LaLaGirl - Twinfinite Chaos!

Hi, I'm stupid.

2005-11-22T23:02:00.000-08:00

I moved my blog over a month ago and JUST NOW realized I didn't change the "blogroll me!" link when I moved. I'm just not that clever these days, apparently. Well - if you still have this site blogrolled, please change it. I don't post here anymore. Click here to blogroll me at my new location and come over there from now on.

Sorry I'm so lame.

xo

Laura

It's time for a change...

2005-10-07T08:01:00.000-07:00

I'm saying goodbye to Blogger and moving back to paulnlaura...so please blogroll me at my New Location and come on over!

See ya there!

Endorsed by Diddy, I'm sure!

2005-10-06T14:55:00.000-07:00

I just saw a commercial for the Power Wheels Cadillac Escalade - it has spinning rims and a cupholder and an FM radio. Pablo could be such a baller!

Thursday Thirteen

2005-10-06T12:47:00.000-07:00

13 Super Sweet Morsels about Laura

1. I've been married for one month and three days and couldn't be happier about it. So many people said getting married wouldn't change anything for us, since we've been together so long, bought this house, had four kids...but really, it's changed everything. I'm so proud to be married to Paul! He really is my lobster. Haha!

2. I'm going to the zoo tomorrow for the first time in a VERY long time. We bought a membership last year and didn't end up using it ONCE!! I was pregnant, so I have a decent excuse for not wanting to walk all over hell and back, but still. Won't be making that mistake again.

3. I can't believe how excited I am to find out that a Chicken Taco del Carbon from Del Taco is a mere three points. If I'd known sooner, I would have eaten two. They're so freakin' good!

4. Now that I have a bazillion wonderful pictures from my wedding, I want to start scrapbooking. I have no idea where to begin. Help?

5. Last night, we met our case manager from Early Childhood Intervention. She was super nice, and made me feel so much better about getting the kids in speech therapy! AND, she told us we may qualify for a grant for respite care, so I can get out of the house sometimes ALONE! Imagine the possibilities!

6. Once again, I have more laundry to do than I can even imagine completing in this lifetime. And I still have my clean clothes sitting in a basket in front of my closet door. Grrrr.

7. Someone came up to me in Wal-Mart today and said, "Excuse me, but I was just wondering - were you on the news a few months ago?" I'm practically a celebrity, dude.

8. My jeans are getting looser. Go, me. I'm a points Nazi!

9. I'm almost ready to move my blog back to my domain. So, expect news about that soon! (Blogger is gettin' on my nerves!)

10. My best friend and I cried on the phone today, having a little verklempt moment about both of us wanting what's best for the other. (Don't worry, it's all good.)

11. Paul made me a new mix CD of brand new hip hop and left it for me in my van. See why I married him? (And the weenie is good, too.)

12. I'm making some WW-friendly chicken enchiladas tonight. If they come out good, I'll share the recipe for my fellow points Nazis.

13. I decorated my house for Halloween for the first time, in, oh, this lifetime. Bought new pumpkins and everything. It's terribly cutesy. Perfect for the kids, but Paul thinks it's just SAD, as his life-sized, perfectly realistic looking electric chair and victim sits in the basement under a tarp. Oh well honey! Maybe we'll have a grownup party next year. This year, the party's just for playgroup!!

Links to other Thursday Thirteens!

1. Sleeping Mommy
2. Petroville
3. InterstellarLass
4. The Dirty Days
5. A Daily Dose of Power
6. I Miei Pensieri
7. Multiple Mania

(leave your link in comments, and I'll add you here!)

Get the Thursday Thirteen code here!

Thirteen things is all I ask for, and what do you get in return? Linkage! If you do it, leave a comment here and link me to your Thursday Thirteen. I will be sure to update my entry with links to yours, and then you can continue the chain if you like! I will link to everyone who participates and leaves a link to their 13 things. Trackbacks, pings, comment links accepted!

I love being a woman.

2005-10-05T14:26:00.000-07:00

Except for being on the rag, that is. So, this is my second month of having a real period without being on the pill. It sucks. I have cramps, I'm bloated, I'm breaking out, I'm STAAAAARVING!!!, it all sucks. I'm ready go go back on the pill; I don't care if I got my tubes tied!

And I feel all emotional and shit too. What am I, thirteen? I feel all teenage girl-ish all of a sudden. I'm sad and jealous that my best friend is hanging out with someone else all the time. Not jealous that she's not hanging out with ME, but jealous because she has a friend who lives right across the street!! Why can't I have a friend who lives right across the street??

And I'm bummed out that I missed Medium on Monday night (even though I had a freakin' blast going out with the moms in my twin club) and Paul had the GALL to watch it without me! I wouldn't have watched his favorite show without him! I'm sad that he won't let me get a Tivo. Did I tell you about my master plan to get a Tivo? It's going to involve lots of blowjobs. And then lots of holding out. Haha! Unfortunately, I'm too much of a slackass to put the plan into place. Nikki keeps us up at night so much, I'm soooo tired. I'm never gonna get my Tivo. Wahhhh.

And I know this is lame, but I'm so mad that my pumpkin is already squishy. I'm gonna have to throw it out with the trash tomorrow. There's no way in hell it's going to make it until Halloween. And all the good pumpkins are already gone now, I'm sure.

And, Angie never called me back so I could tell her that the twin club sale is Saturday, but the member's sale is Friday night and that's when I'm going, but sadly, I can't bring her with me. Are you reading this, Angie? Let me know what you're looking for and I'll look for it. Or you can go on Saturday morning and pay a buck to get in: Here's the info.

And, I'm supposed to be hosting a Halloween party here on the 25th for Playgroup, but that's the day Pabo and Mallory go for their speech evals. So, no Halloween party, unless I can convince them all that kids can get together and play on other days besides Tuesdays.

Bitch, whine, complain...see why I love being a woman? I know tomorrow will be better!!

Bitch, Bitch, Bitch.

2005-10-05T09:24:00.000-07:00

I'm so discouraged about my results so far on WW. Today's been a week since I started, and I've only lost about four pounds. My official weigh in day is Monday, and on Monday I'd lost six, but I figured since it's been a week now, I'd weigh again. Big mistake! Four pounds for a first week on WW REALLY SUCKS ASS. I can't remember how much I lost my first week last time I started, but I know it was more than this!!! And I've followed the plan so perfectly, too, BARELY ever dipping into my flex points. I started my period yesterday, so I'm going to blame that, because otherwise I'm going to be terribly disappointed!!!

No fair!

2005-10-04T15:34:00.000-07:00

Kayley's Halloween Costume

2005-10-04T09:23:00.000-07:00

That, and more, over on Flickr!

<---- Clicky in the sidebar.

Slacker Post.

2005-10-02T15:08:00.000-07:00

* My parents came over today and watched the kids so I could go shopping. I used a gift card from our wedding to buy new bath towels - yay! Ours were ratty as hell. I also went to the Skechers outlet and bought myself TWO PAIRS OF SHOES! Yay! It's only been a year and 11 months since I bought new shoes. (!!) And since I LOVE Target so much, I went in and bought toilet paper and sponges and baby food and some pasta and a can of formula and a new bra. Only because it was between Linens and Things and the Skechers outlet. I still hate that store.

* Paul's currently halfway across the state, on his first Official Motorcycle Ride With The Boys. He sounded giddy the two times he called. The first time, they were at the brand new Hooters in Colorado Springs, and the second time, they were at the foot of Pike's Peak. I don't imagine he'll be home for dinner. When he called, he said, "Honey! I'm going to join a motorcycle gang, okay?" Haha!

* The kids are being extra good today, in spite of the fact that Nikki kept most of us awake for several hours in the middle of the night. We're currently sitting on the patio and Pablo and Mallory are sharing one Little Tikes Cozy Coupe (yes we have two, but for some reason...) and Nikki and Lexi are in their walkers, babbling to each other. And I'm enjoying having a 'net connection out here. It's a BEAUTIFUL, blissful autumn day. Oh wait, Nikki's crying now.

* Mallory got hurt on the playground - she hooked her heels in while she was going down the giant slide, and the momentum spun her around upside down in the air and she did a faceplant in the dirt at the bottom of the slide. It was DAMNED traumatic for both of us, as all I could do was sit and watch her get hurt. Ugh!!! She's doing fine now, but has road rash on her face. (I had to dig gravel out of her teeth! Poor baby!)

* Tomorrow is my twin club meeting and I'm so excited - it's been so much fun lately. This year, they've been doing a lot more fun things and a lot more fun people have joined the club. I always used to go to the meetings dutifully, but barely talked to anyone. Now it's great! Whee! (And I forgot to buy cheese and crackers to take to the meeting when I was at StupidTarget. Dammit!)

* I started Weight Watchers again last week. You may or may not know that I was doing WW when I got pregnant with the girls and had pretty good success with it, and I've been waiting, waiting, waiting for that magic SWITCH to get turned on in my head to make me start up again. It happened last week, and I'm so happy. Already, my clothes are looser and I feel a lot better. I can't wait until I like how my clothes look again! That's the thing about having a baby. (Or four.) The numbers on the scale don't even really matter. I weigh less now than before I got pregnant, but my clothes sure as hell don't fit like they did then!! Looking forward to saying buh-bye to some of my twinskin. (You twin mamas know what I'm talkin' about.)

* Kayley and I went shopping for her Halloween costume - got to get that done early or it's too picked over, y'know? She's going to be this little angel/devil which suits her perfectly. She's already picked out which earrings she's going to wear and boots and everything. I thought she was going to be with her dad on Halloween, but he has plans, so she'll be with us after all. Yay!!! We're going to go trick-or-treating with RaeJean and her brood, and I just can't wait. So far, Paul and I don't have plans to dress up, but I guess that *could* change?

* I'm getting sick of blogspot. LOL! I'm trying to set up my blog on pMachine again, but holy fucking hell, it is slow going. I don't have much time to really work on the blog, because I really need undivided attention when I'm writing code and messing with templates and all that, so I don't do it while the kids are up - only late at night. At this rate, expect my blog to be back on paulnlaura about...hmmm. Christmas?

Stupid Target.

2005-09-29T08:27:00.000-07:00

I went to Target anyway. By the time Paul got home, I was really annoyed, and when he said, "Babe, if you're leaving you need to go NOW because I need your van out of the garage so I can work on Ruben's car..." I decided to pack up the kids and go.

I hate Target. I know everyone else on the planet loooooooooves Target, but I hate Target. I LOVED Target back when they were slightly better than Wal-Mart and knew it. Now, it's like they think they're Kohl's or Mervyn's or something, except with groceries. Their stuff is so weird and overpriced, it bugs the shit out of me. Want a Rubbermaid toilet brush? Sorry, you have to get one designed by Todd Oldham. Looking for clothes? Hope you like Mossimo! And it seems like almost EVERYTHING is in, like...way too much packaging with fancy fonts on the labels. And the food - again, it's so random. They have like ten brands of one thing, and none of another. I was looking for reduced fat cheese, which in the supermarket (and at Wal-Mart!) they have by the truckload. At Target, they have fat free Kraft singles. Great. But would you like some weird fruit that nobody eats? How about pre-made sushi? Ten thousand food items made with artichokes and sundried tomatoes? Visit Target. All the trendy shit on the planet; none of the stuff you actually need. And those weird commercials too. Hey, Target. You're still a discount store!

And I got rope lights for Kayley's room; $9.99. Paul was sure to let me know they're $5.99 AT WAL-MART. I got sparkling water, but they only had two flavors, tangerine lime and strawberry kiwi. Again with the huge selection of nothing. I got cucumbers, but they were overpriced, plastic-wrapped, ORGANIC cucumbers, because that's ALL THEY HAD. I got parmesan cheese, but it was some brand I've never heard of (on sale) and when I got to the register, it was ringing up as NOT on sale. That's happened to me like FIVE TIMES at Target. And will they fix it? Fuck, no. Go stand in line at Customer Service if you want your money back. Do you know what they do at Wal-Mart? They GIVE YOU THE ITEM. When we walk in at Wal-Mart, a greeter gives my kids a sticker and gets me a cart. At Target, a security gard gives me the hairy eyeball. Plus, all their stupid plastic red carts are always STUCK TOGETHER and there are always these little clusters of carts all spread around from people trying to unstick them and eventually giving up. I can't WAIT until our Wal-Mart opens. I can't. WAIT. It'll be right down the street, so close!! I love my Wal-Mart, but I hate driving for twenty minutes each way every time we shop. And I'll never feel like Target is more convenient again. Whee!

See my eye twitching?

2005-09-28T17:55:00.000-07:00

I got lots done today. Did all my laundry, all of Kayley's, finished up Paul's. Cleaned up downstairs, cleaned the kitchen, bathroom, playroom, living room, swept the kitchen and vacuumed everything. And I had dinner all ready and waiting in the oven so I could go pick up K from after school care and we could go to Target and spend some time together just browsing and we could eat when we got home.

So right around the time I was getting ready to go, Paul's little brother rings the doorbell. So he comes in. I call Paul and say, hey, did you know your brother's here? Oh yeah, I forgot to tell you he was coming over. So, I've been just, like...sitting...here...for hours now...with Paul's little brother. Waiting for Paul to get home. And he called and said he wouldn't be home until SIX, so that pretty much shoots my plan to go shopping and spend time with Kayley. Why the hell would I drag the kids out in the dark cold night?

I hate it when my plans get spoiled!!

Sleep! Glorious sleeeep!

2005-09-27T12:21:00.000-07:00

Nikki slept last night. Miracle of freakin' miracles. She slept!

I should mention, I noticed last night that a big old tooth had broken through her top gums. Yes! She WAS teething, and not just posessed by the devil. Yay! After giving her a Motrin/Benadryl cocktail with a Hyland's teething tablet chaser, she only woke up briefly at 11:30 (which doesn't count, because I wasn't in bed yet) and then slept until almost 9 this morning!!! Therefore, I SLEPT UNTIL ALMOST 9 THIS MORNING!! Oh, it was wonderful! After nights and nights of no sleep - I slept. Yay, me.

(Please don't leave me comments about drugging my children. I researched, figured out the right amount to give her based on her weight, and made the decision to get her some pain relief!)

Half Assed Monday

2005-09-26T11:28:00.000-07:00

Good Mo'nin! I'm like the walking dead, thanks to Nikki the Amazing Non-Sleeper. I can't believe how much that kid DOESN'T sleep anymore!! I think she has a cold, or is growing, or hates her crib, or there's a monster in her room, or she wants to slowly drive me insane. I'm really not sure what her issue is. It's a good thing she's cute, or I'd be putting her up on eBay with a little Buy It Now, Suckers!

