So, we did have a marvelous Christmas, all things considered.

I spent most of last Thursday doing laundry, organizing and packing.  We headed to my Mom’s house that night to spend the night and have our family Christmas on Christmas Eve.  At least…we eventually headed out.  Earlier that morning, I’d come into the kitchen to find the twins playing with my keys, which they had gotten out of my purse on the counter.  (They pulled over chairs to get it, which they aren’t allowed to do.)  Anyway, I took the keys and thought nothing of it.  Until hours later when I went into the garage and realized they had opened one side-door of the van.  Long story short, after we had loaded up all our stuff, all our kids, and ourselves…we realized the battery was dead.  Totally dead.  It took 30 minutes of charging from the Jeep to get it started.  Eric tried a number of different things.  I spent that time pleading with God that it would start so I didn’t have to unload my kids and find them dinner!  Thankfully, it did finally start and we made it to my mom’s without further incident!

Friday was Christmas Eve.  My family was all at my mom’s to celebrate.  It was, um, chaotic…to say the least! With 7 grandkids (8, 5, 2 (almost 3), 2 (barely), 2 (barely), 18 months, 2 months), there was lots of craziness while gifts were opened.  We let the kids go through all of theirs first, and they had a great time pulling off paper and opening boxes.  Then we sent them to play, nap or just hang out in the other room while the adults opened their gifts.  Really, we had a great time laughing and being together.  

After presents, we hung out for the day and had a Christmas dinner together before heading to our respective homes for the night.  We got home in time to put the kids to bed, and then I emptied and repacked our bags before heading to bed.  

Christmas morning, we had our first kid-oriented family Christmas.  It was so much fun to see the twins’ eyes light up when they saw the presents.  And they had a great time opening theirs and handing us ours.  Then was a mad rush to get us all ready and out the door.  But our goal was to be out by 9:00 a.m., and the van clock read 9:01 when we pulled out.  Woohoo!

We headed to the farm for the rest of the Christmas weekend.  We had a Hogue family Christmas first, then an extended Hogue gathering at midday, and another family gathering in the evening.  And the twins did not nap.  Thankfully, they were super-good the entire time.  We had no major meltdowns and they loved the presents at every turn.  And then we all collapsed into bed as soon as we could.

Sadly, the over-tired Alex didn’t sleep well that night…so Mommy and Daddy didn’t sleep well that night either.  And we definitely were starting to see some meltdowns on Sunday.  So naps were a huge priority.  And for the most part, they did really well even on Sunday.  

Sunday did have a few other little quirks.  The twins took my glasses off the dresser and I couldn’t find them.  We ended up having to leave for church without them (the glasses, not the twins ), though I did finally find them in the afternoon.  (They were on the floor.  I stepped on them.  They weren’t totally broken, but were definitely damaged since this was the second glasses-theft in as many weeks.  Poor little frames!)  We also had a marvelous time playing with all the toys that Grandma got them.  And after Grandpa and Alan came in from milking, we had supper, put on the twins’ jammies and headed home.

Thankfully, Eric took Monday off, so we had a day of recovery.  But the piles of stuff from 4 days of traveling, plus all the new Christmas “loot,” were totally overwhelming to me.  It took me three days, but I slowly started to get my house back.  And Wednesday, after having to put Alex in timeout multiple times for multiple days in a row because he just couldn’t keep his hands off the ornaments, the Christmas decorations all came down.

‘Cause you know what?  As much as I love Christmas stuff (and I do), it is so nice to have the house back to normal, too. And now that the huge pile of recyclable material has gone to the dumpsters (thanks, Eric!), we can call Christmas officially over.  And that means we are ready for the New Year!

And on that note…happy New Year to you all!

Today, I am digging out of the heaps of leftover Christmas that was piled in my kitchen when I got up today.  I will do a recap of our holiday adventures in the near future, but today, I only have the mental capacity to say that our 4-day Christmas just about pushed me beyond what I could handle, but it was happy and full of family and friends and faith and fun.  So, despite my near-exhaustion, I’d say it was a total success!

As for my family…

The twins figured out the whole present thing really fast. Go figure! And they were fantastic all weekend, despite the lack of good sleep and normal routine.

Alex has started to pretend to sleep.  He’s got a great fake snore.  It’s really funny!

Megan is starting to reach for things and try to grab them.  So far, she’s been enamored of the toys dangling on her bouncy-seat bar and the bright yellow chocolate chip bag.  Thankfully, she doesn’t know about the stuff inside that yellow bag yet!

