Merry Christmas!

Merry Christmas!

Christmas was a little crazy in our house.  I'm not sure what else I could have done to make it go smoother.  I pre-made breakfast so that I had it all ready to go, all I had to do was toss it in the oven while we opened presents.  I even made the main dish for dinner the day before so all I had to do was make the sides.  We fed the boys a snack to hold them over while The Girlchick sorted the presents into piles for everyone.  But it seems not matter what I did to make it run smoother it just didn't work.  Anyone have any ideas or do I just need to accept the chaos?  I know I have control issues, but I just want everyone to enjoy it as much as I do and did as a kid.  My Mom always made my birthday and Christmas so special for me, I want my kids to have that same feeling and memories.

Overall it was still a great Christmas.  We had a little hiccup with the weather and the power going out for awhile.  It threw off my timeline to get dinner ready, so we were a little late eating, but it wasn't too bad.  It was nice to open presents and then just be with my family.  Even if it was beyond crazy!  That was the one thing I really wanted to accomplish during the holidays, was to spend some time with my family.

She's a born skater!

Well maybe not, but we sure had fun!

One of the things I have been wanting to do with The Girlchick during my time off from work was to take her ice skating.  It wasn't really working out that we were all going to be able to go since the boys were still sick.  Grandma was nice enough to watch the boys with Dad so that I could take her to the mall to skate.

She was really nervous at first and didn't want to go out on the ice, but then she just all of a sudden said "Mommy, I'm really nervous, but I'm going to try."  I was SO proud of her!

Her first attempt without holding on to my hand for dear life  

More sickies

I took the last two weeks of December off from work.  I have made this my tradition the last few years and I really enjoy the time.  I can relax and get some baking done, get the rest of the Christmas stuff done, and just relax and recharge.  The boys have other plans for my time off - of course!  

The Thursday before I was to start my vacation Thing 2 had to be picked up at school since he was running a fever.  He finally got rid of it on Sunday.  He was tested for flu and strep since it was running rampant in the schools and the area.  Both came back negative.  He went back to school on Monday since he was fever free for 24 hrs.  Well Monday afternoon it was Thing 1's turn.  He had to be picked up.  I took him to the dr the following afternoon since he was just miserable and wanted to make sure it wasn't strep. Well I ended up taking both boys since Thing 2 started running a fever again.  Thing 2 was tested again for strep (came back negative) and we were told that he had a sinus infection, since he had puss on his throat (they thought it was the drainage from the sinuses that caused that).  Thing 1 was tested for flu and strep (both were negative) but he had an ear infection so both were put on antibiotics AGAIN!  This was all on Tuesday.  They were both just miserable, you could tell they just did not feel well, and it was hard to control their fevers.  Tylenol every 4 hours wasn't cutting it and even alternating between Tylenol and Advil wasn't really working.

On Thursday morning we woke up to Thing 2 running a fever of 104.1 and Thing 1 was at 103.4.  104 level fevers really scare me.  We called the dr's office to see if they thought we needed to bring them back in yet again.  They said yes bring them both back in.  This time Thing 2 tested positive for strep even though he was already on antibiotics.  She looked at Thing 1 and said his throat is just as nasty so we are just going to assume that he has it too.  They switched their antibiotics to the strongest ones that they can give to kids.  They have never been on these before.  The dr and I had a conversation about getting the boys tested for allergies and pulling them out of daycare - for the second time.  I swear!  I just don't know what to do.  It is very frustrating!  I know that they get sick and need to build up immunity but this is WAY beyond that.  Oh and the other thing - they both have a tube that has come out of their ears.  Great, just great - keep giving me more good news.

At this point I was just hoping they would stop running fevers by christmas.  For Thing 2, it had been 7 days of fever, and you could tell that he just didn't feel good.  So there was no relaxing, no baking, no shopping.  Just sick boys.  Then The Girlchick got it.  

Fun times at the Black house!  Wanna come over to play?

Taking a break from playing- this is how you know they are sick - they aren't moving

But they are pretty cute!

Untwin day

Since grandma is back from Cali - we had someone who could watch the boys and over the Thanksgiving break we got to have an untwin day with The Girlchick!  It was nice.  She got to pick any activity that she wanted to do and go do it with mom AND dad.  She picked bowling.  She did pretty well in one game and even picked up a spare! 

