Yep. I'm officially a slacker. I've been meaning to write a post (or two) all week. I have a few post ideas in my head, but actually sitting down to write them is another story. I can't even claim to be super busy this week, other than taking care of my babies and trying to keep them entertained.
So, here's a quick post, just to let you know that we are all still here and to give you a dose of toddler cuteness.
It's hot this week. Not hot in comparison to some places, but for Oregon, it's our first hot weather of the summer. It's doubly hot for us, because we don't have air conditioning in our house. I told Tony yesterday that I absolutely refuse to live in another house that doesn't have AC. Yesterday it was 82 degrees outside, but was 85 degrees in the house. Ugh. I feel so bad for Ayden and Rylee because it's soooo hot in their room. I'm not looking forward to when it hits the 90's/100's.
One nice thing about the hot weather though, is the water fun outside! I introduced them to the sprinkler the other day. Neither one of them liked it at all, especially Ayden. He just stood/sat there and let the water pelt him while he cried his head off. Poor kid. It was another "mean mommy" moment, because I couldn't help but laugh! Rylee didn't like it either, but she just walked away from it and all was okay.
"Mommy, it's getting me!"
I didn't torture them with the sprinkler for very long. While they didn't enjoy that adventure, they did thoroughly enjoy the water hose itself.
We had a pretty crazy busy weekend. First, we all were planning to go to my niece's softball game, the only game of the year that we could actually attend. On the way there, I got a call that it was cancelled. Dang! Tony and I were driving separately because he had to leave early to attend a funeral. The babies and I continued on to my sister's house anyway so that we could get in a short visit. Plus, we now had to kill time because we weren't about to attempt taking the kids to the funeral. Ayden and Rylee had much more fun playing with their cousins.
We met Tony for the gathering after the funeral. There were lots of people anxious to meet the infamous twins! Then Tony's parents took Ayden and Rylee home with them, allowing us to meet some friends and go to a movie. Of course we HAD to see Perfect Pitch 2. It was entertaining, but not remotely as good as the first one. It also had a shocking amount of racial slurs in it that I thought took it way too far.
While we were at the movies, Ayden and Rylee enjoyed farm life with their grandparents. They got to meet the cows...
Sunday morning, I was fully initiated into motherhood. After breakfast, in which Ayden hardly ate anything (thank goodness!), he had a diarrhea diaper. I didn't think too much of it because it happens every once in awhile. Then he puked on the kitchen floor. Outfit change #2 if you count getting him dressed for the day earlier. Then he puked again. Outfit change #3. Then he had another small puke, but stayed mostly on his clothes for outfit change #4. Sooooo, it was going to be one of those kind of days. Poor guy wasn't feeling very good. We turned on their favorite Curious George movie and snuggled on the couch. Ayden coughed a little bit and I thought he might vomit again, so I tucked him in close to me so it wouldn't get all over the couch or carpet. He didn't, at least not right away. But then.... then he totally puked ALL. OVER. ME. And not just a little bit. This was a full on vomit fest and was so disgusting and smelled so bad! Rylee chose that moment to launch herself over the side of the couch and onto her head. Tony was in the other room at the time. I had my hands very full. Literally! That seemed to get it all out of Ayden's system and he felt much better the rest of the day. Rylee apparently has a hard head and was okay as well, after getting over the initial shock of falling off the couch. (She unfortunately hasn't learned her lesson though, and continues to temp fate and do it again!)
We also managed to move Rylee's crib into the other room yesterday. Last night was their first night sleeping in separate rooms. They always have for naps, but this was a first at night. It went very, very well! Both went to sleep on their own and Rylee stayed in her crib till 4:30. Both up by 5:40. (I really wouldn't mind them sleeping in longer someday!)
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Some days I can get caught up in being overwhelmed by my lack of sleep, or I feel at my wits end from being yelled at all day by 2 toddlers that can't talk yet. However, in the grand scheme of things, being a Mom is pretty darn great. In light of Mother's Day being this past weekend, I thought I'd take the opportunity to reflect on my favorite things about being a Mommy, something I thought for many years would not be a possibility. In no particular order, here are 10 of my favorite things about motherhood:
1. I absolutely love how both Ayden and Rylee randomly come sit in my lap for snuggles. They love to be loved on, and so do I!
