I’m up, and the babies aren’t.  This means that we went to bed at just before 9 pm (them) and 9:30 (us).  And they are still sleeping!  Woohoo!

Of course, this also means that I have a huge milk “rack” right now and can’t exercise until they eat.  And that also means that I probably won’t be able to walk outside today (I’ve started doing that while Eric gets up and around in the morning) since Eric will probably be ready to go before they’ve eaten. 

But as I just got NINE HOURS OF SLEEP, I think I’ll let it go!

In other news, my sister and I were planning to make freezer jam today.  But it turns out that we both still have lots of jam from last year.  So she’s still going to get some fresh berries this morning, but we’ll just be freezing them this year.

In even more other news, my niece’s birthday party is this weekend (Saturday).  She turns 4.  How fun!

Other than that, I can’t think of anything interesting to tell you.  So happy Friday!

Here’s the quick version of life these days:

 – Two of my friends from college are adopting internationally.  It’s been a year-long process for both of them.  But the Murphys leave next week to fly to China to get their little boy.  And the Scotts just got final approval from the Ethiopian court for their adoption.  They will fly over to get their little boy in a few weeks.  How fabulous!!

 – The babies are up really early this morning.  I’m beginning to think that we’ll be adding breakfast into their days pretty soon.  Of course, today they’re both in their swings so that Mommy can get a shower.  But if this continues, it would seem that my early mornings won’t be my own any more.

 – On the sleep front, I don’t mean to jinx anything, but we’ve actually slept until 5:30 am for most of this week.  I decided not to get Alex at 4 or 4:30 and just see what he would do.  He cried pretty hard on Sunday night when he woke up at 3:00.  But then he slept until 5.  Then the last two nights, there have been little awakenings at 4:30 or almost 5, but he goes back to sleep until 5:30.  I could totally get used to this!

 – There’s a new Carters store in C-bus, right down from the Babies R Us.  So yesterday, I hit both stores, looking for 6-9 clothes.  We aren’t quite ready for them, but it won’t be much longer.  And I didn’t have very many for either of them.   Unfortunately, I bought way too many (great sales!), so I’ll be returning a number of things.  But it was a fun time anyway!

 – Today, I’m meeting a friend from high school (and my first roommate in college) to hang out for a bit.  As long as it doesn’t rain.  So hopefully, the rain will hold off until evening!

 – Erin is spitting up a lot these days.  Yesterday, between the 8:30 and 11:30 feedings, she spit up, I think, 3 times.  But then she was pretty much fine for the rest of the day.  Sometimes, it’s related to gas and sometimes it’s just out of the blue.  Anyone have any ideas about what might be causing it or how to stop it?  I used to just put her on her back for 20 minutes after she ate, but now that she can roll over, it doesn’t work anymore.  Oh well!

 – I actually like driving around in the summer more than during the school year.  Yes there are more crazy moms on the road, driving their kids to the next “necessary” activity.  But they are way spread out, both geographically and time-wise.  During the school year, I didn’t leave the house after 3 pm because ALL the moms were out at the same time.  Now, there are no school zones to drive through and no clumps of soccer moms.  Love that!

 – I own a Nintendo DS.  I play it while feeding babies mostly.  My favorite game right now is Clubhouse Games.  It’s a collection of board games, card games, and activity games.  I’ve been learning to play a bunch of games I’d never known how to play before: poker (5 card stud and Texas Hold Em), backgammon, rummy, a bunch of rummy-like games, and a number of weird Japanese strategy games.  It’s been really fun!  And as I’m getting a little tired of breastfeeding, I have to admit, it makes the daytime nursings go faster for me.  Yay!

 – Eric is sort of down these days.  His job is wearing on him, and they are starting a major contruction project near his workplace, so his commute is going to get EVIL very soon (and for about 120 days).  I really feel for him, and I wish I knew how to help him.  But certainly, the babies are one of his favorite things these days.  He now goes in to talk/play with them before he leaves (if they’re up), and is really enjoying them in the evenings.  He’s such a good dad!

Okay, I think that’s about all the good I can think of.  Happy Wednesday!

