Puke Schmuke

So, I was laying in bed this morning with my eyes closed, mentally composing my next blog post. I was going to celebrate a full week of not throwing up. All of a sudden I hear "retch!" and "Aaack! Mommy! Tanner is throwing up everywhere!!" Just the way I like to wake up in the morning. He's thrown up 3 times now, really distressing his daddy with the mess, especially because he has to clean it up (it's on the floor, after all!!) Historically, I'm in charge of cleaning up and consoling the puking child, and he takes care of the rest of the mess. So, while I can still celebrate not throwing up in a week, it's now moved on to Tanner.

In other news, we had a good family adventure last night at the dollar theater watching Kung Fu Panda. There is this part in the very beginning when Po (the Panda) wakes up in the morning and has a hard time getting off his sleeping mat because his belly is so big. He flops around like a fish for a bit before he manages to get into an upright position. I noticed the sly looks my family members were giving me. Just call me Po.

Midnight Sun

For you Twilight junkies, there is an update on Midnight Sun. The quick version is that a copy of her very very rough draft was illegally distributed online. She's mad and doesn't feel like continuing to write the story for publication, indefinitely. If you want to read Midnight Sun, your only chance at this point is to download the copy of her rough draft, which she has posted on her own site now for downloading. Kind of lame.

http://www.stepheniemeyer.com/midnightsun.html

I'm Not Crazy

And that's usually a good thing, right? Well, today at my doctor's appt, the first thing I asked him was this: "Dr. A, am I having some sort of frequent gastrointestinal disturbances or am I really feeling baby movement way up here at my ribs at 17 weeks?" He said we'd take a look and with the ultrasound was able to say conclusively, "yep, touching this rib we have bum #1 and touching that rib we have head #2. You're kind of like Manhattan. You can't really expand anymore that way, so you're going to have to start growing the other way now." Start? Oh my land...

Boy, oh BOY!!

Well, we are very pleased (and somewhat surprised) to annouce that the little critters due in January will be BOYS, both of them. Please pause a moment while we pick our jaws up off the ground. I thought they were two girls; Justin thought they were one of each. We're very excited to know at last! Condolences may be sent to Kinley separately :) My doctor keeps going back and forth on the identical/fraternal debate. That question will continue to elude us, but the gender issue is settled. Congrats to the 20 out of 67 of you that called it! Yay for boys!!

After School Bonding

Tanner has never been without his Kinley. Even when she attended Joy School, he was napping the entire time. So, he was alone, but didn't know it! I've worried how this transition is going to affect him. This morning, we simply didn't go home. We followed Natalie home and then went outside in the cul-de-sac and played with friends until it was time to meet Kinley's bus. Tomorrow I have some fun Tanner-specific activities planned to do with him to keep him from being too mournful.

Here he is, waiting anxiously for Kinley's bus to arrive in glory and magesty! Painting together after school.

I Have a Kindergartener!

Today was the first day of school for Kinley!! She survived, I survived, Tanner survived, so I'll call it a success! I very nervously put her on the bus this morning, found her a seat, which is now her "assigned seat", and then very neurotically followed the bus all the way up to the school (2-minute drive up the hill, don't laugh). We walked to the bus stop and I'm thankful for my friend Natalie ,who suggested we take her van and follow the bus up to the school to calm my nerves! I was very glad that I followed the bus to help sort out the confusion that ensued when she disembarked and didn't know where she was supposed to go. A helpful aide asked her if she was going to be having breakfast at the school and it sounded good to Kinley! I didn't think to prepare her for that question! She started following the aide and the other breakfast kids. I hopped out of the van to intervene and helped her get through the kindergarten gate to the private playground in the other direction.

I was happy to have Natalie at the bus stop to wrestle with a very confused Tanner as I got Kinley onto the bus and situated, and then to keep him happy while I had some last minute words and love at the school with Miss Kinley and got her to the proper place. Once inside the playground, Kinley found some familiar faces and had a great time playing in the yard until the teacher called them all together to get started with the day.

Did I cry? No, there was too much excitement on Kinley's behalf and anxiety over the bus situation for tears!

