The theme for today’s blog will be “hands”

The other day I bought a 2-pack of Meijer brand rubber gloves for cleaning.  I opened the pack to discover that I’d gotten 3 left-hand gloves and 1 right-hand one.  Ummm…that doesn’t seem right…

My hands still itch, but using lots of lotion regularly at least makes them less calloused.  And that’s nice.  I hated touching my babies’ skin and feeling my hands ‘catch’ from all the dryness. 

I got my engagement ring back on this weekend…yay!  It fit okay.  But it has always been a little tighter than I’ve liked. So I think I’m going to get it sized up a tiny bit before I start wearing it daily.

My fingers were killing me yesterday from all the apples I peeled to make applesauce.  I’ve been trying to get to that for weeks, but wasn’t brave enough to try it without someone home with me.  And since Eric worked on Saturday and we had company on Saturday night…yesterday was the day.  Sadly, I added too much water to the second batch, so now I have to figure out how to get it to cook down more.  We shall see…

Because we were having company on Saturday, Eric helped me clean the house when he got home from work.  He vacuumed, dusted, vacuumed again, tidied the loft and cleaned up the kitchen, including sweeping the kitchen floor.  I put away clothes, tidied the upstairs rooms, cleaned the half bath downstairs, hand-washed the dishes that didn’t go in the dishwasher, and cleaned up piles of stuff in every room.  Very busy hands…but a very nice-looking house when we were done!

I think that’s all the “hand” stories I have to tell you today.  So happy Monday!

I finally went to see a doctor about my itchy hands.  They’ve been better, but not healed.  It’s exzema.  I’m supposed to try not to wash my hands as much and put lots and lots of lotion on (as well as a topical cream at night).  We shall see!

The babies are cute.  Really cute.  Really good, too.  I can take them anywhere and they are just good.  Love that!

I love, too, that other people think they’re cute. 

We watched a recorded episode of Warehouse 13 last night.  That show makes me laugh. And is well-written.  And original.  Nice.

I think I’m going to make a pizza for dinner tonight.  I seem to have been on a “make-a-real-dinner” strike this week.  I didn’t mean to, but it happened anyway.  I’m sure I’ll get back to reality soon…

I’m reading Julia Child’s memoir My Life in France.  It’s really good…she was quite a character.  I’m reading it because I was curious about her after finishing Julie and Julia last month.  I liked it, too.  So now, I guess, I’ll just have to see the movie to see how it compares to the books. 

I think that’s all the interesting things in my life right now.  Have a lovely weekend!

To force myself to be quick, you get bullets today (like that really helps me…but whatever!).

• I think I’m going to like teaching a class online.  And the little bit of extra dough won’t hurt either.
• It poured down rain here yesterday, taking a break only when we went to DQ for a friend’s b-day party in the evening.  Yay for not having to haul babies around in the rain!
• I thunderstorms.  But not the accompanying power outages…
• When I went in to feed babies at 4:30 this morning, they were both wide awake and peeking at each other (sans laughter, oddly) through the crib slats again.  When I walked in, they both turned to look at me, big grins on their faces, at the same moment.  Yup…I’m in trouble.
• Thankfully, they’re sleeping now and went down without playing. 
• We’re going to meet a friend of mine and her kids at a park when the babies wake up.  Should be fun.
• So my slideshow yesterday got a lot of hits…some from people I don’t know (nor do I know how they found my post!).  I haven’t decided if that makes me nervous or not.  I mean, I certainly don’t have a problem making new friends.  And I haven’t done friends lock because I send my parents here to see pictures sometimes.  But then again, I don’t want the babies’ faces just showing up on the internet either in ways/places I don’t approve of…hmmm…something to ponder more, I guess…

Okay, I need to run.  Happy Thursday!

The babies have figured out how to “talk” to each other in their cribs.

This picture was taken at the end of their morning nap.

I put them down for another nap about 20 minutes ago.  I realized after 10 minutes that I was still hearing a lot of laughing.  Yep…they were at it again, peeking over their bumpers this time.  They are just now starting to quiet down.

