This week’s bout of great weather, soon to be over, coupled with the fact that the life as I know it, also soon to be over, put a fire in me this week.
We spent the whole week at parks, meeting up with friends and enjoying the good weather….
Jack's latest Masterpiece
Yesterday when I picked Jack up at school I was shown into the kitchen area of the classroom. All the cabinets (more than shown here) both inside and out as well as the rug were covered with red marker. Apparently Jack got hold of one at nap time and, instead of napping, decided to graffiti the entire kitchenette.
I couldn’t even be angry at him. One of my parent’s favorite stories about me was the time I marked up the wall and, when asked who did it, blamed it on a ghost.
Pin ItI’ve been getting a lot of the same questions from people about the pregnancy. I figure for every person who isn’t too embarrassed to ask, there are another 3 or 4 out there just sitting around wondering. So here I go…
1. No, Twins do not run in our family.
2. No, we did not take any fertility drugs.
3. No, we did not have sex twice that evening.
My husband reckons that my eggs were all thinking – Abandon Ship! The Ship is going down! And hence the two eggs.
4. Yes I am completely and totally excited to have this new incredible experience in my life. I’m also scared as hell. I have no idea how I’m going to cover all these kids and still feel like, at the end of the day, I’ve done a decent job.
So what are we thinking of doing? Well, every day we rethink it but here are the thoughts so far.
I realize I can not stay up all night feeding two kids and then watch four kids all day.
A) Friends of mine who already have twins are suggesting a night nurse. I like the idea of sleeping while someone else feeds and sleep trains my kids but there are some problems with it. Like I’m a breast feeder. I don’t want to give that up and the only way to guarantee enough supply is to feed on demand. Plus right now our two other kids still wake us up most nights so it’s hardly like I’m laying there getting good sleep. Finally it’s about $10,000 to have a good one come in for about 3 months. Seems like if we have an extra $10,000 to throw around it might be utilized better, like to help cover 4 kids that are awake as oppose to 2 that are mostly asleep.
B) Summer camp for the two older ones is another option. However, last year Jack refused to go to the camp we signed him up to so I ended up with him home every day. And you know what? Not having a schedule was actually kind of nice.
C) Have someone come in during ‘crunch time’. If you are a mother and reading this, you know crunch time. It’s around 4-8pm. Cooking and feeding, bathing, and reading to 4 different kids on different schedules will be a challenge. I’m thinking energetic college type on her summer break.
D) Family. I plan on leaning heavily on any family member willing to come join the new crazy that will be our lives starting next year in May.
If anyone reading this has any ideas or advice please feel free to dole it out to me!
Pin ItThanks you everyone for all your blessings. It is truly a blessing. Maybe it won’t feel like that when they are first born, or for the first year. Or even the second. But eventually it will be a blessing, right?
When I knew I was pregnant, but before I was informed it was twins, I had my mind set on how a new baby would fit in. It would just be a question of layering another kid on. Adam said I’d need help, but once again I refused. In fact I tried to convince Adam not to send Ben to preschool. I could handle two at home.
Since I heard of my new reality, I’ve been wandering around in a daze, contemplating how it will all work. It’s not layering on another kid, it’s doubling the amount of kids we have now! I feel like my mind is like a computer, every moment is reevaluated with the thought, how will twins fit into this picture?
When Ben woke this morning at 5:30, instead of taking my husband up on his offer to let me sleep in, I asked him to bring Ben to bed with us. Laying in the covers laughing and hugging I thought, time is limited for this sort of leisure. I’d better suck up every cuddle, smile, and piece of focused, one-on-one time while I can.
I begged Adam for one last trip to New York to see my buddies from Asia before I lose my freedom completely. Who knows when I’ll be able to travel and socialize after the twins are born. TWINS. Oh my god.
Should I rename the blog Quadra-Mom?
I told my friend Anna last night that when I lay on my death bed I think the only thing I’ll know for sure is that I know nothing. I spent years reading and deciding what type of mom I would be. I believed in baby carrying. I believed in breast feeding exclusively for the first year of life. Now all that will probably be impossible. I certainly can’t refuse help anymore.
When I put aside the fear and shock, there is a lot of excitement underneath. A new challenge in life! All in front of me to be shaped and formed just to suit us. It’s not dissimilar to the feeling I got when we got engaged – a huge beautiful project to build uniquely for us. If we do it right, everyone will enjoy it. If we do it right, we will be proud of it for the rest of our lives.
Pin ItYes. You read it right. I’m having as hard a time believing it as you are. But the signs are all there. The Doritoes and fried chicken cravings. The exhaustion. The pregnancy brain. I actually misspelled our last name in permanent ink on Jack’s school project last week. Poor Adam was late for work that morning so he could run to CVS and buy white out to cover my mistake.
This morning we heard the unmistakable sound of a heart beat from one of the doctor’s contraptions. But there’s a twist. It wasn’t one heart beat. IT WAS TWO HEART BEATS.
I’m going to be a mother of four. I’m going to have four kids under five. I’m freaking out.