We then went to Dairy Queen to get an ice cream cone.  We are all sitting at the table just chit chatting and one of the employees walked by and asked us how we were doing.  We told him good.  Not sure how this worked in her head, but The Girlchick said "All the workers here think that this is the best restaurant ever".  I said they might.  Her response: "well the best restaurants ever are: Subway, Rockwell, Red Robin, Friday's (she has only been there once with her grandma, so I'm not sure why this ranks so high on the list), Luby's and all the places that have Baskin Robbins near them."  Best restaurants ever according to a 6 year old. 

Bites

The boys are going through a phase apparently where they like to bite.  Mainly each other, but every now and then they will bite one of us.  It actually worries me since they will be playing and just randomly bite the other one and they will fuss at first - as in to say "ouch that hurts", but then they both start laughing and will do it again.  These aren't little bites either like when they are teething.  These are break the skin leave bruises bites, and here they are laughing about it and doing it to each other on purpose since they think it is funny.  Is that normal?  I don't think it is.  Hopefully they will grow out of it soon!  We even find random bites on them - I found one on Thing 2's leg the other day and on the side of Thing 1's face.  I ask'd Nathan - do you know how he got this?  The answer is "no".  How do we not hear them screaming in pain or anger?  I'm really ready for the biting phase to be over!

Glasses

We found out about a week ago that The Girlchick failed her vision screening at school.  This is the first time. 

We took her to the eye doctor and sure enough her vision is 20/60, which means that she is far sighted.  It's odd since I am/was very near sighted.  So she has my genes, just a little backwards!

She was pretty good about getting her eyes tested.  Not happy about them putting in the drops to dilate them or the part where they blow the air into them.  But overall she did pretty good.  Then she got to pick out glasses.  Of course she picks out the pinkest ones she could find.  But they are darn cute on her so she did a great job.

Big girl in her glasses - I guess she has part of my genes after all

Happy Thanksgiving!

The Girlchicks birthday ended up being the week before Thanksgiving this year, so it has been a little crazy around here!  Ok let me be honest - a little crazy at our house is pretty much normal so what am I saying?  It was a little more crazy than normal! 

Here is the boys tribute to Turkey day!

We had Great Grandma, Grandma, Cousin Stephani, and Cousin Brenden all at our house.  Dinner was supposed to be at 3 pm, and we were a little late (per usual at my house), we ate at 4:30 pm.  Not my best, but it is what it is as the saying goes at my house.  I'm only one person with one oven and can only be pulled in two directions at one time before my head splits open.  But hey - we had dinner, it was good and it was nice to see everyone and catch up.  That's what it is all about!

HAPPY BIRTHDAY GIRLCHICK!

The Girlchick turned 6 today!  Yippee! 

We invited her whole class at school and ended up having about 32 kids show up!  Needless to say it was a little crazy!  I think from now on we are going to do smaller groups with only a few close friends!  That was a bit much and expensive!


She got to do her birthday in 3 phases.  At school she had her birthday celebration in her class.  We made cookies for everyone the night before, Nathan and I both went, and they talk about all the things that she has done her short little life!  It's actually very cute.  They have this whole ceremony where they where the birthday crown, turn off the lights and turn on the battery operated candle, she takes the globe and walks around the "sun" (candle), and sing the earth goes round the sun, (which sounds like hi ho the dairy O), and she makes one pass for each year.  It was really sweet since she even wanted the boys to come and be a part of it.

Phase two was shopping with Grandma and Great Grandma.  Apparently the three of them love shopping together and had an awesome time.  She got to pick out some gifts from great grandma - they were all leopard print - which for some reason is her thing right now.  I don't get it since I really don't like animal prints

Phase 2.5 was dinner with great grandma, grandma and all of us.  She got to pick the place.  Which I for sure thought was going to be Red Robin (they have balloons, ice cream and they sing to you), but she picked Rockwell!  And I love Melinda and Tiffany at Rockwell!  They put a candle in the little cup of blue bell ice cream and the whole restaurant sang to her!  It was great!  I really appreciate that they really make an effort there to go above and beyond!

Phase three was her birthday party with her class at the local gymnastics place.  She had a blast!