I keep almost posting here and then getting sidetracked. So, we're going to half-ass it and do a bulleted list.

* Went to a birthday party this weekend for like, five minutes. Actually, more like an hour and five minutes, but it was still fun. My parents could only babysit for a brief little bit. Still fun, though.

* Paul's dad and stepmom spent the night here Saturday on their way back from LA. They brought some big toys for the kids from Paul's Tia out there who also has twins. Her twins are 15, so they've outgrown their Little Tikes house and big slide tower. Yay! New stuff! The kids are SO stoked about it. They've been CRAZY climbers! Pictures to come.

* I got new stuff with our wedding money! New dishes, new canister set for the kitchen, and a new teakettle. Now we need towels. Bed Bath & Beyond will be seeing more of us.

* On my way to buy new stuff, some douchebag motherfucker in a convertible came within a few feet of hitting us head on as he was passing a semi on a 2-lane road. I hit my brakes and sucked my breath in, and he snaked back into his lane just feet away from my bumper. Fucking moron. I had to pull over and cry for awhile because I was so shaken up! So much for THAT route - I'm taking the freeway from now on, tolls be damned.

* Wasn't Desperate Housewives good? I'm so happy it's on again! And didn't Rex look dead as SHIT? Paul and I both winced when we saw him - they did a great job of making him look like a dead guy! His eyes looked glued shut and everything.

* Oh! Remember when I said I was making that Prairie Land Pot Roast from the Kraft magazine? It sucked ten kinds of ass. It was AWFUL. Paul is OVER trying new shit. It's spaghetti and meatballs tonight. (Actually, penne and meatballs, because I hate spaghetti.)

* I talked to my sister! Actually, it was over a week ago, but I forgot to mention it. You may or may not know I haven't talked to her since early last summer and haven't seen her in over three years. She has a lot of issues, and lives far away. I had a bad feeling that something was wrong, so I was Super Sleuth Laura and tracked her down. I love her and I miss her. I also mourn the relationship that I wish we could have had. I'm hoping and praying my girls grow up and have close, sisterly relationships. My sister and I don't have that. And it's especially hard for me because I IDOLIZED her for the first half of my life, and she's disappointed me SO many times. I think I might finally be over feeling completely abandoned by her, but it's taken like, fifteen years. Guess I have issues too!

* I'm out of diapers and almost out of wipes. I'm also out of bread and milk. We HAVE to go to the store, even though I'm running on four hours of sleep. I'd drink a Red Bull if they didn't give me the caffeine shits. HAHA! Somehow that doesn't happen when it's mixed with vodka, but I don't think that's the type of drink I need to get my butt in gear today!!

Have a splendid day.

The Boy.

2005-09-22T17:48:00.000-07:00

Today's been an exciting day, sort of...

I was sitting on the floor with all the kids, trimming fingernails one kid at a time, and Pablo was sitting right near me. He picked up the Elmo phone, held it to his ear, and then in a soft little shy voice, said, "Ha-hoe?" I about fell OVER. Yay! He spoke!! Right when I was getting ready to share this big news with the world, he wandered over to the couch and projectile vomited all over it. Yay!!! Puke for me to scrub out of fabric!! And, it smelled like Hooters fries. (And vomit.) I think I'm officially Hootered out. No more cravings for this lady.

Soooo. After scrubbing the fucking hell out of the couch, it looks fine, but smells. I need to get out the carpet shampooer - and the Febreeze! While the big kids took a long nap, the little kids and I did some laundry, picked up, and vacuumed the whole downstairs. Go, us. It's so funny, Nikki and Lexi are a lot like Mallory and Pablo, personality-wise. Nikki marathon-race-crawled after me and the vacuum, chasing it all over the room on hands and knees. Lexi cowered in the corner of the room and pouted. I have to vaccum ONLY when Pablo is in bed because he is TERRIFIED of the vacuum. Not just a little, but...crying without sound, choking on his own snot, terrified. And Mallory wants to ride on the vacuum. Silly kids!

AND THEN! While Pablo and Mallory were in their booster chairs at the table just now, munching away on PB&J and milk, Pablo bumped his cup and it fell to the floor. As it fell, he said, "Uhhhh ohhhhh!" I about fell over AGAIN! Two words in two days. So now I can say my son's first words are HELLO and UH OH. At age 2 years, three weeks, and two days.

I'm so happy!

A Hooties Birthday. (Duh.)

2005-09-22T08:13:00.000-07:00

We went to Hooters for Paul's birthday last night. At first I thought we were going to that fake In-n-Out burger (it's called Old School Burgers, and yeah, to a novice, they taste just like INO! I love 'em, Paul "accepts" them since the closest INO is a few states away.) Paul wanted to go to Hooties for $.25 wings and "theme night" - when the girls dress in costumes. Last night was toga night, and I was unimpressed. I don't know where these girls learned to tie togas, but they just looked like crap. Schoolgirl night was much, much better!!

The kids were all SO good, even after being wired from going to playgroup. (And that was lots of fun!! I'm so glad I went!)

Here are a few pictures of our dinner. Pablo loved looking at this little "book" during his dinner. He flipped through it like a hundred times.

Nikki and Lexi really enjoyed their first pickles. I wish I'd taken a picture of them together in these outfits because they looked adorable! This is Nikki.

There were only three highchairs, so Mallory ended up climbing all over Uncle Mike.

Here's Lexi with her pickle.

And my cute boys!

Everyone's awake, babbling away in their cribs, so I need to get my booty in gear and get breakfast started. Have a nice Thursday!

Edit: Oh, and in the sidebar, I put up some bathtime pictures on Flickr. All my kids in the tub together!!

2005-09-21T11:30:00.000-07:00

Happy Wednesday. Tomorrow is the first day of fall, didja know that? And in addition to today being MY HUSBAND'S birthday, it's my half birthday. Woo-hoo. I'm 32 and a half today. (Guess that's a bigger deal when you're 10 1/2.)

It's windy and LOOKS overcast out - we haven't been outside yet, so I don't know if it's hot or cold. Yesterday was hot as fucking hell; it came within a degree of breaking a record. I don't remember the temp, but it was definitely in the 90s - in mid-September! It's not usually like that in Colorado. In fact, usually by this time of year, it's getting to be jacket weather. It cools off FAST in September, but I guess not this year! Yesterday, Pablo and Mallory had bright red faces from playing out in the yard.

Okay, enough babbling about the weather. I'm trying to decide whether or not to take the kids to playgroup. It's not the usual one we go to, it's one organized through my twin club, so all the kids are twins. I'm sure it'll be lots of fun, and lots less stressful, since I won't be the only mom there with twins, running her ass off trying to keep them out of things. But it is ALL the way across town, and it does mean giving up precious naptime. The kids will probably sleep in the car, since it's a good half hour drive. But my house is a pit, and I need to get some stuff picked up before I can even consider leaving. What should I do?? I think when I get done here, I'll go clean the bathroom and pick up the playroom and call it good, then we'll get out of here and go play. Tomorrow's trash day too, so I need to run up and get all the stinky diapers out of the kids' rooms. Bleck.

So, does anyone besides me and Gina get that Kraft Food and Family magazine? Sometimes, they have the most awesome, kickass recipes. Other times, the recipes in there suck big time! I've read several sites where people raved over the foil wrapped chicken, but we didn't dig on it that much. Paul thought it was really bland and neither one of us liked the half-cooked mushrooms. Last night, I tried making some dish with kielbasa and macaroni and cheese and broccoli and tomatoes. It was as gross as it sounds. The first couple of bites were delightful (because we were starving) but the more we ate, the more the cheese and tomatoes congealed, and the nastier it was!! Paul ended up pulling all the kielbasa out and eating it and we threw out the rest. Now Paul is like, honey? Can you just make the regular boring shit you always make? LOL! I have one more recipe to try, the Prairie Land Pot Roast - mostly because I want to try making a roast on the stovetop in my new cookware instead of in the crotchpot like I always do. If it comes out shitty, I'm gonna be mad!

Oh, and did you watch that show last night, My Name is Earl...? It was HYSTERICAL. Paul was working on his van, but watched it on his garage TV - yes, he has cable in the garage - priorities, y'know! If he only had a urinal out there, he'd probably never come inside. Anyway, I laughed my ass off through the whole show. And then Paul was finished outside, so we watched The Office together. That show is SO funny and well done - one of the things I like about it is it seems so REAL, like you're watching live theater or something - I found myself actually, like, BLUSHING in embarrassment for these people!! LOL!

I'm glad TV watching season is back! I'm still seriously coveting a TIVO, and I just don't see us getting one. The problem is that we don't have TIME to watch the shows we would record. It's now or never for us, y'know? That's why I try not to commit to watching too many shows. We only have a handful we really like. (Still, I want that fricken Tivo!! What do I have to do to talk my man into it?)

Okay, I'm outtie - gonna clean up so we can go play with the other twinsies! Have a nice day!

I don't think he reads this, but still...

2005-09-21T08:01:00.000-07:00

By the way...

2005-09-20T14:22:00.000-07:00

This is the latest toy getting a lot of play around here!

And the kids are really enjoying the backyard:

Mallory pushing the little girls in the swing:

All three on the swings:

Nikki and Mallory swinging together:

Pablo giggling about throwing sand down the slide:

Still here!

2005-09-20T09:56:00.000-07:00

So, it's already Tuesday. Time is doing that flying thing again!

Saturday night, I went with RaeJean to a birthday party. We had a blast! I got a buzz super fast (drinking Red Bull with green apple vodka - deeelightful!) but stopped drinking about two hours before I had to come home, since I had to drive all the way back to Denver! At 12:30, the drive only took me about 15 minutes though - it was just me and one trucker all the way down the interstate! There we are over on Flickr, being saucy together. <----

Sunday morning, Paul and I took the kids to the flea market. We walked around people watching for a few hours - we even ran into my nephew there! I forgot he works at a kettle korn stand there on the weekend. We noticed an interesting phenomenon I've never seen anywhere else. A few months back, Zuba had this joke on her blog. (And as a white girl married to a Mexican with lots of black friends, I found it pretty hysterical!) Anyway, while at the flea market, we saw tons and TONS of kids being pushed in strollers - kids who were like, at least five years old. We saw kids almost as big as Kayley being pushed in strollers. It was so weird! Immediately I remembered that joke! So, we ended up getting a bunch of produce really cheap. I got four pounds of bananas for $1.25, a whole basket of tomatoes for $3.00, three enormous zucchini for a dollar, and eight baggies of green chiles for a dollar apiece. Almost made up for spending $2.50 for fountain Cokes!! We also got the kids a goofy hanging monkey for their jungle-themed playroom. He hangs from the ceiling and whenever someone screams, he kicks his legs and makes monkey sounds, then sings some speeded-up version of a lame song. The kids love it. I'm starting to get annoyed by it.

And yesterday, we didn't do much. The kids and I went to the supermarket, then my nephew Casey came by to visit. I made homemade refried beans, Spanish rice, and green chile, and we had burritos for dinner. The beans sucked, though, and we ended up throwing them out. I think I used too much salt pork. And we sort of half-assed watched the season premier of Las Vegas (Paul loves that show) while the kids ran around all crazy, winding down before bedtime. I put Pablo and Mallory to bed right as Medium started, so we got to watch that in relative quiet.

Nikki was up about FIVE TIMES last night. Ugh! I was SO tired this morning. Actually, all four kids ended up waking up about an hour early. And we're going to have to either go out today or get someone to come visit, because we're on our last can of formula and it's going to run out today. I didn't buy it yesterday because we didn't go to Wal-Mart and formula is about $5 more at the supermarket. It's biting me in the ass now!

There ya go, all caught up on the excitement that is my life!! Don't you feel better?

Hi, it's tomorrow.

2005-09-17T00:21:00.000-07:00

Today was a long day. A nice Friday, but still a long day. My kids were total shitheads by bedtime, and I have only myself to blame. I know absolutely well how children thrive on routine, MY children in particular, yet I disrupt their routine REGULARLY just for my own selfish reasons. This week, they've missed out on at least two, maybe three naps, because I dragged them out somewhere because *I* needed to get out of the house! On those days when we stayed home and had lunch and played on the floor and played in the yard and they had nice long naps and hot baths, they behaved SO much better and slept better too. So what the fuck is my problem, then? Do I need it spelled out for me in black and white? Evidently I do. Stay home, Laura. Stop dragging your kids all over the fucking city. They don't need it, even if you do.

Anyway. We went to the mall today and met RaeJean and her boys, and it was mostly delightful. The kids all played and we had a yummy, delicious lunch, and I had fabulous conversation with my best friend. My kids were beginning to melt down after we ate, and if I had half a brain in my friggin head, I would have left THEN and brought them home for a nap, but nooooo, I had to drag them into the Disney Store and then back down to the play area for more running around and THEN, it was 2:00 and K gets out of school at 2:45, so why drive all the way back home when we would have to leave to get her anyway? So we went to visit my mom, and they TORE IT UP over at her house for an hour and a half. She was happy for the visit, or faked it well anyway, and we chatted and had a nice time. Then I left her place and picked up K, and the kids slept all the way home, and K and I drove around the neighborhood killing time so they could get a little bit of sleep.

We drove past where the new K-8 school is being built, we drove past the house that burned up earlier this summer to see how the renovation is going, we drove past two, no, three friends' houses to gawk and see if they were out in the yard (they weren't) and I yelled at some kids. Man! We were near our street, and these three little kids who could NOT have been more than 4 or 5 were PLAYING CHICKEN with cars. (!!!!) They were standing near a parked car, running out in the street, then running back when a car approached - this on a busy street in the subdivision, where the speed limit is THIRTY. I pulled right over and got out of my van and they seemed SHOCKED when I walked up to them and pulled out the mom voice. "WHERE is your mom?" I barked at them and they pointed and said, "She inside..." and I said, "You get out of this street RIGHT NOW before I go tell your mama you were out here!" As I drove away, I started thinking, fuck that, I should just go tell their mama they were in the street, and when we turned around to go back, the parked car and the kids were gone. Guess they were just visiting my neighbor. Fucking asshole parents just letting their kids run around like that! I honestly can't even imagine behaving that way. I don't even let my TEN YEAR OLD run around out where I can't see her, in this day and age!!

