Apr 27
Everyone,
Isn’t it true that bad (and good) things generally happen in threes? I’ll look for a bad day tomorrow because today totally sucked. Again. Let’s start with the oldest and go from there.
Butterfly: she had 3 accidents today. And one that was not just pee. What’s going on with this girl and her bladder?! The past 2 weeks or so she’s had major bathroom issues. It’s a bummer. We had to leave the park because she had an accident. That one was partly my fault because I saw the signs and didn’t march her to the bathroom then. I was waiting for her to tell me she had to go. Obviously she was having too much fun to stop. Boy she is going to be interesting in school. I hope she gets an understanding kindergarten teacher.
She also lost her movie for the day (a HUGE upset) and she got put to bed when the boys went to bed. It was not a good day for her.
Pirate: he is growing so fast! He is tall enough to reach things on the counters. Things I’ve been putting up there to keep him away from. Things like bowls or hot pans. No he didn’t get a hot pan but he did get a bowl. Butterfly was peeling hard boiled eggs to put in the bowl. He offered it to her. She huffed and turned away from him. (Girls!) Then he got angry and threw the bowl. The floor won. Now I am a bowl short and cross.
Professor: this is a pretty funny story and really, not something that was his fault. But still, it involves him so it goes under his label.
I was sitting with the boys on my lap, one on each leg. I was by the big window in our front room. Both the boys were facing the window looking out. Professor was in front, and Pirate was behind him, with his belly pressed up against Professor’s back. Professor was grunting and complaining that Pirate kept leaning on him and pushing him out of the way to get a better look at the truck out the window. I finally got them apart and noticed that there was a big green streak on Pirate’s arm. I was on the phone with my dad at the time and had to hang up quickly (“Ew! Green sludge!”). I then dump Professor on the floor and gingerly carry Pirate over to the changing pad to detoxify him.
I got his clothes off and open his diaper to…nothing. There was no poop anywhere on his body except his belly. That’s when I gasped and left poor Pirate buck nekkid on the pad. Professor was playing quietly on the other side of the room. When I got closer to him, I noticed that the back of his hair was kind of dark.
I gingerly pick up Professor and shoo Pirate off the changing pad to detoxify Professor. I should have been wearing some kind of hazmet suit because this was bad. Up the back, up the front, bright green and slimy. Oddly enough, there was a spot on his diaper that didn’t have anything on it. It was right where he was sitting on my leg so maybe it squeezed out either side?
Note to self: beans for dinner and a strawberry/spinach smoothie do not mix.
Safire
Safirebad days, Butterfly in trouble, diapers, life with twins, Pirate the pirate
Apr 08
Everyone,
About 2 weeks ago, I put up a plea on Facebook:
“I have a disk stuck in the Wii…any thoughts?”
No one had any thoughts though. So I googled the problem and came up with a whole lot of nothing.
See, when I pushed the eject button, it made a very sad grinding noise and then stopped. I tried holding down the eject button. I tried turning it off and turning it back on after 2 minutes. I unplugged it for half an hour and came back to it. I even held the eject button down and shook it in hopes that gravity would help me pull the disk out. No luck.
So I handed it over to Juice who then did the same things I did. But after shaking it, he broke out his trusty pocket knife and started poking around in there. I knew he was serious when he went to get his tools. He took his needle nosed pliers to the disk and pulled it out.
“Belly dancing for fitness,” he announced. (Yes, I do them. Yes, I like it. Yes, it’s a workout.)
What?! Boys!!
The BDF was followed shortly by a picture CD of the boys’ first birthday.
That was followed by another picture CD of their 6 month old pictures.
Then came the Wii game which actually came out when you pushed the eject button.
In case you are wondering, you can get 4 disks into the Wii disk slot. The Wii won’t work. But you can get them in! Also, pulling them out of there will severally damage the disks. As in, the BDF does not work anymore. The Wii still operates just fine though.
There were some severally punished boys in our house too. 
Safire
Safire2 boys-double trouble, life with twins, Wii
Feb 21
Everyone,
This week’s question on the Multiples and More blog is all about travel.
What are your best tips for traveling with multiples?