I may be in big trouble…

Eric headed back to work this morning, not happily, and I am on my own with the munchkins again.  Can I say how nice it was to have someone around last week?  I didn’t realize how lonely I was getting.  It’s a good thing the fall brings some extra opportunities for interaction…

Things that are going on these days…

• Alex is already cutting his second tooth.  The first one is barely through, and there’s a little point poking up right next to it.  No wonder he’s been livin’ on Tylenol the last few days!
• Erin is so close to crawling.  We are enjoying watching her push up on all fours and almost get her knees moving.  She may need a little more arm strength, but she’s super close…
• Alex is starting to move himself places, mostly rolling, I think.  I actually haven’t seen him do much moving, but he has moved when I come back into the room.  So I’ll have to keep a closer eye on him now, too.
• Both babies are starting to pull down the crib bumpers to peek out over them when they wake up.  It’s too cute!  I’ll have to try to get a picture for you…

And CU’s classes start this week as well.  I’m adjuncting an online course from the comfort of my own home (love that!), but I’d better get my syllabus done and sent out to the students.  They probably want to know what they have to do for the course!

Okay, I need to get back to some other “real” chores.  Happy Monday!

…on a high!

Eric has been most productive on his vacation which has been good for him.  He may not be ready to go back to work on Monday, but at least he has a whole weekend to enjoy first!

I have also been productive this week.  Yesterday I focused on paring down the baby stuff we weren’t using anymore.  The swings, bouncy seats, and other random pieces are now dismantled and stored in the basement until we sell them or need them again.  And the great room looks fan.tas.tic.  It literally makes me happy to walk through there (which I do a lot!).  Yay!

We tried a new restaurant last night.  It’s a Mediterranean cafe in Hilliard.  And it was yummy!  And SO much closer than our other favorite Greek places!  WooHoo!  (and if you live in/near Hilliard, go eat there…I want this place to stay open!)

Speaking of the word “so” – Eric commented the other day to Alex, “On a scale of 1 to so, you are so cute.”  He makes me laugh.

I woke up tired this morning, though I slept really well.  I guess it’s just residual.  Maybe sometime between now and when the babies leave for college, I’ll feel rested again.  (And if not, don’t burst my bubble yet, okay? )

Okay, that’s it and a baby is fussing a bit (oops…I haven’t showered yet!).  Happy Friday!

Just some random updates from the world in which we live…

• Erin at mealtimes.  
• She ate fantastically all day yesterday, but not so well this morning.
• She loved the eggs and toast I gave them for breakfast yesterday (Alex didn’t like the eggs).  This morning she did not like the Gerber oatmeal with fruit already mixed in, though she did eat the applesauce I gave them separately.  So apparently she just knows what she likes and what she doesn’t.
• Also, started using the full 5-point harness on the high chair instead of just the lap belt.  That kept her from flailing, rolling the chair, and leaning off to the side instead of eating. 
• And thanks for all the ideas and words of encouragement.  I’ve decided not to worry about what she eats (or doesn’t). She nurses just fine and eats most of the time.  And judging by her chubby legs, she’s all right!

• Alex has the very tip of his first tooth through now.  Yippee!

• We’re sleeping like champs this week.  Alex is back around 5 am for his first feeding, and both babies are sleeping in until 7:30 (they had been up at 6:30 or 6:45).  And no one has been awake in the middle of the night for a couple of days…which means that Mommy is sleeping great, too! 

• Alex is starting to really reach for toys that aren’t near him.  So he will probably be moving up to creeping very soon.  Erin is already quite mobile (creeping and rolling), but I’m seeing signs of crawling in her future. 

• Eric has been very productive this week (on vacation, of course ).  He’s been working on little chores and painting the outside of the house (trim and such).  I think he’s enjoying his freedom.  And the regular trips to home improvement stores don’t hurt!