Back to daycare and the yuckies

The boys have been back in daycare for about a month now.  They have had bronchitis and sinus infections/issues that won't go away or get better, each has had 2 rounds of pink eye, croup, hand foot and mouth, and other misc. virus issues.  We can't seem to get rid of the constant runny noses and coughs.  I really hope that soon they will build up some immunity to some of this.  Since once again we are on antibiotics and this is going to be our third round in a month.  This is why we pulled them out in the first place, I was really hoping that they were a little stronger immunity wise.  I'm not going to hold my breath since we are coming up on the cold and flu season.  It's just so darn frustrating!  UGH!

GO Texans!

I got to take The Girlchick to her first NFL football game.  The Houston Texans are doing pretty darn well this year, so it was a fun time!  She had a lot of fun eating junk food and did pretty good sitting in her seat and enjoying the people watching.  One thing I had forgotten about - when you are at a live game there is a lot of down time due to all the TV commercials they have to fit in.  So she started to get a little antsy in the early 4th quarter, so we headed out.

Happy Halloween!

It's been a bit hectic at our house lately - which is why there are not a lot of posts recently.  I was traveling for the 5 days right before Halloween and came back to more pink eye and still sick kiddos.  I was hoping to come back to healthy house again, but no such luck. 

We were able to do the Fall Festival at the school, and the kids had a great time.  The Girlchick was an old pro, since this was her 5th one, and she knew exactly what she wanted to do.  First snow cones, then face painting, then the cookie walk.  The boys wanted to visit the animals in the petting zoo.  We tried to get them to do face painting, but didn't want to let the teacher get close enough to them to do it.  Thing 2 let them get a tiny white ball on his hand that we tried to say was a baseball.  But that was it.  They got to wear their Halloween costumes, which is nice since we get extra mileage out of them.  Makes me feel better that we spend all that money and they wear them twice instead of just once.

For actual Halloween, we let the boys go out first to the Pic's house then in our area but only for a few houses.  It was getting late for them, but they sure had the hang of it by the second stop.  Thing 2 would walk right up and take a handful of candy out of the bowls.  It was pretty funny.  Thing 1 was a little more reserved and circumspect. 

After their brief outing the boys went to bed, while Dad took out The Girlchick to do more damage.  She had a blast. 

We had Olivia, Darth Vader (Thing 2 since he is so naughty), and Yoda (Thing 1).

Thing 1 & Thing 2 no likey Skype

Since Grandma has been gone, we have been skyping with her.  The Girlchick loves it.  She gets to see Grandma, but she also gets to see herself on the in screen picture and LOVES seeing herself and being silly! 

The boys - they like it until it's time to say goodbye.  They don't understand it.  They are like - where are you going Grandma????!!!!  So they cry and get really upset.  It's kind of funny at how upset they get.  It's not the response that you would expect.  The first time I saw them do it, it took me a minute to figure out why they were so upset.  But now they do it every time that we skype with Grandma. 

Bye Bye Grandma

Grandma has been watching the boys at our house since January.  It's all the boys know.  They love it.  They get out and do all sorts of fun stuff, story time at the library, play groups, nature walks to hunt bugs at the bayou, the park, and just out and about running errands.  Last week, Great Grandma had to have her hip replaced and was going to need help.  So grandma needed to go out there and help her.  I was able to call The Girlchick's school to see if they had any openings for the boys.  Luckily for us they did.  They had just had 3 kids leave the exact class that the boys would be in.  It worked out great for us.  It was a little rough to start with, but the boys seem to be settling in.  Nap time may take some time, they are used to sleeping around 1.5 -2 hrs.  At school they are only sleeping anywhere from 30-45 mins.  When they get home - they are CRANKY!  But they seem to be doing ok otherwise.  They love being social and they are kept pretty busy all day, so it is right up their alley.  Hopefully they will continue to like it and the newness won't wear off.  Praying that things continue to go well and they continue to adjust well. 

But they do miss Grandma, so does The Girlchick.  Thank goodness for skype. 

Things that make me smile

I am finally back home from the hospital, the boys are still having some issues, but they seem to be responding to zofran and are able to hold down fluids and light foods.  However the other end - there is no hope and no meds, it just has to work itself out.  Very messy, stinky and just plain yucky! 

I have to say that it has been nice finally being home.  I missed my family.  It's been nice to just hang out with everyone and it not be too loud, crazy or just out of control, which is normal for our house. 

