7 months

Yep. You read that right. On December 24 the boys officially turned 7 months old! Crazy!

I know I said that I was going to do a post on Alli's birthday today, but then last night I realized that I never posted on the babies.. so I decided I'd switch Alli's b-day post for tomorrow.

Now- I would just like to caution you...... As you go down this post you will have a strange desire to kiss/eat your computer monitor because you are just going to want to nosh on these babies. I promise the babies are way more edible in person.... but kissing your computer screen will do in a pinch. ;)

So without further adieu:

Miles Rudolf:



This little guy is just a sweetheart. He's so giggly and smiley. He's content to play by himself and just 'be'. He love getting his tummy blown on and eaten- and he loves kisses all over his face.
He nods his head for fun- and likes to sway from side to side when he's having tummy time.
He doesn't quite sit up on his own yet- but we're getting there.
He also says "da da da da"
He is still a binkie baby through and through.
Miles has two bottom teeth and four top teeth are breaking through as we speak.
Bedtime: 8-8:30pm- 7:30-8am. Nice.

Miles' stats:
19lbs 12 oz (75%)
27 1/4 inches (50%)



Dexter Patrick:

Dexter is a little snuggle bug. He's wanting to be held constantly. He loves his tummy blown on and his chin eaten. When I nosh on his yummy cheeks- he likes to eat mine back. It's rather adorable. When Dex has his tummy time he likes to spend it turning in circles. Dexter says "ma ma ma ma" Dexter also loves to shake his head in the "no" fashion. It sends the girls into giggles because they ask him questions- and he always answers 'No!" with a smile.
Dexter has two bottom teeth in, and four of his top teeth are also breaking through right now. (Two teething babies are so much fun!)
Dex also doesn't sit up on his own yet- but he's close.
Bedtime: 8-8:30pm-7:30-8am. Sweet.

Dexter's stats:
18lbs 9oz (50%)
27 inches (50%)


Today was the babies doctor appointment (they have been sick lately- so I kept canceling the appt because they couldn't get their vaccines when they were sick/fever..... and I wasn't going to the dr. twice.)

The doctor says we need to work on feeding them baby food. Every time we feed them baby food, they gag and spit it out. It took me an hour and a half to feed Dexter 1/2 jar of stage 1 baby food. I just don't have that kind of time (three hours solid) to feed both babies..... so I just kinda give up and let them have a bottle. Time and sanity is worth it to me. BUT the doctor says if they are still gagging at 8 months then we need to take them to Children's hospital's swallowing therapy program. Sounds expensive. ..... so guess who's going to spend this next month feeding babies non stop? Jealous- aren't you.


As an over cap: These babies are pretty delightful little guys. We love having them in our family!

Christmas

The past few days have been filled with fun and chaos! I loved it. (Well, except for the everyone leaving us bit- as shown in the last post). So I'm going to take a few days to blog about our crazy busy past few days- Makes since, right?
First we had Christmas Eve, then Christmas, then my mom flew in, then Alli's 8th birthday, then Chip's whole family came (we even got to meet a new almost sister-in-law), then Alli's baptism and Chip's and my 9Th anniversary (on the same day), then we were alone again. Phew. Did you get all that. Yeah. And it all happened in 4 days.
I'm just now starting to breathe again.

So start from the beginning.

Christmas Eve:
We hung out all together- watched Christmas videos, read the story of Jesus' birth from the Bible, made and decorated cookies for Santa, opened our one Christmas Eve present- which is always new PJ's. The girls were excited about their PJ's this year- as they had the characters on them that the girls dressed up as for Halloween. Tinkerbell and Princess Tiana. It took about 20 or so tries to get one moderate looking photo of the kids. Why does that happen?
(Dexter is in Red/Blue, Miles is in Green PJ's)

Plus, I'm trying to figure out this new camera of mine (that I dislike- but that's another story)- so a lot of the pictures are blurry, too bright, too dark, etc...

The stockings were laid out on the couch and the hope for St. Nick to come snuggled deep inside the hearts of our children......


Christmas Morning:

This year our kids were awesome. They woke us up about 8:30! Sa-weet! Usually the boys wake up around 7-7:30, but our gift from them was in the form of extra sleep. It was one of my favorite presents!

Our house rules are that the kids have to descend the stairs one at a time, youngest to oldest. The parents come down first to check out if Santa came.... and then the kids follow. This year it was so hard to wait! (as seen by Maggie's less than amused expression)

Miles LOVED the Santa came, Dexter was a bit indifferent.

After the Stockings were opened, we played around with all the goodies for a while. We like to wait and open presents until after we have eaten breakfast (it spreads Christmas out a little longer).... So while breakfast was cooking- we waited. We played. Legos, books, art stuff galore! So much fun! Santa even brought Chip some magic tricks- and me some scrapbooking stuff.... (how does that guy know just what I wanted... *wink*)

Mmmm..... the smell of freshly baked cinnamon rolls permeated the house and our mouths were salivating with anticipation of eating those soft, warm, gooey, sweet cinnamon rolls of goodness. This year I found peppermint flavored whipped cream to go on top of the hot cocoa. It was a perfect touch!

But the best gift ever was having someone special fly in on Christmas evening.......

YAY!

I know... you're on pins and needles to finish the story. But I'm not going to right now....

Tomorrow- Alli's birthday.

It's a good one.

Alone

I just have to put it out there. It's how I'm feeling at the moment (and we all know how well I keep my feelings to myself...). Those of you who have family leaving near you don't know how lucky you are.

You have a year round support system. Ones who not only love you for you- but ones who HAVE to love you, because they are family. Ones who can stop at the drop of a hat and lend a hand, be there for your children, or just "be". Friends are nice to have around and all- but you can't 'abuse' friends like you can do with family.

Your children are blessed to know their aunts/uncles/cousins/grandparents/great-grandparents on a personal basis. They don't have to start from scratch every time you have an encounter with your children.

When your children are crying out for their loved ones, they are just a quick phone call and drive away.

I don't care how much your family may annoy you. I don't care if it's a zoo and you can't stand it. I don't care how much they meddle- because that means THEY ARE A PART OF YOUR LIFE!

You never have your child crying on you- sobbing- because that child knows they won't see their grandparent for 6 or more months.

I HATE that my dad hasn't met his grandsons. I HATE that my children don't know their cousins. I HATE that I met my niece when she was 2- and not when she was a newborn- and all throughout her life. I HATE that my brother met Maggie for the first time after she turned 4. I HATE that my grandma and Chip's grandma haven't even met the babies. I HATE IT!!!

When people complain about how awful their family is- It makes me want to slap them upside the head and scream at them about how darn lucky they are.

When you feel yourself start to complain about how "miserable" your life is with all of your family meddling in it- just turn the tables and consider how it is for those of us who are alone.

No family for Thanksgivings. No family for Christmas. No family for birthday parties. No grandparents there for school plays. No family to drop our children off at whenever they are driving us crazy and we just need a minute to collect ourselves.

It's lonely. It's sad.

I envy those with family who live near by.

You are so lucky.

Finding "It" in In Style

Have you ever met my mom?

If you haven't- you're missing out on a treat.

