July 23rd-29th

(7/23) Today was a work day for Dad & me, and the boys went to Kathy's for the afternoon. There were epic naps again, and everyone was full of beans when we got home.  Of course.  I tried to keep them up later, but they were both yelling "NIGH-NIGH!" so I took them upstairs, only to have them stay awake up there for another two hours.  Sigh.

(7/24) I was off today, and Nanan came this afternoon and arrived in time to take C to his last swim class of the session.  That was lovely, and I took the opportunity to read about 5 words of my book and then passed out.  After she returned, and the little boys woke up, we went out and played in the pool.  We played until D turned blue and it was getting chilly out.  We went in for dinner and Nanan played a game with all the boys on the couch.  Well, the littles "helped."  Nanan and I got to sit and visit after the kiddos went to bed.  It's not often that we get uninterrupted time to chat.

(7/25)  I took today off, and Sarah offered to watch the littles while we took C to see Despicable Me 2.  Such a cute movie!  I dropped the little boys, and snuck out when D wasn't looking.  She said D burst into tears when he discovered I wasn't there.   But he eventually settled in to play and then when everybody woke up from afternoon nap, we had returned and it was time to play in the pool!  C stayed for a sleep-over and the littles and I went home for dinner with Dad.


(7/26)  Work day for Dad & me again, and this time the boys went to Sarah's.  Nana (Sarah's mom) took C and Jor to the Reptile Museum and the littles stayed to play at Sarah's.  Sarah said they had the best time in the empty pool.  Cheap entertainment!  They went swimming later and between them, probably logged about 4 hours of pool time.  They were tiiiiiired when they got home!


(7/27)  Sarah & I got up early to run to the Arboretum and back before the boys got up (15 miles total).  We returned just after breakfast.  I don't know if I was just tired or if C was, or what, but C was a *bear* and today quickly turned into a no-good-horrible-very-bad day. Let's just say that I was more than ready to hang up the mothering hat by the time bedtime rolled around.  I sincerely hope tomorrow will be better.


(7/28)  Ahh, much better day.  C was a bit frustrated that his actions yesterday resulted in no screen time today, but has been in a better mood.  Nanan is coming to get him this afternoon for a sleepover until Tuesday. That will be fun for him!  Dad was home today, but had to run some errands this morning.  The littles and I had a very lazy day.  We played inside this morning, took a nap, and then headed outside after afternoon snack to play in the pool again (reoccurring theme this week).   I read my book, the boys got soaked, and we all had a great time.  We headed in for dinner, a hose-down (because...yeah, they're messy!), and bed.


(7/29) Happy Anniversary to Dad & me!  12 years married, and 17 together.  I am working today, but will be off the rest of the week on vacation.  The littles are home with Dad today and it should be another lovely day.

July 16th-22nd

(7/16) Poor J-monkey has a nasty double ear infection and is on a 10 day course of antibiotics.  I took yesterday off after being up most of Sunday night with him.  He was back to feeling better today, so the boys all went to Kathy's like normal and Dad & I went to work.  Tuesdays fly by after we get home, and before I knew it, it was bedtime.


(7/17) Busy day today.  We kicked today off with a dentist appointment for C.  The twins were great for about a half hour in the stroller.  They played with my phone and iPod and had some snack.  Then I had the brilliant idea to let them out to play with toys... which resulted in them going different directions, and in places they weren't supposed to go.  I put them back in the stroller to walk the hall.  I stopped at the drinking fountains and they had the best time pressing the buttons and learning how to get a drink, oh and standing at the top of the stairs to test out how the building echoed.   Then we ran home for lunch and nap.  After nap, it was time for C's swim lesson, so we got back in the car and headed over.  We stopped at the park on the way home and C became suddenly shy when a huge group of kids came out.  It was about dinner time anyway, so we headed home.


(7/18)  Today was the boys' day with their dad.  The guys got the spindles on the deck, and it is now complete!  (Save for sanding/staining)  I was exhausted, so after dinner and getting the littles to bed, I passed out for a bit and went to bed early.  Wow, I'm exciting.

(7/19)  Dad's schedule starts a little earlier now, so the boys went to Kathy's an hour earlier than normal.  She said they had a good day - they got to play at the park and took monster naps.  D was woken up about 5 minutes before I got there.  C requested tacos again tonight, and because the twins eat them from the inside out, they were covered.  Yaaay.

