Just a couple of things 5.28.11

1) If our house were on fire the first thing I'd grab, after the kids and Patrick of course, would be our pictures and home movies. I actually have all our pictures backed up in multiple places but I'm always paranoid that our computer will crash, the two online hosting sites will lose our pics and our digital hard copies will be corrupted, all simultaneously. I stopped printing out hard copies a couple of years ago because I realized that I'd soon be out of physical space to store all our photos, not to mention the cost of printing a couple hundred pics a month, but even so all those memories are like my treasures. All that rambling was just to set the stage for just how depressed I was that the DVD camera footage we captured of Sophia's graduation was corrupted.

Of course as bad luck goes the first couple of boring minutes,  Pre-k director talking, boy scouts doing color guard or some such thing, is recorded flawlessly. Enter Sophia and her class on stage and the sound goes off and the picture continuously skips. All the way through the end. Damn it! It's not that often that I want to cry and break things, namely one DVD camera which has been a pain in my rear since the first home movie, but because it was an expensive gift I kept my rage intact. That was yesterday. I'm still bugged about it today. And likely will be for some time.  I hope the dvd camera escapes my wrath but I'm not promising anything.

2. Sweet Claire, while still very easy, is becoming slightly more difficult to hold and make content. She is the most curious baby we've had and is constantly looking for things to grab out of my hand or off the table. Most times she has a hard time focusing on nursing because she is too distracted by anything and everything that is going on around her and in the absence of a outside distraction she continuously reaches up her chubby little arms and pulls at my nose, chin and cheeks. I have a feeling that while she might not be as raucous as the other three she will be giving us reason to pull more child safety locks and maybe even a few toddler gates.

Three things 5.27.11

1. School's out for summer! Sophia wrapped up her first year of school with a super cute graduation presentation, the likes of which only preschoolers can pull off. It was bitter sweet for her as she is really going to miss Ms.Kelly and all the friends she made this year. I'm just thrilled that her first experience with school was a positive one. Now on to kindergarten where the real work, and standardized testing begins!

2. After graduation we attended a birthday party where I made the startling revelation that Peter Piper, Chuckie Cheese and the like were mistakenly omitted from Dante's Inferno. I'm thinking maybe the 5th circle of hell is an appropriate location.

3. Last night while preparing our DVD camera for the graduation I came across footage of the boys from just six months ago and they seemed like babies. Could they have really warped into insane, defiant three year olds so quickly? I'm saying it know for the record...three year old twin boys are hard!!

Three Reasons Why I Blog.

I have delusions of grandiosity. I'm aware of it and have accepted it as my one and only flaw. This flaw has led me to create a blog. A blog where I have unchecked capacity to express my viewpoints and opinions to the world.

( As an aside I hate the word "blog" (sounds like something I should wipe up or disinfect) so I've decided to call it a letter instead........A Love Letter to my 3 sweethearts.)

As a condition of my aforementioned flaw I have convinced myself that one day my children will want to read this and all the other "letters" I've written for them. Here's my delusional reasoning why:

1) As adults my kids will want to know me as a person and not just as "The Woman Who Ruined My Life!" They'll care about my perspective and will get to know me as an individual through my description of life as their mother. (At a very minimum they'll be able to print it and take to their psychiatrist for clues into what missteps made them the way they are....You're very welcome kids!)

2)They will want to learn more about our life together, our ups and downs as a family, and what they were like as kids. They will get to revisit all those faded memories via this letter and will really care that I recorded at what age they first potty trained or about their first day of preschool. More specifically and this is the important one... through reading this letter they will begin to understand the breadth and depth of the love I feel for them. (Even when they are way past the age that I am able to sweep them up and smother them with hugs and kisses.)

3) And finally for "historical purposes" my great grandchildren will one day be able to thumb through the yellowed, worn pages of my blog letter (printed and maintained for perpetuity of course) and learn about what life was like for their grandparents and great grandparents at the turn of the century. (I know, I know! This one is far fetched. Paper copies are so unrealistic. It'll be on Kindle version 24.0 by then.)

