Can we say, "Precocious?"

Precocious? Yes, that is exactly how I would describe Cole. He was full of himself today. He knows he is only allowed to paint when the twins are down for a nap, otherwise they get all in it and white carpets... need I say more? (White carpets were installed years before the kids were a thought! I know white, UGH! It's all Alex's fault.) Anyway. I was in the kitchen at 8 am getting a Pot Roast ready to go into the crock pot. I had fed the kids breakfast and the twins were taking their morning nap by 9. So I was trying to clean up and not paying full attention, when Cole walks into the kitchen.

"Mommy, do you want to see what I painted?" My heart starts throbbing, OMG! Did he just paint the walls or something?

"Yes, sweetheart. I would love to see what you painted!"

"Good, may I please have some water to paint with?" He got me! How do you say no to that?


Later he comes in the kitchen and shows me the map he has drawn to get to his school. Yes, I am still doing dishes after cleaning out the fridge and only half-listening. I should have learned after the painting. He realized I wasn't paying attention and in the most dramatic voice you've ever heard, he said, "MOM-MY!" claps his hands at me twice! "WHAT. IS. WRONG. WITH. YOU! I am talking! You need to listen with your ears!"

That evening after dinner, he comes to sit on my lap. He looks UP my nose and announces to Alex that I have a "burger" in my nose. So I start laughing and tell him to let me up so I can go blow my nose. He tells me to Wait, he opens my mouth and looks inside. "Good Job Mommy! We don't put picks in our mouths, they stay in our noses!" Picks is his other word, since I tell him not to pick his nose. Obviously, what comes out is a "Pick."

Luckily I haven't had to tell him this in months. But I will remember that day forever. I was driving the van and saw him pick his nose and, yep, you guessed it! UGH! So I may have over-reacted a little.

"Cole that is SO yucky! We don't blah, blah, blah..." You get the point. So what does the child do? He reaches back into his mouth, pulls it out and puts it back in his nose! "Mommy, the pick is back home now, it's okay!" As he is tapping his nostril.

Goodbye Spare Tire, Goodbye - you are outta here!

I am so happy I didn't win that blogging spot a few months ago! If I had, I wouldn't have this new, great opportunity! MomsCharlotte, The Charlotte Observer, and the YMCA are coming together to sponsor 3 Moms to lose weight and 1 to blog about it - ME!!! I will be blogging on the MomsCharlotte and the YMCA site. I will be featured with the other 2 Moms in the paper and the best part of it all....I will have a personal trainer 2x a week for 6 weeks, plus a nutrionist!!!!

I have met this trainer to do an assessment and to be frank, I'm scared! I could tell as soon as I saw her, I should be scared. So I am so grateful that I will have someone so dedicated to help me get healthy and in shape, so I will try not to cry, bitch and moan too much! This will start the week of Jan 4th, so I have a little bit of time to get my head in check!

I will finally get a better picture for my profile! Alex will be so happy!!!

I've been sucked in...

I have been sucked in. Sucked into the black hole that is called Facebook. I have had a couple of friends telling me I need to get a page. (Is that the correct terminology? page?) So I finally took the plunge and my fears were founded. I have been sucked into the abyss.

On the upside, I have found friends I haven't seen or spoken to in about 20 years. I am amazed they remember me. Don't know why, I remember them..why shouldn't they remember me? Just my craziness I guess. What is it about reaching into your past and bringing it forward to the present? I am almost giddy, as if my teenage self is meeting my current self. All of these people were a lifetime ago, it almost seems surreal. I don't even think I know who that teenage girl was. Was she a nice person or was she a little snot. I know who she has become and am proud to be her. Do I want these two worlds to collide? Is it safe?

Back to this world...I have so much shopping left to do and wrapping. UGH! I have a beans and ham hock recipe to put in the crock pot in preparation for the BIG game this weekend. Panthers @ Giants! Go Panthers!

Maybe I haven't changed that much after all. I was a cheerleader as a teen - Go Hurricanes! Now I'm still a cheerleader. A cheerleader for my husband, my family, and of course, my Cats!

We'll fix it Daddy!

This blog will be short and sweet. The other week Alex and Cole were snuggled up on the couch and I was on the the other couch. Alex was doing some research on the laptop for work and Cole was right there, glued to his side, watching TV. Out of the corner of my eye, I see Cole stand up and start rubbing the top of Alex's head. "Don't worry Daddy, we'll fix it!"

What in the world was that about? I pick up the remote (Thank God for TiVo) and rewound to the commercial that had just played. It was Rogaine with a new mousse product that is easier to rub in. Cole had just called Alex out for his thinning hair!

Alex was enjoying the head scratching he was getting and had no idea what was going on. I was laughing so hard, I threw a pillow over my face to hide the snorting. Alex asked what was going on, so I rewound the commercial so he could see it for himself. Got to love the honesty of a three year old. (He is so going to kill me for posting this!)

Life - Moving at the Speed of Light

OK. So, "In the blink of an eye" was the name of my last blog and this is the first chance I have had to even get on the computer in almost a month. Just a little ironic. I'm behind on emails (not good when you are selling things on Craig's List), luckily our bills are on automatic draft, Whew! I don't think I knew what busy was 2 months ago compared to now. I can't even imagine 2 months from now when they are walking. Yes, they. My two beautiful little monsters. They are into everything!!!! And always in opposite directions. Then add in two dogs...I must be losing weight, I just don't even have time to weigh myself to see. I am in a smaller size pant... I think.

They are pulling up and cruising just a little. Crawling is no problem, they want to be running so they are frustrated and yelling because they are too slow. Ok. So let's see, we had Thanksgiving dinner for (official count) 29 plus the baby shower. It all went extremely well. Unbelievably well. I think it may have been the best family get together ever for us. Alex's Dad is doing great, Amy is doing great, we had plenty of food to serve in at Thanksgiving in a recession. So we have our family has our health, we had food, and a new baby Gabriel came the Sunday before Thanksgiving. Life is good. It's these moments when you try to slow life down as much as you can and just breathe your life in. I am grateful for these moments. I want to record all these memories in slow motion in my mind. Sean, with his long reach, grabbing Cole's glass of water off the table and dumping it in Alex's napping face. Priceless. Ahhhh! Exhale

Blink of an eye

Wow! Where is the time going? I can't believe it is Mid-November. I'm afraid if I blink, it will be February and I will have missed all the festivities and birthdays to come. This year is what we call our "Big Thanksgiving." We have all of my family and Alex's family coming to our house. So it will be about 30-35 people. We will be having Turkey, Ham, Leg of Lamb and all the sides. I need to make a list to get organized of what to do so I don't get overwhelmed. Cleaning, shopping, early cooking, cleaning, finishing up some projects, cleaning. Oh maybe I should get organized first.

And as if Big Thanksgiving isn't enough, we are doubling it up with a baby-shower as well. Alex's niece, Alex, is due a few days after Thanksgiving so we are throwing the baby-shower while the family is all together. Hopefully she doesn't go into labor early, well she may be grateful to go early...

On a fun note, Katie and Sean are both in full crawling mode. Sean is actually pulling himself up to standing, but he's not cruising just yet. Soon. They are the happiest little babies you have ever seen. They are always smiling. Always. They are eating table food instead of baby food and just love it. This is such a fun age with twins. They have their own little version of Marco Polo. One will yell, "Aaaah!" and of course the other one answers "AH!" Sean is so incredibly strong, it is hard to take something away from him. He is growing so fast he will probably be Cole size by the time he is 18 months. He is in 2T clothing and Cole is in 3T. Cole can fit into 2T, they are just too short.