She is so completely awesome (and I'm not just saying it to get a better Christmas gift- or the fact that I want to be the favorite child- no brainer... I already am.). She is everything I want to be when I grow up. She is on the city council, she is the biggest spiritual giant, she quilts like a dream (Just check the seams on her quilt blocks- they are completely perfectly aligned!), She is a creative scrapbooker (when she stops quilting long enough to pick up some paper and pictures-- HOP TO IT, Mom!) , she can make a gourmet meal to feed 50 with a can beans and corn, service is her mantra- she'll do pretty much anything for you if you ask- or even if you don't ask... she'll still do it, she's the relief society president in her ward (basically the woman over all the ladies in her geographical area at church), she has a white-glove-test-clean home at all times (except when she has quilting thread on the carpet.....), her ironing piles only get up to like 3 items of clothing, She is a foster mom, She's super funny, She's good for advice- or just a listen if you need it. Plus, there's lots- lots more! (I almost feel like I'm Ron Popeil and she's a Ronco Rotisserie- Call now and you can save!)

Basically- She rocks.

So- with her to compete against (She doesn't even know we're in competition... how stealthy am I?) - I'm always trying to find "IT"- you know.... whatever she's got that makes her awesome and have "IT" all together.

For example:
She has 2 kids- So I had 4.
She has an SUV- I've got a mini-van (with heated seats.... OOooOO... jealous?)
She's got horses- I've got a cat who eats horses.
She makes awesome quilts- I try terribly to make awesome quilts and send them to her to actually quilt.... she has to do 'surgery' on them so they'll actually lay semi-flat.
She's got a husband (my dad) who always has facial hair- My husband frequents mustache websites like this one- CLICK- and dreams of facial hair glory.

See? I've totally got my game on.

Last night's competition was in the -making holiday treats- category.

I recently blogged about my lack of holiday baking. I was ashamed at my slacker-ness attitude. I felt I needed to amend my naughty slacker ways (at 9:30 at night)- so I made caramels.

I started by getting cozy- I know... I know... you must be thinking " Shouldn't you look like Julia Child when cooking? Pearls? Dress? Frilly apron?" But hey- I'm working on things one item at a time. So I slipped into my ugliest and baggiest pj pants (Hot pink/hot yellow/hot orange fleece squares covering every single inch) and my over sized, bleach stained, black and white striped shirt, I slipped on my big fluffy (stinky) slippers, messed up my hair and make-up, and took off my bra for added comfort. It's a good thing the caramels were going to taste delish- because I was one HOT mess. ;)

I got the big pot out and added the ingredients; Brown sugar, butter, corn syrup...... What the crap?!? I was 1/4 cup short of having the corn syrup that I needed! UGGG.

Step 1: Google "How to make Corn Syrup"
Step 2: Find a recipe that says it takes 25 minutes to make the corn syrup.
Step 3: Have inner debate about if I want to stand over the stove for an additional 25 minutes (keep in mind it takes about 30 minutes of stirring and cooking to make caramels)...
Step 4: Call Chip down and debate with him about the situation.
Step 5: Slip on my coat and drive approx 1 mile to Target (wearing the afore mentioned outfit)
Step 6: Purchase the last 3 bottles of corn syrup that Target had on it's shelves vowing to myself to never run out of corn syrup again.
Step 7: Stand behind a woman in line who wanted dearly to be my new BFF as she talked about everything in her life- just shy of telling me her bra size and the colors in her wedding. (She also said "Bless your heart" multiple times when she found out how many children I had.....)
Step 8: Come home to make the stupid caramels.
Step 9: After cooking caramels and pouring the 400 degree caramel liquid into a 9x13 pan- I spilled a good 1/4 cup of the lava onto my middle finger.
Step 10: Say bad words.
Step 11: Wait for about 4 hours for the caramels in pan to cool to edible temperature.
Step 12: Eat one piece and declare that "Victory is mine!"


See? Do you see what my competition is doing to me?

Yeah.... It's making me win.

I doubt my mom would burn her middle finger off with scalding hot lava/caramel just to one-up me. Although...... she did do some crazy things with a glue gun one Christmas when I was like 10.... She individually placed 100- One dollar bills into the Snickers mini bars to hide them from us. Yeah- she carefully unwrapped 100 tiny square mini-Snicker bars, folded 100- One dollar bills into tiny squares( fifty for me, fifty for my brother), and placed the each bill with a Snicker candy and sealed the whole thing back up with a hot glue gun. I must say- it was pretty fun opening a box on Christmas to find it full of candy.... but then to our delight- the candy had MONEY in it?!! Holy cow. It was the gift that kept giving.

Sigh.....
I'm never going to win this competition.

It doesn't mean that I won't stop trying though.....


p.s.To all those Target guests who were there at 9:45 last night. You're welcome for gracing you with my lovely presence.

Christmas Baking

Most years, around this time, my house is swarming with super sweet scents. Decorated sugar cookies, homemade caramel, peanut brittle, fudge, cinnamon rolls, the list really could go on and on.

Last year, due to pregnancy related issues (fatigue/nauseated by every smell/ hurting back) I didn't make any goodies. It was sad. (Not sad enough that I actually cared, though.)

This year due to two semi-mobile babies and more projects to do than time to do it in, I haven't really made anything either. Lame Sauce. Complete pile of lame-ness right there.

BUT- This year I have an alternative.

Two words:
Easy. Bake.

A month or so ago my grandma (who loves to spoil my children by getting them their hearts desire just so they will smile- and maybe make her win the title "the favorite great grandma ever") got Alli an Easy Bake oven.

Alli loves using it. She loves baking all sorts of treats. So this year I think I may pay her 5 cents per decorated cake- and have her do my holiday baking for me! Brilliant, right?

She's not quite a professional yet. She licks her fingers throughout the whole process- double dipping into the frosting- and tends to layer all decorations 3 inches thick..... but I think it does the job.

If you so happen to be a lucky recipient of a pile of goo with sprinkles on top- it's just us wishing you a Merry Christmas.

A Lesson on Profession.

I got my first car when I was 15. It was a lovely {insert sarcasm here} cherry red, 74', VW Bug. I named her Old Bessy. No heat in winter- sweaty legs-sticking-to-the-vinyl-seats in summer-AM only radio... yeah. She was pretty rockin'. ( Chug-a-chug-a) My brother got me a license plate frame that said "0-60 in 15 minutes". It was pretty true.
Whenever I got a chance to take my mom's car anywhere (A big SUV that had AM/FM radio AND a tape player (holla!) and heat/ac, and it had automatic transmission.... I mean, come on- that was pretty cool)- I totally took it. One summer evening shortly after I got my license my mom asked me to go get some eggs to the store. It was about 2 1/2 miles away and I jumped at the chance.
I pulled into the parking lot of the little store and went inside. I was only in there for a few minutes, but when I came out- eggs in hand, I saw that my mom's car wasn't where I parked it. I started to panic! Did someone steal it? I looked around. Then I froze. I found my mom's car.

When I jumped out of the car to run into the store, I had forgotten that unlike the stick shift VW that I had, my mom's car, with the automatic transmission had to be put into "PARK" mode before exiting. I didn't put it in park.

My mom's car had rolled backwards into the back of a brand new pickup. I was freaking out. I was 15 years old, using my mother's car, and I totally wrecked it!

I went back into the tiny store and asked the cashier to page the owner of said new truck. He came lumbering out to see the damage to his 'dream car'. The bumper was completely bashed in.