(7/20) I headed out for a long run with Sarah before the boys woke, and came home to scones.  Yum!  C went fishing with a friend, and was already gone before I got home.  After Dad left, it was just the little guys and me, which was just fine with me!  We had a lazy morning, a nap, and then ran to the grocery store for a few dinner ingredients. Of course, in the 10 minutes we were gone, the friends attempted to drop off C.  We got that all sorted, and he was dropped off just as dinner was coming out of the oven. After dinner, we watched some Care Bears (C's pick) and then had stories and bedtime.

I'm really impressed with the twins' understanding of things now.  When you ask D a question, he nods his head if that's what he wants.  And I said he could just leave the door open, and he did.  He has a big fascination with doors as of late and tells me when I leave any cupboards open.  J is now saying 'more' and 'water' as well as signing.  Lots of babble from both.  I love this age!

D tucked in J today, very nicely with his teddy bear blanket-rattle thing.  He said "nigh-nigh," patted him, and then did it again.  The third time, he shouted "NIGH-NIGH!" and slammed the blanket down.  LOL!   He later tucked himself in by putting it over his lap, said "nigh-nigh," and popped his thumb in.

(7/21) The little boys slept until 9 this morning and after breakfast, we headed out for a walk with Sarah, Aly, & Jamie.  We hit Starbucks on the way (of course!) and I actually got to sit and enjoy their company while the boys played.  We stayed until lunch time, came home had lunch and a long nap.  This afternoon, we headed outside to play in the back yard.  I read my book while the boys went in and out of the play house, splashed in Shrek's water and played with other toys out there.  When I imagined summer, this was it.  Great day!  We had a nice dinner together and more playtime this evening.


(7/22) Monday again.  I am back at work, and the boys are with their dad.

Twenty-one Months

(7/9) Work day for Dad & me, and Kathy had the boys.  C has Star Wars Lego Camp all week in the mornings at Willis Tucker.  Kathy said the afternoon everyone was pretty surly.  C has been complaining big-time about not being able to sleep in.  Seriously, our child is the one that will complain about going to Lego Camp!

(7/10) Ran all the boys out to Willis Tucker Park for Lego Camp.  We stayed at the park and the boys had the best time.  D *loved* the water park.  J really just wanted to throw rocks, but seemed to enjoy the rest of the playground just fine. At about 11:30a, J fell off the bike rack, where he meant to sit down, and just lost it.  They were both so tired that Sarah offered to drop C by once he was done.  I ran the boys home for lunch, and J fell asleep on the way, and had a hard time staying awake through lunch.  After that, they took a nice, long nap.  I managed to make a doctor's appointment for C for 2:30p, and with swim lessons at 3:15, I knew it would be a tight fit.  Nanan was going to take him to swim, and we'd arranged for her to come before 2:30p.   She came right as I was headed out the door with J to put him in the car.  I handed her J hoping he'd go back to sleep, but alas no.  I should have taken him with me since he's started coughing like C too. 😔 Double ear infection for C, so it's probably a good thing we missed swim.  I put the boys to bed a little early tonight and everyone zonked out. At least there was NO coughing tonight!


(7/11) Work day for me & Dad had the boys.  We had a new range delivered yesterday and the boys were fascinated by it.  Dad said they opened the doors, did pull-ups on the bar, and were driving him batty.  I asked if he'd tried bungee-ing the door and he said yes, so I asked if he'd bungee'd the children yet. 😉   J is feeling much better.  Hope he continues to improve!


(7/12) Work day for both of us and Kathy had the kids in the afternoon.  Poor J cuddled with Kathy for like 3 hrs today.  She wondered who that kid was.  He was feeling fine-ish this morning.  Poor bug.


(7/13) I made a ginormous breakfast for everyone this morning.  Eggs, sausage and hashbrowns!  It was delicious and kept us full most of the day.  Dad had to work today, and Sarah borrowed C so he could go swimming with them.  I thought about taking the boys, but with J not feeling tip-top, I decided a lazy day sounded better.  I did put them in the car and ran them out to Granddad's to borrow a hedge trimmer, and then out to Stocker Farms for apricots to make jam.  D threw the biggest fit when we left Granddad's and then zonked out on the way to Stockers.  J looked exhausted, but never fell asleep. Once we got home, I filled the little pool and let them play out back.  They had a great time and were totally ready to go to bed an hour later.  They slept until almost 4pm and then I fed them a messy dinner which resulted in a bath, and then it was bedtime.  Lovely day!


