Music Makes the Wild Beasts or Is that Vomit I Smell in My Hair?

I usually compose hundreds of blogs in my head every day. They are all witty and articulate, and sadly, they never get published.

Today's entry would have been all about music, and how much the boys love it. How not only do they sign music, they are now requesting tunes. Well just one tune actually.

We've been listening to this great music from Putumayo Kids since the boys were very little, my cousin introduced us to the cd's and they boys have just gone mad for them. Now a couple of weeks ago, Evan started signing music, and saying "ba-tsss". At first I thougt this was his attempt to say music until one day the first track from this album came on and he repeated
"ba-tsss" "ba-tsss" over and over, and I realized he was saying "Battu" the name of the song, and a word they repeat throughout! The light bulb finally went on for me and I said "OHHHHH, Battu!" He smiled at me, and said "ba-tsss" and from beside me, Ryan chimmed in with "Batt!" Now, everyday, at least 3 times a day, they will point to my ipod, and sign music and I hear a request for our favorite song.

I was going to then talk about how their love of music, and at the suggestion of Shelley and Cindy, that I signed them up for music class. And we may not be fully participating yet, we do get excited when we get to class, and well, then there are photo ops like this one...

My little tigers trying to figure out why everyone is crawling on the floor with ears on.

Instead of all that, today's post has evolved into the story of my afternoon. Evan threw up three times today. It's got to be his teeth, or his cold. It can't be his reflux. These days the vomiting is so infrequent I amost forgot what it was like to have him throw up three times in one day. How frustrating it is, how helpless you feel, how much laundry it generates! He's also gotten better about stopping himself. In the past, if he got started, he emptied his stomach no matter what you did to try and distract him. (sprayed water in his face, blew in his face, covered him in a washcloth, etc.--all things we have tried, and enjoyed some success with) Now, he can usually stop himself after a couple of good gags.

The first episode of the day was really nothing, a wet burp or two, all over the car, and the parking lot at music class. I managed to keep his clothes clean so we didn't need to change before class.

The second episode came as I was trying to take the boys out back for some good running around to tire them for a good nights sleep. They were very excited about going into the backyard, so much so that Ryan started standing at the door, signing open and screaming at the top of his lungs. I was trying to get everyone's shoes on, get some toys, put sweatshirts on the boys, etc. all this had me moving slower than the boys would like. Ryan's antics got Evan all riled up and he started screaming too, which lead to him coughing , which led him to empty the entire seven ounces of cow's milk and Boost Plus he had just injested, on to me, the blanket I grabbed and the floor where the blanket fell short. All the while, Ryan alternated screaming to go outside and pretend gagging like his brother. (He's started to do this when Evan chokes or gags, Ryan does it too. I just look at him and tell him it's not funny and he laughs.) Since we are still trying to get 100 calories per kilo per day into the little bugger, I refed Evan another seven ounces of Boost cocktail, while Ryan screamed, we finally made it outside. Oh yes, I had to change clothes, scrub the floor and start the laundry somewhere in there, but we finally made it outside.

At one point I was pushing one of the boys in their car around the lawn, and I caught the distinctive odor of a Boost vomit. Hmmm--I smelled my hands, my shirt, nothing. On I pushed. Again, there it is! Where is that smell coming from. I should also mention I have a nose like a blood hound. I can smell the single live rose in a shop full of artificial flowers (Amazing Race reference). After several more whiffs, I found the source, my hair...go ahead, all of you say it...EWWWWWW. That's what I said! I must have tucked my hair behind my ear, with my hands full of you-know-what.

We came back inside to start getting ready for dinner and I realized that there was no way I could go on with that stench so close to my nose. But what to do? I can't leave the boys alone while I wash my hair in the shower. Of course, I'll just wash it in the kitchen sink. I ran to the bathroom grabbed a shot of shampoo, and headed for the kitchen. Oops, since someone (Ryan) who shall be nameless (Ryan) only slept for an hour and fifteen minutes today, (Ryan, so much for taking you to the park to tire you out, Ryan.) my lunch dishes were still in the sink. Now what? How do you wash dishes with a hand full of shampoo?