Cole adores being the big brother. He is always keeping on eye on the babies and afraid they will get hurt. I have to remind him sometimes that not everything they touch will hurt or choke them, mainly the toys. He must think his toys are all evil and want to hurt the babies.

Oh, and Miss Katie-Belle, is the biggest flirt with her long eyelashes and pouty lips! I can't imagine where she gets it from.Twins really are truly amazing. I love how the can be eating or playing and they just stop, look at each other, reach out and hold hands and smile at each other, then go back to what they were doing. It just melts my heart every time.

I know I need to post more pictures soon, and I will. I promise. As soon as I can catch all three kids and get them to sit still for 1 second.

One more shout out, congratulations to Eva and Thom! They welcomed their third son into the world on the 9th, Brice. He is a handsome little fellow. Hopefully one day I'll be able to meet all of her boys in person someday!

A Christmas Gift

This year I got the Christmas Spirit,
But I didn't really know why,
Cause some years' it just comes and goes -
And it seems to pass me by.

I've thought about this a lot,
Because it's really puzzled me.
Why do some years' I get it,
What can the difference be?

I'd watch some Christmas movies,
And buy some presents too,
But no matter how much I spent,
The feeling didn't come thru.

Then I thought about that old saying,
That 'It's better to give than receive'
And I thought
 - that's it,
That's the answer, I believe.

Cause  here lately I've been so busy,
Just helping a friend or two,
But I've also felt real happy,
So that old saying must be true.

I found I couldn't buy it,
I had to give it of myself,
And in doing things for others,
Happiness is what it left.

And if I told others,
About the good deeds I'd done,
I found I got recognition,
But the Christmas spirit wasn't won.

Like happiness it comes from within,
And I wanted to share it with you,
Cause it's such a good feeling,
I want you to have it too.

Author - Joan Tall

New baby or a farm...hmmm....

Cindy had a baby boy! He weighed in at 7lbs and 11 oz. Momma and William are doing great. We went to the hospital to visit yesterday, oh he had the new baby smell. Alex said I was like a crazed maniac. So I just calmly reminded him to never get in the way of me seeing a newborn. Unless he wanted his own new, tiny, little wiggly bundle of baby goodness, he had better let me get my baby fix! Which at this he realized I wasn't kidding and gave me the look. You know the look:

"Woman, you are pushing 2 babies in a stroller at the moment and you are even contemplating another? Have you lost your ever-loving mind? Well I haven't lost my mind, so you can just put that thought out of your head!" (Do you like how I read so much into his looks? He was probably really thinking, "I married a crazy woman" but we all know that, so....)

I was amazed at how well Cindy looked! I had to have a c-section each time and seeing her up and about, smiling and walking, makes me realize there is a reason babies come out the way they do.

You know they say everything happens for a reason, and I have just figured out something big. I needed fertility treatments to get the babies in there and needed to have major surgery to get them out; maybe that is a form of birth control for me, in an odd sort of way. Otherwise I would probably end up like that lady with the 17 kids and Alex would be committing me to an asylum. Bless his heart, he has a big job keeping me in check. If it were up to me, we would have a zoo. I would love a small farm with a goat or two, some chickens and a pig. You know, I might have better luck trying to talk him into a small farm outside the city somewhere....food for thought. Oh my gosh, I might actually be able to get a monkey then!!!!

Tilt-A-Whirl

It's on odd sort of feeling when your life is a Tilt-A-Whirl and when the ride comes to a stop and you realize you were the only one on it. Everyone else has been going on about their business, buying cotton candy, looking for the porta-johns, and on their own rides that they didn't notice the crazy ride you were just on. At one point, you want to wave your arms around like a maniac, "Did you just see that craziness?" but then at the same time, you waiting for the world to stop spinning and not sure you want to answer questions, so you think you'll just sit on the bench for a minute to catch your breath.

Ok. So I think I have caught my breath. Amy and Kris have found a place to live and it's not under a bridge! Actually they found a cute little place in a safer neighborhood for less then they were spending. They are moved in and now just have to unpack. They may need to sleep for week first, but at least there is no hurry to get settled. Amy is now on medication for seizures so hopefully she'll get her health on track now. Her license has been revoked by the state due to the seizure, but luckily she has found a job right across the street from her new apartment and starts tomorrow. I think her luck is finally starting to turn around. *knock on wood*

Paul has opened up his new business! Halloween was the first day open that Cigars Central was open! It is on Independence Blvd just a couple doors down from Earth Angel.

Katie and Sean are on the move! I am only able to write right now because they are napping. Katie is crawling/log-rolling/arming crawling where-ever she wants to go. She is quick and very determined. She doesn't forget anything either. Distraction does not work on this child, it just ticks her off. Sean doesn't quite have the crawling down yet but he is on the move as well. They just love going in opposite directions. I think they have already figured out I can only chase one of them at a time. They will just look at each other and laugh. Oh such a fun game! Well I wanted to loose weight, I'm sure I will now! Oh did I forget to mention Sean is off the chart? He is in 2T clothing and weighs 24 lbs! Cole weighs in at 32 pounds and Katie is at 18. You should see the game we play sometimes. Katie and Sean each on a hip and Cole getting a piggy back ride. I'll see if I can get someone to take a picture to post. 74 pounds of children + me= too much to put in writing (damn Wii fit, I am not obese!!)

Oh! I almost forgot to tell you. No I didn't win the blogging contest. I came in second to last, but I find it kind of humorous. I actually put in an earlier post not to sign up just to vote for me! Ha Ha! What I didn't realize was the hosts were using the contest as a membership drive! You've got to admit, it is pretty funny! Here I am thinking I have all this integrity and I completely missed the point of the contest. Oops, my bad!

Oh, one more thing. Cindy has not had the baby yet. She is due Nov 9th and feeling every bit of it, bless her heart. We saw them on Halloween. They were on their way home and I really wanted a minute to talk to them, but a three year old football player was have a candy meltdown and I had to keeping moving. Alex talked to them for a minute. Soon, anyday now, anyday.

Whoops the babes are awake. I guess that's it for today. I bet you thought it was my life that has been a Tilt-A-Whirl these past couple of weeks. You didn't realize it was my writing style today that is just here and there and now YOU are dizzy. What just happened? Here is a bench my friend...

New week, wait I guess it's this week already

Ok, this is a new week and I am going to start off fresh! I am going to keep a positive attitude, that things will turn around and I will be able to dig out of this mess I call a home, get back on a diet and exercise, and "climb on board, get ready to explore, there's so much to find, Little Einsteins..." oh and I am going to work on restoring my sanity. I must be feeling ambitious, or maybe just a little crazy.

I have a friend who has her second baby due on Nov. 9th. I know when I was pregnant, I hated those calls, "Haye , sooo, uh, how are you feeling?"

"I am feeling just swell, peachy keen! Very Pregnant and ready for this to be over! No I have not had the baby and you are my 10th phone call today checking!" I realized they were just checking up on me, but man!

So I realized it was the 18th and thought Cindy was nine days over due. Maybe I had been such a terrible friend, I was so wrapped up on my life I missed the birth of her baby!! No!! So I called her mother-in-law to find out how it went. She said Cindy's not due until the 9th, I could tell she was a little confused. I told her I know! It's the 18th and I can't believe I missed it. Then she very kindly laughed and reminded me, October is not over yet. Oh yeah, I forgot we haven't done the whole Halloween thing yet. I blame it on the stores. Most stores have Christmas decorations out already, can't imagine why I would be confused. Guess I need to go make those Halloween cookies and get those pumpkin carved.