After exchanging information- I had to go home and tell my mom what happened. My head hung low. Really, really low. I just knew that the beginning of my driving career would also be the end of my driving career. She'd take the keys away for like- eternity. When my mom looked at the name of the owner of the truck I'd hit- she got wide eyed.

It was the name of the man who actually delivered me as a baby.

The moral of the story: Be careful of who you bring into this world- because 15 years later they might try and take you out.




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(In Idaho, we called all vehicles 'Rigs'..... You drive a Buick? You have a rig. You drive a mini-van? You have a rig. I'm glad I could teach you this. )

Colds

After we found out we were pregnant with twins- we pretty much worried over every hiccup. It's not often one finds oneself being a host to two aliens- err- babies. While I was never one to be of a sickly disposition, I was extremely blessed by the fact that I was never sick (cold/flu/yucky) while I was pregnant..... until the day I gave birth. I had the nastiest cold- so much that I completely lost my voice, and let me just tell you how fun it was recovering from a c-section while you are coughing so hard it makes you pee your pants (true story).
Ever since that first cold- it opened up the flood gates... and we have been sick ever since. Well... at least, it seems like someone has been sick at all times. Usually it's me and Dexter- with a side of Maggie. It's beginning to be very irritating.
How the heck am I supposed to get everything I need to get done- done, when I feel like I want to roll in a ball and sleep until Groundhogs day (which just so happens to be Chip's birthday.... but that's not the point.)
I'm just hoping that I can get my energy back up so I can get the rest of these Christmas presents made and mailed- handle two teething babies- deal with an emotional 4 year old- and get Alli ready for her baptism/birthday. Lots to do......

Breakfast with Santa

Today was our twins club's breakfast with Santa event. I had been telling the girls about it for a few days- They. Were. PUMPED! I mean, hello?! They were going to get another chance to schmooze with the big guy before the big day. The event started at 8am. In typical Kohrman fashion- we arrived at 9. "It's a good thing you guys were a little late." the checker-in-gal told us as we arrived. "Santa was supposed to be here at 8:30." We noticed a few families were already leaving. Chip and I just looked at each other and practically said "score!" and did a fist bump at the fact that we weren't going to have to wait that long- and stay around for 2 more hours- we had a lot to do today.
We found a table- loaded up our plates at the buffet-ate- and waited.
And waited.
And did a way cute snowman craft.
And waited.
And colored in a little coloring book.
Wrote a letter to Santa.
And waited.
Santa showed up at 10:15.
I looked at Chip. He looked at me. We grabbed all of the kids and ran, RAN to the front of the line. The babies were pretty much done waiting at this point. So were the rest of us.
We were the 4th family in line.
Then we were the 3rd family in line.
Then the fire alarm went off.
"Are you kidding me?!" was said by pretty much everyone- including Santa.
We left.
We saw Santa in the hall on our exodus. We asked him to pose with the girls. He did.
He was a terrible Santa. Young- way, way fake beard/suit/belly- but at least he stopped and took a picture with the girls.

I also took a picture of this on our way out. The hotel/water park that the breakfast was at had the "Lobster Zone". Yeah- a machine that you put $2 for a chance to grab a lobster.
I secretly wondered if the lobsters had the same sick adoration for 'the claw' as the little aliens did in Toy Story.

Then we went home and put up our tree.

It's a pretty sad tree. We bought it the first year we were married and payed the maximum amount that we could afford for a tree. $19.99-at Target. The name sounds impressive. "Slim Noble Fir" It's such a Charlie Brown tree- but I've grown to love it. All "6 feet" of it. (I'm as tall as the tree.)

In preparations for having the boys, we rented a storage unit so we could have a little more space around here. The Christmas (and all holiday) decorations moved to their temporary home. We didn't feel like going to the unit and unearthing all of the contents for two boxes of decorations. I told Chip we'd just make some snowflakes, sprinkle on a little glitter, make some paper chains and 'poof" you have a tree. He agreed. He said it kinda looked a little Shabby Chic (I was impressed at his knowledge of the term.). I just think it looks kinda shabby- but it will do wonderfully this year.
We all had fun making the ornaments together. Maggie likes glitter. She likes glue. She likes to put them everywhere. Together.

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Chip and I were talking about last Christmas. We had two beautiful daughters and were delighted of the upcoming birth of another baby in 5 months.
Yeah. I was 4 months pregnant and we had no idea there were TWO babies in there. If we only knew then what we know now..... man.

Our world certainly changed since last Christmas.... that's for sure.

(No worries- it totally changed for the better....)

Ah-ha moment

My parents stopped taking us to the mall Santa's when I was 6-ish. I was the baby of the family and I learned that Santa wasn't real at a little bit of an earlier age (probably when my brother told me.) I didn't have much of a problem with it, as we had a family rule "If you don't believe, you don't receive"- so we all just played along anyway. I always wanted to receive.

There was one thing my little heart always desired when I was a kid (aside from wanting every single Cabbage Patch doll ever made-- that one is obvious). That one thing was an Easy Bake Oven. It was a silly wish- I mean, my mom taught us how to cook when we were really young, so we pretty much had access to use the kitchen if we wanted to (as long as the mess was cleaned up- mom style) But there was just something about that Easy Bake oven that just had me mesmerized. I didn't really vocalize my hearts desire- maybe just in a passing conversation.
I never did get that Easy Bake oven. I still pine for one. (Although, now Alli has one- so I should probably just use hers... but that's neither here nor there.)

{Do you hear that bubble popping? Yeah- that was my dreams}

Last night Chip and I took the kids to the mall to see Santa. All of our kids are still believers. It's so fun to see the magic dancing in their eyes as they get to ask for their wishes to come true. As they waited (mostly patiently) for their turn- they talked about what they were going to ask Santa for.

Alli is a suck up. She wants to be Santa's #1 girl. She has learned that in the movie Polar Express, Santa seemed quite happy when the little boy who got the first gift of Christmas asked for a bell off of his sleigh. - So that is exactly what Alli asked for.

Maggie- who had gone to see Santa the previous day while I was running errands in the mall, and had already asked for her hearts desire (A purple unicorn Pillow Pet)- decided she wanted to make a trip to the top of the nice list as well, just asked Santa for "a lot of toys for my friends".

Miles was fascinated by Santa- and wouldn't look away from his face.

Dexter liked his toes.


As the kids wrapped up their Santa visit and we took the twins off of Santa's lap- Santa used his "come here" finger and beckoned me closer to his lips so he could whisper something in my ear. "Hallmark has awesome Santa sleigh bells- so you can get Alli what she wanted." I thanked Santa for his knowledge and direction to the bell. (... I was secretly wishing that Santa would do all of my holiday shopping himself- and leave me free to get stuff done at home)

Then it dawned on me- I never got my Easy Bake oven because Santa never whispered to my mom where to get me one.

Problem solved.

If you want something- tell Santa. Just be sure your parents accompany you on your visit.

Cold Blood and Scales

I am part lizard.

There. I said it.

When the first blast of cold air hits- BAM! My hands start cracking and flaking. It's seriously gross. (And it really hurts... and starts to bleed. A lot.) No matter how much lotion, Vaseline, Neosporin, etc I use- nothing works (I am 99.9% sure I've tried everything). I've put my hands in mittens/socks filled to the brim with skin helpers when I go to sleep- and wake up with burning hands. My heels are the same way.
It's so sad! I had to give up crocheting because the yarn would snag my dead and flaky skin. (gross.. I know) I also have to stop wearing my wedding ring in winter- as it agravates my skin- and it comes off in patches.