A few things I have noticed while hanging out.  I love that Thing 1 would just want to come over and snuggle.  He would sit in my lap and I would rub his tummy to make him feel better, and he would start to relax and rub my leg in return.  It was so sweet!  He would even start to fall asleep.  I loved it.  I hated that it took him being sick to sit still long enough for me to get some snuggle time, but it was just what my soul needed.

Also both boys have finally started to say and mean MaMa and DaDa.  The other day we were coming home and Dad walked out of the house to help unload everyone.  Thing 1 pointed and said DaDa.  It's the first time he has seen us and called us MaMa or DaDa.  He would say the words, but would never point to us or say it and point to us.  Now if you ask them they will point and say it.  It's awesome!  I love it!

Thing 2 is awesome when he gives you luvs!  He gives them often and whole hearted!  He gets his whole body behind it.  If you tell me to give you luvs he will run over and throw himself at you.  It's the best thing in the world.

The other thing he does is when I come home he will run to the door with his arms in the air and throw himself at me.  If he has to wait even a slight second he gets REALLY mad and then runs away and pouts and won't come back.  So I have learned not to have anything in my hands when I come in the door so I can get my welcome home and he won't be mad at me for the rest of the night.  He can hold a grudge, not like his brother, but still. 

Happy Birthday to me! Well Kinda.....

We went to Grammy's house for my birthday a few weeks ago.  It was a little late, but that's the way our schedules worked.  We got a late start since we had to clean up blow outs from both boys in their cribs right before we left.  Thing 1 was being a little fussy, not wanting to eat his lunch, but he eventaully ate it.  On the way there he threw up.  All over everything.  I felt so bad for him.  He was so upset.  I thought about not taking him and turning around and going home, but my brother and his family were supposed to meet us there, and Grammy was making her famous fried chicken.   Thing 1 seemed to perk up once we got there and was playing and being his usual silly self.  Then it came time for dinner and everything went down hill.  He ate a little bit and apparently that was enough to set his tummy off again.  He was miserable the rest of the time there and finally fell asleep on the way home.   On the way home I started to not feel so well.  I started throwing up shortly after we got all the kids home and in bed.  I couldn't stop and eventually needed to go to the hospital later that night.  Thing 1 was able to get through the rest of the night, but then Dad started throwing up.  Then Thing 2.  I ended up in the hospital for 4 days and the only one that hadn't gotten sick was The Girlchick.  Man it was bad!  I haven't been so sick in a very very long time!  Even Gma and my brother ended up getting sick. 

Playing in between bouts of tummy issues



Cute Cute

The boys started to mimic Gma when she yawned.  It was "too cute".  Every time that she did it she would say "too cute".  It was funny how they would make the face, they would squint their eyes and open their mouths while still holding their lips over their teeth.  It was hilarious.  Well they started to do it on command whenever she would say "too cute".    It has now morphed into "cute cute" and Thing two still does a similar version of his original face, but Thing one has morphed into a totally different face that is really cute.  It's like he is giving you the stink eye.  Just see below for the cuteness that is "cute cute".  

Ever Wonder what twins running around playing sounds like?

Well wonder no more!  

These boys can get pretty loud - and if you add their sister into the mix, you just might need ear plugs!  I think the only time it is quite around my house is when everyone is sleeping!  :)

Boys and their cars

What is it that makes boys love cars at such an early age?  It is their favorite toy that they will sit with for awhile.  The Girlchick would sit and play for extended periods at a time, but not with cars.  The boys will not play with many toys for extended periods, but the cars are by far the most favored.  Why is that?  I must ask my friend, the sociology professor.  There isn't a lot at this point that will hold their interest for this long.  They grow bored with most things - even new toys - pretty quickly.  I have to say that this was the best present ever!  Thanks for that Eichs family.

Ribbit

The Girlchick jumps around like a frog and says ribbit.  It cracks the boys up!  I have been trying for a few weeks to get it on video.  The boys just laugh these huge belly laughs and I LOVE it!  Well now Thing 1 and Thing 2 have decided to actually try and do what big sister is doing.  It is pretty funny and makes me smile!  

Here are some of the attempts at trying to get it on video.