So, my honeybun hubby decided to go out with his buds, which is totally fine, and I'm happy he's out having fun, but I wish I had a babysitter who could come over and sit here while the kids sleep, so I could go MEET HIM and have a little drinky myself. Hmph. Instead, K and I had movie night, and we ate ice cream and watched a DVD. It was nice. I just tucked her into bed. All of my children are snoozing peacefully (for now - I'm sure someone will be up shortly!) and I'm about to run back downstairs and pick up - nothin' like cleaning house at midnight!

Have a super weekend. I think we may try to take some pictures of the kids in their Halloween costumes this weekend just for fun. Well, it's a nice thought anyway, even though we probably won't get around to it! Hubby-hub is going to work on his van (and hopefully my van too? Vacuuming it anyway?) And I need to drag all my children to the mall again (the ghetto mall!) to return K's boots that are too small. Woo! I'm outtie!

Good Friday Morning!

2005-09-16T08:59:00.000-07:00

I can't even believe it's already Friday. It was Monday like five minutes ago.

You know what I forgot to mention, as if it even matters? I stepped in a hole when I was in a parking lot the other day and started to fall down and smacked my wrist against the mirror on my van. It looks like HELL - it is so black and blue and purple - it looks like I get regular beatings or something. Ha! I thought for a second I might have even broken it, but it only hurts when I push my stroller for a long time, so I know it's just bruised. I broke my wrist when I was 18 and I remember it hurting like hell all the time for days on end.

We're getting ready to head over to the mall and meet RaeJean and her munchkins for playtime and lunch. We got together last Friday too, and it was a lot of fun! I think we're going to make a regular day of it. Yay! They've made a ton of improvements at our mall, almost enough to make you forget you're in the 'hood! LOL! Did I mention there was a shooting there earlier this summer and someone got shot in the fucking head and died right outside the Sears store? Can you imagine, spending your last moments of life in the mall? The shooters ran all through the mall and through the store where my mom works and she had to get down on the ground. Can you even imagine?? Now they've instituted a curfew where you have to be 18 or have a 21-year-old or your parents with you after 5 p.m. Whatever - I NEVER go to the mall that late in the day. We're pre-nap shoppers - heh.

Y'know, I'm starting to think I've been in the house watching kids' TV too much. The kids are really liking the Doodlebops now, since they come on when the Wiggles used to. I just spent about ten minutes looking for pictures of them without their makeup on, just to see what they look like. LOL! That Rooney Doodle is actually kind of a hottie. Ha!

All right, we're heading out of here. Have a nice Friday!

Wah.

2005-09-15T15:11:00.000-07:00

Feeling blah lately. I know it's mostly post-wedding letdown! It's hard to plan all summer for an event that's over in one day and feel anything but down.

The kids are well, the babies are growing like crazy - they're almost 8 months and STANDING unassisted. Little monkeys! They're also eating everything in sight and have expanded their favorites to include non-pureed items such as crackers and mushy noodles and the occasional pizza crust. The toddlers are also growing like crazy - my big girl is talking a lot now, and we understand a lot of it. She and her brother are both regularly signing for "more" - and once she signed for "eat", but only once. We're starting speech therapy for the boy in about a month. Takes forever to get through the system, y'know! Miss K started dance this week and this will be her third night in a row dancing, because she hasn't found a class yet that's a good fit for her. We're at a new studio now, so we'll see how that goes.

That's about it in my world. The kids are going to be waking up from their nap shortly and I think we're going to pack up in the stroller and take a walk to get some fresh air.

P.S. As I do my sporadic blog surfing, I have to bitch about something: I hate the way Blogger pings weblogs.com whenever someone leaves a comment, so blogs show up as updated on Blogrolling when they have the same old shit I read yesterday. Y'know? It's annoying. Can't they set it up so it pings weblogs.com ONLY upon publishing a new post? How hard is that? Every other content management system works that way! Or why can't everyone be like ME and disable that feature, and then manually ping blogrolling when they update? Gahh!

All the Wedding Pictures!

2005-09-14T11:14:00.000-07:00

I think I finally have most of the wedding pictures uploaded. If you'd like to see them, just ...

Click here!

It's like you were THERE!

How about a meatsicle?

2005-09-13T17:42:00.000-07:00

I know it sounds gross, but I just took the babies' mesh feeders and stuffed them full of macaroni and cheese. They went to freakin' TOWN! I've only ever used them for fresh fruit, but hey, whatever's clever.

I feel like such a grownup!

2005-09-13T10:41:00.000-07:00

Last night, I went to my monthly twin club meeting and it was lots of fun. The speaker was boring but still informative - she was a financial planner and had lots of good information, she just spoke for over an HOUR and I was starting to get sleepy! Afterward, a bunch of us (like twenty!) went over to Chili's for some drinks. That was SO much fun! I didn't get home until MIDNIGHT!!! It was the first time I've gone out on my own just for ME since, well, before ANY of the babies were born! I had SO much fun! Amazing what a little grownup interaction will do for ya.

Oh, and a happy belated birthday to LaDonna - her birthday was Sunday, but I didn't get online at all. I meant to blog her a happy birthday then. Oh well! Hope it was a good one! :-)

Bye for now - I'm organizing my Tupperware cabinet (actually, the kids have it emptied out and are playing in it!) and plan to throw away a BUNCH of shit today! Yay!

<--- I'm with stupid.

2005-09-12T15:27:00.000-07:00

You know, as I've gone through life, I've had moments here and there where I've thought I was pretty damned clever. Y'know, like, maybe smarter than the average Jane on the street. I'm beginning to think I've been fooling myself, though.

I'm having my very first non-pill regulated period in, like, forever. Since before I met my husband. I got my tubes tied, remember? But I had to stay on the pill for a few months to make sure it all worked right, right? Okay, but I stopped taking the pill, and so now my bleeding is REAL BLEEDING, the kind from a REAL cycle, not the fake kind that comes from stopping taking hormones for seven days out of every month. So, the day I started, I marked the calendar like a good girl, so I'll know when to expect it next month. I carefully counted out 28 days, just like I did for YEARS from age 12 on up to adulthood, and then realized...all this time, I could have just counted ahead four weeks.

Can you believe that shit? I'm 32 years old and it JUST NOW OCCURRED TO ME that getting your period every 28 days equals EVERY FOUR WEEKS.

I wondered why my Mensa membership card had a Fisher Price logo.

Broccoli Cheese Soup

2005-09-08T22:00:00.000-07:00

Someone asked me for the recipe. I don't really have one; I just throw shit together. But I will tell you how to make it - the technique is more important than the ingredients! It's all in the hips, baby. Not really, it's actually in the stirring. LOL!

To make broccoli cheese soup, start with a big pan, like a dutch oven. Melt about half a stick of butter. Throw in a big scoop of flour, like...half a cup to a cup, at least. Stir, stir, stir until it makes a funky paste. Then sllllowly pour in cold chicken broth, a little at a time, stir stir stir stir stir stir stir stir stir, a little more, stir stir stir...until you have a nice, thick liquid. This is called making a roux. Use two of those boxes of chicken broth.

Add to this about a two bunches of chopped up broccoli or a bag of chopped broccoli or a frozen little brick of chopped broccoli, it doesn't really matter. Then add about, oh, fifteen twists of your pepper grinder and about half a dozen shakes of your salt shaker. Add a little dry mustard and some onion powder.

Now, the cheese. I use about 3 to 4 cups of sharp cheddar. Pour it all on a couple of paper towels and sprinkle a couple of spoonfuls of flour on it. Work the flour through the cheese with your fingers (like for fondue!) and then dump it all in the pot. Stir, stir, stir, stir, stir.

Then, get a big container of half and half. Pour half in and stir, stir, stir, stir. Then take the other half and add a few spoonfuls of flour to it and shake it up really well, and pour that in, too. Stir and stir and stir. When it looks like broccoli cheese soup, turn the heat down to low and put a lid on it for half an hour or so.

The end.

From chaos to boredom.

2005-09-08T17:17:00.000-07:00

Man, I can't believe today's Thursday already. I can't believe a week ago, it was THE DAY BEFORE EVERYONE CAME and it was our last day to get everything done. And I'm sure YOU can't believe I'm still going on and on about the wedding. LOL!

We're having trouble getting back into our routine, which I'm blaming on all the damned crap in my house. There are still ginormous bouquets of flowers nearly covering my kitchen island and a fuckton of rapidly spoiling food in my fridge, all of which are destined for the trash, but...we have SO much trash, I can't really see bagging it up and just throwing it on the PILE in the garage. Yes, pile. We ran out of room in the garbage cans before the wedding was over. And our trash day is generally Thursday, but not the week of a government holiday, so it's not until tomorrow. And then, I'm throwing away tons and tons of stuff. The kids' birthday was also last week if you recall, so I have several LARGE toy boxes to throw out too. All of which is just litering my house and making me crazy!

I made a big pot of broccoli cheese soup this morning. It came out really quite good. I dished up a huge Rubbermaid container and the kids and I all went to visit my mom. Such a good daughter I am, bringing soup to my crippled mama. LOL! She had surgery yesterday to remove a bone spur from her foot and she's laid up for awhile. My dad was there too; he took a few days off to take care of her. And his truck died the day of the wedding, which I didn't realize until a few days ago (wondered why they came over in my mom's car!) so he just bought a new truck, too, and had to show that off. We had a nice visit, most of which was spent plucking the boy down from various high objects and getting him out of bedrooms and such.

Now guess where we are? Out on the patio. Yep, I'm blogging from the great outdoors. My HUSBAND wired up an outlet and an internet connection right here on this pillar, so we could have the laptop outdoors. It's quite delightful, I must say. Holy fucking CRAP, the most GIGANTIC spider just scuttled past my toes, and the bare toes of both babies sitting in the walkers. Aaaaaaaah!!! I've seen this kind before and I know they're harmless, but Jesus? Give a mama a heart attack, why dontcha? Why can't they just HIDE while I'm out here??

I guess that's all I had to say. I'm still sickeningly IN LOVE with MY HUSBAND, and getting married seems to have made us even mushier. It's sick. I'm really thrilled that it's September and it's beautiful outside and the wedding is over and we can RELAX and hopefully enjoy the rest of the summer. I'm almost thinking my littlest baby picked up on some of my stressed out attitude and nervous energy those last two weeks and that's why she wasn't sleeping, because she's slept through the night for three nights in a row and I've gotten EIGHT FRICKEN HOURS of sleep for THREE NIGHTS now. All my aches and pains seem to be mysteriously GONE, too, oddly. Yay for good sleep!

Back to the sights and sounds of the backyard!

At last, my love has come along.

2005-09-07T22:37:00.000-07:00

So. How are ya? Did you know I got married on Saturday? Yep, I sure did! I keep meaning to update about all that, but I haven't really had the time to devote to typing up a proper post that would do the event JUSTICE!

I'm not sure what to say about my wedding, except that it was PERFECT! It was so, so, so perfect and wonderful and amazing and if I could relive it all without changing a second of it, I'd do so in a heartbeat. I felt like a princess, and my wedding day really felt just like it did when I daydreamed about it as a little girl. Standing up in front of everyone with the love of my life, promising to love him forever - wow. It was just so powerful and emotional and I can imagine looking back on it fifty years from now, going, you know, that was the best day of my whole life. It really was.

One of the things that made it great was seeing my girlfriends from all over the country. Colleen, Cindy, and Kim all got here on Friday and immediately started doing everything that needed doing - loving on babies, feeding them and changing diapers, decorating my house, baking the wedding cake... they made my veil and the bouquets for the wedding, they decorated the arbor we got married under, they organized the layout of the tables and chairs, they helped me make VATS of fruit and pasta salad...they cracked me up for three whole days and their being here made my wedding SO MUCH BETTER - I don't know that I could have pulled it off without them. I don't think I could have. Thank God for good friends, and don't ever let anyone tell you that "internet" friends aren't the real thing!

Here are some of my favorite pictures:

My Hottie Hubby:

I love this one:

Me and my best friend:

My beautiful family - look at my sweet girls! I love those little legs:

Miss K:

My parents:

My father-in-law with the girls:

And me with my Groovy Girlies!

There are soooooo many more pictures, I haven't even begun to go through them all. I don't even know if you can get how wonderful it all was from the pictures, though. I cried as soon as the music started for me to walk down the aisle and didn't stop until my big twins started throwing sand at each other and giggling during the ceremony and everyone laughed. It was such a perfect little moment. I saw SO many people crying after we finished with our vows. And the food ... and the dancing... and the DRINKING, my God, the drinking! And just being around people I love. It was a perfect, spectacular day. I really do think it was the best day of my life.

::sniff, sniff::

2005-09-06T16:07:00.000-07:00

I'm sad today.

I knew there'd be some post-wedding letdown, so I'm not surprised by it, but I am sad. I'm all alone today - my HUSBAND went back to work after being home all last week - K went back to her dad's house yesterday - and of course, Kim, Colleen, and Cindy all left yesterday. I'm home alone with all the kids. It's pretty quiet here except for the occasional bickering among the big twins. Plus, it's overcast and a wee bit chilly out, which is really adding to the whole "The summer's over, and the wedding's all done..." vibe. I keep seeing little reminders that we had a houseful of people and laughter just yesterday, and today it's quiet and blah.

Wah.

The kids will be up in a minute, and then we're going to run out to the market for baby food and milk. It'll be nice to get out of the house and get some air.

Such a downer of a post, eh? I'm going to try to post more pictures tomorrow. I have a whole bunch, and they're very nice. The wedding was beautiful, classy, joyous...so many people came up and told us how nice it was and how perfect everything went and how it just FIT us. That makes me happy. :-)

Have a nice Tuesday!

We're Married!

2005-09-05T09:09:00.000-07:00

The wedding was beautiful, magical, and absolutely perfect. Everything went wonderfully! I had so much fun with everyone...I'll post more later, but for now I wanted to share just a couple of pictures... here they are.

I'm a MRS!

Almost a Mrs.!

2005-09-02T18:24:00.000-07:00

This will be my last post until after the wedding. Colleen and Kim are here - Colleen is bathing all my children and Kim is baking cake after cake after cake. Cindy and her daughter Shannon should be landing...(checks watch) right about now, so I'll be heading off to the airport to get them shortly. And then it's decorating and veil preparation and salad making and wheeeeee! It's almost here! I haven't taken a single picture, but other people seem to be on it, so there will be many.

See you after the wedding!

Eeeee!

2005-09-02T10:18:00.000-07:00

Colleen and Kim will be here in the next two hours! Woo!

Five Years Ago

2005-09-01T23:23:00.000-07:00

Fun little meme, stolen from Echo.