And that’s all I’ve got for this morning.  Okay, really, I just need to go shower before the babies wake up from their naps.  But that’s all the important stuff anyway!  Happy Thursday!

Thankfully, the day did end much better than it began.  We’re still recovering, but the babies took some great naps yesterday and slept well all night.  And being able to turn on the AC was lovely, too!

Eric’s foray into plumbing went well.  My parents came up in the evening, and my dad assured him he was doing it right.  They finished the project together while Mom and I made dinner and played with babies and chatted.  Once the water was turned back on, we bathed the babies and put them to bed.  I think my mom really liked that part!

Erin is causing me great amounts of frustration these days at meal times.  They still nurse 5x a day, so I know that she’s getting what she needs.  But all of a sudden, she is balking about eating.  It might be another tooth coming.  It might be that she’s really not hungry.  But she’s discovered that by rocking forward and backward, she can make her highchair move (even with the wheels locked).  And she’d rather do that than eat.  Actually, she’d rather do anything than eat these days: reach for Alex, play with his high chair, hang sideways out of her chair, look out the window, whatever! 

I’m really trying to let it go and not get frustrated, but I’m struggling.  Feeding two at the same time is hard enough, and the fact that she’s undermining my attempts to make meals go smoothly is difficult.  I swing between laughing at her and wanting to cry in frustration.  I’m glad Eric is home this week to support if necessary (it was necessary at breakfast this morning).  But I’m really going to have to figure out how to deal with this without the frustration. I know she’s not doing it on purpose to annoy me.  But I’m getting annoyed because we go through this 3x every day.  Grrrr!

Anyway, my in-laws are on their way out this morning, and we’ll be heading to the zoo.  It should be fun!  So I will focus on that and not the mealtime issues.  Happy Tuesday!

Today, I am deeply tired.  Really, really tired.  And I’m struggling not to let it affect my attitude toward Eric. (I really want to be cranky and resentful and frustrated at him this morning.)  Hopefully, the day (and my attitude) will get better…

However, it was a good weekend.  Busy, but good.

Eric didn’t get home until 7:15 on Friday night, so I fed the babies dinner, warmed leftovers, and watched a Man v. Food marathon on Travel Channel while I waited for Eric. And he is now officially on vacation for a week. Yay!

On Saturday morning, Eric cut a hole in our garage ceiling to look for the cause of the large water spot that had appeared there a couple of months ago.  It was under the drain from our spare bath tub, as we thought.  But he also discovered, upon further inspection, a much bigger plumbing problem nearby.  Oddly, the second issue had caused only a very small water spot.  I guess the visible indicators of a problem don’t always match the seriousness of the problem!

So anyway, my parents made a quick trip up on Saturday morning so my dad could give a second opinion.  He agreed with Eric’s assessment, and they will be coming back up tonight, after work, so he can assist Eric in fixing it. Yay for great (and handy) parents!

My parents left about 1:00 on Saturday, and we pulled out for the farm about 1:30.  We got to see pretty much all the family over the weekend – very nice!  And we got to roast hot dogs and sausages over an open fire in the driveway (twice!).  And we had homemade ice cream and fresh peaches.  Yummy!  And we got two bags of fresh from the orchard apples.  Nice!

Of course, my in-laws don’t have AC, and it was the hottest weekend of the summer so far.  So the babies were hot and sweaty all weekend (as were we, but they’d never had to deal with it before).  Also, they still don’t sleep well at the farm (the heat probably affected that, but mostly they don’t like the pack n plays).  But overall, they did pretty well until last night, when we started having some brief meltdowns (tired+hot+sweaty=cranky).  But really, they were champs.

As for me, weekends at the farm are exhausting.  I won’t bore you with my list of all the reasons why (mostly because I’m trying to work on my tendency toward negativity), but suffice it to say that this morning, I’m pretty much spent.  And the babies didn’t have a great night last night, either.  So hopefully, we can get back to the routine (which means getting enough sleep) quickly.  And hopefully, I can get some rest today, too.  But we shall see…

Happy Monday!