Brain Damage

It always seems a little hard to come back to this blog when I have been away for so long.  I have been relying on Facebook for so long because it is quick and easy to post and keep family and friends updated on our lives.  I have used FB to be my memory since the twins were born because as Bill Cosby's famous comedy routine said "kids cause brain damage." 

By that I mean six months of not sleeping more than two hours at a time. It was so bad that some days I  would walk past my bed and just touch the covers and fantasize about laying down.  I would do it all again in a heartbeat but just like stretch marks, memory loss for me is just another fact of motherhood and how children can affect you mentally, physically and emotionally.  I cannot remember things as well as I used to and now have to write everything down.  I forget birthdays of family and friends (once again thank you FB for that nifty birthday reminder thing!).

So, all that was leading up to this.  I am going to commit to using this blog to write more about our daily life.  I want to preserve it, not only for the boys but also for myself.  So I invite you all back into this little corner of the internet to follow along with the boys and I and our adventures.  

Three Weeks In

We are in our third week of school around here and so far this is the best year yet!  I have loved having Marshall start Kindergarten with us, even if he took a little persuading to actually sit down and do some work.  I think I have worked out most of the kinks of our day.  Chores are being done, books are being read, and math work is progressing.  All in all I am very happy with how things are going so far this year.  The biggest improvement this year is the cooperation of these two guys:

 For the last two years these guys have been pretty demanding and now all of sudden they will play for an hour by themselves with minimal input from me!  This means more uninterrupted school time which we are all loving. 

I am starting Tea Time Tuesday with the boys.  The boys actually love it and take special care to pour the milk and tea and love setting up the table.  I let them use real tea cups and if they can go a month without breaking any I will let them have a saucer.  Now, if I can just get Cooper to wear a shirt at the table but then again this is a manly tea time.

We had an awesome day today.  We got started right after chores and finished in time to go to our areas christian homeschooling group's kick-off at the park.  The boys all played and I got to meet some new mom and chat about curriculum, programs around Houston and how to keep it all balanced.  The boys got so dirty and sweaty but I loved seeing them run around playing games like tag and stick swords. 

And I really do mean dirty. Like, we have been throwing mulch at each other and a wet wipe is a joke at this point, dirty.

I had to go grocery shopping after the park and just for a minute I entertained the thought of letting them go barefoot so we could really represent what some people feel like homeschoolers look like.  Well the joke was on me because I had to actually walk barefoot for a time because my shoe was rubbing a blister and I could not take another step with it on.  I actually left one shoe on so I did not look like a complete hillbilly. 

After grocery shopping we came home and put up groceries and everybody went down for some quiet time.  Once we got up we finished school by doing our readings for the day.  Marshall kept calling King Harold King Harriet which was frustrating Cooper who was learning about the Battle of Hastings in 1066.  Cooper was so sad to learn that good King Harold was killed and he was the last English King.  We love history around here but it is a hard lesson to learn that good men don't always win but it is so important to stay good until the end. 

We ended our day with some water slide play.  We even found a gecko and I am counting that as science for the day!   

Pool Time

Best to jump right in and pretend I have not posted anything in the last nine months right???

We had a great trip to the neighborhood pool recently.  I even got to take some pictures, which almost never happens because there is no time for that distraction with two two years old around a large body of water.  Luckily, Robert was able to go with us this time and I got some pictures.  A good time was had by all and we had a nice quiet afternoon after we got home.  I love swim days, it is the only activity that can tire out the big boys. 

Who needs Lincoln Logs?

This had to explained in a blog because I am going to need more space than Facebook would allow.  Some of you might recognize what is in the backyard right now but those who don't I will fill you in.  We live in a cute little subdivision that has those white picket fences.  About a year ago, our HOA decided that we could either keep them or get rid of them.  Some of our neighbors choose to get rid of them and we went around and collected them so we could extend our fence. We recently cleaned out the garage where we had been keeping them and piled them in the backyard to give us some more space.  Coop and Marshall left them alone for a couple days but I asked them to stack them up a little better and they made a giant toddler crushing tower.  So I had them make smaller piles and they left them alone for awhile. 

              Yesterday, the building started.  First it was small scale obstacle course from the boys favorite show Wipeout.  It soon turned into super mega wipeout track complete with obstacles to get through.  They built all of this on their own with no help from Robert or I.  

They are pretending to be panthers.  I guess Wipeout got old.

 

The Last Year

Oh what a year it has been.  The first birthday of any child is a big milestone and we have always celebrated with a big party for our babies.  Rob and I want to share the with all our friends and family the little person who is starting to show personality and who is well on their way to becoming the little person they will be. They change so much in that first year and it has gone by so fast for us. 

