Going Crazy - Know the Way?

I'm not ready for this...

2008-05-12T23:18:45Z

We are trying to get A to eat her dinner. She decides she wants animal crackers instead. I tell her, "No, animal crackers are a treat for AFTER you eat your dinner." She walks over to her bowl, hands it to weezeld, turns to me and says, "Daddy said yes."

We couldn't help it - we both dissolved into laughter. A said, "That was very, very funny." I said, "Yes it was, but you still aren't getting any animal crackers."

I am so not ready for my almost three year old to try to manipulate me. It's such a good thing she is cute. But, man, is she going to med school next week, or what?!?!?!

Update

2008-05-07T00:03:16Z

C and A had their first experience with finger paints today. They had a blast, and there are about a dozen gorgeous pictures laid out over the kitchen table at the moment. Our EI teacher noticed that A's attitude was better today than it had been for weeks, so I guess that means this cold thing is finally releasing its grip.

Later they both got into their favorite box. I wonder what they are going to do when they can't both fit in there any more. Or worse, when they potty train and we no longer have Pampers boxes around!

Both of them have realized they are two and a half, and that they are supposed to be terrible. C's new favorite word is, "NO!" and A starts whining and losing communication skills when she gets frustrated. Still, they are so much easier than some of the other two year olds I have met, but I no longer feel spoiled by how good they are. And they are so cute! A's new phrase is: "I can't believe that!" She loves playing doctor. She comes over and looks in my mouth, and I say, "Am I very sick, Dr. A?" and she says, "Yes," and gives me medicine. C still loves his trains, and plays with them for hours, making "Choo-choo tracks" all over the house with his blocks and puzzle pieces. His current favorite Thomas train is Edward (and that word took us awhile to figure out). His speech is still touch and go, but he is making progress.

I think I am going to set up 3 year portraits this year, as they are finally understanding how to smile (and follow other instructions) for pictures.

I am feeling the need to try and socialize my kids with kids other than each other at some point (did that make sense). The rare FSMOM and SCA outings are too far apart to make a difference. So, I have signed up for a couple of playgroups. I am hoping to make it to a library story time in a couple of weeks, but so far no one else from the group has RSVP'd. The funny thing is, the librarian was at my PC show last weekend, and we got along very well! She just started selling Partylite, so we were swapping secrets! Hopefully I will meet some good people in those groups, and make the effort to get out of the house more.

In other news, I got my braces tightened for the first time today. Can I just say, "OUCH!" Dr. Clark is a mean man. Jessica was the one who put the wire in last month, and she was nice to me. I didn't even ache until the next day. But Dr. Clark felt like he was popping my teeth out. Two of the brackets even came off, and I was not even chewing with those teeth! He blamed it on the fact that they were the very crooked ones, but I think he ripped them off. But I got pink today for Breast Cancer Awareness month. They also put in spacers, which I was warned would probably make me even more sore than before. Terrific. And I get to go back next week to get braces put on my back four teeth on each side. But those were my popcorn teeth!! ARGH! I get to go from that appointment to the FSMOM elections, so it will be the second month in a row I won't get to enjoy the snacks at the meeting.

So that is the news from here. Happy May, everyone!

Too Cute.

2008-05-03T00:35:29Z

So, we just saw a commercial for this, and A got the key points. She repeated, "No weeds, no worries, in the kitchen," several times after the commercial...

Something stupid that bothers me...

2008-05-02T23:36:03Z

Is continuity errors in TV shows...

On a recent trip to Florida, weezeld's father loaned me a copy of 1st to Die by James Patterson. I devoured it! So imagine my glee when they made the Women's Murder Club novels into a TV series. I have DVR'd it ever since. But I am really angry with the dumb mistake I caught in last week's show.

Here's the story: undercover narcotics cop #1 gets killed. They find out that it was undercover narcotics cop #2 that killed him. They find undercover narcotics cop #3 and save him just as #2 tries to kill him, too. #2 says he did it because the drug lord found out he was a cop and was holding his family hostage. So they rescue the family, and all live happily ever after. Except for one small issue. The only reason they found out that the murderer was an undercover cop was that undercover cop #2's wife came into the station, hysterical, after a news report mentioning an unnamed undercover cop getting killed in the line of duty, and wanting to know if it was her husband... Now, how did she do that if she was being held hostage?!?!?!

