Let Sleeping Babies Lie

The last few days have been very trying for ALL of us, it seems!  I thought I was the only exhausted one (other than Travis that is, who does have pneumonia and is resting more often than not) but it seems that Jude is just as sleep deprived.  All of his night time shenanigans seem to have made the poor boy beyond tired.  I snapped this picture at the end of breakfast time.

My poor baby fell asleep with a piece of waffle in his hand!  I put him straight down for his nap and he didn't stir at all.  Eli was not so keen to take a nap, but he is quiet now too.  I'm sure he's just as tired since Jude goes and wakes him up whenever he wants to play.  I just hope they take a good nap and are happy little boys when they get up!

Get Down With the Sickness

Travis is sick!  The reason I haven't updated since Monday is because I've been super busy taking care of two cranky toddlers while my poor sickie husband tries to recover.  He went to the doctor this morning because his fever has been absurdly high for the last couple of days (and he didn't want to go either but I made him, thank goodness!) and the diagnosis is either bronchitis or walking pneumonia.  Luckily, neither of those are contagious but the virus or infection that started the ball rolling likely is/was.  I'm just praying that Eli and Jude don't get sick because that would make for a REALLY cranky Mommy.

Naptimes are still a battle and I'm really not sure what we're going to do.  They get so angry when I put them down and they won't stay in their beds.  More often than not, they pass out on the floor in the middle of the room after yelling, banging on the door, and sticking their fingers under the door for half an hour.  But of course, just as I'm about to lose my resolve and hug them they calm down and go to sleep!  Seriously, toddler beds are so much more stressful than I ever imagined they would be.  Nobody sleeps and if they sleep, it's not in their beds!  I'm just trying to go with the flow and let them be kids but I am finding it very challenging.  I do not give up control easily.  But this is the plight of all Moms, I guess.

Enter Sandman

Since we switched Eli and Jude to toddler beds a few weeks ago, things have been relatively smooth.  They usually run around the room for 15 minutes to a half hour and then settle down into their respective beds and go to sleep.  The last couple of times though, Jude has been sneaking out of his bed and falling asleep in odd places.

Today when I went to wake up the boys from their nap, I carefully opened the door (like I've been doing lately for fear of squishing someone hiding behind the door) and it suddenly stopped opening.  I looked down to see a passed out Jude in the middle of the floor, blocking the door.  That in itself was cute, but then Travis showed me this picture when I returned home from my Moms of Multiples meeting.

He went into the boys' room to check on them after they'd quieted down since apparently bedtime was very difficult tonight.  He found Jude and Eli sleeping next to each other in Eli's bed.  He's unsure if Jude was in Eli's bed before they both went to sleep or if he snuck into bed after Eli had fallen asleep.  Hard to say, but cute nonetheless.  He certainly is sneaky though!

Menu Monday - Week 2

Okay, so last week with the menu we did pretty well.  The only hiccup was that we ended up going out to dinner on Friday so I made the chicken parm on Saturday and didn't make the Indonesian satay.  That's fine, we'll work it into this week's menu.  Pretty good for our first week, I think!  Hopefully we'll do even better this week.  :)

Monday - Alex at AMOM meeting, leftovers/potpie for Travis and the boys

Tuesday - "Lost Night" (seriously, I need a new name for this event!)

Wednesday - Indonesian satay with fried rice

Thursday - Crab cakes with veggies

Friday - Spinach and artichoke macaroni and cheese with grilled chicken

Saturday - Ranch burgers with sweet potato fries

Sunday - Travis at game, leftovers for Alex and the boys

Pull My Finger Gets a New Meaning

Eli and Jude have been practicing hand-holding so that we can get them to walk more rather than lug the huge stroller everywhere or have to carry increasingly heavy boys.  Both are getting the hang of it but Eli has decided to use his skills to drag me everywhere he goes.

He walks up to me wherever I am - sitting, standing, cooking, doesn't matter - and grabs my index finger with his whole hand and pulls me until I follow him.  Usually it's just around the room or over to a door he wants me to open, but it's one of the funniest things he does.  This morning, he walked me over to Travis and my bedroom door and knocked on it calling "Dada!" then looked at me expectantly, like I would open the door.  I told him, "I'm sorry, but Daddy's sleeping.  Let's go read a book instead." and he pouted for a few minutes.

Later, I asked him to come give me a hug and he shook his head vigorously and yelled "No, No, No!" at me, then gave me the stink-eye like I give him when he does something wrong.  I thought it was hilarious but was also taken aback at his new attitude.  I hope this is not a sign of angsty teenage years to come...

Menu Monday - First of Many

Before I get into the menu spiel, I want to take a moment to say HAPPY BIRTHDAY to my sweet baby brother.  Okay, so he's not so much a baby anymore since he's turning 21 today!  : )

Anyway, in an effort to make myself more accountable about cooking at home I've decided to add a Menu Planning Monday post to our repertoire.  This should not only make my shopping easier, because I'll know what I'll need for every day for the whole week, but will also help us stay on budget.  I'm only going to put dinners though (unless there is something special about breakfast or lunch) because those are the ones that require the most groceries and will vary the most during the week.  We tend to eat pretty much the same thing for breakfast and lunch with some changes, so it's not very interesting.