Hm…a good question. And not one I’m sure I can answer easily. We did a cross country trip (from Maryland to Utah) in a car last summer. Butterfly was 4 and the boys were 15 months old. You can read a little part of that trip here. Basically we had the 3 kids, my dad, me, and the dog on the way out. It took us 3 days to get to Utah on the way out. There was screaming. There were messy diapers. There was a lot of Kung Fu Panda. On the way back to Maryland, we had my dad, the dog, the 3 kids, me, and my 15 year old niece Flower. It took us 4 days this time and it was a lot harder. I’m not sure why 3 days was better but it was.
We’ve flown a lot to Utah to visit our families who live there. We’ve gone on a few over night trips to Pennsylvania. Butterfly is such a great traveler because she’s done it so much. She loves sleeping at hotels. I bribe her with tv and cartoons (which we don’t have at our house) if she sleeps well. She will sometime ask when we are going to sleep in a hotel again. That girl is born to move!
We don’t travel as much now because it’s logistically harder. Plus, I really don’t think (at this point) I can deal with all the boys and Butterfly by myself. Juice is not a big traveler.
Last month we flew to Utah for a funeral. Juice was able to come with me and that was a big help. Because of the shortness of our visit, I decided we were NOT going to check any bags. That was hard because we had to get all of our stuff, plus all of our trip stuff, into 3 small duffel bags. We made it. Juice really doesn’t ever want to do it again though. But we will because we love and miss our family.
- Did you find it helpful to travel at night?
No, I didn’t think traveling at night was more helpful. Mostly because we got tired driving. There were a few times when the kids did not transfer to their beds after sleeping in the car. My good friend Lolli swears by driving 24 hours straight to get to Utah so I guess it works for some people.
- Did you bring a pack’n'play for each child? What were the sleeping arrangements?
For our big road trip, we took one pack and play. The boys started out the night in them but ended up the night in bed with me. Then Butterfly too. It was cute but I got no sleep. At my mom’s house, she has a pack and play of her own. Last summer I had my own. The summer before that I borrowed my best friend Mink’s pack and play. In January, I borrowed it again. Butterfly sleeps in my old bed. They are growing out of their pack and plays, though so I’m not sure what to do for the future.
- Did you try to preserve your kids’ schedules as much as possible?
Yes and no. I loosen up quite a bit on vacation with bed times. But I still am pretty militant with their naps because it brings everyone some sanity. There are days when they don’t get them on vacation and sleep on the fly. It works out.
- Any tricks for getting your kids to sleep in a new environment?
If they have a lovie, bring it! My boys love their blankets made by their Auntie Lisa so we bring those every time. When Butterfly was little, she had a night light that she loved. My mom bought it for her house so we wouldn’t have to lug it around.
- Do you have any “special” toys that you brought with you to avoid a meltdown?
I would let Butterfly pick out her few toys and take the toys the boys are most interested in at the time. Sometimes I would get new toys from the store, but I find that a little unnecessary. They will play with what you have.
- Are you more lenient with your kids on trips than you are at home?
No. They still get in trouble for the same things. Our rules follow our family no matter where we go. There is still no hitting, biting, whining, or running away from me.
- What items do you find indispensable for travelling?
I love my wraps (see last post), a good bag, and a helper. Also, lots of diapers! A stroller is nice but we have worked around not having it…even in the airport. I have those baby leash backpacks and those are very handy to let them get some wiggles out while walking around. Also, my backpack that holds the diaper stuff, my computer, my camera, and tons of toys is a huge help.
What has also been super helpful is friends and family that are willing to loan us things while we are visiting them. We’ve borrowed car seats, strollers, pack and plays, etc. My mom has a lot of stuff for us now so when we go to see her, I know that I have things I need.
In the end, it can be done. Take your patience and your reserves. Don’t be afraid to say no, ignore a screaming child, or ask for help. Hope everyone enjoys their travels!