Put the shampoo into your dry hair of course! Now I should mention that I decided that today was the day I HAD to scrub the kitchen sink. This morning I looked at it and couldn't stand it anymore, it had been a while, a LONG while. What does this mean? It means I had no sponge to wash all those dishes. Now this might not sound like a big deal to you, but every second counts when you have two toddlers in the other room behaving, it can't and won't last forever. The longer it takes to get that sink empty, the odds of me having dried shampoo in my hair for the rest of the evening get better and better.

Well, I got the sink cleaned out and started to wash my hair, and with my head in the sink, I've got to tell you I was pretty glad I had scrubbed it this morning. If I hadn't I would have spent the entire time thinking how gross and disgusting my sink was, instead I tried not to drown myself as I peaked under my arm to see Ryan jumping on the couch, looking at me to see if I noticed. (little devil !)

The wild beasts have been tamed, and are asleep in their beds, and my hair smells fruity fresh.

Weekend Update

Fish Fun
We had a busy week and then had a very busy weekend! Friday morning we met our friends (met at birthing class, boy/girl twins, girl spent a few days in the NICU with us) at the aquarium, I only got this picture of the boys walking with Elizabeth. They were very well behaved again!!!! We did the whole trip without benefit of the stroller (Just from and to the car) and the boys had a blast. They listened to their Mommy, and really enjoyed looking at the fish, touching the sea stars and climbing the steps. But maybe that is why I only got this one picture!!!! who had hands free to deal with the camera!

It's great being a twin

You've always got a built in see saw partner.

More Fish Fun

In Balboa Park they have a Japanese Friendship Garden. We decided to take the boys on Saturday at the end of a few errands. The boys immediately got out of the stroller and started down the path. They have a Shi-Shi-Odoshi which is like a fountain, a piece of bamboo is balanced and water flows down, fills the bamboo up, and when it reaches the tipping point, it crashes down onto a rock and makes a sharp noise, thought to scare off evil spirits. This was a very big hit with the boys. It takes several minutes for the bamboo to fill, and we must have heard it crash 3, maybe 4 times? Patience, sometimes these boys have unlimited patience. It was when they decided the water was flowing to slowly, and they started banging the bamboo on the rock that we moved on.

The Koi pond was a big hit. There was a nice man (docent, I hope) who gave us some food to feed the fish. The Koi were huge, they had these big oval shaped mouths, they breached the surface and swallowed the little pellets like they were giant meatballs. We fed them one pellet at a time to prolong the activity (per the docent) and the boys even tried to throw the pellets themselves. Other visitors let the koi eat out of their hands, but I thought this might be a little too much!

The boys were very good and posed for these pictures, I think Evan is wondering when he might get to try sushi.

What a fun adventure, next up, its got to be the Natural History Museum!!!

Sunday, Rainy, Sunday

It rained on Sunday but our fiend Amanda came over to make us jealous, show us her pictures from Chile. The boys did their best Corey Hart impersonations.

Manic Monday

We had a lot on our plate today, first off a make-up Music Class, then a play date. Our week is going to be equally hectic! Lots of potential blog fodder.

One last sweet thing that happened today. Ryan fell and I think he hurt his arm. I was sitting on the floor reading to Evan and it happened behind me. I looked over and asked him if he hurt his arm and if he needed me to kiss it and make it better. He toddled over held out his injury for me to kiss. I asked him if I had made it better, gotten it all, and he put his arm out again for more kisses. I retold this story to Scott tonight, and sure enough, before I had gotten to the end, Ryan's arm was in my face again for more get well kissing.

They are starting to understand SO much!

