more precise? Do I have the energy to worry about making it more precise? Do I even remember how?

Yeah, these are the disjointed thoughts that I have during the night (well, it's actually early morning. If it were a weekday, SS Dad would already be getting ready for work.) Don't worry though, the thoughts aren't what's keeping me up. I'm up because I'm hungry, nauseous and have a migraine. The thoughts are just what I'd rather dwell on then go downstairs, find something to eat that will relieve the awful feeling in my stomach without giving the baby a huge burst of sugar, so I don't end up with baby acrobatics in my belly and take some Tylenol (which is about as effective at relieving migraines as a gunshot to the head.)

I'm not the kind of mother I thought I was

2012-01-10T12:19:00.002-05:00

Four has started full day preschool. Not everyday, but M/W/F. She'd been going from 9-12:00, staying for Lunch Bunch after her class ended. She loved it. She was begging me to let her stay in the afternoons. OK. Last week, I let her try it out on Wednesday. Happy as a clam. On Friday when I went to pick her up right after lunch, she ran and hid, saying she wanted to stay all day. So, I signed her up for all day.

Yesterday was the start of it. Honestly? I thought I'd be the mom who had a party on the driveway the day I sent my last kid off to school. However, I was sad. I dropped her off and went to run my errands. Then I realized I didn't have to rush back. I went off to visit friends (my moms & Daniel group) called Bagels and Blocks. I was sad. I came home, had lunch and even laid down for a power nap. Then I raced out the door to pick her up. She was happy as a clam. Smiling. I was so glad to see her! We raced home to get the other three off the bus. And I realized something.

I had thought that perhaps I crazy, starting over with a new baby. After all, Four is out of diapers, in school, practically reading. Going back to the beginning definitely seemed a bit nuts. But, I'm not ready for that next chapter. I still have a little left in this one. And it'll be here, June is right around the corner. I'll be back to diapers and nursing and sleepless nights. There may be colic, the witching hour from 5-6pm and baby spit up on all my clothes. That's exactly what I am ready for. Frick, Frack, Fred and Four may be growing up, but this new baby will be just what I need. We'll spend our days driving Four to school, taking all the other girls here and there but I'll still be doing the baby things too. And I'm happy about it.

Please remind me of this is in a few months, when I'm bleary eyed from lack of sleep, walking around in spit-stained clothes and my hair looks like a haystack. I'll need the reminder, I'm sure!

You want me to let my kids do what?

2011-12-27T13:41:00.001-05:00

The truth is, I'm not a ski-mom. Actually, I'm not the mom of any outdoor winter sport. I prefer to stay inside during the winter. Unfortunately, I married a man who loves all things outdoor-winter-ish. So, here I sit. At a very uncomfortable picnic table in the "lodge" at the "hill" while Frick and Frack are in ski school. This is their first year of real ski school, prior to this they took lessons. Now, they are good enough that they are in ski school. There is nothing about this that makes me comfortable. Coldness and hard benches aside, the thought of allowing my kids to get on a chair and go up a mountain is very anxiety producing for me. I'm a mom. My one job is to protect my kids. Yet, I stuck them into hard boots, attached them to fat sticks and sent them to the chair. I just about died. This is not what I think of as safe. SS Dad thinks this is amazing. His little girls, hurtling down a mountain and loving it. However, he's nice and toasty warm in his office and my cold behind is parked on this bench. The girls have this everyday this week, a week in February and every Saturday until there is no more snow. I just texted SS Dad and told him to take off that week in February. By then, my large pregnant belly will not fit at these old picnic tables.

This is not Four's birthday post

2011-12-17T20:33:00.003-05:00

When Frick and Frack were little, they didn't need a best friend. In preschool (when we lived in CT) they shared one, M, and enjoyed spending time with her. But they didn't wake up everyday and ask to see her. When Fred was in preschool, she was way too shy to have a bff. She liked the other kids, but her sisters filled the need for that closeness. Four? She's got a bff that she adores.
Curly is this awesome little girl. They go to preschool together, but are in different classes. Curly is nearly a year older, so she's in the pre-K class and Four is in the four-year-old class. But, they eat lunch together. And we are friends with her parents. Four's birthday celebration was today. (Yeah, I know. I need to do her birthday post.) We had the usual suspects here - my parents, AYS, SS Dad's mom and her hubby, and Four asked if Curly and her family could come. Her first real friend. Very cute.
It was great to see them together, Four acts like a different kid when Curly is around - MUCH less bossy. And when it was time for Curly to leave, the girls did their goodbye hug. They do this everyday at school when I pick up Four. It's this huge hug, complete with Curly lifting Four off the ground (she's a full head taller than her!) Very sweet. I'm so glad that Four picked such a great kid for her BFF.

Yeah, I'm mean, wanna make something of it?

2011-12-06T18:09:00.003-05:00

I'm the meanest mom on the block. But you knew that already. Tonight, I'm "forcing" Frick and Frack to taste lasagna. I make a mean lasagna, if I do say so myself. It's a combination of my grandma's recipe and the Kraft No-boil recipe. I do think it's the only recipe that Grandma made without the use of Lipton onion soup.
The girls are almost 10. I think it's time to stop being so picky and start eating. They cannot survive on chicken nuggets alone. Yes, I am exaggerating. They eat tons of fresh fruits and veggies. They are great that way. But, in terms of real food - like food you can order in a restaurant - they eat next to nothing. I want them to learn to love all different kinds of food. At their age, my favorites were scallops and Hibachi steak. I still love both. I want them to broaden their horizons food-wise. So tonight they must try the lasagna. I have no doubt that Frick is going to hate it - she hates red sauce and cheese. But Frack? She loves pizza. Sure, the crust is the favorite part for that carbovore, but still, she eats the cheese and the sauce. It's worth a shot.
Now, I will admit to not liking pasta as a kid. In fact, I didn't truly learn to like pasta until I was an adult. But, I don't want my kids to be quite so limited. So mean mommy is making an appearance this evening. Actually, mean daddy is coming too. I've got quite the headache and am in bed, so he'll be doing the enforcing.

The thing is

2011-12-04T22:13:00.006-05:00

Every pregnancy has it's own "thing." With Frick and Frack, the thing was vomit and worry. There was a whole lot of both going on. For 19 weeks, I threw up repeatedly on a daily basis. Then there was the worry. Is there a membrane between them? Are they growing enough? Should they come out now? How small will they be? How long will they stay in the NICU? Fraught with worry.
My pregnancy with Fred was the pregnancy of Meggie. Meggie was our sitter. She came around and I got to take a nap. There's very little I remember from that pregnancy. Frick and Frack were not yet 2 and I was still massively sleep deprived. When I went in the middle of the night to deliver Fred, Meggie came running to watch Frick and Frack.
During my pregnancy with Four, the thing was 4pm. At 4pm every single day I needed to lay down. On the dining room floor. Just lay there. And I did. Every single day. I'm not sure why it was 4pm, but that was the time.
Last Spring, I got pregnant. That was the pregnancy of loss and sadness. From the first appointment, it was clear that something was wrong and I ended up losing that baby at 10 weeks.
Well, a short 12 weeks ago, we learned that we are expecting again. Yes. You read that right. No need for a double take. We'll be having another baby in June. Yes. We are crazy. Yes. We will have 5 children. This pregnancy has a thing too. The thing is the "blechies." You know, that awful feeling that at any moment you may vomit. Combine that with a bit of dizziness. Add in massive migraines. The final symptoms of the blechies is exhaustion. The kind of tiredness that causes people to ask if I'm ok because I look like I haven't slept in weeks. The thing is, we kind of don't mind. Well, I definitely mind feeling blechy, but at the same time, it's ok. Frick and Frack have requested a brother. (This would be good because 2 days prior to finding out I was pregnant, I gave away 11 bins of baby-girl clothes. Everything smaller than size 3T.) Fred would prefer a puppy. (I don't think so!) Four has said that if it's a boy, she won't be it's sister. (Hey there - you get what you get, and you don't get upset. Or throw a fit, if you are from the Midwest.)
So, there it is. I'm pregnant.

New mantra

2011-11-11T09:44:00.003-05:00

It seems like lately, my mantra is "be nice to your sisters." For some reason, the past few months my girls have forgotten how to be nice to each other. They are great with their friends, other adults and the public in general, but when it comes to their sisters, the talons come out. So, I stopped letting them play with their friends. "You can't play with your friends until you can play nicely with your sisters." I was hoping this would encourage them to be nice to each other, but it seems to have had the opposite effect.
Today the girls are off from school (Happy Veteran's Day - thank you to all the men and women in service) so I decided to relent and allow them to have a playdate. Two of the sweetest kids will be here in about 30 minutes. They are sisters - one is the same age as Frick and Frack, the other is Fred's age. Poor Four - she'll tag along. We'll see how it goes. If this morning has been any indication, they won't be having another friend over to play for a LONG time.

Just because I'm a closet Sci-Fi geek

2011-10-15T19:59:00.003-04:00

SS Dad and I were working on a couple of house-keeping projects all at once. We were cleaning out the "Harry Potter closet" (you know, the cupboard under the stairs) as well as the front closet, our bedroom closet and some stuff in the storage area of the basement. Fred and Four found the Light Sabers that are normally hidden away for safety purposes and decided to have a fight. Here's how it went.

Fred: I'm Dark Vader

Four: No (whine, scream) I'm Dark Vader.

Fred: OK. Then I'm Light Vader.

(commence bashing the light sabers at each other)

Fred: Aaaaaarrrrgghhh!!! Cccccrrrrryyyyy.

Me: What happened?

Fred: Dark Vader hit me on the head with her lifesaver.

Oy. Heaven help me.

Busy? Who's busy?

2011-09-30T07:58:00.005-04:00

The past few weeks have been kind of busy. All the girls started school. Four is going to a 4 year old pre-K, and decided to stay for Lunch Bunch. This is lovely. She goes from 9-12 three day per week. They'd like for her to stay all day, and think she's ready, but she wants me to pick her up after lunch, so I do. She has a best friend, I'll call her Curly. Curly is actually the daughter of friends of ours. Curly loves Four as well - they are only together for Lunch Bunch, and that's Four's favorite time of day now.
Fred started second grade. She seems so much younger than Frick and Frack when they were in second grade. She was very worried because she didn't have many friends in her class, but it's working out just fine. Ms. D, her teacher, said she didn't talk at all for the first few days, but that she's definitely opening up now. I am hoping this is the year that she'll come out of her shell in school completely. Hey, a girl can hope!
Frick has a wonderful fourth grade teacher. She's a veteran teacher who loves her job, loves her kids and is good with both! She's capitvating, motivating and totally amazing. She knows the value of a good reward as well as the threat of a swift punishment. I like her a lot. Well, maybe I might love her. Frick did injure herself already. She fell off a high-heeled sandal during a family photo shoot with our favorite photographer (http://www.jmrichardsonphotography.com/) and sprained her ankle. Poor thing. She's also playing the violin in Orchestra - and since she's been taking lessons for a year already, she's in the fifth grade section, rather than the fourth. So proud of her.
Frack started fourth grade too. Her teacher, Mrs. A, was Frick's first grade teacher. I am reserving judgement on her ability to teach 4th - I wasn't impressed with her skills in 1st. I'm not worried about Frack, she's a self-starter and very bright, but it's always nice to have a teacher who challenges you. Gymnastics is still her thing, but we're in the process of changing to a new gym, so she's been at loose ends. It's starting to get to her - and my furniture, since she's always flipping on it.
SS Dad and I are preparing for a trip. He's got a course in Colorado and I'm tagging along. I'll get to see a good friend. I've known her since elementary school and wish she lived closer. She has a new(ish) baby boy and a darling 4 year old boy. Can't wait to see them.
The weekend before Fred's birthday we have a big celebration. Katie-the-wonder-sitter is getting married! We love her fiance, Zak, almost as much as we love her (and I think a few of the girls may love him slightly more, cough, cough, Four.) The girls have their dresses and are way excited! Katie has promised to have Cotton-Eyed-Joe (or Rot In My Toe as it's known in the House of Pajamas) played at the reception. All the girls were beyond thrilled.
So this fall is pretty busy, but good busy. With all my free-time when ALL four kids are in school, I've been doing lots of couch-sitting and bon-bon eating. It's a shame that Oprah's off the air, or I could be watching her show.

Everyone has their own 9/11 story

2011-09-11T10:49:00.003-04:00

If you are interested in mine, you can read it http://mamainpajamas.blogspot.com/2006/09/where-were-you-when.html
but my story isn't what I'm thinking about. For the 5 year anniversary of 9/11 I took part in the 2996 project. Today, I'm thinking about Gabriella Waisman. She was the person I was given to profile for this project. Her story is the one on my mind today.
http://mamainpajamas.blogspot.com/2006/09/2996-project-tribute-post-gabriela.html

So many things to write about, so little time.

2011-07-15T18:05:00.004-04:00

The end of the school year was hectic, to say the least. With the class-mom duties for Frack, the fun stuff in the classrooms of the other girls and preparing for our trip to Ireland, I did not have a minute to stop and think, or pee for that matter. Then we left for Ireland the day after school ended, leaving the kitchen looking like a classroom garbage can had exploded - broken crayons, dried out markers, tiny pencils with no erasers and pieces of paper littered the room. But, we left anyway. The 9 of us (took my parents and AYS too) had a fun-filled adventure. That will be it's own separate post. There are over 4000 pictures to commerate the trip. Not including the ones taken by my dad or AYS.
We arrived home on Sunday and started at camp on Monday. Fred and Four chose to take Monday off. Fred started on Tuesday - reuniting with the Fearsome Foursome. She's as happy as can be, with the exception of the bee sting she got yesterday. Four started on Wednesday and loved it so much she asked to stay fulldays. So, on Monday, Wednesday and Friday, all four of my girls will be at camp from 9-4. What will I do with myself?
Today was my first full day with no kiddos here. I had breakfast with the Fearsome Foursome moms (minus one who is braving Disney with her Fearsome plus 3 year old triplets.) It was lovely. Then I sat in the parking lot chatting it up with another mom for over an hour. Lovely again. Came home and ate lunch all by myself. In complete silence. Then I parked myself on the couch and did nothing until it was time to go get the Four F's. I can't really make a habit of that, there's much to be done, but it felt amazing to do that.
My house still looks like Ireland exploded in it - green stuff everywhere, gifts for people (mostly my nephew V who deserves lots and lots of cute things) and suitcases that haven't made it back to the basement yet. This weekend I'll hopefully get around to that - right after weeding, watering and dealing with the pool issues. There was something not quite right with our chlorinator and it dispsensed way too much, plus lots of rain and high temps has left the pool totally out of whack and unswimmable (yeah, I know it's not a word, you can sue me!)
The girls love, love, love camp. Fred loves her Foursome, Frick loves horseback riding, Frack loves it all and Four said "I didn't like camp. Can I go back on Monday?"
Once again, camp is a hit!

Complaints Department

2011-05-06T21:02:00.004-04:00

This is a different kind of post for me. Normally, I go on and on about my kids - either about how cute they are or conversely how much they aren't sleeping/eating/listening to me. This is going to be a completely different animal. I'm going to complain about something else.

What is with people? Why do they say the stupid stuff? Why do they think they have the monopoly on whatever situation they have going on? Why, oh why, are they so ignorant and annoying. Yes, I know I'm being a bit harsh, but seriously folks. You've all thought these very same things once in a while. I'm just putting it out there. My fuse is short, my temper is high and I'm on a roll.

Here's my advice. Think before you speak. Open doors for people. Smile back. Drive on the right, pass on the left. Don't use obsenities in front of anyone else's kids. Stand away from the door if you are going to smoke. Think before you speak (did I say that once twice? Yes. It's a biggy.) Don't take the only shopping cart with two kid-seats if you have only 1 kid with you. It's common sense folks. Try to find some and use it.

Time flies when you aren't paying attention

2011-03-09T00:31:00.003-05:00

Last week, very quietly, Frick and Frack turned 9. How on earth did that happen? My precious little preemies are 9. We celebrated the night before their actual birthday, with Grandpa, because it was his birthday too. They love to celebrate with him and hear the story of how they were almost born on his birthday but ended up waiting until the next day.
These girls are amazing. I spent several hours with Frick's Odyssey of the Mind coach this weekend and she said the most wonderful things about Frick. It made this Mama very proud. I loved hearing how compassionate she is, how helpful and friendly and nice she is, how she goes out of her way to help others all the time. I know what a kind soul she is, but hearing it from a veteran teacher really made my day.
Frack once said to me "I'm just that good" and the truth is, she IS just that good. She excels at nearly everything she tries. She works hard and focuses. She will practice until she's awesome at it (whatever it is - piano, gymnastics, walking up the stairs while reading a book and not tripping.) She's a terrific student and incredibly inquisitive. (Soon, I'll be posting about her near obsession with the whole birds and the bees thing. OY!)
Both girls are sensitive and loving. They love their sisters (and when they aren't fighting) they play together beautifully. I think it's great that they are able to find ways to include Fred and Four in their play and are more than willing to spend time playing Little People or Polly Pockets if Four insists on it. They are pretty well grounded too. Their favorite birthday gift this year was an envelope from AYS, each with a few coupons for time spent together. They got lots of other presents, but want nothing more than to hang with their aunt and play Rock Band with her. They really "get it" about the lack of importance of material things. This is not to say that they don't enjoy their material possessions, they certainly do, but they know that what's really important is the people in their lives and I couldn't be a more proud Mama.

Avalanche!

2011-02-25T15:25:00.003-05:00

Here in the House of Pajamas, we are snowed in. Again. Ugh. It's getting ridiculous. I don't think we got the full foot they had predicted, but we definitely got another good 9-10 inches. Fun. I know some children that are getting antsy with all the snow. They'd like to get outside and play, but it's too deep. Four would disappear. I declared it a Pajama Day. I made chocolate chip pancakes for breakfast. I let the girls watch movies all day. Now they are done. Done with each other. Done with movies. Done with me. And it's not even 4pm. I could be in some serious trouble. We've done crafty things. We've done gaming things. We've done it all. We are done.
I know. I live in the Northeast. It's supposed to snow here. I get that. Really I do. However, getting upwards of a foot every week is just annoying.
Tomorrow we have Frack's second gymnastics meet. Her first was a couple of weeks ago. She did very well and enjoyed it a lot. She is freaking out a bit that she won't have practice tonight (the gym is closed due to the foot of snow dumped on it) but I keep reassuring her that she'll be fine. We have to leave the house by 6:45am to get to the meet and I think Katie-the-wonder-sitter may come before that and braid Frack's hair. I am hairdo incompetent. I can't do anything fancier than a ponytail. And even those tend to come out lopsided. Once again, it'll be Katie to the rescue. Everybody needs one. But I'm not sharing.

Can a 3 year old keep a secret?

2011-02-17T15:00:00.003-05:00

When I was a freshman in college, I discovered my biggest phobia - field mice. I'm apparently petrified of them. After the first semester, I switched roomies (actually, my original roomate got thrown out of the dorms and my friend moved in.) We spent the first couple of weeks of the semester setting up things just how we wanted them. J wanted her bed to be lofted over the foot of my bed - this way we could lay in bed and chat and see each other at the same time. It was cool. It also added a bunch of space to the room under her bed. Even more cool. Next to my bed I had a couple of crates stacked up with my sweaters in them. One night we were chatting when I noticed something move out of the corner of my eye. Then J screamed like there was no tomorrow. It was a mouse. In my sweaters. Next to my head. Looking at us with it's beady little eyes. We freaked out. I ran into the bathroom, phone in hand (these were the days before cellphones) jumped up onto the toilet and called my parents in a panic. I begged my dad to come and save me from the horrible field mouse. He laughed and asked me what exactly I thought he could do from 2 1/2 hours away. My mom suggested we get the RA. Good thinking mom. We did. He set a trap. The very next day we had a dead mouse. What's even more gross than a mouse in your sweaters? A dead mouse, broken neck and all, in a pool of blood on the rug in the middle of your dorm room.
On Monday I was getting ready to head out to school to chaperone a Valentine's Day party for Frack's class. I decided I needed a couple of extra prizes for our Heart Bingo game. So Four and I headed downstairs to the basement. Like any class mom worth her salt, I keep a bag of prizes in our game closet. It has stuff like high bounce balls, fun erasers, pencils, and assorted stretchy animals in it. I opened the door to the closet and someting smelled off. I was upset because SS Dad is away and I was worried that I would have to deal with whatever was causing the odor on my own. I picked up the bag and put it on the table in the "craft area" and opened it up. Then I looked down and thought "hmm, when did I purchase a mouse toy?" GAH! Not a toy. A dead mouse. In my prize bag. GROSS. I grabbed Four and ran upstairs. Then I called my parents. (see a trend here?) This time my dad wasn't home. My mom suggested rubber gloves and triple garbage bagging it. That's what I went with. Poor Four may have been slightly traumatized by my hysteria. Just slightly. But she decided it was a bug not a mouse. Which is good. If the other three ever got wind of this, they'd never step foot in the basement again.

Regular Day

2011-02-04T06:28:00.003-05:00

Yesterday was a fairly typical day around here. The big three went off to school. Four complained about having to go to school. While she was there I went to the supermarket. She ate no lunch, took no nap and whined about a variety of things. Fred came home, hadn't eaten lunch, was happy Frick and Frack didn't come home, so she could choose the TV show and then ate everything in her lunch box. However, AYS had surgery yesterday (she is doing well and we are hoping this is the last, ok, second to last, surgery she'll have to have) so my parents were unavailable to stay with Fred and Four while I picked up Frick and Frack from their meeting afterschool.
I packed my snacks for the kids, bundled up myself and the kids and headed off to pick them up. Per her usual, Four complained the entire way that she wanted to watch a movie, but I couldn't stomach another viewing (or listening for me) of Barbie a Mermaid Tale. So instead I had to stomach the whining. We got there and the girls weren't even close to being ready. They missed their Tuesday meeting and their Odyssey of the Mind competition is coming up in about a month, so it's crunch time. We finally headed to the car and 2 out of the 4 were dissatisfied with their snacks. After a carefully crafted and well negotiated trade, we were on our way.
We made it home and I gave them 10 minutes to relax before we started in on the homework. Homework went more smoothly than usual - which means no tantrums, no one being sent to their room and only one eraser used.
I got the call that SS Dad was on his way home and started to make dinner. It was 4:45. As I got everything out, I was moving stuff around the counter to make room to assemble a lasagna when all 4 girls swooped down like vultures. There was a cacophony of noise. All 4 talking at once, wanting this, that, chocolate ice cream. It was overwhelming. In my frustration and anger, I slammed my hand down on the counter. And I promptly impaled my wrist on a wayward earring. Which was in a plastic bag. And even more promptly burst into tears from the unbelievable pain. I pulled the earring out and tried to stop the bleeding. I sat down and called SS Dad to get his ETA. Luckily, he was pulling in the driveway.
Fair warning - do not impale yourself with an earring. It hurts a lot. It will bleed. It will swell. You will have to take antibiotics (and if you hubby isn't a doctor, you'll have to find one to prescribe them for you.) The following morning, your wrist will hurt a ridiculous amount and you'll feel quite foolish.
Yup. Just a regular old day here in the house of pajamas.