Safire
Safirelife with twins, questions, traveling
Feb 01
Everyone,
So this morning started out like any other morning. The boys cried while I fixed their breakfasts and decided to eat in their high chairs this morning. They each had 3 bowls of cereal. It was great for me because yay they are eating! But not so fun in the high chairs. That means I can’t go upstairs and do something because they scream and cry and want to get down the minute I leave the room. This is why I love having a laptop because I just poked around online while they ate happily. Butterfly too.
Once they were finally eating and playing nicely, I went upstairs to do my exercising. Butterfly and Pirate have been fighting the past few days. I finally shut them in different rooms while I exercised.
Except some how the boys got out of their room and made their way downstairs. And found the cereal Butterfly left on the table. And dumped an entire bag of cereal on the floor. I finished working out and heard silence from the house. Uh-oh. I discovered the boys covered in cereal bits quite happily eating off the floor. Good thing I just steamed that floor clean!
I got out the little hand held vacuum and started to pick it all up. Then I moved to vacuuming up all the cobwebs in the corners and the grooves in the floor. I walked out of the kitchen with the intent of going to take a shower when I saw the heating vent cover in the middle of the living room floor. Huh. That’s not supposed to be there.
So I went to go put it away and discovered that they put blocks down the vent. Not just one or 2 blocks, at least 50. I’m not sure if I got them all or not. Also down there: crayons, little people, cars, a notebook!, and some of my kitchen spoons.
Seriously boys?!
They had sprinkled the vent generously with the aforementioned cereal. The heater was on so the cereal bits were blowing into my face as I’m digging out toys from the bowels of my house. I was up to my armpit in heater vent. Good thing I’m a member of the “green arm club” from college. Once you’ve stuck your arm up a horse or a cow, going down a dryer vent is no big deal.
I did vacuum up most of the crumbs from the dryer vent (and found 2 more blocks as they stuck to the vacuum tube) so hopefully we will not have pests from this lovely disaster.
Now an hour after I exercised, I am finally ready to shower. Only to have Professor trip while carrying milk and spill a full cup all over the carpet. Gah.
Seriously!
It’s been a very involved day already.
Safire
Safirecleaning, double trouble, life with twins
Jan 25
Everyone,
Yesterday I was sitting on the couch with Professor on my lap. I asked him, “Do you want to go play?” because he was gestering and gabbering at Pirate and Butterfly playing across the room. He looked at me, pouted out his lip a little. Then it started to tremble. Then his eyes got really sad and he took a shuddering breath. He squeezed out a tear just in the corner of his eye. His hands flew to his mouth and he took in another huge shuddering breath. That breath turned into “the cry with no sound” that kids do before they let loose. And then he did let loose. Ho.ly.cow. Not that hard of a question kid! Juice and I just stared at each other stunned. This kid could be an actor!
Today has gone much the same, with the slow progression into a huge sobbing mass by lunch time. Vinny (Butterfly’s BFF) and his mom came over to spend the morning playing and they had a great time together. The boys followed me around the house wailing. I finally broke down and gave Professor his binkie because I just could not handle the crying anymore! He never gets his binkie out of his bed. I did consider leaving him in his bed for awhile but he cried so hard I just carried him around with me. I also fed him lunch standing up holding him because he would sit down. I couldn’t sit down either.
Once everyone was down for their naps and Vinny and Lala were sent safely home, I sat down and did a few deep breaths. About 10 minutes later, Professor wakes up screaming. And it just kept going and going and going. Finally I got him up, gave him some happy juice (pain killers) and dealt with the aftermath of NO! MORE! MEDICINE! screaming. I finally took him to Butterfly (who was watching a movie in my room) and watched some of the movie with her and him limp on my chest. He fell asleep. However, Butterfly can not sit still for a moment and all that jostling woke him up. Screaming followed and continued until Juice got home. My ears hurt.
I took Butterfly to dance class tonight and that was a real treat to talk to my friend for a whole 50 minutes without any of my offspring around. Awesome. But Butterfly fell on her tailbone the minute she came home and screamed the rest of the evening.
Juice said he had no problems with the boys and they were great and happy and fun. Why me?!