My children are not dogs

I've been adamant about not using those leash things that people use on their children. It offends me, it always has. Even before children I'd think, just hold that kid's hand! Then I had twins, some of my twin mom friends have thought about them, even bought them. It's a good thing they have not used them in front of me, I'm not sure I could keep that look off my face.
I'm really working hard to teach the boys how to hold my hand, stay with me, listen, and this is key, freeze when I say freeze (Evan actually does freeze about 90% of the time, Ryan, totally different story!), so we can go out and do things and they won't have to be confined in the stroller all the time. Now granted, leashes would make things easier. Heck walking your dog is a lot easier and safer on a leash, but MY CHILDREN ARE NOT DOGS!!!!

I've been getting braver with our adventures, and after yesterday's spectacular performance I was feeling a little cocky today. After naps today I realized we needed bread for Ryan's toast in the morning and so I thought a little afternoon outing would be a great thing to do. We had been to the mall in the morning and I got some great deals on some clothes for the darlings, (Macy's of ALL places!!!) and although well behaved, it was kind of boring for the guys. I decided to head to 4S Ranch and go to the library! My boys LOVE books, and we haven't been in this branch I thought it would be fun to go in and see what it was like. (And the store is right across the parking lot)

Great idea, really poor execution. I did not take a stroller in with us, we parked right in front and it's good practice for them to get out and walk when we can, and I think the situation is controlled enough. This is something for 4 arms, and something for the summer when I'm not worried about RSV, Colds and Flus. First off, Ryan wanted to take every book off the shelves, sit in the middle of the floor and look at one or two pages have me read one or two pages and then move on to the next one, all the while Evan was content to sit with one book, trying to rip the protective cover off and eat it. Maybe they LOVE books a bit TOO MUCH. We lasted about 10 minutes. Maybe next time we can take Daddy with us.

Ah, yes, on to the bread. The boys did really well with the listening part, time to go, hold my hand etc. so, I debated, walk to the store from our library parking spot? The three of us hand in hand took 3 steps toward the store and then I came to my senses. Sure we could make it there, but back? Fat chance.

I did let them walk across the parking lot and into the store. Oh My Gosh! A grocery store trip without containment??? What was I thinking. It actually went really well. I picked up some Mac and Cheese for Ryan at the deli, (he likes this stuff they make at Jimbos, so whatever works I'll feed him) and grabbed a loaf of bread. I let Ryan help carry the bread to the check out. The part I hadn't quite worked through in my mind. How do I hold two babies hands, get out my credit card and sign the slip, without someone getting loose in a huge grocery store. We made it through by me smashing them up against the counter while I grabbed my card. The nice checker slid my card for me and held the receipt while I held two wigglers between my legs, my glutes got a great work out BTW. It was really a success, Evan carried the Mac and Cheese and Ryan carried his bread and we all walked off to the car together hand in hand. I would have taken a picture of the scene, because it was very cute, if only I could have figured out how to also get my camera out while holding both boys hands.

What a Wonderful World

Some days are just perfect.
...Days when you get both boys into the car and on the road to the Wild Animal Park by 8:19 AM.
...Days when you give them their snack and get them into the park by 9:00AM.
...Days when you push them up to Condor Ridge, and give them the talk about being good, and listening to what Mommy says, and holding her hand when she asks, and it appears that they are listening. (at least when you ask them if they are they point to their ears which is our sign for listening)
...Days when you spend an hour running around the "ridge" and there's NO ONE around.
...Days when you allow your boys to walk out the the Elephant Overlook and they hold your hand the whole way, and only try to pull away a couple of times.
...Days when one boy actually listens and stays put while you change the other's poop in pants instead of trying to make a break for it while you are defenseless.
...Days when you are lucky enough to stumble on an unscheduled animal encounter, and your boys get to see a 2 year old female Red Kangaroo up close and personal. AND you let them out of the stroller again and they stay put! (and this is not in a easily corral-able area)
...Days when your boys run screaming and laughing after the gazelle in the petting zoo, because they just want to give it a hug.
...Days when they both eat their lunches with little or no fight. (It could have been those ducks eying their food that made them gobble like that)
...Days when one boy is sound asleep even before we get out of the parking lot.
...Days when we get home and both boys sleep until almost 2:30.