2. Listening to their laughter has got to be one of the best, if not THE best thing in the entire world. When they get a full on belly laugh going.... I die. I melt into a big puddle on the floor.
3. Watching them explore and discover knew things is amazing. You can literally see them trying to figure things out sometimes.
4. When they learn a new skill. Like when they gave us their first kiss, first high five, or clapped for the first time. When they rolled over, and took their first steps. Or most recently, when Ayden signed "more" for the first time all on his own, without copying us.
5. Introducing them to new experiences like new foods, taking bubble baths, going to the park, or taking their first trip to the lake.
6. The fact that we got SO lucky with twins and being able to witness their interactions with each other. The other day, Rylee got hurt doing something (I don't remember what. It wasn't serious) and Ayden came up and patted her on the head. It was so super sweet! (It's not always. lol) I absolutely adore listening to them talk and laugh with each other when they are off playing by themselves. It makes my heart swell. (Until one of them bites the other.)
7. I love when other people oooh and awwww over my babies. I love that other people think they are as special as we do. I think they are pretty amazing, so it feels great and makes me incredibly proud when other people think so too!
8. Playing with them! Being able to make them so happy by simply playing a game of chase, throwing a ball, or making a car go vroom!
9. Watching them sleep. Their is nothing sweeter than a sleeping baby.
10. Being so unconditionally loved. I'm sure that at some point, they will become teenagers and won't think I'm so cool, but in the meantime, they think their mommy is pretty dang special!
There have been many Mother's Days through the years that I felt sorry for myself, but they were always softened by many of my softball girls that wished me happy Mother's Day, even when I wasn't a mom. I was their softball mom. This year, I still had several softball girls wish me a happy Mother's Day. I can't even begin to tell you how much that meant to me, that they still thought of me when I'm not even coaching anymore. I don't know how I managed to get so lucky. Not only do I have continued relationships with many of my softball girls, now I get to actually be a mom to my own babies as well.
I'm stealing this post idea from Non Sequitur Chica. I love these kinds of posts that give you a little insight to the person behind the blog, allowing you to get to know them better.
Four jobs I've had:
Norpac Foods, a cannery. I worked there for 7 summers on the graveyard shift, 7 days/week, through high school and college. I worked all sorts of jobs there: worked the conveyor belt, on the sanitation crew, was a heavy equipment operator and forklift driver, and I finished my last two seasons as the "Head Cook."
Direct Sales. I sold PartyLite candles for 8 years.
Coached softball for 20 years. The first 1o years were as an unpaid volunteer. Then I became a Varsity Head Coach for the last 10, while still continuing as a volunteer coach during the summers.
Personal Trainer at an Athletic Club. This was my "real" job that allowed me to work a schedule condusive to being a high school softball coach. However, it was also rewarding helping people change their lives and accomplish goals.
Four movies I've watched more than once:
Goonies
Ever After
Christmas Vacation
American President
Four books I'd recommend:
The Notebook (Nicholas Sparks) - The book is so much better than the movie!
Three Weeks with My Brother - A Memoir (Nicholas Sparks/Micah Sparks)
Hunger Games Series (Suzanne Collins) - The 2nd book, Catching Fire, was by far my favorite of the three.
Harry Potter (J.K. Rowling)
Four places I've lived:
Stayton/Sublimity, Oregon
Monmouth/Independence, Oregon
Corvallis, Oregon
Veneta, Oregon
Four places I've traveled:
Washington D.C.