I can't believe the writers were dumb enough to make that mistake...

In other news, it has been a rough week, and a TV show is all the content I am up for right now.

Argh.

2008-05-01T16:38:07Z

Do you ever feel like you have gone over something a million times, and yet, people are still not listening to you?

Tick Update

2008-04-29T03:48:21Z

The little bugger is out. The doctor saw me tonight, numbed me up, and poked and prodded for several minutes, and with several different sets of tweezers, and one cute little scalpel, until he got it out. Then I was bandaged and sent home with a script for Lyme treatment, just in case. As the numbing stuff wore off, I had some soreness, but I think I will live.

I got nothing done today, pretty much because I was feeling sorry for myself because I had a tick in my skin. So tomorrow I need to go back to the world of productivity. I have to admit, though, sometimes it is nice to take a day and catch up on DVR shows.

And Ghost Whisperer had a hilarious moment in last week's show - they are talking about horror movies, and mention "I Know What You Did Last Summer," and Professor Payne just takes a second and stares pointedly at Melinda (played by Jennifer Love Hewitt). I had to rewind and watch it again, after removing myself from the floor! That cracks me up! ;)

Argh.

2008-04-28T13:15:55Z

So, I decided to skip the ER last night (as well as maccuswell's suggestion of sharpening a melon baller - OUCH!) and call the doctor about the tick's head this morning. The soonest they can get me in is at 9:15 tonight. But I do get to call at 6:00 and see if they can get me in sooner...

To top that all off, I am supposed to go see my endocrinologist for a thyroid check on Wednesday. But when I tried to get ready to get my bloodwork done over the weekend, I couldn't find the prescription. So I called this morning and the nurse told me to go to Labcorp, have them call the doc, and she would fax the prescription to them right away. They would still have the results by Wednesday, and all would be well with the world. So that was my plan.

Until A just barfed all over weezeld's computer chair. (Sorry, honey - I cleaned it up as best I could!) I called the endo back, they are mailing me a new script, and now I have to call them later this week to reschedule that appt.

I am wishing I stayed in bed this morning, and it is only 9:15!

For anyone still awake...

2008-04-28T03:19:30Z

If I had a tick on me, and when we tried to get it out, we left the head behind, do I go to the ER or just call the doctor tomorrow??

Hypothetically speaking, of course...

March for Babies

2008-04-27T20:12:03Z

I did the March for Babies this morning, and it was so neat! The walk was easy, the weather was good. (You might think I am nuts, but I liked the fact that it was overcast, as there was no risk of sunburn; and the fact that it was slightly cold meant we could walk without getting overheated.) The hardest part was the signs posted with stories of premature babies, especially the "in memory of" signs. I found out that one of the women in my twins club lost her first set of twins - they were born at 20 weeks and only survived an hour. Her second set is around 5 now, and you would never know they were preemies. That made me very sad.

Then, when the walk was over and I was getting in the car to head home, I got to talk to both of my kids on the phone, and even understood most of what they were telling me. I gave them each HUGE hugs when I got home, and just realized how lucky I am to have them, and to have them be healthy.

I also want to wish oaken_glen luck in October! I had no trouble on my walk today, but when I did the multiplication and thought of how far she is going to walk for breast cancer, I have a lot of appreciation for her!! So good luck to you, hon!!

Me, I am going to stick to the shorter walks for preemies, but next year I am going to raise even more for them!! I am determined!

Happy Birthday, Mom

2008-04-25T03:36:13Z

I miss you.

Zoo trip foiled again!

2008-04-23T03:07:40Z

So, tomorrow I was supposed to go to the Zoo with my friend Helena and her daughter, my God-Daughter. However, said God-Daughter got sick tonight and vomited a couple of times... Am I just not destined to go to the Zoo this Spring?

So, hey annyswolf , I sent you an email about trying to break the Zoo curse on Thursday - are you up for it?

In other news, the FSMOM Board finally got together for our "Holiday" dinner tonight. It was quite a blast, with great conversation that comes from women who are seldom released from husbands and children; awesome food (Olive Garden paid for by the club - what could be better? I am not sure how FSMOM avoids the personal benefit rules that the SCA follows, but, in this case, it is not my problem!); and Mango Martinis. Did I mention what could be better??