I have learned so much this year from our twins.  Here are several that jump out at me right now:

1. Let people help you if they offer - I am way to self conscience about letting people help me.  I guess I feel like if I let people help me then I am doing something wrong in the first place to need the help.  Crazy right?  I think I am not alone in this though because how many times have you told someone you are "just fine" when you weren't?  I had to accept help and the only thing that broke through my hangups were people just showing up and doing things for me.  I mean like folding a load of laundry that gasp! had my underwear in it!  Wait, stop, don't tell the world I wear underwear!  Other things I can think of are: accepting donor milk for the babies when I could not make enough, letting people carry one of the babies for me because I am not the hulk and carrying two car seats is hard; letting people watch my big boys when I could not play with them.  When people offer to help you they are doing what Jesus through the bible has asked us to do.  By turning them down, you are stopping them from serving! 
2. It is okay to ask for help - seriously sometimes you have to ask for help.  I did not ask for enough help after the twins were born.  Again, it was a pride thing and not wanting to bother anyone with my problems.  So six months goes by and I have a massive gallbladder attack while home alone with the kids.  I could barely dial the phone I was in so much pain and Robert was 45 minutes away.  I had to call someone right away and lo and behold she came, just like that all I had to do was ask!  After removing my gallbladder, my surgeon told me I could not lift anything for two weeks.  I laughed at him and reminded him I had six month old twins and he reminded me that if I ripped my stitches I would have to undergo "open" surgery which would require six weeks of no lifting.  So, I was forced to call in the cavalry (i.e. our awesome church family) and have people in my house lifting babies for me and gasp! folding my underwear again.  Again, God gave us the gift of people who love us and we should ask them for help and give them the opportunity to serve!    
3. There is no "right"way to do things - I am what I would consider a crunchy mom.  I co-sleep with my babies, I breastfeed until we (meaning me and the baby) decide to stop and I have what I call free range babies, meaning they are free to explore in a safe environment.   I was so looking forward to my third child.  I daydreamed about how easy this baby would be (before we knew it was number three AND four).  I could wear the baby in the sling while Cooper and I did school, we could still get out with minimal effort, and I had so much more confidence in myself as a mother. Now I just laugh and laugh at that stupid girl.
   We found out about the twins when I was 20 weeks along and that is pretty late these days.  Suddenly I did not know how to be a mom anymore.  How do you breastfeed two babies?  How do you wear them in a sling? How were we going to sleep?  All the things I did as a mom were suddenly up in the air.  Breastfeeding did not go as planned.  The babies would not latch and I did not make enough milk.  After two months of pumping the babies finally started latching but I still had supply problems.  I had to supplement with formula, which I had never had to use before.  Bottles were a new world to me as well.  Oh and there was no sleep/nursing in bed while the big boys watched a movie either.  I did not sleep more than two hours straight for six months.  I had to pump around the clock in the beginning to sustain my milk and the twins did not sleep through the night until they were six months old.  Yes, I learned to be a different kind of mom and I am much less judgmental about decision people make regarding their kids.  I still believe in all my crunchy goodness, I just had to learn to do things another way.
4. My husband is the most amazing man in the world.  Sorry gals, I got the best one.  Rob has always been a great dad and very supportive of all my choices regarding child rearing.  Breastfeeding pretty much meant the baby was mine until they turned 1 and he could play with them.  I mean besides changing diapers and bath time, and being my "water boy" there was not a lot for him to do with the actual baby while they are infants.  Well, the twins changed all that.  Suddenly, instead of bringing the babies to me to eat, there were bottles to wash and babies to feed and change and bathe and he was front and center for all of that. Oh and there was our first two boys who he had to be mom and dad too for at least the first three months.  My husband is a blessing from God and a true partner in helping me raise our family.

Here's a great big thank you to everyone who helped us this last year.!

Okay, enough of all that serious stuff how about some pictures!!

Barrett and Graham 1 day old

Graham and Barrett 1 year old

Robert feeding both babies

When they both could fit on the changing table

See, super twin dad!

The snake never stood a chance

Pool Time

We have a dear friend who opens her home and pool up to our playgroup in the summer.  Cooper and Marshall have spent many a summer day jumping around the pool and playing with their friends in Ms. Jen's pool.   I spent the last part of the twin pregnancy floating around this pool trying to get some relief from my gigantic belly (and to wear out Coop and Marshall).  So, it was with such hope that my sister and I set out for Ms. Jen's house today for our first swim of the summer. 

 First off, there is no way I could have gone with my sister helping me.  It took no less than an hour to get everything ready to go.  I am so lucky to have her close by to help me get out with all the boys. 

Things did not quite go as I hoped:

We had not so much as put their toes in the water and they both started crying.  It did not get better by splashing a little on their backs to cool them off and things certainly did not improve when I walked out into the water while holding Graham.  So, I got out of the pool with the littles for some cuddle and nursing time and Becky stayed in with the bigs and all was right in the world again.  We did eventually get them to go in while we were holding them but it was still a tense situation and not what I would call fun for them.  In fact, Barrett gave up and went to his happy place and fell asleep on Becky right there in the pool. 

All better now - as long as we stay away from the giant blue freezing cold bath tub of doom.

Mmmm snacks. Much better than the giant blue freezing cold bath tub of doom.

Marshall having a great time.

Marshall enjoyed having Aunt Becky ferry him around the pool and I even got some time with him to practice jumping off the side into the water.   I did not get many pictures of Cooper because he was having way to much fun to slow down for photos.  He even swam in the deep end today! 

Later this evening as I put the babies in the bath they both started crying.  I am hoping it was just because they were really tired and not because they were scared of the water.  It is too hot in Texas during the summers to be afraid of the water!

Goop!

1 cup Cornstarch

1 cup baking soda

1/2 cup water

=

GOOP!