Safire
SafireButterfly dance class, hard days, Lala and Vinny, life with twins
Nov 18
Everyone,
I’ve had a rash of bad luck with the boys lately. Monday, while I was taking my shower, they decided that all of my clothes in my drawers needed to be pulled out. Six big drawers were emptied of everything. When I opened my bathroom door to see what they were doing (after the shower, I am blissfully unaware in the shower) they were rolling in the clothes and laughing. It took me an hour to resort, fold and put away all those clothes.
Tuesday they decided that they were going to turn on all the electronics in my room. My tiny TV that I use to do my exercise videos on, my cd player, etc. They actually got a cd out of the player and have lost it. I’ve looked everywhere for it in all the normal places; drawers, boxes, bathtub. This prompted me to put the electronics on a power strip out of their sight so if I want to use those things, I just have to flip the switch. Plus, it might also save us a tiny bit on our electricity bill.
This morning they found Butterfly’s markers and drew all along the bottom of my bed. My bed is in a big wooden box so they just drew on the wood. I was able to wipe it all off (thank goodness for magic erasers) but still!
To make it even worse, I did try to lock them in our extra room while I was in the shower but they somehow managed to get that door open before I even got into the tub. And then they wouldn’t go near it after that. It’s like they remember or something.
All of this daily destruction has really got me thinking. Christmas is coming. Christmas = tree. Tree = disaster! My house is tiny. I can’t put it in the main room and block it off. There’s not enough room TO block it off. And with what would I block it off with?! The couches they climb over, the chairs they get on, they are even starting to scale the toy cube thing I have.
I have ornaments from when I was a baby. We add to our ornament collection every year. You can’t replace some of these! I would be heartbroken if my old ones broke. Juice and I and my Mom (who was on the phone at the time for our weekly call) had a good time brainstorming some ideas.
- different rooms to put the gated tree in…not very practical
- not putting up the tree at all this year…sad!
- putting up the tree but putting no ornaments on it…feasible.
- hanging the ornaments/lights from the ceiling
- making a cardboard tree
- putting the tree in another room
- renting a house and putting the tree there so we could visit it daily
- cutting down a tree limb and putting it in a bucket in our living room like poor sad Charlie Brown’s tree
- doing an outside tree this year and not hanging up our yearly ornaments…still kind of sad.
- having a table top tree to hang this year’s ornaments on and putting it up out of the boys’ reach, hmm…best one yet!
I think what we finally decided on was to get a tiny tree to hang this year’s ornaments on, and set up our big tree with lights and tinsel and nothing else. Also, I intend to tie it down somewhere. Bolt it to the wall or something. I love our tree. I can’t imagine not having it out since it’s older than I am. This will be it’s 30th year.
I think it might be nice NOT to have to retire the tree this year because of certain someones in our house.
The ornaments will not have changed since last year. They will be the same next year. They are just going to get a year off. I think I’ll either get a tiny wire tree or a potted tree for this year’s ornaments. I’ll probably have to put it on top of the refrigerator to keep it away from curious fingers. At least, hopefully, this will let me keep my sanity!
Safire
SafireChristmas 2009, christmas tree, double trouble, life with twins
Sep 29
Everyone,
I don’t know what happened but suddenly I have had zero time for the computer. I guess that’s a good thing and it’s been a good break for me. But I’ve been frustrated with it because I want to get on the computer but can’t because of something the kids are doing. Or I’m taking a nap because the kids have worn me out. Something.
This week Professor has done the following: thrown my contact case into the toilet, complete with contacts in it. That went right into the garbage. Thrown several toys into the toilet, once when sister forgot to flush. Ewww. Broken a huge glass milk bottle with water so water went everywhere. Also glass shards went everywhere. He cut his foot (barely) and I pulled a huge shard out of the bottom of my foot this morning. Did you know foot wounds bleed a lot if they are deep? Probably everything bleeds a lot when it’s deep, huh?
Things Pirate has done this week: managed to shut and lock himself in the dog’s crate 3 times. (I think sister may have had a hand in that but I can’t prove anything.) Learned how to give people high fives (so cute!). Hid his brand new shoes the day we got them so well he didn’t wear them for a few days. Figured out how to climb up onto the toy box (which doesn’t hold toys, it holds our DVD cases) and play the rock band drums and keep his siblings away from his cool new toy by hitting them. Good times.