Erin’s talking has moved forward by leaps and bounds.  A few weeks ago, I mentioned that it wouldn’t be more than a month or two before she was using more words than jibberish.  And we are totally there.  She says “Come on, Mommy” (with a finger wiggle) all the time.  She said “I’ll be righ’ bah'” for the first time at my parents’ house this weekend.  And she has totally started to start conversations instead of just responding to you.  Oh, and she has started to answer the characters on the TV shows that we watch (mostly Mickey Mouse Clubhouse) which is very funny.  

Okay, those are the things I really wanted to write down, I think.  I need to get the twins up from their naps now, so I’ll fill you in on the Christmas activities in a day or so.  Have a lovely Tuesday.

My father-in-law’s heart went back into rhythm mid-afternoon on Tuesday, and he was released on Wednesday afternoon.  All seems to be fine.  As his heart doctor said at the appointment he had last week (at which everything looked fine), this type of thing is really unpredictable and may or may not never happen again.  Anyway, thanks so much for praying for him.

Have a very merry Christmas!

Okay, so it’s officially the week of Christmas and it’s unlikely Xanga will see much traffic for a few days.  So I thought I’d make sure I got at least one post for this week done.  Maybe I’ll get another one in, but we shall see…

This morning, the twins and I made cut-out sugar cookies together.  I wasn’t sure it would go so well, but they did a surprisingly good job.  Alex was totally into the making of the dough (don’t worry…I did that part myself).  And then I rolled it out so we could cut the shapes out.  They thought that was so much fun.  We had to take turns (Erin kept track for me): Alex, Erin, Mommy, Alex, Erin, Mommy.  I made sure I got a turn so at least some of the cookies turned out right!  And then our snack was one of our freshly baked cookies.  Good times!

I’m not sure I’m brave enough to let them “help” with the icing, though…

We have new neighbors who moved in the first weekend of December.  I still haven’t been over to greet them.  I must do that soon.  It’s annoying me that I haven’t done it yet…but maybe I can take them some cookies.  The ones I cut out, of course!

Alex and Erin are quite the little Yin/Yang pair.  It’s been very funny to watch them this week.  Erin is my ‘destroyer,’ meaning that disarray tends to follow in her wake.  Alex, on the other hand, tends to need his little world in order.  He’s spent the week lining toy cars and wooden spoons up, all in a row.  And I did see him take a toy from Erin recently because she wasn’t playing with it ‘right.’  I guess I should just be thankful that they balance each other out…one makes the mess, the other can clean it up!

Megan loves to be naked.  Have I ever told you that?  Seriously, I may have a little exhibitionist on my hands…who know how hard it will be to keep her clothed when she has a choice in the matter!

I have about half of my wrapping done.  I think Karen will be proud of my bows.  Thankfully, I think I’m done shopping, so at least my pile of “to-wrap” shouldn’t get much bigger!

On a less happy note, my MIL called to say that Eric’s dad was admitted to the hospital last night.  Last year, just after Thanksgiving, he had an episode where his heart lost its normal rhythm.  He ended up in the hospital then, too.  But once they got it reset, things seemed fine.  It hasn’t happened again since then, until last night.  So, hopefully, they can get that taken care of soon.  

And that is about all I have for today.  I hope you all have a very Merry Christmas!

Alex succumbed on Monday night (all between midnight and 6 a.m.).  Erin went down on Wednesday morning (starting at 6 a.m.).  Then it hit me around 8 in the morning.  By late afternoon, Eric was a goner, too.  

The stomach flu.  So.not.fun.

And that means that I’ve spent the week cleaning up sheets and towels and clothes and floors.  And man, was my mom right…it is so not fun to be the mom when you’re sick, too!

But, after Eric’s “events” subsided about 9:30 last night, we seem to have passed the worst of it.  And Megan hasn’t gotten it.  For both of these things…I am truly thankful!

And other than that…well, my life hasn’t involved much other than that for a few days.  But I will leave you with a couple of lighter things…

• Megan has started smiling and laughing when I come to get her in the morning from her crib.  LOVE that!
• Erin has somewhere learned to stick up her index finger and say “I know!” when you ask her a question.  Then she answers or does what you ask.  Too cute!
• And Alex has added a new toy to his list of favorites: cars, push-toys, and a small blue metal bucket.  I have no idea what the appeal is, but it gets played with a lot these days.  

Happy Thursday!

So..let’s see what I can remember from the last 3 days or so…

On Friday…

I took Megan in for her 2-month appointment.  Took the twins with us.  Thankfully, they did marvelously just playing in the room.  Actually, Alex had my iPod, and we had quite a random soundtrack for our time there.  We had a good report.  Megan did survive her shots, and she chose the “sleep a bit more than normal” route for the rest of the day, which was good for me.  I did keep her on pain meds for the day, though.  They always get the shots right in the part of the thigh that you bump and push when holding her.  Poor little thing was NOT a fan of that!