Ahhhhh, Some days are just perfect, and so are some little boys! (At least today anyway)

Odds and Ends

"Poop goes in the Potty"

Shelley has started and stopped potty training Madison and that got me thinking about what is ahead for us. Actually this post on one of the blogs that I frequent got me thinking, and laughing, and I haven't been able to get the song out of my head. (Eric, don't look, you might be able to handle listening, but don't look!) I'm saving this for the time when it will be required around here.

"If I had eight kids"
I've been watching this show called "Jon and Kate Plus Eight" there is a lot of backlash, some people hate Kate, others love her, some people think Jon is a wimp, others love him. I personally watch to see a small sampling of what I have in store for me. The Gosselins have eight kids. A set of twin girls and a set of sextuplets. (3 boys and 3 girls) I get tips on things what to do, mostly I get to see that I'm really not that bad. (stop laughing Scott!)

Kate, with eight kids, sweeps and mops the floor after every meal. Hmmm, I TRY to pick up the big chunks and the large splats after every meal, and if I am lucky I mop once a day, or at least take a damp rag to those dried on pieces. All that sweeping and mopping? well I could read at least 3 books, or help build 3 lego towers with the boys in that time.

Kate, with eight kids, coordinates all the outfits so the little girls are all dressed alike and the little boys are too, they are dressed alike, coordinated with the girls, and wearing the proper shoes. She has dress up shoes and play shoes for the kids. Their jackets too have to match. One Fourth of July she had a fit because she wasn't sure that Jon had packed Red, White, or Blue jackets for each of the kids. Heck, I'm not into the whole matching twins thing, but I'd say with eight kids, be happy if they are dressed in somewhat clean clothes each day. Granted, she may have a perfectly good reason for this (anal retentiveness) maybe Safety. If they are all wearing the same outfits it is easier to find one if they are lost. All that cooridinating and matching, well I could wash several loads of laundry with that time.

No matter, it's just one of those funny things on my mind, and it fits in since this last week she was potty training the little boys, they are three and a half. Whew I have a little time yet. And I have gotten a couple of good ideas from Kate, too, like she uses these little drawstring purses to serve cereal in the car. The drawstrings attach to the buckles on the car seats and so no one drops the whole thing on the floor, causing a need to stop and pick it up 1000 times. I'm so going to use that when the boys are old enough to eat in the car. (read--18)

Any-way- that's one of the ways I pass the time on my elliptical.

"On Notice"

Last night Ryan cried for two and a half hours....TWO AND A HALF HOURS. He's the baby that I put to sleep wide awake and leave him and he's out. He sometimes wakes up once or twice on rare occasions, but I usually don't hear from him until 5 or 5:30 the next morning. So I am DEAD tired, and I saw this on another blog and I decided that the boys need to be put on notice.

Thank you Stephen Colbert!

And now I am off to bed. Good night.

Jump around, Jump, Jump

The boys are working on some mad jumping skilz. Sorry I couldn't caputre better pictures of the cuteness. They are both a little uncoordinated, and not quite getting their feet up off the ground, but they are sure trying! and is it ever fun to watch!!!!

Great Expectations

I think every parent has great plans for their children. But really most parents should just want their kids to grow up to be kind, gentle and loving. The Doctors and Lawyers in the family, well that's just gravy! If you have kind and loving children, really what else do you need? Okay, I'll also buy adding in there that they should have a career that allows them to move out of your house and have a home, of some kind, of their own. What else do you need?