My lips are no better. Back when I was like 7-8ish(?) I completely split my upper lip in two (I was really cool and thought I could do flips through the bike rack at my brother's baseball game. In fact- I was so cool that I went really really fast and plowed my face right into the bar that holds your bike tires still. Yeah... good times. Good times. 8 run stop signs/lights, One passed out dad, and a ginormous bag of ice later- I walked out of the hospital with 4 stitches on my upper lip. They were black. I looked H-O-T.) To this day, every winter without fail, my lip- where it was once sewn shut- opens right back up again to let me know it's still thinking about me.

I really do live a charming life.

Along with my being part lizard- it also means that I pretty much need a heat rock/lamp 24/7 in the winter. I HATE being cold. Ugggg. I LOVE playing on snow mobiles ( I had my own as a kid)- I love sledding..... but the moment my feet/hands get cold- the fun time is over and I'm done. If I could live in boiling water all winter long, I'm pretty sure that I'd like it. I get overly excited about sweaters in the winter. (Argyle is my favorite.)

I am pretty sure Chip might not like me in the winter. Not only do I layer the bed in about 10 quilts and flannel sheets.... but I'm constantly wearing really stinky, warm, cozy slippers. Chip just so happens to be a hot box and could possibly be part of the global warming crisis. This trait is great for me when I get into bed and put my ice cold feet on his steamy warm ones- but bad trait for him when we're driving in the car and I have the heat turned up to 85 degrees. (Toasty.) - That doesn't even take into account that I have the heated seats turned on too! ( He. He. He.) When we got the van that had individual heat/cooling, I'm almost positive it saved my marriage.

So there you have it. I'm a lizard.

If you see my tongue randomly flying across the room and nab a bug mid-air- now you know. I really had no choice.

Attempts

First off- If you're looking for my weekly weigh in- I can't give it to ya. The girls broke the scale. Let's just say I'm as light as air now. :D (if only......)

Now to get to my post.

I am starting to believe that my boys have a secret death wish. They have each attempted to off themselves on more than a few occasions. (at least they aren't trying to whack each other.... I'm guessing that comes in a few years.) I don't know if they are unhappy- or just like thrills of seeing the light at the end of the tunnel.

Dexter: He's a jumper. He has jumped off the bed multiple times (once landing face down on a plastic bag full of Christmas presents. (*Either he's changing his m.o. to suffocation or he was trying to peak at the presents.) You leave that child in any position on the bed (or couch) and he'll find the edge. It's not that I'm a completely irresponsible parent- I just didn't know he could roll that fast. Anyway- Note to self: Dexter gets put on the floor.

Miles: He likes the strangulation game. If you put anything within arms reach (which gets a shorter and shorter distance every day) he's going to get it. The laptop computer cord, the camera cord, blankets- if he can grab it, it goes around his neck or over his face. Maybe he's just into the sparkles that come to your eyes after you lose your breath- Maybe I should just get a gob of glitter and let him play with that. Hum... maybe that will get him to stop. Note to self: Tack everything down around Miles.

They also both enjoy eating the cat. Either they are related to Alf (do you remember him?) or they also have another kind of death wish- I mean, a toothless and claw-less Siamese is a pretty deadly weapon.

I wonder if I could get the babies into some therapy of some sorts- Is there a clinic I could check them into to help them overcome their death wish desires? I figure I need to address the issues now as they will only get worse the older they get. Dexter will surly try to jump off the roof of the house when he's like 12-18, and Miles will most likely play mortician or something morbid like that with his siblings.

Future Glimpse

Alli was born at OSU hospital- because of this we got put in on a list to have the people at the OSU Cognitive Development department call us up and use our children as guinea pigs. I actually don't mind at all- I think it's pretty fascinating- and really, if everyone said "no", how would we get new information about that kind of stuff? (Alli even got to go to a 3 day math camp this summer put on by them..... I mean, Math Camp- how cool is that?!) Anyway- I guess when they found out I had twins the students at the lab were like "SCORE!", because they called and wanted both babies to participate in a study of how infants learn.

Today I lugged the three kiddos who stay at home with me down to the OSU campus. (The lab is actually inside of the OSU football stadium... which makes it so much cooler...) {Go Bucks!}

I don't know what the students were expecting. They had FOUR graduate students on hand for the tests. One to do the actual testing- and three to entertain Maggie and the other baby who wasn't getting tested. (It sorta reminded me of a "how many people does it take to change a light bulb" joke....)

Miles was first to be tested. He did really well. He watched the computer monitor and didn't really have any issues other than slight boredom after about 18 minutes of dancing butterflies and weirdly named shapes.

Next came Dexter. He was only impressed by the dancing Elmo that is used to get children's attention. Then he was really impressed at his toes. (They are pretty neat after all.) At around 10 minutes of his wandering eyes and wiggly body- he got a little limp. (We were in a pitch black room, except for the computer monitor and a camera in which they were observing us) The girl testing started giggling. I knew it then- Dexter fell asleep.

I can only bet this is what the future holds for these boys. Miles will be the study guy- taking school seriously. Dexter will be the guy who plays with his feet and falls asleep during class. I guess I can be thankful I had plenty of time to prepare for future parent/teacher conferences.





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p.s. After our fun OSU adventure, the kids and I went to Trader Joe's- Goodness to Golly I love that place. The three treats I'm drooling over this year are (in no particular order):
1) Candy Cane Trader Joe-Joe's (basically Candy Cane Oreo's)
2) Mini Ginger Bread cookies (They have cute buttons and the word to describe the bow ties was "dapper". Swoon)
3) Trader Joe's Peppermint Hot Chocolate. Chunks of creamy chocolate and a real peppermint extract in hot chocolate. Do I really need to say more?

*I'm not paid to endorse these things- I just like eating/drinking them. A lot. (in moderation, of course)

Snow

Sometimes in Ohio we get the nicest weather.... up until February when the snow piles up and you understand why suicide rates go up in winter. Grey skies. Grey/muddy snow. Cold. Wind. No place to go with children..... you know... those days.

I was looking forward to having a nice winter this year. Super mild-you can visit the zoo with only a jacket- sorta weather.

I think because I was hoping and wishing for that kind of weather- when December 1st came into play, it started snowing. Granted- it is nothing that's sticking- but it's still snowing.

When the girls woke up this morning all we heard were excited screams "Snow! Snow!! It's Christmas Snow! Let's go play! Can we go outside (at 7:30am) to play in the (not accumulating on the ground) snow?!? It's SNOWING!!!! *giggle giggle giggle*"

Followed up by : "Can we open our presents yet??!!"

It's going to be a long winter.

Presents

I have decided that since I am painfully behind on my Christmas gift making- that I didn't want to completely be behind on everything and have a mad rush on Dec 24Th to get everything done- so last night I wrapped about 2/3 of the presents. I knew that I would probably have problems keeping the two older kids at bay (.......and to make their agony even greater- I didn't label any of the presents in a way the kids could decode it. HA!), but I wasn't overly worried about keeping the babies at away. The boys aren't crawling yet- so I figured I was safe. Wrong.

This morning I set the babies down on a blanket I had spread out on the living room floor and went to make breakfast for the rest of the crew. Five minutes passed and I came back into the room to check on the babies. This is what I found:


Both little guys had rolled off the blanket to get near the presents! Those little turkeys! I guess I have double trouble already.