CANDY! Oh No! I gotta go buy candy. I can't deprive Alex of sampling all the candy before we give it out. We grew up in the days of needles in the candy and Tylenol being tampered with. So, Alex feels it is his civic duty to sample, I mean check all the candy before it leaves the house. A Dad's job is never done.

Boy, this entry is just all over the place, maybe I need to add organize my thoughts to the list of things to do....

And the hits just keep on coming

Today is one of those days, I am just trying to hold it all together. I know it's been a few days since I blogged last, I've needed to, but just haven't had the time or spirit to do it. Amy had a medical emergency while driving on Tuesday, that's what the medics called it. We believe it was a seizure but won't know for sure until she has an EEG and an MRI next week. She ran over the median and crashed through a wooden fence and hit a brick wall. For those of you who live in Charlotte, it was on Sharon Rd a block from Southpark Mall. That is such a heavily traveled road, it is amazing she didn't hit another car. It is a miracle that she only scraped up her chin and broke her ankle. One of the EMTs that showed up on the scene is a co-worker of Amy's at the pharmacy where she works. Amy didn't even she was an EMT. It took 5 medics to get her out of the car and into the ambulance. The kept trying to restrain her, and she didn't know what was going on, so she fought it.

I spent all day on Tuesday with her at the Hospital while they did all the tests to make sure nothing else was broken or internal bleeding or anything. Wednesday was a full solid day. We took her to her PCP, picked up prescriptions, had to go to the tow yard and look at her car and clean it out. It is completely totaled. She was able to sign over the title to the salvage company and they paid her tow bill and storage fees.

Yesterday, I was at Olivia's school getting set up as Olivia primary guardian so I can talk to her teachers or guidance counselor if necessary. I have been trying to get that since the start of the school year and have had to jump through hoops to get it. It took 3 trips to student placement before I could it worked out. All the while dragging Cole, Katie and Sean with me everywhere. They have been little troopers, but I know they are as exhausted as I am.

Amy is doing as well as can be expected. She was back at work yesterday and is still focusing on trying to find a new place to live. She is having a time of it. Her landlord is making her move to sell the place, she's totaled her car, broke her ankle and now has a full week of medical appointments next week while trying to look at apartments and pack. She is keeping her poor scraped chin up, though. I'm proud of her. I think we are keeping each other strong through all this.

As far as the blogging contest, I am tied for last place. I am the only one not asking all my friends and family to sign up and vote for me. It just feels wrong to me. So I haven't been campaigning like the rest and it shows. Maybe I should be campaigning, and come down off my moral high horse. But how would I know if people really liked my writing if I did that? If it was all about winning, I could just create a bunch of new email accounts with google and yahoo and such and vote for myself all day long. I only want to win if people actually like me and will continue to read it every week. They hire the three with the highest votes, but it doesn't mean they'll be read. Just like the current bloggers that aren't being read. Oh well, I have so much more going on in my life, I will just continue blogging here for myself. I do find it interesting, the person who is tied for last with me wants to win fair and square as well or not win at all. Maybe she and I will get together and write a book instead! She is just as crazy and goofy as I am, so that will be REAL interesting!

The Really Truly Important Election

Oh my gosh, oh my gosh, oh my Gosh! I heard back from one of the WebMomster's that run the board. I am one of 10 finalists. They will be posting the blogs for a week and letting people vote. I had to submit 3 blogs to post for this contest. I am so very excited, but you know what tickles me the most? They edited my blogs for length to '3 grafs' (gotta love the jargon). Ha! Me! I have been professionally edited! I know I am long winded so I don't take any offense, I think of it as more of an honor. I have been professionally edited. That's pretty cool. It makes me feel like a 'real' writer. I didn't get the standard reject letter, I got edited and will have the chance to get voted for.

Forget the Presidential election, or the Governor's race. I'm tired of all the negative ads, the rhetoric, and the 'he said/she said' anyway. If you haven't decided who to vote for yet, then don't vote. If you haven't been keeping up with it, I really don't want your opinion to count. These two are polar opposites and if you can't make a decision, then leave to the grown-ups who have been paying attention the last 6 months to a year. (Cat-scratch fever! Meow! rrr!)

The Really Truly Important Election will start tomorrow and run for a week - Blogger for MomsCharlotte. Not exactly public office, but it's a start.

Now I do not want anyone to go sign up on the site just to vote for me, (AMY!). If I win, I want it to be fair and square and know that I earned it because people like my writing and not because I had a bunch of friends joining just to vote for me. (I'm serious about this too! Amy, yes I am calling you out!) If you are already a member of the board, please be fair. Only vote for me if you truly think I deserve it and the cakes I'll make when I'm elected....

A couple of quick updates

I feel like I am behind on what is really going on in my life. This has been a crazy week and a half, with the Wachovia/Citigroup/Wells Fargo menage a trios! Whew!

So you can follow the news for that information. Highlights of the week; Katie is just so close to crawling. She is up on all fours, rocking, pushing herself backwards and actually lunged forward today. So close! Sean has been saying "Mama" for the past few day! Oh so sweet! Cole has just been his regular sweet little self. Lots of hugs and kisses and I just eat him all up! The AC man came yesterday and I am so happy to say we have air, glorious air again. It's amazing how much we are all getting along better suddenly!

Amy is still looking for a new place...Keep her in your thoughts and prayers. Paul and Kris have been working really hard trying to get the Cigar store opened. Soon! Soon!

Miss Olivia! I am so thrilled with her. She is fantastic. She stayed late after school today for Chemistry tutoring for a big test tomorrow. She helps me with the kids and I just really enjoy her. Not only do I love her, but I like her. I don't think you can say that about teenage girls often.

The other big thing going on for me, personally, is that I have submitted my blog into a contest with MomsCharlotte.com. They are looking for three bloggers to contribute regularly. They will take all the entries and narrow them down and post the finalists. Then all the people who are on the forum will get to vote. I submitted these last week and thought they may have the finalist up by now. The suspense is killing me! Maybe I'm not cut out for this. It would really be nice to have a little income coming in for something I already enjoy doing.

OH! I went to the ENT doctor today. The ear pain I've had for the past 6 months is TMJ. Alex calls it: Too Much Jawing. He said I have talked myself into arthritis of the mouth! I still maintain this is his fault. His hearing is not as good as it used to be. I call it selective hearing, but who knows. I told him if he'd start listening to me and stop making me repeat myself 2 and 3 times I would be in this boat! You know, we've only been married for 5 years, so he doesn't realize how everything can and will be turned around to be his fault. He's still 'Hubby-in-training.' Luckily that will be a lifetime job, so I do have some job security even if it's not with a bank!

What Karmas around...

I have known Alex since I was 16. We met while he was on leave from the Navy. Once he served his time (sounds like prison) and came back to Charlotte, we started hanging out. I chased him for an entire year before he would date me. So if you are keeping up with the math, he waited until I was legal, 18. We dated for a few years and broke up. We were young and both had some growing up to do.

Well the years passed and we had lost touch with each other. It happens, you know. Well at this time in my life I was working for my Stepdad, Paul, at his lingerie store. We were going to be filming a commercial and I had contacted an old friend to star in it. I knew her back when Alex and I dated, she and I worked together. The night before we were to film, she called and said she wasn't comfortable doing the commercial because of the 'adult' contents we also sold. I told her I completely understood, but she would be in full silk pajamas. I ended up filling in the next day, and I am sure I didn't bring in any extra business. Well, I tried. Anyway, I hadn't talked to her in 7 years, so no skin off my nose.