Crib to Bed

2011-01-31T00:56:00.003-05:00

Until very recently, Four maintained that she loved her crib and would sleep in it until college. Fine with me. However, about 2 weeks ago, she stopped sleeping. She just stopped. She'd call for me (or Daddy, Grandma or Katie-the-wonder-sitter) to come and rescue her from her prison and let her stay in my bed to watch Noggin. This shrieking could go on all night. Her naps were becoming more like play/singing sessions. I was beginning to panic. Then she started saying she was afraid of being alone in her room. This from the child who plays in the basement alone, while her nearly 9 year old sisters still need me to go down there with them.

After spending several nights on her floor, SS Dad devised a plan. It was a good plan. We'd move the toddler bed up from the basement into Fred's room and let Four sleep there. Then we could turn Four's room into a guest room. Both Four and Fred thought this was the bees knees, the cat's pajamas, the best thing since Mr. Steve went on a Flying Guitar (don't get this reference? Go check out http://www.stevesongs.com/. Trust me. Your children will thank you and you'll be able to stop listening to the Wiggles and never, ever, ever have to watch Barney again.)

SS Dad set the plan in motion. He moved up the bed and shifted around all of Fred's furniture to accomodate it. I moved the corner of stuffed animals (ok, stuffed dogs) from Fred's room to Four's room. It was a thing of beauty. I was making plans for the guest room. I'd put in a daybed. I'd bring up a Pack n Play for AOS's baby. I'd paint the room and buy a side table and lamp. I'd put a good reading chair in there. Maybe some bookcases. It was taking shape in my head.

Then we tried getting Four to sleep there. No go. No sleep. A couple of times she closed her eyes for a few minutes, but then she realized that she might fall asleep and promptly got up and started some shenanigans. She took the puppies from her bed and put them into the hall. She moved around all of Fred's book. She even tried taking out all of Fred's clothes. During one fateful "nap"time, she found a marker (you know where this is going folks) and wrote on Fred's stuff.

OK. Unmitigated disaster. We put her mattress back into the crib. We moved her stuffed animals back to their righful places in her room. We put all of Fred's puppies back in their spots. We undid all we had done. My plans for a guest room went right out the window. We did leave the bedframe in Fred's room just in case. But, that will go back to the basement this coming weekend.

I'd much rather have a 3 year old sleeping in her crib than a guest room and a 3 year old sleeping in my bed.

Not a baby anymore.

2010-12-19T08:14:00.005-05:00

Four turned three last week. Unbelievable. I honestly cannot believe it. I truly do not have a baby anymore. This is the longest I've gone in 10 years without either being pregnant or having a baby in the house. I'm not sure what to make of that. But Four, I know what to make of her. She has reached a new level of tyrant. She could make even the scariest dictator bow down and give up his power. Her screech alone causes nations to tremble in fear. And when she pulls out all the stops - no one has the power to resist. Frick crumbles first. She wants everyone around her to be happy and hates conflict, so what Four wants, she tries to deliver. Frack is the next one down. She tries to stick to her guns, but gives up after the screeching reaches about 2/3 capacity. Fred generally doesn't give in, she just bursts into tears herself and then has her own tantrum. Fun.
But Four is also adorable and darling. She knows the words to too many songs to count. She sings her heart out in the car until she realizes that you are looking at her. She truly loves music. If Frick or Frack is practicing the piano, she must be on the bench with them. The other day we were doing some retail therapy at the mall and a local Middle School was performing their Winter Concert. She was mesmerized and could not be budged from her spot. She watched and listened and took it all in. Then the whole way home, she sang Jingle Bells. Repeatedly. At full volume.
She also says some pretty darn cute things. She loves to "be-tend" things. "I be-tend a baby Mommy." "I have some a cookie." "I like Zak so much." (Zak is Katie-the-wonder-sitter's fiance - or betrothed, as SS Dad hate the word fiance.)
Dancing is another favorite activity. She loves to "shake her booty" to Monster Mash from the Halloween CD. On repeat. For hours on end. And hide and seek is played again and again. First she finds a good place for you to hide. then she counts - sometimes to 3, sometimes to 10, sometimes random numbers. And after she finds you, she starts all over again. Taking a page or two from Fred's book, she loves puppies and Little People. She plays with her puppies of all varieties every single day. Little One Puppy is still her security item. Her paws are still marked from where Four put bracelets on her and left them there for months. Little People are her favorite toys. She plays with them (actually, all the girls love to play with them) constantly. I get to play with her when she deems it necessary and they go to school, visit Grandma's house, shop at Target and eat lots of ice cream.
She still loves her music class with Miss Jess. And loves it most of all when it's her alone with Jess. Jess lets her chose all the songs and the child loves nothing more than being in charge. "Chew-nastics" (gymnastics for those not familiar with Four-speak) with Coach Kathy is just awesome. She loves going and doing what the bigs do. She delights in finding her sisters out on the floor and reminding the whole gym of her presence. Her favorite there is the trampoline and she's pretty darn awesome at it. Her seat drops are legendary. She still refuses to do certain things, but did finally allow Coach Kathy to help her do a forward roll on the beam. Impressive.
Mealtime with Four aren't always enjoyable. If she's not in the mood to eat, not a single morsel shall pass her lips. But the child loves to chew on crushed ice. In fact, most days one of her first requests is "huge-mongous ice in a pink bowl" and she'll chew through it in no time. Dinnertime has become quite the affair for her. If she's tired by that point, she'll "request" to go to Mommy's bed. I put her up there, with Little One Puppy, her Frick's blanket (it was Frick's but when Four demended it, she handed it over with a smile,) her Zhu Zhu pets, her green bowl of rocks (from Katie-the-wonder-sitter's brother Michael,) and Noggin on the TV. She gets her chicken tenders cut into small pieces with ketchup and a pink fork. Then she sends me away only to start shouting demands 30 seconds later. But she'll often eat her full meal there - just not at the table. Hey, we all pick out battles. Then when I come up to check on her, she'll smile sweetly at me and I'll melt.
She really is a delight, albeit a loud and demanding one, and I wouldn't change her one bit. I might be tempted, but I wouldn't. Really.

School Update

2010-11-18T13:06:00.002-05:00

Today and tomorrow I have all the girls home from school. It's Parent-Teacher Conference time, and since Four's school goes by the calendar from our elementary school, she's home with them. This morning, I had my conferences scheduled so Grandma came over to play with the girls while I went in to do my thing. Unfortunately, early this morning, the schoool called to let me know that Frick's teacher, Mrs. B, is sick and will be rescheduling conferences. The other two were still on. Frack's conference went exactly as anticipated. She's doing remarkably well, is well liked by the other kids, her teacher thinks she's smart as a whip and her grades reflect that. She's reading well above grade level. All good stuff. Mrs. M did notice that her confidence level is WAY high ("Mom, I'm just that good") but is generally deserved. She's always got a smile on her face and seems to really love school.
Fred's conference went much better than I anticipated. We've been having such issue with her. She refuses to do her homework, won't use her "best" handwriting, frequently says "I don't know" when I am certain she does know, and has been pulling out all the stops with her tantrums. I have also been concerned with her fine motor issue - however she still won't qualify for services through the school, so I'll be calling Miss Karyn to set something up that we'll pay for out of pocket. Hey, whatever it takes. Another concern I've been having is about her reading level. It just hasn't clicked for her yet. Mrs. K assured me that she WILL be reading on grade level by the end of the year and she thinks January is when the big click will happen. She's managed to up her AIS (additional instructional support) for reading from 2 days to everyday. Katie-the-wonder-sitter is going to work with her on Saturdays as well. She wrote a story for Thanksgiving and even though her writing wasn't great and her spelling was "'creative" the story was wonderful! It had all the necessary parts and even a joke! So, her thought process is at the right level, the rest just needs to catch up. Mrs. K is sure this will happen. She's the professional, so I'll believe her.
Tomorrow we'll have a playdate to keep the kids busy and not driving me bonkers. Then next week is another short one with Thanksgiving - and AOS will be here again. Fun!! Then just another week until Chanukah, 2 until Four's birthday and and a few more until Christmas. Tis the season of presents at our house!

We made it!

2010-11-02T14:03:00.002-04:00

Yes folks, we made it through the first weekend of the Season of Insanity. Fred turned 6. She made it as well. It was touch and go there for a bit, her attitude nearly got her punted back to age 2, but she managed to get there. I'd say everything went off without a hitch, but I'd be lying. See, my mom got a cold last week. This caused AOS to not be able to get here, as she cannot be exposed to germs right now. She and UOS had to stay in NYC. Then my Floridian Aunt who was supposed to come also got sick and couldn't fly. So, we are staging a redo of the family portion of the birthday this coming weekend. All plans were pushed a week. We did however, have Fred's puppy/magic party. Her theme was puppies because she loves all dogs, except for actual, live ones. There were dog plates, dog cups, dog goody bags, dog cake toppers and most importantly, dog presents. Her friends all know her so well - she got lots of dogs. Best of all was the gift from my parents - a dog that walks and barks. It was the only thing she asked for and the look on her face when she opened it was priceless. Happy doesn't even come close. Elated is close, but not strong enough. Beyond thrilled is probably the closest. She's kept that dog by her side every moment other than when she is at school.
The magician portion of her party was a blast! He did lots of tricks and Fred did lots of participating. Very shocking. She went right up with him and did everything from picking a card to pulling a rabbit out of a hat. But the be all and end all of the event was when Melvin the Magnificent floated Fred. Yup, folks, she floated. Really floated. Ok, Frick and Frack were able to see that she was sitting on a platform that was hidden, but the 6 year olds thought she really floated. Then Melvin made balloon animals for the kids and he was terrific. He could make just about anything - Fred got a (wait for it) dog, Frack and Four got pink flowers and Frick got a penguin. It was pretty terrific. The other girls all got fun animals too - monkeys on trees eating bananas, fish on fishing hooks, and one even got a princess crown. Fun, fun, fun!
SS Dad did have to break the pinata himself, but the girls had lots of fun gathering up all the candy. The dogbone pinata seemed to be made from cement. Cute nonetheless.

Then we moved on to Halloween. Less fun. More cold. But the kids love it. I just can't get into it. But I put on my big girl panties and muddled through.

Frack's teacher said I put on the best Halloween party in her classroom ever - and she's been teaching 20 years. I was quite proud of myself. When I signed up to be the room mom, I figured a veteran teacher would take me under her wing and give me direction, but nope. I was left to my own devices and came out victorious! Frack said that her class loved playing the Mummy game (split the class into groups of 5 and they wrapped one member of each group with toilet paper like a mummy) and my Candy Corn Rice Krispie Treats were delicious.

Next up, Fred's family birthday party redo. Then onto Thanksgiving. With school conferences thrown in the middle for fun. And shopping for dresses for SS Dad's mom's wedding. One dress down, 4 to go. SS Dad can fend for himself on that one. Chanukah after that, then Four's birthday and Christmas. It's going to be an exciting few weeks in the house of Pajamas. Come on by!

The Season of Insanity

2010-10-16T09:45:00.003-04:00

First, I've learned that I have several new readers. Hi ladies. Good to have you here. I promise to try to post semi-regularly and will try hard to keep you amused. And all you old-timers, well, since you are all related to me by blood or marriage, I know you are just here to catch a glimpse of the kids, so you'll stick around, even if I'm not funny.
This morning I woke up and realized that The Season of Insanity is here. While it's technically too long to be an actual season, (lasting from October through the beginning of March) we live in the Northeast. It's kind of like winter. This is the birthday/holiday season. We start with Fred's, which is the day before Halloween. Then we move on to Thanksgiving. All the while, we are "enjoying" the Christmas decorations, displays and music in the stores, on the radio and generally permeating every aspect of our lives. This year, Chanukah falls at the very beginning of December. One week after it ends, we celebrate Four's birthday. Just a short 2 weeks later is Christmas. Then we are granted a short reprieve until March 1, when we have the festivites celebrating the birth of Frick and Frack. I failed to mention that SS Dad and I also celebrate our birthdays in the midst of The Season. Mine was the beginning of this month and SS Dad's is the beginning of March. This is all very wonderful and lovely, but a bit stressful for the one who has to plan and coordinate all the festivities.
The stress of The Season is kind of a bit much for me this year. And it caused a slight mental breakdown. This mama decided that today we will be cleaning everybody's room. We will throw out all the crap, I mean unwanted, stuff that collects in our corners, on our floors and under our beds. We will put away anything that we don't want put into a large black garbage bag. Then I get to head to my home away from home, Target, and buy some new organizational tools to store our kept things. And, this all has to happen before 2pm, when Frick heads out for her tennis lesson.

Complaining? Who me?

2010-09-16T20:22:00.005-04:00

We made it through exactly 4 days of school before somebody got sick. School started last week - Frick and Frack in third grade, Fred in first and Four in Preschool. The first week had just two days, Tuesday and Wednesday, the other two were off. Four started out with just a meet the teacher day the first week, but did two days this week. She likes it. I think. She tells me "I wanted to cry a lot, but had a snack and played outside instead." I'm taking this as a good sign.
Fred has had some of her usual issues - but has been ok. Frick has been fine. Frack got sick Tuesday night. High fever and puking her guts up. Not normal for her. So, she stayed home Wednesday and Thursday. Not happy about it at all. "Curse all sickness" is a direct quote from the mouth of the not yet 9 year old.
Yesterday Frick had library. She brought home Harry Potter and the Sorcerer's Stone. I had told the girls that they were allowed to read the HP books when they were the same age as he was in them. But, the librarian felt differently. So, I'm embracing the HPness. I bought the boxed set and it will be here on Monday. I won't let them read anything scary. I don't want to live through the nightmares, so no Death Eaters or anything for them. Just the first one, maybe two and then we'll take a break.
In other news, SS Dad is having a midlife crisis. He got a tattoo. You see, several weeks ago, he was talking seriously about buying a Porsche 911 Turbo. Not gonna happen. In order to point out how insane that idea was, I suggested that we both get tatoos to celebrate our 15th anniversary. He failed to hear the sarcasm in my suggestion and got his tattoo yesterday. It's huge. With a capital H. He really loves it and the "tattoo people" in our lives think it looks great. However, I'm not a tatoo person. I don't mind them, but I don't see the appeal. I certainly don't see the appeal of a giant Jolly Roger with a bowtie on shoulder blade. Nope. But, it was clearly cheaper than a Porsche and better than getting a girlfriend, so I'm not really complaining.

Does that shirt still have a tag on it?

2010-08-31T20:50:00.005-04:00

The summer is over. The school year is about to begin. The new clothes are sitting in bags, waiting. What are they waiting for? Me. They are waiting for me to clean out drawers, figure out what old clothes need to be tossed, donated, saved for a little sister or kept for the Fall days that are still warm. I don't wanna. This used to be one of my most favorite tasks. I loved cleaning out the drawers - finding favorites old items to be passed on, wondering how on earth there could be things that still have tags on them, making room for all the new clothes that we picked out. Not so much anymore. I need the girls with me now while I do this. They have to try stuff on. They aren't so into that. They have better things to do with their time. They'd rather watch TV, play outside, swim in the pool or watch paint dry. It takes a very long time. I have 4 sets of drawers to go through. I have bins in two different sizes to be combed for hand-me-downs. It used to be my favorite, now it's not.

But, the summer really is over. We've been enjoying the last bits tremendously. Katie-the-wonder-sitter has come over every day since camp ended and I've taken each "big" out for some quality one on one time. I've had my nails painted three different times in under 5 days. I've eaten at Friendly's, Brueggers and Panera. I've shopped at Target, done a trip to the mall and played for an hour at Grandma's house (she and Grandpa are on vacation, so Fred took this opportunity to play with toys without having to share with anyone.) We've not been able to do the one-on-one thing very much before - it's so different to take just one child somewhere. Odd. But I liked it.

Tomorrow we head to our local Six Flags for our last hoorah with our season passes. Last summer, we went every other Friday and it was great. This summer we've only gone twice so far. SS Dad's new schedule just didn't allow for it. Oh well. Maybe next summer we'll have more time. One week until school starts, so we're trying to squeeze out every bit of summer joy left.

Some of the things I know

2010-08-21T09:26:00.003-04:00

The first thing I know is that am I a regular mom. By this I mean that I am not a "supermom" who can do it all. I can just do what I do. I can give the girls 3 meals (plus 2 snacks at least!) a day, make sure they are dressed in mostly clean clothes, hope they play, don't watch too much TV, and try to force them to listen to music that isn't played on RadioDisney on a regular basis. But, I am not a crafty mom who can sew their clothes, grow their food in my own garden (hahaha) or make their school supplies from the trees in the yard. I'm also not the kind of mom who can get through the day without raising her voice. I'm a yeller. I try to keep it under control, but sometimes the chaos is gets the best of me. Again, I'm regular, not super.
The second thing I know is that I'm not ready for a dog. So, the doggie went back to her breeder who immediately adopted her out to a family that IS ready for a dog. I just am not able to keep up with all the needs of the kids and take care of a puppy. Maybe in a few years, just not right now.
The third thing I know is that the summer is ending. Camp finished yesterday, with lots of tears and even more stories of good times. Fred made some amazing strides this summer and I couldn't be more proud. She made some awesome friends (the Fearsome Foursome) who she spent the whole summer playing with at camp. Luckily, their moms are pretty cool too, so we'll have some playdates to keep the Foursome together. There's nothing I dislike more than when one of my kids befriends someone with a parent who is offensive or horrid. Frick and Frack also had a great time. They made lots of friends, played new games, and had an all-around terrific time. Frick learned to play tennis and Frack discovered her love of drama (and not just the usual kind that she displays around here, earning her title "Drama Queen) but played the starring role in a play! Both earned their "blue bands" and became deep-end swimmers in no time at all.
The fourth thing I know is that if summer is ending, school is starting. We've got two weeks left and then school will start. We find out our teacher assignments on Friday and needless to say, we are all a mix of nervous and excited. We've got our new backpacks and our supplies (purchased from the store, not homemade) and got some new school clothes too. All we need now are shoes.
Finally, the fifth thing I know is that SS Dad got braces. See, his closest friend fron dental school is an orthodontist and SS Dad had something not quite perfect with his bite. Thus the braces. However, braces = mouth noises and there is nothing that annoys me more than mouth noises. Just ask Aunt New York about eating egg salad. Or AYS about childhood meals with me yelling about chewing with her mouth closed. I'm not a fan of the mouth noises. SS Dad is making lots of them now. I think he'll sleep on the couch until he gets used to the hardware.

File this under "what was I thinking?"

2010-07-23T21:07:00.002-04:00

We got a dog. SS Dad has been wanting one for a long time and I've been saying no. I just wasn't sure that I had it in me to do the dog thing yet. But, this great opportunity arose and we now have a 12 week old German Shepard puppy. Dog is very cute. Dog is very good. Dog has huge floppy paws. Dog will be huge. Dog is scaring the pants off Fred. Maybe. She's definitely somewhat afraid, but she's also acting afraid for attention. There had been some jumping up to the back of the couch and shrieking in fear. But then when she thought nobody was paying attention, she was petting Dog and playing with her. So, not as much fear as I originally thought. Dog does require much work on my part. Regardless of the fact that I was told that it wouldn't add to my workload. Now, I'm getting up at 5am with Dog, after staying up all night listening to her cry and whine about being crated. From 5 until 6, she mouths my arm, leg, hand, or anything else she can get her mouth on. And bites at my slippers. I have very cute fluffy slippers. She thinks they are toys. I get it. It's hard to tell the difference between fluffy slippers and fluffy chew toys. And I'm sure that my slippers smell oh, so tasty. But, I'd rather she didn't try to eat the slippers while they were on my feet. I'm just saying.
Frick and Frack are doing great with her. Frick is loving it. Frack is liking it, but working up to the love. Four thinks it's great to have someone to boss around.

Full Swing of Summer

2010-07-15T09:29:00.003-04:00

We are into our third week of camp for Frick, Frack and Fred and it couldn't be better. I knew Frick and Frack would love it, but I had concerns about Fred. Completely unwarranted concerns. Not a tear, not a complaint, not a problem. She loves it. She still gives me crap about getting up and getting dressed, but we're working on it with a star chart and I think she'll be fine. Camp is a wonderful thing. The girls play outside for most of the day, unless it's a scorcher or pouring rain. They do tennis, basketball, drama, music, art, blacktop games, soccer, just about every other game known to man plus swim twice a day (instructional swim once and free swim once.) They come home happy, tired, dirty and wanting to go back again the following day. Frick and Frack had their first late night yesterday. Their unit stayed late, going swimming an extra time, having dinner, singing, playing games and having a bonfire. "It was awesome, Mom. Totally awesome!" They did the cutest thing at the bonfire. The unit head had them each pick a small stick to toss into the fire. As they tossed it, they made a wish for the upcoming weeks. This is calling "wishing sticks" and the girls thought it was the best thing ever. This camp may be the best thing ever.

The only bad part is that Four is too young to attend. She's not very happy at home without her three playmates. Katie-the-wonder-sitter does come twice a week, but it's not quite the same as having her "sissa's" around. However, she is taking two Mommy-and-Me classes with me - a gymnastics class and a music class and she's enjoying those. She's probably like it better if I could manage to make it to them each week without being late or forgetting one or the other, but I'm doing my best here.

Frick started tennis lessons and is doing very well. She decided she didn't like gymnastics anymore, and picked tennis as her next thing to try. Her instructor said she's got a very powerful swing and is a natural. They are working on keeping her racquet level, so she hits the ball straight over the net, instead of into it or way high up into the air. Clearly, she gets this ability from AOS, not me. Frack is now on the gymnastics team, instead of just taking classes. She goes to the gym twice a week for a total of 5 hours. Her skills are picking up so quickly. There's lots of tumbling going on around here. Fred has started gymnastics as well. She had tried it last year and hated it, but with her new found bravery, she likes it now. She's still a bit shy, but has come out of her shell a tremendous amount.

