Halloween 2009

It's Halloween today...finally!...as the boys are exclaiming. They are so excited to go out trick-or-treating tonight and this is the first year that they've been this excited. They have plans to go all throughout the neighborhood collecting as much loot as possible which is, of course, the point.

Every Halloween I'm reminded of my own childhood. My mom had this tradition that was imposed upon her as a child and she just paid it forward with clear intentions of torturing her young, I'm sure. She made us eat liver before we could go out trick-or-treating. Yes, liver. Beef liver none-the-less. So here my sister and I would sit at the kitchen table, costumes donned with the all-powerful carrot of trick-or-treating dangling in front of us and a plate of liver before us blocking the way. I'm quite sure that this can be considered child abuse in some states but clearly Minnesota was not one of them. Each year, when asked yet again WHY we had to ingest this nastiness, she'd simply state, "because it's good for you." Unfortunately for her, we grew older and got wise and our challenging assaults became more and more calculated and precise. We felt slight triumph the year that she conceded to letting my dad chicken fry chicken livers instead of the beef liver. At least the strong, dry flavor was smaller and coated in salty crunchiness. And finally, my sister inflicted the dying blow when one year she pointed out that just because she (mom) had had to eat it as a kid on Halloween DID NOT mean that she had to make her kids do the same. She actually had a choice in the matter and tradition was not a good enough excuse to carry on such vile behavior.

That did it.

I've not had beef liver since and while I don't remember at what age we finally got the abuse to stop but I was old enough to have it burned into my memory forever. We still like to tease mom about it. In all fairness to my mother, she's not that mean. In fact, she can't even tell you why she insisted upon this tradition for so long or why she was so sure that this was what good mothers did for or to (depending on your view point) their kids before allowing them to ingest as much sugar as a body could handle. We as mothers are trained to do our best to raise our children in a healthful way and allowing a sugar free-for-all can be really hard even though it's only once a year. When my kids were younger, I spent plenty of time, effort and money finding candy without corn syrup, all natural or organic and trying to replace the regular candy with this "good stuff". That only can last for so long before you realize that it IS just once a year. So I conceded my point as well.

This year, I gave my kids a choice. We happen to be in the process of going from one treat a day, which we implemented as my own need for constant daily sugar loading has subsided from my days as a mother to newborn twins, to having sweets once or twice a week. Yes, we're doing this right in the middle of Halloween and right at the beginning of the Holiday season. We'll see how this goes. Anyway, I came to the kids with a proposal earlier in the week. They could either choose to have one treat a day all week and then 3 small pieces of candy on Halloween night or choose to not have any treats all week and then have a candy free-for-all tonight. Well, my kids are smart and they chose the free-for-all. They've been really great about not having treats all week but have been talking incessantly about Halloween which stands to reason of course! They are so excited about tonight that they can't hardly stand it. I have to say that I truly enjoy letting go on Halloween and watching them plow through as much of their stash as is humanly possible. G last year swore off all candy for the rest of forever after his tummy ache set in (and then of course was ready to give it one more go the following day - such a martyr). I don't know if I'll have them sort and graph their stash before digging in this year or not - we have to fit some math in somewhere, right? But to be sure, a great and sugar-filled time will be had by all and may the ensuing crash and tummy aches be mild.

Happy Halloween!

Uncharted Territory

I just gave my boys a Latin Test. This is the first test they've ever taken and I was more curious about how they would deal with it than concerned about the outcome. It just so happens that printed on the test are the possible points you can earn for each section. This intrigued them and they both commented on it but only G worked really hard to get as many points as possible. M did quite well too but when he came to the end "fill in the blank" section, I found this note: "How am I supposed to know this without a clue?"

Yep, that's my boy! It reminds me of the time I asked one of my college French professors if he had opened a vein on my paper that he had just returned to me because there were so many red markings on it. He wasn't amused. I, however, am. He still didn't get the points though.