So much for our discussion about keeping our car and fitting a kid in the middle seat. Bring on the mini van!
So much for my thoughts on not getting any help with another kid. Our house will become a revolving door of helpful family members. With maybe a few energetic college students rolled in. Or maybe an Au Pair? Oh my, we have a lot of decisions to make.
Adam and I often joke that being born is like winning the sperm lottery. Out of all the sperm that get blocked, or make it to the party but then find out they are too late or too early, this one very lucky sperm makes it through not only at the right time but manages to beat all the others too. This time we had not only one but TWO lucky winners. What are the odds of that? Hmmmm, perhaps today would be a good day to buy some lottery tickets…
Pin It
Any place can be turned into a place to play when your a kid. Even the Target parking lot…
Last night we were guest of one of the board of directors of HCS Family Services “In Bloom – A Garden Art Sculpture Event“.
How bad are my bow tying skills?
Like most women, I’m a complete sucker for dressing up. At the last minute I was able to borrow this great dress from my friend Elissa. Thanks Elissa! Unfortunately you can’t see the cool swirly flower at the bottom or my very tall, purple strappy heels with matching flower on top.
Whenever we get invited to these types of events I only think about dressing up and looking pretty. I always forget until we get there and hear the spiel on the charity that these events serve a great purpose – raising money for people in need.
HCS family services help low income families raise above their circumstances through guidance, support and education.
The event had these huge, some totally crazy some beautiful statues they auctioned off. People at our table (not us, we are city dwellers and would have no place for something this size!) bought three…
Our Green Earth
Stanley
These two were bought by one couple. I’m now dying to see what there house looks like! The pictures don’t show the scale but that is a real bench that two or three people can sit on and the frog is just as big. Stanley was signed by all the Black Hawks players. To display them, they had four guys carry them to a runway type stage, put them on a pulley and rolled them around.
In The Spirit of Harmony
Adam’s colleague and our host bought this fountain as a present for his son. I thought it was the nicest one there.
The bench that Adam’s law firm sponsored was sold for $1,700. I think the highest price for one of these sculptures was $6000.
The best part of the evening was sitting next to a couple who recently invited us to their halloween party. I wasn’t going to mention it at all, since not everyone at the table was invited. But it ended up coming up so I asked, “Since this was an annual event, do you change your costumes every year?”. They looked at me strangely for a moment then said, “It’s not a dress up party.” Thank goodness they were there. It would have been very embarrassing to be at an intimate dinner party full of guests who show up to this party every year and be the only ones in costume!
Pin ItPoor second children.
With my first born I took tons of classes at Wiggle Worms, Gymboree, Language Stars, Lil Kickers and had endless play dates with kids his own age. With my second, nothing.
Just the other day I marveled at how much we’ve all changed as moms. I was at the park with a few of my seasoned mom friends. We all huddled together in a corner chatting while our kids glommed onto another mom or nanny who was playing hide and seek with her kids. Did we go help out? Nah. Must be a nanny, we thought. Who else would have that much energy?
We’ve gone from being the cheerleaders in high school to the stoners who hang out under the bleachers at football games.
Part of me feels no guilt. When my first born is at school I need to run errands and do housework. They can both do play dates together in the afternoon (albeit with kids my first born’s age and any other younger siblings they may have). Besides, he doesn’t know what he’s missing, right?
Part of me thanks I should make more of an effort. So today, after dropping Jack at school, I invited a friend along with a kid about Ben’s age to Explore and Much More.
Ben at Explore and Much More
I’ve been to quite a few ‘pay to play’ spaces in Chicago and this is one of my favorites. The layout is such that you never have a big, open space for kids to run and smack into each other. Or shove big rolling toys into other kids. And also unlike some other spaces there are loads of really great, smart toys for the kids to manipulate. There are not a lot of places for your kids to get lost. And it’s super clean. No moms walking around with hot coffee. The cost to play all day is $12 for the first kid, $9 for siblings. Adults are free. They are open during the week from 9-1, then 2-5. On the weekends if there are no parties they have open play as well. You can also get a discounted punch card if you want to go 10 times of more. Don’t forget your socks!
Pin It
Every morning when Jack goes to school, one of his first tasks is to write his name.
When ever I see it I’m not sure if I should laugh or cry. It’s so sweet to see him practicing it, learning it like a big boy. Sad how quick he’s growing.
On the other hand it’s the craziest sign in I’ve ever seen. He insists on using a pattern; two colors of blue. One for the ‘J’ and ‘C’ and another for the ‘A’ and ‘K’. He also will write with whatever hand is closest with absolutely no preference to right or left.
Yesterday Jack fell sick, again. It was a stomach bug that only lasted a day, but it was nasty. Everything got expelled from his stomach, any and every way it could. My very loving and concerned husband stayed with Jack at home, cleaning up expelled stuff and patiently dealing with a sick, cranky kid while I got to take Ben to do something fun. We went to the Childrens Museum. The ‘Ready, Set… Move’ exhibit recently opened and it was our first time checking it out.
By the evening Jack was feeling much better. Unfortunately this morning Ben woke up with a fever…
Pin It