In more good news, my parents are officially moved in to their new house, 7 minutes from House of Pajamas. They are loving it. So are we. The girls are getting lots of time with Grandma and Grandpa. They even sat for them last Saturday night and SS Dad and I went to dinner with friends. Good times.

Frick was outgrowing her bike (again) so we took a family trip to the bike store (sans Four who stayed with Grandma and Grandpa) to buy her a new one. While we were there, Frack also ordered a new one and SS Dad purchased a trailer to tote around Four. Fred has now inherited Frick's bike, but got a new basket, streamers and a horn to freshen it up. Shock of all shocks, I purchased one for myself. No, not a basket, streamers and a horn, a bike. Yes, a bicycle. Haven't been on one of them since I was about 13, but hey, I figured this way we can at least bike around the neighborhood all together. So far, I've been on it once. But, hopefully I will use it more now that the rain has stopped.

So summer is good. Very good. So enjoy it while it lasts.

A boring, non-funny update on us.

2010-06-01T15:13:00.002-04:00

It's been a rough couple of weeks around here. Four was so very sick. We were at the ER three times in three days and then just had to wait out a miserable virus. Her fever was the highest that any of my kids has ever had. She had more tests done than I thought possible. If I never go back to that ER, it'll be too soon. But, she's finally feeling better and sleeping again. During her illness, my poor mom got a major workout - she drove back and forth until her car was working on auto pilot. And I owe a huge debt of gratitude to my good friend Jill, who stayed with the other 3 girls during our first ER trip. She ended up at our house until 4am. I'm grateful to have such an awesome friend. AYS, who is normally mygo-to-sitter was under the weather herself and couldn't take care of Frick, Frack and Fred when she could barely take care of herself. Luckily, she's better now too.
Our summer got it's unofficial start this weekend with the first swim of the season. I think my girls might be part fish. They would've stayed in the pool indefinitely. Unfortunately, they had to get out to do things like eat and pee. If they figure out how to grow gills, I'm sure they'll never get out. We are anxiously awaiting the end of the school year and the start of camp. It'll be our first summer at the JCC camp and Frick and Frack are more than ready. Fred is still a little nervous about it, but with her friend Fiona attending as well, I'm sure she's going to have a blast. Even Four will be in on it - going two mornings a week, if I ever get out there to register her.
But the biggest thing of all, my parents are moving here in less than a month. They have sold the house they've lived in for 35 years and bought a cute ranch house less than 10 minutes from us. My mom is currently wading through 35 years of stuff. Papers that haven't seen the light of day since the 70s have surfaced. A shredder truck drove up to the house and my mom fed it lots of papers. I was shocked to hear about this service. My dad had been shredding it all piece by piece, but this went much faster. I'm still in denial that in 20 days, my parents will be living here and I will have help. It's too much for me to process right now.
In other big news, AOS is coming East for several months. She's on sabbatical and will be doing some research at Columbia in New York City. So, we'll get to see her while she's here. We're all very excited about this. I think she might be a little sad that the house will already be sold by the time she gets here and she won't get to say a proper goodbye to it. But, I think she'll love the fact that she won't need to split her visits anymore.
And one last little reminder. We are in pool season. Is your CPR up to date?

Back to Basics

2010-05-03T11:14:00.002-04:00

Sometimes I think my kids have forgotten the most basic things they've been taught. I know that I taught them to say "please", "thank you", "you're welcome" and the other niceties. I am also pretty sure that I taught them that yelling doesn't help them get what they want and tantrums aren't the best way either. Hitting and hair pulling aren't on the acceptable list either. But, there are times when they all must be reminded. And as for Four, she's still not sure that I'm sticking with the rules yet. She's young still.
But, I am tight with these things. Other things that I'm sure about are "if you take it out, you need to put it away", "don't stand in front of the open fridge contemplating the theory of relativity" and "clothing must always be weather appropriate, even if SS Dad is wearing shorts in 30 degree weather." I have decided to give on a few others though. The first one to go was "clothing must match" - with my girls matching means different things for different ones. For Frick matching means all pieces have stripes or all items are tie-dyed. For Frack matching is various shades of ths same color (pink or green obviously, no other colors are acceptable for her wardrobe.) Fred is most easily swayed to allow her clothes to fall into the actual category of matching. And poor Four. People who see her regularly probably think we cannot afford more than one outfit. She will only wear her monkey shirt, her pink leggings and pink socks. That's it. So matching really isn't an issue for her.
Another rule I've given in on is all of us eating together. It would be great if it happened, but most days, it just can't. I do try to have us all sit down together whenever possible, but since we are never eating the same things, does it really matter?
I think that maybe I've been slipping with enforcement of my "hard rules" and need us to get back to the basics. I will try harder to make it happen. Even if I am the meanest mommy ever.

Sleep, evolutionarily speaking

2010-04-14T08:03:00.003-04:00

Evolutionarily speaking, women were designed to have children much earlier than we currently do. During my stint as a graduate student, I took a class in Evolutionary Psychology, and our professor, Dr. Gordon Gallup, was always very quick to point out that women start menstruating at a young age because that's when their bodies are best equipped to handle children. (He's definitely a crackpot in some ways though - he felt it was best to have children with 7 different women to maximize the spread of his genes. But, I digress.) I have to say, in some ways, this is absolutely right.
At nearly 40, when I am kept up nights in a row, getting under 3 hours of sleep each night, I'm much less able to handle it than when I was, oh 20. At 20, I could stay up most of the night and still manage to make it to my 8am class on time. See, this sleep thing is really starting to get to me. Last night it was Fred. She had a "really terrible, awful bad dream" and came into my bed for a quick snuggle at around 12:30. Since I didn't get into bed until almost midnight, I was still awake. She snuggle right up to me and promptly went to sleep. I spent the next 4 hours trying to not fall off the bed and get her back into her own bed. Each time I'd try to carry her out, she'd wake up and start crying about how scared she was. Since I didn't want her to wake the rest of the house, especially Four, I gave up trying to move her. You see, for the two nights prior to last night, Four had a really hard time. I'd put her down with our normal routine (we sit and read 2 short books, snuggle for a few minutes on the rocking chair talking about the day and then I kiss her and put her in the crib) but she behaved anything but normally. Normally, she would talk to her puppies for a few minutes, sing a little bit and then fall asleep. Instead, she started screaming and crying. "MOMMY. I GET OUT. I SLEEP IN YOUR BED. DADDY, CARRY ME. HELP. I SCARED."
Now, we know that she's not really scared because the first night when she said that, I went running in and she smiled at me and said "I get out?" Ummm - nope. Stinker. She's not sick. We're not having any sort of family upheaval. She's just going through a sleep issue. She screamed for two hours before going to sleep (giving her a cute voice) then woke up a few hours later to yell some more and decided to wake up at 5am for the day. Not normal.
When Fred went through this, SS Dad slept on her floor for a few weeks (maybe months, my memory isn't what it used to be either) and she got over it. Now, he's just too darn old to sleep on her floor.
I guess men have the same evolutionary issue that women have, even though they can father children until the day they die.

Frogger

2010-04-04T22:43:00.003-04:00

Do you remember the Atari game Frogger? It was the one where a little froggy needed to cross a river by jumping onto floating logs and avoid being eaten by the crocodiles. I loved that game as a kid. It was so much fun and unlike all the other games we had, I could play it reasonably well. Today, we had Frogger in reverse going on, on our driveway.
Spring Cleaning is here. I think that we need to do all sorts of thing like switch out the closets, cleaning the basement, my car (in all it's nastiness of crushed goldfish, empty water bottles and fruit flavored Tootsie Rolls stuck to the seats), and under the girls' beds. SS Dad decided that the first item to tackle needed to be the garage. OK. We got everybody dressed and headed out. Whoops. We realized that the ShopVac was no longer with us. You see, last fall there was this one pretty bad rain storm. During said storm someone, who shall remain nameless, left the window of his Jeep open while at work. After sucking all that nasty rain water out of the Jeep, the Shop Vac smelled like something dragged up from the bottom of Lake George. After an attempt at getting rid of the odor with bleach, SS Dad decided to cut his losses and just trashed it.
This all boiled down to me having all 4 kids outside on the driveway with all the toys from the garage to play with. Every single bike, scooter, ball, jump rope, air pump, chair, ride-on toy, Little Tykes car and several large cardboard boxes from our recent shower renovation - all out on the driveway for the girls' playing pleasure. And play they did. While the three bigs were busy riding on every single thing they could find, Four was busy pushing her Red Car back and forth. The bigs were great about not running her over while speeding around the driveway on their bikes, trikes and scooters. But it was very Frogger like in it's appearance. They were the logs, but instead of hopping on them, she had to avoid them. She made her way from the house to the grass and back at least 50 times. It was adorable. And each time one of them came close to hitting her, somebody yelled "traffic jam!"

Good times. Much more fun than tackling the closets. Closets are on the agenda for tomorrow, since the girls have off from school all week and I was unable to secure a playdate for tomorrow. Closets are us.

The Abridged Seder

2010-03-29T17:14:00.003-04:00

When I was young, we had a full seder. Every year my grandma would go all out - from gefilte fish and chopped liver to brisket with carrots and onions, charoset to matzah stuffing. But the dessert was always store-bought. Grandma was not a baker. My dad would do the Seder and I read the Four Questions (well, answers really) until AYS was old enough to do it. Every year some of us would beg for the "abridged version" which consisted of a few short prayers and the story. Our version was quite short "once we were slaves, now we are free." Some of us were more anxious than others to get to the meal. Daddy would insist on the whole shebang and Grandma would sneak us little bits in the kitchen so we didn't starve. Now, Grandma wasn't exactly what I'd call an observant Jew. In fact, she frequently said she wasn't a fan of organized religion. But she was all about tradition. And food. Always with the food. She made everybody's favorites. Even if it took her for ever, and even when she got older and was tired. She never failed to make something for everyone. Once SS Dad joined the family and wasn't so keen on traditional Jewish foods, having not grown up eating them, she learned what his favorites were and included them in the meals too. So, our Seders included "Grandma's Little Meatballs" because SS Dad loved them.
This year, my parents couldn't come up. AYS is in New Orleans visiting her bestest friend and there was no way AOS could make it. So I decided to skip it. The girls did model Seders at Hebrew School on Sunday. They loved it. They thought putting out a glass Elijah was great. They thought hiding the Afikomen and finding it was even better. When I told them when I was growing up, GG (my grandma) always hid one piece per child, they were amazed. That meant that each child had the opportunity to find their own piece and go to Grandpa for a prize. He always whipped out his wallet gave us each a dollar. I can remember finding it in places like the piano bench, the Jade plant and the shelf above the kitchen sink, hiding among the Red Rose Tea figurines. So, I just didn't have it in me this year. Maybe next year, if everyone can be here and I won't be missing Grandma alone. I've been missing her a lot these past few weeks. I just couldn't bear it. Maybe it was too close to her birthday. Maybe I'm just an emotional mess. Maybe next year.

Crankiness

2010-03-26T18:46:00.002-04:00

When Four doesn't nap, I don't know who is crankier, me or her. Today was a "superintendent's day" at our school, so all the girls were home. It was also colder than the Polar Ice Caps here today so we couldn't go outside and play, even though it looked beautiful and sunny. The morning went ok but Frick and Frack were getting antsy by lunchtime. They'd played, read books, done arts and crafts and had a dance party already. Fred was content to just lay around. After lunch I put Four down for her nap and I wanted to lay down for a bit myself. I told Frick and Frack that I was going to lay down so they should keep quiet for an hour. Fred decided to join me (by Friday she's pretty darn tired herself!) I shut my door and Fred and I snuggled. We could hear Four on the monitor, talking and singing but most definitely not napping. I also heard this other noise that I thought was music from the teenaged boy next door. After an hour, Four finally got quiet. Then 10 minutes later, she was yelling again. She was saying "Mommy, I want a different diaper." That went on for a bit and when it became apparent that she wasn't going to do any sleeping I went in to get her. She was absolutely naked in her crib. She'd been wearing her favorite princess leotard and a diaper when I put her down. She removed both for some unknown reason. Then I figured out what the "music" was, Frick and Frack were watching TV in the family room at levels that even my deaf father could hear. No wonder the baby couldn't nap, the TV is on the wall practically next to her head. Argh.
So, now Frick and Frack are grounded from television for the next week, Four is slightly over tired and crazed, I'm cranky and Fred is the only one in good spirits. And where is SS Dad during all of this? A Friday afternoon meeting. He'd better bring me something good for dinner, and a bottle of wine.

Sharing

2010-03-14T13:46:00.002-04:00

There has been much discussion lately in the House of Pajamas about sharing rooms. Currently Frick and Frack share a room while Fred and Four have their own. SS Dad and I share a room as well. Frick and Frack have made it known that when we move the next time (since we have a habit of doing that every couple of years) they would like their own rooms - but with bunkbeds for having sister sleepovers. I was not really surprised, as Frack likes to sleep with the light off and have no music while Frick likes the lights as bright as day and Enya soothing her to sleep. Also, they'd like more closet space, being the little fashionistas they are. In light of this, I guess Fred was thinking about the concept of sharing a room. She told me that both SS Dad and I refer to "our" room as if it only belonged to one of us. I guess I call it Mommy's room and he calls it Daddy's room. I laughed and then the converstion went on like this:

Fred: How come grown-ups have to share a bed?

Me: Well, we're married and married people share a bed.

Fred: Wouldn't you have more space if you had your own bed?

Me: Sure, but we like sharing a bed.

Fred: I guess he keeps you safe from monsters, and stuff.

Me: Yeah, I guess so.

Fred: I didn't know Daddy was a fighter.

Me: More of a lover than a fighter.

Fred: Even though he has no hair?

Ummm, ok. I'm not sure what being bald has to do with fighting or loving for that matter, but I'll go with it!

Bonds

2010-03-11T17:51:00.004-05:00

So those of you who know me well know how much I love my sisters. You know how important my relationships with them are to me. You know that I frequently say that the most important thing I can ever give my girls is a sister to be close with. This sisterly bond isn't always evident. This week however, it's been shown to me by all my bigs.
With Four's MRI looming ahead of us, I knew that SS Dad and I were doing our best to keep our anxiety from the kids but it wasn't necessarily working. The first inkling of just how much they were internalizing it came on Sunday. On the way home from Religious School, Frack got very upset. A friend asked me about the MRI as we were walking out and Frack picked up on it. We'd been trying to mention it too much - you know, give them just a little info, make it age appropriate and keep our anxiety to ourselves. Frack had a mental breakdown of sorts. She and Frick have recently been to a Science Museum that has and MRI machine on display. She asked all sorts of questions about it. When we revealed that Four would need to get the "surgery medicine" to make her go to sleep, Frack lost it completely. She knew about monitoring patients during surgery and didn't see how that was possible in the MRI machine. It took about 2 hours, but we finally got her to come out of the coat closet where she'd locked herself. After an angst filled discussion where her big question was "what do they say if something goes really wrong? sorry, but your baby is dead?" we got her to understand that Four would be monitored closely and nothing bad would happen.
Never before in her 8 years has she ever shown such a bond. Sure, she and Frick are close, but I usually chalk that up to the twin thing. Clearly, she's just as bonded with Four.
Now, Fred came home on Tuesday and Wednesday and had wet her pants both days. The child has never, ever had an accident before. Obviously, she's just as upset as Frack. And Frick wet her bed on Tuesday night. Yes. Wet her bed. Hasn't happened in about 5 years.
Guess I underestimated the depth of their bonds. Guess I should have done a better job talking to them about Four's MRI. Guess we all live and learn.
What did I learn? That the lesson that I repeat to them regularly is having an impact. Friends may come and go, but your sisters are yours for life. Don't lose them.

The Death of Me

2010-03-10T21:43:00.011-05:00

As most parents will tell you, my kids will be the death of me. Each of them, in their own way, has managed to take years off my life with some hair-graying incident, illness, accident or death defying stunt. No wonder my hair stylist likes me so much.
First was my pregnancy with Frick and Frack. The constant worrying about their growth and then weeks of bedrest (8 weeks at home and then 7 in the hospital) took about a decade off. Worry, worry, worry. Then Frick had her "aborted SIDS" incident at 5 months. Nothing like watching your husband performing CPR on your non-responsive baby to take a good number of years off. Frack was no better. The shrieks from her night terrors took years off not only my life, but my neighbors as well. What a set of lungs on that kid. Then we had her tonsil surgery. It went fine, but her hysteria and vomitting coming out of the anesthesia definitely swiped a few more year. Finally, those two have taken more years with their slew of broken bones. 3 casts in 6 months and it's bye-bye to some more time.
Fred had her her share of time-taking as well. The year she turned two there was that call from the pediatrician that she was being placed on the list for a kidney transplant definitely took more than a few years from me. Luckily that turned out to be lab error, but I'm sure I'll never get those years back.
And this time it was little Miss Four. After our trip to visit The Mouse in October, we were looking through the 2000 pictures that SS Dad had taken and noticed that her left eye seemed "droopy" in many of them. We'd never noticed this before. So we looked back at photos of her from birth on and discovered that it appeared around her first birthday. I thought it was looking progressively worse but SS Dad disagreed. Still, it raised a red flag for him and we made an appointment with a Pediatric Opthomological Plastic Surgeon (POPS) ASAP. He took a look and thought it was nothing major, but advised us to have a neurology consult. SS Dad didn't go with me to that consult. The night before the appointment, we talked about it and he said "worst case scenario, she'll need a sedated MRI." Off to the appointment I went, sans SS Dad. The doc was really great, although younger than me (which doesn't seem possible, but he most definitely was) with 3 little ones of his own. He said "if this were my daughter, she'd have sedated MRI, and have it immediately." I heard not another word that lovely man said. I left his office with info for the MRI and drove around in a very unfamiliar city that isn't so nice. I called SS Dad at his office and scared his assistants with all my yelling that he wasn't there with me. Then we got the call from the local hospital that does sedated MRIs for pediatric patients. I was flipping out. I hate the thought of putting the kids under anesthesia. They are just too tiny to be put to sleep and intubated. It scares the crap out of me. But, we needed to rule out things like a tumor and optic nerve issues, so I sucked up the hysteria and made the appointment. Two days before the MRI was scheduled, the girls all got sick. Since you can't sedate a coughing baby, we rescheduled. The next available time was a full month later. See, this particular MRI was going to take 2 times slots and it's nearly impossible to book that. OK. Years gone. Many years gone. Say things like tumor to a mom and you can pretty much watch the years slipping away before your eyes. Saying tumor in conjuction with sedation and intubation and it's ridiculous.
But, we managed to make it through the month and Four had her sedated MRI this morning. She did beautifully. She came out of the anesthesia very well and SS Dad managed to convince the radiologist to give us a "wet read" of the MRI. No lesions. No problems with her optic nerve. Nothing to worry about at all.
Biggest sigh of relief. But still, those years are never coming back. Gone, gone, gone. I should be dead sometime about last year.

Eight

2010-02-27T11:11:00.004-05:00

It's hard to believe, but Frick and Frack will be 8 on Monday. I find this shocking. When did they get so old? They are getting so grown-up it's kind of disgusting. They do stuff like ski, ice skate, play piano and make science projects. They make wish lists for their birthdays with things like microscopes and telescopes. They read all kinds of things that should be beyond them - and I constantly have to remind them Mommy's reading material isn't always appropriate for them to read (ahem.) They are generally such great big sisters and love their little sisters. They helped Fred so much during this school year making the transition to Kindergarten. (Well, they mostly didn't complain, and when they did, they felt badly about it after I pointed out that they always had each other and she has no one but them.) They love Four dearly. They pretty much give her anything she wants and always let her play with them, even when their friends are over.
Don't get me wrong, they are still normal kids who do things like complain about homework, lose their ski pants, leave their dirty clothes on the floor instead of dropping them down the chute 2 feet away, eat nothing but chicken nuggets and hamburgers, do gymnastics on the furniture and hide the remote so Fred can't change the channel. But even when they are being normally frustrating, they are still wonderful kids. I get so many compliments about them. Their teachers, the aides at school, other parents, Fred's religious school teacher, the Rabbi, babysitters - everyone tells me how well behaved, polite and genuinely nice they are. They are pretty terrific kids. I am lucky to have them.

Variety

2009-12-23T16:15:00.002-05:00

OK. I have nothing to put together for a cohesive post, so this one is about a variety of things. A mish-mash if you will. A conglomeration of thoughts. A bunch of random musings.
1. Lately, all my kids want ice pops. I have no idea why. It's a whopping 20 degrees outside, and my little crazies want ice pops. OK. It's like drinking water, only with food coloring and sugar added. I'm still thinking of it as a form of hydration.
2. It's that time of year again. You know, when most of the world celebrates Christmas. We do celebrate, but it's more of a reason to give the kids a bunch of toys to play with than anything else. We are raising them Jewish, but it's our only Christian celebration. However, the girls know it's not "their" holiday. But, they are still choosing to believe in Santa and that's ok with me. I did however, have to employ a friend's motto "If you don't believe, you don't receive" recently. Apparently Frack has been thinking about the whole Santa thing. She told SS Dad "Scientifically, I don't think I can recommend Santa Claus." So, I told her the whole "believe = receive" idea and she quickly changed her tune. I guess by next year, Frick and Frack will not be believers anymore. I hope to get them to act as helpers in keeping the Santa tradition alive for Fred and Four.
3. Fred loves bacon. Kind of the way I love chocolate. She'd eat it at every meal (and sometimes does.) We were discussing how way back when, when SS Dad and I were young, there was no pre-cooked ready-to-eat bacon, just the kind you had to cook. Frick then said "yeah, they had to get a pig, and then kill it..." SS Dad and I lost it. Just cracked up. Too funny. Maybe you don't find it as funny as we did, but we were hysterical.
4. We are cast free. Not one of them is encased in fiberglass. However, they've signed up for 6 weeks of skiing, so I'm not sure how long this fiberglassless-ness will last. Hopefully longer than the last time.
5. There's been much discussion as to whether or not a Five is in order. The girls have asked for a brother, unlikely, but still...Anyway, one of the things I was concerned about was the number of years between Frick/Frack and Five. They'd be at more than 8 years apart. What kind of relationship could they possibly have? Would they ever have anything in common? Then I thought about it hard. As I was mopping up the floor of AYS' bathroom in the middle of night when it exploded. They could have a great relationship! We do. Sure, I'm 8 years older than her, and when we were kids we weren't the closest, but now - she's my go-to-girl for everything. Need a Target shopping buddy? Call AYS. Need a Twilight-movie buddy? Call AYS. Need someone to watch a couple of kids while we take one to the ER? Call AYS. And, if your toilet explodes in the middle of night? Call me.