She started off the day bright and early with the "First Day of School Breakfast" of her choice. She chose scrambled eggs and veggie sausage. Yum!! The morning outdoor pics didn't turn out very well, funny lighting. Here is the excited princess showing off her new Tinkerbell backpack!
Ready to head to the bus stop!

Kill the fatted calf, Mother! I have returned! Um... oops, I can't see...
Triumphant return of my favorite girl on the kindergarten bus, just a few hours later! So glad we have only half day kindergarten this first year! I'm not ready to send her away all day yet!!
Kinley with some neighbor friends that are also all in her class at school. Really, that crown was far too big...
Cheese!

Early to Bed, Early to Rise...

Means no more naps for the 5-year old. Sigh... it's the end of an era. Kinley has been taking 2-hour naps every afternoon since... well, since birth. After much internal debate, now that kindergarten is starting, I decided that she could bypass the afternoon nap. Now she can fall asleep earlier at night and get up earlier in the morning to make it to school on time.

Don't laugh. She didn't realize she was the only 5-year old on the planet still taking naps, so I just went with it as long as I could get away with it. Don't even pretend that you wouldn't do the same thing :)
May this one, however, continue to enjoy luxurious afternoon naps for many more years to come...

Goodbye Olympic Coverage

Until Winter 2010, I suppose. We have never watched so much Olympic coverage before. We really got into it every evening, the kids as excited as anyone. What I will miss most from the last two weeks are the commercial breaks and other transitions. Why is that? Because whenever they cut away from the Olympics, they played the Olympic theme song accompanied by the big drum. 100% of the time, Tanner joined in with "bum, bum, bum, bum, bum, bum." I will miss his little drum accompaniment. Tanner Timpani.

Sweet Weekend Man

Well, the toilets may still look a little sketchy, but I am so thankful to my husband and children for really pitching in this weekend to clean the rest of the house and run all the errands we've been needing to make. Having Justin around to haul groceries was such a blessing. We even found some bunkbeds that we are probably going to buy for Kinley and Tanner. He cleaned out and completely reorganized the "treat cupboard", which I found very sexy! He even left me a few shelves for formula and bottles in a few months. He did such a delightfully neurotic job that I've asked him to tackle the pantry next, but so far he's not biting :)

I had a really rough night last night, so Justin took the kids to church by himself this morning. On the way out the door, Kinley ran back to me and kissed my belly. She said, "I forgot to say goodbye to the babies. Sorry we can't take them with us, but I hope you feel better!"

During the week Justin works so hard for us; he is so stressed with his job and getting things done that it's so nice when he's able to turn it off on the weekends (which isn't always). There is no sound on earth I enjoy hearing more than the squeals of my children wrestling with Daddy or a new game that he has come up with. Publicly, he is extremely reserved and his super-silly side is something that very very few people ever get to see. Oh, he's very chatty and sociable with me, but there is a difference between adult-enjoyable and Daddy-silly. I remember the first time I witnessed this side of him, and it was only by a mistake on his part. He took Kinley upstairs for a diaper change when she was a few months old and he didn't realize that the monitor was on. He carried her up the stairs very seriously and brought her down with equal maturity, but the whole time he was up there, he was whispering silly things to her and singing her silly songs and primary songs, dragging out the diaper change while he played with her, all captured through the monitor. I'll never forget that moment. I didn't know he could even be so silly and carefree! It's so terribly endearing.

Anyway, the kids have been with him the entire day, following him all over the house since they came home from church. He took them down to the basement a little while ago and since no one has requested my presence, I think I'll let them continue on their own. None of us get enough Daddy time these days.

Spousal Enlightenment

They may be few and far between, but they make it all worthwhile. Rewarding. Vindicating. Satisfying. I'm talking about those magical moments when the man in your life catches the briefest of glimpses of some of the efforts you make to ensure that his life is happier, more comfortable, and less disgusting. To illustrate, I share with you a conversation held in our home this morning:

Him: Megan, there is something really wrong with all of our toilets.

Me: What do you mean?