One Year Ago my older twins celebrated their first birthday. My mother-in-law moved in with us for what turned out to be six horrid months. I was beginning to get used to the idea of having another set of twins.
Two Years Ago today I came home from the hospital with my new twin babies. We had lived in our new home for close to a month.
Three Years Ago I was hopelessly, madly, deliciously in love with the man I'm marrying on Saturday. He was on my mind 24/7 and we spent lots and lots and lots of time together.
Four Years Ago I was miserably depressed and getting through each day was a true struggle.
Five Years Ago my oldest daughter had just started Kindergarten. My best friend had just married her soulmate, and I was trying like hell to fight for a marriage that wasn't worth fighting for.

Today, I'm sitting in my kitchen eating Triscuits and drinking Sprite at 11:18 p.m. while one of my beautiful babies crawls around my feet, cooing and giggling, wide-awake, refusing to sleep. Today, I'm giddy because I'm marrying MY soulmate in a matter of hours and three of my dearest friends are coming all the way across the country to be with me when it happens. Today, life is magical. Today is a beautiful day in my world, one I'll look back on fondly when I'm old.

The final stretch!

2005-09-01T18:43:00.000-07:00

This is our last day of preparation for the wedding, or is supposed to be. We decided we'd rather relax on Friday and hang out, waiting for our out-of-towners to arrive than be running around all crazy, so between now and midnight, we're gonna bust ass and make everything perfect.

I don't have much left to do, actually...some laundry, vacuum the stairs and our bedroom, vacuum downstairs again...finish making the photo cd we're going to have playing on the TV and finish the WinAmp playlist for the wedding. And when my girls get here (Kim, Cindy, and Colleen - I ain't linkin' right now!) we need to make pasta salad, fruit salad, finish making my veil, put up decorations inside, decorate the trellis, and Kim's making my wedding cake. Whew! Not much relaxing there, but it should be fun!! Whee! I'm giddy! Kim's already en route! (At this point, it probably would have been cheaper to fly!)

Two days from now, I'll be married already. Wow.

Back then they didn't want me, now I'm hot, they all on me.

2005-08-31T09:58:00.000-07:00

Excuse the way sporadic posting. I'm SO BUSY getting everything done for the wedding. And I'm noticing that I have songs stuck in my head 24/7. This happens every time I'm super busy - I get a piece of a song stuck in my head during all my waking hours. When my big twins were tiny babies, I remember sitting on the bathroom floor rocking them at 3 a.m., singing in my head, Baby boy you stay on my mind, fulfill my fantasy...I think about you all the time and see you in my dreams..." Just that one line over and over. And when the latest twins were born, I was running around singing, "I'll tumble for ya...I'll tumble for ya...I'll tumble for ya, I'll tumble for you..." (don't ask! It must have been I Love the Eighties week on VH1 or something.) And for days, I've had that Mike Jones song in my head, just the spooky sounding chorus, over and over and over and over and over. And that new Kanye West song too, just the "Now I ain't sayin' she's a gold digga..." lines. Aughhhh! I'm ready to watch The Wiggles just to clear my head!

(Three more days until the wedding!!!)

Happy Birthday, Dear Toddlers...

2005-08-30T00:47:00.000-07:00

Since you people keep bugging us!

2005-08-29T21:57:00.000-07:00

Here is our wedding registry. But we really aren't expecting gifts!

And the countdown begins!

2005-08-29T08:50:00.000-07:00

Good Monday Morning!

We've been busting mofo crazy ass trying to get ready for the wedding. This weekend, I cleaned bathrooms and did tons of laundry. K and I got pedicures (praying they last until Saturday, because I have to take advantage of babysitting when I can get it!!) and I got my eyebrows waxed. We put a big couch up in the attic that someone (or a pair of girls!) can sleep on. We cleaned the family room, we decluttered the kitchen. We bought a fuckton of liquor, mixers, soda, plates, napkins, plastic forks and spoons, etc. Today, I'm taking the toddlers for haircuts.

Busy little bees, we are.

The steps still aren't done, but they're getting there.

The littlest baby still seems to be feeling like crap, and she's driving us all insane with her constant "hold me or I'll scream my head off" business.

We all watched the VMAs last night. I always associate the VMAs with the big twins' birthday, because we watched them the night before I went to the hospital to have them. Or maybe we recorded them because they were on while we were there? I really don't remember. But I know it all happened at the same time. Anyway. K and the man were both all atwitter over Eva Longoria's outfit - I missed it, because I was upstairs grabbing pajamas for the kids. What was she wearing? Also, didn't Kelly Clarkson put on a great show?? Even if you don't like her, damn - she really gave it her all and put on the best performance of the night, hands down. I happen to ADORE Kelly Clarkson - if she only had boobies, she'd be my favorite girl crush.

And all our folks were here yesterday and we had cake and ice cream for the kids' birthday. It isn't until tomorrow, but we did the cake over the weekend. I have presents here too, but we were too busy to open them. Hopefully tonight or tomorrow. Then I'll have cute pictures, if I have time to post them.

Okay, I need to run. I need to shut down this damned computer and stay away from it all day so I can get something done. It's hard enough to get anything done with a pair of two-year-olds and a pair of seven-month-olds running around all over the place. It's damned near impossible when I have to read blogs too! LOL! Have a nice day.

Epson Stylus Photo RX500 Sucks Ten Kinds of Ass.

2005-08-28T17:37:00.000-07:00

Little public service announcement, there.

I consider myself to be FAIRLY computer savvy - I can figure out damned near any technical support problem or hardware problem - but this printer baffles the shit out of me. From what I can tell, it is absolutely fucking impossible to print a picture unless it's

a. a picture you're scanning

or

b. a picture you have on your memory card.

I have eighty bazillion pictures on my hard drive, but can't fucking print any of them. Why? I don't know. The Epson interface gives me NO OPTIONS except scan to print or print from memory stick. The end, sorry, buh-bye, thanks for playing, please feel free to upload your prints to Walmart.com and print them there, because this printer sucks ass.

Don't buy the Epson Stylus Photo RX500 printer. IT BLOWS.

Yay! A new place to play!

2005-08-26T12:55:00.000-07:00

So, the playland at our mall opened a weekend or two ago, but we just got around to going today. I must say - it was delightful!! Usually it's HARD for me to take the kids to places like that because they run far off in opposite directions. This playland is just small enough that I can keep an eye on each kid, somehow. And there are benches all the way around it so they can't scamper off TOO quickly without my noticing. Best of all, hardly anyone knows it's open yet, so there weren't many people there. I think the big twins are getting a wee bit more mature, too, FINALLY, so when I holler at them, they will *usually* stop before running out into the mall. It was nice!

We also saw my mom for about 5 minutes. Shit, she mentioned that she bought something for the wedding and I should run by her house and get it on my way home. I totally forgot until this very moment. D'oh! It's hard to visit with her at work, because you know when you're working, you want to remain inconspicuous and not look like you're bullshitting with your daughter and four grandkids. But we're such a spectacle, that everyone in the store has to come over and see us. So I kept it short and sweet, and we just kissed hello and were on our way. The wee baby is grouchy today anyway, and any longer and she would have had a total meltdown.

Anyway - I just wanted to post that. Woohoo! I love it when we find a new, kid-friendly place to play. And this playland is nice! It has lots of neat stuff to climb on, plus a whole reading area with lots of nice books. Someone actually said to me quietly, "Those books won't be here for long with all these little Mexicans running around." !!!! I didn't say anything back to her, but she did look startled when I called for my son to come over and she heard his very Spanish name! People are such jackasses sometimes.

Have a splendid weekend. xoxo

How the hell is it Friday already?

2005-08-26T07:19:00.000-07:00

This week has FLOWN by. Like all weeks.

My littlest baby had a high temp last night and slept off and on almost all day yesterday. Poor little bug. I hope she's feeling better this morning; she's still out cold! My big girl also had a low-grade fever and was cranky. Come on, kids, now is not the time to get sick!! I've been so lucky; my kids have only had a handful of illnesses. Last year K had perfect attendance! (But she had *cough* 23 tardies, so they didn't give her an award. Buttheads.)

The boy signed again yesterday for more juice. So far, all we seem to know is "more" - but hey, it's a start!! I'm so thrilled that he's trying to communicate with us, I'll take it. He and his sister spun around and around in circles last night for like TWENTY MINUTES. I was so worried they were going to puke on my carpet or something - ha! Honey got them on the video camera because they were being so goofy!

Have a nice Friday - I'm off to dive into some domestic slavery before the kids wake up!

I'm a busy bee!!

2005-08-25T22:47:00.000-07:00

I actually can cross a whole FLOOR OF MY HOUSE off the list of shit to do! Yay! Well, it's the third floor attic, so maybe that's not so impressive. But - it's all ready for houseguests! I vacuumed tonight and put fresh linens on the bed up there and blew up the air mattress and put sheets on it as well. Woot! I even vacuumed up the dead moths in the window. Don't you girlies feel special? I vacuumed just for you!!

And I ran one of our wedding invites down the street to our neighbors - been meaning to do that for a good month now. They had good ideas about how to keep the mosquitoes away, too - hope we can get rid of them for the wedding so we're not all slap-happy during the festivities!

And! I dusted every square inch of our formal living room today - all those damned dining room chairs - all the furniture - the china cabinet and curio cabinets - all the picture frames, etc. etc. etc. The itty bitty babies kept me company. We're getting there, people - we're getting there!!

A Question for the SAHMs.

2005-08-25T11:03:00.000-07:00

Do you think that voice that goes, "Gooooooo, Doodlebops!" is the voice of PLANKTON???

Class of '90 ROCKS!!!

2005-08-25T08:45:00.000-07:00

Cute little meme, stolen from Bev and LaDonna. List the top 100 songs from the year that you graduated high school. (You can find lists at Music Outfitters) Bold the ones you actually like. Pick a favorite. Underline that favorite. And ~~strikethrough~~ the ones you loathe. Italicize the ones you consider to be guilty pleasures.

Top 100 Songs of 1990

1. Hold On, Wilson Phillips
2. It Must Have Been Love, Roxette
3. Nothing Compares 2 U, Sinead O'Connor
4. Poison, Bell Biv Devoe
5. Vogue, Madonna
6. Vision Of Love, Mariah Carey
7. Another Day In Paradise, Phil Collins
8. Hold On, En Vogue
9. Cradle Of Love, Billy Idol
10. Blaze Of Glory, Jon Bon Jovi
11. Do Me!, Bell Biv Devoe
12. How Am I Supposed To Live Without You, Michael Bolton
13. Pump Up The Jam, Technotronic
14. Opposites Attract, Paula Abdul
15. Escapade, Janet Jackson
~~16. All I Wanna Do Is Make Love To You, Heart~~
17. Close To You, Maxi Priest
18. Black Velvet, Alannah Myles
19. Release Me, Wilson Phillips
20. Don't Know Much, Linda Ronstadt and Aaron Neville
21. All Around The World, Lisa Stansfield
22. l Wanna Be Rich, Calloway
23. I Remember You, Skid Row
24. Rub You The Right Way, Johnny Gill
25. She Ain't Worth It, Glenn Medeiros Featuring Bobby Brown
26. If Wishes Came True, Sweet Sensation
27. The Power, Snap
28. (Can't Live Without Your) Love and Affection, Nelson
29. Love Will Lead You Back, Taylor Dayne
30. Don't Wanna Fall In Love, Jane Child
31. Two To Make It Right, Seduction
32. Sending All My Love, Linear
33. Unskinny Bop, Poison
34. Step By Step, New Kids On The Block
35. Dangerous, Roxette
~~36. We Didn't Start The Fire, Billy Joel~~
37. I Don't Have The Heart, James Ingram
38. Downtown Train, Rod Stewart
39. Rhythm Nation, Janet Jackson
40. I'll Be Your Everything, Tommy Page
41. Roam, B-52's
42. Everything, Jody Watley
43. Back To Life, Soul II Soul
44. Here and Now, Luther Vandross
45. Alright, Janet Jackson
46. Ice Ice Baby, Vanilla Ice
47. Blame It On The Rain, Milli Vanilli
48. Have You Seen Her, M.C. Hammer
49. With Every Beat Of My Heart, Taylor Dayne
50. Come Back To Me, Janet Jackson
51. No More Lies, Michel'le
52. Praying For Time, George Michael
53. How Can We Be Lovers, Michael Bolton
54. Do You Remember, Phil Collins
55. Ready Or Not, After 7
56. U Can't Touch This, M.C. Hammer
57. I Wish It Would Rain Down, Phil Collins
58. Just Between You and Me, Lou Gramm
59. Something Happened On The Way To Heaven, Phil Collins
60. Black Cat, Janet Jackson
61. Can't Stop, After 7
62. Janie's Got A Gun, Aerosmith
63. The Humpty Dance, Digital Underground
64. I'll Be Your Shelter, Taylor Dayne
65. Free Fallin', Tom Petty
66. Giving You The Benefit, Pebbles
67. Enjoy The Silence, Depeche Mode
68. Love Song, Tesla
69. Price Of Love, Bad English
70. Girls Nite Out, Tyler Collins
71. King Of Wishful Thinking, Go West
72. What Kind Of Man Would I Be?, Chicago
73. Get Up! (Before The Night Is Over), Technotroic
74. Here We Are, Gloria Estefan
75. Epic, Faith No More
76. Love Takes Time, Mariah Carey
77. Just Like Jesse James, Cher
78. Love Shack, B-52's
79. All Or Nothing, Milli Vanilli
80. Romeo, Dino
81. Everybody Everybody, Black Box
~~82. I Go To Extremes, Billy Joel~~
83. Whip Appeal, Babyface
84. Oh Girl, Paul Young
85. C'mon and Get My Love, D-Mob With Cathy Dennis
85. (It's Just) The Way That You Love Me, Paula Abdul
87. We Can't Go Wrong, Cover Girls
88. When I'm Back On My Feet Again, Michael Bolton
89. Make You Sweat, Keith Sweat
90. This One's For The Children, New Kids On The Block
91. What It Takes, Aerosmith
92. Forever, Kiss
93. Jerk Out, Time
94. Just A Friend, Biz Markie
95. Whole Wide World, A'me Lorain
96. Without You, Motley Crue
97. Swing The Mood, Jive Bunny and The Mastermixers
98. Thieves In The Temple, Prince
99. Mentirosa, Mellow Man Ace
100. Tic-Tac-Toe, Kyper

Siiiiiigh!