Ah yes, remember 2?

2009-12-19T16:19:00.005-05:00

By 2, I mean the age, not having just 2 kids. I do remember 2. I was beginning to think that the devil himself may have taken over the adorable girl of ours who just hit this age, but I was reminded by a friend that kids are a misery at 2. Usually you block this misery out, either by the awful that is 3 (or 4, 5, 6...) or by the need to forget because it is too awful to remember. I didn't remember Frick, Frack or Fred being this belligerent, stubborn or single minded. I didn't remember them shrieking at me when they didn't get their way. I didn't remember thinking I would be taken away to a nice, white-walled padded room if she (or they) didn't stop doing whatever it was that they were doing. But alas, I have it. Mommy brain.
It's the disease that takes over so you remain calm. So you don't lock your child in the closet at 18 months, in the hopes that you will skip the "fun" years of 2-5. So you have more kids. Clearly, it's a tactic in both self-preservation and the preservation of the young.
So, little Four has turned 2. She's a delight. She narrates the trips to Target, "wook Mommy! Monkey Jamas. I need Monkey Jamas." She picks out her own clothes in the morning, "The boo one Mommy. I wear da boo one." (Of course, she doesn't actually mean blue, boo one = anything other than the one I have picked out for her.) She directs her sisters, "I sit dere. NO! I sit dere. My chair." And she directs her parents as well. I'd give an example, but I'm blocking them out.
She is precious though. She loves to give kisses. She carries around her puppy and blankie everywhere she goes. She has a favorite pair of gloves (Monkey Glubs) and although they were purchased for Frick and are several sizes too big for her, she insists they are hers. She went for Hibachi with AYS and me today and entertained our chef with her "it gared me" (it scared me) when he set stuff on fire. She has certain people that she loves and talks about constantly. She's got a bit of a crush on SS Dad's partner and his family. She asks for them all the time. She loves to watch Wiggles clips on youtube, "I need Wiggle-puter" or "Wiggle-sone" - SS Dad's iphone.
Most of the time she is a real delight, but somedays, she's 2.

2009-12-16T16:06:00.004-05:00

Recently I was given a piece of (unsolicited) parenting advice from someone who should not have been giving it. I grimaced, said thank you and promptly ignored them. The fact of the matter is that while I do not consider myself to be the be-all-and-end-all of parenting skills, I have picked up a thing or two raising my 4. I do not claim to know a thing about parenting teenages, and quite frankly, it scares me a lot. But, seriously folks, I think that I've got the toddler thing under control.
In fact, here are a few words of wisdom from this mom of 4.
1. Don't try to reason with your toddler. Standing in the store and telling him all the daily nutrition needs of a toddler isn't going to make not giving him candy any easier. In fact, he'll probably whine and cry a little more for having to stay longer in the aisle staring at the object of his desire that you ar keeping from him. Children under 9 (give or take a year or so) do not have the true ability to use logical reasoning like this. If you want to tell me about all the times you've reasoned with a toddler and had him say "oh yes. Now I understand that I cannot have 8 servings of candy everyday. Thanks for showing me the nutrition guide" rest assured, I will know you are lying. Sometimes it's honestly best to just distract and move on. And sometimes the best answer is just "no."
2. Don't take your child on a shopping trip or to a restaurant when she should be sleeping. And I mean both nighttime sleep and napping. The awful shopping trips usually occur when a little one is tired or hungry. Just don't do it. Stay home when Susie needs a nap and let her have one. Don't use the line of reasoning with yourself "oh she'll nap in the stroller/car" because it won't happen. It won't be a good enough sleep and you'll be sorry - as will everyone you encounter.
3. Don't use the line "I'm in charge here" because clearly, when you are using it, you've already lost control.
4. Don't be afraid to raise your voice. Lowering it helps sometimes too, but sometimes a well-placed yell is just the thing that is needed. I'm not advocating yelling at your kid all the time, but there are times when a yell might help.
5. Don't be afraid to let your child leave the house in her pajamas or in clothing that doesn't match. Sometimes the best way to teach a lesson is to have the natural consequences occur. Yes, this will not work once she's in elementary school (at least for the pajamas) but a day spent in the pjs at the store or in preschool may help convince your stubborn little one that clothing really isn't all that evil. It's truly a matter of picking your battles - after all, in the long run, is wearing matching socks as important as doing her homework or some other non-negotiable items.
6. Pay close attention to this one. This is the best bit of advice I have. Never, ever, ever run out of wine.

Four-isms

2009-12-09T10:51:00.002-05:00

Four speaks quite well. For the most part. Keeping in mind that she's not quite 2. There are a great many things that still require translation for those who may be not as familiar with her expressions as, well, me. Here are a few of my favorites:

swoot swack - fruit snack
see ya ater - see you later
Are you? - Where are you?
Ah-som - May I have some please?
Get out! - I want to get out of my crib and come into you bed, right NOW.
Caderpillah - Baby Mozart (the Baby Einstein videos all start with this little caterpillar)
Tushie bum - bumping down the stairs on her tush
I mi need - I want
Droller - stroller
Snow Wipe - Snow White
Wiggle Puter - I want to watch YouTube clips of the Wiggles
Eh-wer - Edward (yes, as in from Twilight)

Then there are the other cute little things she says that make me smile. Like snow (which is currently falling from the sky) is always "snowman" even in flake form. And "cheese" whenever she sees a camera (or cellphone) pointed in her direction. Then she says both "dude" and "awesome" and it's hilarious! It's all these cute little things that save her little "tushie bum" from being put out with the trash on Fridays.

Turkey Travels

2009-11-28T16:03:00.004-05:00

We've just made it home from the Turkey Day travels. We headed down to where my parents and SS Dad's mom live for the weekend. We had some big stuff planned. Like meeting our new nephew. The 4Fs were so excited (well, ok, 3 of them were and Four was just regular) that they were practically squirming out of their seats in the car. This was big stuff. SS Dad's sister (and her hubby) adopted a little boy from China. He's eight. Frick and Frack think that's the most awesome part. Fred thinks the fact that he speaks a foreign language is the most awesome part. That means that he doesn't have to answer people when they ask him questions and nobody prods him in the back and hisses "don't be shy, answer her." We enjoyed and ate lots of dessert.
Then it was off to visit friends about an hour south of there. More excitement. We were visiting SS Dad's best friend from dental school and his family. We love them more than chocolate (ok, maybe not more, but definitely just as much.) G-man and P-woman have 2 boys, who happen to be the same ages as Frick/Frack and Fred. Perfect. When we get together it's like we've never been apart, even though our visits are sometimes 6 months apart. The kids fall right back into playing together beautifully. It's a wonderful thing. P-woman and I get to sit and chat (while dealing with Four and the occasional need of Fred to hang on my leg) and talk about all kinds of good stuff. Like movies and books and food. The men, on the other hand, always seem to be planning something. This year, they decided to plan a vacation. First they picked a 2 week jaunt to Ireland and England. I had to veto that one. As much as I'd love it, I don't think it's in the cards this year. So then it morphed into a ski weekend in Vermont. Now, for those of you who may not know me all that well, I don't do skiing. Actually, I don't do anything that might be considered an outdoor winter sport. Ever. Hate them. Really and truly. But, they've picked a lovely mountain resort town that has a spa. I can spend hours in the hot tub and getting a massage while SS Dad takes the kids skiing and sends them off to ski lessons. My mom has agreed to take Four for the weekend. Sounds perfect!
Now, if only someone could convince me that all my kids will be cast-less for the event, I may actually consider it.

So, we've been busy.

2009-11-13T13:21:00.002-05:00

It's been nearly 2 months since I've blogged. I've done lots of blogging in my mind, but no actual blogging. I blogged about our Disney trip, Fred's birthday, Fred going to Kindy for 2 full days each week now, all of us having H1N1 - lots of stuff. Sorry none of it managed to make it out of my head and onto the screen. I'll do a quick recap for you.
Disney - we went. 9 days. We took my mom. The girls loved it. Ok, for a few days they all loved it. Then Four hated it. Then Fred hated it. Then Frick and Frack wanted to stay longer. We met all the princesses, got our autograph books signed, had all the character meals, took nearly 2000 pictures, became completely exhausted and then flew home. It was good. It was fun. It was a very long trip. If I ever have a chance to go through all the pictures, I'll post a couple.
Fred's Birthday - she turned 5. Unbelievable. She's getting so big. She's definitely blossoming in many ways. She's also still ornery and driving me bonkers. But hey, at least she's one year closer to high school graduation. She didn't want a party, and it was a good thing because she ended up very sick on her birthday. Poor thing.
Fred also now goes to "EDK" or Extended Day Kindergarten on Tuesdays and Wednesdays. That means that on Mondays, Thursdays and Fridays, she's still coming home at her usual 10:50, but on Tuesdays and Wednesdays, she has lunch in the cafeteria and then stays for an afternoon program. This program is for kids who could benefit from services (OT in Fred's case) but don't qualify for them through the school. And since the school is buying out of the full-day kindy thing, I think this is there way of trying to make it up to the kids who really need help. She hated it at first, but I think she's adjusting. That's what her teachers said at parent-teacher conferences yesterday. Adjusting is good.
I also had conferences with Frick and Frack's teachers. Those went well too. Frack turns out to be a popular kid. Who would've guessed a kid of mine would be popular? Ha. Her classmates all do like her. Academically she's doing well - a little lazy, but we already knew that. Frick's teacher adores her. Told me what a great student she is, a real people pleaser - always finishing her work on time, doing it all neatly, trying to make the teacher happy. Good. She's also well-liked by her peers. Academically, also doing great. Both of them are performing above grade level in reading and math. Such smarty-pants.
As for H1N1 - it kicked our familial butt. Ugh. It was awful. SS Dad is the last of us to suffer through, he even took 2 days off from work. Unheard of. However, we all seem to be on the other side of it now. Seriously - any more sickies and I would been carted away to a room with padded walls.

News Flash

2009-09-21T08:21:00.002-04:00

Things got kind of hectic around here. Let's see - Frick and Frack are adjusting well to second grade. Today they start switching classes for reading and math. At least Frick will. Frack, well, I'll get back to her. Fred started Kindergarten and is actually adjusting much better than I anticipated. She likes her teacher a lot and is even making new friends. I know, shocking. Her teacher, Ms. C, and I have been in constant contact and we both are pleasantly surprised. It was rough the first day or so, but Frick and Frack have been sitting with her on the bus and walking her to her class and I think this helps. Tonight is Open House, so we'll hopefully have a chance to speak with Ms. C at length again.
This weekend was Rosh Hashana. Since we finally joined a congregation, we decided to take the kids to services. My parents and AYS were coming for dinner. I was in the shower and SS Dad was getting the stuff out of the old "vinny-van" to turn it in and Frack came running into my bathroom. She said she hurt her hand and was being the drama queen we all know and love. I sent her downstairs to sit and wait for me. I came out and found her on couch with ice on top and bottom of her wrist. SS Dad said he gave her Motrin and when I heard she took it willingly, I knew she'd broken it. SS Dad took her to his hospital and in under an hour (plus 10 pizzas for the staff of the ER) they were on their way home with her in an immobilizer.
My parents came, we went to services, we walked to the lake and cast out our misdeeds from the past year and came home for dinner. She was feeling so much better that she totally forgot and did a handstand. Yup - only Frack would attempt this. More Motrin. But, yesterday she was ok and she'll be getting her cast (which I'm certain will be pink, even though she wants tie-dye) at 10:15 this morning.

John Cusack films and H1N1

2009-09-09T22:20:00.003-04:00

So I've got the swine flu. H1N1. Ok. I may not. It may be just a cold/ear infection. I've got meds for it and I might start to feel better soon. Maybe. Maybe not. We'll reserve judgement until all the facts are in. (Name that movie all you Cusack fans)
And Frick and Frack started school today. There had been much drama because Frick learned that many girls she knows and loves are in her class 2 weeks ago but Frack only heard about a couple of boys who were "ick." So last night Frack (showing just how much she is my daughter, despite her dismissal of all things chocolate) was heaving over the toilet. Twice. And crying. Yup - definitely mine. Frick slept peacefully in her bed (maybe I should have given them both allergy meds, not just Frick - just something to ponder) blissfully unaware of the hysteria of her twin. This morning she bounded from her bed and was dressed in two seconds flat. Frack moved at a snail's pace. They both got on the bus and I got ready to take Fred to her Kindergarten Walk-Through.
When Fred and I arrived at school, we peeked on both of them. I should've known something was wrong then. Frick was as red as a beet. I couldn't see Frack's face, but she was hovering over her chair, which for her is an indication of excitement. Fred only cried twice during the hour long walk-through. Not that bad for her. We'll see what happens on Monday. She cried tonight as well (she has just about every night) that she's worried the kids won't like her or be her friend. We talked about her teacher making rules about kids being nice to each other. I don't think she bought it. Again, I'll reserve judgement.
Then we went out to get Frick and Frack from the bus. Frack bounced down the stairs like a happy little sprite. Frick made her way like the tortoise. She started crying before we even made it across the street. I finally got out of her that her teacher (who is a leave-replacement while her official teacher is on maternity leave) yelled at her whole table because the girls were chatty and not paying attention, even though she was trying to be good. She definitely learned the "guilt by association" lesson today. I also had to email the teacher because the allergy note that came home made no mention of tree nuts, only peanuts. It only took me 3 tries to get the letter to not come off as hostile or nasty. I couldn't do it without getting help from SS Dad. Everything I wrote sounded like "I don't know if you weren't given proper information from the stupid school nurse" or "I'm not sure if you are aware that tree nuts and peanuts are two distinct things" or "what kind of idiot are you?"
So I'm off to hack up a lung in bed, while trying to get my ear to stop feeling like somebody is stabbing it with a hot poker. Yeah, H1N1.

More than a river

2009-09-05T18:48:00.003-04:00

Denial. It's my current state of being. My way of life. My way of getting through the day.
I am NOT going to have 3 of 4 kids in school this year.
My baby is NOT going to be 2 in just a few short months.
The summer is NOT going to end and turn into winter.
I am NOT old enough to have wrinkles or gray hair.
I do NOT need more than 4 hours of sleep each night.
I do NOT have the worst singing voice in the world.
I am NOT sitter-less (with the exception of weekends when Katie-the-wonder-sitter comes home.)
I do NOT have 8 loads of laundry waiting to be folded and put away.
It is NOT 2 months until the release of a certain movie.

However, here are some things I am honestly not in denial over.
I do have a brand-new, gorgeous, huge car that I love.
I do have the first two seasons of Buffy to watch.
I am pleased with the progress Fred made this summer with her OT.

But other than that, deny, deny, deny.

2009-08-24T15:38:00.003-04:00

Summer is most definitely coming to a close. There are tons of leaves in the pool. The bees are starting their frenzy. The girls got their teacher assignments in the mail. Bathing suits are less than half-price at Land's End. I will milk this summer for as long as I possibly can. I promise.
Frick and Frack have spent the past several days trying to figure out who is in their classes. Today, my favorite boy from Frack's first grade class called to see if either one is in his class. Frick is. They were very excited. Well, let me clarify that - Frick was excited. Frack was sad. So far she only knows of 3 boys in her class (no girls at all) and she doesn't particularly like either one of them. I promised her that there will be girls in her class and she'll probably know most of them but she doesn't believe me yet. Frick has been thrilled to find out who is in her class - lots of friends from school and camp. Fred knows 1 little girl so far in her class and is still as nervous as can be. Four doesn't have a class yet. I'd love to do a Mommy and Me class with her, so she can see that no all other children are twice her size and require domination by screaming, but so far all the classes I've found won't allow me to get home in time to get Fred from the bus by 11am. Yes, Kindergarten in our school is half-day and she'll be home at 10:50. Not quite a half-day in my book, but clearly I haven't been given a say.
Katie-the-wonder-sitter will be leaving us, at least temporarily. She got a leave replacement position about 1 1/2 hours from here. She will be coming home on weekends, but it won't quite be the same. The position may only be until January, but we'll miss her terribly.
Oooh - I'm also getting ready for my big trip to Austin. It's very short (just a Friday - Sunday jaunt) but I'm going without any kids. It's going to be very exciting. I'm getting together with some Mommy friends - some of whom even share my love of all things Twilight. Doubly exciting. Less exciting for SS Dad, but he's happy when I'm happy, right??

Deja Vu

2009-08-17T21:47:00.002-04:00

Last Thursday my mom brought the girls boats for the pool. Two smallish blow-up boats that fit two little girls in each one. Perfect. And it's deja vu.
Growing up AOS, AYS and I spent hours playing in the backyard pool. AOS and I would have races, try to hide underneath the blow-up boat (but get yelled out to "stop that because there isn't enough oxygen under there") and spend weekend days scrubbing the pool liner with a mixture of Liquid Ajax and water. We'd watch AYS swimming on the top step of the pool and take her around in the boats with us. Sometimes we'd have diving contests and when friends came over we'd have beauty pagents using our towels as our evening gowns. There were always lots of snacks. Veggies and dip, lots of chips, gallons of soda and enough cookies to choke a horse. It was a wonderful experience. The Z family would come over and we'd spend hours racing with the Z kids while Mr. Z acted as competition official. There would be more eating and everyone went to bed tired and happy.
Watching my kids play with the boats this weekend brought it all right back. Frick and Frack even did the whole "rock the boat" thing we used to do as kids. Fred is getting more and more confident every single day. Four swims on the top step and loves to go in the "moats" (as she calls the boats.) I bring out snacks and wish that GG was still here to make the dip, cut the veggies and bring it all out on the tray with the playing cards. I wish GG Jack was here with his wiffle ball bat to suck up all the dirt from the steps of the pool. Using a skimmer doesn't work quite the same. And he was amazing at killing wasps and bees with his baseball hat.
But still, my kids are having a great summer. They are swimming up a storm, racing around the pool in their boats and looking every single bit as happy as I am to watch them.

What if Fred also had a twin?

2009-08-12T22:16:00.003-04:00

So Fred has decided against camp. And by this I mean that after careful consideration, some wailing and a camp director who was completely unwilling to help, SS Dad and I decided that Fred could stop going. The main problem with this camp was the willy-nilly-ness of it. You could send your child any day you felt like it. You purchased tickets and could use them at any time. This is a good thing for some and not so good for others. For Fred it meant that the same kids weren't always there each day. She may have adjusted to that if the counselors also didn't change weekly. This has been Frick and Frack's favorite part - but Fred couldn't handle it. She needs continuity. She needs routine. She needs sameness. I have no idea where she gets that. So, she's been staying home with me and Four. Sometimes it's nice and other times I'd like to duct tape her to the inside of her closet. It's also causing me to have some major panic attacks about sending her to kindergarten in a few short weeks. I'm nervous about what is going to happen when she gets off the bus and is surrounded by a horde of kids (all taller and older than her) as they head to the classrooms. The kindergarten classrooms are at the end of the hallway, so she'll have to pass all the rooms for the second and first grades as well as two special ed rooms before she gets to her own. I've been having visions (ala Alice for my twi-buddies) of her standing in the hallway crying. I know that Frick and Frack will be able to walk her to her room, but I also know that they are not even 8. It's not their responsibility to make sure that she's ok - they still have to get to their own rooms. And if they do walk her, I'm fairly certain that she isn't going to let them leave. I've been on the receiving end of her shirt grabbing, tear-staining choke hold. It isn't pretty.
However, I know that in some ways she is more than ready. Her academic skills are there. If she can get past her fears, she'll be fine. Katie-the-wonder-sitter reminded me that Kindergarten teachers are a special kind of person, and they are able to handle these kinds of things. I know I should feel better about it. I know that she won't be the first kid to cry. I know that she won't even be the only one doing it. However, she'll be MY first kid to cry. Frick and Frack got on the bus and never looked back. They couldn't wait to go. They have that kind of personality.
The other day Fred asked me why I didn't give her a twin too. She clearly has thought about this. So have I. If she had a twin (besides me being institutionalized) she would have that built in security system. She'd had that person to check in with. She'd know that even if she wasn't ready to talk to anyone else in the room, she'd have her twin. It's hard, being the younger sister of a set of outgoing twins who have been called "personality plus" to the max. It can't be easy for her. I hope she makes the transition ok. I hope I do too.

Toddler Talk

2009-07-28T11:17:00.002-04:00

I'd pretty much forgotten what it was like to have a toddler in the house. Fred was not a typical toddler in most ways. And I have a short memory anyway now that I have kids.
Four is such a toddler. She will tell you entire stories where you only understand about 3 words. She's pretty awesome with the animal sounds, but actual words aren't always easy to understand. Her counting for example sounds like "nine, two, nine, two" over and over again. Sometimes she'll toss in a "fee" or "sive" but mostly it's nine and two. And I'd forgotten about the screaming. She likes to ride in car-carts at the supermarket. If they don't have one - the entire zipcode will hear about it. And shoes. She hates them. In fact, she refuses to wear them. Right now, she's shrieking at me because she "ni hao" - roughly translated, it is not "hello" in Chinese, it's "I NEED HELP AND YOU HAVE TO STOP EVERYTHING AND DO IT NOOOWWWW!!!!!!!!!"
But, she's also great in toddler ways too. Like how she idolizes her sisters. She asks for Fred first thing when she wakes up. Every single time. She follows them all around doing whatever it is that they are doing. She goes into the bathroom with them in the morning to "get ready" and will brush her teeth. She likes to have her water in the same bottle that they take to camp for snack. We had to take her booster seat off her chair in the kitchen because she refused to sit it in - she loves being a big girl. She's also really into talking on the phone. She loves to call everyone on the phone AYS. She chats with AOS and tells her what sounds all the animals make. She tells Grandma "lah-oo" and melts all our hearts.
Toddlerhood is an amazing time. I know it won't last forever and while I'm grateful for that most of the time, sometimes, when Four is being all lovey and sweet and giving me kisses, I wish it would last forever. But, don't quote me on that later!