(7/14) Sarah & I ran away to Seattle this morning to run a half marathon.  When I returned before noon Nanan said they boys had been down for about an hour already.  They slept and slept and slept.  I think it was about 3pm when they finally got up.  J isn't feeling so great (no fever but just acting blah), so he may need to be run in to the doctor tomorrow.  Probably the same crud C has and DD has had.    Dad and our friends worked on our deck today - it now has railings!  Lookin' good, guys!


(7/15) After a bunch of wake-ups last night, we're off to the doctor with J.  Poor man spiked a fever last night.

July 2nd-8th

(7/2) Work day for Dad & me.  Boy, I'm not sure I can handle a one day work week.  LOL!  Kathy had the kiddos today and D took a four hour nap.  I was relieved that he was actually ready to go down for the night at normal time after that too.


(7/3) Dad finally convinced me to that it was time to replace my Tucson, and I signed the papers for a 2007 4WD Kia Sorento this morning. Took the whole gang to the dealership.  Moved the car seats and left about a billion Bunnies and Cheerios behind.  My new car has more leg room for rear passengers, leather and a sun roof!  Love it!  D seemed really clingy and tired this morning, and was just laying on the floor.   Dad wondered if he knew I was leaving... but no, he was running 101° temp.  Poor bug.  I left him on the couch with a blankey and scooted out the door without much fanfare. I headed to Portland, C went camping, and Dad said he and the little boys had a night of watching Star Trek.  Man, I'm glad I missed that.  He did say D wasn't really feeling much better tonight and hoped he felt better tomorrow.

(7/4) Whew, D is feeling much better!  I ran the Foot Traffic Flat Marathon this morning and headed back up this afternoon.  I got a few hours with my littles before they headed to bed this evening.  D was feeling much better (YAY!) and J was his normal, happy self.


(7/5) Lazy day for Mom & work day for Dad.  Dad didn't start until late, so we had him until about noon.  C is still out camping.  I made salmon and Noodle Roni for dinner.  It was delicious, but J didn't think so.  He threw all the pieces of salmon across the room, and then D dumped his tray, along with the rest of his dinner, and they both made a royal mess.  J is really in to throwing things into the sink (bad habit of mine that he has copied) and I've started piling toys next to the sink.  So far, not much has landed in soaking stuff other than a cloth block.  It's just going to get worse from here though.   I was so tired today that I fell asleep from when Dad walked in until it was time for him to leave again, then again while the twins were sleeping, plus I went to bed early.  Guess I needed the extra sleep!


(7/6)  Quiet morning with the twins.  Dad headed out shopping and C is still camping, so we just got to hang out. C returned around lunch time, but after playing in the pool out back, and riding his bike & scooter, he was completely exhausted and zonked out on the couch.  The boys got up and it was a challenge to keep them from bugging C, who slept from about 3p until bedtime, only waking to get up and go to bed.  Tired kiddo!  I did manage to get a little yard work done while C was out playing.  Yay me!  Nanan was supposed to come down for dinner but was having some car difficulties.  I told her that was just more corn on the cob for us.  And then the twins both threw their food, so I decided they were done, and that was just more corn on the cob for me.  Can I just say that I'm not a fan of the throwing phase?

(7/7)  Today I woke C early so he could go fishing with Granddad and Grandma.  I headed out for a run after they left and got home in time to get the boys up.  The monitor on the main floor has taken to just beeping or going to complete static, and I made the mistake of peeking in on them... which woke them up.  Oh well.  I fed the boys breakfast and spent a screamy morning with them.  D & J were VERY cuddly and VERY loud today.  There was not enough coffee this morning.  C returned after the boys went down for their nap (no fish, sigh) and we chilled on the couch with him watching Care Bears and me reading my book.  Sarah agreed to watch the twinsies while we went to celebrate C's birthday at Chuck E. Cheese.  I'm very glad we decided not to take the twins - just too.much.stuff. and I know they got to have fun with "Nay-nee."  After C's party, we picked them up, drove them home, and put them to bed.  They went right to sleep. It's rough to be a toddler.


(7/8)  Happy (official) Birthday, C!   I am at work today and Dad has the boys.  C has a full day planned with Star Wars Lego Camp, swim lessons, and then will be going to an AquaSox game this evening.  The littles will get hauled around and we'll work their nap in there somewhere.