Baby Teeth

The day has come, the day my boys have been waiting for....their first trip to the dentist. Yes, I too find it strange that my boys have been begging me to take them to the dentist for the last few months. They have seen me and TOWW go regularly for years now, I think they were jealous that we got new toothbrushes at each visit. Or maybe they remember the last time we all went to the dentist together, I'm sure they had more fun than I did that day....I'm still trying to forget. Anyway, the day has come and off we went. They were so good, they waited patiently in the waiting room while I filled out the usual paper work. They especially enjoyed the fish tank, and even remembered not to tap on the glass (they've been warned many times it hurts the fishes ears!)
When they finally called Peanut's name he jumped up and yelled "YEA, IT'S FINALLY MY TURN!". I saw more than one waiting adult smile and roll their eyes at this, knowing full well that loving to visit the dentist only lasts as long as you manage to avoid the dreaded cavity. He ran through the door, passed the hygienist who was suppose to be showing us the way and left me and walnut in the dust. I think he just picked at random which exam room he wanted and crawled up into the great big chair. By the time the hygienist, Walnut and myself finally caught up to him he was seated like a king, head back, mouth wide open....waiting (OK, so we rehearsed a little at home).

Walnut on the other hand who up until this point had taken his courage ques from Peanut, took one look at that giant moving chair, tray of shiny, sharp instruments and room of masked strangers and decided, no new tooth brush was worth all this. He stuck his face in my neck and clung to me as if evil tooth stealing monsters were trying to pry him away. Peanut enjoyed every minute of his exam and was even astute enough to tell the dentist that he might "accidentally" bite him if he had to answer any more questions while his fingers were in his mouth. Even Walnut was eventually persuaded to crack open his clenched jaws enough for a quick cleaning and exam.
Both both boys left thrilled with their brand new toothbrushes, and good report of no cavities. On our way out the door I told them we could come back in six months if they brushed every day, Peanut's reply "if we came back every day, we'd never have to brush". You know, I guess he's right, at least the kid's got logic....and clean teeth!

3000 MPG

"The bicycle is the most efficient machine ever created: Converting calories into gas, a bicycle gets the equivalent of three thousand miles per gallon" ~Bill Strickland

In the little city where we live there are numerous bike trails, they have spent millions of dollars creating and improving riding paths all over the city, even the park right behind our house attaches to the county wide trail system, so there is no excuse (now that the snow is gone) not to get out there and ride.

We recently bought a second bike trailer, because despite our best attempts to cram three kids in the two seats, we were just plain unsuccessful. We tried it several times but our rides always ended with Sweetie on the floor of the bike trailer, crying, after Walnut dropped her....again. Now TOWW (The One Who Works) and I both pull a trailer behind our bikes, if it's going to be a short ride we let Peanut ride his own bike, but if we decide to take to the trails he hops in the trailer and rides with one of us. We have so much fun, I personally LOVE to ride, and feel so free peddling along, the wind blowing in my hair. The kids enjoy it too, and seem to be happy and secure in their little trailers. Last weekend we packed everybody up and rode all the way to the brand new trail underpass they just installed under the road, unfortunately it's not completed and therefore not paved, but we just had to see, so we pushed our bikes/trailers all the way. On the way back we immediately realized why it's best to stay on paved trails, both TOWW and I had flat tires on our trailers. We did have a hand pump with us and tried pumping the tires up, but they flattened within two or three minutes, aaagh. Our solution, TOWW pumped up my trailer tire and I'd take off riding as fast as I could back in the direction of home, TOWW would do the same thing for himself and by the time my tire was flat again I'd just stop and wait for him to catch up and we'd repeat the whole process again. TOWW is such a good sport, we must have stopped and pumped up tires at least four or five times each. Finally we made it home, next time we'll be riding with patches and spare tire tubes! Certainly with gas prices rising the way they are (it was at $3.20 this morning!) I should get my butt on that bike and start peddling...how long would it take to get to Bluffdale anyway?

Egg-cellent Easter

I hope you all had as nice an Easter weekend as we did. It was a beautiful, sunny weekend and although not exactly warm (mid 50's) it was perfect after a long snowy winter. Grandma colored eggs with they boys on Friday afternoon, they loved it.





Saturday morning in our very own backyard park was the ward Easter egg hunt, we hauled everybody over and even the twins got in on the action.

There were a hundred or so kids and at least that many parents. And would you believe I counted at least 4 other sets of twins, besides my own, in our little neighborhood alone! There must be something in the water.


The Easter bunny even brought baskets to our house this year....a first for us. He was so clever, the Easter bunny left a little jellybean trail from the boys bedroom door, down the stairs and around the family room and kitchen to lead them to their hidden baskets. Walnut was especially thrilled with the little fire engine truck left for him, it makes real siren sounds and everything, Peanut was just amazed that the Easter bunny would know exactly what Walnut would want.


The entire weekend was topped off with a delicious dinner at TOWW's parents Sunday afternoon. I did not attend, but instead stayed home with the twins who are just getting over a mild case of RSV. Our new little nephew Max was making his first appearance...a trip to grandma/grandpa's house for Easter, and we definitely did not want him to get sick on our account. I missed seeing him but will hopefully have a chance soon. They did send me home a giant plate of that delicious dinner...yum!