Disjointed thoughts, totally stream of consciousness.

2009-07-24T14:08:00.004-04:00

Frick, Frack and Fred are all in the basement playing nicely. I guess spending all that time (and money) on the organizer was worth it. They haven't played down there (without an adult or much older cousin) in months. I purged so much garbage from there it's ridiculous - but definitely worth it because they are enjoying themselves on a very cloudy day!
Fred's been having some troubling nightmares. I'm used to the nightmares of the monster variety - Frack has had those for years - but these are different. This is anxiety. I recognize it and find it very upsetting. She's worried about stuff that she has control over but is afraid of - for example, the other day camp had a dance party. Each group had it's turn with the DJ and was able to dance. Fred was too nervous/shy to dance. So that night, she woke up screaming "I want to dance to!!!! WAIT!!!!!!!!" Clearly, she did want to do it, she just wasn't ready to dance before her group was done. She's had other dreams of the same variety. This is very upsetting. SS Dad and I have tried talking to her about it, but she just says something silly instead of really talking about it. I hope I'm making the right move putting her into kindergarten this year. It's coming up so quickly! September is right around the corner.
I'm also feeling like a techo-reject lately. I got a new phone (an EnV Touch) and for the life of me, I cannot figure out how to put music onto it without buying it. I've got tons of music on the computer but can't get it on the phone. And I think I may be the only person on the planet who cannot figure out the whole BlueTooth thing. I've got the headset, it's set-up, but I cannot seem to make it work properly. I can't make a phone call if it's on. Maybe I just wasn't meant to have current technology.
And I'm slightly worried about Four. She's such a grump. Nothing makes her happy, except sitting with her right thumb in her mouth and her left one in her belly button. That's ok with me, but when we are in the car, she screams "BODY" if she can't get her finger in her belly button. When I say "scream" what I mean is that she yells it loud enough for AOS to hear it all the way across the country. She does have quite a set of lungs.
Frick and Frack have been giving me attitude and lip lately - I know it's normal, they are getting to that age - but still - a little respect would be nice. Or at least fake it. I didn't think they'd think I was stupid until they hit at least 10. Frack rolls her eyes at me with the "duh, MOM" look regularly. Frick is a little more subtle, but it's still there. Some days they are still babies and other days, I'm getting glimpses into what the teenage years will be like. I'm frightened.

Summertime - Pajamas Style

2009-07-20T20:47:00.003-04:00

We've been keeping busy. Crazy. Busy. Same thing. For the Fourth of July we decided to take the Fs to Boston. We visited with a fellow twin mom and her family and had a wonderful time. We saw fireworks (SS Dad and Four went to sleep at the hotel, but Frick, Frack, Fred and I enjoyed fireworks with friends) went to see Harvard and spent hours at the New England Aquarium. Fun. Lots of fun.
We took backyard swim lessons. Frick and Frack learned to do all the different strokes and Fred is inches away from actually swimming. We'll be doing another 2 week stint of backyard lessons starting next week. I'm sure Fred will have mastered it by then.
Frick, Frack and Fred are going to half-day camp. Frick and Frack love it. Adore it. Are the life of the party there. Seriously. Everybody knows them as the crazy girls who laugh all the time. Love it. Fred took some bribing, but after a week of sticker charts and a large stuffed dog, she's not crying anymore. She told me today that she likes the play with "at least some of the kids" and will not cry again this summer. I'm not sure I believe the not crying thing, but I'll take it!
Four has become a total daredevil. She stands on the top step of the pool and says "nine, two" and then jumps in. Hopefully an adult is waiting there for her, but she doesn't care one way or the other. She also loves to go up and down the stairs in the house. She learned to do it without turning around backwards now, and her legs are almost long enough to do it fairly efficiently. Scares me anyway though.
I've also hired a professional organizer to kick my butt. I mean to help me get the basement into a state where the girls may even play down there. I've got tons of stuff to be donated and tons more that is literally garbage. Broken toys. Games with no pieces. Garbage. Colleen, organizer extraordinaire is returning tomorrow for more butt-kicking. This week we'll move into the kitchen and study where major butt-kicking is in order. I look forward to become more like my former self in terms of the organization thing. I used to be a very organized person. Then I had four kids and it all went out the window. Actually, it all went out the window when I spent 7 weeks in the hospital before I had the first two.
The girls have also been spending lots of time with Katie-the-wonder-sitter. She's pretty darn terrific. She gets them to do all sorts of stuff (like summer workbooks and cleaning up the family room) that I could only dream of getting them to do with threatening them without some awful consequences. She'll be here bright and early tomorrow - busy day ahead - dentist for Frick and Frack, Colleen-the-butt-kicker, Piano lessons for Frick and Frack, and maybe a nap in there some time after 4 for me.
Finally, the girls have really kept me laughing this summer. Let's see - Four likes to tell you "I tired" and she'll tell everyone in the room the same thing. She'll say "Daddy? I tired." Two seconds later it's "Frick? I tired." Then "Fred? I tired." She moves through everyone in the room. Quite cute. Frack just lost another tooth (her seventh) and put it under her pillow for the tooth fairy. The tooth fairy forgot about it, it had been a very long day. In the morning, when she came out crying that the tooth fairy forgot her, I sent her downstairs and ran up to her room, cash hidden in my fist. I pretended to pull it from under her books on her nightstand (just in case Frick was watching) and gave it to her. She said "I guess I was sleeping on my pillow too hard and the tooth fairy couldn't get it out." Then she wrote her a note - Dear Tooth Fairy, You forgot to pick up my tooth last night. Don't worry, you already paid me for it." Love, Frack.
And Fred. Cracking me up. She wasn't thrilled about going to camp. There's a little girl we know who also attends, but she hasn't been there since the first week. Fred tells me today that she hopes that girl doesn't come back because "she's mean and bossy and I don't like that at all." Why is this so funny? Mostly because Fred is often mean and bossy and I'm guessing she doens't like a taste of her own medicine!
All in all, at the halfway point of the summer we are having fun - even if Mother Nature has been treating us to unseasonable weather.

Slightly biased.

2009-06-30T09:58:00.002-04:00

The truth is that I may be slightly biased, but I think my kids are pretty amazing. Take Fred. Two years ago, she wouldn't ever talk to a stranger, she wouldn't let me leave her in a class without screaming and crying and would never had dreamed of allowing me out of her sight. Yesterday Fred (and Frick and Frack) took their first backyard swim lesson. Fred not only participated, but talked to the instructor and had fun. At her graduation from preschool, she fully participated in all the skits, even with all those people in the room. At the last performance, she covered her face and stood there miserable. That was just 6 months ago. Now, I know she may always be shy or at least slow to warm up to people, but my fears about her entering kindergarten this fall as getting much better. I know academically she'll be fine, but I'm starting to have hope that socially she'll be fine as well.
Now take Frick. Yesterday she shocked her swim instructor with her vocabulary. I've always taken care to not dumb stuff down for the girls. I think having an extensive vocabulary is an important thing. I can remember studying for the SATs in high school and not worrying at all about the verbal sections because my vocabulary was much larger than most high schoolers. Not only is it good for things like that, but also for finding better, more creative ways to say things. You also sound less stupid when you know more things.
As for Frack. She's reading on a mid third grade level - after just completing first grade. Her nose is always firmly buried in a book. She's got them hidden everywhere. There's one in her bed. There's one in the bathroom upstairs. There's one in the bathroom downstairs. There's one under the couch. There's one in the study. She never wants to be without one. She even takes one in the car, even though it makes her carsick to read there. I love this. It reminds me of someone. Who? Me.
Lastly there is Four. She's the only 18 month old I know that knows all the words to Hannah Montana songs. She rocks out to Mr. Steve and the Wiggles, but Hannah and the Jonas Brothers are definitely part of her repertoire. And some Cake. And all the songs on the Twilight soundtrack. She also plays the drums for Rock Band like nobody's business.
Yeah, I might be slightly biased, but I think my kids are awesome.

Dying a slow death on the teller line

2009-06-24T22:14:00.003-04:00

That's my new expression when I'm bored. AYS gave it to me. She is currently working for a bank - she goes to different branches, where ever she is needed and can either do "platform" or "teller" stuff. She's the go-to-girl when they need help in a branch. This is fine, but there is one branch in particular that is s-l-o-w and when she said that line, I knew it was perfect.
The other day I went to our library to finally get myself a card. I had Fred and Four with me and Four was ornery and squirmy. She didn't want to stay in the stroller. She didn't want to be in my arms. She only wanted DOWN. She kept yelling it louder and louder as if I didn't understand her the first 4 million times she yelled it. The woman at the circulation desk however, didn't seem to care. It was her first day back after major surgery and she wanted to talk to her coworkers about it. And there I was, with Four shouting DOWN at me and Fred hiding in the back of the stroller because somebody looked at her. She kept pawing my leg, like a frightened kitty. I was dying a slow death at the library. It took me 25 minutes to get a library card. She verified my email address 3 different times. She entered my social security number as my phone number and didn't understand why there were too many numbers. It was a slow painful death.
Then today I died a slow death at the supermarket. Once again Fred, Four and I were running errands. We ran into the store to pick up 3 things. I ended up with 12 in my cart, but still enough for the express line. We hop on the line and not a moment too soon. Four finished her milk and wanted MORE. She also didn't understand why Fred could be DOWN and she had to be strapped into the cart. And Fred was starving. The woman in front of my on line has 4 things in her cart so I figure how long could it take? Ugh - way too long. One of her items wouldn't scan. Another one was somehow damaged and a bagboy (do they still call them that?) was sent to fetch another one. Dying a slow death at the supermarket isn't fun. The very not nice woman on line behind me wasn't happy that my kids were miserable. She made a nasty remark about them being out and about at naptime. Hello, it wasn't naptime and it wasn't my fault that the 4 item person was taking so long. Slow painful death at the supermarket.
AYS has to travel to a far-away brand tomorrow - it's over an hour away. But at least it's a busy branch and hopefully she won't die a slow death on the teller line.

The Good One and The Pretty One.

2009-06-18T18:45:00.003-04:00

This is a book that I bought, started, hated and never finished. But, it did get me thinking. I was also talking to a good friend about the roles she and her brother play in their family. I know that when you have siblings of different genders, it really changes the dynamic. She's definitely a care-giver and he's more of a car-driver when it comes to their parents. Her parents are far away from her but live very close to her brother. Yet, she still feels very much obligated to be the one to help out when they need it. He'll drive them around, but she's the one who will dig in, both arms, up to her elbows to help. With my family, it's different. It's just me, AYS and AOS. No brothers. AOS lives very far away, but flies in whenever she's needed. AYS lives very close to me. Our parents are in the process of moving here, so she and I will share care-giving responsiblities when they need it (someday far, far, far in the future.)
I've been wondering what roles my girls will take on. Frick is my little mommy. She mothers her sisters all the time. She's my "go-to girl" when I need help. She's most likely to be my care-giver when I'm old and infirmed. Frack is most likely to be living far away and just send cash. She loves me, sure, but not so big on the helping out. Fred is good, but a grudge holder. She may never forgive me for putting her in timeout for her infractions or for not letting her have the Little Einsteins car that Four just received. Time will tell with Four, she's still very young. However, we are calling her our "game-ender" as lately we feel like she is going to be our last child since most of the time we are ready to sell her to the gypsies. So there's not likely to be a Five to worry about.

How'd you get here?

2009-06-11T09:20:00.001-04:00

I always find it interesting to see who's reading my blog. Mostly, it's people I know well - friends and family) but sometimes, people find me with a google search. I use StatCounter to see who is visiting and it tells me how my visitors got here. So, when Aunt NY reads me, her information shows up in my Counter - and I know that she knows just how desperate I am for her to come and visit us. But, when somebody finds me by way of a google search (or some other search engine) I see what word or phrase they searched that led them here. Here are some of my favorite google searches that led readers here:
brown slacks pajamas
purple cast
belly button small pajamas
inches hair cut site
old preggo
broke her + cast
vaccuuming the pool
and my all-time favorite search phrase:
pecker printed pajamas

Red Letter Day

2009-06-10T13:06:00.004-04:00

Today sucked. Or is still sucky I guess. At the moment is just after 1pm, so the suckiness has plenty of time to continue. Yesterday was great. So promising! I got much accomplished - including talking to the School Psychologist who assured me that we'll work together to make sure Fred succeeds in Kindergarten in the fall. She gave me lots of compliments on Frick and Frack and left me with a general warm, fuzzy feeling.

Today, no warm fuzzies to be found. I got Frick and Frack on the bus at 7:25. Raced back inside to get Fred and Four ready. Hopped into the car and drove the 25 minutes to drop off Fred at school. Rushed back to my side of town to attend Field Day for Frick and Frack. Frick cannot participate because of her broken hand, but her teacher made her official cheerleader so she'd have something to do. Get to Elementary School and Frick is miserable because she can't participate. I try to console her a bit but honestly, there's not much I can say or do, she can't play. Frack is desperately trying to get my attention. I go over and see what's so exciting - she wants to give me the flowers she's been picking. Instead of playing in Field Day, she's been gathering flowers. Frick calls me back. I spend my time racing back and forth between them. Then I tell Frick that I need to go inside with Frack's class. Tears erupt. She's not happy. She begs me to stay. I can't. She begs me to come back. I can't - I have to pick up Fred from school. She begs me to come for lunch. I can't - the baby will be napping. Massive tears. I get a friend to stand in for me with her and head inside.
Frack's class is doing a Publishing Celebration. They read their favorite books they've written and present all their books to their parents. Four wasn't thrilled about this. She couldn't get out of the stroller outside because it was insanity. Frack was scheduled to go about midway through the presentation. I let Four out of the stroller and chased her up and down the hallways until Frack was doing her thing. Then I let Frack know I had to leave. Tears erupt. So I stay until the last possible second. She presents me with her books and I race to the car.
Four and I get stuck behind the slowest moving vehicle on the planet. And we hit every single light. We are about 2 minutes late to pick up Fred and I'm the last mom to arrive. More tears. In the meantime, Four falls asleep in the car and when Fred and I get back in, Fred wakes her up. More tears.
I've seen enough tears today to last a lifetime.
Counting down the minutes until Katie-the-wonder-sitter arrives.

A little excitement

2009-05-29T08:06:00.002-04:00

Frick broke her hand at gymnastics this week. Not what I expected. Frack, yes! Frick, no. However - that's what happened. When I start off this story, people are anticipating some sort of very exciting story - like she was vaulting and landed wrong or she fell off the beam, but not my girl. Nope. She was going from one apparatus to another and fell. Over her own two feet. And caught herself on a bar with her hand and broke it. She's been a real trooper about it. She was nervous about having the X-rays, having a cast put on and mostly, worried about having them put pins in it - since that what she saw at the Orthopedists office. But, nothing hurt, she has a beautiful purple cast that all her friends have signed (with a lovely silver Sharpie thanks for Katie-the-wonder-sitter) and an appointment to free her arm on June 17. Luckily, these kids heal quickly!
Frack definitely was a little jealous of all the attention Frick was being given, however, she is handling it very well. She'll go with us to the removal of the cast and be able to feel like she's a part of it. At school on Wednesday, the day the cast was put on, Frack's class did a really great assignment. Because of Frick's condition, Frack's teacher (the one I love) had all the kids write their morning message with their opposite, like Frick has to do now. It was great for them to try it out and see what she'll be doing. Frick's teacher, in her usual style, did nothing with the class. In addition, her response to me was "I guess I can't expect perfect handwriting from her." OK. Another crystal clear example of why Frack's teacher should be named Teacher of the Year and Frick's should not be teaching first grade.

Identical

2009-05-22T09:51:00.002-04:00

For identical twins, Frick and Frack are quite different. I've spent many a time explaining to well-meaning folks that identical means genetically, not personality. However, when you see it in action, it's rather amusing.
Frick is such a gentle soul. She truly wants everyone around her to be happy. She's very maternal with her sisters and I often call her "the little mommy" because she's frequently found mothering somebody or something. She's content 85% of the time. Just don't give her socks with lumps. She's quite athletically inclined and loves to play basketball. She learned to ride without her training wheels in a day and tie her shoes in under an hour. She's also content to play by herself if nobody wants to play her game. She just got her haircut very short - almost 5 inches gone!
Frack is serious about most things. She doesn't tackle something new until she's pretty much positive she can do it. Once something clicks for her, she has to be the best at it. Yet she's also quite a follower. If somebody tells her to do something, she does it. She'll play whatever everybody else is playing just to make sure she's part of the crowd. She's a bit of a malcontent. Nothing is ever good enough. Her pants don't feel right. Her dress has a tag that she can feel. Her shoes are touching her. She gets her athletic ability from her mother - or rather her lack thereof. She has yet to allow SS Dad to take off her training wheels because she's not positive she can do it yet. She won't get her hair cut more than an inch at a time because "I'm not good with change" and she's not.
At this point, I don't think they look anything alike - there's 2 inches in height and 10 pounds in weight difference between them. Other adults sometimes have trouble telling them apart, but most kids get it right immediately. Even Four could tell them apart at an early age. (It's hard to tell now, because she calls all her sisters the same thing, Beppa.) Hmm, maybe some genetic testing is in order???

Summer is nearly here.

2009-05-21T15:03:00.003-04:00

I'm not sure that I'm ready for it. The pool is open, but ice cold and dirty. SS Dad needs to get on that ASAP. I wish he'd come home tonight or tomorrow night and take care of it instead of going to his dinner meetings, but he won't. So, it'll have to wait until Saturday and he'll be vaccuuming the pool with at least 3 kids underfoot. I've got the bigs pretty well scheduled for camp - they'll do a half-day camp through the town and we'll have Katie-the-wonder-sitter two days a week. Fred will have OT at least once (maybe twice if we can swing it, since it'll be paid for OOP) per week. I'll be working with her everyday on something myself too. And then we'll do reading/writing/math after lunch everyday and then swim all afternoon. I'm going to schedule some swim lessons at home for the bigs as well.
Am I ready to have them all here most of the time? Probably not. I don't deal well with change. Much like Frack. Change isn't bad, right?
There are a few things I'd also like to accomplish this summer. I'd like to get the basement into decent shape so they might actually play down there. We've got this huge finished basement with loads of toys that nobody ever touches. I'm thinking I'll add a couple of rugs down there and maybe that'll help. I'm planning on donating a whole bunch of the toys down there as well. Since nobody has played with most of them for almost a year, I'd venture a guess that they won't be missed. I'd also like to get Four's room painted as well as the master suite. I've been living in a pink room for too long. I think it's disturbing my sleep. Finally, we must replace our kitchen sink. The slow leak has turned into a "water feature" in the kitchen. Watching the water flowing down the side of the counter probably doesn't qualify as a "water feature" but hey, I'm looking on the bright side of things.
We're also trying to plan a weekend trip to Boston. The girls have never been there and I think they'll love it. There is lots to do there, so we'll see. If SS Dad agrees to take 2 days off from work, I'm there. And the final thing we'll do this summer is plan our Disney trip. We're aiming to go in late October, so we must get on the ball. Katie's mom is an accomplished Disney-goer, so I'll be getting advice from her. Not to mention my friend Cathy who has been there more times than I can count. If you are planning a trip my way, let me know. We'd love to have you come for a visit. Especially if you are Aunt New York and family.

Rules to Live By

2009-05-19T14:01:00.002-04:00

A few rules that I think are crucial for making it through each day:

1. If you aren't sure if the brown spot on your shirt is chocolate or baby poop, change the shirt.
2. If you can't remember which kid it is in a certain picture, guess and stick with it.
3. If you have no wine left in the house, get to the store before the bus brings the kids home.
4. If the pile of laundry is higher than your washer and dryer, get risers or drawers to put them on.
5. If "everyone" is wearing it or watching it according to your 7 year old, it must be inappropriate crap.
6. If your baby is cranky and whiny, she must be teething, dose liberally with motrin and put her to bed.
7. Ditto for your 4, 5, 6, 7...year old
8. If you need it, it's at Target.
9. If it's at Target, you need it.
10. Liquor before beer never fear, beer before liquor never sicker.

More randomness

2009-05-13T21:53:00.002-04:00

OK, here are all bunch of completely unrelated thoughts.

SS Dad and I recently went to Miami for 3 1/2 days sans all children. My mom took the girls and did remarkable well. She did have Katie-the-wonder-sitter, AYS and my dad to help her out, but I was still a little surprised she (and all 4 girls) survived in one piece. It was wonderful to get away. And it was wonderful to get back. I missed my monkeys. That being said, I'd definitely do it again. And again. I'm just biding my time until my mom recovers.

The end of the school year is upon us. Frick, Frack and Fred will be attending a half-day camp run by our town. Then they will spend their afternoons swimming. Katie-the-wonder-sitter will be coming twice a week to play/work with them on their stuff. I'm going to have to cough up quite a bit of money for Fred to have OT for the summer (and probably beyond) because she really could use the sessions and the she doesn't qualify for services through the school. That's ok. We'll do what we need to get her up to speed. Even if it means swearing off Target for a while. In the meantime, I got a bunch of supplies to work with her - a cool lacing kit, new play-doh and a really cool tweezers/training chopsticks things. Frick and Frack got some books - we'll do reading everyday, while I'm working with Fred. It'll be a little like a mini-summer school after lunch around here.

And I've totally remembered why I'm not a joiner. I honestly don't like most people. I mean, not the nice people, they are fine, but they are also hard to come by. I've met quite a few ladies recently who reminded me of exactly why I'm not a joiner. I'm not a fan of people who are nice to your face and then exclude you from all their activities. If you are going to be nice to me, the least you could do is invite me along on one of your outings. I'll tell you this much, when you are hot and sweaty this summer, if you haven't invited me on your outings, you can bet your sweet behind that you (and your kids) won't be invited to swim in our pool. I'm not a babysitting service and I don't like being used.

I'm wondering if Fred won't qualify for some speech therapy now. Here's a discussion we had today.
Fred: Are there salt in the river?
Me: Salt? No, that's in the ocean.
Fred: No, Mommy. Not salt. Socks.
Me: Maybe there are socks in the river. It's not good to put your socks in the river. That's pollution.
Fred: Not socks Mommy. Socks.
Me: Umm, socks?
Fred: Mooooooooom - not socks. Socks.
Me: Oh - no sweetie, there aren't any SHARKS in the river. They only live in the ocean.