Personalities

It's always amazed me how quickly our children's personalities come through. As mothers, we start getting to know our little ones in the womb. We know how they kick or wiggle, what their busy time of day is and how they react when you poke them a bit. We, of course, spend time wondering if they're going to be terrors once they're born based on all the kicking that they do at 3am. But once they're born, they begin to show themselves right away. We have some very distinct personalities in our house to be sure. M came into this world entertaining everyone and he's never stopped. From the moment he could smile, he was coaxing smiles and reactions out of everyone around him. He would have long gobbledegook conversations with people from a very young age complete with gestures, well-placed laughs and impressive timing. He's still like that today. He's always telling jokes and entertaining anyone and everyone. He loves being the center of attention and will do anything to get there. When he was little, he could always be reasoned with. I didn't know what a blessing that was until G came along.

After having our first child who's personality filled a room, G was different. He COULD smile but you'd really have to work for it and the only person who could really get him going was M. He had an idea about this world and we were along for the ride. As a toddler, he resembled a grumpy old man at times. In the morning, he would get up, very crabby, and make his way to the couch with his blanket where he would demand a sippy cup (sikky cup) and a show. After his morning libation and show, he was ready to greet the world and, to his credit, he did so in a good way. He was a challenging toddler because he fussed and whined a lot and it honestly wore on us. I used to tease that if he ever went to school, he would leave a trail of retired teachers in his wake because he was so willful and opinionated and there was no reasoning with him. On the flip side, he was so lovey and cuddly. He loved his mama and we cherished our cuddle time. He turned into Mr. Amiable at about 8pm so we started letting him stay up until we went to bed because he was so wonderful and happy at that time of night and we just cherished having that time with him. He's still very intense in his moods. He's either very happy and lighting up the room or screaming mad. I swear I've seen steam come out of his ears at times. He's very passionate and that passion will serve him well some day. In the meantime, we're working on some self-control.

S came into this world in a very explosive and dramatic way. The smallest of all of our babies, it took one push to birth him and it surprised everyone in the room. He asserted himself as "fierce" from day one and we nicknamed him catbird because his cry sounded like a cat yowling and his mouth was always open to nurse like a little baby bird. He was either very, almost eerily, content or screaming mad (sound familiar?) and he has one volume - loud! Even when he's excited and saying hello to everyone or naming things, he's yelling. He knows exactly what he wants and whom he wants to get it for him. You often feel a push on your shoulder if you're holding him and he wants you to go in a certain direction and "GO" was one of his first words. He has definitely followed in G's footsteps in waking up in a less than stellar mood and we haven't yet found what trips his trigger to get him happy and ready to start his day. We're working on that. And even when I'm exhausted from the whining, I can pick him up and he'll lay his head on my shoulder and cuddle in and it's just the sweetest thing. He's a master cuddler and I just love how that makes all of my stress just melt away.

C has to be our most consistently amiable child. He's such a joy. Even when he was tiny, Tim would say that his cry was so polite. It was more of a fuss and seemed to say "if you don't mind and if you have time, I'd like to nurse please." His smile is radiant and he exudes pure joy from the twinkle in his huge, brown eyes to the flexing of his fingers and toes when he's excited or happy. If he asks for things and you explain that he needs to wait for just a minute, he always says "okay" in his little sing-song voice. I truly want to bottle him up and just keep him this way forever. He's so wonderful. We get so many "Okays" and "Yeah!s" from him and it just warms your heart every time. We ask him questions just to get to hear his little voice and it's so precious. He does have his intense moments and S is usually the receiver of that and has the scratches on the cheeks and had many, many bite marks to show for it. He seems to be getting over that a bit (the biting at least) and we're very grateful for it!

It's wonderful to see what type of people our kids are growing into. It's not always easy and we admit that we're in a very challenging time right now with a couple of them but it's nice to have the good parts to balance everything out and make us remember why we had them and why we adore them the way we do. I always try to keep in mind that every part of their personality will serve them in their life in some way and they just have to learn how to use it all in a good way. And it's important to remember that on the days when you just want them to be quiet and stop being so stubborn and whiny because we all reach the end of our rope at some point. We all have things in our personalities that we need to tone down or liven up a bit to bring us some balance and it's in discovering those things and making the changes that balance and growth come into our lives. So I strive to maintain my own balance and remember how fleeting all of these things are and how we're doing our best to shape them into fine young men. Here's to enjoying the ride along the way!

