Sibling love

I think I am the luckiest mom in the world to have twins. Especially when they want to hold hands, play and hug each other.



I just love those little guys.

Little white lies

There is a stage that I have been anticipating with both excitement and anxiety. I have read that there will come a time when the kids will just start blurting out whatever they see, or think, or feel...usually to the horror of parents but to the amusement of whoever is around. You know the stage...

Setting: A beautiful day at the park. A young couple walks by covered in tattoos.
Kids: Mommy, why don't those people go home and take a bath? They are covered in markers.
Mommy: Shhhh...they will hear you.

(Actually Sadie and Linus are fascinated by tattoos since half of our household has one. I'm pretty sure once they figure out that they could also be covered in permanent ink, they will be asking for one too. But, that's an entirely new topic).

Even though I know there will be mortifying moments, I think it is going to be hysterical to hear what comes out of their mouths. I already laugh throughout the day at what they are saying, and I don't even understand half of it yet. So, I can imagine how fun it's going to be when they start speaking English on a consistent basis.

I have also read that kids will "invent" stories about things going on around them, or will just plain make stuff up out of the blue. I've heard horror stories about kids who will announce to teachers that their parents don't feed them, when in fact it is the kids who refuse to eat anything for dinner besides Cheerios. You know, that kind of stuff.

Well, Sadie has reached the "Invention" stage. She has invented scenarios to the different boo-boos she has received in the last couple of weeks, usually involving Linus...while he is either asleep in his crib or in a completely different room. Today Sadie has identified an entirely different target: the dogs. Just this morning on the way to the park, she was chewing on a towel and accidentally bit her lip. Immediately she started blaming it on Tyson.

Who was at home.

While we were 5 miles away in the car.

For over 5 minutes she was adamant that "Tyson bit lip". When I tried to explain that it was physically impossible for Tyson to have bit her since she wasn't in the car, Sadie stuck to her story. When I tried to reason with her that she must have bit her own lip accidentally, she emphatically accused Tyson of magically appearing in the car for a split second - just long enough for a nip - and then disappeared again.

Finally I convinced her that there was no way Tyson could have bit her lip.

Her response:

"Canyon bit lip."

I give up.

First aid

Even when the kids had just come home from the hospital, I have never treated them as "extra fragile" as would be expected of a mom with preemies. I really want them to grow up as normally as possible, so I try to let them explore the world just as any full-term kid would. I don't want to hover over them every time they take a step, or climb a ladder, or jump off a curb...or try to sky dive from the couch.

Wait, scratch that last one. I do have some rules.

But overall, I feel like I am pretty relaxed in terms of letting them test their physical limits. And, I also feel that they are doing very well physically. They run around. All of the time. They walk along curbs and then jump off. All of the time. They don't hesitate at all to climb ladders, or to climb onto furniture, or to walk up and down steps sometimes without holding on...or to sky dive off the couch.

So why is it that the worst injuries these guys have received is from tripping?

Poor Linus tripped and fell at Legoland as soon as we entered into the park. Now he has a gigantic goose-egg on his forehead that is sure to turn black and blue before the week is over.






Of course he only cried for a minute before he and Sadie were off running through the play structures and climbing on anything they could find. Meanwhile I'm planning our exit past the First Aid station so I can pick up a cold compress for the drive home.

Good thing I took that First Aid class with Brian right after the kids were born.

(As an aside: I could live in San Diego for the rest of my life and I don't think I'll ever get used to Christmas weather. The fact that there are people dressed up singing Christmas carols, and trees being decorated, and holiday decorations are up when it is as hot now as it was during the summer is just strange. I was even contemplating stripping the kids down to their diapers so they could run through the water fountains at Legoland because it was so hot. Meanwhile there were carolers in 18th century garb singing about how the Weather Outside is Frightful. Frightful to who? Pass the sunscreen.)

The day after

As I said before, when the kids woke up at 5am, I decided to brave the crowds with the rest of the shoppers and hit the early morning sales.