(This made me wish for someone to get me a present: A Force Field Blanket- When I put the babies on it, they will be completely unable to get off the blanket! Sounds wonderful, right?)

Weighty Matter at hand (part 3)

This week went better than planned. I am proud to say that I made mostly all healthy stuff for Thanksgiving- and only one pie (probably because I wasn't planning on being here for Thanksgiving, and when we changed our plans last minute ..... I forgot about baking a pie. Oops.) I also restrained myself from gorging on food. Pat on the back- right there.

I also found myself wanting comfort food this week. But I realized if brownies weren't in the house.... I couldn't eat them. So I didn't make any.

Here's the progress report:

Week 1: 3.6lbs
Week 2: 3.2 lbs
Week 3: 2.o lbs

Total loss: 8.8lbs

Only 11.2 lbs left until my first goal!
(I wonder if I can make it by Christmas!?)

Dream

The past 3 days I've been fighting a cold. Some people blame it on the fact that I didn't sleep due to my freezing cold 2am shopping excursion..... I just like to think it was going to get me no matter what. Last night Chip and I were talking about how to handle Sunday. I was going to stay home so I don't infect the masses- but how was Chip going to handle all four children on his own? I said that he should just take one baby and leave the other one with me. For me, having only one baby to deal with would be sooo easy compared to having two. Heck... I might even get a nap or two in while everyone was at church. It was settled. He'd take only one baby and both girls to church.

As I was sleeping last night, I had a really weird dream. It was more of a nightmare. I dreamed that Columbus was more like New York City (no... that wasn't the scary part...), and I took a job downtown in one of the high rise buildings. The only reason that I took the job was because they had an in house daycare center- and I felt that I would be okay to have Maggie and the two babies come with me to work- as I could check in on them whenever I wanted to. I don't know what job I was actually doing- but it required me to wear 'business woman heels'. Have you ever seen me wear heels? I look a little like a fish flopping out of water. It's not a pretty sight. Lack of grace is an understatement. Anyway- as I was going about my day (in heels) I decided to check in on the kids. I found Maggie playing blocks with a bunch of other 4 year olds having a good ol' time. Next was time to check on the boys. I went to the baby area and my babies were no where to be found. Anywhere. I was panicking. The rest of my dream was frantically trying to find my babies. It was a nightmare. I hope, pray, beg, anything- to never be put in that situation in real life. It's so scary to think about. I woke up in a cold sweat. I looked at the clock. It said 11:15am. Chip should have left for church 45 minutes earlier. First I freaked out because he didn't wake me up- Then I started to freak out about where the baby he left me was at. I didn't hear any noises.... was the baby asleep? I shot out of bed with my heart racing and started to search the house. No baby in my room- no baby in the crib- no baby downstairs.... there was no baby. I ran back up stairs and found a note taped to the computer. "Good morning, I took everyone". BIG sigh of relief. And then I did a double take. He took all four children to church. An almost 8 year old, a 4 year old, and 6 month old twins! WHAT?! What was he thinking? Did he want to be super dad? or want play a martyr?
Well, he was at church- so I couldn't call him. I figured there would be plenty of hands willing to help a 'single dad' with two babies. (at least... I hoped......)

It all turned out fine. Two ladies rushed to sit by him when he got into sacrament meeting.{ I love our ward.} And when he had to take one (or the other) of the babies out to change a diaper- people were willing to watch the baby left behind.

To thank him I made dinner. I hope the oven kills all cold germs- as I may have sneezed on something....... thus making ME take all four kids to church by myself next week.....

I'm a follower

For as long as I can remember, I get really specific feelings when I am driving. I like to think that it is the Holy Ghost protecting me and keeping me safe- and also guiding me to help others.

Three years ago as I was driving around one cold rainy night I got a prompting to take the long way home. I had no idea why... It would add another 5-10 minutes to my route. Begrudgingly I decided to follow that prompting. I turned myself around to take the long route. Not 3 minutes later, I found myself watching a car run smack center into a light pole. I was there. I was put in place to help a 17 year old scared girl who just got into a major accident. I stayed with her until help came. I was able to keep her calm. I am thankful that I followed that prompting that day.

I have also been prompted to take another way while driving, only to find out that a huge accident happened about the same time I would have been crossing that intersection.

I know I'm protected when I follow those promptings.

On Monday, as I was shuffling around trying to get laundry done, the house cleaned and organized, and all six of us packed and ready for our trip to Pennsylvania for Thanksgiving- I had an unsettled feeling in the pit of my stomach. It never left. That night as Chip and I were talking and making the preparations for the trip, we both fessed up to the feeling that we had all day. The minute that we talked about canceling our trip- the feeling lifted, and we were at peace.

Tuesday, even though we were a little sad about not going to spend time with our family, we still felt like it was the right choice. The phone calls were the most odd to make. "Hi. We're not coming to visit- because of a prompting." Luckily for us- our family completely understands promptings. Then off I went to the store to collect food for our Thanksgiving here at home. This was the fourth year we've had our own little celebration- except last year Chip's sister, Molly came to visit.

Thanksgiving today was great. We have so many blessings to be thankful for. Heavenly Father has seen fit to bless us so innumerably. We will forever be grateful!

We may not ever know why we weren't supposed to drive to Pa, but I am so thankful that we didn't go. I know we were protected for following the Holy Ghost.

And.... on the plus side, I get to go Black Friday Shopping!! 2 am is going to come early.....

Going Gnome

Confession--( again.) I am in love with Gnomes. I also love small woodland creatures- Squirrels, chipmunks, owls.
I have never acted on my passions though. I never, not ever, once bought a little statue of any of the things I giggle/swoon about......... until Saturday.
I went to a Christmas craft fair with my friend Kimberly and I found this guy who was carving Santa ornaments. As I was looking at his stuff I noticed that he had picture frames that had gnomes on it. I was smitten. I told the guy "if only you had a little gnome ornament, I'd be all over it like white on rice"... lucky for me... he had a little gnome who was hanging out with the Santa's. I couldn't contain myself any longer.... Ten dollars later this adorable little guy was mine.
I'd like you all to meet my new gnome. His name is Clarence. I'm naming him after my great-grandfather. I'm not sure why, but I think he'd approve.

As if my little Clarence wasn't enough...... his cousins are going to be arriving in my mailbox any day now. In the form of gnome earrings.
Yeah. I did.
I bought gnome earrings.
I'll have to name them when they get here.

I'm so excited.
(If you have any good gnome names... you'll have to let me know)

Lights

As a child I knew that Christmas lights were magical. I looked forward every year to my mom decorating the house. Red lights on the tree- White lights under the nativity- White lights under other decorations....... every once in a while I'd get to do the banister in some sort of color like blue or green. As soon as darkness came I'd turn off ALL of the lights around the house, except for the Christmas lights. I would sit in one of the over sized rocking chairs and just bask in the glow of the lights. It was soothing. It was cozy. It had the promise of hope. It was inspiring.