Finally, there is is something I've been thinking about for a while. On Facebook, I've become friends with a woman I've known for years. We went all through school together, but were not really friends. We did some activities together, but weren't close. Senior year she went out of her way to hurt my feelings. It wasn't something I forgot. It honestly took me a long time to get over it. However, on Facebook, we've started talking. She's a much nicer person now. Perhaps some of it is because it's easier to be nice on FB than in person, but I truly think that she is nice. This serves to remind me that I don't really hate all people and that people grow and change and that's a good thing. I'm very glad to have reconnected with her. It brings me full circle with her and has helped me have some good discussions with the girls about friends and how we grow, change and stay the same in some ways.

The source of her frustration

2009-05-12T08:02:00.002-04:00

I have finally figured out why all "terrible twos" are so terrible. At least, here's my take on the situation. Think Helen Keller before she met Annie Sullivan. She knew what she wanted, she just didn't have the skills to tell anyone. Her parents wanted to help her, but they didn't know how to reach her.
Now think about the terrible twos that you know. (Yes, Four is only just shy of 17 months, but based on her behavior, I think she qualifies.) She has wants. She has needs. She has desires. She has no way to express it and be understood. She tries. She'll say use the words she can say and try to learn new words, but until she masters them or I figure out what "ba-guh-ma-kay" means, she'll just scream at me until I get it right. Think about mealtimes. We serve everybody their plates and she sees lots of stuff that she may not have on her plate. Let's face it, sometimes food that grown-ups are eating just isn't appropriate for someone who doesn't chew her food fully. So she hops up onto the table and tries to acquire it. She doesn't have any manners. She'll grab what she wants from the nearest plate and keep going until a grown-up is able to grab her little behind and remove it from the table. (Yes, we've tried strapping her in, but she's got such a tiny little tushy that when the strap fits around her waist, she's able to wiggle out of it - and sometimes her diaper in the process - to get out and onto the table.)
Think about toys. This little one has 3 older sisters who play with lots of stuff that she's not allowed to touch (most of which is kept in the basement, off-limits to her, much to her chagrin.) And her sisters have the ability to do stuff that she's not capable of just yet. So she needs to express her displeasure. She yells. Sometimes she'll throw stuff. Sometimes she'll swat stuff - people, toys, furniture. Most of the time yelling is her choice.
Her life is filled with "no" - no going on the desk, no riding a bike, no eating the choking hazards, no pushing your sisters off their chairs, stools or beds, no playing with Fred's Polly Pockets, no taking off your seatbelt in the car. You get the picture. You'd be frustrated and angry as well.
Add this all to the serious lack of sleep she insists on and it's no wonder she's terrible.
Good thing she's so darn cute.

Randomness

2009-05-06T15:23:00.002-04:00

A few random thoughts from me on this dreary day:
1. Rainy days bring worms. Worms are my nemesis.
2. I love my children, but if I put in ear plugs, I'd probably like them a lot more.
3. My parents are planning on moving here when they retire next year. They see it as living close to the grandkids. I see it as free babysitting.
4. My children will argue over anything and everything, even a broken toy beyond repair.
5. There are some people who thrive on drama in their own lives and will work at creating it for others. They should be avoided at all costs - unless you are looking for your own drama.
6. Children will ignore you until the moment you pick up the phone, then they are all over you like flies on poop.
7. Laundry will never wash, dry, fold or put itself away. No matter how many times I wiggle my nose or snap my fingers. Sad, but true.
8. If you need "just a second" to get something before you have kids, you'll need an hour to do it afterwards. However, if you take an hour to shower and dress before you have kids, you'll need 10 minutes tops afterwards.
and the last random thought from me...
9. If your name is Mommy, chances are you already know all these things.

Groupie

2009-04-15T21:29:00.003-04:00

Today I took the girls (and Katie the wondersitter) to see Mr. Steve (you know, the guy in the red shirt from PBSKids, www.stevesongs.com) and realized that I've morphed from a goth-chick-has-been to a total MOM. I used to go see bands like The Cure and fit right in. I had short black skirts and danced until I was dizzy. Now, I dress in brown slacks with loafers and see Mr. Steve, but I still dance until I'm dizzy. I have to say, as far as kid-tertainment goes, he is definitely tops. His songs are catchy and exciting but never annoying or mind-numbing. He tries to teach the kids about stuff (like gravity) ala Schoolhouse Rock or life lessons (like you don't have to be the biggest to be the best) without being boring or preachy. This show was really great - he came out and introduced himself to the kids before the show. One little girl was nervous about staying, and he talked to her and put her at ease. Then he said her name while up on stage and she lit up like a Christmas Tree in Rockefeller Center. It definitely made her day. When he acknowledged my girls (we know his PR chick, a fellow twinmom who rocks quite a bit in her own right) they were most definitely beaming. He encourages the kids to talk to him during the show and anyone who knows Frick and Frack, knows this was a huge plus. He even got Fred to approach the stage to show off her poster. An amazing feat for sure! Fred rocked out too, but after the show, while we were waiting to meet Mr. Steve and have him sign our DVD case, Fred was done with a capital D. So, Katie-the-wonder-sitter took her out to the car. Well, out to the sidewalk where she met several local police officers. The theatre is located in the same building as the police department - so I felt 1000% safe there. Anyway, check out Steve's website and if he's coming to within an hour of your house -take your kids. You won't be disappointed. I promise!

2009-04-14T19:22:00.004-04:00

We are in the midst of Spring Break. On Saturday, I dropped Frick, Frack and Fred off with my mother in the hopes of getting our basement organized. We did get the storage area done, but that took so long that the playroom area is still an unmitigated disaster. They were all very well behaved, ate well, slept well, played well and used good manners. My parents could not have been happier. However, I think they used it all up while they were there. Since returning here yesterday afternoon, I think I've taken away more toys, yelled more, threatened to skip tomorrow's concert and pulled out my hair more times than I can count. Little Miss Four has been nothing short of ornery herself, but at least I can blame that on the four teeth she's currently cutting.
Today we were up and out of the house before 10 - went to Target to get our supplies for signs and t-shirts for the Mr. Steve show tomorrow. We came home, Four took her nap and the other three made posters and decorated shirts with me. A huge fight insued and the screaming ended up waking the baby. Another few days of this and I'll remove someone's vocal cords for sure. Probably Fred's. She's by far the loudest of the three bigs. So I tossed them all outside in the hopes of having Four go back to sleep. When that didn't happen, I threw Four into a stroller and we all took a stroll around the block (well, 3 of us rode bikes, one rode in a stroller and I got to push.) When that didn't do anything for the bad moods, I decided we should use some gift card that were sitting from Frick and Frack's birthday. We did that - spending less than $4.00 for $200 worth of stuff (woohoo bargains!) and even that didn't help the moods.
Tomorrow I'm trying Xanax.

A few funnies

2009-04-05T20:52:00.002-04:00

Here are a couple of things that the kids have said or done recently that made me laugh.

On Friday I was chatting with Frick and Frack's piano teacher and scheduling a make-up lesson because next week is Good Friday, so they won't have a lesson. Frack is there and says in a horror-struck voice "we can't do a make-up lesson!" Miss Jess asked why not. Her response "My daddy HATES make-up. We aren't allowed to wear it."

We had to go shopping today to buy Four new pajamas. She currently only has 2 pairs that aren't one piece and the child must be able to touch her belly button at all times. She sits and sucks her right thumb and sticks her left one in her belly button. It's very cute. She'll also yank up her shirt and show everyone her belly, saying "bobby, bobby, bobby" instead of body. Also cute. Where does she get this need to stick her finger in her belly button? I can tell you it did not come from this parent.

Fred is obsessed with bacon. She could eat it at every single meal. Honestly. Bacon is delicious, but I think she may have a problem. Tonight I tucked her in and said "I love you." She said "I love bacon." Perhaps an intervention?

Frick and Frack both have cavities that need to be filled. Frick is scheduled to have hers done on Tuesday. Today she said to me "I can't wait to get my cavity filled. It's going to be fun, right?" Umm, sure, kid, what ever you say. Fun.

Family Resemblance

2009-03-30T18:24:00.002-04:00

I know that my identical twins should look alike, but my 4 year old and my 15 month old really shouldn't look like twins, right? Anyway, here are some photos of all 4Fs from right around the 15 month mark. Frick and Frack are a little older (nearly 17 months in these pictures) but Fred and Four are 15 months on the nose. They are in age order (and as Frack will tell you, 2 minutes are everything!)
Frack

Frick

Fred

Four

The reason for the pictures today, I took Four in for a checkup and decided to look up the stats for the other three at the same age. Now, I'm not organized enough to have baby books or anything, just a folder in the filing cabinet in the basement, so I have sheets from the pediatricians with all their info. Frick has been the largest since about 9 months, followed by Four, then Frack and Fred have flip-flopped. At this age, Fred had fallen behind Frack in weight and Frack had fallen behind in height. Frick has been solidly in the lead - however, none of them were big enough to make it onto the charts. I told the pediatrician today that we've just got a mini-family and we're fine with it. After AYS is nowhere near 5 feet tall and I'm just under that mark. We're not exactly giants in the house of pajamas.

Is PMS contageous?

2009-03-18T17:17:00.002-04:00

I think it must be. I have noticed that everytime I have it, all 4Fs seem to have it as well. Right now, Four is seriously PMSing. If you put her down, she screams. If you pick her up, she screams. If you don't give her exactly what she wants, in exactly the right way, at exactly the right time, she screams. Now this isn't your run of the mill yell, this is the ear-splitting, louder than bombs, send dogs running from the neighborhood kind of scream. Let me tell you, the other patrons at Red Robin really hated us yesterday. I took Fred and Four there for lunch as a reward (I had to have blood drawn and decided we should go out for lunch after that misery) yesterday and for the love of all that is holy, Four shrieked at me the entire time. See, she's somehow able to wiggle and squirm her way out of the buckle of any high chair, so I had her on my lap. She left me with ringing ears for several hours. The two men in business suits who were sitting about 5 feet away must have also experienced this ringing. I know that the waitress wasn't all that happy about the noise. Only good thing about it was she brought the food over quickly. I didn't get to eat a bite, but Fred ate almost everything on her plate. So I wasn't in a rush to leave. Sorry, but if Fred is eating, I don't care how loud the screaming is, we're staying until she says she is finished.
So if it's not PMS, it must be the teething.

2009-03-17T09:31:00.002-04:00

So, I'm never going to be that mother. You know, the one who has it all together. The one who can somehow manage to get the two kids on the bus, get her hair to look presentable, dress the other two kids, eat breakfast and still make it to the Writer's Workshop at school on time. Nope. It's just not me.
I had to be at school with Frick and Frack this morning, in both of their classrooms from 8:30-9:00am. I knew it would be tricky. It was. I was supposed to get up early this morning (I know, how much earlier than 5:30 can a person get up?) and managed to get up 35 minutes late instead. Perhaps that had something to do with being up half the night with insomnia? But, I threw clothes on and managed to get them on the bus on time. Then I ran back into the house and tried to get Fred and Four (and myself) fed, dressed and out the door in under an hour. Yeah, didn't happen. Fred and Four got fed and dressed, but I had to skip the food. That's ok, I need to drop a few pounds anyway. Then on the way to school we got stuck behind a bus, picking up the middle schoolers. We stopped every 35 seconds. Why is it that in my neighborhood all the kids have to walk to a busstop but these kids all get picked up at their doors? In any case, it made me 5 minutes late. That negated my plan of talking with the teachers prior to the start of the event to find out exactly when Frick and Frack were reading so I'd be sure to be in the right room at the right time. As I approached Frick's room, she was staring out the door - when she saw me she yelled "You're late. I'm about to read." So I dragged Fred and Four into the room and listened to her read her book (which was quite good, she wrote a story about losing her favorite stuffed elephant and how her friends helped her find it.) Her teacher said to me "did you have trouble getting out the door this morning?" This made me wonder exactly how disheveled I look, but it doesn't really matter does it?
So then it was rush to Frack's room where she was about to read her story - to some other mom - because she thought I wasn't going to make it there in time to hear it. I rushed in and she read to me. I stayed with her a bit and then switched back to Frick's room.
All along I'm feeling like a total slacker because I couldn't get there on time and both girls thought I wasn't going to make it. I always thought I'd be the mom who made it to every single classroom event, and never thought I'd be the slacker mom. Guess I was wrong.

The Great Hair Dye Debacle

2009-03-16T15:20:00.004-04:00

For as long as I can remember, my mother has dyed her hair. She usually does it herself, so I would consider her an expert on it. For a good number of years now, Aunt Younger Sister has also dyed her hair. She either does it herself, or our mom takes care of it for her. This past weekend, AYS was visiting the parents and wanted to dye her hair. See, she's as in to the Twilight thing as I am (actually, she's the whole reason I started reading it in the first place) and thought dying her hair black would be fun. She did it herself a month or so ago and it turned out ok, but she thought our mom would do a better job. So she had our expert hair-dying mom do it. It got done. Everything got done. Lots of black. Black hair. Black skin. Black. So, my parents decided to try washing the black off her back. Soap and water weren't enough. My dad tried using nail polish remover. Not enough. So my mom resorted to using my favorite cleaning device. The one device that I tell every parent that they need. It takes marker off a hard wood floor. It takes crayon off a window. It's the best thing going - the Mr. Clean Magic Eraser. For the record - do not use it on your skin, or your child's skin. It's abrasive and now AYS has lots of black spots on her back, surrounded by rings of red where the Eraser removed her skin. Ouch. Mr. Clean needs a better label on that handy-dandy device of his!

There's a first time for everything.

2009-03-13T10:10:00.002-04:00

Mama is preparing to do something she's never done before. Mama and Aunt Younger Sister will be driving to NYC next weekend to meet Aunt Older Sister for a girls' weekend. Yes, we've made it to nearly 40 (ok, AYS is way younger than that) without ever taking a weekend away together. But, we're going to remedy that in style! We'll stay in a nice hotel, with room service. We'll giggle a lot. We'll get manicures. We'll go out to nice restaurants with good friends (and I will not have to order chicken nuggets for anyone) and drink wine. We'll see a broadway show (South Pacific, which AOS starred in as a child.) We'll have lots of fun.
I'll miss SS Dad and the 4Fs, but it'll be worth it. Now, I just have to make it through next week.

Don't Blink - You'll Miss It.

2009-03-03T15:23:00.002-05:00

When I was growing up, there was a tiny little town that we drove through on regular basis. It was so small that as we got to it, my mother would say "don't blink, you'll miss it" and we'd try to keep our eyes open until we got the the sign for the next town. Lately, that's how I feel time is moving. It was just Four's birthday, what, like a week ago? How did it get to March already? Frick and Frack turned 7 (I know, I don't look old enough to have 7 year olds) on Sunday and celebrated with a rousing gymnastics party and family dinner. They got more presents than I imagined and the party was fun too - if you don't count the puking (brother of a party guest) and broken arm (poor little girl from Frick's class who jumped off the balance beam and landed on her elbow.) Katie-the-wonder-sitter came and helped Fred have fun. I swear, she can get that child to do anything. I should have her here at mealtimes.
Speaking of Fred, did I mention yet that I have to register her for Kindergarten this weekend? No, don't adjust your screen settings, I did say Kindergarten. That just doesn't seem possible. Time is flying and somedays I just want to stop it. Then again, other days time moves so slowly between the hours of 4pm and bedtime that I could poke my eyes out with a fork.

What happens in Vegas...

2009-02-28T10:13:00.003-05:00

So SS Dad took the second half of his boards last week. He flew to Dallas and back and then to celebrate he went with one of his partners to a conference in Vegas. Now, I know they did attend the conference stuff, but they also had lots of fun. This was the week that the girls had off from school and we had 2 snow storms. I'm not saying I'm not glad he had a good time but his timing really wasn't the best for me.
He brought back the cutest gifts for the girls. Frick, Frack and Fred all got very cute necklaces - 4 leaf clovers in a heart. Adorable. Four got a stuffed bear. He also bought them an awesome giant floor puzzle. They were all thrilled. For me, he bought something that he said reminded him of me immediately. It's soft and pink. It's a pair of sweatpants. I'm not sure that I'm not offended. I mean, pink is not a color that I even like (after 22 years you'd think he'd know that) and soft? Is that some sort of comment on my flab? They are very nice sweats, but still...

Socks are delicious

2009-02-18T22:39:00.003-05:00

Fred has been having OT now for almost a month. She's doing quite well and so far enjoys playing games with Miss Paula. This week, since Frick and Frack are home from school during "Valentine Break" they have also been enjoying their games with Miss Paula. She's a terrific sport and as long as Fred is getting her work done, it's ok if they participate. She's made mention twice now that my house is very quiet for having 4 kids and that my girls are very well behaved. The first time she said these things I figured she was just being nice and trying to make me feel better about my life. The second time I questioned her about it. My house doesn't seem quiet to me. In fact, my house generally seems the opposite of quiet. But, Paula has been coming during Four's naptime, so Frick, Frack and Fred have been threatened within an inch of their lives not to make any noise then. So perhaps my threats are working. As for the well behaved stuff, I know they are good kids, but because they aren't often as good for me as they are for others, it's hard to believe. They know how to act in public and rarely act out in a way that would embarass me (or get them punished.) But many times when they are home and we have company, they act like their normal crazy selves. Paula seems to think that they are good. She sees lots of kids (being an OT and going into preschoolers homes, I would guess that she sees more kids than most) and assures me that mine are good.
It's nice to hear. It's good to know. I'm actually doing something right. Some days it feels like all I do is say "no" and "use a quiet voice" and "stop shouting at your sister" but perhaps my constant reminders are getting through. Now, if I could only get Four to stop chewing on everybody's socks I'd be golden.

How is it possible?

2009-02-09T15:22:00.002-05:00

How is it possible that I just send out invitations for Frick and Frack's 7th birthday party? Honestly, I'm not old enough to have a 7 year old (let alone two of them!) And how is it possible that I'm filling out the registration packet for Kindergarten for my 4 year old? And finally, somebody please tell me, how on earth is it possible that my baby is walking and talking? OK, she's still cruising, but she's doing it like nobody's business. And she really is talking. Lots of words. Where did my itsy-bitsy baby go? How did all my kids get to be this old???
I know I've probably posted something like this before, but everytime I think about it, I'm shocked. I am the mother to 4 kids. They are growing up. Frick and Frack are reading Twilight books over my shoulder. Fred is doing math. Four is going to be starting calculus any minute now.
sigh. This can only mean one thing. If they are getting older, so am I. Perhaps it's time to call Noreen to get those greys colored. I know I always said I wouldn't do it, but I can't look this old. The other day I had a little too much trouble getting up off the floor. I have a one year old, I should still be springing up like Katie-the-wonder-sitter does. She gets down with the girls and then SPRING! She's back up in a flash. I have to adjust my hips and ankles before I can even think about walking.
I told SS Dad last night that perhaps he needs to trade me in for a younger, less broken model. Lucky for him, he said he loves me just the way I am - in need to reading glasses, legs that can't move properly and grey hair.

You're It.

2009-01-27T21:22:00.002-05:00

So my friend Nancy has tagged me on her blog. Nancy has a great site www.onestopboyshop.com where she sells awesome clothes and other stuff for boys. She also blogs there daily and is quite amusing. Not to mention a really great person. Here's the assignment:
1) Choose the 4th folder where you store your pictures on your computer
2) Select the 4th picture in the folder
3) Explain the picture
4) Tag 4 people to do the same

This is a picture of me (I was shocked!) as 19 weeks pregnant with Fred. (taken 6/22/04)

Now, here's who I'm tagging:
Myrannda - www.shoesartandmotherhood.blogspot.com
Tracy - www.onemoretracy.blogspot.com
Erica - www.wheremamahidesthecookies.blogspot.com
Chandra - www.meandmine-chandra.blogspot.com

These are four great ladies who's blogs I love. Check them out!

Weekends at the House of Pajamas

2009-01-18T22:22:00.004-05:00

So tonight at dinner we were all discussing the inauguration while listening to the pre-inaugural stuff on TV. SS Dad and I were talking about how we can't remember having an inauguration last for days like this and it honestly seems to be a bunch of movie and rock stars patting Obama on the back. Frick chimes in with "well, that's got to hurt." I think I actually may have peed in my pants. For real. Hilarious.
We had some awesome company this weekend too. SS Dad's best friend (G) from dental school came to visit with his family. We've known them an awfully long time now and his wife, P, is a very close friend. They have two boys, D, who is the same age as Frick and Frack, and M who is the same age as Fred. We don't get to see them nearly often enough, so we were thrilled to have them come for a new visit. It was nice to have enough room for them to be able to stay with us comfortably, instead of having to send them off to a hotel. The kids get along famously. I was worried that the gender thing may be a bit of an issue now, but the fact that boys are Star Wars crazed and my girls are Princess obsessed did not get in the way of lots of fun. They spent hours in the playroom downstairs where we never heard a peep. They spent more hours playing Guitar Hero on the Wii and kicking the our butts in bowling. The most amazing thing was Four. She was in love with G. Now, she definitely prefers men to women, but this was crazy. She never wanted to leave his arms or lap. She would crawl over to him and put her arms up to him every single time we put her down. This was a very nice change for him, the other three definitely preferred women and adore P. It was adorable.
I also got to visit with the New York family last weekend. Baby New York is definitely cute. And definitely a boy. And most definitely missing me by now. I know I'm missing him. Aunt New York seems to be adjusting to motherhood the way she handles everything else - beautifully. Uncle New York is such a proud Daddy. Like an old pro already. But, it's been a week since I've seen him and I need some new pictures. Babies change so quickly, it's not fair to not send photos regularly. So, Aunt New York, when you are reading this at 3 in the morning and the baby nurse is yelling at you to go to sleep, send me some pictures!!!