This weekend will be quite busy. Friday night is a mini ladies night at my place, Saturday is a PC show, and Sunday is the March of Dimes Walk for Babies. Thanks to everyone who has donated already! If you would still like to help out, my link is here:

And now, to bed... Good Night, Moon!

Uh-huh.

2008-04-22T20:38:32Z

What Your Taste in Chocolate Says About You

You are sweet, mellow, and easily satisfied.

You don't like anything too intense and dramatic.

Deep down, you're a kid at heart... and you're nostalgic for the past.

You are honest and straight forward.

You have a distinct personality, and you make your opinions known.

And while people like that you keep it real, you can come off as judgmental.

You love to be the center of attention. You enjoy entertaining your friends.

You feel lost when no one is interested in you... You're too interesting to be ignored.

The Chocolate Oracle

We skipped the Zoo

2008-04-19T17:48:08Z

No Zoo for us today after all. :( C woke up with a rash and puffiness all over his face and neck, and there is a slightly less bad rash on his arms, too. He is acting like his normal, rambunctious self, so even though I did call the doctor, neither of us is really concerned. She thinks it is just something caused by his cold, or a reaction to something (although I can't think of what he might be reacting to, since it started this morning when all he had done was get out of his bed and come into ours. He hadn't even eaten yet...) So we are playing outside and doing yard work today. Right now we are on our lunch break, then will put the kids down for naps.

Yay for gorgeous weather, but Boo for unexplained rashes.

Mama's taking us to the Zoo tomorrow...

2008-04-18T14:13:27Z

Anyone free and close by want to meet us at the Philly Zoo??

I thought about going today, but sanity reigned, and I decided that waiting 24 hours to go with Daddy (read: not outnumbered) was a better idea... So we will just play out back today.

11 PEOPLE ON A ROPE

2008-04-16T20:19:03Z

Eleven people were hanging on a rope, under a helicopter: 10 men and 1 woman. The rope was not strong enough to carry them all, so they decided that 1 had to leave, because otherwise they were all going to fall. They weren't able to choose that person, until the woman gave a very touching speech. She said that she would voluntarily let go of the rope, because, as a woman, she was used to giving up everything for her husband and kids or for men in general, and was used to always making sacrifices with little in return. As soon as she finished her speech, all the men started clapping.......

In the car this morning

2008-04-16T14:59:34Z

A: There's another house.
C: Uh-huh.
A: There's another house.
C: Uh-huh.
etc...

Last night she was singing Old MacDonald in the car. Yesterday afternoon, during our lovely visit with lissa510, she was singing Where is Thumbkin? at lunch. I didn't even realize she knew that one!

I have two amazing little people in my kids...

I have a plan

2008-04-14T16:24:23Z

My kids are now able to climb the baby jails that are still scattered throughout my house, and get to all the junk I am trying to keep away from them. Plus, I am sick of the clutter we live with.

So, this is my commitment to de-clutter our home. I have a copy of a book written by Peter Walsh, the organizer on Clean Sweep, which I am reading to get tips from. I have planned a yard sale with unicornpearlz on June 14th, so I have a deadline by which to have stuff prepared to sell (although it will most likely be the first of several throughout the summer). I have spoken to weezeld about using some of his vacation time to give me a focused few days of cleaning and de-cluttering. I am planning to do phase one alone, but eventually I will plan a phase two, for an even deeper cleaning, for which I will probably enlist the help of either bds_duncan or weezeld's cousin, both of whom have offered help.I do understand the OHIO (only handle it once) method of de-cluttering, but my phases are closer to the Clean Sweep method - the first one with Tava, who is nice and friendly and only makes you get rid of the easy stuff (although I am going to try very hard to be tougher on myself than Tava is); and then the second with someone else, like Peter, to be harder on me and force me to make the tougher decisions.

After that, my next goal to to improve my time management skills. I want to set myself up with a schedule each week. With time for Exchequer duties, house cleaning, Pampered Chef, etc.

So that is my plan. Anyone on my flist who wants to help keep me on track, thanks in advance!