Boomwhacker fight

Boomwhackers are these tubes that you hit on things and they make different notes. They're very cool. I decided that this would be a good place to begin musical education with my children because you can hit things. Boomwhacker practice ended with a "sword" fight and G saying to little S, "Come on! Let's go take over the world!!" to which little S said, "okay!"

Welcome to my world.

It's happened

Well, the day has finally come. I was asked point blank by G about Santa. He was very adament and wouldn't let me weasel my way out of it like I did last year. So, we sat down, mono e mono and had "the talk." Not "the talk" that comes a little later but this one can have just as big of impact depending on the child. I remember when I found out. It was the year my grandpa died so we were spending it with my grandma. I "knew" there was no Santa but had no proof until that night. I was sleeping on the couch but not yet quite asleep. I heard my mom and dad come in and fill the stockings, eat the cookies and drink the milk. There was a part of me that was crushed. I was 11 at the time - probably older than most but I just kept that part alive in my heart for as long as possible.

G admitted that he was a little disappointed too but felt that he was ready so he was glad that he now knows. I think I'm more sad in a way than he is but I don't think our conversation could have gone better. We have always told the kids that Santa is the spirit of giving so that's where I started. I explained that it's kind of like God. God is within each one of us and when we give in the spirit of Santa, Santa is living in our hearts. He liked that. Okay, I liked that. I don't want the magic of the season to completely disappear for him because I love it so much but it's up to him in the end. I went on to swear him to secrecy, of course, because I don't want my kid to be responsible for breaking the hopes and dreams of all of his friends and his older brother to boot! I knew this day would come but it was a little piece of innocence, which we protect so fiercely, going away. Sometimes being a parent is a little heartbreaking.

What's for dinner?

G: What's for dinner mom?

Me: Turkey Wild Rice Soup

G: Mmmmm.....turkey?

Me: Yes, turkey.

G: Not chicken?

Me: No, turkey. Remember, I made that turkey? I'm using that for the soup.

G: What did you use last time?

Me: Turkey

G: You said it was chicken.

Me: No I didn't.

G: Yes you did.

Me: Well, they're pretty much the same thing anyway.

G: No, it's pretty much NOT the same thing. Turkey is turkey and chicken is chicken mom and they are not the same thing.

Me: Okay, sorry.

Man, everyone's a critic! Half the time they ask me 20 times what we're having for dinner and then they don't listen to my answer anyway unless they hear the magic "pizza" word and the other half of the time we're debating about the difference between turkey and chicken. Kids!

Grandmas

I am so incredibly blessed to have a mom and a mother-in-law who are awesome, to say the least. They just set the standard for the kind of mom/mother-in-law I want to be when my kids get married and start having kids. They know how to come over and be helpful in just the right kind of way and I appreciate it so much. This past week, they've both been their weight in gold! My MIL came over yesterday, as she does every Tuesday so I can go to yoga. Yesterday though, I wasn't feeling the best and was afraid I was on the edge of another bout with mastitis so I decided not to go to yoga but to take it easy instead...as much as is possible with 4 kids that is. She came anyway. I ran a few errands and had lunch...alone...and then came home to one sleeping twin and I proceeded to lie down with the other one while she cleaned my kitchen and washed all of the dishes before leaving. That's just priceless in my life right now!

My mom arrived last night to see the truly obscene collection of clean laundry awaiting folding and putting away. It had outgrown the 6 laundry baskets and the wall in the laundry room was playing a key role in keeping it all from spilling onto the floor. It was bad. She enlisted the boys and they got it all sorted, folded and all but mine and Tim's put away. Then, she helped me start dinner before she left. So nice. I feel spoiled sometimes but I also appreciate it so much that it's beyond words. It's the kind of thing that I want to do for my sons and their wives some day so I can pay it forward. I am truly, so incredibly blessed to have these women in my life. I love you both. Thank you!

Lovely Day

We had a very nice day on Sunday. The weather was gorgeous for the first time in weeks and weeks. It was sunny and about 60 or more degrees. The trees were a glowing yellow and it was beautiful. I spent the morning hanging out with the kids. Tim left for Atlanta for a business trip and that left us to our own devices for 4 days. During naptime, I finished the first Halloween costume for G. It's awesome. I was also able to get started on M's which I expect to go much faster since it's the same pattern and I've been through my learning curve on G's. Fingers crossed.