Him: Well, they are... well, hmmm... there are rings in the toilets! They are black and look nasty and it's in all of them... and they are getting worse every day!! What is it??!! What's happening to all of them?

Me: Well, love of my life, that's what happens to toilets when no one cleans them for a while.

Him: Really?

Me: Yep.

Him: Hmmm... (think, think, think, silence, think, think, think) So... are you saying that you used to clean them often enough that that never happened before?

Me: That's right.

Him: Really?

Me: Yes.

Him: No, seriously, REALLY????

Me: YES.

Him: Wow. I had no clue.

Me: You don't have to tell me that.

Him: No really, I'm impressed. That's amazing.

Me: Isn't it though?

Him: (think, think, think) So.... when do you think you can clean them again?

Me: Shut up now.

Hmmmm...

If you are weary of my whining, you'd best just cruise on by this post and cheer yourself with the halloween flowers below. Something really obnoxious occurred to me in the last few days. The first trimester yuckiness was much worse (as previously complained about with much drama and detail) and lasted much longer (as predicted by my OB) than I expected. Now that I'm coming out of those woods at last, the later stages of pregnancy and all the typical physical discomforts that accompany some of the later months are setting in much much earlier than I expected. So whatever happened to the greatly anticipated "party trimester", eh?? How did I just skip by that part altogether, hmmm?

I'm always always grateful for the babies and their progress. I'm always so happy that they are coming to our family and I just get so itchy and giddy with anticipation for January! BUT, that doesn't mean that I don't suffer from the occasional complete emotional collapse. I cry sometimes, I yell sometimes, and occasionally I phone some unsuspecting good samaritan and scream in their ear "I can't do this for another 5 months!!" And then I move on, take a (very) long bath and speculate as to exactly how bald they are going to arrive. I post pictures of the two sweet angels that have already blessed our home and chant to myself "I think I can, I think I can..." until the next meltdown...

Halloween Flowers

Remember this post? Yeah, well, welcome to life one trimester later. On display for the shock and awe of all our neighbors, I introduce to you our most pathetic casualty of this pregnancy. We refer to them at our house as our "Halloween Flowers". Aren't they lovely? Yeah, well, there's always next year. So glad I never got around to planting the tomatoes...

Moving Up in the World

Well... the day has arrived.

Good bye, sweet plastic bowls that have served us so well through the years. Hello, real dishware.
This post is mostly for extended family members and other semi-bewildered past houseguests who wondered how long we were going to just keep replacing our $.08 cereal bowls. We have officially converted to real bowls. I know, I know, it's shocking. Baby steps to adulthood. I'm still not ready to throw out the old ones, and I can't promise that I won't buy more of them in the future, but for those who would really prefer to eat their cereal out of an adult bowl, you now have options!

I Not Tired

"No, Mommy, I not tired!"

Uh-oh...

I'm a little concerned about the intensity of Kinley's fixation with twin girls. She's a pretty reasonable and agreeable little girl in most cases, but we have met a solid brick wall. It doesn't matter what we say or how we try to prepare her for the possibility of siblings with testosterone, she is obsessed with twin girls and has made it abundantly clear that there is nothing that will mend her heart should she be denied this, her fondest desire. According to her, she simply won't get over it. Ever. End of story. I knew she wanted girls, but her passion for them seems to be more deep-seated and extreme than I realized!! Yikes!

This Crazy Kid

I just love this funny kid.

Twilight Movie Bumped Up

Whoa!! Because Harry Potter is not releasing until next summer, Summit Entertainment has decided to bump up the release of the Twilight movie to November 21st! It's true, it's true!

See here.

This One's For You, Teasha

While showing Kinley some pictures of identical twin boys...

Mommy: See how they look so much alike?? Isn't that wild and aren't they cute?

Kinley: Yes, they're cute. But I really prefer girls.

Someone may be very happy or very disappointed...

Clarification

I have actually been out of the "very worst" of it for many weeks. Now I'm just hoping to come out of the "still pretty bad" of it :) The worst was.... way worse. While my afternoons and evenings are still pretty sketchy most of the time, I have been steadily improving for over a month now, and I'm very grateful for that.

