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.