March for Babies

2008-04-14T15:28:09Z

Hi everyone,

I have decided to walk in the March of Dimes March for Babies with my Mothers of Multiples Club. The walk is on April 27th in Newark, DE. As many of you know, twins have a much higher likelihood of being born prematurely than singletons. C and A were born at 36 weeks, 6 days, which is not considered premature for twins, so we were lucky. Also, I was a preemie, born a month early. So March of Dimes is near and dear to my heart.

Please consider helping out by sponsoring me in my walk. Thanks! Here is more information, for anyone who is curious:

The March of Dimes has changed the name of its biggest event to March for Babies. It's a great change because it makes it very clear exactly who I am walking for -- all babies. I am very excited to be a part of the “first” March for Babies; please support my participation.

Although the name of this signature event changed, the mission did not. The March of Dimes champions the needs of moms and babies in our community and across the nation. The money we raise for March for Babies will support lifesaving research, services, education and advocacy that help babies get a healthy start.

Please help by donating today!

The mission of March of Dimes is to improve the health of babies by preventing birth defects, premature birth, and infant mortality.

LOL!

2008-04-09T23:16:38Z

So, weezeld and I are sitting on the couch watching Hell's Kitchen, when all of a sudden A pokes her head up over the back of the couch and says: "Hello, Mister Daddy!"

We collapsed into hysterics... They are so funny!!

Freaked Out Dog...

2008-04-09T13:21:34Z

One of the smoke detectors was beeping this morning, and it always freaks the dog out when that happens. I just replaced the battery, but the dog is still a mess. I even had to carry him downstairs, because he wouldn't follow us down. The kids even knew something was wrong, and are trying to comfort him:

In other news, my teeth hurt. :( I guess it is oatmeal for breakfast again. Maybe scrambled eggs. And I am thinking for dinner I am going to make that potato soup from the Irish cookbook, and put mine in the food processor...

Weekend Recap

2008-04-07T00:43:06Z

Resale was an amazing success! It was busy, as usual, but I always have so much fun. Friday night we topped $10,000, and overall we made more than $30,000! It's the first time since I have been doing resale that we made over $30,000. We used a new process for reconciliation purposes which took better advantage of technology, but unfortunately kept us there later than usual Saturday afternoon, but we got some good data from it. Ultimately, I would love to get laptops and scanners for all the cashiers to make the data collection automatic, but I need to put a proposal together and try to get some fund-raising going for that.

I have already streamlined the change making process left by my predecessor significantly, so we are now ready to progress further. I felt a lot less stress in the money room this weekend than I had before. I even had time to chat for a bit with a former co-worker and see how her daughter, who she adopted from China, is doing, and how the quest for Mei-Mei (little sister) is progressing; and with oaken_glen for a bit, who was there handing out flyers for her new big project (see her LJ for details - I really hope it helped!)

My kids did pretty well, too. They got a bunch of new Thomas trains, a Winnie the Pooh bike, a brand new Aquadoodle (for $5!) two new versions of Leap Pad, a couple of fire trucks (C asked for a red fire truck, out of the blue, a couple of days ago, and I was so happy he said something I could understand that I had to get him two!) and a bunch of clothes. I got 7, count 'em, 7 Thomas shirts, since every day when I ask C what he wants to wear he says, "Choo-choo." Oh, and I got them a second Cozy Coupe. At last resale I only bought one, figuring they needed to share, and they fight over it CONSTANTLY. Then, someone was selling one this resale for only $4.50, so I snatched it right up. Have I mentioned I am on the committee, so we get to shop for a half hour before everyone else? This means we get lots of the best deals! I even got two baby jails for friends. Unfortunately, there were no sand and water tables (sorry staceyspins) and no sprinkler games, which were my other two quests.

I got home yesterday and crashed for a couple of hours, and went to bed with the kids.