Well just a few short weeks later, Alex ran into her at a bar or something. He asked her if she knew how to find me, and she said told him the story and how to find me. He then called me at the store and and we took it slow at first. We were both getting advice not to trust the other because of the past, but we both saw through and gave it our all. Within months, we had bought our townhouse. We were happy and comfortable and thought you know, if we want to have kids we better get started. I wasn't getting and younger. Then as an afterthought, oh we should probably get married if we are planning a family. So we ran down to the islands and had a romantic wedding on the beach. It was perfect.

Now to the present, it's been 7 years since Alex ran into Sunday and she told him how to find me. I ran into her today at Rite-Aid. She is still as beautiful as ever. She remembered me right away and gave me a big hug. She looked down at Sean and Katie and said I've been busy. I told her I have, thanks to her! She was so confused so I told her the story, all the parts she didn't know. How important that one little conversation with Alex was. She was floored. She is just now celebrating her 1st anniversary herself and is trying to conceive.

I told her I have three beautiful children, partly thanks to her and I hope Karma will take care of her. So everyone, please send some baby dust, prayers, and well wishes to Sunday. I owe her my life!

Panic subsiding, reality returning

So my last blog I was in panic mode, ok, I was in PANIC mode. We really don't know much more than we did at the beginning of the week but I am at least handling it all better. I am just calling it Black Monday. On the way to school that day, Olivia and I saw a guy lying on the ground in front of a bus stop with the EMT's attending to him. We were scared he had gotten hit by the bus, but he had a heart attack. Either way, we both just felt really bad. Then the whole thing with Wachovia, ugh! To top it all off, Amy's landlord called and said she needs to move out. She's lived there for years and they had never renewed the lease but have been going month to month for so long, I think she forgot about it. Well the landlord hasn't been paying the HOA fees and is really behind. So he is going to try and sell the property to keep the HOA from foreclosing. Unfortunately, this puts Amy in a bad situation.

So once we got her calmed down and let her know we can make it through this one step at a time, she felt much better. So she and Kris have been out apartment hunting. That's always fun! (rolling eyes) We went ahead and made the decision that Olivia will live here through-out the school year to give her stability and give Amy a chance to move and get on her feet with everything else going on.

**********************

The AC is still only working intermittently. Alex is going to call someone to take a look at it just to tell what is wrong and how much it'll cost. Alex thinks it may be a capacitor. Of course I couldn't resist and just had to ask if it was a flux capacitor.

***********************

Olivia got a new cell phone since her old one broke. She is now on her Dad's plan instead of her Mom's. She was explaining to us that Verizon lets you text more than 150 characters at a time. But first she had to ask us if we knew what a character is. Alex = Desktop Engineer/Programmer/Tech Lead; he better know what a character is or Wachovia could be in trouble. Oh wait, they did that on their own. So she was so excited to text her friend in Winston-Salem and tell her this long story all in one text. She didn't have to break it up. So Alex says, "if it is that long, why don't you just call her?"

Her response, "Then, what would I say?" I am certain teenagers are from another planet!

*********************

Paul is opening up a Cigar Store next to his current business Earth Angel (on Independence Blvd near Cricket Arena. Yeah, I am doing a little unpaid advertising). Kris has been helping him get it all set up. Installing a flat screen TV and running wire and stuff. He knew he had to put a hole in the wall to run the wire. Paul told him where the tools where in his garage, so Kris stopped by there on the way to the store. Once they finished, Kris asked Paul if he could borrow his house key.

Paul: Yeah, but don't you have one.
Kris: Yes, but I locked my keys in your house.
Paul: Well then how did you get here?
Kris: Well I have one of those spare key magnets under the car.
Paul: Sure, just leave the key on the kitchen table and I can get in through the garage.

A couple of hours later, Paul is at home and working on the books. He gets a knock at the door and is wondering who is there so late in the evening. He opens the door and finds Kris standing there with a bag of Chinese food. When he came by that afternoon to drop off the tools and pick up his keys, he forgot to get his keys and left Paul's key on the table. He had locked himself out again! He was too embarrassed to come over empty handed, so he brought Paul dinner and they kicked back and watched the Alabama game. Thank God he's pretty!

********************

One last note. Cole just lifted my shirt and said I don't have a belly, it's flat like his. Awe, my sweet angel, do you want some chocolate? That SO makes up for telling me I'm not pretty or beautiful last week. Seriously, I think he is having flashbacks to when I was pregnant with the twins. He kept putting his ear to my belly and listening. Now if he could only convince the Wii Fit that my belly is fat and I am not obese. (Whoops Freudian slip, I meant flat!) Hmmm. I'll work on that.

I just love my family. They are always giving me material to blog about!

SHEER PANIC!

I just need to relax and take a deep breath. Citigroup is buying out Wachovia. I am scared beyond belief. Will our stock be worthless. Is our 401K worthless? What about my pension? Is it gone too? And the two most important questions: Will Alex still have a job? Will we have to move?

I don't do well with uncertainty. Alex, being the sweet calm man that he is, told me not to worry. We'll sit down tonight and come up with our contingency plan. I know I am getting way ahead of myself, but isn't that what panic is? He was listing items we could sell, and telling me if he were to lose his job, about his severance package. None of this is calming me down!

I have turned all the lights off in the house and am making a list on everything I can do to save money in the mean time. It's crunch time Baby! Alex, of course, said I'm over-reacting. But again, I ask you, isn't that what panic is all about?

Ok, let me find a bright side of this....um...uh...let me think...Oh I got one! When I get stressed, I can't eat. So maybe I'll finally lose the 50 pounds I keep meaning to getting around to. I'll be so stressed I won't be able to eat, so I can buy less food and then save us more money! Alright! Now, where did I put that valium?

Life is spooky sometimes!

So I have been reading some new blogs, you'll find them in my blog list if you are interested. One of them in particular I'm Living Proof that God has a Sense of Humor, is a Mom to 2 sets of twins! Yes 2 sets. All of a sudden my hands don't feel so full anymore. As I was reading her profile, what really struck me was her reply to the "Your hands are full" comment. She said, "yes, better to have hands full than empty arms and a broken heart." I love it!

Sometimes, I'll answer back as a smarty-pants. "No, they are pretty empty at the moment." I left her a comment on her blog that I may be "borrowing" her reply. It hasn't been that long since I went through all the fertility treatments, and I think what bothers me when people tell me I have my hands full is that I don't feel like I do. I am perfectly happy with my life, and have been begging Alex for just one more. He has agreed to the point of not pursuing fertility treatments, but if it happens naturally....Well, then, okay.

So now I just need the economy to level out so I'll stop stressing about it and relax. Isn't that what they always say? Relax and it'll happen? Well I always thought it was the noogie that led to it, but what do I know; I needed a doctor to help me get pregnant!

I just thought it is amazing that I blogged about having my hands full and then came across a couple of blogs with the same thing in it. Surprise, they all have twins too! Bet you didn't see that one coming...

Ok. Olivia told me a joke tonight that had me laughing so hard I was in tears. Here it is:

A termite walks into a bar and asks, "Is the bartender here?"

It took me a minute to get it, but I may have snorted when I did. I told you I'm a dork!

You have your hands full!

Let me preface this blog with: I am actually in a very good mood, I love my children and I am thankful for them every day. But...