...And if you believe that, then maybe you'll also believe that I bought a new dining room set because our old one just wasn't stylish enough:

And maybe you'll believe the matching outfits that I bought for Brian and I to wear the next time we go to a dinner party:
Lovely, right?

What did I really do the day after Thanksgiving?

Well, I can't think of anything worse than crowds and shopping, so I avoided the malls at all costs. (Like I don't anyways). Instead, I took the kids to the fun and exciting place of Jiffy Lube so I could get my oil changed. In all fairness, afterwards I did take the kids to the Flying Leathernecks museum so we could see the planes and helicopters.

Definitely more fun than Jiffy Lube.

(Many thanks to Lindsay for passing on the pictures from a 1977 JC Penney's catalog. Funny story - this was actually an email sent out by my cousin but somehow was forwarded to me through Lindsay. Small world! I still haven't figured out how everyone is connected.)

What a wonderful Thanksgiving

For the last 4 years, we have celebrated Thanksgiving with friends here in town. But, this year we made the trek to LA to see my cousin and her family...and my other cousin and her family...and my other cousin and his family...and my aunt and uncle...and my brother. Oh, and they threw in another 6 people just for fun. So, with a small crowd of 26, we celebrated Thanksgiving, complete with the largest turkey you ever saw and all of the fixin's. It was so good!

But first I should mention the drive up...

It actually wasn't as bad as I thought it would be. The worst part was just getting out of San Diego, but I've definitely been in worse LA traffic. Like at 11:30 at night after my cousin's wedding and we were driving back to the hotel, and ended up in stop-and-go traffic for no apparent reason except that the rest of LA happened to be out at the same time. Doesn't anyone stay home in that town?

Anyways, the kids did great. I was a little worried that they would be fussy once we got there since they were off schedule, but all it took was a box full of toys and a jungle-gym to play on for everything to be all right. Heaven.

See for yourself what a great time everyone was having:

Photo and video editing at www.OneTrueMedia.com

What a wonderful Thanksgiving! Thanks so much Tom and Michelle for putting on such a great feast. Same time next year???

(Up next: my morning of shopping with the kids on the day after Thanksgiving...)

Ready, Set...Bake!

Today we had our first attempt at baking. (Banana bread and blueberry apple bread were calling my name). I have to say, as much as I love to eat baked goods, I'm not entirely sure it was worth trying to do anything productive with the kids.

At first it was going OK.

The kids were helping me dump all of the measured ingredients into the bowl. We were all stirring nicely.

And then they decided to play "sword fight" with the spoons, which were covered in batter. (Unfortunately, I don't have any pictures of this since I was trying frantically to stop the dogs from mauling the kids covered in yummy goodness).

However, despite the messy introduction to baking, the kids enjoyed the finished products with me.

I think they have inherited my fondness for anything out of the oven.

Progress?

Would it be fair to say that if I had to dust the potty chairs while cleaning this weekend, then our potty training isn't exactly taking off?

Maybe we should have opted for the "potty throne".

Preemies

Today I came across a beautiful post about preemies written by the same mom of micro-preemies that had written the post on "Perspective" last month. Go ahead and read it...I'll wait.

You read it? Have you stopped crying yet? It is amazing to think how similar our stories are (went into labor at 24 weeks without realizing it, and was rapidly dilating to 3-4cm before I was stabilized on mag sulfate), the only difference is that my kiddos were able to hang in there for over 3 weeks whereas hers were not.

When the kids were first born, and for over a year afterwards, I always felt I had to clarify that Sadie and Linus were preemies. That's why they were so small. That's why they have some delays. That's why we see so many specialists. That's why I am a little paranoid about some things but amazingly relaxed about others. In short, that's why I am raising them the way I am. I'm not sure why I always had to clarify, but I almost felt like I had to explain and justify myself and everything I did just so people knew where I was coming from. But, unless you have a preemie, no one could possibly understand.