The Treat Guy

Tanner: Mommy, I ha some treat please?

Mommy: No, sweetie, no treats right now.

Tanner: But I'm a treat guy!!

It Keeps Going and Going...

This pic was taken by Kinley, best out of a dozen or so. At least it has my whole head in it, so it will have to do. Today I hit 16 glorious weeks along with these wiggly little critters. I ran into an old friend last night that didn't know I was expecting and she asked how far along I was. When I told her, she gasped and put her arm around my shoulder and said, "oh, honey..." Yeah, sometimes I feel the same way, LOL!

I don't feel like this pic quite captures the magnificence of the entire 42 inches, which is probably a good thing. This pic does, however, remind me of one of my favorite scenes from Friends...

Monica: The camera adds 10 pounds, you know!
Chandler: Just how many cameras were on you??

Speaking of which, I now weigh exactly what I weighed when Kinley and Tanner were born. I'm about to pass Justin on the scale, which thrills neither of us. I'm eating for three you know. Three full grown linebackers, but whatever... In fact, I still wake up in the middle of the night half the time, ravenous with hunger. At least I'm down to once a night. The twice a night thing that happened a while ago was killin' me! I mostly think the weight gain and the whale-normous belly are amusing, but ask me again in a few months!

As far as other pregnancy updates, I think I'm starting to finally come out of the worst of the sickness. My afternoons and evenings are still sketchy at best, but most of my mornings are decent enough. I start to deteriorate at 12:45 on the dot, when I get queasy, feverish, achy, really tired, and emotionally (very) edgy. Sometimes a nap helps the worst of it, sometimes it doesn't. They tend to steadily intensify for the rest of the day, peaking in the evening. Justin just loves coming home at night :) If I have a bad night of sleep, the symptoms start much earlier, sometimes right out of the gate. Last Thursday, for example, I didn't get out of bed the entire day until 4 pm, and that was only because I had to take Kinley to Back to School night. Then again, yesterday was a great day. I managed to stay through all three hours of church (we can still count the time spent wandering down the halls because my legs were falling asleep, right?) and then I even let our hometeachers come over in the afternoon (shocker!!) and then I took a walk with Justin in the evening. That's a big day for me lately.

But like I said, most mornings are pretty decent. I am even cheery and sociable in the mornings and you'd never suspect that a crash is imminent within just a few hours. Sometimes it even catches me off guard, hoping vainly that it won't strike, ignoring early warning signs, still surprised that I can go so quickly from feeling great to feeling like dog poop. I haven't been able to pull off an evening adventure in a very long time, but I hope maybe Thursday will be a good day and I can make it to book club. Fingers crossed!

Happy Birthday, Kierra!

Our other grand adventure of last week was a trip to Draper to visit some friends for a birthday party. Happy Birthday, Kierra! The pics in the previous post were also from that trip. Tanner was one-track minded that day. Caaaake!

Happy birthday, Kierra! We saw some other friends we haven't seen in a long while! So great to see you all! Glad I climbed out from under my mushroom long enough to enjoy the party :) We had a great time! Thanks, Hil, for such a fun morning!

Cake

I ha some cake please?
I ha some cake now please? Mommy!! I ha some CAKE!! It's cake time!

Heber

Last week was actually a very busy week for us. I was pretty nervous about being so far away from home, but everything turned out great. On Monday morning I drove to Heber to visit two roommates, one I hadn't seen in at least 4 years (Melissa), the other (Monelle) I hadn't seen in 12 years! It was so nice to see you, ladies! So very nice to spend a few hours basking in your wonderfulness! Let's please not wait so long to do it again!!

My batteries died before I got many pictures, so these are all I really have. Melissa is a mother of three small boys. In fact, the one bouncing on the tramp with Tanner is her oldest, LOL :) Here is Kinley in the bouncy house (not the trampoline). Like I said, three small boys, and they know how to entertain them! For those who know how crazy and completely neurotic Justin is about my driving anywhere farther than Target, you'll really appreciate the magnitude of this adventure :)

Growing Up Too Fast

What? First kindergarten is starting in two weeks, now she wants to take showers?? What next? College applications? Driver's license? I'm not ready for this!! Slow down, little princess!!