As a parent of a preemie you adjust those expectations. When we were pregnant we would talk about how great the boys would be, athletic, happy, brilliant, etc. When they were born at 26 weeks and given a minute chance of living, those expectations fell away, and we hoped that they would first live, and then, we desperately hoped (and still hope) they would live a normal life. When other Mom's on the playground are comparing how early their child crawled, walked, talked, I'm just so thankful that my boys ever crawled, walked, and are now starting to talk. I hold my breath at every developmental milestone, not so my boys can be the best and the brightest, but so they can be normal.

Evan has started calling Ryan "Ya-Ya" I'm pretty sure it is to Ryan, although it may be a term of affection as he seems to call me "Ya-Ya" sometimes too. Today Ryan went down the slide, for the 1000th time, and Evan squealed "yeaaaaah, Ya-Ya" with his hands held triumphantly over his head.

Evan fell and hit his face on a Lego, he was crying and I was kissing him and holding him asking him where it hurt. Standing in front of us was Ryan, signing "Hurt". He then threw himself on top of Evan and gave him a huge hug. I said to him, "Oh, Ryan that was so nice of you, you are so sweet." and he then launched himself into my arms to give me a hug too.

They are so supportive of each other, and so caring and compassionate. They really seem to worry about the other. If Evan is crying, Ryan is right there to make sure everything is okay, and if it's not, he'll start to cry too, as if it will help ease his brothers pain. Evan is always so excited to see Ryan, even if they've only been apart for a nap. Evan lets out a squeal of delight as soon as he sees his "Ya-Ya".

I think we are on our way to meet those Great Expectations.

It's good to remember

I just finished crying my eyes out. One of the bloggers I read regularly posted a link to this blog.

It really hits me hard when I read about other 26 weekers, other preemies, or other troubles with multiples.

I can't even imagine what this poor Mom is going through. Her twin son died after 3 weeks in the NICU, he had a Grade IV IVH (Interventricular Hemorrhage) on one side of his brain and a Grade III on the other, after a pneumothorax, (Evan had a pneumothorax, and a grade II bleed) they made the painful decision to take him off the ventilator, he died in their arms. Now just a few short months later their baby girl died too. How do you get out of bed after loss like that?

Life in the NICU is such a roller coaster, such a long, long ride. I don't think you ever really get over it, but all the Nurses told us, we'd forget a lot. We have, much of the hard stuff, the really hard stuff, has faded, the memories not so sharp and clear. They are still there, I was reminded over Christmas when Mary was relating her experience visiting the boys in the hospital. Sitting there watching them, willing them to breathe, waiting for them to breathe. (her point was that look at what miracles they are now, signing like crazy, running around, playing in the snow, how amazing they are!) I had almost forgotten about the hours and hours we spent doing just that. Almost. I had almost forgotten the bad stuff and then I go and read a blog like that.

In a way I don't think it is a good thing to completely forget. When I'm pulling my hair out, when my babies are screaming, when I'm exhausted, frustrated and finished...it's really good to remember.
.

O(h) Christmas Tree, Part II

Evan signed a full sentence today.

He signed:
Tree, Star, Finished

Followed by what I can only describe as a groan, and a screwed up face of displeasure.

I can't wait until these guys speak!

O(h) Christmas Tree

To say the Christmas tree made an impression on the boys, is an understatement. If the lights were off, they would both scream, and sign, frantically for them to be turned "on". Evan even began to say the word "on".

So, we've been procrastinating a little when it comes to taking the tree down. We worried that there might me endless screaming and gesturing. Sunday was the day. I got all of the ornaments off, and Scott worked on the lights while the boys watched. He then told them to say goodbye to the tree, and he tossed it out on the curb.

Yesterday, Evan woke up from his nap, looked at where the tree once stood, looked at me and signed.

Star. I said, yes honey, it's gone.

He signed. Tree. I said, yes honey, it's gone too.

He said. "uh-oh"

I guess he misses the tree.

Put this cow it out to pasture

It's over, after 21 months and 5 days, the Mommy Milk Train has run dry.

Although I stopped pumping in September, I had quite a stockpile of frozen milk.