When I am out and about with Cole, Katie and Sean, I must hear "You have your hands full!" probably about every other person. So if I walk past 30 people in the grocery store while shopping, I hear that phrase about 15 times. I am NOT exaggerating! The other 15 that don't say it, stop to talk about the twins. I feel like a walking circus sometimes. I have told my husband about all the attention, but he is not usually with me so he doesn't experience it firsthand. It doesn't help that I have completely beautiful and charming children! (No Mama bias here.)

Alex will tell me it's not that bad. Yeah, because when he is with me not as many people talk to us, since they don't want to interrupt our conversation. I love having someone with me! Not for the extra pair of hands, I have my routine so I'm good handling all 3 alone. But I've noticed, when I am talking to someone, I don't get stopped as often.

When Alex gets home from work he will ask, "So what did you do today?" He means, "So how was your day. Were the kids good, do you have any funny stories to share? I love you and the kids and just really want to know."

But because it can take so long to get anything accomplished, I hear, "This house is a mess, the kids are fussing, need to be fed and diapers changed, the place looks worse than when I left this morning and you need a stiff drink. Are you making dinner, because I am hungry now that I bring my lunch in and I don't smell anything cooking." I know that is just my inner crazy, but I have my hands full!

So if you see a crazy looking lady with twins and a three year old in tow, please do not tell me her she has her hands full. She already knows.

It IS all about me, right?

As you noted in my previous blog, I just turned the big 3-5. Yep, Thirty-Five. 35. During the celebration of my birthday and watching the Panthers have their butts handed to them, I made an off-handed remark, "It's all about me! Right?" I have never said those words before, but have heard them jokingly by other people. It got me to thinking about the phrase.

It's all about me. Right?

I realize in this time of my life, it is really hard not to lose "Stacy." I play so many roles to so many: Mother, Wife, Daughter, Sister, Aunt, Cousin, Friend, chauffeur, housekeeper (yes I had the gall to list it!), dog-walker, cook, Dr Mommy. Just all of it. It's easy to forget who I am at my core. I find sometimes it's easy to get wrapped up in my roles, that I neglect myself. I feel this blog is helping me hold onto my identity. That Stacyness that makes me, me! "I love me some me!" (Thanks TO for that phrase!)

I constantly crack myself up. Just the other day, Alex and I had taken the kids to the park. We ran into an old friend. Old as in we've known her forever; I'm not calling her old. Wait, I'm old, so she must be too....I digress...I noticed though as we were talking, I kept telling her the prices I paid for stuff. Like I found this bottled water at Sam's club for $3.88 for 30 bottles. Yeah! I know! Great deal. But then I had to tell her about something else I got a good deal on at Sam's as well. I started asking myself "why in the world do I feel I need to tell the price?" I'm guessing I was excited about saving money and wanting to share where the deals are at. I don't know.

But now I've noticed how much I do that! I even tell Alex the prices of stuff. He doesn't care. He is always sweet and listens to me, but why do I feel the need to do that? I'm just writing it off as the Quirkiness of Stacy.

Footnote: AC is working intermittently. I was able to take a shower, so I no longer smell like a monkey. We found a Wii Fit and I love it, even if the damn thing told me I am obese! I know it, I don't need a machine to tell me that! Still have the lines on the TV and my breasts, but I will just learn to live with those. *Sigh*

Happy 35th Birthday Stacy!

Happy birthday to me,
Happy birthday to me,
I broke my TV-ee,
And I have no AC!

Happy Birthday to me,
Happy Birthday to me,
I look like a monkey,
And I smell like one too!

Happy Birthday to me,
Happy Birthday to me,
I have wrinkles on my tit,
And I can't find the Wii Fit!

I just need to keep my chin up. (Then you can't see my jowls!) See I can always find the bright side of everything. In all seriousness, on my way home after picking up Olivia from school today, we saw a terrible wreck. It had affected both directions of traffic. It looked like a 3 car wreck and an SUV spun out across the median and completely wiped out a tree. There were 2 fire trucks, an ambulance and a couple of officers there. It wasn't there when I passed it to pick up Olivia, so we figured it must've just happened after I passed there originally. So although my TV may be broke, the AC on the house went out, and we weren't able to find a Wii Fit. I still think someone was watching over me today. Thank you Mama! I received your Birthday Gift!

I'm a Soccer Mom!

Cole is in a Soccer League. The idea of it cracks me up. He can barely say the word soccer, yet he is learning to play! Alex played soccer as a kid and loved it, so we asked Cole if he wanted to play and here we are. I love the idea of them out there early Saturday mornings running drills, getting fresh air and exercise, and spending time together. It just makes my heart swell. At this age, they don't actually play games or compete, it's just about learning how to handle and control the ball.

Today is picture day, so he is all dressed up in his jersey, shin guards and cleats. So cute! Alex called me from the field to get the information Mama keeps stored in her head. How tall is he? How much does he weigh? What is his name? No, not the last one. He better know our child's name! But that got me thinking. Cole is a 32. He is 3 years 2 months old. He weighs 32 pounds and he is 3 feet 2 inches high. I just love when numbers come together like that. I know, I'm a dork. Oh! One more, his jersey number is 6! 3x2=6. Ok. Now I am certifiable. Maybe I shouldn't have been so obsessed with numbers as a kid.

On another note, Katie and Sean are holding yelling conversations! I've tried to catch it on video but as soon as I bring the camera out, they forget what they were doing. One of them will yell, "Maaa!" and the other will return it, "Maaa!" and they keep doing it back and forth cracking themselves up until I get the camera out. It's the kiss of death I tell you. I've thought about just having a camera set up at all times, but I know nothing cute will ever happen again.

All 3? No can't be!

Cole, Katie and Sean are all cutting teeth right now! Cole is finally cutting his 2 year old molars, Katie I think I have already mentioned has cut her first tooth and is working on the second one, and Sean is working on his first. Seriously now, what are the odds of the 3 cutting teeth at the exact same time? The twins I can understand, but Cole too? Come on! Are you kidding me?

So that is pretty much all I have been dealing with or thinking about. Who is fussing the loudest and needs my immediate attention? Who needs medicine and when did they last eat something, anything? Have I eaten today?

Cole Alexander! Do NOT flush that whole roll of toilet paper! Ugh! (overflowing....gotta go clean up and whoop some tail!)

Where is my screwdriver and my plumber's helper?

My sweet little Katie has cut her first tooth! She and Sean have both been working their gums pretty good and Katie popped one through. Hooray! I tried to get a picture of it, but no go. She is a stubborn little booger let me tell you. I don't know where she gets it from!

Sean has been up all hours of the night. Which means. Ta-da! Here I am too. If that tooth doesn't cut through so help me, "Where's my screw driver and my plumber's helper? I'll open up his mouth and I'll shove it in!" Wait, that's not right. Well that's what I get for writing at 4:30 in the morning!

Spacey Stacy

Oh Spacey Stacy - living up to your nickname these days! I don't know if anyone knows this but I love to laugh. It just feels good. Sometimes I'm told I need to 'not pick' so much, but I just can't help myself. One of my favorite people to laugh at/with is myself. I am always cracking myself up! Alex will laugh sometimes and just shakes his head. He knows I'm crazy, but I am very entertaining (at least in my own head.) Sometimes I'll crack myself up so bad I am in tears and can barely catch my breath. He'll ask whats so funny and when I tell him, he is like, "oh, okay." Then he has this look like, I knew this when I married her. (Flash to the old 80's movies with the typical nerd and glasses snorting when they laugh. That's me!)