2005-08-24T18:23:00.000-07:00

I feel like I have nothing to blog about except how my kids behaved at Wal-Mart and what some dork said to me at Sam's Club and how we played outside today. Boring ass life, that's what I have! Well, it's not boring to me, after all, I'm ::sniff:: shaping young minds!! But I'm sure to anyone observing it, it's pretty fecking yawn-worthy.

Anyway! That's what you get. We went to Sam's/Wal-Mart today. The kids were being hellions before we got to the second store, so I kept them in the stroller and WALKED across the parking lot, across the street, across the other parking lot, to the other store. Seemed like a good idea to get them out in the sunshine and fresh air, and I think it did help them. It sure as fuck didn't help ME, though, sweating my ass off in the heat, pushing a stroller full of kids. When I was checking out at Sam's, the lady behind me looked around me to see what I had in my stroller, and she goes, "THOSE aren't all YOURS, are they? NO. Can't be. Daycare, right?" Like, who the fuck runs a daycare and takes all the kids to Sam's Club? Would anyone do that?? I smiled and said no, they're all mine. "REALLY? My GOD, you've GOT YOUR HANDS FULL! You are a BRAVE WOMAN bringing all those kids shopping." I just said, "Well, it's that or starve." and went on my merry way. I know I bitch about this all the time, and I'm starting to think maybe I'm too sensitive. Am I? Or does that seem like a pretty rude comment? Maybe it's just me. Maybe it's just that I get half a dozen, "You've got your hands full!" comments minimum every time I walk out the door. It just gets old quickly, I guess. I think what bugs me the most is that people act as if I owe them a mini-conversation and a chance to gawk at my kids, just because we dared to enter the store. When you see a toddler having a tantrum, do you approach the parent and start going, "What's wrong with him?" God, no. You probably just move on quickly. Or give a knowing, empathetic glance. Or even think to yourself, "What a brat. Thank God he's not mine." But you probably wouldn't ever think to APPROACH THE CHILD and start getting in their face, would you? Yet that's what people do when the tantruming child is part of a set of twins. All the time. Annoying as hell! Go away!!

Well, guess I had a little ranting to do, there. Ha! After we came home, I put all the shit away and took all four kids in the backyard to play. I set up the sand and water table for the first time, and the kids really liked it! They got SOAKED to the bone, though. We played outside for a long time - probably over an hour. Now everyone is eating dinner and I'm sitting here wishing it were bedtime, because everyone's on my nerves and I have a headache. Peh!!

Just think, next week at this time, I'll be freaking out because the wedding's in three days.

The Invitation

2005-08-23T07:56:00.000-07:00

People have asked to see our wedding invitation and I'm afraid I'm going to forget to post it before the wedding, so here it is:

Thanks, Echo!

Playgroup!

2005-08-23T06:47:00.000-07:00

So, it's Tuesday. Playgroup day! One of the moms called me last night and said we were going to the park in K's dad's old neighborhood. It practically butts up against the back of his house! They've been going there a lot, like it's their new favorite park. I can't figure out why? It's not that close to anyone, and it's not super remarkable in any way? I haven't gone to any of those playgroup days, for one reason or another, but I think we're going to go today. I just hate making that trip down memory lane!! I don't need to invent a reason to hang out in my old neighborhood, y'know? Oh well. We'll have fun anyway!

The Speech Eval

2005-08-22T16:09:00.000-07:00

The speech evaluation was great!! I learned SO MUCH. And I got teary a couple of times too. The speech pathologist was a woman who was so nice and she took all the time in the world to observe my children. After we finished up in her office, she sat and played with the big kids in the stroller while I fed the girls some bottles, so she could have extra time to spend with my boy.

She said he's not just behind in speech, but in his motor skills too. I was surprised at first, because the child climbs everything in the world, but as soon as she pointed it out, I saw it too. He is clumsy and has a harder time than his sister with fine motor skills like placing cars on a track or opening doors and drawers. She said when we worked on that, his verbal skills would catch right up.

She also said one of his bigger issues is his lack of "partner play" skills. He really is a loner - he doesn't want to or like to play with other people, so he has no NEED to communicate. So we're going to work on that too. And she gave me the numbers to call for the programs we need to get him into.

Neatest of all, though, was...while we were in her office, she held up a book with four pictures on each page and said, "Where's the cookie?" and he pointed right to it. I have never, ever seen him communicate like that. He has never pointed to anything until today. So that made me happy. AND! Biggest thing of all!! While they were in the stroller playing with a toy, taking turns putting blocks inside a cube thing, he did the sign for "more" - I had NO IDEA any of the signs we were doing were even getting through to him. He clearly signed more when he wanted another block. I was stunned! It brought tears to my eyes to see him do it!

She said we should really push the sign language and lots of one on one play and playtime along with his sisters, taking turns and stuff. I feel great after getting some concrete answers!

Monday Morning!

2005-08-22T08:57:00.000-07:00

Good Monday Morning!

The boy is seeing a speech pathologist today. We had a hearing test done about two weeks ago, which he passed with flying colors, so it's time for us to see someone else. People keep telling me he'll speak when he has something to say, that he lives in a house with four sisters who do all his speaking for him, that boys typically talk later, blah blah blah. I keep thinking: he's two. Or will be two, a week from tomorrow. He should be saying SOMETHING, but he says NOTHING. He says no words. None. The occasional "dada", but not directed at his daddy or anything, just babbling. He doesn't say no or Elmo or bye bye or milk or cup or night night or anything that his sister says. She is talking like crazy now, and he says no words at all. So, we'll see what the speech pathologist has to say.

A rather unproductive weekend here. The mister got a few things done, but he still hasn't finished the steps - a rather significant part of the Big Backyard Project. K had two friends spend the night; one on Friday and one on Saturday. We did end up watching Because of Winn Dixie on Saturday night. It was a great movie. I loved the message behind it. K had already read the book, so I guess it wasn't a big deal that she fell asleep and missed the ending! I did get a few things put away in the kitchen that were bugging me. I'm trying to put away non-essential stuff for the wedding so you don't see, like, baby wash and the bottle drainer and my tiny food processer in the background of photos. LOL!

I'm hoping I can find some time here and there this week to get the attic all cleaned up and ready for our houseguests. Our nanny doesn't have much time for us now that she's started working at her real job! I hope she can give us a few hours this week! The kids miss her.

Well, hell, I'd better get my ass in gear so we aren't late for the appointment. Have a nice Monday!

Sunday update.

2005-08-21T15:05:00.000-07:00

Well! The attic is still uninhabitable, but I HAVE cleaned out my silverware drawer and washed the cutlery tray, dammit. You have to take what you can get sometimes when you're tied down by all these children. One step closer to being Ready For The Wedding. Clean silverware drawer. Go, me.

Gah!

2005-08-20T12:41:00.000-07:00

On days like today, I wish I would have opted for a puppy instead.

Don't worry. I'm sure in a few hours, I'll be back to my sweet, patient self again. ha!

Hmph!

2005-08-19T11:59:00.000-07:00

So. Blogrolling took a shit today, huh? Hope it comes back soon.

I went to the market yesterday, but forgot that honey brought home a huge crate of peaches someone gave him at work. I wanted to make cobbler, so we had to run back out to the supermarket again today for baking powder and cornstarch. We got some gas, we were in and out of the market, and on our way back home, when I realized - hey, it's Friday! Garage sales! I saw two on the way home. One had just a few things - I got my big girl some of those sparkly dressup shoes, y'know what I'm talking about? They don't even match. LOL! She doesn't care. And the lady just gave them to me, so - good deal. Then I found another sale with lots and lots of toys. Score! Fucking bitch lady pissed me OFF, though! This old lady with a beehive hairdo tried to charge me TEN DOLLARS for about four dollars worth of toys. I had two stick ponies, one of those pushalong popcorn popper toys, a little ball with beads in it, and one of those wire balls with beads on it you can wind through the ball like a little roller coaster. Stuff you wouldn't expect to pay more than a dollar apiece for at a garage sale. And it was all filthy, too. She goes, "How 'bout ten dollars?" with a big smile. I glanced in my wallet and said, "How about six?" We dickered for a minute and she said, "Look, this is for a mission trip to Mexico. We can bend a LITTLE, but..." and the black dude with her said, "Six is fine." He took my money and I was on my way. Like I give a shit about their mission trip! I'm sure all their filthy toys were donated, so any cent they make is money toward their trip - they don't need to be ripping people off, charging way more money than the stuff is worth!! I should have told her that people who shop at garage sales are POOR LIKE ME, and don't have money to be throwing toward their mission trip. Every cent we have practically goes toward diapers and formula and baby food, so don't be tellin' me about trying to raise money for a trip. Nobody's raising money on OUR behalf, dammit! Ugh. I HATE when people try to charge an arm and a leg for USED crap. Hello? It's USED. I don't know the history of it; it might work great, or it might have fallen out of your pickup on the way here. Y'know? OH! And the lady goes, "All these toys are brand new!" HA! What? Are you high? They're dirty? Filthy! With little scratches and stuff! Like ALL garage sale crap! Sell it for a dollar, like the rest of the population, don't be giving me this "It's all new!" bullshit. Woman, please. I am the queen of the garage sales, I know what this shit is selling for three streets over!! I just said, "It doesn't LOOK new." I should have said, "If it's new, then LICK IT." ROFL!

Friday!

2005-08-19T07:47:00.000-07:00

Good morning! This is the first day out of about seven where one of the girls didn't wake up in the middle of the night or at the buttass crack o' dawn. Yay! Of course, I woke up earlier than I wanted to because honey's stupid mofo alarm kept going off and off and off and off. His old one broke, so he's using this lame clock, and isn't sure of all the functions on it. I was ready to throw it out the window this morning! But still, I went back to sleep for another half hour or so after he left for work, and for the first time in DAYS, I feel fairly well rested!! But alas, I hear kids whining, so it must be breakfast time. I'll type fast.

K's first week of school has gone great. She really likes her teacher a lot and seems to be digging the routine. I'm one of those old school moms who believes all people function better when they have a specific routine to stick to. I think that's why summer vacation throws so many of us into a tailspin and we can't seem to catch our own asses or get anything done! Everyone always seems so happy when school starts back up!

Tonight, K and I have a date to watch the movie Because of Winn-Dixie. I bought it solely from Cindy's review of it back when she took Shannon to see it at the theater. She said it was one of her new favorite movies of all time! So I think K and I will enjoy it. We've been wanting to watch it all week, but our evenings are fucking chaos, dude. Nobody can sit down and watch a movie!! But since it's Friday and she can stay up late, we're going to watch it at 9 p.m., right after the big twins go to bed. I told her we'd even make popcorn. Yay!

Oh, and all of a sudden, I'm hating having long hair. Why, I don't know. I guess I'm just sick of wearing it UP every single day. Every day, it's up in a little claw clippy, because the kids pull it and it ends up in my mouth and in my eyes and stuff and bugs the shit out of me. I'm seriously thinking (after the wedding!) about going back to a cute little bubble bob. Every time my hair gets to this length, it starts to feel like curtains anyway, just hanging there around the sides of my head. Sucks having straight hair sometimes!

I'm making lasagna in the crockpot tonight. I know it sounds bizarre to make LASAGNA in the crockpot, but it actually comes out AWESOME! I have a terrific recipe I use. Here it is if you wanna try it!

Crockpot Lasagna

1 lb. lean ground beef
1 (26 to 28 oz.) jar tomato pasta sauce
1 (8 oz.) can tomato sauce
1/2 (9 oz.) pkg. (about 8) no-boil lasagna noodles
1 (1-lb.) jar Alfredo pasta sauce
12 oz. (3 cups) shredded mozzarella cheese
1/4 c. grated Parmesan cheese

Brown ground beef and drain.

Spray a 4 to 5-quart crockpot with nonstick cooking spray. Spread 3/4 c. of the tomato pasta sauce in the bottom of the sprayed crockpot. Stir the remaining tomato pasta sauce and the can of tomato sauce into the ground beef.

Layer 3 lasagna noodles over the sauce in the crockpot, breaking noodles as necessary. Top with 1/3 of the Alfredo pasta sauce, spreading evenly. Sprinkle with 1 c. of the mozzarella cheese. Top with 1/3 of the ground beef mixture, spreading evenly.

Repeat the layers twice, using 2 noodles in the last layer. Sprinkle parmesan cheese over top.

Cover and cook on low for 3 1/2 to 4 1/2 hours.

Okay, have a spectacular Friday and a marvelous weekend. I'm getting married in fifteen days and have ten bazillion things to do, so hopefully you won't see me on here until Monday morning. Bye!

The Yard!

2005-08-18T07:47:00.000-07:00

I know you're all dying to see pictures of our yard, after I've bitched about it all summer long!

The girls wore jeans and shoes for the first time yesterday!

My boy on his trike - guess I don't take them outside often enough, huh? I never could get him to turn around!

The big girl swinging:

...And walking across the grass. Both kids really liked walking in the grass!

This is my new favorite plant. It's called Agastache. (Ag-uh-stah-chee.) It's very drought tolerant, looks pretty, and the blooms smell like rootbeer!

The yard from the back corner:

And from (almost) the opposite corner. There's still yard behind me, but I was trying to get a picture of both the arbor and the trellis.

The patio, with our furniture - we ate out there last night for the first time!

The boy playing in the sand in the one part of the yard that still needs bark:

Swinging makes you all tuckered out!

All the girls on the swingset:

My whole family!

And here is the back fence - you can see the man's trailer back there.

Neat, huh? Everything you see there - everything - and lots of stuff you CAN'T see - was done by That Man of Mine. He did the sprinkler system, put in all the fences, did 100% of the landscaping, laid the walkways, built the trellis - everything.

Come back later!

2005-08-17T08:22:00.000-07:00

Because you know what I'm going to post? Pictures of my yard! Lots of them! Complete with pictures of my children playing out there! It'll be spectacular! You'll laugh! You'll cry! You'll say, "I want to come to your wedding and hang out there, Laura!" and then I'll send you my address and you'll come. You might have some cake. It'll be fun.

My pretty girls!

2005-08-17T08:17:00.000-07:00

<---- More over there. :-)

Yep, she's a badass.

2005-08-16T17:14:00.000-07:00

So, do you have any idea how OLD I feel all of a sudden, with a FIFTH GRADER? Who is TEN years old? And wearing a bra? Yeah. I'm trippin.

K's first day of 5th grade went well. She was SOOO cute, too. Sorry no picture - she changed clothes as soon as she walked in the door! She REALLY likes her teacher, who has a reputation for being strict. I like the "strict" thing! I think strict teachers are great for flaky 5th graders. I really do. I think she'll learn a lot this year.