Take The Personality Test Yourself

I always think these things are kind of fun. Thanks for the idea, Hilary!

You Are An ENFP

The Inspirer You love being around people, and you are deeply committed to your friends. You are also unconventional, irreverent, and unimpressed by authority and rules. Incredibly perceptive, you can usually sense if someone has hidden motives. You use lots of colorful language and expressions. You're quite the storyteller! In love, you are quite the charmer. And you are definitely willing to risk your heart. You often don't follow through with your flirting or professed feelings. And you do break a lot of hearts. At work, you are driven but not a workaholic. You just always seem to enjoy what you do. You would make an excellent entrepreneur, politician, or journalist. How you see yourself: compassionate, unselfish, and understanding When other people don't get you, they see you as: gushy, emotional, and unfocused

What's Your Personality Type?

Comments That Melt My Heart

Tanner: AAAACK!! Mommy! Look you tummy!! You tummy so SO sooooooo big!

Kinley (who is now no longer allowed to wander through the bathroom!): WOW, Mommy. Before you got in the tub, there wasn't a lot of water. Now that you are in the water, the water is SOooooo high! It's SOoooo high that you might even drown! WOW, how did SO MUCH water get in there SO FAST? I just looked a second ago and there wasn't that much water! Now that you're in it, it might even go over the sides! Amazing!

I'm writing this stuff down, kids. I promise it will come back to haunt you one day.

4 In the Bed and The Little One Said...

Kinley and Tanner have shared a room since we brought the little tank home from the hospital almost three years ago. It's been successful beyond our wildest expectations and I wouldn't have it any other way for us or for them. Therefore, my natural inclination (made only stronger because I don't want to give up our office/craft room unless I absolutely have to) is to put the twins in their room with them. If we get a set of bunk beds for the big kids, we can squeeze one more crib on the other side of the room, which we won't do for a while anyway since the twins will share a crib for a few months. Snug, but it's always been a sleeping room only anyway. They play elsewhere (usually wherever my ankles are).

Ok, so the thing is that I have already heard amply from the many many many naysayers who think I've lost my bloomin' mind. Is there anyone out there who has actually pulled off such an insane feat successfully? I've about convinced Justin that we should give it a try, but even he was surprised that this was my plan all along. I'm planning to give it a valiant attempt, but I was wondering if anyone out there has actually pulled it off? I realize that the whole twin factor makes it more complicated. One waking baby at night wouldn't be that disruptive for the champion sleepers I've already got, but two...

We Are a Happy Family :)

Create your own family sticker graphic at pYzam.com

Surrounded by Helpfulness

While grocery shopping:

Kinley: Mommy, if there is something on the bottom shelf that you need, just let me know and I'll get it for you because you really don't bend down very well anymore.

Heeeeeey!! I can still fully touch my feet when necessary! Lay off! I guess I'll have to watch that excessive grunting and sighing...

Speaking of which, I got my first bug-eyed look today at the store. Someone smiled and asked how far along I am.

Me: Almost 15 weeks
Chick with a look of horror and disbelief: Wow. Seriously?
Me: Yep. It's twins.
Her: Oh. Yeah, but still... wow...

Nice. I'm sure that reaction will annoy me eventually, but today I found it strangely amusing.

What Have We Gotten Ourselves Into?

Oh my land. Someone please keep me off the internet. I did a little research yesterday, trying to find out exactly how big these critters might grow by the end. I found these pictures of a few ladies at 35 and 36 weeks with twins. I emailed them to Justin and asked him how in the world I was supposed to move, breathe, or sleep with such a monstrosity??! Are you kidding me? Well.... I'm still excited for the twins... and relieved they aren't quadruplets! Stay away from me at Christmas time. I have a feeling I'm going to be a little edgy around then :)

Selective Obedience

My kids have a problem with "selective obedience". Basically, they obey me very well, my adult friends pretty well, and their dad? Um... not at all. I suspect they obey him better when I'm not around, but I'm always around when I'm around, so I wouldn't know, LOL!