Last night, Scott defrosted the last two containers and...

Today, Evan enjoyed the last of the breast milk.

(My milk is not pink naturally, we've been adding Boost to the milk to, well, boost his calorie intake)

I'm so glad I was able to provide nutrition for these boys for such a long time. I hope it contributed to their good health, growth and development.

Poop files

I went to change Ryan's diaper after his nap today, and found this.

No, it's not POOP, it's a piece of Dino Bite! I don't think I've laughed so hard, changing a diaper, in my life!

Men at Work

Evan has been having some trouble going to the Doctor's office. He's got a serious case of "White Coat Disease". The last time we went to the Doctor, Evan screamed bloody murder the entire time we were there, and his crying got Ryan all worked up, and I had two screaming, inconsolable toddlers on my hands.

This week we had two Doctor's appointments in two days. In an effort to keep the crying (and hair pulling) to a minimum, we (I) devised a plan. Scott could take Ryan to work with him and I'd take the Evan to the appointments, and pick up Ryan on the way home.

Evan behaved as expected, Cried, and Cried, and Cried. They were both super easy appointments, follow-up with Pulmonary, and a weight check with the pediatrician. (he's 23 lbs. 6 oz. -- 3+ pounds in 3 months!!!!) Poor kid, I hope he grows out of this soon, but who can blame him. He sees 5 specialists and a pediatrician, and once a month a nurse comes to the house and gives him two very LARGE shots! I'd be a little afraid too.

But what I really wanted to show all of you on this post was a picture of Ryan. He had two really fun days with Daddy. He was pretty well behaved. Granted, he got a little restless, and Daddy didn't get as much done as if Ryan was at home with me, but he certainly got more done than if he was in the waiting room at the Doctor's or at home waiting. When I got to the office to pick up my little boy, THIS walked out--

HOW CUTE IS HE!!!!! Got to love the little man walking out like a big boy, with Snoopy under his arm. If you could have seen his purposeful walk, and then his huge smile when he saw his Mommy and his brother waiting for him!

These last few mornings were the first times that the boys were separated, doing different things, EVER! I think it was good for both of them. And it certainly made it easier for me, and Scott had a couple of nice mornings with Ryan. Later in the month, Evan is going to join Daddy for a morning, so he can experience the fun too. I think Ryan and I will go to coffee. (with Snoopy of course)

New Stuff for a New Year

For a while now, (8mos?) our Dishwasher has been choosing not to wash. It has never been a great dishwasher, things if not pre-washed thoroughly, come out with clean food stuck to them. Every so often, the detergent cup would not open, and lots of water would run over our dishes, but none would be cleaned. Then, right before Thanksgiving part of the lower rack rusted off and every time we ran it I was concerned that little pieces of rust were getting all over our "clean" dishes. We bit the bullet, and ordered a new dishwasher on line. It arrived on New Year's Eve and Scott put it in on New Year's day, and our dishes are sparkling clean, EVERY TIME.

Then...the DAY we were leaving for Sacramento, our dryer stopped drying. We were sure it was an easy fix, but we've been talking about getting new front loaders for a long time. I've actually been talking about it for years now, and Scott just started listening instead of saying "those are way too expensive" I think something about washing and drying a minimum of 7 loads of laundry a week, and a cost analysis of water, electricity and gas savings, caused him to change his tune to--"when these break, we should definitely consider front loaders."

In my world, I can't be with out a dryer for too long, again, a MINIMUM of 7 loads a week, and that is if Evan isn't in a "I'm going to throw up at every meal, and change my clothes 16 times a day" phase. So the decision was made, it was faster, much faster than-- waiting until we got back from Christmas to figure out what is wrong, order the part, wait for the part, wait for the weekend for Scott to put in the part, find out we need another part, wait for the part, wait for the weekend--to get a new washer and dryer.