Things Butterfly has done this week: stomped up to her room at least once a day saying, “I don’t like ANYTHING!”, bit her brother on his back while pretending to be a monster, told me she did not want to stay at dance class and then cried when I made her, has not eaten dinner in over a week because “this is yucky, is there any Butterfly friendly food?”.
There have been some good things this week too. Like Pirate loves to help and almost shakes with excitement when you give him something to pick up. And the boys are starting to look for each other when they are doing something and will “call” for the other one. Professor has started giving spontaneous hugs and has won his sister completely over with that. Butterfly has been so helpful getting the boys out to the car and will hold Professor’s hand so he doesn’t run out into the street for me.
Look for a bunch of stuff tomorrow since I have nothing going on in the day and I might actually be able to upload some pictures. 
Safire
Safireeveryday life, life with twins
Jul 30
Everyone,
Today we met up with my twin mommy group for a bit of park time. I’m new to the group. This was actually my first visit with them. They have been meeting every other week or so, starting the week before we left for Utah.
So needless to say, this is the first time I’ve really been free to hang out. There were about 6 or 7 moms (I can’t remember who all came…it was a park after all, and we all have multiples) all with twins 12-18 months old. A few of us have older children as well. I’d say there was between 14-17 kids there at one time. That’s a lot of kids! Everyone has been taking turns doing things near their houses. I guess my turn is coming up.
Today we drove into DC to go to Turtle Park. This is one cute little park! They have what they call a “sprinkler area” which is just a big fountain in the middle of a fenced in place. It was very cute for the boys. Butterfly got a little bit bored and tried to block off all the water. She did love it when it came back up!
Pirate sat next to the fountain and tried to fill up a bucket with water…even though his bucket was upside down. Even though he got so cold he shivered. Even though he couldn’t open his eyes because of the water spraying around, he still tried.
Professor walked around and around that little enclosed area. He yelled in anger or frustration every time he got remotely wet. It was really funny.
The day ended with a picnic with the other moms and Butterfly cried when we had to leave. I, for one, was so happy to go home. Even with Flower helping, parks are getting to be too crazy to go to. Unless I am the only one there.
Safire
Safirelife with twins, play parks, sprinklers
Jun 16
Everyone,
It’s sad. I was trying to write every single day for a year but it just didn’t happen. Oh well…here is a catch up post.
Friday we spent the day with my grandparents and enjoyed their company and their lunch! Thanks Nana and Grandpa!
Saturday we went to the Oquirrh Mountain Temple open house with my grandparents and my bro and sil and Cappy. Fun but cold outside! We also took all the kids to get their hair cut. The first cut for the boys! Professor screamed through the whole thing (while dripping saliva from his sucker all over the drape and getting hair plastered to his face because of it). Professor had a bell he was focused on (the place had little cars for them to sit in) and he stood stock still. Ah, life with twins. Butterfly also got a trim and a princess hairdo. They had a slide in the hair cutting place and Professor loved it so much. He got so excited at the top bouncing on his knees. He then pitched forward to get on his hands to go down the slide but didn’t realize the edge of the slide was right there. He bashed his head pretty good and had a huge goose egg. I think he cried more that we were leaving the slide than the goose egg.
Sunday we spent at Juice’s parents house, going to church with them and eating a ton of fruit. I fell asleep in the mother’s lounge with one of the boys. I think I might be tired. We also raced downtown to see my brother sing in the Mormon Tabernacle Choir that morning. I love to see him up there doing what he loves to do! We also saw a good friend’s drawings and were able to see our Prophet.
Monday we went hiking wth BFF Mink and her girls. We had a great time until we had to run home so we wouldn’t be caught in the thunderstorms that are happening every evening. It has rained every day since we’ve been here. Juice’s BFF J came over that evening and we went for yet another hike (this time without the kids). We also went geocaching which I always find fun. We found one we had been looking for for over a week so I was excited. Juice and J stayed up until 1am talking and playing Rock Band.
