Spring weather

(Yesterday's post - was trying to add video but couldn't get it to work)

So we have been having some nicer weather lately. The twins got industrious today with moving sand out of the sand box in the back yard.

They didn't like the idea of putting the sand back in the sand box as much as they liked getting it out. Lesson learned: sand should probably stay in the sand box unless you are up for working hard later!

We also let Teagan try out the baby swing on the swing set. He seemed pretty mellow about it but liked it I think.

All 3 older boys had dentist appts this morning. Good reports all around. Sorry for the poor grammar -- I am typing 1 handed w/ my left hand while the little one nurses to sleep. Speaking of which the little guy is 4 months old now -- had his well visit yesterday. Weighs 14 # 15 oz. and is 25.5 inches long.

Ah, I have both hands now. Teagan's doctor brought up the idea of reflux meds again but I declined. I just don't like the idea of medicating a baby. I just don't see how acid blockers really help when the problem really appears to be mechanical (the flap that closes at the end of the esophagus isn't very tight and he should out-grow it). He does not appear to be upset about the vomiting -- if it were very sour and acidy and bothersome to him, then I would consider meds.

As it is I have been having trouble with the whole vaccine concept too lately -- I bought the book The Vaccine Book by Robert Sears hoping it would help me pick and choose what we needed and avoid anything that was a problem or give good backup data for things that need to be given. Well -- it basically says they all could be skipped if you are willing to risk the diseases and lists how bad the diseases can get -- which is all good info. Yet it also talks about all the weird stuff that goes into vaccines and how rare most of the diseases are now. So it is hard to feel good about them either way (giving them or not). So far we have opted out of Hep B and Polio with plans to add them back in later as he is at no risk for those at this time.

ta ta for now!

Queasy morning and King of Naps

So I have two subjects, but didn't feel like creating 2 posts. First off, poor Connor felt yucky this morning and even though Joe anticipated it and put out a bucket and towel and all that, Connor threw up all over the couch instead -- UGH! I managed to get the tail end of it in the bucket and when he went for round two a bit later, he grabbed the bucket also.

My poor couch is in such a sad state already (13 years old!) that it is sort of pathetic trying to revive it from the latest insult. Joe was looking over my shoulder at the banking stuff last night and pondered why I had over $1000 set aside in my "furniture" fund... I said "hello -- we need a new couch! new couches are expensive!"

My goal was to take out the yucky carpeting and replace it with hardwood and at that time I would also get rid of the couch because it would be in the way for that process. Then we could buy a new one and have someone deliver it. I think I may get rid of the lazy boy chair also -- it is ouchy pokey things coming out of the leg rest lately. Any suggestiong on where to go furniture shopping are appreciated!

Topic #2 -- I am glad Teagan is a good napper! I am not sure how I would manage anything around here (like said vomiting episode) if he wasn't. He went down at about 9:20 and it is noon and I think he is starting to stir a bit. He had a rough night last night with spitting up/vomiting so this is a bit earlier in the day than usual for him to nap. I will probably manage to get another 2ish hour nap from him in the late afternoon.

Later!

Twins' are now 5!

Happy Birthday to Connor & Quinn! Their birthday was yesterday the 18th; we were too busy with festivities to post to the blog.

They had a great birthday I think. We have been counting down the days with them using paper chains we made a few weeks back. We overdid it a bit as usual with too many gifts. Some items were needed (new helmets to go with the new scooter and kid car) and some were just bonus (like the Star Wars set I won on E-bay unexpectedly that has over 1200 pieces and really isn't suited for 5 year olds - it will go up in their closet for awhile).

The theme was generally... LEGOS! But I did mix it up by making the main gifts from us (Joe and I) non-Lego. Quinn got a new Razor scooter and Connor got a Plasma car.

My brother Jeff was in town -- he was due for a visit and it just worked out that he was able to be here for their birthday as well. He showed off his new dog Vargus to us. A cute rescue dog that is only about a year old. The boys seem to consider him the "cool" Uncle so they always look forward to seeing him. I was informed though that Nick is "cool also" so that is nice for him as well :) I love my brothers -- so blessed to have such great Uncles for my kids and such great brothers when I end up with a bunch of boys that I hardly understand at times! It gives me high hopes that my boys will turn out great also.

Anyway -- sorry for the ramble. Back to the birthday party. We got some good pics of the boys with Jeff and the boys blowing out candles. No pics of cutie cousin Mary (nor her parents, Nick and Ang)! Bummer... I'll have to grab the camera next time and take some myself. Joe was camera man yesterday.

Here are the self explanatory pictures:

Way better week so far

While I am still over-tired in general (due to working nights and getting my sleep all screwed up and then staying up too late on nights I am home and nursing a baby about 3 times a night...) this week has been pretty good.

Quinn at gymnastics went much better than last week! We had a nice evening and dinner over at my parents last night. Today the twins played well together and while Teagan still seems to spit up after every feeding, it is not really huge quantities and he is napping well again.