This year, they have P.E. one day a week. ONE DAY. I told her when I was in 5th grade (and pretty much every year of elementary school) we had P.E. three days a week. And every day in Junior High! They have "specials" now - dig the cutesy name - P.E., music, art, recess, and computer class. One of those every single day. I think it sucks that they only have ONE DAY in each thing. What are they doing the rest of the time, considering she's going back in the middle of August and not getting out until the second week in June? She said the P.E. teacher "worked our BUTTS off, mom! She said she was going to work us hard since we only see her one day a week. I had to do 38 pushups!!" Ha. Good.

Also, her teacher runs the student council, and I think K's going to join. I think it'd be good for her. As long as it doesn't require, y'know, staying after school or anything! LOL!

Today, they were starting their unit in science. K was excited about that. She digs science. And, the teacher was telling me they were doing a lot of cooking experiments to help learn about scientific stuff. Yay! K loves cooking, so she'll really like that a lot.

I'm feeling excited for her to be starting her last year of elementary. Next year, she's going to middle school - a whole new world! I have to live out my "back to school" excitement through my kids now that I'm all done with school. Sigh. No more new Trapper Keepers in my future.

Ain't that just the way??

2005-08-16T15:41:00.000-07:00

So, guess what? Our backyard is done! I mean, done! Did I say it was done? I meant, it was DONE. Honey still needs to finish building the steps, but hey, the kids can go out and play! The fence is finished and the window wells are covered. We have grass! Big wheels! A sand and water table! A swing set! He finished the last bit of fence about ten last night. I was looking forward SO MUCH to taking the kids out to play in their beautiful backyard for the first time, and now it's raining. Ha! Thanks, Mother Nature, you big fat bitch!

In other news, I took the kids to a petting zoo. There was no petting, as I wouldn't let go of either toddler's hand. Miss M was scared to death by a pig chasing a goat, which was kind of funny. And I didn't get any decent pictures, because it's hard to take a picture when you're holding onto two toddlers. Oh well. Next time!

Ho hum!

2005-08-15T10:39:00.000-07:00

I'm tired today! Nikki was having issues last night, and was up about three times between midnight and 1:30, when I finally took her and got into K's bed with her so we didn't wake anyone else up. (Don't worry, K was at her dad's house. LOL!) She eventually went back to sleep in her own bed for the rest of the night, but I'm tired as hell today and both baby girls are cranky - so is their big sister, who I'm sure had a bad night listening to the whining.

And I'm having a hard time transitioning the baby girls into daytime napping. One of them will fall asleep okay and the other fights it like hell, kicking and screaming in her crib, even though she's exhausted. So both are up. Why can't I have a six-bedroom house??? I'm currently listening to them crying on the baby monitor. Oh, what fun! STFU and go to sleep, little girls!

They opened up a kids' play area (like the giant food play area at the snobby mall) at our mall, and I thought about taking all the kids over today to check it out, but I just don't see it happening. Being tired or SOMETHING has turned all but one into the spawn of Satan, I swear. I don't want to unleash the rage on the general public just yet. I'd rather suffer here in my own house.

Hey, guess what? The yard is basically done. Honey put the lattice up on the fence and built little covers for the basement window wells. If he hadn't miscalculated how much lattice he needed, the kids could go out and play. But - he was short two pieces and some of the fence is still open. Maybe it'll get all fixed up tonight. I hope? I think going outside in the sunshine would help these kids run the bugs out of their butts! I'm loving the yard, though. I mean, from inside the house anyway. No that I've spent any time out there. But from in here, it looks really nice. The trellis over the patio is beautiful, and it makes it so much nicer inside - it creates just enough shade that the sun isn't in everyone's eyes at the breakfast table.

:::edit:::

Okay, it's like, seven hours later. Ha! The kids were being fucking HELLIONS and I had to save that to draft. Thankfully, the nanny was here today for a couple of hours, and as soon as she walked in, I got the hell out of dodge!! I went to Target and bought storage bins for the playroom. And Swedish fish. I talked on the phone with Kim. I got a Cheezy Gordita Crunch. All was well. I picked up K from her first day of 5th grade and we came on back home. The kids had a better afternoon than morning. Now I'm going to take a wee little nappy, because I'm sleepy as hell, dude.

Yay, only 3 hours and 25 minutes until bedtime!

The world's fastest year.

2005-08-13T13:38:00.000-07:00

Oh yeah, I forgot to mention: one year ago today - fittingly, on Friday the 13th - I found out that the little baby we were expecting was bringing a friend along.

My post from one year ago, after heading to the hospital with what I thought was a gallbladder attack:

I'm okay. I guess.

I went to the doctor, who poked and prodded and listened and then sent me to the ER. She thought my symptoms sounded like a gallbladder problem, and was worried about a possible blood clot because of the pain I was having in my shoulder and chest. Great way to spend a Friday night! We got home about 1 a.m. Thankfully, after we sat there with the babies for close to 2 hours, P left and his mom met him at our house so she could put the babies to bed and he could come back to the hospital to babysit me.

They didn't find any blood clot. They didn't find evidence of gallstones either, so I either don't have them or they are really tiny and didn't show up on the ultrasound. I got to see pretty much my entire body on ultrasound last night. Both my legs, from my groin to my ankle, my lungs, my liver, pancreas, spleen, stomach...and my uterus. The doctor decided as long as I was having everything looked at, they might as well take a look and make sure the baby was okay.

I was stunned by what they found. Unfortunately, P wasn't with me - he was on his way back to the hospital - so I heard the news by myself. The technician was taking an awfully long time to make sure the baby looked okay, and I could tell by her expression that something was up. She said she wasn't supposed to tell me anything, that the doctors are only supposed to tell me what the results were, but I insisted. The baby is fine. Both babies are fine. Yes, we're having twins again.

Fucking shocked doesn't begin to describe how I felt. On the upside, I completely forgot about the pain I was in - I couldn't feel a damned thing. I think I was totally numb. I haven't even wrapped my head around what it's going to be like to have four children under 18 months of age. I can't even fathom having two newborns again, along with two toddlers. I'm going to be honest here: while I'm beginning to get used to the idea, I was terribly disappointed and angry when I first found out. I felt like the rug was completely pulled out from underneath me. It's one thing to find out at 6 weeks, it's another to find out at 4 months. We only have a few months to prepare, and it's going to mean a MAJOR reshuffling of bedrooms. Hell, the brand new van in my driveway isn't even going to hold all of us now.

I know after I get over the shock of it all and get past my "selfish" dream of being able to have a normal pregnancy and birth and be able to breastfeed (please don't leave me comments about how women breastfeed their twins all the time; I honestly don't want to hear it. I know exactly what I am capable of physically, and breastfeeding twins is not on the list. It wasn't on the list when I only had TWO babies to care for, let alone four.) and cherish having just one tiny baby - while it's been fantastic having twins, there is a lot they (and I) have missed out on that I got to have with K because there was only one of her. I was really looking forward to going through all that again with just ONE baby. I think once I get past that and realize how special TWO FRIGGIN SETS OF TWINS is, I'll be okay. It may take me a little while, though.

So, that's the big update. Surprised? (Not as surprised as me, I'll bet!!)

And thus began our journey into becoming parents of multiple multiples! I remember vividly how shocked and downright ANGRY I was at the news! Now, honestly, I can't even imagine life without one of the girls! They were just supposed to be here together I guess, and now here they are, big and healthy and happy. Just part of the family!

Saturday blah blah blah.

2005-08-13T12:21:00.000-07:00

Gahhh, my head hurts today. And my back hurts, like every day. And my hip hurts when I walk up the stairs. Bitch, bitch, bitch. I read something recently somewhere, I can't remember where - it was a quote from George Clooney, where he said he thinks everyone has a year where they age a whole decade, and this was his year. Well, this is my year too. It's frustrating, because even though I've always been heavy, I've never ACHED all the time. I don't know if it's just being 32 or being heavy or going through two twin pregnancies so close together - maybe the combination of those things, plus the fact that I'm trying to catch up on two years of lost sleep - but my body hurts so much all the time!! It's really frustrating.

Well. Three weeks from today, I'm going to become Mrs. Laura N. I'm trying to work on the attic a little, and get it to where people can sleep up there comfortably! My dad and I went shopping for a ceiling fan today and he's installing it for me. We have central air, but a third floor with vaulted ceilings just gets hot and stuffy, even with AC. I really hope the ceiling fan helps. I also bought curtain rods for the three tiny windows - now I need to find something to put ON them. It's very bright up there, which makes it hard to sleep. One of the ladies from playgroup said she has a couple of air mattresses we can borrow. I have a twin size air mattress already, and a double bed up there. I'm sure we'll figure it all out!

It's rainy and cold here, which isn't really conducive for getting yard work done! Honey took yesterday off and got a fuckton of stuff done, so he's not feeling too badly about the wasted weekend. Today he's at the rental unit doing a walk-through with our new renter, and tomorrow he has to go meet with a friend of ours who is getting married the week after us, because he's DJing their wedding. Always something!!

And my inlaws are spending the night tonight because they're in town today for a wedding. I think I'm making fajitas for dinner, along with refried beans and Spanish rice. Hope they turn out okay! I get SO nervous making Mexican food for my inlaws!! I should just order pizza!!

And I have a MOUNTAIN of dirty laundry. Are you sick of me bitching about the laundry? Because I never have figured out a system for that. You know, the doing of the laundry while the washer and dryer are upstairs and the kids are downstairs. It just doesn't work.

Anyway, the kiddies are finishing up lunch and the little bittie babies are getting up from their naps, so I need to jet. Have a delightful Saturday and a marvelous Sunday, and I'll see you again on Monday!

P.S. Any wedding music for me?

Trip, Trip, Trippin'...

2005-08-12T13:36:00.000-07:00

I'm starting to wig out about the wedding. It's THREE WEEKS FROM TOMORROW. The yard isn't done. It's ALMOST done, but you know that thing about "almost" - it only counts in horseradish and applesauce or something. Augh! I hate when I forget sayings. LOL! I'm still not sure what we're doing for food. I don't have the music ready yet. Thanks to Joelle, I have some terrific ideas, but none is sticking yet. Do you have the perfect walking down the aisle song for me? If so, hook me up, dammit. Send me the mp3, upload it to your site, or at the very least, mention it in the comments so I can track it down in my free (ha!) time. I'm also still freaking out about something happening to my four babies while we're doing weddingy stuff. I know I have three friends coming to help baby-wrangle, and countless other family and friends here to help as well, but I'm still freaking out about choking hazards and baby gates accidentally left open and "I thought YOU were watching him!" while my boy plays in the street. Ack! Someone tell me it'll all work out just fine.

My excitement for the day!

2005-08-12T09:30:00.000-07:00

Something sort of funny happened when I was leaving Sam's Club the other day. I was parked between a big behemoth Dodge truck and a little SUV, like a Nissan Pathfinder or something. Evidently, all three of us were exiting the store at the same time - three moms with kids. The Pathfinder lady started chatting with me about my stroller - the typical, "Wow, that's a great stroller! I've never seen one like that!" remarks we get every time we go anywhere. I was talking with her for a moment when we got to our vehicles - she was pregnant with two little kids in her Sam's cart - when the Dodge truck lady started up her truck. It was a diesel, and it scared the crap out of both of us and all the kids. It was so fucking loud!! It sounded like a semi or something. Obnoxious vehicle!! LOL! Apologies to anyone who owns a diesel, but it's time you knew the truth: your vehicle is loud and obnoxious! Ha!

So I guess the truck lady just started it up to get the A/C going for her kid, because then she got out and started unloading her cart. I was telling the Pathfinder lady where I got my stroller and she goes, "I'm sorry, I didn't hear a word you said because of that loud-ass truck!!" and the Dodge lady looked over, then she stepped toward us and said, "Did you say something about my truck?" and the Pathfinder lady goes, "Yeah, I said it was LOUD!" and the Dodge lady goes, "Well, THAT was pretty rude!!" and the Pathfinder lady goes, "I'm sorry, was I being rude to your truck? Did I hurt its feelings? Do you want me to apologize to it?"

I was cracking up, man! By this time, I had all my stuff in the van and the kids strapped in, so I left them to their bickering. But it was like, the funniest thing I'd heard in ages. I giggled all the way home.

Stay at home moms, man. Our lives are so dull we have to invent drama at the Sam's Club!!

It's time to play the music, it's time to light the lights...

2005-08-09T14:30:00.000-07:00

It's time to meet the Muppets on the Muppet Show tonight!

I went to Sam's Club today for milk and apple juice and shitty pizza and guess what they had there? The Muppet Show, Season One on DVD. Yaaaaaaaaay! (That was my Kermit "yay.") And the cover is green and fuzzy. Hee!

I can't WAIT to watch it.

And since the man is ditching me tonight to go to a concert, I think I'm going to watch it by myself!

The loooove bed. And other stuff.

2005-08-09T09:23:00.000-07:00

Guess what I did yesterday? I actually bought some stuff for our BEDROOM - the one room of the house that has never been decorated in any way whatsoever. Well...we did paint it before we moved in, which is the only thing keeping it from being just horrid. We have our computers in here - tons of CDs and computer equipment - BOXES of office supplies...It would be terrific if we had a home office! At the same time, though, I like having our computers right here so we can get online right before bed. I never liked being online late at night in my living room when I lived at my townhouse. Anyway. The bedroom has looked like total shit since we moved in. We even had honey's old, comfortable, UGLY comforter on the bed. Well, it's not UGLY - it's just - plain. So, I bought a new comforter, some curtains, and some candle holder/sconce thingies for the wall. It looks pretty! The man was so impressed! Here it is:

(If I had a heart-shaped headboard, it could be that bed from The Sims!)

Today is playgroup. I hope it works out today that we can go, because we missed it last week due to immunizations, and the kids have been sort of bouncing off the walls all week. I really think they missed seeing the kids and going to the park. The chick who sort of heads it up has sold her house in my neighborhood (wah!) and the closing is TODAY, so I'm feeling doubtful that she'll be there. And I don't know if anyone else will call me. I feel so bad for these two girlies - the two moms I first met a few months ago who told me about playgroup. They live just two houses apart and they're very close, and so are their little girls. I know the one who's staying is pretty devastated that her friend is moving away! We can all still get together for playgroup and stuff, but it's not the same as having someone right there to call on at any time. Poor chickees.

