I assumed having more kids meant my culinary adventures were over. But I stand corrected.

Every time someone suggested they bring me food, my answer is YES PLEASE! It really is an incredible help. For example today Ben fell asleep in the car and I was able to nap (also in the car) with him after we got home. Kristen watched the awake kids in the house. If I had to cook dinner that night, my nap would have been cancelled in favor of cooking dinner. It was only 20 minutes, but it was still soooo nice.

Plus I get to see what everyone else is cooking and get some new ideas for future dinners at our house. So hard to come up with new and creative ideas that the kids will actually eat every night.

I forgot to mention that a few weeks ago our friend Morgan dropped off yummy Soup Box soups and a zucchini bread. They shored us up for a couple of breakfasts and almost two nights.

Tonight we received even more home made dinner from another friend of ours, Myla. She brought by her famous crab cakes, which my friend Pam raved about when she was treated to them on a play date at her house. They were everything they were talked up to be! No second dinners for this one, we demolished in it one sitting.

Crab Cakes, Herbed Quinoa, Salad, Dill Sauce, and Fruit & Ricotta Tartlets

Thank you Myla!!!

We hired the very talented Mimi Weinreb to photograph the twins as well as the rest of the family. The past few weeks she has scheduled a few different photo sessions with us.

Mimi Calming the Twins

Some of you may have seen the pictures she did of the twins on facebook. Tonight she dropped off the entire disk of photos. Here are a few of my favorites…

Today was the first day since the twins were born that I was home alone all afternoon with four kids.

Kristen the sitter, lucky girl, is on her way to a bachelorette party. Adam took the morning off but had to work in the afternoon.

The day started badly. Sam was up every 45 minutes last night. I was beat.

Still, at 5:45 am the twins were awake but the older boys and Adam were still asleep. I packed up the twins and headed to the grocery store. Logistically it is quite a feat to do with twins.

I pushed the double stroller in front of me while dragging the cart behind me. I actually said yes when they asked if I needed help out to my car. Okay, I said no but they insisted. And I was grateful.

When I returned Adam and I held a baby each while juggling the care of the older kids. Both of us were pushed to the limit with requests, crying and reprimands. I turned to Adam and said, “Are you nervous for me this afternoon by myself?”

He answered, “A little.”

Then he laughed uneasily and said, “I love you.”

Adam took the boys out in the morning and returned around 1pm. I was able to get a nap in.

In the afternoon I expected the worst. So I decided my parenting standards should be dropped this afternoon to just try to keep the kids alive and fed. Otherwise don’t worry about baths, healthy foods, or keeping a clean house.

I used everything I had. The swing for the babies. The TV for the kids. It was definitely going to be pizza delivery for dinner. Wine for me.

Freshly Washed Twins

Surprisingly the afternoon passed quickly and without much incident. I was even able to empty the dish washer and refill it. Before Adam got home from work I had all four kids fed. The twins were bathed. The bath for the older kids was running.

Perhaps I was just lucky. There were moments when both twins were crying. There were time outs for misbehavior for both boys. There were TV shows to put on, boo boos to kiss, drinks to get, snacks to prepare, dinner and dessert to dole out. But none of these happened all at the same time. It was all quite manageable.

Even though this afternoon gave me confidence, I couldn’t live like this. With the kids at this age there is no way I could leave the house and cover everyone in a park, store, or on the street without another set of hands. Take out every night would be a terrible thing.

But for a short amount of time I did it! And lived to tell my tale.

Ironically it's the Older Kids with Matching Outfits

Seems like my past few posts would show that life is getting back to normal. That we are running around all day doing fun kid activities and I am sleeping again.

Let me assure you, I am still completely sleep deprived. I’m still waking up as little as three or as much as six times a night. Every night I go to sleep praying for a longer stretch from the twins. On a fluke one night Sam slept 8 hours. Unfortunately Aaron woke every 3 hours that same night. Most nights I try to bath and feed the twins, topping up with as much formula as they will take around 6 or 7 pm. By 8 or 9 I hope they will fall asleep enough for me to transfer them to the crib. Some nights it works, some nights I end up on the couch at 10 or 11 at night with a baby on top of me, too tired to try again. Most nights they will give me a longer stretch in the beginning, 4 or 5 hours. Unfortunately I’m not sleeping then, the older boys are still awake. Even if Adam is home putting the older boys to bed, the twins don’t fall asleep right after their big feed, they stay awake for an hour or more, begging to be held. By 5 or 6 am at least one of the kids has woken me up for the morning.