Even now when it's time to decorate for Christmas my very favorite thing after all the kids & Chip go to bed is to make a mug of hot chocolate, put on my flannel PJ's, snuggle with my cat and turn on only my Christmas lights. Nothing else. No TV- No music. Just me, the lights.... and the cat. (although, I can omit the cat when he feels it necessary to be with his Chip)

Last night Chip and I took the kids to Wild Lights at the Columbus Zoo. It was completely awesome. It was 70- yes that was SEVENTY degrees with a slight breeze. Perfect as perfect gets. We spent an hour and a half walking around 'ooooohhhh-ing' and 'aaaaahhhhh-ing' at all the vibrant lights- watching a light show- and laughing together as a family. I loved watching that same magical feeling the glowing lights provided me as a child dance in the eyes of my children as well. The lights made us all a little giddy- ready for the up coming Christmas season. Even the babies were soaking up the colors, movements, and spirit of the event.

After we got our fill of the lights, we headed over to Graeter's to get some delicious ice cream. It was a perfect ending to a perfect evening.

Weighty Matter At Hand (part 2)

This week. Sigh......
I tried cheating. All week.
I did cheat. A lot.
I would starve myself all day and indulge on treats at night.

Pumpkin cheesecake from The Cheesecake Factory
Triple Chocolate Melt down (lava cake) from TGI Friday's
Soooooo many yummy treats at a Bunko party I went to.....
Eating PF Chang's (and only that all day....)
Man.
What was I thinking? Ohh yeah... treats. ;)

I'm going to get better. Someday. I hope. At least I didn't eat a ton of food AND gorge on all those yummy treats..... right? Little steps. Tiny little steps.....

So let's recap:

Week 1: 3.6lbs
Week 2: 3.2lbs

Total loss: 6.8lbs
Only 13.2 lbs left to reach my first goal.

Let's hope this week goes a little better with the healthy eating department- even though it is Thanksgiving this week..... AND we're going to be with family and most likely snacking......

Say What?

I know, I know... I write a ton about Maggie- But let's just sit down and face the facts, She is the child who is with me 24/7- and is usually in my face for 98% of the time. I am her favorite person to be with ..... I'm hoping that it's because I'm just that cool. But anyway- back to the reason for this post. Maggie has been on one lately. She is on a roll with the funny comments! When she's not aggravating me to tears with her stubbornness, I'm in complete hysterics over what this child says.

Me: Maggie, Go get dressed
Maggie: Princesses don't wear clothes.
--------------------------------------------

Maggie with her face two inches in front of my face.

Maggie: Mom, Let's do butterfly kisses, Okay?
Me: Sure
(we then do a butterfly kiss- she resumes her 2 inch space from my face)
Maggie: Let's do Eskimo kisses now, okay?
Me: Sure Mags.
(Eskimo kisses were done- she then again takes her post 2 inches from my face)
Maggie: Mom (**giggle, giggle**) Let's touch tongues!-
(to which she then sticks out her tongue as far as it will possibly go- toward my lips...)
---------------------------------------------

I woke up two mornings ago at about 2am- Maggie was sobbing and saying over and over "I'm sorry, I'm sorry, I'm sorry"- to which I gradually wake up and ask her what's wrong- "I had an accident in bed and I got tinkle everywhere." I told her it was okay, accidents happen, and let's worry about clean up in the morning. I fully woke up and went into the bathroom to help her change.... only to notice that for some strange reason, I am soaked. Yeah.... Maggie wet -MY- bed.
I had to go sleep in my daughter's bed for the night.
------------------------------------------------

We happen to have a wonderful grocery store here called Giant Eagle. It's a bit more pricey than Walmart or Kroger- BUT they have what's called The Eagles Nest.... which is a daycare (ages 3 and up). It's fully stocked with every gaming system, movies, crafts, toys, etc...... my kids LOVE it. (the other perk about them is they double coupons up to $1.00- so if you have a coupon for .80- you get the item for $1.60 off!!...... and every $50 you spend, you get 20 cents off of gas.... so there are perks to going there. Anyway... I'm getting off topic...) So I happen to go to the store about once a week, as my fridge is stupid and freezes my produce... no matter what temperature we set it at, or where on the shelf (or drawer) it is put..... so we know the guy in charge of the Eagle's nest pretty well now. Mr. Adam. He rocks. He actually likes my kids... which is a total bonus. ;) The other day when I was coming back to get Maggie after shopping, Mr. Adam says to me "Did you know your daughter let some of your husband's secrets out?" I had no idea what she said.... I got nervous.... "Yeah," he says, " She told me that you live in a pink house, your husband has pink hair, and wears pink dresses." While I can neither confirm or deny any of these allegations (*WINK* Chip!! ), I thought it was hilarious that she would come up with that!


~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
-When I was talking to my mom yesterday about the silly person that Maggie is, it got me remembering a time when I too wet my parents bed. You see, my dad - when I was growing up- was a long distance truck driver. He would come home Friday after work, and leave Sunday after church. My mom HATES to sleep alone.... so each night either my brother or I would sleep with her. I loved sleeping with my mom. She always read good stories to me... and she had a really cool water bed. Well- I was probably like 6 and I was sleeping with my mom and had an oopsie. Yeah- I peed all over. When my mom woke up to find the tinkles- I totally blamed the cat for the pee! He got in so much trouble!!! HAHA! Don't worry, all these 23 years later I finally fessed up to my mom about it. I think she forgave me.... but she said that the cat probably doesn't... and he's looking down from kitty heaven pointing his accusing paw and glaring down at me. She's probably right.

The Non-Foodies

(Pictures from the boy's first food encounter at 4.5 months)

As first time parents we couldn't wait for Alli to start eating food. We were one of those 'dumb' parents who wanted their child to do things early... eat/crawl/walk/talk.... after the first child, we never made that mistake again. Alli started walking at 9 1/2 months... yikes! Anyway, we started Alli on solids at like 3 1/2 months. She loved eating food. It was such an adventure!

When Maggie came along, we knew not to push another child to do things early... after all, who really wants a baby to be mobile? She waited to walk. She started at barely 11 months old. And as far as food goes... that kid was starving. She was pretty much begging to eat when she was 4 months old.... so we just let her. She still is an avid fan of food.

The boys.... what can I say about the boys. At 4 1/2 months they were completely content with just their bottles and nursing. I thought I'd give feeding them a shot.... after all, they are going through 2- 2 1/2 Costco size cans of formula per week!.... so any other food they'd eat would be a nice change. I saddled them up in their chairs, got some yummy rice cereal made, and gave each boy their first bite. Let's just say they were less and impressed. Each boy promptly spit out their rice cereal offering. I tried for about 20 minutes to get them to take a bite.... it didn't work. So, every other day or so I let them try more food, to see if it sticks. The boys are now almost 6 months old, and I still haven't had any success with feeding them. They are anti-food. I've tried different flavors of food, different consistencies, and different settings in which to feed them. These boys have no interest what so ever. They are only interested in spitting the food out.

I'm hoping that with their lateness to eating food- it'll mean they will be later to walk. One can hope, right?


P.s. I think Maggie is becoming an excellent babysitter. I over heard her while I was getting laundry gathered saying "Now Boys, don't you roll over, or I'll spank you. No drooling, or I'll spank you."

Four Issues

As a parent you feel bad if one of your children is having issues...... but what do you do with all four of your children are having issues?

Kid #1- got fed up with a boy at school and scratched his face up with her fingernails. This got her: Grounded, sent to the peak room (the place at school they send naughty children for the day), she couldn't go to the school book fair or movie night.... plus she has to call the child's parents and apologize for hurting their son. (as well as an apology to the kid... that's a given.)