Movers and Shakers

There are movers and there are shakers. I am a mover. I move babies, laundry, dishes, toys, dirty diapers, blankets, trash, spilled milk, discarded pajamas, forgotten socks, sipper cups, pillows, important papers, used towels, toilet paper, rugs, blankets, cardboard boxes, bottles and an occasional wrench, all before 9AM. I am constantly cruising through my day picking up and moving things that are out of place. It's a big job, you see I'm the only mover in the house, all the rest are shakers, their sole job is to shake things up. They are the ones who spill the milk, create most of the laundry, move dishes into the front room, spread toys into every nook and cranny of the house, drop sipper cups, leave towels on the floor in the bathroom, change for school in a frenzy and leave PJ's on the kitchen floor, drop socks on the floor while watching TV, and discard candy wrappers on the stairs. I have become efficient as I move through my day, I've made it a habit to grab a rogue toy on my way up the stairs, drop it back in the boys toy box, fold a blanket from the floor and place it back on Peanuts bed, decide to quickly make his bed only to find a half eaten piece of cake between his sheets. I strip the sheets, gather them up, pick up a baby and head down stairs to start a load of laundry. I trip over a bathroom stool, have to put down the baby, return the stool to the bathroom, flush the toilet Peanut forgot, stuff the sheets into the washer only to find the boys pulled all their shoes off the shelves in a rush to get to school. I sit to replace and organize all the shoes, just as the phone rings. I talk quickly, grabbing that same baby and head back up the stairs to find it's twin has pulled all the clothes out of the two lowest drawers in the dresser. I put them all back in no particular order while wrapping up my phone call, moving through the rooms gathering up garbage. I remember the days of living without children and a husband, things actually stayed where you put them. Nothing ever moved out of place unless I moved it. You'd think with all the running around I do, up and down my stairs countless times throughout the day, it would be equivalent to a workout, but so for that doesn't seem to be the case. I guess I should be grateful for my little shakers, without them I'd have nothing to do but just.....sit. Imagine that.
My little "Shakers"

Bitten

Yesterday Walnut got mad. Mad at Peanut to be more specific, so mad in fact he decided to take a bite right out of him...and so he did.


Surprisingly, Peanut did not retaliate, in fact after screaming his head off for a minute or two, he admitted that he had been teasing Walnut. Despite this fact Walnut was sent to his room for an early nap and other than dinner with the family spent most of the evening there, he even missed his nightly bath, a favorite of Walnuts.

Today all is calm, we have thoroughly examined Walnut's embedded teeth marks, still very visible and scabbed over on Peanut's back and talked about how much biting hurts. Hopefully this will be our last biting episode...at least until the twins get teeth!

I'm Late, I'm late....

...for a very important date, no time to say "hello" "goodbye" I'm late, I'm late, I'm late! I try to be on time, but something or someone is always holding me back. It's usually only a few minutes, but even a few minutes can make the difference as to whether or not I have to sneak into sacrament meeting, hauling two babies in bucket seats, a whiny four year old and a two year old dragging his ratty old blanket behind him, not exactly unnoticeable. It's not for lack of preparation, I know for a whole week that church starts at 11am on Sunday, and I prepare. I make sure our church clothes are clean and hanging in the closets, I even find black socks for the kids and tuck them in their church shoes the night before. I unload the baby bag and repack it with suitable church activities and snacks, yet somehow it's never enough. For some reason, I can't get there on time. I have even taken to showering the night before, so all I have to do is fix my hair and put on some makeup (yes, I do wear make-up on occasion). I have always hated this particular nasty habit of those people who are consistently late, strolling in whenever it suits them, oblivious to the fact that the rest of us have been waiting on them. Thus, the reason I'm so horrified to now be categorized with them. I've been trying to make amends, I often sweep into whatever situation I'm late for, begging forgiveness, making excuses and promising to be on time in the future, and what I've learned is...people forgive me, they smile at me as I try to slink into the pew unnoticed, they whisper encouraging words as I pass, they offer to hold babies for me, and hold doors open, and one lovely lady even packs a bag of treats, crayons, and baby toys "just in case" my children happen to be near. Today I'm feeling optimistic, and I think that's the ticket. Fact is, I really am doing my best, and although some days it feels (to me anyway) to fall a little short, I think for now it's enough.

Head Gear

I'm gonna have to apologize up front to Uncle R, but I can't help it...I have an obsession. I recently got a great deal on some beautiful "head gear" for Sweetie. Ten fun colorful bows and flowers. Since we're still not working with much hair here, we have to make due with what we've got....and that's a chubby little round face that looks amazing with a gigantic flower/bow on top of her bald little head. I've even been known to buy a bow and then look for an outfit that matches...backwards I know, but I like told you, it's an obsession. Once again I would like to state how GRATEFUL I am for this beautiful little angel of mine, she is truly my living doll!

Baby Cage

Don't think for one minute this is mean, my kids love it! Love it so much in fact, that they fight about who gets to play in it.

I bought it for the twins and have found it so perfect that I recently bought a second one. Now we'll have two, we can make one big cage and pile everybody in or make two and separate the warring parties!


I was able to find some great foam mats for the floor of our little cage that attach together and create a waterproof barrier between my ravaged carpet and Little Red's endless bubbling over. The twins love it and play for hours; they especially love the little game board that plays different songs and lights up at the slightest touch.

It's been particularly nice to open up our baby cage and block off areas of the house, Little Red is on the move and gets into anything his chubby little hands can grasp. Just think, if the day comes they don't like their baby cage anymore...I guess I can always crawl in and lock the kids out.