My dearest little babies –

Today you are six months old!  I can’t believe how big you are.  I can’t believe how much you’ve changed in these few weeks.  I can’t believe I’ve survived on the (very small) amount of sleep you’ve allowed me!

Alex, you are the cutest little guy.  You are cheery and smiley, and you laugh so easily.  You are drooling all the time, and you love to chew on fabrics (washcloths, Mommy’s shirts, your clothes, blankets, whatever!).  You can roll like a champ now, but it freaks you out when you wake up on your belly.  It’s made for some screaming crises in the middle of the night recently.  We hope you adjust quickly!  You still love your cereal, but you have this funny “that’s-not-cereal” face that you make when we put something different in your mouth.  Of course, you still swallow it, but you make it abundantly clear that you know it isn’t oatmeal! 

You’ve started to talk more and work on grasping things more.  And you love your Daddy.  Your whole face lights up when you see him!  And just between us, he thinks you’re pretty spectacular, too!  You have such a fun personality, and you’re already such a boy.  I think you’ll be very adventurous and will get frustrated when you can’t figure out how to accomplish what you’ve decided you want to do.  And from what I’ve seen so far, I don’t think you’ll ever stop moving.  Mommy’s going to be very tired from chasing after you once you get mobile (which will be very soon, I’m sure!).

Sweet Erin, you are Mommy’s pretty girl.  You are so similar to your brother and yet are totally different, too.  You love to grab things.  When you strain for objects just out of your reach, your little knees come up underneath you.  That’s the beginning of a crawl, my lady baby, and I’m excited to watch you inch (literally) toward moving on your own.  You jabber all the time!  The ladies in the nursery commented over and over how much they love listening you talk.  You like blowing raspberries, and you have successfully learned your first consonant (“da-da-da” of course!).  Daddy loves pretending that you mean him when you say that!  You are still my snuggly baby, and it makes Mommy’s day when I get a few minutes to cuddle with you, especially when you’re tired.

You did not take to solid food as well as your brother, at least until this week.  This week, Mommy tried making your oatmeal with apple juice instead of water.  And now you can’t get enough!  But you seem to like flavors more than Alex.  You love applesauce, prunes, carrots, and sweet potatoes.  It’s so fun to watch each new flavor adventure!  You are rolling over all the time now, too.  And last night, for the first time, you slept all night on your tummy.  You are such an amazing little sweetheart!

Erin and Alex, how strange it is to think back to the Monday morning you were born (at 7:52 and 7:54) and remember the scrawny, wrinkly little wonder-bundles that invaded our lives.  And you were an invasion!  You totally took over our lives.  You make Mommy and Daddy’s world so full, so exciting, and yes, so tiring, but we love that you’re here!  Because all of that is part of the bond we have.  We became a family in name when you joined us, but we’ve become a family in reality because we’ve all survived together.  You won’t even remember these first months of fighting together towards the next goal (creating a schedule, sleeping through the night, rolling over, eating cereal), but they’ve bonded us all the same.  I can’t wait to see what we can overcome together!

So, my babies, until the next milestone month (or whenever Mommy next has time to write you a letter like this), just keep on growing, trying new things, and taking up more and more of my heart.  I love you, little ones.  Daddy loves you.  Jesus loves you.  You are amazing, wonderful little people, and I can’t wait to see where we go in the next six months!

Love,
Mommy

Long hair  vs.  Newly-cut hair

How Alex used to sleep vs. How we found him yesterday (for the first time):

The new blankets my MIL made for the babies (and brought yesterday):

We picked a bunch of different fabrics for them to feel, chew on, snuggle with, etc.  They turned out exactly as I had imagined them!

And the best “new” of all:

Ps 40:3 – He has put a new song in my mouth, a hymn of praise to our God…

Is. 43:19 – Forget the former things; do not dwell on the past.  See I am doing a new thing! … I am making a way in the desert and streams in the wasteland.

Ezek. 11:19 – I will give them an undivided heart and put a new spirit in them; I will remove from them their heart of stone and give them a heart of flesh…they will be my people, and I will be their God.

Rom. 6:4 – We were therefore buried with him through baptism into death in order that, just as Christ was raised from the dead through the glory of the Father, we too may live a new life.