Today we went roller skating with our friend Helena, my god-daughter Brya, and Helena's cousin, Jackie. Unfortunately they didn't stay long after Jackie hurt her ankle, but we had a blast. The kids did great, and A gets her roller skating talent from her Mom. While she was going around with Daddy, he kept her from falling, but when she switched to me, I let her fall (she has to learn) which she didn't like at first, but when I fell with her, and explainer to her that everyone falls and it is fun, she decided it was OK. I kept giving her the option to take a rest or keep trying, and she kept wanting to roller skate! C skated quite a bit, too, and even wanted to wear his roller-skates home! But he also enjoyed the huge fun zone they have, with slides and climbing places. (Although we could have used some help from veggiejunkie to get them up the ladders!)

Then this afternoon, while the twins napped, I crashed again. Unfortunately, all the running around this weekend has made my cold worse, and now I am coughing quite a bit. (I am trying the Mucinex, spinpsychology, but so far it's not helping much.) Now I am watching a Wings game on TV - the first one I have managed to catch all year. Unfortunately they started off with 6 wins and only one loss, but they have lost 4 out of their last 5 games. They are still in second place, but the team they are facing tonight has the league's best goalie, which they currently have the worst, so I am not really sure this will be a good game to watch... But we shall see. They are at home, so that could help. Their fans are terrific!

So, Tuesday night is our main meeting for FSMOM. Our guests are two massage techs who will be giving us free massages. Perfect timing, since we all just worked so hard at resale. We will also be printing the checks out for the sellers, and I should get a pretty nice one. Some of the stuff I sold was for a friend, but I also sold some of my own large equipment, too, in the hopes that IF we ever decide to have another one, we will only get one, so we won't need two of everything. So we got rid of one high chair, the bouncy seats, a couple of tunnels, a box of toys, and some feeding equipment, plus a bunch of clothes. I have more to tag and get rid of... I will probably keep tagging with resale tags, and put everything out at the yard sale that unicornpearlz and I are doing on June 14th. That way, anything I don't get rid of at the yard sale, I can just bring to fall resale. Plus, my prices can be flexible, since at resale I only get 80% of the tagged price, so at yard sale I can take 20% off the marked price if someone wants to haggle, and get the same amount of money I would get if I sold it at resale...

Right now, C has come over and is sitting in Daddy's lap, and Daddy is explaining lacrosse to him... C thinks it is a soccer game. Too cute!

Tomorrow I get my braces on. I better go make a bowl of popcorn... although now I have good tips on how to sneak popcorn with braces!! :)

Well, this could put a kink in my plans

2008-04-04T12:53:34Z

So, with the resale coming up tomorrow, as treasurer, I am responsible for stocking the register drawers with change. I order the change I need from the bank, sort everything into envelopes, and hand them out to the cashiers as they take their spots tomorrow morning. The previous treasurer was doing some fairly inefficient stuff with quarters, making extra cash counting for us at the end of the day. I revised her system, and last resale, got it pretty well balanced - each register had enough change to not bother us for at least a few minutes after we opened, but we didn't have a ton of extra change to count at the end of the day. So, last week, I found the change order I placed for last resale, and placed the same one with the bank. Now, this morning, I am looking for my documentation of how I divided the change up for the registers, and can't find it. Oh, crap... I guess I can back into it if I have to, but it won't be fun...

I should have stayed in bed this morning.

Yum...

2008-04-04T04:25:31Z

I just polished off a HUGE bowl of popcorn. I figured I needed to get some in me before Monday starts two years without it...

It means I will be super sleep deprived tomorrow, and probably carrying a few extra pounds, but it was SO worth it!

Note to self...

2008-04-03T19:33:26Z

Don't treat the twins with Dunkin' Donuts munchkins as a reward for good behavior while running errands if you want them to nap when you get home.

:(

2008-04-03T00:50:47Z

I need to do all those things I mentioned in my earlier post. Plus, now the kitchen looks like a series of small explosions has gone off in it, so that needs to be cleaned as well. My hope was to tackle the kitchen and the calculators tonight after I put the twins down, so that I would be able to tag more of my clothes and toys tomorrow (I did get all the friend's stuff in the car and all of our big stuff on the to go list cleaned, tagged, and loaded in the car. I am pretty sure all the stuff I got into the back of the mini-van is defying physics in many ways.)

BUT, my head and throat hurt, and I am coughing, and tired, and yucky feeling. And bed sounds so much more enticing than the kitchen. I think that, at the very least, the twins will be going to bed unwashed tonight. They will survive.