I’m starting to think I’d make a great P.O.W. (Prisoner of Wellspring!)

Still, I don’t want to spend every day missing out on all the fun things the older kids are doing, so my first priority is to do something with them every day. Second comes napping. If we do a big activity during the day or I have a lot of errands, no nap.

Today we met my friend Pam at Fellger Park in the morning. When we came home and I snuck an hour nap in with the twins on top of me while Kristen entertained the older boys downstairs.

With the Camerons at Fellger Park

Yesterday Kristen took the older boys to the Children’s Museum in the morning while I napped. In the afternoon I joined the boys at the park.

Like anything else in life, you get used to it. I reach a point of exhaustion, I schedule naps. I’m still tired, but it’s a little better. Then it starts again.

The twins are six weeks old, Jack and Ben didn’t give me a stretch of sleep longer than 3 hours for 8 months. I’m hoping the twins (at least one of them!) will do better but I’m preparing for the worst.

Today was Adam’s 43rd birthday.

Unfortunately it fell on a work day, so we didn’t get to celebrate the life of Adam all day long. In fact, he had to leave for work this morning before 8am to start his first conference call. But he was able to sneak out early, a bit after 5pm in order to see Jack’s baseball practice.

In the past birthdays have been a chance to plan elaborate, fancy, self indulgent treats for ourselves. But now with so many kids we ended up getting Potbelly’s to go and picking up some Mandy B’s cupcakes.

We ate dinner together, Adam with a kid in the baby bjorn and I had one on a boppy breast feeding as I ate at the same time. Jack and Ben were bribed with chips to eat their sandwiches.

You’d think with all the kids limiting how much Adam could treat himself for his birthday he would be quite depressed by the situation. Especially since I know in the past that birthday’s have always been a time of reflection for Adam.

But not Adam. After the birthday song was sung and before he blew out his candle, he looked up around the table at his big family and I swear I thought I saw his eyes well up with happiness.

I have been waiting for our weekly beach days for months now. I’ve told my girlfriends to meet me at the same time every week at the same beach. No need to spend hours organizing a play date time and place. Just show up.

Angus, Kaden and Jack

I was a bit worried now that we have two new additions that the beach would be difficult.

But I was proved wrong. The twins were angels. Sam slept in his car seat the entire time except when he woke to feed. Aaron was a bit fussier, perhaps the heat got to him?

Twins in the Tent

I didn’t want the twins in the direct sunlight so I brought a tent I bought from costco. Unfortunately it was broken when I opened it. Luckily my friend Jennifer had another one. Also my friend Pam had an umbrella. After using them both I decided I was lucky the tent was broken, the umbrella is a much better way to go. Inside the tent was stifling. The umbrella gave us the shade we needed and also let the breeze flow through.

Ben and I Build Sand Castles (Yes, it's a sand beard)

With Kristen there it was fairly easy to juggle the babies and still have time to play with Ben, who didn’t at all seem interested in what the rest of the kids were doing. He’s definitely got a mind of his own. Most of the younger brothers are chasing after their older brothers, hoping to join in on whatever game the other boys are playing. Ben still prefers to hang out with me. I will take whatever I can get. Especially when I see Jack is already off with his friends.

We stayed for 5 hours and it passed quickly. In fact, we easily could have stayed longer.

And now that I know it’s possible, I can’t wait for our weekly beach trips!

Jack Under Water with Angus and Max

Even though Jack’s school finished on Wednesday, it really only feels like summer started today. I think it’s because today is when my summer helper, Kristen, started working for me full time.

I’ve never had full time help before. In fact, besides the occasional Saturday night sitter, I never had another person looking after my kids. I certainly never needed an extra set of hands while still being present. But with four kids we need four hands. And sometimes that’s a bit short!