Angella showed up about 2pm and we waited for the twins to wake up from their nap and then headed off to the Arboretum. Although it was kind of spendy to get in for the subsequent hour that we were able to be there and we were lamenting it a bit, it was so worth it for the beauty of it all. We didn't even bring a stroller for the twins which got a bit hairy at times but was fine overall. They ran and explored everywhere. C had fun putting leaves into a little stream with a waterfall and S found a little toad. He squealed with delight every time he reached out for it and it hopped. It was minutes of fun and eventually, all of the boys joined in...poor toad. M and G were stick/sword collecting and having great fun.

We ended up on a hill with a tree at the top. The boys were running up and down the hill (resulting in some lovely grass stains that I'm now working to get out but so worth it). The looks on their faces were of pure joy. The aforementioned tree had some strange fruit on it. We thought at first that it was a crabapple tree but upon further inspection, the fruit was more cherry-like than apple-like. Seeing this as a science lesson waiting to happen, I squashed one between my fingers so we could check out th inside. That's when it hit me...the smell. I looked over and finally saw the "leaves" on this tree. It was a female Ginko Biloba. Now if you've never seen a Ginko Biloba, they're so cool. The leaves are fanlike with distinct lines in them. They are actually made up of pine needles that fused together millions of years ago resulting in this very distinct and way cool leaf. I explained that to the boys and then mentioned that this was a FEMALE Ginko Biloba. It's not legal to actually plant one in your yard...because of the smell. Now if a mom of 4 boys can actually get one to wrinkle his face in disgust, you know you're doing something right. I was 2 for 4 in that moment and would have had all of them if the twins had even been remotely interested. One point for mom. The smell eminating from the squashed fruit all overy my fingers was like poop. No getting around it. It was a poop smell. Again, being the mom of 4 boys, I know the smell very well and identified it immediately. Thankfully, there was a bathroom right there and I was able to go and wash my hands thereby ending the lesson.

We left the Arboretum and hit Costco on our way home. We have a traditional "Daddy's left on a business trip" dinner that we make the first night that he leaves. It's scrambled eggs and waffles. The twins were helping me make it so it took at least twice as long and made at least twice the mess but they had a blast. The best part came when we were cracking eggs to make the scrambled eggs. They were handing me the eggs and cracking them for me before handing them to me even though I was trying to tell them to just hand them to me. Seriously, herding cats. So, we eventually got all of the eggs into the bowl and the kitchen floor cleaned up. They then decided that they wanted to play scoop and dump so I set out towels on the floor, gave them a bowl of water, a smaller container and each a measuring cup. I was really impressed with how well they did actually getting the water from the bowl to the container with minimal spilling...for awhile. At some point, I count on getting my floor washed with this exercise which is one of the things that makes it worthwhile for the mom. They had a good time.

Finally, dinner on the table, everyone is happily eating their "wapples" and then eating mommy's "wapples". Bedtime came and, of course, no one was tired because they were all sugared up from the "wapples". Maybe we need a new tradition.

All-in-all, it was such a lovely day. We hope the weather holds so we can have more in the coming weeks!

Like in a dream...

The other day, C came into the school room where the older boys and I were doing some lessons. He took the lacing beads off of the shelf and sat down to start lacing them. A couple of minutes later, S came in, took the other end of the lace and started lacing that end. They played beautifully for several minutes and then (ready for this?) C cleaned it all up before leaving the school room. Amazing. Totally amazing. Since I don't know when in the next 20 years something like this might occur again, I just had to write about it!

S going to sleep

Here's what putting S down for bed usually looks like. This routine can take anywhere from 10-60 minutes depending on the night. The poor thing just can't settle himself down and if there are any distractions in the room, it's over. If daddy's in bed with us, he kicks him out. If there's a loud noise from the hall or downstairs just at the wrong time, he's up. I know that in time, he'll be able to calm himself a little faster and as he gets older I can teach him some tools for calming himself down. This is kind of an entertaining routine though and most of the time, it's actually a nice time for me to lay there with him and think about my day and what I'm going to do with the next hour or two before I go to bed myself. Sometimes he gets so boisterous that it's downright funny and I have to keep from laughing so he doesn't think it's playtime. Thank goodness that C can sleep through all of it!