While we in Sacramento, we went and ordered our new front loading washer and dryer...(he, he, he) We then cancelled the order for the washer because of a $175 point of purchase rebate from the San Diego County Water Authority, we HAD to buy the washer in San Diego, Right???? $175 bucks pays for a lot of new High Efficiency laundry detergent!!! (don't even get me started on having to buy special soap!) Scott went to our local Depot, and ordered the washer on New Year's Eve, and everything arrived on Thursday. Scott had them in on Thursday night, and I did 10 loads of laundry by Saturday Night.

People were making fun of me for the panic I felt over not having a dryer, This is an enormous the pile of clean laundry. The picture doesn't really show how enormous, (and I washed 2 small loads and hung them to dry in the few days we had no dryer) but it is a LOT of clothes, in 4 days!!! (I'm not sure why we have so much laundry, we always have, even for 2 people I was always washing clothes, now with the boys, geesh)

Scott helped fold, but I basically started at 7:45, and it was almost 10 before all the clothes were folded and put away. (Scott's are still in a basket, I just didn't have the energy)

I have to say, I'm pretty giddy, (Sad, it used to be a new ipod, or Tivo that made me this giddy, now its washers and dryers) these new toys are great and are already making my life easier, even if the washing and drying is endless...I've got a load in the dryer now.

Crazy post nap hair

I had to post these pictures, and they don't do it justice, of Ryan, post nap yesterday. I laughed out loud at him when I went in to get him up. How can you not laugh!?!

Ryan says, "Don't laugh at me Mommy."

"What, I meant for it to look like this!"

Fresh?

I've been trying to eat less. It goes back to Summer vacation. I gained about 7 pounds in two weeks, and then I stopped pumping. BAD IDEA. When I was pumping I ate everything without hesitation, and then I went back for seconds. In retrospect, I should have gone on vacation, pumped for another month, lost that extra vacation weight and THEN stopped. Well I didn't, I'm now at my heaviest EVER. (except for when I was 6 1/2 months pregnant, imagine how big I would have been if these guys went to term!) I'm uncomfortable, fat, and just plain gross.

In an effort to be less gross, we bought an elliptical machine. (my favorite form of cardio) It's a beauty...a Precor. (sigh) We got it used on E-bay, so I don't feel so bad about being over indulgent, but boy is it nice to use a gym quality elliptical in the comfort of my own bedroom. (yes, sadly it's the only room where there is enough space, too many toys) I'd been able to use it 3 or 4 times a week, until Christmas. It got hectic, and my workout time? well it became gift wrapping time, Christmas card writing time, and other holiday related time. During that time, I lost a few pounds, nothing drastic, but I felt like I was going in the right direction. And then we went on vacation.

I left my Precor, (sigh) for chocolate covered peanut butter balls, for blueberry french toast, for gigantic burgers and other holiday goodies. I did restrain myself, I tried to only have one serving, or I'd say only two peanut butter balls today, it helped I'm sure, but alas, I put all that weight on again. ARGH!!!!

We got home, and I decided I had to get serious. Now, I don't believe in dieting, I believe in self control, exercise, and lots of moderation. I'm back on the elliptical, shooting for 4 to 5 times a week, babies willing, and I decided that salad (instead of chips, salsa, a quesadilla, Ryan's left over dino bites and sweet potato fries) sounded delightful for lunch yesterday. I was going to the store for eggs and yogurt (for Ryan) so I grabbed a couple of bags of lettuce, (yes, bags, I'm a mom..who has time to shred lettuce!?!) and some grape tomatoes. I had green onions, avocado and dressing at home, I was set.

We got home after our errands, I fed the boys, put them down for naps, ran for 33 minutes on my Precor, (sigh) showered, and began making my lunch. I washed a bag of lettuce (yes, even though it SAYS its thoroughly washed I ALWAYS wash my produce, hey, my Dad was a produce man, and he always said wash your fruits and veggies, so I always wash my fruits and veggies!) I cut up an avocado from my Mom's tree, (our trees are barren again this year, keep your fingers crossed for next year) chopped up some green onions and got out those grape tomatoes to wash and slice.