Here are some pics to share! (since I figure that is what most of you come for anyhow :))

Teagan's new move in the baby seat is to just sit up! I can't believe how strong he is. Even though this is boy #4 and they all went through this stage, it is still fascinating. If he wasn't buckled in, he would be able to climb right out of the seat (and probably land on his face!)













Joe took a cute pic of Connor and Teagan tonight. Actually he took a few, I just like this one best.


















A pic Joe took a few nights back. Used Adobe Photoshop to "fix" it and it came out a bit bright. Wondering how it will look in the web.

Bad Mommy!

Clearly I suck at single-parenthood. No, I am not actually a single mom, I just play one on Mondays and Tuesdays when Joe works 10 hour days and gets home late. And clearly, I am not good at it.

The morning started with Quinn being wishy washy as to whether he would like to go to gymnastics class. I am fine either way because while normally I like to encourage my kids to attend things that I am paying for, I was dead tired and in no mood to haul two boys and a baby out the door for class. He decides he does want to go. I mention that he will need to change out of his jeans when we get there. This is a break in the routine for him as he normally wears his gym clothes there. (Should have been my first clue... actually, my second -- his not wanting to go should have been my first because as a rule, he loves gymnastics).

Anyhow, we get there and for the first time head for the changing area. He doesn't like the idea of changing in front of so many girls. Luck would have it, no boys there at this particular time even though technically there are 3 boys in his class. So he is pouting and refusing to change and to make a long embarassing story short, I had to man handle him to get him dressed and he missed half his class while sitting on the gym floor trying to decide if he would like to participate or not. Fabulous fun! (not.)

So then I end up taking a nap with the baby in the afternoon and leaving the twins to their own devices -- luckily they did not take the house apart or manage to burn it down, so that went OK. But I still feel guilty doing it. Then this evening my plan for supper fell through due to missing ingredients (and there is no way I am taking 4 kids to the grocery store right before dinner time by myself!) So I opt for tortellini for Quinn and Andrew and pancakes for Connor and I (I am still trying to be mostly no dairy and Connor doesn't like tortellini much). These are new whole wheat pankcakes so I wanted to try them.

Well... somehow I managed to totally burn the pancake skillet. To the point that the fire alarm went off and it was just the shortening burning that set it off. The noise scared the baby whom Andrew was looking after a bit... so it felt like total chaos -- alarm going, me trying to turn everything off or down while yelling at people to open windows and doors and then trying not to overcook or burn the tortellini, and baby screaming while Andrew is getting upset about holding said screaming baby. SIGH...

Joe will be very unhappy with the state of what is essentially his pan. There is a reason I never cook the pancakes.

But for the moment, the baby is happy, the boys all got fed (I used I different skillet -- the no stick kind!) and I thought I'd better write it all down to remind myself that there are days like this and it is manageable in the end.

First time swimming

Boy I wish I had pictures to share with you all! But alas, my camera is not waterproof (and not mine; it is Joe's) and I don't trust it at the pool. We (my mom and I) took Connor, Quinn and Teagan swimming. This is the youngest I have taken a baby swimming. I think Andrew was about 7 months old and honestly I don't know when I managed it with the twins for the first time. They may have been closer to a year old.

So Teagan is 3.5 months old and he really did great. He grinned enthusiastically when I first put him in the water. We also met up with Angela and Mary. Mary is 4.5 months old and she has been swimming a number of times now. Angela and I also had fun taking turns taking the twins down the water slide.

When Teagan started to look a bit cold and tired (after almost 2 hours in the pool!) my mom took him out and he feel almost instantly asleep in her arms. Of course we roused him a bit later when we had to get him dressed.

Alas, he is fussing at the moment so I can't write anymore for now. It was a nice outing. I am ready to try to fit it in the schedule more often.

Taxes done!

I know many won't agree with me, but I really love Turbotax. Just makes my life easier. We actually get a refund this year - woo hoo! I wasn't sure if we would or not even with the new baby. I try to make out our exemptions on our W-2s in an effort to keep most of our money; and in the end, my goal is to not owe taxes or get a refund. If I ever hit it right on the money, I'd be impressed. But, if it is going to swing one way or the other, I'll take a refund over a payment.

I caught the @!*&% cold that everyone around me (at work, home, etc.) has had. As if getting up to nurse a baby at night wasn't enough. Now I have the joys of post nasal drip, sore throat and stuffiness that make it hard to sleep as well! Ugh.

Teagan has a bit of runny nose as well. Luckily he is sleeping really well still -- except for possibly getting up a bit more in the wee hours. He makes up for it by napping more during the day. He really sleeps/naps more than any of the other boys ever did which is nice :)

Andrew finally got a haircut also, but since Joe took him I didn't manage to get pictures. It is not like I ususally take haircut pics of the boys anyhow -- it had just gotten so LONG for all of them, that I thought it would be fun this time around.

Anyway... gotta go check on the kiddos. The little one is napping behind me (crib in computer room) but the big kids are down stairs watching Saturday morning cartoons and I am not sure who has managed to get breakfast already. Joe works today -- start of his 4 Saturdays in a row.