2 Cor. 5:17 – Therefore, if anyone is in Christ, he is a new creation; the old has gone, the new has come!

Happy Thursday!

Sorry, I couldn’t think of an appropriate title for this post in the 12 seconds I usually give myself to think of one. 

Perhaps you can suggest an appropriate title for this post – one that somehow connects all the randomness of my life into a cohesive whole – in your comments (this is my gratuitous request for comments).

 – My MIL is coming to hang out for the day.  Should be fun.  She wants to help with a chore or something while she’s here.  Is it wrong to ask her just to play with the babies while I do the chores?

 – I want to see a good summer movie, preferably something funny.  Night at the Museum 2, Up, Land of the Lost all sound good.  Of course, now I just need some time to go see them (as well as a fortune to pay for them!)…

 – Last night, Alex was having major issues.  I still don’t know what was up.  He was fine if we were holding him.  And he was fine when he was upright.  But if I laid him horizontal for any reason, he screamed his “I’m-hurting-make-it-stop” scream.  And that included his bedtime nursing.  He had no interest in eating.  He would not latch.  He’d just cry louder.  Until we righted him again.  Then he’d calm down.  We wondered if it was teething, or an ear infection, or the bananas we tried for the first time last night (at 6 pm).  Finally, I gave him Tylenol and just pumped.  He eventually fell asleep.  We laid him down and went to bed ourselves.  He slept until 3:30 am, at which point he ate just fine, went back to sleep and slept until 7:30.  No more Tylenol needed.  And this morning he’s been perfectly normal.  I have no idea what it was all about, but I hope it is over now.

 – I got my hair cut yesterday.  As in, new style and everything.  I tried to take pictures of it this morning, but they didn’t look very good.  So I’ll have Eric take some tonight. 

 – Alex is now rolling over from back to belly once or twice a day.  Erin is still perfectly content on her back or rolling onto her side to reach things.  I guess we are inching ever closer to full-out movement.  Should be fun (or perhaps I should be scared!)…

 – I’ve been wearing sandals most of the week and my feet are really starting to hurt.  I don’t know how people wear those cheap plastic flip-flops all the time.  My feet would never survive!  Anyway, the problem is that I don’t have many shorts to wear this summer (and I lost another pair yesterday), and I think that socks/athletic shoes look odd with capri pants.  Either I’ll have to go back to wearing jeans or I’ll need to buy more shorts!

 – I made a meal list on Monday for the month, and I went to the grocery store yesterday (after getting my hair cut).  There were Pampers diapers on sale in the seasonal aisle.  They were half-price on Manager Special.  No idea why, but I stocked up!  Yay for cheap diapers!

 – I can’t think of anything else worth writing about.  Happy Wednesday!

So Friday was our 5th anniversary.  Eric came home from work a little early, and my parents came up in the afternoon and hung out for a bit.  Then Eric and I headed out for a date night, and my parents took care of the babies (read: my mom took care of babies and my dad held the one my mom wasn’t attending to!).  It was such a great night.  We drove over to Easton for dinner.  We spent some money on ourselves, and we walked casually around.  The rule of the night: Don’t Rush! 

Of course, by 8:30, I was pretty well spent, so we headed home.  We chatted with my parents for a bit before they headed home.  Then we watched a movie together before getting to bed.  Note to self: midnight is WAY too late for a bedtime anymore.  And that was that!

(I did mention to Eric, on Saturday morning, that we need to institute date night.  Getting out was good for me, and we need to do it more often, even twice a month.  He seemed amenable to the idea, so we’ll have to see what we can come up with.)

Saturday was a productive day at home.  I planted my impatiens, ran some errands, cleaned the kitchen and took care of babies.  Eric cleaned carpets and grilled our dinner.  And we all went to bed early!

Sunday, we just hung out at home after church.  Eric wasn’t feeling great, but he graciously went to a cookout in the evening because I wanted to go.  And I had a great time there.  Some friends from Estonia were there since they are in town, and there were lots of other people I don’t usually get to chat with around.  The host tends to throw “multi-parties” where she invites everyone she knows from various groups (ie, work, college, church, or any combination thereof), and the groups don’t always blend well.  But last night was one well-blended, so that was nice.