I'm getting antsy about the wedding. I feel like I am so disorganized about the whole thing, and it's bugging me. I need to make final plans for the food still. My, uh...stepmother-in-law offered to make a couple of big lasagnas and a big salad, but I'm not really going for that and neither is the mister. First of all, it seems like messy food to be eaten at a party. Secondly, I'd like to get it all catered! LOL! It IS our wedding; I don't want it to resemble a potluck TOO much. I'm still leaning toward trays from Sam's Club. I'm trying to remember waaaaaay far back in my memory, about twelve years or so, when I had my ex-sister-in-law's wedding reception in my backyard. What food did we fix? I can't even remember! I guess I've blocked that little memory out. Just as well, she was such a little twat and her wedding day was a pain in my ass. I do remember that.

Speaking of the wedding, I'm having a dilemma. I need a song to have for the "walking down the aisle" part of the wedding. You know, the "Here comes the bride" song. Except I don't like that song. Any ideas? I want something more...summery, y'know? Maybe reggae-ish? I would love any ideas - or even MP3s! Thrown my way. Let me know, people. Help a girl out.

Oooh, and I had a Shopping Coup happen the other day. Ha! I grocery shopped WITHOUT my stroller!! We stopped at Albertson's to get some good steaks, and they have the most kickass bomb-diggity shopping carts for little kids that I've ever seen. They have this little area up front, way low to the ground, for two kids. With little seatbelts and steering wheels. (Our cart was a firetruck, but I also saw a blue cart that looked like a WHALE!!) Then, there's still the seat area in the basket like on a standard shopping cart. See, usually if they have an added on area like that for two kids to ride, they eliminate the seat that's near the handle. But not on these carts! So I put the two baby girls in the seat part, facing each other. They just fit. It was precious. And we shopped! It was overpriced as hell, but delightful!!

In other news: my littlest baby FINALLY cut her first tooth yesterday. Two months after her twin sister!

Have a spectacular Tuesday. :-)

Things will never be the same now.

2005-08-05T07:54:00.000-07:00

I've recently made some life changing discoveries. No, seriously, LIFE CHANGING. I know that being married to a douchebag for a whole decade of my life left me seriously lacking in the pop culture department, but how is it that I missed what a GIFT Seinfeld was to the world? My ex HATED that show, so we never watched it. Consequently, I'd only seen about half a dozen episodes - not enough to realize what I was missing. But a couple of months ago, me and the man got into the habit of watching Seinfeld reruns at night while giving bottles to the little girls. OMG! This show is fucking hilarious! It is HYSTERICAL. Every night, I laugh my ass off. I find myself looking forward to watching it all day long. It's sick, and sad. How could I have missed all this? And now, it's even funnier, because the shows are all ten to fifteen years old, so they have big giant cordless phones and jeans up to their nipples and spiral perms and stuff. It's great. And I find myself realizing that everything in life relates back to a Seinfeld episode. Now I'm going, "You are sooooo good looking." when honey sneezes. It's funny, but pathetic, too. Ha! I'm SOOOOO 1995. Maybe I should start listening to some hip new music, like Hootie and the Blowfish, or the Spin Doctors. ;-)

Okay, so that was giant life changing discovery number one. Giant life changing discovery number TWO is....

this is so stupid.

Bounce dryer sheets.

Yep, I lived 32 years in a world without Dryer sheets. I mean, I always used the liquid Downy, but these dryer sheets, oh my God. The clothes smell SO GOOD. Even if I leave the load in the washer for too long and they start to smell skanky, I can throw them in the dryer anyway and the bounce sheet takes one for the team. The clothes smell fine and I don't have to re-wash. It's UNBELIEVABLE. And they smell SO GOOD. I keep opening the box and sniffing them. I'm seriously thinking about sticking some in my van, just so it smells nice in there when I get in.

Am I high? Or just easily satisfied?

We so fly.

2005-08-04T09:06:00.000-07:00

I'm tripping out a little that we're getting married in less than a month, and we still have so, so much to do. Mostly just anal stuff like getting the house really, really, (no, REALLY.) clean from top to bottom, cleaning all the windows and carpets and hanging pictures we haven't had a chance to hang in the two years we've lived here and making sure people notice We Have A Nice House, Dammit. All of a sudden, half of the mister's family has decided they're coming out for the wedding, and he wants them to know that We Have A Nice House, Dammit. It's understandable. When you grow up poor, it's fun to show off what you've made for yourself after you're all grown up.

So, our nanny is coming for five hours today. And during that time, I am going to ATTACK the attic. K used to have her bedroom up there, and when she moved back downstairs, she left A TON of stuff up there. Mostly toys she doesn't play with. I told her if she hasn't missed them all summer long, it's time for them to either get packed up for the girls when they get older or sold at a garage sale. Mean mommy. And this is practically our last day of summer vacation together, as she's going to daycare tomorrow for their end of summer sleepover party, then it's the weekend, then she goes back to her dad's, and then school starts. Summer: poof. We sure didn't do much! And it sure flew by!!

Speaking of the nanny, she's soon going to be leaving us. :sniff: I really like her and the kids like her too - but she doesn't aspire to be a nanny, she aspires to be a social worker, considering she has a master's degree in social work. I figured she'd be finding a job she loved, and she did, so she probably won't have much time for us anymore. And that's fine. Although I adore her, it really wasn't the arrangement I needed. Four hours a couple of days a week doesn't give me the time I need to get stuff done. It just doesn't. Especially because I usually end up using that time for other stuff, like K and I getting our hair cut and colored, or taking another kid to the doctor or something. What I REALLY need is someone who lives in my neighborhood, really close by, to come over every weekday for an hour or two. THAT would allow me to keep caught up on laundry and housework and wedding plans and all that stuff. I certainly wouldn't expect our nanny to drive clear across town EVERY DAY. I need someone closer, someone who just wants a little extra cash. Unfortunately, most women who don't have kids already have JOBS during the day. See my dilemma? I'm writing up a little help wanted ad to post on our neighborhood mailbox. Hopefully I can find someone.

YAWN! It's raining and dark here, and makes me want to go back to sleep. One of the girls got me up at 1:30 and then was the first to wake up this morning, so I'm extra sleepy today. I hope today the little ones are back to their happy little selves. They've been so cranky since they got their shots on Tuesday!

Well, THIS was boring. Someday, cool things will happen to me and I can post about them!

Oh! I can share pictures of our new hair. Here is K, with her new RED hair! I cannot get over how incredibly SHINY it is! And neither can she! She keeps passing the mirror and looking at herself.

And mine. K took these.

Trying to get pretty for the wedding!! I feel so unattractive these days, with my "mom" hair up in the clippy and my lack of makeup. I'm excited to look really spectacular for the wedding - hopefully I WILL!

Have a nice Thursday. :-)

A note to my friends in real life.

2005-08-03T12:17:00.000-07:00

I haven't sent out my wedding invitations yet. Yes, I know the wedding is in a month. Of course you're invited. I just have five kids and don't have time to brush my teeth, let alone buy stamps. They're coming. Patience.

Wednesday?

2005-08-03T11:31:00.000-07:00

I'm never even sure what day it is! Even on the weekend!

The girls are cranky, cranky, cranky. I hate when they have to get shots! They're always out of sorts for a few days. I'm trying to officially implement a naptime schedule for the wee girls too, and this isn't helping things. They're currently in their bedroom, in their cribs, WAILING. But they aren't happy anywhere today. They'd be happy if I held them all day long, but it's just not happening, I'm afraid. Poor little ones. I gave them Tylenol; hopefully they'll nod off pretty soon and get some rest.

The neighborhood inspector came today to see our backyard. When we closed on our house (uh, TWO years ago!) they kept two thousand dollars in escrow - one thousand for the front yard, and a thousand for the back. We have specific restrictions here - we have to have a certain amount of sod, five shrubs, and a 4" caliper tree in the front yard and back yard as well. Now that we've fulfilled the requirements for the backyard (yay!) we can get that last thousand dollars back that's been sitting there all this time! The inspector said the yard looked great - she was amused by all five kids sitting around the breakfast table eating waffles together - and she said we need to put our trailer in the garage. Yay.

We have to run out to Wal-Mart today for diaper rash ointment (we need a specific kind, according to the ped) and new diapers for the boy. He's officially grown out of size 4. I mean, I should have moved him up to 5s ages ago, but it's just easier having the two bigger babies wearing the same size diaper, y'know? But every morning this week, he's woken up wet, so it's time for bigger diapees. I'm dreading going out with the wee babies in this MOOD, though! Sheesh! Maybe I can get someone else to go for me later.

Well, I guess that's it for now - I uploaded some new pictures of the kids to Flickr <--- so have a looksee. Bye!

Welcome, Sproutie!

2005-08-03T07:56:00.000-07:00

Shaunacat had her baby! Go congratulate them! :-)

Checkups!

2005-08-02T09:52:00.000-07:00

The little girls had their 6-month wellbaby checkups and shots today. :-(

My littlest girl really IS little - she's almost 3/4 of a pound smaller than her sister! They were 16 lb 3 oz. and 15 lb. 8 oz. I can't remember how tall they were, but it was good. They didn't like getting shots (duh) but didn't cry too much.

And we missed playgroup, because I wasn't even thinking about playgroup being on Tuesday when I made the appointment. Oh well.

Our nanny is coming over for a few hours today and I think K and I are going to go get haircuts. Yay!

More yard stuff.

2005-08-01T07:48:00.000-07:00

Here is a picture that somewhat shows our new shrubs - and the arbor! Woo!

And here's another:

It's coming along! Now the guys are working on a sort of pergola thing to go over the patio - that's what they're drilling for in the patio there, for the posts to go. Yay!

I don't know what I'm going to do today. K comes home today, so YAY! I have really missed her this past week. Hopefully we can do something fun together. I think maybe we'll make some cookies. Peanut butter with chocolate chips. I saw the ones on Michelle's blog weeks ago and have been craving them ever since! And tonight is the twin club meeting, and I haven't gone in two months, so I'm excited to go.

Yesterday, we took the kids to Hooters and met some friends for lunch. It was fun! I was craving a buffalo chicken sandwich BIG TIME, and it was sooooo good. FYI, if you live in Denver: the food at the Parker Road Hooters is like, TEN times better than it is at Colorado Blvd. Seriously. And the kids got their first helium balloons EVER, and thought these were the greatest things they'd ever seen. Only one made it home, and they broke the string off immediately, so it danced around the playroom ceiling all night. I'm sure when they go downstairs and see it on the floor, they'll be confused as to why it's no longer floating around the room!

As you can see in my pictures, the man has been BUSTING ASS in the yard. He spent *cough* a veritable fuckton of money in Lowe's yesterday and bought a bunch of wood to finish our patio steps and build the pergola. He also bought the lattice to keep the kids from escaping through the fence. (Our neighborhood covenance requires us to keep that split rail fence in place, although we can cover it with lattice to keep the kids in and the critters out!)

I think K and I are going to color our hair this week. She's tired of her half grown out blonde highlights. I just realized yesterday that she starts school TWO WEEKS FROM TODAY! Man, where did the summer go? She just got out, like, the second week in June! I hate this school schedule. They have a week off in the fall, right around Halloween - like, who needs that?? Wouldn't you rather get out for summer a week earlier? I think I would, if I were ten!! So, we need to start getting ready for Back To School! :cue scary music:

Okay, time to get the chitlins up for the day - I can hear them playing in their room. Breakfast time! Waffles today, I think. Yummy. Have a great Monday!

Heads up!

2005-07-31T08:29:00.000-07:00

I just installed Haloscan for comments, so if you left a comment previously via blogger, that's why it's not here. :-)

It's coming together! And, uh, Laura Says Fuck A Lot.

2005-07-30T21:42:00.000-07:00

Today, my dad and I went to the nursery and bought five shrubs, and half a dozen or so flowering perennials. He and the man planted them all in the back yard, and then they leveled and staked down our arbor and put down bark. Man, it looks beautiful!! The yard is so close to being done! If only I could get him to go get the lattice we need to close up the split rail fence and cover the window wells, the kids could play outside. Soon. Soon.

I stupidly forgot to put on sunscreen and my neck and shoulders and chest and the part in my hair are all burned to a crisp. I guess it didn't occur to me when we headed out the door that we'd be OUTSIDE at noon for a good hour or two. And since I'm fair and never spend time outdoors, I burn immediately. Hmph. Now I'm going to have to get some self tanner to even out my shoulders so I don't have a farmer's tan at the wedding!

You know, someone left me a comment that pissed me RIGHT the hell off. In fact, I turned off anonymous commenting because I was so pissed, but I'm sure I'll eventually turn it back on. This was their comment:

YOU Said, "He doesn't do well with crowds and noise. Plus, he doesn't give a shit about any of the rides or games, he's much happier just playing with the tokens. Whatever!"

Have you thought about Autism as these behaviors are classic symptoms of Autism???

Blood boiling. Here was my response:

Hey Anonymous, here's a thought.

Have you ever thought about leaving your name and identity when giving unsolicited advice? No? Then shut the fuck up and mind your own business.

YES, I am very conscientious when it comes to the well-being of my children. Keep in mind I only share about 1% of my life with the people reading my blog.

God. Fucking asshole people trying to diagnose a child they've never seen or met, and in the rudest way possible.

Just so no one is asking themselves, my God, what the fuck crawled up Laura's ass today? I'll elaborate.

First, I have a huge problem with people who don't understand TONE. As in, they think it's okay for anything at all to tumble out of their mouth, or across their keyboard, and they don't care at all how they come across. And when someone leaves me a comment like that all full of "YOU said THIS!" with multiple exclamation points, that pisses me off. There's no reason for that bullshit, when you can word it SO differently. My God, Anonymous Assclown, you're talking about a pretty damned delicate topic that involves my BOY. A little sensitivity wouldn't kill you.

Second, I have a huge problem with people thinking they know something about my kids just because they happen to read my blog. You don't know shit about shit, because what I share here is SO superficial - I don't even talk about anyone by name! You think my kid is autistic because he's a little antisocial and is a late talker? I guess I didn't realize it was so simple to diagnose a toddler who isn't even two yet, who happens to be a twin, who you've never seen or observed in any way. Hell, apparently you can make that diagnoses with a photograph uploaded to Flickr and a couple of blog entries! Damn!

Third, I have a huge problem with people who post anonymously. It takes an extra, what, second and a half to type your name and email address? You're online, fucker, you have to have SOME sort of online identity? What's the matter, can't you stand by your own little diagnosis, there? Or are you fully aware that you were being rude as fuck, and that's why you commented anonymously? I'm pretty sure that's what it was.