I don't understand it very well because his parenting style really isn't much different than mine, but whenever he asks or tells them to do something (particularly Tanner) they'll just look at him blankly, and look at me to see if they really have to do it. I'm not sure if things have changed recently or if I'm just noticing it more as I'm actively trying to give him more dominion in the evenings (I'm soooooo done parenting by the time he gets home these days). That Tanner kid just backs right up to my leg and stares Justin down, daring him to... I have no idea what, but it's definitely a defiant look he's giving!!

I stay out of it as long as I can, but eventually Justin will signal me to step in and say "obey your Daddy." Blogging is helpful because as I'm writing this, I'm remembering that we went through this phase with Kinley when she was about the same age (remember that week after Tanner was born, Grandma? Yeesh, that was bad for obeying Daddy!!) Kinley still does it with him sometimes, but not like she used to. Ok, fine, never mind. It will pass.

Get a Life

Ok, so really, I'm posting old baby pictures of my kids? Lessons on twin genetics? Seriously? It's like I don't have a life or something. Oh, WAIT.... that's right.

I'm showered and dressed right now (I know, can you believe it?) and my kids aren't up yet. I fell asleep at 7:45 last night and slept like a rock the whole night, which was so nice. I did have many dreams about having to pee and never resolving the issue. I may have also had dreams about vampires...

Tanner is testing his boundaries lately and has been telling me flat out "no" on occasion. What?? He looks at me and says "no" with an expression on his face that says "I dare you to haul your fat butt out of that recliner and chase me down." So sad for him that I can still do it. Kinley, while bored, is as sweet and supportive as a neglected 5 year old can be. I said last night "Kinley, I'm sorry things have been so boring around here lately." She responded, "that's ok. Things aren't going to be at ALL boring once those babies get here!"

My hair is drying funny, so I'm going to go fix it. Mornings are always my best time of the day. Unfortunately, when I feel really good and perky and should be doing laundry or grocery shopping or something, I blog or read Breaking Dawn instead. It just feels so nice to feel so nice, you know? I hate to waste those precious few healthy hours being productive :)

Hey, Mommy, You Should Do That!

After watching some stupid diet commercial:

Kinley: Hey, Mommy! Maybe you should do that!!

Mommy: Um, Kinley?

Kinley: Oh yeah. I forgot. You're fat because you have two babies growing in there.

Ack, I can't help it!!

Sorry, still moseying down memory lane. Along came Tanner in a baby carriage!! BUT, that same Tanner is humming in his bed at this very moment, announcing his post-nap alertness, so you're spared further indulgences for now. Thanks for strolling with me :)

Memory Lane

Forgive the indulgence, but my princess was just seeming so old to me this morning. I thought I'd take a trip down memory lane while she naps to remember those first few days of being a new parent almost 6 years ago. She was just so itty bitty for such a long time! That pink outfit that she's drowning in in picture #3 was a preemie outfit (thanks for the foresight, grandma!). How was I to know at the time what blessings were awaiting me in raising this little angel? And to think that her brother came just as kissable a few years later...

She lost that dark curly hair around 5 months, I think.

She was so little, but we didn't know any different, so she seemed a perfectly normal little peanut to us! Strong and healthy as a very little horse.

So does Justin look 15 or what?

Sonata Who?

Justin brought the van home last night. I'd never actually even seen it before (I haven't felt well enough to participate much in the selection process). I drove it myself for the first time last night... I am in loooooooove. I just want to hop in her right now and drive her to Costco to pick up Breaking Dawn... and chicken :) Sonata what? Who? Huh? Apparently I can handle life as a mini-van driver. Quick convert, me.

Built for the Whole Family

We are now a mini-van family! We will miss our sweet Sonata... she has been so good to us. I was more emotional than I thought I'd be when she drove away this morning. Sniff, sniff...

But helloooooooo, Sienna! Welcome to our home, hot stuff!

Breaking Dawn

Saturday is a special day...

And where are you picking up YOUR copy of Breaking Dawn?