Thing 2 Trying to figure out how she does it

Still trying but not quite

Thing 1 just pacing and ready for the bath and Thing 2 cracking up

Thing 1 decides he wants to try and do it too

Thing 1 trying it and trying to say it

Take me out to the ball game...... Go 'Stro's!

We took all the kids to see the Astro's today.  It was a little crazy and the boys got a little fidgety and cranky but we made it to the 8th inning, right after they scored a bunch of runs that put them up.  But I think overall it was a success.

The Girlchick got to have a hot dog and cracker jacks and got to finally sing along at a ball game with "Take Me Out to the Ball Game" during the 7th inning stretch.  Here at the Astro's game they also sing "Deep in the Heart of Texas", which is always fun. 

The boys had plenty of snacks and plenty to look at that should have kept them busy, and for the most part it did.  But they did get a little cranky towards the end.  All they wanted to do was walk around, not sure what else I could have brought to have kept them entertained longer.  Thing 1 was worse than Thing 2, he was on the move way before Thing 2 was. 

Show and tell ...... twin style!

The Girlchick has show and tell every Friday at school.  They usually have a theme that they ask the kids try and stick to.  It usually goes with what they are currently learning for the week.  In the past we have helped her with it, actually picking it out which has now progressed into just tossing ideas around with her if she gets stumped.  Usually these days she picks her own thing.  

Last week they were working on grouping and the theme was two things that go together, like a shovel and a pail.  She brought in grapes and a banana.  This week's theme was two things that are the same or that are different.  The Girlchick's idea was to bring in her brothers, who are the same and are different at the same time.  I really wished I had been able to get a picture of it or some video, but with Nathan and I both having our hands full of busy boys it just didn't happen.  But we made sure first that it was not going to be too disruptive for her to bring her brothers and found out the time that we needed to be there.  

She had been talking about it all week.  So we took the boys up there and she was so excited.  The boys were too.  All these other kids around and they were the center of attention.  They loved it.  The Girlchick loved being able to show off too by making her brothers laugh and that she got to do something special by having her mom and dad and brothers all there for show and tell.  It was a good time had by all until Thing one pooped.  Not just a little poop.  Massive diaper FAIL.  All smeared on my leg where he was sitting.  We had to strip him in the back of the car and he had to do the ride home of shame in just his diaper.

Last day of the summer!

Well not really - we live in south Texas after all. But it is the last day that the neighborhood pool was open.  We decided to take everyone to the pool.  We even had some friends over and had a great afternoon. They have a little girl that is just a bit older than the boys and have a son that is in The Girlchick's class.  So it works out pretty well.  And the older kids seem to play really well together.  It was a great relaxing day to close out the pool season.  Now about summer - we still have a few months to go before that actually happens.  But I have yet to figure out why they don't keep the pools open later here.  It's not like it cools off.  

The Girlchick getting ready at Grandma's house

The boys enjoying a snack

Thing 2 thinking about stealing the rest of his brother's snack

Watching The Girlchick do an awesome entry into the pool off the slide!  Ok not really......

Road trip!

A few weekends ago we decided to take a road trip to Austin to visit with some friends who were moving back and some that were going to be in town.  This was our first road trip that was over an hour.  Let's just say the boys are WAY too active to enjoy the car ride.  Even though they slept for a good portion of the trip.  They do not like to be confined for that long.  

After we got there, all the kids had a blast running around and hanging out.  It was really nice to catch up and see friends that we haven't seen in awhile.

The boys and Mr. E playing on the front porch

The Girlchick relaxing after playing, in Mr. E's cars fold out sleeper chair

Thing 2 was SO tired after playing that he was asleep before  we even got to the end of the block

Thing 1 took a bit longer to settle down but was down for the count not too long after his brother

Lessons learned - I might need to break out the DVD player in the car for longer trips.  We have one in the car, but have never had to use it.  The Girlchick always was really good in the car for long trips and would just chill and watch the world go by, sing songs, just hang out and didn't fuss much.  The boys, not so much!  We had snacks, but I need to find better containers to put them in for the boys to handle on their own.

Shoe Designer...... Maybe?

