Creeping ever so closer to the BIG 3 0. But not just yet!

A little help blowing out the candles

Mama Koala

And this one is not related to my birthday except that it captures just how excited our brown eyed girl is at any birthday party, even if it's not hers.

Need Proof?

that I'm awesome

Today I went to the dentist.

With the kids.

All three of them

Ages 3, 17 months and 17 months.

They came into the examination room with me. And waited for almost an hour.

There were no meltdowns, crying fits or panic attacks.. Plus the kids behaved too.

I got a clean bill of health.

No cavities.

Ever. In almost 28 years.

I am that awesome.

It's 8am and all is great!

Because I actually got some sleep last night. Granted that meant that I was wedged between two little babies but the point is I slept for longer than 1 hour long increments.  AND on top of all that I was able to take an afternoon nap yesterday (thanks Sonia for sticking around) AND when Alex woke up at a quarter to six this morning Patrick took him out of the room so I could sleep even longer AND when Sophia woke up at 6:30 Patrick made her breakfast so I could sleep longer (thanks love) AND since Alex fell back asleep so it's approx. 8am and I still have two sleeping babies. Nice!

May not seem like much but after the hard core sleep depravation that went on last week (with illness, a move to a new crib and room, possible teething and "un"swaddling attempts being the culprits) it's especially exciting. I'm not even sure what to do with all this energy and free time. Maybe I'll even get to (gasp) shower before noon today!  Now that would be exciting!

Cool Tricks

Sophia is a big fan of Yo Gabba Gabba  (for those of you without kids think Sesame Street collides with 80's rock and Japanese Anime).  One segment of the show features people showing off their "cool tricks" ...everything from air guitar to stepping. After one episode in which a little boy showcases his ability to hang a spoon off his nose (yes, I know..so cool) Sophia asks me "what's your cool trick, mom?"...

What you mean besides being such a totally awesome Super Cool Mom!!!! to you and your little brothers?

But I digress............

So after some thought I did manage to come up with a talent I acquired a couple of years ago (most Moms will be completely with me on this one).

I had do an amazing number of things with one hand (e.g. whilst the other carries a baby/toddler or both)

Some of my one handed "tricks" include but are not limited to typing, eating, cooking (not recommended), folding clothes, sweeping, diapering, bottle feeding, playing cards, picking up one baby while setting the other down (trickier than it sounds!),  combing hair, applying make up, cleaning pretty much anything, making a bed.... the list could go on and on.

And for the bonus round of cool tricks here are some , but not all, of the things I can do with just my feet (while holding two babies): pick up clothes and small items off floor, turn on tv and change channel or adjust volume, open door, push a stroller,  open/close refrigerator, open/close cabinets, turn on cd player, type (kidding!)

Not impressed? Get five 5lbs bags of potatoes and tote them around while trying to go about your normal day... You'll soon get my point!

And while I'm at it, what's your cool trick?

 

  (My arms will look like this by the time the boys can crawl!)

Chicago

Last weekend my sister, Sonia and I went to Chicago.  When she invited me to go with her a couple of months ago my first thought was "Is she crazy? I can't leave two newborns to go to Chicago!" However after she assured me that we would only be away for a few hours on a Sunday afternoon, I was in.  (And at the bargain price of $45 a ticket how could I pass it up!)

Wondering what a $45 ticket will buy?

 



Great seats to Chicago, The Musical. (Also one of my favorite movies)  I can't say enough good things about the show and it was equally wonderful to spend the day with Sonia and get a break from "mommy mode".  (Big thanks to Patrick... the kids were happy, the house was clean and the clothes laundered when I got home-- Thanks love!)

Another bonus of the afternoon was the stunning venue for the show. It was held at the recently renovated The Plaza Theatre  in downtown El Paso.  Here a few pics (borrowed from their website). Can't wait to take Patrick to a show there!

 

 Thanks Sonia for getting me out of the house for our "date"! :)  Next time we plan a girl's day out we'll have to make it a long weekend and head to the real Chicago.

 

 

(Pic of us at the Restaurant and Theatre... and no, matching outfits was not a part of our plan)

Update to "By the Numbers"

Number of times a Complete Stranger has *secretly* taken a picture of me with their cell phone while I drag a shopping cart full of groceries and a toddler behind me while pushing a double stroller containing one sleeping infant while another baby sits contently in my sling: 1!!!!