Right before we got pregnant, we knew a couple who had a daughter at 28 weeks. I remember seeing the pictures and reading their updates during her stay in the NICU and all I could think of was how terrible it was for them. How sorry I felt that this had to happen to such nice people. What a devastating thing to go through. I couldn't fathom why they were still smiling in all of the pictures. Didn't they see the same thing that I was? A very, very tiny fragile baby who was bright pink and hooked up to tubes and monitors? It was heartbreaking.

When Sadie and Linus came early, I finally understood why they were smiling. They are your children. And they are beautiful, despite the fine hair covering their entire bodies, and the jaundice, and the IVs, and the monitors hooked up to any free patch of skin they could find. Despite the setbacks and difficulties of breathing, eating and maintaining their body temperature, you realize that if they go 20 minutes without needing to be reminded to breathe, then it's a triumph. If the doctors are able to turn down the oxygen levels or decrease the amount of air flow to your kids, then it's a really good day. If you get through a day without the need for antibiotics or more x-rays or more blood draws, than it's a celebration. A day without incident, but filled with an hour of kangaroo care where you have skin to skin contact is the best day in the world.

Our life in the NICU was one that was filled with heartache, jubilation, fear, pride, anxiety, pity, happiness, anger, and peacefulness. Each day brought us one more day with our newborn children and each day brought us a new spectrum of feelings. I will never forget that our kids were preemies. I will never forget our time spent in the NICU. I will never forget their adjusted birthday of when they were "supposed" to be born.

But, I have realized that I have stopped labeling them as preemies when I meet people. I have friends who I have met through the twins playgroup who just found out that they were premature (after knowing them for over 8 months) and others who I haven't mentioned it to yet. I no longer think that their prematurity defines them even though it will always be a part of who they are.

Instead, I think of Sadie as an independent, determined, intelligent, happy, sweet little girl who loves to be tickled. She lights up a room and has the best laugh I have ever heard. She gives the best hugs of anyone I have ever met. She is helpful and stubborn. She loves to read books and to organize her toys. She will make sure Linus is OK after he hurts himself. She will give him her toy if she thinks it will help him feel better. She is compassionate, yet ambitious. I couldn't ask for a better daughter.

I think of Linus as sensitive, athletic, and daring. He has the best smile and will give this silly laugh/grunt instead of saying "yes". He wants to make sure all eyes are on him when he makes a basket, jumps with both feet, or spins around in circles until he falls down. When he is playing, he will always check to make sure Sadie and I are still nearby. He loves to play with cars and line up all of his toys. And even though he may protest kisses, I think he secretly loves them. I couldn't ask for a better son.

Sadie and Linus are no longer my preemie twins. They are, well...Sadie and Linus. My kids who I love with all of my heart, and who are more amazing, more beautiful, more sweet than I ever could have imagined. They are my sweet pea and my cutie-patootie.

The Addams family

We officially have a new member of our family:

Cousin It
(aka: The girl who absolutely, positively refuses to wear anything in her hair, but if I somehow do manage to get a hairband in her hair, will throw a tantrum not unlike a catagory 5 tornado until either she or I removes it).

My idea of having her hair long and all the same length so I can throw it into a ponytail with stylish ease is fading. I'm about ready to take her into the little kid salon for the Dorothy Hamill 'do.

Greatest hits

Speaking of Christmas cards, we are currently making room on our fridge for the new ones coming in a month. This leads us to our first big hit of the week: a photo book I made from the old Christmas pictures sent to us. (Before you say anything Jessica, this was not my idea. I merely stole it from our Mommy & Me class. I am still very much an uncreative person). The kids love this!

They are actually pretty good at pointing out who everyone is. Even some people who they have only met as babies! So, for those of you not sure what to do with old Christmas photos, making them into a book might be the way to go.