And if I'm being really honest (which I rarely am) I write for purely selfish reasons. To keep sane, to have a place to vent, to have an outlet amidst all the chaos, to feel like I'm doing something other than mothering and mostly because I really enjoy writing.

(So kids if you're reading this as adults here's proof that your Mother is a real person with needs, wants and ideas of her own. But you guys are so smart! You've figured that one out by now, right?)

Three Things 6.29.08

Three Things About Today:

1) The more sleep I get, the more sleep my body wants. It's constantly greedy for even more. For the first time in almost five months we are finally getting several consecutive hours of sleep. Alex is sleeping through the night (mostly) and Max is well on his way.  WIth each extra hour of sleep I get per night, I am seemingly that much more tired the next day.  It seems as if the adrenaline supply I've been living on since February is finally reaching peak reserves.  A few years ago I read an article on the subject of  "gourmet naps". While I don't entirely remember the premise the concept sounds appetizing enough to me. At this point who cares about the gourmet part.. I'm happy with even a twenty minute snooze.

2) So this one isn't really about today but since I'm still drooling over it, I'll blog it too. We joined Patrick's family on Friday night for a birthday dinner hosted by his fabulous Aunt Irene.  Anyone who's ever been to Irene's house knows she is the fantastic cook. We never pass up an invitation to join her for dinner because if Irene's cookin' you KNOW it's gonna be good.  This time was no exception. Everything was delicious from the brisket to the red enchiladas and tamales to the salads.. I could go on and on.  But then we got to the CAKE... the chocolate cake. Let me preface this entire statement by saying not only am I not a big fan of cake, I'm also not that crazy for chocolate. 

It was..... hands down ....THE BEST CAKE I'VE EVER HAD. E-V-E-R. 

Not only was it made entirely from scratch (frosting and all) ,it's chocolately goodness was a wonderful composition of moist, gooey, perfection that can only be described as "yummmmmmmmmm... cake".

And the best part? She gave us the leftover cake to take home and it was unbelieveably even more delicious the next morning. It sadly didn't last beyond one meal. I've informed Patrick that all I want for my birthday is another cake.   I'm totally and blissfully in love.

3)  Blogging about gourmet naps and chocolate cake? Truly the pondering of a mommy to newborns.

Three Things 6.18.08

Three Things About Today:

1) I rarely laugh out loud when watching tv/movies/stand up comedy etc. I'm just not that kind of person. It think things are amusing, funny, hilarious even...still no laughter. The one exception is The Daily Show with Jon Stewart.  Not an episode goes by when I don't find myself laughing out loud...hard.  It's a great way to end the day.  (In close second is The Colbert Report, which I am currently attempting to watch between posting..love it!)

2) Had the best time with Sophia on the way to the store tonight. She was "rapping" to this song as we drove... "One, Two Buckle My Shoe, Three Four Shut the Door etc etc"  Not the traditional way the song is sang but to this little hip hop beat.  So I'm watching her through the rearview mirror and she's totally getting into it. Head bopping, hitting every word, even making UGH sounds to emphasize her enthusiasm for the song. It was in a word.. priceless.  When did she get so darn cute?

3) I must admit I've been a bad, bad friend. I have a running list of great and hopefully understanding (Crossing Fingers) friends who I owe emails or phone calls.  If you're one of them I apologize.  I would sincerely love to catch up but prefer to wait until all three munchkins are asleep or out of earshot at least. Beyond that I have a hundred other excuses but I'd rather just say sorry and hope that I'll do better tomorrow.

Three Things 6.17.08

Three Things About Today:

1) Thanks to Patrick I was able to enjoy an extra hour of sleep.

2) While I did spend some quiet one-on-one time with Sophia reading while the boys napped I regret that those moments have become more and more rare. I really should make more of an effort.

3) It's was so hot today that I didn't step outside for even a few seconds. I never thought I'd be one to love cold, snowy weather but it beats several days of 100 plus weather anyday. How long until Fall?