We had another early bedtime, which was also nice.  And now, it’s Monday. 

I don’t have a lot planned for the week, so we shall see what comes up.  But it was a great weekend, for sure!

Today is our fifth anniversary!  Crazy how fast five years can go.  And even crazier how much our lives have changed in that time.  But one thing’s for sure…I do love this man every bit as much (and more) as this day I married him.  Happy Anniversary, Eric!

Our Jeep is sitting snugly in our garage.  It only took one day for it to be worked on instead of multiple days.  For it’s very own “spa” day, the Jeep got new front brakes/rotors and tires (with alignments), a brake flush, a transmission flush, a new air filter and serpentine belt, a new brake light in the back window, and an A/C recharge with dye. 

Sadly, I expect that the “recharge” did not actually fix our A/C, but it’s a start.  I’m pretty sure we’ll be back in a week or two for a second attempt, but at least I have it for now!

And since the Jeep is back, I can go places if I want to.

Of course, we all three have colds, so I think naps may be the most important thing we do today.  But I still haven’t gotten Eric an anniversary card or gift for tomorrow and we’re running low on milk.  So maybe we’ll make it out sometime…we shall see!

Happy Thursday!

I feel like I have about seventeen things to blog about, but whenever I try to focus on one to write it down, it gets all fuzzy in my head.  So this may be a weird, squiggly sort of post.  We shall see…

The Farm
We headed to the farm for the Memorial Day weekend.  Overall it was a good visit.  Here’s a quick recap:
Some Bad:

• Unfortunately, the babies don’t sleep well there.  That makes for long nights for me and Eric (the babies sleep right next door with paper-thin walls). 
• Eric’s grandmother is very difficult for me to deal with.  She pounces on us whenever we arrive where she is (as in, she was standing thisclose when we stopped the Jeep and Eric nearly knocked her over opening his door).  I totally understand her excitement to see/show off the babies.  But it still is hard for me to take.
• I didn’t really get a break.  We just added socializing to my normal baby to-do lists.

Mostly great:

• Eric got to play farmer on Saturday.  He drove tractors, loaded hay, and did a couple of chores that the others had been meaning to do, but couldn’t get to.  I think he really enjoyed himself.
• Eric also went kayaking with his other brother on Sunday.  They had a good time.
• My MIL loves to be able to see the babies. And my FIL and BIL are starting to enjoy the babies more now that they’re bigger.  And it’s fun to see all the small-town, farmer folks just love on our babies because they love my in-laws so much.  It’s nice to know there are still places where babies are celebrated!
• And my MIL is going to make the babies a couple of blankets with different textures/fabrics for them to explore.  They will love these!

Down
I’ve been tending towards discouragement recently.  I’m not sure exactly why, but I’ve really struggled not to wallow in self-pity and negativity.  Yesterday, Eric gave me a longer-than-usual hug, and I almost cried.  Some of it is that I got Eric’s cold (as did Erin).  Some of it is that I’m stuck at home this week with the babies while our Jeep gets some needed repairs.  But most of it seems to be that I really, really need a for-real break.  Someone to volunteer to man the babies in every way except feeding (and maybe for at least one of those, too).   My MIL is great, but she waits for me to tell her what to do, waits for me to give permission to do things.  I really need someone to spell me for a bit, not just “assist”.  I’m just worn-down: physically, emotionally, spiritually, mentally.  I’m running on empty.

Jon & Kate Plus 8
This situation has just broken my heart.  It makes me sad every time I hear something new about them.  I think I’m going to quit watching their show just because I don’t want to be part of the primary cause of what’s tearing their marriage apart.  And I’ve actually been praying for them (I think they are Christians)…it’s just so sad.