Today was another day spent at my grandparents’ house for me and a day spent with Juice’s family for Juice. Juice had a great time with his nephews who are visiting from Idaho…mostly because we are here and they have never met our kids. Their youngest was a baby when we moved to Maryland so it’s fun to see how grown up they all seem.
My kids decided to knock over a fake tree of my Nana’s and break some glass orniments she had hanging on it for decoration. They also decided that the orniments should be eaten!! Ack! I have no idea if they swallowed anything (probably) and we left soon after that. I also got a flat in BOB’s wheels from a thorn I probably picked up while hiking yesterday. My awesome cousin S (who is 14?) fixed it for me. I kind of miss being around my family.
I also got my hair cut today. Yes, cut means really different. I have bangs. It’s short. It’s seriously different. Pictures later since I haven’t taken them yet.
Cappy is spending part of the night with us and it’s been fun to have all of the cousins together. They are actually all sleeping (yes, they are asleep) in the same room. We took some pictures of all the boys in their pjs together and it’s so cute! It has also reinforced that I’d really rather not have triplets. My boys are running me pretty ragged these days and adding another one to the mix changings the whole dinamic. Triplet moms are amazing.
We’re off to the zoo tomorrow so I’m off to bed!
Safire
SafireBoys hair cuts, family, Great Grands, Juice's family, life with twins, MusicMan, my hair, temple
Apr 28
Everyone,
Sharing is hard for everyone in this house lately. I have labeled myself the toy police and am constantly telling small people to stop taking toys! From your siblings! Arg!
Hmpf.
Anyway, one thing that the boys are not doing well right now is taking turns. Specifically taking turns with their medicine. Man they see that little dropper in my hand and come to me as fast as their little hands and knees can go. Pirate trips over himself in his rush to get to me. This morning I sat on the floor between them to give them their medicine. Here’s how it went:
Me, cross legged on the floor (in my pjs still because we all wear pjs in this house until a) at least 10am or b) we have to go somewhere…it’s just how it is) and I call the boys over to me with their bottles of medicine and the dropper that I am sharing between them. They barrel over. Professor gets to me first smiling and moving his jaw up and down. He climbs into my lap and sits down patting my legs and looking up at me. Pirate has tripped on his way over and is now screaming because he didn’t get their first. He pulls himself up on Professor’s shoulder and tries to pull Professor out of my lap by his hair. Professor doesn’t like this (obviously) and turns to push Pirate off of him. Which causes Pirate to fall over and me to grab him so he won’t hit his head on the hard floor. He uses this to his advantage and climbs up my arm. Professor thinks this is a great idea and launches himself at my other arm.
Um, boys? I do have to have my hands to do this. So I put Professor down who complains and is trying to climb up my shirt. Okay, I’ll stand up. Both boys are hanging on my crying and I get the dropper ready. I turn to give it to Pirate (he just happened to be the bottle I opened first) and stick it in his bird-like mouth. Professor is unhappy that he is not being fed and tries to rip the dropper out of Pirate’s mouth. Pink stuff goes everywhere. Sigh…
I picked up Pirate and gave him the rest of his dose (and a little bit more to make up for the spilled stuff…good thing the pharmacy gave me a little extra) and then put him down. I got Professor’s dose ready, and picked him up. Pirate cried, pulled, hit my legs because he saw I was giving Professor his beloved liquid!!
I think tomorrow I may strap them into their high chairs to dose them. Tonight Juice held them both and we wound up doing a walk around the kitchen trying to keep hands from grabbing the dropper.
Butterfly also has to be in on it and desperately wants to give the boys the dropper but I won’t let her. I do let her squeeze the top and fill the dropper with meds, but that’s as far as I’m going with that one.
Pirate’s nose is still pouring out green gunk and he still has an off and on fever. Hopefully it will be gone tomorrow. Until then, I am marveling at the amount and color of his snot. Seriously, I don’t think I’ve ever seen anything so green come out of a nose before. Professor is totally on the mend and is happier than I’ve seen him in awhile. A month or more. Hopefully they will both sleep well tonight and wake up feeling even better.
Safire
Safirelife with twins, medicine, sickness 2009
Older Entries