Then on Friday night, Eric’s parents came out and we took the twins to see the WildLights at the Zoo.  We went out to Chik-fil-A for dinner, and then joined the massive numbers of people who also decided to go see the lights on the warmest day of December (highs of 40, you know!).  The twins did great, Megan slept the entire time, and we had a good time with my in-laws.  Oh, and my MIL brought the kids their Christmas outfits.  Oh.my.gosh!  So cute!

On Saturday…

My parents came up, and Karen and I went shopping with them.  It’s a Christmas tradition of sorts, as we’ve done it every year for ages.  Dad and I go together, and Karen goes with Mom.  I help Dad buy Mom’s gifts, and Mom and Karen get Dad’s, plus a bunch of other things, too.  We were very successful this year, and in record time, too!  I think we got to the mall about 1:00, and we were ready to leave about 4:00.  My parents headed for home shortly after that, and we had a pretty normal evening.

On Sunday…

After church, we had the twins’ 2nd birthday party.  For a while, it looked as if the weather was going to conspire against us.  And Chris and Deb ended up not being able to come because of the snow.  But the grandparents, great-grandparents, and Karen’s clan all made it safely (and safely home, too).  We had Mickey and Minnie cakes.  And the twins had a wonderful time.  They LOVED the gifts.  (I think Christmas is going to be very fun this year!)  And they liked to blow out their candles, too.  And the black icing turned everybody’s mouths black…which was highly entertaining.  It looked like a goth-inspired party for a bit!  Of course, everyone headed home pretty early to survive the weather, so we had a good evening just relaxing and letting the twins play with their new toys.  

Then, for some reason, we did have a sort of rough night last night.  The twins were really not settled, and I was up 3 times with them in the middle of the night.  So between that and the bitter cold outside, I think we’ll just be staying home today and getting back to normal.  

And that, I think, is about all…happy Monday!

Dear Megan,

I do realize that you are now three days over two months old.  But given the adventure that is our life these days, I’d say I’m still close enough to call it!  I hope you don’t mind. 

So…you are now two months old.  You are so sweet.  Such a good baby.  And by that, I mean that you pretty much just go along with the events of the day without much complaining.  Unless you’re hungry or gassy (or your brother or sister has stepped on you), you don’t do much crying.  For that, I am really grateful.

And, much to my delight, you are already sleeping through the night.  At least more often than not.  Every so often, you still want something about 3:30 in the morning.  But mostly, you can go from 9:00 at night until 6:00 in the morning without needing me.  And I love that.  Not that I don’t love to cuddle you in the muted light of the yellow butterfly lamp that Aunt Karen used to have.  Because I do.  I love that I get to snuggle with you, with just you, for as long as either of us are enjoying it.  I didn’t have that luxury much with Alex and Erin.  So I am grateful for the chance to do it with you.

You are a healthy, happy little lady.  You weighed 12 lbs, 5 oz. at your 2 month appointment.  You have a sweet round face that everyone comments about.  You have a lot of Hogue in you; in fact, you Grandma got out a photo album of your Uncle Alan recently so we could see how much you looked like he did when he was your age.  

You are starting to smile and laugh at us.  I love to watch you “talk” to your Daddy.  You look up at him with such adoring eyes…it’s definitely precious.  You even have been known to smile at Alex and Erin like you already recognize them.  It’s very sweet.  

And speaking of faces, you have some fantastic “I’m sad” facial expressions.  You stick out your lower lip and wrinkle up your forehead.  And you’re (currently) dark blue eyes just well up.  Really, if this continues, I’ll have to get you into acting early…if you want to, anyway!

You’re already trying to jabber at us.  In fact, you were having quite the one-sided conversation with Dr. LaMonte at your appointment (you were talking to him while he talked to me!).  Who knows…maybe, one day, you’ll be able to out-talk your sister!

Anyway, my little Megan, you are a sweetheart.  You have already added so much to our little family.  And I can’t wait to see what sort of little lady you grow into in the next few months.  We love you!

Dear Alex and Erin…

Two years ago today, you were born.  I happily waddled into the hospital where you were born at 7:52 and 7:54.  You were tiny and wrinkly and squeaked in your swaddlings.  We called you our ‘squeaking burritos.’  And then we started to learn to be a family.

That first year passed so quickly.  You learned to eat real food and sit up and crawl and jabber at each other.  At the end of your first year, you were learning to walk, too.  We had survived a lot together.  Alex didn’t sleep well.  Erin had reflux.  Mommy had to learn to care for two babies at once.  And Daddy learned to deal with both of you and Mommy!  But we were doing well.  And I was excited at how big you were and how much you’d learned.