Kid#2- is having super bad dreams and is afraid to go to sleep. She has decided that she needs to sleep with me. Not dad. Mom. I don't know if we've mentioned before, but we have a full size bed. Two adults plus one wiggly child in a full size bed pretty much mean that the two adults don't sleep.

Kids #3&4 are teething and rolling around everywhere and getting stuck underthings. Tonight I went to make a cup of hot cocoa and heard Miles screaming. He had rolled under the bouncy chair the Dexter was sleeping in. Without thinking much, I just picked Miles up- What I didn't realize was Miles' sleeping sack was under the feet of Dexter's chair... so when I picked Miles up quickly, the chair flipped over and made Dex do a nice face plant into the floor. Poor little guy! What a rude awakening. The teething thing isn't awesome either. Why aren't babies born with teeth? (aside from the whole nursing thing...)

I feel like I'm sinking here..... Can Super Nanny come and help me? Ohh wait.... I used to be Super Nanny.... I guess I need to channel my "inner her" again.


On the pretty side.... I've been making these....


Which makes for some fun when I make Alli be my model..... you can tell how much she loves it. ..... maybe we'll make this one of her punishments.

Sing it.

Yesterday was the primary program in church- Let me explain a little- Each year the children of our church have a 'theme' they learn about. All lessons revolve around it. It's the same theme world wide within the church. This year's theme was "I know my Savior lives". The children learn songs that revolve around the theme.- then every November the children get to go up during Sacrament meeting and sing their songs and do a cute little program. It has to be one of my favorite Sunday's to go to church. The kids are adorable! There are always the kids who belt out the songs- there are always the kids who are waving at their family back in the audience- and there are always the kids who refuse to cooperate with the program. This year.... Maggie took that honor.

Maggie. What can I say about this funny kid. She sometimes thinks she is shy. I know... weird. Once she gets to know you and feel comfortable with you- all bets are off. She is a Little Miss Crazy Pants. ..... but sometimes she wants to run and hide from everyone and play ostrich. When she went at sat up on the stage at church today, she had one of her shy moments. She turned her back to everyone and tried to bury herself in the chair. Finally she warmed up a little bit and turned around (after some help from Erika- aka- the "F" diaper changer.... lol). Maggie finally started to sing (and then started to wave).
What was helping her out was the fact that she was holding an index card that she had a special drawing on it (done by none other than-herself) It was like an index card of power. It gave her the power to speak and sing.
Maggie was asked to be a part of a little trio of 4 year olds to sing a verse of a song. The three cute little girls got up to the microphone to sing their parts.... and Maggie dropped the card off the stage on accident. It was all down hill from there. She refused to sing one note. She was so sad!.... and I couldn't rush to pick up the card for her, without causing a big scene- so it lay there on the floor... just a few feet down and away from her. It was really a heart wrenching thing for her- and I totally felt her melting.
A few minutes after the song- she had to do a speaking part... one that she had memorized completely, and even has been saying it randomly to everyone that we see (including strangers at the store). "A Prophet is a speaker for Heavenly Father". She refused- flat out refused to even try and say her line into the microphone- instead- she ran back to her teacher and melted.
Next time I know..... glue the silly "index card of power" to her hand- and give her teacher a back up.

** I'm completely proud of Maggie for not throwing herself on the floor or screaming or crying about the card. She was very quiet during her meltdown.

Alli was asked to sing a solo for a verse of the song. She had been practicing her solo part for weeks and sang it non-stop. Opera style- Rap style- and silly style. It was in her head. She did a great job when it came to her turn! I was really proud of her- she thought she'd forget words, {even losing sleep for fear that she'd mess up}but she didn't. (probably due to all the practicing.)
She was also asked to give a 1 minute talk on baptism. She wrote it herself- without any help from us. I must say- watching her practice giving her talk was so funny. First she'd run through it lightening fast... then we'd tell her to space it out (and you could see her concentrate very hard to space it out)... and then we worked on eye contact - so she would read a sentence and then she'd completely stop talking- look up dramatically- and then look back at her paper and start talking again until the next sentence ended. It cracked us up.
She did a great job presenting it.

The primary program was completely adorable. I am so thankful to belong to the church that I do. I'm thankful that my children have such wonderful leaders and teachers. It is such a blessing to know they are in great hands. I am also thankful to have such awesome kids.

Weighty Matter at Hand

This week. Gosh. What can I say about this week? The first few days was pretty easy peasy. I had that "new dieter's gusto" going on...... then came Friday night... after a very long week, so we went out for dinner. I figured that I was safe to indulge of whatever, because I had 15 points left for the day, and I had 16 points banked from the week when I had leftover points. 31 points I had to enjoy.....
Boy... I'm learning the lesson of reading the nutrition facts before I go to a restaurant. I asked them for it when I got there, and they couldn't find it.... so I just thought I got something in the ball park of healthy (healthy for a Mexican restaurant)..... and when I got home and looked on line for the nutrition facts I about peed my pants. My meal was 40 points! (and this was with only 1 tablespoon of sour cream too!) AHHHH. So I ended up being at -9 points. That was my big blunder for the week.

The highlight was on Wednesday when I made homemade cream puffs, homemade chocolate spiral cookies, and homemade pumpkin cheesecake for a church activity that Chip had to go to. All those magnificent goodies. They looked fantastic. I had never made any of the recipes before either..... it was so darn tempting to eat one of each. BUT.... I only at a 1 1/2 x 1 1/2 inch piece of the cheesecake. I wont' say I wasn't tempted to eat the remaining 3 pieces on the plate.... but I will say that I didn't. Good Job, me.

So- knowing my big huge blunder on Friday, I wasn't sure how that would shake out come weigh in- but I was pleasantly surprised.

Week 1- 3.6 lbs

Only 16.4lbs left to hit goal #1


** To help curb my desire for the leftover Halloween candy- On Monday for FHE treat I set the timer for 5 minutes. The girls had to eat as much candy in 5 minutes as they could. This picture above was the aftermath.
I threw away any remaining candy.

They want to know when the next Halloween is.

Finn Knows......

Finn knows some awesome torture techniques.

He knew these babies like to eat him.... so what does he do? Take the time to stand in front of them- just within reach.

Smart cat.

At least he gets a captive audience with his little stunts.

**Big weigh in tomorrow morning. I'm getting excited!**

(Dexter on left, Miles on right)

More Diaper Fun

Okay- I know, I have a lot of diaper changing stories- and poopy bum stories- But I think that just goes with the territory of being a mom. Let's just call it a badge of honor. (I'm not bragging or anything- but a few weeks ago at a friend's baby shower, I won the "who can change the diaper the fastest" game... having twins have perfected my mad skills.) BUT. This story isn't about me. Nope. It's about my friend. My friend Erika, and her first diaper changing experience in about 20 years.

I'm not sure it was funny because it was really funny-- or it was funny because you just have to be here type of moments. But I'll tell it anyway, and just hope that it's a funny because it was funny moment. All I know is there was snorting with laughter involved- and an emergency potty break for me.

So picture it: Sicily 1955 (I hope the reference doesn't go over your head.... because just saying it makes me giggle)

Aaaaaannnyyyyyway.....

Both babies needed changed- Erika decided she wanted to changed them, ya know, get some baby diaper changing experiences under her belt. I laid both babies down on a blanket in front of her and let her go.