If you’ve never had it before, it is an odd feeling having someone else around during the week to work with you raising kids. When Adam is here on the weekends we make decisions together. But hiring someone is different. You are in charge. I’ve never been in charge of anything. Even when I got to a management level at work, it was mostly just a title for show. But as everyone I know who has help says, you get used to it real quick.

The Playdate Moms and Kristen

Today was much more than I could hope for. There wasn’t a single awkward moment. Kristen is very easy to be around. She is hard working, with a youthful energy. She let’s the kids know she is in charge, yet she is playful. She is always looking to see what else she can do to help. She can handle the rambunctious older kids, she can snuggle the babies.

This morning I left the older boys with Kristen while I went for my 6 week check up with the twins. My cesarean scar isn’t as pretty as it was the first time. There is a bump of skin that puffs out over the incision, apparently my doctor says it doesn’t go away. There is also a section in the middle that is still red and pusses out stuff. This morning my doctor numbed it up and cleaned it off. I think she took an extra flap of skin off? Then used nitric sticks to try to close up the area. It’s a bit sore now but hopefully it’s fixed.

After the doctors office I came home, breast fed the twins then traded them for the older kids. We went to the grocery store. I bribed them with the promise of donuts. They sat nicely in the cart trying to get me to buy naughty snacks. I tried not to acquiesce but I did end up with some caramel popcorn. I came home to find Kristen had cleaned up the basement – a task I was trying to do for weeks but never could find the time.

More good news is that Kristen is a vegetarian. A bonus which is going to slim me down this summer for sure. I am so excited to cook out of my vegan cook book again and have someone actually appreciate and want the food. And I’m ready for people to stop looking at my abdomen and asking me when I’m due.

On the Seesaw with Ben

We also managed to fit in a play date this afternoon at Weisman Park with a few of my girlfriends. Today was a scorcher and we needed somewhere with a water spray.

At the end of the day I showered with the older boys before dinner while Kristen bathed the babies. I was very happy to find myself showered up and in my jammies by 6:30 and, as Kristen said, “Living the dream.”

Yes, I’m going to get used to having all this extra help around real quick for sure!

I hope everyone reading this is as happy as I am today. Not only am I blessed to have an amazing father, but I married someone who is a wonderful father to four very lucky boys.

This year we packed the car full and headed out to the suburbs. Packing the car has taken on a whole new level of discipline since we’ve had more kids. Strollers, a cooler of drinks, camera, DVDs for the TV in the van, baby carriers, snacks, water bottles, sunscreen, change of clothes for four kids, diapers for three kids, extra formula just in case for two kids, and one old iphone loaded with games. Then you have to put the kids themselves in!

Adam carrying half our kids

This morning (yes it was still morning after we packed up everything and backed out of our garage) we drove out to Lisle to the Morton Arboretum. It’s quite a trek, but every time I go I feel the drive is worth the effort. You can’t experience anything like it in the city. Nature, big and beautiful, along side a very kid friendly garden.

They had a new exhibit called “Tree House Tales”, a bunch of little different houses set up in a patch of land in the Arboretum. It was super cute and nice to see a new section, we always just head to the Children’s Garden and never manage to see the rest of it.

One of the Tree Houses

2 Toots Train Whistle Grill

Afterwards Adam took us to 2 Toot’s Train Whistle Grill for lunch. The boys had gone when I was in the hospital with the twins and loved it. This time I got to experience the train delivering our food, the train whistle pulled every time there was a new order, and the actual food. I was pleased to see they used all Tallgrass Beef. As the 2 Toots website says, “Tallgrass Beef was founded in 2005 by Bill Kurtis, who in addition to being a nationally recognized journalist, is a rancher, conservationist, highly respected businessman and a Chicago Channel 2 news anchor… Kurtis was compelled to find a sustainable method of raising cattle that was not only good for the environment, but also the animals themselves and the American food consumer.”

Ever since reading the Omnivores Dilemma, I’ve tried to stay away from corn fed beef. So it pleased and surprised me to see that the concept was spreading even in the suburbs, even in kid focused restaurants. I hope it continues to grow!