And now, here we are at two years.  You are little people with obviously different personalities.  

Alex, you are my little guy.  In the last two weeks, you have really become more boy-like than ever.  You love toys that you can push and pull.  You are my organizer and collector.  If there is a pile of stuff on the floor, you will sort it into piles of similar things or line them up in a neat little row.  You also love to play pretend.  You’ll drink “tea” from Erin’s teacups all day.  You have some words, but mostly you just jabber at us in sounds.  You love to “talk” on the phone with anyone who’ll chat with you, and you tell us stories all the time.  I’m thrilled when I guess correctly what you’re telling me.  Technology is a natural bent for you – you’re better with the iPod than I am, I think.  And you LOVE your Daddy.  When he’s home, you want to be where he is and nowhere else.  You’re still a very light sleeper, which makes for some late night meetings between us.  But you’ve started to call for your Dad at night, which makes Mommy happy at 3 a.m.!  You love your puppy which you sleep with and drag around the house, and when you zone out, you just flip his ears between your fingers to soothe yourself.  It’s very cute.  In fact, you are very cute.  And you light up my life with your belly laughs and sweet nature.  I love you, my Alexander!

And my sweet, sweet Erin…you are such a girl.  You have started to like picking out your own clothes and shoes.  And mostly you match, too!  You love helping Mommy with anything I ask.  You bring me things and put things away for me.  And you love to help with Baby Megan.  So far, your little sister has only made your life better.  You love to play chase and to pile up all the stuffed animals to sit among them.  You love to “co-ye” (color), and you take your jingle bunny everywhere.  You are a talker, and it won’t be long before there’s more real words than toddler jibberish.  That makes Mommy both happy and a little sad, but I love to hear you learn new words, and I’m looking forward to having full conversations with you.  You can light up a room with your sweet smile and long eyelashes.  You love your Papa and Gramma.  Uncle Ryan is one of your favorite people.  And you love going to the farm to see Grandma and Grandpa, Uncle Alan, along with Pip and Beagle (the dogs) and the cows.  

And together…you are my twins.  You love each other.  You are the best of friends.  You make me laugh, and you teach me so much everyday.  I can’t believe it’s been two whole years since you were born.  I love being your mommy.  I love that I got you both at once.  And I love that you have gotten so big and learned so much.  You make my life full and busy, but I love the adventure that we are on together.  I can’t wait to see where we go from here.   Happy Birthday!

I’ve been struck recently by the little things:

…snuggling with my littlest one while the rest of the house sleeps

…amazed by how big my twins are all-of-a-sudden

…wondering why I cannot seem to be caught up in the wonder of Christmas anymore

…the wonderful feeling of laughing boisterously with three great ladies last night

…the reminders of the truth that “the days go slow but the years go fast”

You know…just the little things that we often miss in our busy days.  Okay, maybe just me.  I miss them in my busy days.  So I’m glad for the moments when I realize I’m paying attention – even if it’s just for that one moment. 

Anyway, on to the other things I wanted to record so I don’t forget…

 – Every time Erin sees a Santa Claus figure, she calls him Noah.  It’s the long white beard, I think.  And I’m just going with it for now!

 – And we don’t really know why, but Erin’s word for “burp cloth” sounds exactly like her word for “cracker.”  I have no explanation.  You just have to go with context to figure out which one she really means…

 – I did get the tree up this week.  I’ll admit, it’s not my most favorite tree I’ve ever decorated.  I decided to leave off a number of the decorations I love because they are breakable and we are still convincing the twins that the tree is off limits.  But, my tree is up, so that is a major accomplishment.  And I must say, sparkling white Christmas lights are one of my most favorite parts of the season.  *happy sigh*

 – I also put up only 2 of my nativity sets.  I have a small collection of them, but my dear Alex would never be able to keep his little hands off of them.  And I don’t have enough places out of his reach for all of my sets.  So…I have 2 up this year, and I am happy with how those two look.

 – Megan has gone from 9:30 or 10 until 6 for the past two nights.  That makes for a happy momma, let me just tell you!

 – And right now, we have absolutely no plans for the weekend.  I’m sure we’ll have something come up before it’s over.  But for now…we are not rushing around all weekend long.  That is lovely.

 – I took the twins to play at the Firefly Play Cafe yesterday.  If you’re in Columbus (or nearby), it’s a great place to run your kids for some exercise.  They had a blast.  I highly recommend it!

 – And finally, I am going to put up some pictures on my Facebook page very soon.  For those of you not on FB, here is a link. Enjoy!

And that is our world as I know it…happy Friday!