So last night Alex said to me, "Some guys at work and I are thinking about trying the new Hooters that is opening Uptown tomorrow for lunch. They are bringing in their A Team."

So I hear: "I really want to go out to lunch with the guys tomorrow and not bring my lunch in, are you cool with that? Oh, and The A-Team will be there."

I respond, "Sure, okay. Why do you want to see The A-Team?" He looks at me confused, then knowing me the way he does, he gets it.

"Not 'The A-Team', their A Team, the best team of Hooters Girls. The team that goes around opening up the new restaurants."

"Oh thank God! I couldn't figure out for the life of me why you'd want to go see Mr. T. That's much better. Yeah go, have a good time!" (I pity 'da fool! Ha ha ha!)

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So this morning I was feeding the twins their breakfast of yogurt and cereal. Sean is such a messy eater. He likes to get the food in his mouth and smoosh it out so it runs down his chin while smiling. He chews on his fingers and the food gets all over them and they wander all over his face. When I feed them, I feed them at the same time and alternate bites. So when I look back at him, he is smiling this bashful smile with his hair covered in goo. This morning was no different, but it was particularly covered and starting to dry. I took a wet paper towel and cleaned Katie first since she was less messy. Go on to Sean and clean his hands and his face. His hair is just a mess! So instead of going and rinsing the paper towel (Come'on that would mean walking across the kitchen and back!) I decide to just lick his head clean. It was really good too, kind of tasted like blueberry muffin mix before you bake it. Yum!

But some days we cry....

I can't help but feel the sorrow of the day. It's weighing heavily on me. Personally I was lucky, I did not loose anyone on that fateful day. But like the rest of America, I lost an innocence. An innocence that wasn't real, but it was lost none the less. I foolishly thought war, destruction, and loss were things that happened in far off countries with names I could barely pronounce. It's sad to realize that is a way of life for some people in parts of the world.

Today is a day of remembrance. Remember those who lost their lives, their families who will always grieve, and remember we are all Americans. Republican or Democrat; Conservative or Liberal; Straight or Gay; Black or White; we all just need to come together on this anniversary and keep ourselves safe and not let this happen to us again.

Now He Got Game!

Let me tell you, Cole has got game! He loves the ladies and the ladies love him! If there is a pretty girl around, you'll find him right next to her. He likes to 'get hurt' and have her kiss his boo-boo. If I say anything he'll give me this warning look like "Don't you mess this up for me Mom!" I think my days of kissing his boo-boos have passed. He now uses it as a pick-up line and all the girls fall for it. Girls of all ages.

So he has a girlfriend at his Preschool - Rory. They have been best buds since he started there at 10 weeks. To say that they adore each other would be an understatement. For the longest time, he was a one woman man, Rory and that was it. The world revolved around Rory and still does for the most part. That is how I got him potty trained - telling him he'll get to go to Rory's class if he pee-pees in the potty. But now, he is noticing there are other fish in the sea, and he has plenty of tartar. Rory is a few weeks older than him, and I've noticed he tends to like the older girls.

At the park last week, there was a pretty blond haired girl who was probably 6 years old with really long legs and the cutest little girl outfit that she could twirl around in. There were also about 4 littles boys his age. He decided to follow and play with the pretty girl until she left and then he went to play with the boys.

Last Sunday we had some friends over during the Panther game, and again Cole 'hurt' his foot. So he came to show me and I asked if he wanted me to kiss it. "No, She fiss it!" He then let Abby, who is 4, lead him by the waist and elbow and had her play doctor! She checked it out and gave him instructions on how to care for it. She'll have a promising career later if she so chooses!

Today was the topper of it all! This morning I met up with some fellow Moms for coffee. One of them has the prettiest little 3 year old, Ella. So she and Cole are playing and Ella came up to me and said, 'He won't kiss me' or 'He want kiss me'. Knowing my son, it was probably the latter. I look over at Cole and he is standing there looking kind of sad. Ella walks back over to him and whispers something to him. They hug and kiss right on the lips! Well okay son! Then he 'hurt' his finger and Ella kissed it better. As we were leaving, they ran towards each other like a scene out of Chariots of Fire and hugged good-bye.

Yet still we went back to our normal park and with it being an overcast day today, there were not many children there. Just as I parked the van 2 other cars pulled up, and each had a 3 year old little girl in it.

We all made pretty quick friends. There was a pretty little blond that jumped right into the van as I was getting all the children out. Her name is Alex and her mom, Anna, was from Russia. They were both so beautiful, they could've been models. Alex just took Cole by the hand and led him right into the park. Well the other Mom, Sophia, is from Greece and she and Thalia are both beautiful as well. So here we have a little blond beauty and a greek beauty. Since Alex just jumped in our van, Sophia and Thalia thought we knew each other and Thalia was a little shy to join them. So I called the two over and introduced them all. Well at first the 2 little girls didn't want to share Cole's attention. They both were trying to pull him in different directions. So Cole, started pulling both of them and got them all playing together. It was just so incredible and hilarious at the same time. Now He Got Game!

So, there is another blog I love to follow. Sara Life in Words, and she does a blog every Wednesday called 'Wordless Wednesday'. Last week her Wednesday blog was about what happens when her 4 year old gets a hold of her digital camera and it cracked me up! Her daughter actually took the pictures herself.




So looking on my own camera, I noticed Olivia had taken some pictures as well. My mind flashed back to Sara's blog, and I decided I had to post what happens when a 16 year old girl gets a hold of my camera. All I have to say, is thank goodness she's pretty! Here you go:

Pictures, Pictures and More Pictures

This weekend I got a call from my Cousin Penny. It was so nice to talk to her a catch up a bit. I got nervous when I saw her name pop up on the Caller ID. I feel like this is the calm before the storm and I feel like a big storm is brewing. I just don't know what it'll be, but I can tell I am bracing myself. Amy called this morning, and asked if I'd talked to Aunt June, and my stomach did the same lurch. Everything is fine and normal, she was just calling Amy to say hello. Why do I always have to think the worst?

But during my conversation with Penny, she pointed out I don't have very many pictures of the twins on my blog. So I went back through and realized I don't! Hmmph! I have about 400 on my computer, at least. So I thought I would just keep it short and simple and post a bunch of my favorite pictures!

Nat King Cole

So today I am no longer just Mommy. I am 'Sincess Mommy' and Cole is King. I was playing his game along with him and he would give me directions and I would follow them. The King needed cheese and crackers for his snack time, so Sincess Mommy prepared it for his majesty. I served the snack and asked 'King Cole' if he would prefer milk or juice with his snack.

"I Nat King Cole!"
"What you're not King Cole?"
"No. I Nat King Cole!"
"Okay? So? sweetheart should I not call you King Cole?"
"No I say Nat!!"

Okay wait a minute, are we playing who's on first here? This feels awfully a lot like that! Where's the hidden camera on me?

"So, what should I call you?"
"Okay Mommy. Let's take deep breaffs." He breathes in and slowly blows the air out and then repeats the breathing some more. He then asks me patiently and slowly. "Now that's better right? Ok. I am Naaaa-aat King Cole and you are Sincess Mommy! You get it now?"

I don't know where he gets this stuff from!

********************************

He has learned his alphabet song and can sing all 26 letters in the right order, but he can't count to 5.

One, Two, Three, Eight, Nine.