Monday - Dinner with the family for Dan's 21st birthday!

Tuesday - "Lost Night" (I think I need a new name for this weekly event...)

Wednesday - 5 cheese ravioli with pesto and tomatoes

Thursday - Mom's Night Out for Alex, frozen pizza for Travis and the boys

Friday - Chicken Parmesan over rotini with mixed veggies

Saturday - Indonesian chicken satay with peanut sauce and fried rice

Sunday - Travis at game night, leftovers or dinner with Melnicks for Alex and the boys

The Mommy Bag

Maybe it's just me, but does anyone else have the problem where every purse they buy is bigger than the last?  I have been very reluctant to succumb to this slippery slope down to what I fondly call "Mom Purses" but it seems that the transformation is now complete.

First, a short history.  My first purse that I can remember carrying was the epic symbol of the '90's, the mini backpack.  It was denim.  It was tiny.  It was awesome.  Over time the purses got a little larger and became the little bags you see stuffed into people's armpits because the straps are so short it's really the only place they can conceivably fit.  I had one with rhinestones and a Coca-Cola logo on it and a cream faux-alligator one.  There was a short phase in high school when I liked longer strapped, over the shoulder purses (but still small bags, don't forget) because they were easy to carry while also lugging a monster backpack everywhere.  I had a black Emily the Strange bag that I LOVED and a blue and white tie-dyed jersey bag that went with me everywhere.  I would carry these purses until they practically fell apart.  All of the rhinestones came off of the Coke purse and the jersey bag had become a nasty grey color before they were retired.  I loved my little purses.  I remember each one fondly and still have most of them.

But something changed when I got pregnant.  I was diagnosed with gestational diabetes and suddenly had to carry so much more with me.  I had to carry my blood sugar meter and all of its accessories and snacks for every two hours while I was away from the house.  Also, I had to keep a small blood sugar journal to keep track of my levels.  Suddenly, the little purses would not cut it.  I made use of "The Burma Bag" that I'd gotten as a gift from a cousin when I was 13 and thought was seriously cool but too big to carry day-to-day.  I became accustomed to the larger bag and things were good.

Then, Eli and Jude were born.  Again, I was finding that the amount of stuff I needed to carry around with me just didn't fit in the Burma Bag.  I made it work for a few months because I was VERY reluctant to get an even bigger purse but was persuaded when Travis bought me my first designer purse for my birthday last year.  The blue Vera Bradley purse has been amazing - durable, spacious, and beautiful - but now that we're reaching a point when the diaper bag is being phased out and more child items are being put in my purse, it is time once again for an upgrade.

As an early birthday present, Travis bought me a new Vera Bradley bag (this is not the exact color, but you get the idea) that I was at first very skeptical of.  It was a hard enough transition to the LAST purse, how could I possibly handle getting a bag that even classified itself as a "tote?"  I had a minor crisis about my self image then sucked it up.  I need more space and that is that.  What's worse?  After using it on the airplane, I ALREADY think that I could get a bigger bag!  What is wrong with me?

New Layout!

Unless it's your first time visiting the blog, you'll probably notice that we have a new layout!  I've been pondering a new design for a few weeks and decided to finally change it now that we're back from our vacation.  Though I thought the other layout was cute, it was very bright and wasn't very personal.  Also, the body of the blog was not wide enough to fit the smallest embedded HD YouTube player.  Basically, the old layout wasn't fulfilling our needs anymore.

Please bear with us if things are not working or look wonky.  There may be a few more changes in the next few days/weeks, but I'm pretty pleased with the new look.  Also, for anyone who cannot tell who is who in the banner due to lack of color - Eli is on the left, Jude on the right.  : )

Home, Sweet Home

We've been back from our trip for a couple of days now and we're settling back into our routine.  While we absolutely love visiting with family and changing up the scenery a little bit, vacations are certainly exhausting with 18 month old twins.  I was surprised at how much I craved the comfort of my own bed and the familiarity of my stove, couch, and the toys strewn throughout the house.

Florida was gorgeous.  We spent every afternoon at either the pool or the beach and Eli and Jude have made leaps and bounds in their swimming skills.  Eli loves to put his face in the water, blows bubbles, and enjoys spending his time climbing up and down the pool stairs.  Jude is not as fond of putting his face in the water but is great at kicking his legs and can climb out of the pool from the side.  They both love to splash and play and can hold their breath like champs.  I look forward to seeing their skills increase over the next few weeks/months/years.  If genetics have anything to do with it, we'll surely have superior swimmers.  : )

I would also like to point out that the food in Sarasota is delicious.  We met up with family at our favorite seafood restaurant - The Crab and Fin - on the first day and the food was amazing the entire trip!  We discovered a new pizza place on the circle called Venezia that is better than any pizza outside of New York or Chicago (Travis and I disagree on the best pizza... but that could fill up a post on its own) and we ate tasty macarons from Le Macaron a couple of times.  And of course, we ate at Kilwin's a few times and brought home three slices of fudge for our continued enjoyment.