She started by taking both of the boy's diapers off. At the same time. Such a rookie mistake. So both boys were exposed to the world- poo everywhere (by now, all over the blanket too)- and then Erika starts taking out the wipes. She'd take one dainty swipe at Dexter- and then get a new wipe and take a dainty wipe of Miles- and such it went. I kept telling her (in between my fits of giggles) that she needed to cover up the boys before they became a geyser.... There is a certain connection to their bodily functions and Old Faithful. But sweet Erika kept going the same pace. 40 wipes and 5 minutes later she asked where the Desitin was. I gave her the tube and let her work her magic. Those boys will not ever have another rashes again for the rest of their lives. They got Desitin'd to their knees. At this point I knew they had been um... exposed for way too long and there would be an eruption soon. I grabbed Miles and quickly put a diaper on him. At the same time I as locking the last tab in place on Miles' diaper, I hear a little squealing... Dexter had done what I had predicted he'd do and completely hazed Erika..... and he kept hazing for what seemed like forever. It was so darn funny. Finally Dexter quit his water works and let there be time enough for Erika to put on the diaper. After both tabs were fastened Erika felt rather triumphant. She picked up Dex for a victory hug....... only when she did, she revealed that Dexter's entire left bum cheek was hanging out. He was wearing a risque diaper!

Ohh my goodness- I died laughing. Tears. Snorts. Fits of giggles.

Let's just say Erika got an 'F' in Diaper Changing 101.

She says she wants to retake the test to get a better grade.


Next time I'll give her a smock.

You'll be seeing less of me

Well... that's the goal anyway.
Don't worry, It's me.. not you. I'm just done.

Yeah. I'm done being a chunky monkey. (You thought I was talking about blogging, huh?)

It's going to be a long road. I know that. I know it's not going to be an over night success... although, that would be nice...

Sit down (you probably are already...) and I'll tell you a story.

Once upon a time there was a fun girl who met an awesome guy. They fell in mushy gushy love. The day before their first anniversary, they got the best anniversary gift ever. A sweet little girl (Who cried like the Spanish Princess on Ever After). The fun girl also grew by 50 lbs of pregnancy weight. Three and a half years later they welcomed another sweet girl (Who came out looking like an oompa loompa- purple with red hair). The fun girl grew again by another 20 lbs of pregnancy weight. Four years later the couple got a two-fer- bouncing baby boys (although... I've never actually made them bounce.) Along with the little boys blue came yet another 20 lbs added to the fun girl... who has suddenly become fluffy-tired-mom.

One day fluffy-tired-mom said to herself "self... I'd like to tie my shoes without having to tie them by crossing my legs. I'd also like to not have such a ba-donk-a-donk bum." and so she decided she'd change. She deserved it. After hosting four of the most active-bladder-dancing-craving-inducing-children in her body, she needed to become herself again.

So.... fluffy-tired-mom started following the Weight Watchers plan (I did it right after I had Alli, and gave up. But.... I still have my book), yet again. But this time, fluffy-tired-mom is using blogging her journey as motivation. And hopefully they will all live happily ever after.

Lucky you. You get to follow my journey. (Do I hear cheering?)

So. Scary story, huh? Did you add up those numbers? 50+20+20=90. GULP! 90lbs of pregnancy weight is still on this body! It's gotta come off.

I get overwhelmed by thinking about it as a whole- so I decided to lose it in reverse. Twin weight first- and then conquer about the Maggie weight... and my final stretch is the Alli weight.

I started my new eating habits on Sunday- and did my first scary weigh in. So... every Sunday morning I will weigh myself (how do people have self control, and not step on that scale every day?... I don't know... but I'm hoping to find out)-

This weeks goal is to drink 8- 8oz glasses of water each day. This is a big one for me. I don't like drinking water.... I'm a diet soda- skim milk drinking girl. But it's attainable. I have also been following my points for the past two days.

So. There it is. Fluffy-Tired- Mom is going down.

You'll be hearing about her disappearance every Sunday after weigh in.

Me-vs-Them

(The group of kiddos I was put in charge of. Holy moly were they goof balls! It was awesome)

Last week I had the great privilege to be ganged up on..... by a bunch of silly, silly second graders. That's right.... it was the great battle of the mom volunteer and school kids.

The location: The pumpkin patch
The weapon: Wind, pumpkins, and hay piles
The winner: Me. I survived. (and got a pumpkin doughnut)

One of the favorite things the kids got to do was be licked by goats.
Who would have ever thought that would be a "highlight". They kept begging to go back to these goats....

We also got to go on a hay ride. These two adorable girls were sitting by me. I kept thinking about their poor mothers trying to get their hair clean when they got home. The wind was so bad that their hair was completely covered in hay even before we played in the 'fun barn' that was stacked a mile high with hay to jump around in. I should have taken an -after- shot... but I completely forgot. I don't think there was a single child who wasn't covered head to toe in rogue hay. (The little girl with the pink hood is one of our neighbors... she's really nice)

Pumpkins! This was my favorite part of the day. I told my kids that if they couldn't carry it, they couldn't have it.... These kids were rolling and heaving around ginormous pumpkins, trying to get them onto the bus so they could take them home. It looked like some sort of theatrical relay game.


My group of kids survived me as their 'mom-volunteer'. The little girl on the top of the photo wearing the Hijab had two very bloody knees after a battle with a rock that she lost, The little blonde girl on top fared pretty well after being jumped on in the 'fun barn', Alli got licked to death by goats, The little boy in green got a pumpkin rolled over his toe, The little boy in red kept running to his friends in another group, and got lost a few times, and the sweet little boy in blue is now my BFF (he thinks so....) He wouldn't leave my side.

It was pretty successful. No broken bones.



(I thought it was pretty funny, that out of the 8-10 white kids in the WHOLE school, I ended up with 3 of them in my group... what are the chances... lol)

Boo

In Columbus they have a silly night called Beggar's night- it is the day that you actually go trick-or-treating... and Beggar's night it different nights in different suburbs- weird. I have to watch the news to figure out when to trick-or-treat. Anyway, Thursday the 28Th was Beggar's night here.

We have a tradition every year to hit up one of our friends' parents neighborhood.... which just so happens to be close by me. I mean, who wouldn't go to this neighborhood- There is a guy who hands out dollar bills, a Pepsi driver that hands out soda, and a dude with an old fashioned popcorn machine that hands out warm freshly popped popcorn to everyone. I say that's pretty awesome.

It was so SO cold on Beggar's night- so Chip decided we should probably keep the babies home , and I took the girls out. I was completely unprepared for the chilly weather (and so were my kids.... they were only in light jackets. I was in a long sleeved shirt.) My friend's husband lent me his jacket so I didn't completely freeze.. (Thanks Jason!)

Here's the Kohrman Crew. Chip, Miles (left) and Dexter (right) were pirates- ARRRRGGG! Maggie was Tinkerbell and Alli was princess Tiana. My sweet mom-in-law made the costumes... she made me one too- Fairy Godmother- but after getting everyone else dressed last minute, I didn't have time to get it together. So... next year I'll be a Fairy Godmother.



My friend and I each have 4 kids. Apparently we're good breeders. It makes for a crowd wherever we go.- what can I say? I like to bring along my entertainment.

It was a successful Trick-or-Treat this year.... candy loaded up to the max! (And only one band-aid needed at the end of the night.)

Happy Halloween everyone :)