We have been working on counting to 5 for a long, long time. I just don't get it. So I thought maybe I need to be using more visuals. So instead of counting stairs or fingers, or candy even I have these flash card puzzles. They are really cool and he loves putting them together. So he recognized the 1, 2, and 3! Yes we are on the right track! He then grabs the 8 and puts it together and says "Ocho" then he grabs the 5 and puts it together and says "Cinco". WHAT?

"Where did you learn that honey?" I am thinking he heard it in the background while Daddy was watching football news: "Chad Johnson has officially changed his name to Ocho-Cinco and it will now be on his jersey...."

"Dora and Diego." Yeah right! Daddy!

******************************

So now that Cole is peeing on the potty he finally wants to stand up and pee like Daddy. So he does it, he's excited and thrilled. Then he decides to really examine it and realizes there is a hole at the end of it!

"I have a BOO-BOO!!!"
"No honey, that is just where the pee-pee comes out," as I am trying not to smile. Boys really are obsessed with it!
"No, I have boo-boo!"
"Okay honey" and I walk away as fast as I can because my mind flashes to AFV, "Daddy I hurt my booty. Will you kiss it?" Oh dear son, please do not say that. I'll pee in my pants laughing and give you a complex for the rest of your life! Mercifully he didn't ask!

***********************************

Bandit ate the last few bites of Cole's breakfast. Cole said we need to put him in time-out. So I opened the gate and told Bandit to go downstairs, which he did, surprisingly! After about 2 minutes Bandit comes back up the stairs and sits at the gate whining. Cole says, "Mom, Bandit ready say sorry now."
"Oh, he is? Okay then lets go to talk to him." I open the gate and Bandit walks back in with his head hung low.
"Bandit, I sorry too. Don't do it again or Mama spank your tail!" then to me he says, " He's sorry! I forgive him. Can I have a cookie?"

*************************************

And just now he came up to me and said, "Mom, okay, deep breaffs." I go into panic mode at that. "Why? Why do I need to take deep breaths?"
"Bandit pooed on the floor. It's okay, I tell him to poo outside now on. Deep breaffs."

Who is this child?

Cole is finally.....

Potty Trained!!! (And the crowd goes WILD!!!!!)

I can't believe it myself! I have been afraid to blog about it because I didn't want to jinx it, but I think it is finally safe to say it now. He is staying dry overnight, and in the daytime. He is even going poo-poo IN the potty. Three times today! So he got a special toy; an MP3 player with songs like Ring Around The Rosy on it. He has been walking around with his little headphones on bopping his head up and down like he is listening to grunge or something. But then he sings the lyrics, "We all fall down!" and he falls to the floor in laughter. Earlier in the van we were headed over to pick up Olivia from school and I looked in the rear-view mirror. He had his headphones on and his sunglasses, just smiling this little smile that said, "Yeah I know I'm cool!" and bopping his head to the beat. I so wanted to stop and take a picture but the whole driving thing got in the way.

So now we only have 2 in diapers. I just can not tell you just how happy I am about that!

A 'new addition' to our family

I just want to give a quick shout-out to my niece Olivia. (See I'm already trying to pick-up the teen lingo! But I think I'm more of an old fuddy-dud) As you all know, my sister had 2 strokes in April, so as a family we have decided that Olivia stay with us for a little while so Amy can focus on healing. Before her strokes, none of us really knew much about strokes. So we all feel we are getting the crash course and trying to learn as we go. I think it was unrealistic of all of us to think Amy could be healed in just a few short months and able to return to her old self. Hopefully, with Olivia here, Amy will be able to give herself the time needed to heal properly. We all keep forgetting, she would've been in rehabilitation if she had better insurance. So how can we expect her to jump right back into her life and manage it all?

I have felt guilty like I have neglected my blog, so I promise, to get back to writing now that the dust is starting to settle again. Which just means I need to clean more, I guess.

Oh and as a side funny, I fell down the stairs this morning! I have a big goose egg on my knee, so I am sitting here with it up and ice on it. I wish someone could've at least seen it, I'm sure it was pretty hilarious. Oh well. Just picture it in your head.

Cole and his new best friend

So my Little Man is growing up. He kept me in stitches most of the day yesterday. He has perfect comedic timing. He always has. We had a few cute little stories yesterday and I called Amy to share them with her. Well later in the day she wanted to share them with Olivia, and Olivia didn't want to hear them from her! She wanted to wait and see if I'd blog about it. So here I am. No pressure.

So like every little boy and man, he is obsessed with his penis. He loves to say the word as well Pee-Nis. I'm sure I hear the word at least 10 times a day.

"Ow!"
"What is it honey, did my ring scratch you?"
"No, I pinched my penis"
"OH! Do you need to go pee-pee in the potty?"
"No, I just pinched it and it hurts. That's all."
"Well maybe you shouldn't pinch yourself then."

An hour later:
"Mommy, I got to go pee-pee"
"Oh great job on telling me! Hold it and let's run to the potty."
He stops in his tracks, "You told me not to pinch my penis!"

"Honey, you have been doing so well telling Mommy when you need to go pee-pee, would you like to wear the big boy underwear?"
"Yes"
"Great, that means you just need to keep telling me when you need to go pee-pee"
"Uh, um, I changed my mind, I want a pull-up instead."
"No sweetheart, it's okay if you have an accident, but let's go ahead and try the underwear."
As I am helping him into them, I notice a hair wrapped around his penis. I'm thinking to myself, that has got to hurt.
"Honey, let me get that hair off for you."
"NO! That's my friend!"
"The hair is your friend?"
"No, my penis is my friend" (Boy I wish I knew how to type the inflection of his voice in that statement! It was all I could do to hold it together!)

Later in the day driving in the car someone cut me off in traffic and I was really proud of myself for not cursing instead I said this:
"Oh! Pickles!"
"MOM! We do not say pickles. That not nice! One, two, three! I spank your tail and you go timeout Mister! Now!"
Laughing, I say, "Honey. Pickles is not a bad word. What makes you think it's a bad word?"
"It IS a bad word."
"Did someone at your school say it's a bad word?"
Patiently like he is talking to a small child, He says, "No Mom." Then for emphasis he claps his hand to his chest, "I say it's a bad word!"

And let's not forget Cole's favorite game. Of course he talks about this in what seems to me a very loud voice.
"I have penis, and Daddy have penis. Amy dodn't have penis. Leevla dodn't have penis. Mommy dodn't have penis. Kris and Paw-Paw have penis. Hay?! HE HAVE PENIS!" As he is pointing at the butcher handing me the meat. The butcher just cracks up. He is an older gentleman, most likely a grandpa several times over and says to me, "Oh, I see we are learning about the differences today!" I am just so thankful that I've known this butcher since before I was even pregnant with Cole and smile and laugh.

Yet later in the day at the grocery store, we are at the checkout and I am paying:
"Mom, look it is time to go. See, see what time it is? We need to go NOW! 2 minutes" He is pointing at his Spiderman tattoo on his arm like it is a watch.
"Yes sweetheart, we are almost done. Honey how about you go sit on that bench while I finish paying."
At this the 16 year old bagger looks up at me as if I had just told him to go sit down. He was wide eyed and scared looking. I think it was his first day. So I laughed and asked him "Does your Mom call you honey as well?" Great, I am old enough to be his Mom! Now I really feel old!

First Day of School

Today is the First day of School. The city seems to be a buzz with it. Schools buses are out, traffic is heavy, and there is a huge sigh from Mothers all around, Ah summer is finally over. There is a different kind of sigh from the children as well. *pout* Oh, summer is over!