We also spent a good part of our time at the Mote Aquarium and the G. Wiz Science Museum.  On our first visit to G. Wiz, the woman selling us our tickets told us about the membership program.  They are affiliated with the Association of Science Technology Centers and the membership carries over to science and children's museums all over the country.  Here in Austin, we'll get into the Austin Children's Museum for free and there are several other museums within day-trip range.  Needless to say, we bought the membership and it has already paid for itself.  Probably the best purchase of the entire trip, if not year!  Eli and Jude were fascinated by the sharks at the aquarium, the hands-on exhibits at G. Wiz, and there was a science demonstration one day with fire that had them awestruck.  This is probably my favorite age yet (aside from baby snuggles, which I miss and crave!) because they're so engaged and it's obvious that they learn new things with every day.

I will close out this post with some more photos of the trip!

Eli+Jude+Sliding Glass= Sillyness

Life doesn't get much better than a vacation at the beach. So far, the boys have enjoyed everything about Sarasota; it's just so calm, peaceful, sunny, warm and muggy but also breezy and dry, all at the same time. The salt water is wonderful, and one can taste it in the air. Intoxicating. Eli and Jude are having a great time too; they've been to the beach, played in the sand, splashed in the waves, dived in the pool (which they are learning to hold their breath too!) and eaten at all the local spots.

The boys are having so much fun, and so are we watching them! Here's a video of one of their favorite new things about the condo, a tinted sliding glass door that they move back and forth in and out of. We have a hard time keeping this door closed without one or both of them crying how much they want the freedom to go in and outside! Enjoy!

Wordless Wednesday - Sarasota

**Okay, so I know this is supposed to be wordless (hence the title) but since it's the first time I'm doing it on the blog, I thought I'd offer a short explanation.  A popular weekly segment to do on "Mommy Blogs" is to have a post on Wednesday comprised only of photos with no captions or other words.  Because we're at the beach right now, I thought this would be a perfect opportunity to show off some of the pictures I took with our new camera this afternoon!  Hopefully we'll do this sometimes - probably not every week - and I hope you enjoy the photos!**

Big Boy Beds

I normally try to keep the blog pretty light - which is silly because I think that more people should see the nitty gritty part of raising twins, but all of that is fodder for a post on another day - but know that today was not a light day for me.  Maybe it was the lack of sleep, maybe it was something else, but I had a very hard day today.  Looking back at the day, it doesn't seem like very much but I guess it was the culmination of a lot of things and I went totally off the deep end.  It was also a hard day for Travis, but I'm writing this post.  : )

Travis woke me up as he was getting ready to leave for his Dr. appointment (I've been sleeping late because of the pills for my back) and had been up with the babies for two hours already.  This in itself is unusual.  On top of them waking up ridiculously early, Travis found them both standing on top of the changing table pulling on the blinds.  I knew they had been climbing out of their cribs for a few days in Eli's case and a few weeks in Jude's, but up until now it has been pretty sporadic.  I played with them this morning even though I was completely exhausted and was excited to take a nap or even just relax during their nap times.  Too bad naps were non-existent today.

I put Eli and Jude down for their naps just after 11 am, as per usual, and they chatted for a little bit, also normal.  Then, I heard a lot of laughing and banging so I thought I'd check on them.  Sure enough, both boys were standing on the changing table playing with the blinds again!  I put them back in their cribs, told them that we do not climb out as calmly as I could (let's be honest, not very calmly) and went back to the other room.  We did this dance about five times in the next half hour before I completely lost my cool.  And Eli and Jude could not get enough of it!  They thought I was absolutely hilarious!  Which of course, became more aggravating and I was becoming more and more angry.  I finally decided that the three of us were going to sit in the living room and NOT nap until we could figure out a sleeping solution.

When Travis returned home, he very sweetly picked me up a delicious burrito from Chipotle but I was still furious, exhausted, and drained so I wasn't very pleasant.  We decided to convert the cribs into toddler beds - the kits arrived a week or two ago and we've been putting it off - and just deal with wandering babies.  I was skeptical of this plan because I was envisioning our little boys passed out on the floor, surrounded by ripped up books and toys in the middle of the night.  But, we really didn't have any other option (except crib tents, but we decided against those already).

I left for an impromptu Mom's Night Out dinner with a couple of the Moms of Multiples and prayed that bedtime went smoothly.  I just got home a little while ago and peeked into Eli and Jude's room and was pleasantly surprised (okay, SHOCKED!) to see that both boys had passed out IN THEIR BEDS!  Travis said that there was lots of crying and banging on the door for the first half hour, but then they realized it was still bedtime and went to sleep.  I'm so proud of my big boys, sleeping in their big beds!  Even if they do drive me absolutely bonkers.