Food is serious business

2009-01-08T09:05:00.003-05:00

In the House of Pajamas, food is serious stuff. I've got the pickiest eaters on the planet, so I'm always on the lookout for something they might actually put in their mouths, chew, swallow and try again. Finding something that fits this bill doesn't happen very often. My grandma was the real cook in the family. She could cook anything from scratch and could doctor up anything from a jar or can and make it taste like homemade. Whenever I am cooking, I am thinking about her. Lately, I've been cooking a lot. I've been making weekly meal plans and trying to stick to them. Grandma would be so happy, you can call me at 7am and I'll know exactly what I'm making for dinner. This was very important to her. Also of great importance to her was her pan. She spent years seasoning it to make it perfect. Then, someone decided we should bury her with it. I'm not sure that would've been her choice, but you can't undo it. So, this year I got my own pan. I've started working on seasoning it. It's a Bobby Flay cast iron skillet. She loved Bobby Flay almost as much as I do. I think she'd approve.
Now, if only I could find her recipe for marinaded cucumbers. It was in a diabetic recipe book and is long gone. I'd love to make some today. And I'd love to figure out how she made herring in cream sauce. This was a doctored up jar recipe, but I cannot get it right. In fact, even her recipes that I have in her own writing still don't taste exactly right. I'm not sure if that's because she never measured anything when she cooked, never knew exactly what temperature she was cooking at because her oven dial was cleaned so thoroughly that the numbers washed away and never knew how long anything cooked ("just until it's done" she'd say.) Or if it's because nobody will ever cook anything as good as grandma did. To be honest, my kids would eat very little of it anyway.

Lost and found.

2009-01-03T10:09:00.002-05:00

The Pajamas family went out to dinner the other night with some good friends. Amazingly, during dinner the other moms and I were able to talk (hooray for A Bug's Life) and had a very interesting conversation about motherhood. They both felt (and I think that most moms feel this way) that the all-consuming task of motherhood tends to make you lose yourself. I've had this discussion with other moms before and they've felt that way too. For me, it's very different. I don't want to take a pottery class or learn a foreign language. I have no interest in returning to work (although I did love my job before having kids) or finding a new career. I didn't lose myself in motherhood. I FOUND myself. It's like these 4 little creatures helped me figure out who I really am. Now, don't get me wrong, they still drive me crazy. There are days when SS Dad comes home and I'm sitting on the floor a la Goldie Hawn in Overboard, but not all the time (ok, not all the time anymore.) So, am I crazy (um, that's a rhetorical question) or is there anyone else out there who feels this way too? I don't think either way is right or wrong, it just is who you are.
And just to prove they do drive me crazy, I took all 4 of them to the supermarket yesterday (is this Winter Break almost over yet??) and it went remarkably well. Four and Fred sat nicely together in the car-cart, with Fred feeding Four her usual supermarket snack of Goldfish. Frick and Frack walked nicely beside me and helped me put things into the cart. They didn't pick up other items, like 10 boxes of cookies or 12 gallons of ice cream. And I was so ready for it to be a disaster. Just when you think you've got it all figured out...
Also, Uncle New York sent me pictures of Baby New York. He's absolutely gorgeous! I cannot believe I haven't seen him yet. His cheeks are squishable. I would bet anything he needs a nibble. I know he's got lots of other relatives there nibbling him, but I need to go nibble him for myself. I can't wait to see pictures of him with his furry big sis. Dog New York is going to love him. They go home from the hospital today and I'm sure it's going to be quite an event. Aunt New York, if you are reading this, I'll need pictures of that too.

He's here!!!

2008-12-31T08:15:00.002-05:00

Baby New York was born yesterday, weighing in at 8lbs 11oz and 20 inches long. Both mom and baby are doing fine. Dad is fine as well. I cannot wait to see him.
Just thinking about what 8lbs 11oz means is a bit scary to me. Four only weighs 15lbs 6oz at one year old. Baby NY weighs a full 2lbs more than Four did at birth. Now, Aunt New York is a little bit taller than me, but much skinnier. Uncle NY is much taller than SS Dad, but he's not the one who had to carry the baby in his belly! I'm sure Aunt New York is relieved and grateful to have him out and healthy.
I told Frick and Frack about it this morning and Frack's reaction was "wow, he's a mighty big fellow!" I'm not sure why she sometimes sounds like she's 80, but she certainly does. She also has a funky accent sometimes - not like the born-in-Queens, raised in CT and NY girl she is. Curious.
Also curious is the lack of sleep going on in the house of Pajamas. Frack is having "bad dreams" every night now. She came in last night and stood over SS Dad. When he didn't give her what she wanted she said "aren't you going to comfort me now?" So I'm guessing she's looking for a little more affection. This would be fine, but I'd prefer to give it out during the day than at 3:45am. Four, little monster that she is, was up screaming last night for hours. So many hours that I stopped counting. She wasn't hungry, dirty, teething or otherwise uncomfortable, she just didn't want to be asleep. Sleep training starts now. The bigs are all home on vacation and SS Dad sleeps through just about anything, so she'll get her sleep tutorial this week. I'm so done with getting up a billion times a night. OK, billion is an exaggeration - it's more like anywhere from 2 to 8 times a night. It's gotten old. I'm not going to do it anymore.
So, if you are looking to chat with me, give me a call sometime between midnight and 4am, I'm sure the screaming is going to have me awake and looking for something to keep my mind off it.

Holiday Season

2008-12-27T10:54:00.002-05:00

We are one of the lucky families that gets to celebrate Chanukah and Christmas. I'm Jewish and SS Dad grew up Catholic, and although he's not practicing, he is still a big fan of Christmas. So, our four monkeys really rake it in this time of year. Actually, from right before Halloween (Four's birthday) until March (Frick and Frack's birthday) the presents seem to be free-flowing. This year, we celebrated Four's first birthday and a week later Chanukah started. Then it was Christmas. My house sort of looks like a staging area for a toy donation charity. One of the reasons for this is that in our family we give all the kids presents for all the birthdays. This was something that my parents always did. See, Aunt Younger Sister and I share a birthday (I know, weird, born on the same day, 8 years apart) and my parents didn't want Aunt Older Sister to feel left out - so she got some stuff too. Then on her birthday it only seemed fair to give something to us too. We picked up this tradition and so with all the kids we have, there are presents galore. We don't give the non-birthday child a lot, just a few little things. But, with Chanukah and Christmas occurring one right after the other, the big presents are, well, big. We gave the three big girls a bunch of shared things that are large items - like a Hannah Montana stage and a Princess Castle thing that fits 6 kids. They also got a huge Barbie thing that is a cruise ship on one side and an airplane on the other - so basically Barbie can jet off for to the Carribean in first class and get on her cruise ship to go sailing around. Nice. Fred also got a new kitchen set - that is a new fridge, freezer, sink, stove thing. The old one was really old and according to her "made for really small babies" so she wanted a new "big girl kitchen" and we happily obliged. The old one was 5 years old and showing it's age for sure. She was VERY excited about it and told me that she can't wait to share it with Four, once she's not a Small Baby anymore. My parents came for the Christmas and in typical Mama of Mama in Pajamas style, had an entire Honda filled with gifts. Razors for Frick and Frack, a ride on thing for Fred, a pony-ride-on thing for Four, a learn-to-walk doll stroller for Four, and a bazillion Target bags filled with other stuff too. There was too much to fit into their stocking and we had to be very creative about it.
My goal would be to go through the basement and find lots of toys to donate, but someone needs to take Frick, Frack, Fred and Four for the weekend so I can do the massive sort and get the toys out of here without the hysterical "but that's my favorite XYZ, even though I haven't played with it in 3 years" that I'm sure to hear. They are ok with me taking some stuff for donating, but for the most part, they are pack rats just like their mama, grandmama and great-grandmama. There's a reason that Mama of Mama in Pajamas attic threatens to fall through the ceiling.
In any case, our holidays have been lovely and I hope yours have been to. And, if you have a need for any art supplies, play food or doll clothing/accessories, let me know and perhaps under cover of darkness I can sneak some out to you!

So I was wrong.

2008-12-23T10:17:00.004-05:00

Don't tell anyone. It's rare, but it does happen. Yesterday I posted that Frick and Frack had gotten over their version of the plague. Then last night - BAM! Frick gets a fever and feels nauseous. Fabulous. At least Fred has some company at home today. (Other than a very cranky mom and a sniffly baby sister.)
In less than one week, Aunt New York will have her baby. I am so excited. I hope that all my monkeys are better by then because I can't go and see him if they aren't well. I will not be the one to give him his first illness. No way. Aunt New York loves me a lot, but enough to forgive that? Hmmm...
Here's some backstory on Aunt New York and me. My family moved to our house in the 'burbs in May of 1975. I was not quite 3. (ack - did I just give away my quickly advancing age???) Aunt New York lived 5 houses down the street. She was just 12 days younger than me (a fact that she reminds me of, every single year during the entire month of October.) Naturally we had lots in common. We were friendly during elementary school, but always in different classes. It wasn't until we were in Junior High (that's Middle School for you young 'uns) that we got close. In High School we got even closer. It was like we were sisters who needed time to figure out how much we loved each other. During college when I drifted apart from my other high school friends (except SS Dad) Aunt New York and I grew closer and closer. We stayed very close throughout our graduate school experiences. Around the time that SS Dad and I got married, she and Uncle New York moved in together. He's just the best guy. I cannot imagine anyone more perfect for Aunt New York. SS Dad and I ended up living just a few blocks away from them in NYC when I moved down while SS Dad was in dental school. We spent lots of time together, always doing lots of fun stuff. Then we moved out to the 'burbs and I was thrilled that we continued to see so much of them. When I got pregnant with Frick and Frack, Aunt New York was nowhere near ready to be starting her family. But she completely understood that I was, and supported me, listening to me go on and on about my morning (ok, all-day) sickness, my aches and pains, my migraines, and my obsession with all things baby. When I had to go on bedrest at home, Aunt New York and I spent lots of time on the phone, she listened to me go on and on about double strollers, car seats, bouncy seats, fetal hearttones and doppler studies. Then I ended up in the hospital. Aunt New York came every single Sunday, for 7 weeks, just to keep me company. She and Uncle New York always brought some delicious treat for me when they came. They'd spend a couple of hours with SS Dad and I, have lunch with us and keep our minds off the fact that I was laying in a hospital bed. It was then I knew - Aunt New York was so much more than a friend - she really was my sister.
So, now that her baby is almost here, I'm aching to get down to NYC to see her big old preggo belly (since that's not possible, I REALLY wish she'd send me a belly shot, please, just one???) I'm feeding my kids Vitamin C to make them better before he arrives and I'm wrapping all the good stuff that I bought for him. I know that she's a bit nervous about all this baby stuff - she's got lots of questions. She's never done this before. And, like someone else who shall remain nameless, Aunt New York is a bit of a perfectionist. But, I know that she'll be terrific. She and Uncle New York have practiced with their nieces and nephews. They've taken the parenting classes. Most of all, they've got each other. They are such a great couple - like puzzle pieces they fit together. This baby is one lucky little boy. (Unless the ultrasound is wrong, and then she's one lucky little girl.)

It's the Plague.

2008-12-22T17:17:00.003-05:00

I'm fairly certain that we are in the throes of the Plague. Black Plague, Bubonic Plague, Hi-fever-snotty-nose-vomiting-not-sleeping Plague. I don't care what it actually is called, to me, it's the Plague. Frick and Frack had a watered down version of it last week and over the weekend. Fred is dealing with a very bad version right now. Temps over 104. Vomiting. Runny nose so sore that it's peeling. Four is also affected, but just with the runny nose portion of it. And oh yeah, the cranky-pants portion. They all have that. Frick and Frack went to school today and started cranking at me as they got off the bus this afternoon. Fred was a miserable lump of misery laying on the couch all day moaning (when she wasn't napping - a sign that she's seriously ill) until the moment SS Dad walked through the door. Suddenly, it's Plague be damned! Daddy is home - everybody gets chipper, smiling, calling out to him "Daddy come look at my project" and "Daddy come see my somersault" and "Daddy pick me up to kiss you" instead of "Mommy why can't we play across the street today" or "Mommy where are my other gloves" and "Mommy bring me my water." Sad. For me, they have the plague, for him, it's a completely different story.
Let's just see who jumps out of bed tonight for the pukey, fever-ridden, miserable monsters. Hmm, not to hard to guess.

Some days I simply shake my head in wonder.

2008-12-16T20:10:00.003-05:00

So, we've had a rough week or so around here. First was the attic/insulation thing which I won't even go into (or I may explode), then it was the massive ice storm where we lost power and our generator failed to work, then it was onto the lice situation. Bad. Then last night I found out that a neighbor cancelled her daughter's birthday party rather than have Fred come after the lice thing. Really? Does she think I'd bring her to the party if she hadn't been cleared by the pediatrician to be around other kids? Do I strike you as that irresponsible? Frustrating and annoying.
Thank goodness that other people do good stuff to help me remember that I really don't hate all people. Like my good friend Cathy. Cathy is a terrific lady who did me a HUGE favor this week. For some reason, Fred decided that she MUST have a Fisher-Price Little People Pirate Ship for Christmas. No other one will do (she claims them all to be too boy-ish) and for some reason you cannot purchase the FP-LP one here in the good old USA. Lucky for me, Cathy lives in Canada. I sent her a message that I needed her help with this and she called her hubby (who was out and about) and had him pick it up immediately. Then she took to the post office and sent it out to me today. I should have it in time to wrap it. She's so great. It makes me feel better about the idiots like my neighbor.
Then there's the holiday card problem. Over Thanksgiving, I had my dad take pictures of the whole Pajamas crew for the card. None of them came out good, but I picked the best of the lot and had a card made up. The card came in yesterday and is just awful. Not send-out-able. Totally hideous. So, hopefully some of the pictures we took at Four's birthday will be good and I'll put together another card. This one will be a New Year's card, since they obviously won't go out in time for Christmas. Guess I should've worked on it in September to give myself enough time to get a decent picture of all of us. Who would've thought it would be this hard? Can't four little ones smile at the same time for just a small moment in time, while SS Dad and I are both looking at the camera? Is that too much to ask? OK, guess it is.
And finally, Aunt New York is about to pop. My almost-nephew is almost here. I'm so excited! I've been buying boy stuff like it's going out of style. Can't wait to visit my favorite online boy shop (www.onestopboyshop.com) to get him so more goods. I promise to spoil him as rotten as she's spoiled my girls. I will admit, it's very strange to be buying blue when all I've purchased for the past 7 years is pink. Nice, but strange.

2008-12-14T08:11:00.002-05:00

Today my baby turns one. It seems like just yesterday I was digging my car out of the parking lot, hugely pregnant and racing home through a blizzard to spend one last night at home with the girls before having Four. In this very fast year so much has happened. Four is an amazing baby. She is such a delight. Her sisters adore her. Strangers comment on how pretty and well behaved she is. She crawls so quickly across the room that she's like a flash. She has great fine motor skills - loves to put things inside of other things and then find them. She says uh-oh, hi, bye, and Bup-po (puppy). She giggles all the time. She eats everything in sight, except bananas and never any baby food. She's my little vampire, biting my shoulders and legs all the time, which is kind of amusing given my current obsession with the Twilight series. She's completely perfect, except for the sleeping thing. But all my kids lack the sleeping thing, so I guess I'm used to it. Her sisters love to play with her, singing songs, playing Little People, and finding all sorts of ways to make her giggle. It's such a joy to watch. She loves most people, but especially men. For some reason, she likes them better than women. She wants to talk to the dads at gymnastics and gets peeved if they don't want to pay attention to her. She loves the dads in the neighborhood. She loves her Daddy most of all. Her face lights up when he comes into the room, her arms go up, her hands start pulling him in and she says "uh, uh, uh" which means, loosely translated, "pick me up before I start shrieking at the top of my lungs." It's very sweet.
The past few days have only been marred by a few events that will make this first birthday particularly unforgettable. First was the massive ice storm on Thursday night. Lots of downed trees and powerlines, causing most of our county to lose power. Unfortunately, our generator didn't work. We finally had that repaired and got some powered restored. Then yesterday morning our power fully came back (hooray!!) and we discovered that Frick, Frack and Fred all had lice. Now, I somehow managed to escape getting it (all through childhood and through this experience as well) so I'm grateful for that. However, treating all three bigs has been a complete mess. OTC treatment, olive oil treatment, bagging up all their stuffed animals (SS Dad had to go buy more bags because they have so many in their beds, my little horders), it's been pretty awful. But, I guess it could be worse, right? I could have the bugs too.
So, my baby is one. Makes me a little sad. She's growing up so fast. They all are.
Now, back to scratching my head and combing out the bigs.

Increased readership

2008-12-06T09:30:00.004-05:00

Well, who would've guess that linking my blog to my Facebook page would cause such an increase in readership??!! Thanks for reading. I know that some of my readers are my twin-mom friends and others are from my Fred-mom friends and then my family (Aunt Older Sister, Aunt Younger Sister, Aunt New York, SS Dads sisters, etc) but it's nice to have some other people stopping by to see what's going on in the House of Pajamas, as well as what's going in Mama's head. Today, Twilight is going on in Mama's head.
Twilight has been going on in Mama's head a little too much lately. I've even got Fred thinking about it. She's asked for the soundtrack in the car twice now. WOOHOO - another convert to Twilight. LOL But what's really on my mind is Bella's good decision to go with Edward rather than Jacob. If you haven't read the entire series and are planning on it, please stop reading here. If you have read the series completely, please continue. If you don't care about Twilight, get your head examined. OK, that wasn't nice. Try reading it. Really. It's worth it.
In my opinion, Bella had no choice but to choose Edward. Here's an Edward vs. Jacob list for you.

Sparkly (like tiny diamonds were embedded in his skin) vs. furry
Almost honey-lilac-and-sun smell vs. wet dog
108 years of self-control vs. less than a year of madness
Golden eyes that dazzle vs. shaggy dog eyes that glint with anger
No need to cook again vs. need to cook for a pack of starving wolves
Ability to read others minds vs. shares all innermost thoughts with the pack
Musically gifted vs. snores like a chainsaw
Love of his existence vs. love until he imprints

This is just the tip of the iceberg. Now, Aunt Younger sister could probably come up with some reasons to choose Jacob, but she'd be wrong.

Some disjointed random thoughts

2008-11-26T14:55:00.002-05:00

1. 10 days without SS Dad makes me very cranky, partly from missing him, partly missing my computer time.

2. All the kids get sick when he is gone.

3. You know you have a terrible obsession with the Twilight series when you pass a street named Twilight and start plotting how you can steal the street sign. Not for yourself of course, but for Aunt Younger Sister who is responsible for your obsession.

4. 5 days off for Thanksgiving seems a bit excessive.

5. When your good friend has a miscarriage (again) you feel helpless and wish you could do something, anything to help her, but you know that there is really nothing at all that can help, other than time.

6. Taking the girls to see Daddy at work and then out to lunch when every single school in the area is closed is practically a suicide mission.

7. Short hair looks so much more like me than long hair.

8. Aunt Older Sister should really move closer. Her being so far away is unfair.

9. Family members who suggest that SS Dad should lie to me clearly don't understand our relationship. After all, he is my sparkly vampire and I'm his clumsy, bookish human.

10. I am working on a nice long post about how wonderful our relationship is - I'm just waiting to see if he takes the garbage out to finish it.

Veteran's Day

2008-11-11T22:26:00.003-05:00

Fred asks Frack: why are you home from school today?

Frack replies: It's Veteran's Day.

Fred questions: What's Veteran's Day?

Frack expounds: It's a day that we think about all the warriors who keep our country safe.

Frack is simply wise beyond her years.

Thank you Joe (Lynnette's son-in-law) and all the men and women in uniform for keeping our country safe. Thank you for being our warriors.

2008-11-10T19:00:00.002-05:00

Remember how I mentioned that Fred turned 4? Her preschool teacher thought she may benefit from some Occupational Therapy, specifically for her pencil grasp, so I called to have her evaluated. The evaluation consists of two components - a psychological profile (to make sure she isn't a psychopath) and the OT assesment. We had both parts today. They did the psych stuff at school (where it was indeed determined that she is NOT a psychopath) and this afternoon I took her to the OT office for the assesment. Here's a little background info - Fred hasn't eaten much in the last 4 days. So when she asked for 11 pieces of salami for lunch today, I gave them to her. She ate them all. I was thrilled that she was eating so well. I knew that would be all she ate today (and probably tomorrow) so it was ok with me. After school Katie (the wonder-sitter) came to watch Frick, Frack and Four. I took Fred to the OT office just under 30 minutes from home. She watched the new Barbie movie on the way. We get there and walk into a giant office building. I had no idea where I was going but managed to find the staircase. We got about halfway up and she turns and says the worst imaginable thing ever "Mommy, I think I have to frow-up." NOT VOMIT! I don't do well with vomit. I know in a previous post I mentioned something about catching vomit with my hands, this was not something I wanted to ever repeat. So I frantically try to get Fred up to the top and find a bathroom. She had her own plans. We get to the top and she turns to me and projectile vomits 11 pieces of salami everywhere.
GROSS
I have nothing to catch it with, so I use my hands.
GROSS
I have nothing to clean it up with, so I put my vomit covered hands into my brand new pocketbook (or purse for those who call it that) and to find a bag holding my Ricola for the nasty cold/sore throat that I have.
GROSS
I get the stuff from my hands into the bag and search for the tissues (guess it's a good thing I've got a cold) and clean up, wishing I had my diaper bag with it's wipes!
We get cleaned up as best we can and for the entire assesment all Fred says is "I want to go home."
Guess we'll have to try again next week - sans salami.

Why?

2008-11-03T17:06:00.002-05:00

Why do the kids insist on asking me for everything, even if SS Dad is standing right next to them and they have to yell to me across the entire house?
Why would SS Dad purchase chopped meat that is past it's expiration date?
Why would SS Dad not put the baby down for her nap today, claiming that he doesn't know when she naps? (seriously folks, 9 and 2, everyday, without fail - that's the schedule.)
Why would Frick's teacher be able to teach 24 kids to their own ability and Frack's teacher resort to teaching to the mean?
Why does Aunt New York have to give birth in NY, when it's so far away from me?
Why does Aunt Older Sister have to live in CA?
Why is Aunt Younger Sister older the third book hostage?
Why, why, why???

Fred is Four.