I feel left out. It is just a normal day in our house. School? What school? There's still the laundry to catch up on, grocery shopping to do, vacuuming. I enjoy my children everyday, so I'm not wishing away today. But at the same time, I look forward to the next adventure for Cole. Who knows, maybe when the twins finally start school, I can go back to school myself....

Well, we are off to the park today and I won't have to worry about the older kids running over Cole and the other preschoolers. That'll be nice change. Maybe this back to school thing won't be so bad after all!

How 'bout them Panthers? Eh?

Wow! What an unbelievable game. Too bad it was only a preseason game. The Panthers schooled the Redskins 47-3. Alex had a really tough week and had the opportunity to go to the game. He had a great time, which I'm glad. He deserved it.

So I was holding down the home fort. We are a serious football family. Katie has a cheerleader outfit, Sean and Cole both have jerseys of sorts, and Alex and I have a couple of Jerseys. I am going to get a picture of the whole family for the season opener when we are all dressed up. I can't wait!

We also have a tradition of doing a shot of liquor when the Panthers score. Well, if you've been following the Panthers for a couple of years, you'd know we never really had to drink too much or got tore up. Just a shot or two and all was right. I told Alex I would keep up the tradition since I was unable to celebrate last season due to being ginormously pregnant. I'd get the kids to bed and keep up the tradition.

Than goodness my shot of choice was schnapps. Normally, I'd say 'Oh, you can't get drunk off schnapps.' Oh yes you can! Especially when you drink about 10 shots in 3 hours. (Really more like 1.5 hours since they did most of the scoring in the 2nd and 3rd quarter.) My cousin Kris came over to watch it with me. We made the mistake of doing a shot with every touchdown AND field goals. Poor Kris. He wasn't drinking schnapps, he was drinking Crown then Cuervo. Let's just say, by the time he went to bed I was no longer worried about alcohol poisoning. He had purged his sins...we did have him blow into the breathalyzer this morning and he was still legally drunk! (Yes we are dorks with our own breathalyzer) We are not alcoholics, just safe!

He gave me crap last night that I was drinking fru-fru shots. 'Absolutely I am. I need to be on call if the babies need me. Plus I really don't want a hangover with 2 crying babies.' I called to check on Kris this evening, and he is starting to see the wisdom in fru-fru drinks.

I just hope the Panthers keep scoring like they did and we need to change our tradition to one shot at the end of the quarter. I'm getting old; I can't hang like I used to.

Another Funny Amy Story

Ok. She is going to absolutely kill me when she sees this posted, but it is such hilarious story it needs to be shared. So Amy, bless her heart, has very weak enameled teeth. One of her upper teeth had broken in half horizontally. One of the main ones in the center. Snapped in two. I'm sure that had to have hurt. Well she was busy being a mom, working, and so on and she couldn't get in to see the dentist right away. So she came up with a solution. She would super-glue the tooth back on and just be real careful with it until she could get to the dentist.

So she was running late for work and took off down the road. Well her tooth fell off. So she pulled into a gas station and super-glued it back on. But because she was in a hurry, she got, shall we say, overzealous with the super-glue. She ended up super-gluing her index and middle finger together! She couldn't even bend her fingers. So she goes into the gas station and buys a bottle of fingernail polish remover and goes into the bathroom. She uses the entire bottle and only got her fingers half-way unstuck. She had to go buy a second bottle before she could get them undone! I would have paid money to see the look on the cashier's face!

I am still recovering from the state of shock I have been in from the past couple of days. I just can not explain how much fun it has been here! The days are running together. So Tuesday night Alex didn't get home until 9 at night. I think he was expecting to come home to a quiet house with the kids all asleep and just have a second to unwind after a 14 hour day, but no I had different plans! (Evil wife)

So my sweet little angel, Katie, was sound asleep in her bed. Sean on the other hand, was crying his little eyes out. We were trying to have him 'cry it out'. Well Cole couldn't sleep for Sean's crying, so I told him he could stay up for a bit. Well, when I realized Sean was just getting worked up and not settling down, I went upstairs to comfort him. He threw up all over his mattress. Alex comes home, the TV is still on with Cole watching it (an hour past his bedtime) oh and the TV is having issues. It has black vertical lines - think thin jail bars. I think Alex just saw dollar signs flying out the window along with the HD Football season. So we finally get everyone cleaned up, bedding changed and ready for bed and realize it's our own bedtime. So no dinner for either of us. We must've been bad and Karma was punishing us.

So last night Alex gets home at a quarter of 7. Much earlier. Hooray! Still walks into a house of chaos and no dinner. We were out of baby cereal so we had run across the street to get it, which put us way behind schedule. The twins are like mini-celebrities. People just come out of the woodwork to talk to them/me. 25 minutes. That's how long it took to just run in real fast for cereal.

Got home and started feeding Cole and the twins dinner right away. Well Sean decided his tummy was still upset and he had had enough. So he gave me back everything he'd eaten. So I grab him out of his chair, run to the sink and start washing him off. I just threw a towel over his highchair so I could clean it after dinner. As I am at the changing table changing his outfit, I hear Cole complaining, 'Why does Katie get to eat with her fingers? I don't get to!'

Oh no. This is not going to be good. I left the carrots on her tray and our walls are white. Crap! So I get Sean settled and just walk into the kitchen with camera in hand. That's when Alex gets home. He sees Sean fussing on the floor with toys, a highchair with a towel over it, I am only feeding one baby who is covered in carrots and to boot, Cole is running around like a I had just shot him up with pure sugar, who I am yelling at to come sit down and finish his dinner!

Two nights in a row! He asked me what I needed. I told him to go upstairs and get changed and take a minute for himself, because when he comes back I am going to need his help. When he came back I was getting Katie washed off and working on both highchairs. I asked him if he was hungry, and he looked at me with guilty eyes, 'Yes.' I laughed so hard. I told him I was hungry too but I wasn't going to cook if he wasn't hungry.

So I have got to go now, I have LOTS of laundry to catch up on since I have been cleaning up sickness for 2 days straight now. I have to laugh at all this. I do. When I think we spent almost $100k to have these 3 kids and to have this chaos. Wow! I'm either really brave or really stupid, but I wouldn't have it any other way. So I basically paid $100k to live in chaos, and I am fully content down to every ounce of my soul....Hmmm.

The House of Ewws!

Achoo! Eww, need a tissue quick! I don't care what it is just grab something QUICK!

That has been the sound of our house for the past 3 days. First I came down with a cold, no problem, I'm the Mom. It's my job to tough it out. Take a couple of Tylenol Cold and keep going, I'm the energizer bunny right? But now all three kids have it too to varying degrees. Well it may actually be a flu since there are muscle aches and stomach symptoms. Hence moving bath night up a night. (Calgon take me a way... not that kind of bath night. Darn! I could use it.) So on top of the twins with a cold, add on top they are both teething - Hooray - splendid. (Hope you didn't miss the sarcasm in the typing) Katie has a diaper/yeast rash that just doesn't want to go away and Sean has thrush in his mouth. Considering all of that, the babies really are being champs about it.

Cole on the other hand, has just a touch of it. Fever and sore throat, but the Motrin hooked him right up and he is running around playing with a hammer - plastic of course but loud none the less.

Alex is yet to come down with it, but I'm sure he will in the next few days. He has been working on a project for 9 months that accumulates this week. If the bugs don't get worked out, it will get pulled. So no stress there for him.

I've been worried about how I would handle it when we all get sick, now I know. I guess I should feel nostalgic, 'Aw, our first family cold'. Yeah I'm just not there yet.