Yup. On our last excursion out one person thought that we were just unique enough a curiosity to merit a quick shot on her cell phone.  After staring at us in the produce section for an inordinately long time (without even concealing the fact that she was staring.. seriously... she just stood their with a head of cabbage in one hand while staring HARD, jaw to the ground and everything) she got the brilliant idea to whip out her cell phone and pretend to look at something on the screen, while holding it up, camera like, then snapping a pic.  Yes, I'm sure. I heard the clickety camera shutter noise.

So yea.. look for us on the Internet. We are officially a traveling freak show.

Ten Weeks Later

At the beginning of my pregnancy with the boys I vowed that I would take weekly belly pics so that I could later compare how much I'd changed from week to week....then I actually started growing ...and Growing and GROWING and for some reason I no longer wanted to document that fun little journey. (Yikes!)  However I did take a pic the day before the boys were born. Here's a look at where we were a little over ten weeks ago vs. today. (as you can see black is a chubby's best friend)

 

 

  

 

  

And here are the Two Little Reasons  for such dramatic belly growth, ten weeks ago (at a few hours old) and now...

  

 

Her Little Shadows

 Her Little Shadows

I saw a young mother with eyes full of laughter

And two little shadows come following after

Wherever she moved, they were always right there-

Holding onto her skirts, hanging onto her chair,

Before her, behind her-an adhesive pair.

 

“Don’t you ever get weary as, day after day,

Your two little tagalongs get in your way?”

 

She smiled as she shook her pretty young head,

And I’ll always remember the words that she said:

It’s good to have shadows that run when you run

That laugh when you’re happy and hum when you hum-

For you only have shadows when your life is filled with sun.

(In Our Case Three)

Twin Baby Belly! (yikes)

Pic of me & Sophia at today's twin group meetup. Poor baby, hardly has a lap to sit on :)

Sophia has come to the conclusion that all babies come in pairs. We've been talking a lot with her recently about the fact that TWO babies are coming to live with us, we've been to several twin group meetings where she's observed doubles crawling everywhere and we've given her a few sets of twin dolls which she carts everywhere (although truth be told she prefers the girl twin over the boy). I think she may be starting to wonder just where HER twin ran off to... I'll leave it up to Patrick to explain that one.

Baby Shower Pics

It's a Twin Shower. Time to Celebrate!


With Tia Irene showing off the wonderful cake she made for the shower. Thanks Irene!


Thanks to Angelica and her mom for the adorable diaper cake!


Even "Big Sister" Sophia received a gift!


A Special Moment....


A Big Thanks to Sonia and Mom for a great baby shower!

Late Addition-- Walks on Water

Since we only have one other post for the month of May (Mea Culpa) I thought I'd post some pics from the girls weekend I took in March to Mille Lacs Lake. Please pay special attention to where I am walking in the pics. Snow covered ground you say?
No, we are actually in the middle of a BIG frozen lake. While that accomplishment may not earn me a merit badge with the natives, for someone who had never even SEEN a frozen lake, let alone STOMPED on it, I feel the need to give myself a big pat on the back!


I'm the one with the dark hair :)


Notice how far out I went without realizing I was on water!


A "Native" explains to me that you can take a house out on the lake and heat it ... and you still won't fall in... IN MARCH!


"The Girls" on our Wild Weekend... Minus Shan who was taking the pic!

More Outdoor Adventures

This was taken after our last snow fall. We had almost 24 inches in less than a week yet it all melted within a few days. It's likely the last time we'll play out in the snow this winter (fingers crossed) but it was great while it lasted!

Poor Baby!

Sadly, our little love has been sick all week. She has come down with her first "true blue" stomach flu and has been miserable since Saturday. Luckily she shows signs of coming around.... like wanting to play "Ring around the Rosey" 10 times in a row and spinning like a top around the house. As terrible as it was to see her sick, I have to admit I loved being able to cuddle with her on the "down" days. We stayed in bed a good part of the day Sunday and Monday and caught up on cartoons and watched her beloved "baby" DVD about every two hours (more on that fun little thing later). The pic is of her and I on Sunday during the worst of it.