Which brings me to our second hit of the week: the name song. You know the one - Sadie, Sadie, bo badie, banana-nana fo fadie...
We sing it in the car, in the bath, during dinner, you name it. The kids tell me which names to sing, and it is pretty much based on who we see that day and all of the pictures in our photo album. We usually start off with the grandparents, then it's random who will be next. The dogs? Mommy and Daddy? The mailman? Usually, all of the above.

Sadie, however, likes to have me sing the names of the boys we play with. In the bath tonight I had to sing Ethan, Lucas and Vinny over and over.

She is waaaayyyy to young to be turning boy-crazy.

Lord, help us.

Christmas photo

Every year we receive a bunch of Christmas cards from family and friends. And each year these cards are filled with amazing pictures of our family and friends. For the life of me, I can't figure out how they take such cute pictures while we're left sorting through hundreds of pictures where no one is even looking at the camera...or in anything but diapers. (OK, that's an exaggeration. Brian and I are wearing more than diapers. But, the dogs aren't so it all evens out).

This year we decided to start taking pictures early hoping that we would be able to capture the quintessential Mitchell household in all of it's glory.

With everyone in a good mood.

And smiling at the camera.

And behaving.

And wearing clothes.

That aren't covered in breakfast, lunch and/or dinner.

Here's what we have so far:



The only one cooperating at this point is Canyon and I don't think it's going to last for long.

So, my apologies in advance for a Christmas card containing a picture of our couch. Just know that at one point everyone was sitting on it looking cute, and well-behaved and wearing nice clothes. I just wasn't fast enough to capture it.

Giddyup little pony

The kids know all about horses. We read about them in books. We see miniature horses at the Zoo. We see the Clydesdales at Sea World. (Where else would you see Clydesdales?)

This weekend we attended another birthday party for a set of twins who just turned 2, and they had pony rides for everyone. (Well, for the little ones, not for the adults who were easily twice the size. Poor little pony - that would be awful).

Linus walked right up and hopped on.

Sadie also jumped right on. I was pretty impressed that neither of them had any fear...initially.

That Sadie, she always wants to be just like Aunt Mo.

My little monkeys

We took another trip to the zoo this morning with a couple of twin moms. Picture 3 moms trying to corral 7 kids down the sidewalk, 6 of whom are 2 yrs old. Yes, we are insane, but it was also a lot of fun. (I was in charge of bringing up the rear so almost all of these pictures are of the back of someone's head).

Oh Christmas tree, oh christmas tree...

A friend of ours knows 5 different families whose homes burned in the fires. This particular friend and her family also stayed with us during the Cedar Fire a few years ago since the house they had recently bought and the one they were trying to sell were both on canyons that were on fire. Luckily both of their houses made it through OK, but some of their friends weren't so lucky. Recently, she sent around an email asking people to contribute homemade Christmas tree ornaments to these families. Christmas can be extremely difficult because you don't think about replacing holiday decorations until you need them, and then you are forced to re-live the fires all over again during what should be a "happy time".

So, this morning, Fieldin, Jacob, Jessie, Sadie and Linus all got together to decorate holiday ornaments.


Actually, they lasted about 4 minutes before they got bored, then the moms tried to finish up while the kids were making a fort out of the couch cushions.

Oh well. At least we tried.

Wildfires 2007 - Update

Today I took the kids to the Wild Animal Park for the first time since the fires. It was also the first time that I saw part of the area burned by the fires.

There wasn't any destruction until I hit the Rancho Bernardo/Escondido area (about 10 miles north of us). All of a sudden you could see huge burned out fields and where the fires had jumped across a 12 lane highway. On the way to the park, there is a winery which had partially burned but I still saw some of the grape harvest intact, and an ostrich farm which had also partially burned but the ostriches were still out in the fields so I guess they did OK in the fires. The good news was that in all of the devastation, there was only one burned structure that I could see. And all of the burned areas went right up to the front doors of homes and businesses, yet almost all of these were untouched. The work of the firefighters was incredible, and the gratitude of the community was also incredible. Everywhere we drove there were signs thanking them for all of their hard work.