Nassau, Bahamas (a free trip to the Atlantis Resort I earned while selling PartyLite)
Cabo San Lucas, Mexico
Oahu, Hawaii
Four things I prefer not to eat:
mushrooms
sushi
shrimp
salmon
Four of my favorite foods:
ice cream
pineapple
tacos
cake
Four TV shows I watch: (we currently don't have cable, but when we do...Or on Netflix)
Parenthood
Friends
So You Think You Can Dance
The Amazing Race
Four things I'm looking forward to this year:
Playing outside in the kiddie pool with Ayden and Rylee
Fresh blueberries and strawberries from our very own garden
Taking a family trip to the beach and hopefully the Aquarium
Ayden and Rylee FINALLY saying their first word, and second, and third....
Four things I'm always saying:
Don't eat that! (to Ayden and Rylee, mostly when they try to eat rocks outside)
No biting! (mostly to Rylee. She has left bite marks/bruises up and down Ayden's arms. He sometimes gets her too.)
Sit down please. (in the bathtub, on the couches, etc.)
Our house is being rearranged by because of our toddlers. Actually, it's really only one toddler that has made it his life's mission to get into absolutely everything possible. Right now, his focus is on the computer.
This happened a few weeks ago...
He somehow managed to rearrange a few icons on the computer! Genius?
Now Ayden is a pro at climbing onto the couches. This leads to climbing onto other things...
Not only is he climbing ON to the couch, he's climbing all the way to the top.
Uh oh....
Aannnd he made his way onto the computer desk.
I pulled the couch away from the wall so he couldn't climb onto the desk, and THIS happened...
He got his head stuck!
Now our little "office" looks like this...
These aren't even our couches. We are storing them for the in-laws while they are building a second home. When I sent these pics to my MIL and asked how much longer these couches would be living with us, she laughed and thought he was really cute. She didn't answer the question...
The other toddler is learning to climb as well, but isn't quite tall enough to make it onto the couches yet. Soon she will be joining her brother in his trouble making ways, I'm sure.
I decided to delete my last post. I know I didn't write anything disrespectful, but I began to imagine if my MIL somehow came across it. My blog isn't exactly anonymous. I only know of 3 people in my real life that even know I have a blog, but it wouldn't be hard for someone to accidentally come across it. Anyway, I thought it would be best if I deleted the post to prevent potential hurt feelings. I'm not sure how I feel about censoring what I write.... Is there a way to make certain posts private? I've seen a few blogs have password protected posts, but I have absolutely no idea how to do that or even if it's possible on Blogger.
I thought I'd give you an update on the situation though. When I talked to MIL on Monday, following our rough weekend, she was at work and had a lot on her plate at the time. My 5 year old niece (her granddaughter) had a lump removed from her throat and was in the hospital overnight. MIL was helping with her big sister so the parents could deal with their baby having surgery. The lump turned out to be just that - a lump, and not cancerous. Thank the Lord there shouldn't ever be any more issues.
Once things settled down again, MIL called me yesterday. She said, "we're going to be together for a long time, and I just want to be sure we're all on the same page." She apologized for making me feel bad, as that was never her intention. She also explained that she will never keep anything from me, the mom, when it comes to something my kids eat just in case they ever have a bad reaction.
She could have easily passed off Ayden eating a cheerio rather than cookie crumbs, but she didn't want to lie about it. She was holding him when she cleaned out the cookie dish and she only gave him a few crumbs because she knows we don't really want him to have that yet. Likewise, when all the Sunday school kids were drinking chocolate milk and Ayden and Rylee wanted some too, she only gave them a tablespoon each, rather than a cup full, because she knew we didn't want them to have chocolate milk yet. She wanted to make sure I knew they had that taste though, in case they later had some sort of reaction to chocolate.
I had felt like she was making fun of me all weekend for our decisions not to give them junk food yet, but I know she was only teasing. She apologized for that.
I'm so glad that I called her on Monday and told her how I was feeling. I am glad she cares enough and respects me enough to follow up and make sure we are all in a good place. I can now feel comfortable in knowing that she will respect our wishes when it comes to giving the babies food and that she won't be teasing me about it. I also feel good in knowing that these types of things will never be kept a secret. Even if I don't like it, I'd rather know about it when it comes to my babies.
I truly am blessed to have such a good mother-in-law and am so thankful we can have these difficult conversations.