C, S and I get into bed and give kisses goodnight. I remind them that after this, mimi's (nursing) go nigh-nigh until the sun comes up. I get a "yep" from C and non-acknowledgment from S. We all then lie down and nurse. C falls asleep within 5 minutes so I put him on his pillow, give him his pacifier and cover him up. One down. I then turn my attention to S. We cuddle up as he's done nursing too. He takes his blanket corner in his left hand and sucks the first 2 fingers on his left hand. He's calm and cuddly and then...

S: mom.....mom.... MOM!

Me: shhh, it's time for nigh-nigh

quiet

S: banan. banan. banan. banan. banan. banan. mo banan. (yawn)

quiet

S: (sits up and claps hands) Patty cake, patty cake THROW!!! Patty cake, patty cake THROW!!!

Me: Shhh, it's time for nigh-nigh. (cuddle him back up and give him back his blanket)

S: (quiet, deep breathing but the hands are going) whitub. whitub. witub. Mom. (rubs nose) Nose. (scratches cheek. scratches ear) Ear (rubs eyes) Eyes.

Me: shhh, go to sleep.

S: yawn followed by quiet with deep breathing....rolls over....rolls over again....uncovers..."Stuck!"

Me: (I "unstuck" his foot which is tangled in the covers from the repeated rolling over)

S: yawn with more quiet and deep breathing...rolls over. Arm starts waving back and forth.

S: yawn...another yawn...starts moving his head back and forth 10-20 times.

Me: Shhh, it's time for nigh-nigh

S: loud yawn. (pulls the covers back up and over the head...maybe this will work) yawn. (Moves my arm to his waist. Moves the other one to his head. Moves the one from his head to his waist. Okay, that's good.) yawn.

After varying lengths and repeats of this entire scenario, he's finally quiet and breathing deeply with no movement. I count 20 breaths. Maybe he's really asleep? I count 10 more breaths. Yes, I think he might be. I pull my arm out from under his head and adjust him so he's on his pillow. Whew!

Sleep well kiddo!

Night Weaning Part 2

C woke up once in the night last night and only asked for his pacifier. This is the first time he didn't ask to nurse. Yay, it's working! Truly, I'm getting much better sleep and I'm sooooo, grateful. It actually makes me excited to go to bed each night! Keep it comin' boys!

Night Weaning

About a week and a half ago, I started to night wean C. He had decided over the previous few days that I was a human pacifier. He liked it. I didn't. So right in the middle of my mastitis attack, right when I SHOULDN'T be undertaking this, I did. I actually just cut him off when he was done drinking instead of letting him pacify for the next 2 hours. He wasn't happy about it a few times but we made it through and the next night, it was much better. After a couple of nights of that, and after my mastitis cleared up, I started telling him that "mimi's go nigh-nigh" and he can have them again when the sun comes up (which is really rich seeing as how it's been raining and anything but sunny for so long I can hardly remember - except for yesterday:)). Anyway, he would still wake up a couple of times a night asking for mimis and each time, I would rock him and sing to him (still in bed) and each time, it would take less and less time. And then, he started waking up just once during the night asking for them and again, I tell him that mimis go nigh-nigh and he still doesn't like it but he calms down in about a minute. That's where we still are and I'm so happy about it. I know that he's going to give up that last waking soon and then we'll be sleeping all through the night. Wow! My favorite part of the whole thing is when I put them down at night, we all 3 lay together in bed and nurse and before we nurse I tell him "C, this is the last mimis until the sun comes up. After this, mimis go nigh-nigh okay?" And he replies in his little voice "Yep. Kay." Priceless.

As for S and his nighttime activities, he's doing it on his own. He mostly likes to be cuddled at night and several months ago, I just started giving him his blanket when he would wake up and he'd go back to sleep. Now, I still do that and sometimes he wants to be cuddled so we do that and go back to sleep. He likes to nurse once about 5am and I'm just fine with that.

Man, pretty soon I'll be getting so much sleep I'll hardly know what to do with myself! It's such a change from sleepig in 15 min - 1 hour increments which was our low point of about 10-11 months of age or so...exactly a year ago. How far we've come! I think because we've had every sleep "schedule" known to man, I'm able to be so grateful for what we have going now and what I hope is right around the corner. Yay!