The Animal Park was close to the burned areas, but from where I drove in, there was a buffer of a mile or so on the side and front of it which were unscathed. Once inside it looked like a couple of the undeveloped hills had been burned, but the rest of the park was operating as normal. (I tried to take a picture showing the dark sooty hills and the bright green enclosures where the animals were).


For us (and the animals), it was business as usual:




Seeing a small part of the aftermath of the wildfires really makes you appreciate the force of mother nature, and I didn't even see the really bad areas. I can't even imagine what it must have been like to be in the middle of the neighborhoods that burned to the ground. They are calling it the worst fire in California history, and hopefully it will stay that way.

Take off, eh? You hoser.

Saturday was a fun-filled day of birthday parties for our twin friends, and BBQs with our Canadian friends. (Hence the title, which is about the only Canadian slang I know. And entirely stolen from Strange Brew, which I watched about 364 times in high school. Hilarious).

Having a day packed with activities was absolutely necessary since everyone was a little punchy in the morning and definitely needed to get out of the house.

Our friends Grace and Vivian turned 2 and had the entire playgroup over to My Gym to help celebrate. (These two had the same due date as Linus and Sadie so it's really fun to see them all grow up together). We had been to these kid gyms a couple of times before when the kids were younger, but I think this was the first time that they really got it. And they had a ball! See for yourself:

Free MySpace slideshows, photo and video editing at www.OneTrueMedia.com

Of course the true highlight was eating cake. And I'm afraid they have inherited my sweet-tooth because one slice just wasn't cutting it for them. Lord, do I have to compete with my cake now too? Having to share my Pirate Booty just isn't enough? I suppose next they'll be asking for something besides the steamed veggies, chicken, cheese and fruit that we have for lunch and dinner 7 days a week. Kids can be so picky.

Anyways, after getting pumped up on a sugar high, we invaded the Schmitz's house for a BBQ. Our friends Simon, Amanda and Amy had coincidentally all flown in from Canada for the weekend so it was great fun to see everyone together again.

Too bad by the time the festivities ended, the kids started getting punchy again.

Oh well.

Mommy & Me

Today we went to our first Mommy & Me class. Well, it's actually a parenting class through the Continuing Ed program by the San Diego Community Colleges, but it's basically a Mommy & Me class. Two of the moms in our older kids playgroup attend this class and they got us in as soon as there was an opening. I am very excited to start this class because:

1. It's a classroom setting

2. They have structured activities (e.g. circle time, story time, music time...)

3. For about an hour of the class, half of the parents are in a separate room listening to a lecture on parenting (hence, the parenting part of the class), while the other parents watch all of the kids, and then you switch.

4. It's free

We did...okay...I guess...with our first day of class. It didn't start out great when Sadie started screaming "No! No! Back! Back!" at the teacher as soon as we stepped into the classroom. Linus did alright though. He took off to play with the trucks and never looked back.

After a few minutes Sadie calmed down, only to trip over one toy, fall on another and split her lip open. The poor girl was screaming hysterically and it took a few Kleenexes and a lot of cuddling to get everything under control.

But, wouldn't you know it. Less than a half hour later she did it again.

And again.

I don't know if it was staying up late last night or what that caused her to be so uncoordinated today, but she either fell or another kid hit her on the lip no less than 4 times today. She is not at all happy about it, and when we got home she immediately asked for ice.

Linus was much less traumatized in class, but he still didn't want to have anything to do with trucks or playing unless I was around. Hopefully they will learn to enjoy having some quality time with playdough and paint without me around. That is why I want us to go after all.

By the end of class, Linus was at least interested enough in circle time to stand and watch.

Sadie eventually followed suit even though neither of them participated in any way.

I should be thankful that they weren't frantically trying to escape out the front door like they did the one time we attended music class. At this point I'll take what I can get.