Thing 1 has this fascination with shoes.  He loves to have shoes and socks on even if they are not his.  If he can get into our closet he has to touch all the shoes and look at them, take them off the shoe racks.  Put them on.  It's pretty funny.  When I come home from work he always comes over to inspect which shoes I have on.  He has to touch them and look at them.  But there is one pair that he really does not like.  It's a nude pair that is patent leather with an open toe and a alligator print.  If he sees I have them on he starts to cry and point at them and run away.  Maybe he is trying to tell me how bad they are and I shouldn't be wearing them.  But it is really interesting his fascination with all things shoes.

Locks of Love

The Girlchick has only had 2 haircuts in her 5.75 years of life.  And they have not cost us any money.  She had her first haircut right after her 4th birthday.  We took her to have her hair cut and donated it to Locks of Love.  When you do this they don't charge you for the hair cut which is great!  Now she decided that she is ready for her hair to be cut again after saying for the past year that she would never cut it and she wanted to be like Rapunzel.  I guess the heat and knots finally wore her down and she was tired of messing with it all of the time.  She asked me to make her an appointment to have it cut.  The weird thing is - the boys have had more hair cuts in their 16 months than she has in her entire life and we have paid a lot more money to cut their hair than we have ever spent on her hair.  hmmmmmm.... doesn't sound right to me.

Before

First cut - 11 inches

Second cut

All that hair

Getting washed up after the initial cut - she wouldn't let them do this the last time

Final

Speak already!

I'm a little worried about Thing 1 and Thing 2 speaking.  They have words that they say, bah = bath, ba = ball, bi = bye, duh = duck, buh buh = bubles, and my mother in law swears that they say truck, milk and a few other words.  They are supposed to be speaking and using 10 or more words at this point.  The problem is - they don't really say or use the words unless you really prompt them and try and work it out of them.  They should be saying Mama and Dada and actually using it to communicate with us.  They say it, but it's not directed at us.  So I'm a little concerned.  Not freaking out, just concerned.  I'm hoping it will just turn on in the next few months and we won't be able to shut them up!  They say that with twins it does take longer for them to speak - the therory being that they have each other and they understand each other just fine - so why would they need to speak to anyone else?  They do use some sign language and Thing 2 is starting to nod his head yes or his whole body I should say, but I really wish they would speak more.

Oh the things they do to entertain them selves!

At this point - if it keeps them happy and they are not hurting themselves or someone else - I'm all for it.  But some of the things they come up with just crack me up!

This is one of those things.  They were fighting over The Girlchick's stroller for her baby dolls.  But they would take turns pushing each other around in it.  I guess it worked for them since they were both "doing" something, either riding or pushing.

What I also find funny about the above video - watch Thing 2 (riding) at the very end of the video shake his head yes to his brother!  It's something he just started to do - nod yes when we ask him if he wants something.  It's the first time I have seen him do it to his brother - like come on, I still want to ride.

Here is Thing 2 pushing Thing 1. He has a little more muscle and bulk to put into it so he goes a little faster and can turn it.

The Girlchick's First day of Kindergarten

Today is the Girlchick's first day of kindergarten.  A pretty big milestone.  I thought I would be more weepy since I have posted before that I tend to be more of a mourner vs. a rejoicer.  I think it has something to do with the fact that she is still at the same place she has been at since she was 9 months old. 

After a long debate on if we should put her in public school or keep her at Lakewood for private kindergarten - we are keeping her at Lakewood.  So not a whole lot has changed for us routine wise.  I think next year - when she has to take the bus to school, or get dropped off - then I might have issues.  The thought of her going into that big school and not even looking back - that will get to me.  But for now I'm OK.  So today we celebrate - we have all survived and she made it to kindergarten.

Shake your groove thang

The boys LOVE to dance and I have tried many many times to get it on video.  But as soon as I put the camera up they stop.  It has been driving me nuts!  I haven't given up but this is what I have for now.

 

Little Minions

We got these great hats from Grandpa Black.  The Girlchick got a hello Kitty hat complete with a little bow on the ears, and the boys got little minion hats.  They are hilarious!  They are even slightly different - the mouths on the hats, one is in a line like a grimace and the other is in a smile.  The boys LOVE these hats an want to put them on.  Now we do live in Texas and it is the summertime, but they don't care.  They will walk over to you and sit down and put their head forward and hand you the hat to put on their heads.  It is the funniest thing.

My LIttle Minions

Thing 1 Minion

Thing 2 Minion