M Gets Braces!

M got his braces on today. The first picture is the before and then the ever-special retractors, Papa setting the braces and then the end product. He's sore tonight but nothing too major. He's very excited to have his braces on and is showing them to everyone. Although a little taken aback by the discomfort of getting them on and not being able to really prepare himself for the current discomfort, I'm really proud of him for having such a great attitude. Way to go buddy!

No longer a baby

I took this photo the other day as I looked at S in his high chair eating breakfast. He suddenly didn't look like a baby anymore but completely a little boy. Wow, it goes so fast.

(sorry for the sideways photo. I'm too lazy to go in and edit it at this point. Need to remember to do that before I export!)

Go Vikes!

We got to go to the game last weekend...you know, the one where Favre threw a touchdown to win the game with 2 seconds left? Yeah, that one. It was pretty cool.

Bountiful Harvest

Salsa!

I loved that this tomato ripened this way. It was so neat.

This was one picking...probably about 1/4 of our total harvest.

Here are some pictures of just one of our several pickings of our amazing tomato harvest that we had this year. It was truly amazing.

G's broken wing

Here are a couple of shots of our G-man with his broken arm. We even wrapped it up really well and went to the water park one day. He survived it all just fine and hasn't missed a beat. To recap, he broke it when he fell off a horse at Finnridge. It was a bow fracture which is apparently fairly common. 3 weeks with a splint and he was all healed up!

Apple Picking

I love apple picking. It's one of my favorite activities that we do all year and luckily, the boys love it too or at least they joyfully indulge me. This year, the twins were active participants and it was so much fun. M and G loved playing King of the Hill on the big straw pile. Good times.

Sleepy Kids

S fell asleep right on M while they were playing!

S fell asleep while atempting to walk up the steps.

C and S all cuddled up. They've done this since they were tiny. So cute.

C and G sleeping in my bed

I've always gotten a kick out of how many places and in how many ways the kids can sleep. I love the photos of them when they snuggle together. They're so precious. And S, like M before him, just falls asleep wherever he is at the moment. I have pictures of M falling asleep on the steps, right in front of a toy in the middle of playing with it, tons in his high chair and my favorite, he went in to use the bathroom and never came out. So I went in to investigate and he had laid his head down on the step stool in front of the sink and fallen asleep. It was so funny. Here are a few current shots of my sleeping beauties.

Family Reunion

We had a family reunion on my mom's side this summer and it was so much fun. A lot of the family was able to attend which was really neat. We all missed grandma but it is a testament to her mothering and dedication to her family that so many of us still choose to be together whenever we can. (above) Daddy and the babes playing. Daddy is an excellent acrobat!

Daddy and M enjoying the awesome ribs.

S and my cousin's son had a routine down and it was adorable. S would eat some cake and then his cousin would wipe his mouth. They did this for several minutes. I wish I would have had the presence of mind to make a video. We'd be guaranteed $10k!

Suckers

The twins experience the sticky goodness that is their first sucker. Mmmmm.

Let them eat cake

From G-man's birthday party. We got these cupcakes from Costco and they were MASSIVE. Seriously. The babes scooped that day!

You know what I'll miss...

Because I know that the twins are my last babes, I seem to be paying better attention to some of the little things that I know I'm going to miss when they're gone. Things like...

- washing little hands in the sink
- slobbery kisses
- the way they say "mama"
- the way they talk in general with their adorable mispronunciations and made up words.
- C's agreeable nature. When you ask him if he wants to do something his sing song voice says "yeah!"
- The way they lay their heads on my shoulder and cuddle in
- The way that I can actually still carry them both (one is 23lbs and one is 27lbs)
- The sleepy eyed looks they get when nursing
- Bare baby toes
- Bare baby butts
- Belly laughs
- Bath time
- Bedtime
- First thing in the morning cuddles
- Nursing
- Watching the games they play together
- Watching them figure things out like shape sorters or how to get that Cheerio onto the spoon and into the mouth
- Watching them see and do things for the first time and the look of amazement that comes across their face.

There are so many more. I pray that I never take any of them for granted.