This is what I found 3 tomatoes into the container

Yep, that's MOLD!!! and lots of it. I was going to pick through and use the good ones, but there were more bad than good. Normally I'd do one of two things, toss the whole bunch and be cranky, or go back to the store and get new tomatoes. Well, babies sleeping option two not an option. Toss them? I paid $3.79 for those things. Hmmm. I think if the container hadn't read this:

I might have eaten the $4.00 and been done with it. I did really want tomatoes, so, I decided to take them back tomorrow (Thursday/Today) after all I have another bag of lettuce for tomorrow's lunch. I put the tomatoes, and the receipt, (where else would I be sure to remember it) back in the fridge, and ate my very monochromatic salad.

So today, after music class, what do you know I remembered to take the tomatoes with me to music class. I unloaded the boys at the Albertson's, walked in and happened on the Manager. Lucky Me! He looked at me carrying tomatoes INTO the store and this is probably the reason he is the manager, asked me if he could help me with something. Why yes. I bought these yesterday, got them home and they were moldy. "Oh," he said, "so sorry, why don't you just go get another pack. Really sorry for your trouble." I pushed the boys over to the tomatoes, opened up a pack and you'll never guess what I found...Wait For It...MOLD!!! Hmmm, I opened another pack, MOLD, another pack, MOLD, and finally a fourth pack, MOLD. I stomped back to the Manager, suggested he send the Produce Manager over to take a look at what I had found, and asked for my money back. He threw in a loaf of freshly baked bread for my trouble, and I went home and again had a nice GREEN salad. (I did have some nice fresh--No Mold--garlic bread on the side)

I think tomorrow I'm going to have a burrito.

Snow flakes that stay on my nose and eyelashes...

A photo heavy post, but I wanted to get these pictures up. I wanted to get them up last week, but sometimes life gets in the way of blogging.

We took a trip to the snow during our holiday in Sacramento. We loaded, both babies, Mom, Dad, Boppie, Uncle Eric, Auntie Mary, and her mom Karen into two cars, filled to the brim with snow toys, extra provisions for the babies (in case we got lost in the wilderness), blankets, four cameras (3 still and 1 video), and our morning Starbucks and off we went.

Upon arrival, Evan was asleep, and in hindsight, it might not have been such a great idea to wake him up, throw him into a snow suit, and boots, and thrust him out into the cold. (could have spurred flashbacks to birth)

It was snowing, and Evan was crying...

And then he pouted... Ryan and Mommy got stuck in some soft deep snow. Neither know what to do now...Hello???can we get a little help here???

Evan finally started to "warm up" to the whole idea of snow being fun.

Ryan could only be happier if this giant snowball was shaped like a truck.

I'm a bit biased, but is that the MOST PERFECT Snow Baby EVER?


"La, La, La, it's snowing, and it's cold...La La La, why are you doing this to me, La La La..."

He shoots! He scores!!!!!!!

Is that a SMILE I see, Evan?

Mush, Daddy, Mush

"Hey, Uncle Eric, can I sit on you to get off this cold stuff?"
"Don't tell anyone, but I'm really starting to have fun" Evan confided.

Boppie, Mom, Dad, Uncle Eric, Auntie Mary, Evan and Ryan posing for Karen.

I have to give a special shout out to Mary for taking a ton of pictures with my new camera, most of the pics on this post, are ones she took, (there is a shot or two of some one's shoe, where she alleges she fell into some soft deep snow, but most of the photos are FANTASTIC, thanks Mary!) a few on the post came from Boppie and the group shot is courtesy of Karen.

We had a wonderful first day at the snow. The only thing missing was the Williams Clan. Shelley came down with a fever the Snowday Eve, and she, Todd, and Madison had to miss all the fun.

We are so glad that we did have so many people to share this experience with, and it was quite an experience! I can't wait to do it again!!!!!