2008-10-30T21:45:00.002-04:00

What I mean is that she turned 4 today. Unbelievable. It really doesn't seem possible. But, it's true. She's growing up to be such a doll. She still has her moments that make me absolutely positive that she'll never be anybody's lackey, but she is a doll. Fred is amazing with Four. She really enjoys playing with her and making her giggle. Everybody we know thought she'd have a hard time adjusting to Four's birth, but it's been almost a year and she's adjusted just fine. She is quite stubborn - there is no convincing her to do something until she is 100% ready. Take potty training for example, for almost a year, she was physically ready - and pretty much trained in the sense that she knew she was going but refused to do it on the actual potty. Then one day she did it and was immediately trained - day trained, night trained - you name it. She just couldn't be pushed into it. And learning her letters - same thing. She refused to learn them, wouldn't even look at them until one day she decided that it was time and learned the entire alphabet in 3 days. No problem.
And she's sparkly. I don't just mean her choice in clothing (which almost always includes something that sparkles) but her personality. She's very shy, but once she decides to let you in, she's amusing and funny in ways that are so adorable. But she is stuck in between - she wants to be a big girl very much, until she wants to be a baby again. Age 4 is like that, but it's better than 3. Age three wasn't very fun and I'm glad it's over.
In other news, we now live in the "House of 1 Million Nails." We moved in August to a beautiful home about 15 miles from our old house. This one is in a much better school district, so I have hopes that the kids might actually learn something. Also, the neighbors are a lot more like us, in the sense that they care about their kids and their kids education, they like to have fun, but don't necessarily need to be drunk all the time to do it and they are nice people. Now, no neighborhood is perfect, but this one seems pretty good. The house across the street has two girls, one 6 months older than Frick and Frack and one 6 months older than Fred. There are two babies around Four's age as well. And an another 2 girls Fred's age (who were here for lunch today and they all had lots of fun!) The reason for the Million Nail moniker is that the previous owners had many, many, many things hanging on their walls. When they left, they took their decorations with them, but left the nails there. They are naked nails and it's distressing for SS Dad. He can't stand to see the nails. He's been yanking them out, filling in the holes, sanding the walls and spot painting (thank goodness they left the old paint!) when he doesn't have something to put up in that spot. We have purchasing some new hanging stuff, but not enough to use every nail. But the best part of the new house is the pool. We had about a week and half to use it before it got too cold, but it was clear that next summer the girls will turn into mermaids. As long as they wear their bikini tops, I think SS Dad will be ok with it.
And finally, my random thought for the day is that you always revert back to your actual self. I've been trying to be upbeat, optimistic and friendly lately. That is obviously not my natural state. My natural state is snarky and mean. Not terribly snarky and mean, but closer to that than upbeat and friendly. I've come to terms with this and am still trying to be nicer but realize that I may be fighting a losing battle. I'm not sure if the political climate of the country is causing the snarky-mean thing to come out, but that may be part of it. In any case, it brings me to one of the best lines ever in a movie - and my current favorite saying (as said by Olympia Dukakis in Steel Magnolias) "If you don't have anything nice to say, come sit by me."

Officially tried everything now.

2008-08-09T12:59:00.002-04:00

OK. Four won't sleep. She won't do it at night and she won't do it during the day. I've tried it all. We started with Healthy Sleep Habits (Weisbluth) and got nowhere fast. Then I tried a modified Ferber method. Zero help. I tried on-demand nursing at night. Nope. I tried co-sleeping (much to my dismay) and no help there either. So yesterday we were at our local amusement park and I was chatting with another mom. She's got 5 boys and offered this advice - turn the baby clockwise three times and she'll sleep through the night. So, we tried it. At this point I'd try standing on my head in the corner, chewing crackers and whistling Dixie if I thought it would help. Little Miss Four did give us a nice 4 hour stretch, but did not give me the magically sleep I was hoping for. Tonight, we'll turn her over on end six times and see what happens.

Reading/circus lessons

2008-08-02T08:58:00.004-04:00

Frick and Frack have been reading very well for a while now. They really get it and I couldn't be more proud. Sometimes, however, instead of trying to decode a word, they'll just take a stab at it without actually looking at the letters. I'm not sure exactly why. I found a list of words that they'll need to know (as high frequency or sight words ) by the end of first grade and I wanted to see how they did with them. I asked Frick to read me some of the list. She did wonderfully. On the first and second sections she didn't miss a word. On the third section, which is clearly harder, she had some difficultly. She started to get annoyed that she neeeded to think about the words instead of just being able to recognize them and didn't try decoding them. She got the word "because" and shouted out "bunicylce" and I nearly lost it. What on earth was oing though her funny little head that caused her to say that?
Some days I think I really get my girls and other days I could swear they were martians or circus performers!

For real?

2008-07-21T21:48:00.002-04:00

How does my entire family get sick in the middle of the summer? Frick and Frack had not just a stomach bug, but managed to get strep too. Fred, Four and I all had a stomack bug and SS Dad had just strep. Fred had it the easiest, but I ended up in the hospital. Not fun. Had to call in reinforcements. Not fun. Nearly two weeks later and I'm still not quite right yet.
In better news, Four decided that baby food isn't all terrible, in fact today she ate nearly half a jar of Oatmeal and Apples. I practically threw a party. Darn cute she was, with all her sisters around her shouting "she's eating it!" "Mommy - she's doing it!" All of 'em - cute as buttons. Good thing, or they'd probably be out with the trash. Especially that Fred. She's been having a rough time of it. She's got that attitude - the one that causes parents to look into boarding preschool. She finally gave up her pacifier. Last week, in the midst of all the illness, she was having a fight with Frack. She poked Frack in the chest with a piece of chalk. SS Dad (who was in charge while I laid on the bathroom floor) told her that until she apologized, she couldn't have her pacifier. So she gave it up. Hasn't even asked for the thing in days. Today she wsasn't happy with something I said and stuck her tongue out at me. When she refused to apologize to me, up to her room she went. After an hour of screaming, she fell asleep. When she woke up 2 hours later I asked if she was sorry she'd done it. Her response "NOPE." It's going to be a battle of wills and I am going to win. The child needs limits and boundaries. I'm the parent and as my friend Alison says "you will mind me." (yeah, she's a southern girl, but I love her anyway!)
Finally, wish me luck as I fight the good fight with our school primcipal. He's got no idea what he's dealing with. Don't mess with this mama!!

Identity Crisis

2008-06-27T10:57:00.002-04:00

Not mine, of course, but Frick and Frack. They keep trying to switch who is who. I have now insisted that they pick one and stick with it. So, in a typical Pajamas house move, Fred has assigned their monikers. My first born will for ever be known as Frick and my second as Frack. Now, I'm not sure exactly why they listen to Fred, but since I haven't been able to make them do this, I'll take it.
We're only a few hours into summer and already the whining of "I have nothing to do" is being droned into my head. Camp starts on Monday, but Frick and Frack opted for 1/2 days (why, oh why did I let them get away with that???) and Fred cannot go at all. With her refusal to potty train comes this lovely problem. She can't go to camp. Is that punishment for her or for me? We'll keep at it and perhaps she'll go for the last half of the summer. Four is obviously too little for camp, but it would be nice if she learned to sleep better as her task for the summer. Last night she went to bed at 9pm, woke up at 12, 1, 1:45, 2:30, and 4:30. Ridiculous. Today I'm a zombie.
It's hard to be a zombie and get this house ready for the next showing (Sunday means Open House from 1-3, in case you feel like stopping in and buying my house so we can move.) The house looks like a tornado went through it - in fact, it looks like perhaps 3 small tornadoes were here - Frick, Frack and Fred. I've got lots of picking up to do, as I'd gotten lax in the last few weeks. We had a buyer (or so we thought) and so I let it go, just enough to make it that much harder now. The buyer backed out, so we are back to Open Houses and Showings. Open Houses are that bad, at least I know well enough in advance to get things ship-shape, but with Showings (in my world, that gets capitalized) not so much.
I finally made a friend here. Someone who is like me. She's got two little girls, one Fred's age and one Four's age. She is fairly new to the area and doesn't have a lot of friends like her. She's looking to move to a better school district. And we are planning on joining the same Temple. She's coming over for our first playdate (I mean the girls' first playdate) next week.
On the identity crisis thing, Aunt New York just announced she's pregnant (about time too!!) and it hit me like a ton of bricks. We have said that Four is our last. That means that I'll never be pregnant again. Wow. That's a big thing for me. I'm looking forward to spoiling her little monkey as much as she spoils mine. In fact, this morning the girls and I went to Target for a blow-up pool and as we walked through the aisles, I was finding all sorts of stuff for Baby New York. I can't wait to find out if it's a boy or girl. I am hoping girl since I know nothing about trucks or sports or anything else boy-like. But, I promise that if it is a boy, I'll learn.
Here's the funny for the day. The girls were recently watching Princess and the Pauper - a moive they never tire of - and heard the word "ego" in a song. We were explaining it to them and SS Dad said it was kind of like self-confidence. Then he said "ego and superego" - ala Freud. Frack picked up on that and responded with "ego is your self-confidence and superego is your inner superhero." She went on to describe all the superpowers that go with it. Adorable. Insightful. Especially to this once-upon-a-time psychologist.

2008-03-18T18:44:00.003-04:00

I'm still in shock that Frick and Frack turned 6 earlier this month. It doesn't seem possible. Just yesterday I was laying in a hospital bed trying to keep them growing. OK, not yesterday, but it certainly doesn't seem like 6 years ago! To celebrate the big occasion, we took them (and 25 of their closest friends) to the bowling alley. Their school requires that you invite all the kids in the class in order to pass out invites there, so they were all invited. We also invited the 9 or so kids in our neighborhood. Fun times. My mom joined us and spent much of her time wrangling wayward bowlers and holding Four. The girls had a fabulous time and the best part was nobody extra at my house! The following day all hell broke loose, as Fred accidentally kicked Four in the head with a roller skate, but she's fine. The roller skates are no longer allowed in the house at all. Speaking of the house, we're planning on selling it. We hate the school system, our neighbors aren't very nice to us and the house seems to be falling down around us. It's sad that a 2 year old house could have so many problems. We gave the builder ample opportunity to fix things, but they refused, so we'll probably end up having to sue them. Our neighbors have taken the opportunity to be meaner than usual and for once I'm glad it's till winter, so I don't have to talk to them in the park.
Three years ago, Frick and Frack asked to have their ears pierced. I told them they could do it when they turned 6, so we planned it. However, Frick, Frack and Fred all got the flu, so we had to wait until this past weekend. I must say, having earrings really does make them look older. It made me extremely sad though. I realized that it's just the first of many milestones Grandma won't be here to see. This is devastating for me. Since her passing, there have been other things, but nothing that I'd planned with her. This is the first of many. She and I had talked about so many life events with the kids. Somehow this is worse for me than her never having met Four. I know that she'd approve of their earring choices, but I'm sad that they won't get to show her. And that she won't be able to buy them their first Diamonique. (Nobody was a better QVC shopper than Grandma!) Yesterday would've been her birthday. We miss her more than I thought possible. But hey, when we buy a new house, we'll put all her furniture to good use. I can't wait to use her big table and standing salad bowl.

2008-02-26T21:16:00.002-05:00

When I was growing up, my mom had a whole circle of friends who lived right in our neighborhood. All the women had kids around the same ages and they did "stuff" together - went out for lunch, went shopping, spent time at each other's houses (ie playdates) so the kids could play and they could chat, went out to dinner on the weekends, celebrating birthdays - the whole 9 yards. Some women still have that. Not me. When SS Dad was in his residency, we didn't really live in a neighborhood like that and now, well, not so much. I could join a Mom's group of some sort now, but I'm not really a joiner, especially since I need to be a bit "fly by the seat of my pants" with the baby. I can't sign up for a get together next Tuesday at 9:30am, who knows what will be going on in my life by then?? Also, most of the moms I know work regular 9-5 jobs, so they aren't around during the times when I can be doing stuff. I had hoped that I'd meet some moms to hang out with once Fred started preschool this year, but that hasn't panned out. Many of the kids have parents who are shift workers and just aren't interested in going to the mall with me during the time when they need to be sleeping. And, most of them are brought to work by their Dads. I have nothing against Dads, I just don't need a whole bunch of Dad friends. Where we used to live I had 3 main friends. One was an almost relative of my closest and oldest friend. We didn't have all that much in common, but we did hang out from time to time. The second was the woman who lived across the street from me. We had next to nothing in common (other than shared roadway) but we got along very well. The third was the mom of a preschool friend of Frick and Frack. On the surface, we had not much in common either (other than a fabulous sense of humor) but she made that place bearable. I knew that at every drop off and pick up, I'd have someone to chat with. Someone who would make me laugh. Someone who knew words with more than two syllables (and I'm not referring to my kids here, they have wonderful vocabularies.) Someone who was not oblivious to current events. Someone who voted. So even though we seemed very different (and I'm not just referring to the fact that I'm not quite 5 feet tall and she's closer to 6) we were very much the same. Maybe when Four goes to school I'll meet someone like her, but I doubt it.

Snow Day

2008-02-13T13:29:00.002-05:00

As a child I loved them, as a parent - UGH. Snow days stink. I'm trapped in the house with all 4 kids and it's not pretty. Last night I had less than 4 hours of sleep so I'm finding it hard to have patience, find fun activities for the bigs to do and mediate all the disputes. Here are a few random things I've said today.
1. I am not a jungle gym.
2. Please do not stand on the counter.
3. Stop "footing" your sister.
4. Don't lay on the baby.
5. We will bake the brownies after I finish wearing the baby.
6. Stop fighting over earrings. You don't have pierced ears.
7. No, you cannot invite your entire bus to the birthday party.
8. A Kit Kat isn't breakfast, eat another one.
9. Stop reading that book and go watch TV.
10. Hey! Did I suddenly stop speaking English?
As you can see, we are having lots of fun in the Pajamas House on this lovely day. Four refuses to sleep anywhere but on my body for periods of time longer than 10 minutes. Frick and Frack are trying (in vain) to get me to let them play outside. Fred is trying (quite successfully) to bug her sisters until they give her everything she wants. Me, I'm just trying to survive until SS Dad comes home. Is it bedtime yet?
Nope. If it were bedtime, Frack would be saying her belly hurts. Frick would be begging me to kiss her first tonight. Fred would be picking out the 20 books she wants me to read. And Four? She'd be doing her usual 7:30 trick - screaming. See, Frack is having issues at school. She's quite the little perfectionist and has been having stress over her unperfect, left-handed, kindergarten-style writing. It really bothers her to the point of belly aches. So does gym. She hates that sometimes her team may lose. It's not the actual losing, it's the thought of losing that has been causing the upset. That and the "feel" of the foam balls. She really hates those and is not sure what to do about it. Oh yeah, and she forced herself to throw up last night. I'm not sure if she needs a shrink or a gastroenterologist. (Note to self: call ped in the AM.) Frick, she's having issues with lack of attention too. She has this aching need to be first at everything. First goodnight song, first goodnight kiss, first at the bus stop in the morning. It's getting harder and harder to deal with. Fred? She's still Fred, but to the nth degree. She's still waking up several times every night. She still refuses to potty train (I'm sure she won't graduated from high school in diapers, but she may start out in them!) and we are finally working on giving up her pacifier. I know - but - better late than never. Four? She's a doll. Really. She is. However, the lack of sleep (and isn't it completely ironic that I'm trying so hard to get her to take a pacifier at the same time I'm trying equally hard to get it away from Fred???) may actually kill me. Truly. I'm more tired now than when I had infant twins. She's a very intense baby. Her smile actually lights up the room. No pictures of it though because by the time I get the camera out, the smile is long gone and replaced by the scrunched up about-to-scream face.
So having four kids is much harder than having three. Will we ever do this again? No. I don't think so. OK, probably not. Well, I won't rule it out. But, maybe SS Dad could do the pregnancy part and I could hire a wet nurse for overnights. Barring those things, Four is going to be our last. Most likely.

She's here.

2007-12-30T15:25:00.000-05:00

Four’s birth story really started on Thursday, Dec. 13. I went in for my pre-op appointment at 10:30, the snow storm was supposed to hit in the afternoon. It came early, and I was sitting and watching the snow fall for more than an hour of the appointment. Then I had to go and dig my car out and drive home. It was awful – and took 2 hours to go what should have taken 40 minutes. I got home and my mom and Fred were waiting for me. Then we sat and waited for the bus to drop off the bigs. We waited and waited and waited. I started to get very nervous. All of a sudden, we see my neighbor carrying Frick up the hill and Frack walking next to her. The girls hadn’t worn boots to school (since it wasn’t supposed to snow until much later!) and Frick couldn’t make it up the hill. The bus didn’t think it could make it either, so the driver just dropped them off at the corner. Luckily, my neighbor Kim saw them and brought them home. I was royally pissed off, but there wasn’t much I could do about it at the time.
My section was scheduled for 7:30 Friday morning and I needed to be at the hospital by 5:30. We went to sleep around midnight and Fred came immediately into our bed. She refused to go to sleep – and didn’t let me sleep either. I ended up getting less than 2 hours of sleep. We got up and showered and I called the hospital at 5am – to make sure they were running on time. They told me “you aren’t scheduled at 7:30, its 12:30.” I just about freaked out. We told her to call my OBs office and we were getting on the road, since it had snowed again and the roads weren’t good. By the time we got halfway there, L&D had called us back and said we were a go for 7:30. We got there and I got started. For some reason, they assigned me to a different anesthesiologist than had seen me the day before, so I had to start at the beginning for him. Going over my medical history AGAIN (what a PITA!) and explaining about all my allergies. I had spent 45 minutes the day before telling the doc all this stuff and was annoyed that I had to redo it. And, to make matters worse, this guy didn’t seem to believe me about my tendency to puke. I threw up during both previous sections, so I wanted them to push meds immediately after laying me down. He absolutely refused and said “you’ll be fine.” Sure – easy for him to say! They didn’t bring me back until almost 8 – but luckily, I had a great nurse who was keeping me calm. Once in the OR, the attending anesthesiologist came in. I tried to reason with her about the puking, but she also wouldn’t believe me. Now I was nervous, unhappy and wanted them to bring SS Dad in. So they put in the spinal and laid me down – guess what? Puking! So they pushed meds (but not the good stuff) and I felt a little better. SS Dad came back but I couldn’t see him because of the way they had me laying down. I was tilted to the left and both the anesthesia resident and attending needed to be on that side, so SS Dad was on my right. He was holding my hand, but I couldn’t see him. It really freaked me out and I had a bit of a panic attack. The rest of the surgery went pretty much the same way. Finally they got her head out, and Four let out a scream, even before they fully delivered her! They got her all the way out and she was really wailing. They took her back and SS Dad went with her, it was just through a door, and they finally let me turn my head, and I could see them. I felt MUCH better after seeing them both. Her Apgars were great – and SS Dad held her for the rest of my surgery. SS Dad held her while I made my way to recovery, but once my shakes stopped (I got them with Fred too) he gave Four to me and she nursed right away. The nurses were amazed at how well she latched immediately. They were really stingy with the ice chips, and my mouth was soooo dry (from the panic attack I think) that I ended up with a really inflamed throat. I sounded pretty funny. I was ready to move to my room about 45 minutes before the room was ready for me. So we had to wait it out in recovery. We finally went down to my room and they took Four to the nursery to be evaluated by the pediatrician. I got settled and SS Dad went to get Four. I wanted her in the room with me as much as possible. The rest of the day went fine, but that night was a disaster. They were giving me tons of fluids and I had to pee a million times. The first few times my nurse came to help me, but I could tell she was annoyed – and she told me that I could go myself. I had to unplug my IV from the wall, get myself out of bed and go the bathroom alone. It wasn’t fun and I had to do it quite a few times. The morning nurse couldn’t get there fast enough for me. On Saturday, SS Dad (and my mom) brought the girls to see us. It was nice, but a bit crowded. Luckily all the post partum rooms are private – I had SS Dad, my parents, SS Dad’s mom & sister and the three big girls! The rest of the day was fine – but again at night, the nurse was awful. And the third day, my milk came in. I guess my body feels like it needs enough milk to feed an army, so as with Fred, I was past uncomfortable and onto miserable. My day nurse microwaved wet washcloths for me and it made such a huge difference, but the night nurse – she refused to do it (apparently it’s against hospital policy, even though it really works) and I made her cry. After she refused, I tried her suggestion – a hot pack – but it didn’t get hot enough and wasn’t reusable. So I called her back in and told her that either she was going to do the washcloth thing for me, or I would do it myself, I just needed access to the microwave. She finally consented to do it, but only did it once, so I spent the entire night either nursing or walking to and from the microwave. Ugh. Unpleasant. The nurse was then afraid of me and when she needed to come get Four for her evening evaluation by peds, she brought the peds resident with her. I wouldn’t let them take her right then (I was nursing her) so the next time, they brought the attending pediatrician with them. OK – so I made one nurse cry and scared the peds resident. Guess I’m meaner than I thought!
I wasn’t going to spend one more day there! I told them I was leaving – and I’m a HUGE proponent of staying as long as the insurance will pay. It’s like a mini vacation. However, I hated the hospital. So on Monday, I came home. It was hard, I had to take lots of pain meds, but it was better than having to take care of myself. I had SS Dad and my mom here and they took good care of me.
My mom stayed until yesterday so I had lots of help with the kids. My dad came for a visit too. SS Dad’s mom and younger sis were here as well for a visit. The bigs (all THREE of them) were kept entertained. We have managed to be invaded by a virus of sorts – Frick and Frack have awful coughs, Fred has a runny nose (me too), Four has an upset tummy and Frack started throwing up last night (and running a fever too.) I have no idea how we managed to get sick, we haven’t left the house for two weeks. Somehow the germs manage to find us anyway. I’m going to blame SS Dad and his patients.
Now with my mom gone, food is going to be scarce for the grown-ups. She was cooking for us every night (and if you know my mom, you know just how much she hates to cook!) But at least my friend Anna is bringing me lasagna, and she’s a phenomenal cook. School starts again on Thursday, and if I can manage to get them out of the house in time for the bus, it’ll be a miracle. We’re going to start with a new routine – picking out clothes the night before, me making lunches then also and using a chart for getting ready. I don’t want to have to drive them. Fred doesn’t go again until the following week, but I think that’ll give us some good time together with the oldest two out of the house.
In other news, both Frick and Frack have had visits from the Tooth Fairy. Frack’s fell out on its own, but Frick’s had help. My mom took all 3 bigs to the park the other day and she fell on some ice and out popped her loose tooth. I was glad it came out because it was hanging by a thread and she wouldn’t let me yank it. SS Dad offered, but she wasn’t having it. She did get a HUGE fat lip and cried for hours, but the tooth is gone! And Fred has decided that now is the perfect time to try out potty training. Needless to say, we are going through underwear like water and she’s had to sit in more than a few messes while I finish nursing/changing Four’s diaper/burping Four etc. However, since she’s never been interested before, I’m going with it. She’s loving being a “big” and I guess potty training (as inconvenient as the timing is) goes with the territory.
So we’re adjusting to being a family of 6. I’m thrilled that the girls all love their baby sister as much as they do. I’m tired but happy.