Closet Romantic
On a more light-hearted note, I realized the other day that I’m a closet romantic.  I’m super-rational and not very emotional (for a girl) as a general rule.  But there are just some things that set my little girly-heart all a-flutter.  For example, in the movie Definitely, Maybe, he finds a book that used to belong to one of the other characters, and he almost gives it to her, but doesn’t, and you realize that he really loves her, not the other two chicks.  Or in Stranger than Fiction, when Will Farrell’s character brings his love interest flours, instead of flowers.  Since she’s a baker, he actually brings her a box with 6 or 8 bags of different types of flour.   Yep…those are the moments that break my latent romanticism free from the chains of rationalism they are usually bound up in…

Fun Things:
And then, for other happy things in my life… 

• Check out this website for adorable pictures of baby animals. Marla posted a link to it on her post.  Be sure to click on some of the other options.  I thought the pygmy hippo was too cute!
• We watched Mr. Magorium’s Wonder Emporium last night.  I kid’s movies!
• Friday is our 5 year anniversary.  I think we’re going to get a babysitter and go hang out together at Easton or something.  Should be a good time…
• Erin rolled over from her back to front over the weekend for the first time.  I’m pretty sure it was an accident (she looked super surprised!), but they are both pretty close to doing it for real.
• We gave both babies pears last night with their oatmeal at dinner.  It was our first attempt at baby food (I let Eric choose what we’d give them).  They HATED them!  I guess they were a bit tart…but since they’ve never had anything but bland, both babies reacted very negatively.  It was quite funny to watch them make super-ugly faces.   Of course, now I don’t know whether to try pears again today or just go on to something new (I realize they recommend waiting to watch for allergies, but I’m not sure they got enough pears into them to create an allergy!)…

And that’s all I can think of for now.  I should fold baby laundry while the babies nap, but I think I’m going to go look at cute animals instead.  Happy Wednesday!

Since I haven’t posted since Monday, here’s a quick recap:

• My in-laws’ visit on Monday went well.  Grandma’s shingles were not really contagious anymore, so I let her hold babies.  They have not developed chicken pox yet, so I guess it worked out fine.
• My iron died on Sunday when I was about to iron.  I was going to watch Juno while I ironed, so instead, I just watched Juno.
• My MIL offered to buy me an iron while they were out shopping on Monday and bring it to me.  So they did.  But there wasn’t a great selection at the place they went, so she just picked the “best” one.
• Since the iron my MIL bought me (and brought me) on Monday was pretty cheap, I bought myself a nicer one on Tuesday (Eric was okay with that). 
• On Tuesday night, we watched Prince Caspian in HD (we recorded it from a movie channel we get).  It’s been so long since I read that book, I have no idea how close it was to the actual plot.  But it was a good movie anyway.
• I ironed all afternoon on Wednesday.
• My new iron works fantastically.  I had no idea how bad my old iron had actually gotten until I saw the new one erase creases like magic.
• I watched another movie while I ironed (Definitely, Maybe).
• Eric actually came home from work at lunchtime on Wednesday because he’s had a scratchy throat all week and wasn’t feeling the best.  It was really nice to have him home to hold babies and to talk to.  
• Wednesday night, the babies had trouble getting to sleep, which is very unlike them.  But we finally got them settled.  It was a reminder for me how nice it is that we can usually just lay them down…and they go to sleep.  Neither bedtime nor naps are battles for us (right now), and I’m very thankful for that!
• Yesterday, we stayed home because the Jeep doesn’t have A/C right now, and it was too hot to take the babies out in a car like that.  I think we’ll be getting that fixed in the very near future.
• I did get a number of small cleaning projects done.  I found out that Alex didn’t like the noise of my cleaning the stairs with my new Dust Buster.  I organized/sorted in the loft.  I made lasagna to put in the freezer for future meals.  I made dinner.
• Last night, I went to my first ever meeting for the Mother of Twins club in Columbus.  I’ve belonged since before the babies were born (as an honorary member), but I’ve never made it to the meetings.  Since last night was the last one before the summer, I decided to go.  It was fun, but it was a late night for me.  I’m beat this morning!
• This weekend in our subdivision’s “official” garage sale weekend.  So this morning, I think I’m going to walk around with the babies and see if there’s any of our neighbors’ junk that we need.  Should be fun!
• Tomorrow, we’re heading to the farm for the weekend.  I’m not into the right mindset for that yet.  Nor am I in the mood to organize and pack.  *sigh*  I need to get both of those adjusted sometime today. 

And that is the update, I think.  I really should write more often so I don’t have these super-long posts.  Oh well.  Thanks for skimming to the end!  Happy Memorial Day Weekend!!