Fourth, I have a huge problem with people who just ASSUME I'm some fucking retard when it comes to parenting my children. Do you think I don't have a backpack of fucking guilt I carry around all day, worrying about anything and everything when it comes to my kids? Come on! This ain't my first rodeo, babe. I'm fully aware that other kids the age of my boy generally are speaking by now. I'm fully aware that some of his behavior may fit the checklists for diagnosing autism. And I'm also fully aware that his behavior fits the checklists for diagnosing BEING TWO. I'm extremely proactive when it comes to taking care of my kids and figuring out what they need, and I RESENT THE FUCK out of anyone who implies otherwise.

So, that's it. I'm still mad about it. And while I generally welcome comments, advice, shared viewpoints, and all that jazz - I don't welcome them from people who don't have enough spine to actually stand by their words.

The end.

Good, uh, WEDNESDAY? morning!

2005-07-27T08:47:00.000-07:00

Well hellooooo there! It's an actual post from me, not just some pictures thrown atcha! Aren't you happy to see me? LOL!

It was like 70 degrees here all day yesterday. I think it was 64 by late afternoon. GLORIOUS compared to the 105 we had six days before that, and the days and days of high 90s. I had the windows open and got some fresh air in the house. And remember those two deer I took pictures of? Well, one of them must live RIGHT behind our house. He was there behind the house, under the tree, ALL DAY yesterday. He'd get up and stretch his legs, eat some grass, then lie back down until about 6 or 7 at night, when he finally disappeared. Weird, huh? I got a really good picture of him looking right at me!

We braved Chuck E. Cheese's with playgroup yesterday. I feel like such a dork, though, because we practically just drive by playgroup. We never stay more than an hour because I can't take chasing my kids for longer than that before they start having a meltdown. I took K with me and she kept the big girl with her - they went around and rode rides and played games. Those two are becoming such close sisters - it's sweet. It reminds me of the relationship I had with my *cough*psycho!*cough* sister when I was very young. It's almost the same age difference. Anyway. I kept the boy with me and he entertained himself climbing all over the table and playing with the napkins and stuff. He doesn't do well with crowds and noise. Plus, he doesn't give a shit about any of the rides or games, he's much happier just playing with the tokens. Whatever! The other moms there all took turns holding the little girls so I could eat my pizza. And then we left. The end. Someday, when the kids are all old enough to listen well enough that I don't have to worry about them sneaking outside and hotwiring the van, playgroup/restaurants/etc. will be a lot more fun.

And the kids haven't even been out in our newly sodded yard. The window wells to the basement are still not covered and the back fence (it's a split rail) is still wide open, so it's not safe yet. But soon. Hopefully (fingers crossed!) by this weekend. So close, but yet, so far.

I dunno what we're going to do today. Probably go out shopping for a minute, because stupid me keeps buying diapers for the little babies and not the big babies. I'm basically OUT of size 4s, except for what's in the diaper bag. Duh. But I have, like, two cases of size 3s!! I don't know what my deal is with overbuying the one size and underbuying the other.

Oh, I had my HSG test the other day. It's a test where they fill your uterus with dye and then take an x-ray to see if it flows into your fallopian tubes. If you ever have to have one of these done, listen to me: it doesn't hurt a bit. It was easy, cheezy. And, not that I'm an expert, but it looked TO ME like I was all blocked up. A friend of mine had the same test and said she could see the dye making little rivers out the tubes into her ovaries, and I didn't see that at all. But I COULD see the little coils inside my tubes, and HEEB - they look just like the "bugs" from The Matrix that the agents put inside people's bodies. Ack! Oh, and somebody left me this comment:

Um, they never tested me to see if my ligation took. Should I be worried?

Probably not. I didn't have a tubal ligation. I had the non-surgical Essure procedure done, where they insert tiny coils into your fallopian tubes and your body builds scar tissue around them over a period of several months, thereby blocking your tubes.

And somebody asked what day K's birthday was. It was Monday, the 25th. She's my little Leo. Our day was boring. The only special thing we did was get pedicures together after my doctor's appointment. But, she went out to dinner with her dad and a bunch of friends, and most certainly got a bunch of gifts, so, it's all good. We celebrated here on Saturday, when everyone was already here laying sod. She loved her Kool-Aid purse and her DVD player.

Okay, I guess it's time to start my day! I can hear toddlers babbling away in bed, so it must be time to make breakfast. Waffles. Mmmmm.

Have a terrific Wednesday! :-)

Oh! I never got sick, either. Just felt tired and achy and run down for a few days. Whatevah.

We have grass! We have grass!

2005-07-26T14:08:00.000-07:00

So, we've been mofo busy for days and days, and I keep meaning to post, but seriously, I haven't had a spare minute. So, I'm c/ping these from the boards - sorry for that. But I know you're dying to see pictures of my yard, so here they are. (Yay!)

I took this from the balcony upstairs. This is our side yard, with our little worker bees:

And here's the backyard - honey put this HUUUUGE, like 40 x 40 foot tarp over that part of the yard, so they'd be in shade. Well, of course, it's windy as HELL out here, so come afternoon, that thing was flapping so hard, I thought our whole house was going to fly away!!

Here they are laying grass, and you can see the brick walkway:

Here's most of the grass down - that's my dad there, looking like a hissing cat or something. Ha!

And here's the backyard grass, after the tarp came down. And the man's being silly, shaking his ass at me:

We bought this arbor at Sam's Club for less than $100 for the wedding. We couldn't have bought the wood that cheap. Honey and his best friend put it together and here they are:

And here he is showing us his little card he got for becoming an ordained minister - he's going to marry us!

Last night the guys got a couple of loads of fill dirt for the area where the shed is going. While they were outside unloading the trailer, they saw these guys - they weren't even spooked! This is like - a few feet behind our back fence!

So, that's why I've been busy. Watching the kids 24/7 and making tons of food for people working on my yard. Yay! I'll post more now, promise.

Happy 10th Birthday, K!

2005-07-25T07:53:00.000-07:00

Happy birthday, big girl! I can't believe ten years ago today, you made me a mommy. I'm so proud of you and looking forward to the next ten years and seeing the woman you become. Yay for double digits!

(K with the birthday cake SHE MADE.)

edit: Sorry it's a day late; I hit "save as draft" by mistake! Whoops!

Bleah.

2005-07-21T11:17:00.000-07:00

I think I'm getting sick. Me, who never gets sick. Me, who has been fit as a fiddle while my whole family has had the flu, countless colds, tummy bugs...me, who CAN'T take the time to be sick. I just feel crappy. Run down, tired, and my head hurts. Wah. I felt this way yesterday, too, and hoped that getting a good night's sleep would help, but evidently it did not. One of the babies waking up at 5 didn't help things either, I'm sure.

And I have to go out in the world today, because I put off getting my birth control refilled, and I need to begin my new packet, uh, TODAY. So, a trip to the pharmacy will be necessary. Yay. I hoped I'd be able to have my HSG test and make sure "The Procedure" worked the way it was supposed to - but it looks like I'm still going to have to stay on the pill for at least another cycle or two. Which is probably good, since I can control when I'll get my friend and not end up being on the rag at my wedding. 'Cause, who wants that?

It was 105 degrees here in Denver yesterday. Dude. That's just insane. And I know it's going to be another hot mofo today. And we're out of milk, so a grocery store stop is also on the schedule. AND, my mother, trying to be helpful (rolls eyes - she ALWAYS, ALWAYS does stuff like this. It's like, thanks, but...you've just given me extra work and I could have done this easily myself...) ... my mother bought the kids the newest Baby Einstein - Baby Wordsworth. But she bought it on VHS. She was like, "Can't you just watch it on your VCR?" Um, no. I'm not even sure how to turn ON the VCR, we so rarely use it. And it's not hooked up to the TV in the playroom, where the kids watch movies. I appreciate the gesture, I really do - but it's so aggravating when she does stuff like that! I would have bought it myself anyway the first chance I had to leave the house, and now I have to stand in line to return it without a receipt, since she didn't give THAT to me.

Can you tell I'm cranky today? I am. I don't feel well.

And can I share with you a little pet peeve? I hate it when someone says they're going to stop by at 10 and they don't get there until noon. I hate it. Do you do that? DON'T. It's SO rude. Just because someone stays home doesn't mean they don't try to keep to a schedule, and if they're wondering if and when you're going to decide to show up, it throws everything off for the whole morning. Just...don't. If you can't seem to get your ass anywhere on time, just...BE NONCOMMITAL. Say, I'll stop by mid-morning, and I'll call when I'm on my way. Is that so hard? Give yourself a good four hour window. Don't laugh when they say you run on "Insert-name-here-Time." It's not funny. They're trying to make light of it, but in reality, they're pissed, annoyed, and cursing you on the inside because they constantly have to wonder if you're actually going to show up and if they're really THAT unimportant to you that you can't even TRY to stick to your plans.

Um, okay. I guess I had a little anger to work through, there. Ha!

And now I don't have anything else to say. Hopefully the kids will do something cute or something so I'll have something to post about later. Sheesh. Boring mama! Have a nice (what is today?) Thursday.

By the way...

2005-07-19T14:35:00.000-07:00

Cindy, Colleen, Kim, and possibly even Audra are coming HERE for OUR WEDDING!!!!

I am so excited!!! I had no idea it was going to turn into a big IRL. I can't WAIT to see those girls!!

Smells Like Caca.

2005-07-19T14:03:00.000-07:00

So. If your kids manage to poop while they're asleep, do you wake them up and change them? I do not. In fact, if someone were to ask ME that very question, I'd have to bite my tongue to keep from LAUGHING! HA! Wake a sleeping baby for any reason at all? In this house? Never. I don't care if it smells like shit in here, that baby will wake up ANYWAY in another fifteen minutes, most likely, and that shit will be there waiting for me. No sense in hurrying along the inevitable, and losing out on fifteen quiet minutes. Anyway! This is my under-the-influence-of-stinky-baby-caca post.

I am in love with our nanny. She is the bomb-diggity. And she's hot, too. It's a good thing the man isn't home all day, because he'd be staring at her ass all day long. And she has Barbie legs - I've never seen such perfectly shaped, cleanly shaven, evenly tanned legs - ever. And she's funny and nice and the kids seem to dig her, so, yay. Yesterday, we went shopping. I can't even begin to tell you how much easier Wal-Mart/Sam's Club is with a helper. I reckon I shaved an hour off my usual time. And wasn't friggin exhausted when I got home either! And today, I vacuumed the entire upstairs, did a ton of laundry, cleaned the kids' bathroom, straightened up all the bedrooms, hung up a bunch of pictures and things in K's room that I haven't had a chance to do until now, and took a DAYTIME shower. Whee! (I hate showering at night. I hate going to bed with wet hair. I hate being cold in my jammies and having a damp pillow. But I hate being filthy even more, so I shower at night. It's the only chance I get. But, not today, baby!) I wanted to get our bathroom cleaned too, but I just ran out of time. Even with the nanny here, I had to feed one of the babies - it's hard to feed bottles to two babies while watching two toddlers - even for me. I wasn't going to just dump that on some newbie! But, yay. The nanny thing is going great. I hope I can get lots of stuff done before the money runs out. LOL!

We did miss playgroup today. I totally spaced that today was Tuesday, and playgroup day, when I had the nanny come today. It all worked out splendidly though, because the moms were going to the park in my old neighborhood, which basically butts up to the back of K's dad's house. Um, no thanks. Dealing with his dorkass drama lately is annoying enough without having to take a trip down memory lane and actually HANG OUT in our old neighborhood. Not necessary. So, it was the perfect day to not go. And, it's hot as a mofo outside today, so I'm perfectly happy here in the A/C!

My babygirl cut her second tooth yesterday, on her half birthday. Her sister still has NO teeth. She's in no hurry, that one. I did give them TOAST for the first time today, and they were in hog heaven. I sat them up in their highchairs and they gummed the toast for quite awhile, actually managing to ingest some of it. I think they're going to dig real food!

And, I guess that's that. Nothing else to say. Sorry. I'm sleepy and boring. It seems like it was last night, like, five minutes ago. I can't believe I slept seven hours. I don't remember a thing!

Have a loverly Tuesday. I'll see ya tomorrow!

Cutie girls.

2005-07-18T22:29:00.000-07:00

Just uploaded sitting up pictures to Flickr. <---- Have a looksee. Here's one now:

Wah. I miss blogging.

2005-07-18T07:47:00.000-07:00

How are you? Still alive out there? I went through and read my whole blogroll late last night, but haven't had time to post anything on my own little blog. So here I am, real quick.

Honey got us VIP box seats for Hilary Duff. Miss K was pretty excited - even more so when she told her best friend - their excitement sort of multiplied when they added screaming and jumping up and down. Anyway - we went to the show - it was like 100 degrees out, even at night - and it was okay. The Hilary Duff portion was only about an hour long - maybe a wee bit longer. The concert ended abruptly (no encores!) at 9:30. I guess they don't want to keep little girls out much later than that. And boy, did we see little girls. Probably more little girls than I've ever seen all in one place in my life. I wish I'd taken more pictures of the crowd. All the little girls were so precious, with their matching shirts and hand made signs. My girls had a lot of fun. Here are a few pictures.

We got home LATE though, after navigating tons of traffic (I swear, the freeways are busy 24/7 - even at 11 at night!) and I'm still sleepy, two days later!

So, today is Monday...the day our nanny starts! She's going to be here in about an hour. I'm trying to decide what we should do. I'm not leaving her with the kids - at least, not for awhile - so I'll either be upstairs doing bathrooms and laundry and stuff or we'll all head out to Sam's Club/Wal-Mart for our shopping trip. Yay.

Hey, see this little Kool Aid purse? I got one just like it, except green, for K for her birthday, which is in one week. It came on Saturday. I think it's so cute! She wants to grow out her bangs, so I'm going to buy her a bunch of headbands and barettes and clippies and put them inside. I think I'm also going to get her this tiny little DVD player for her room and a couple of movies. I think that'll be adequate birthday spendage, combined with what we spent for the Hilary Duff tickets and t-shirts for her and her friend. (We could have gotten free grass seats, but we got the VIP box so we had to pay for it - but we still got it half price. Helps to know people! Woo!)

And, ooooh, we're getting closer and closer to having a yard! The Man finished all the brick walkways this weekend. He and my nephew went and got a trailer full of topsoil yesterday and spread it on one portion of the yard - they still need like three more trailers' worth for the rest - and next Saturday is our very special, by invitation only, SOD LAYING PARTY! I could pee, I'm so excited - but I'm sure that wouldn't be good for the new grass, so I'll just run around with my arms out, airplane style!

Okay, I need to jet. Must get the children up and get myself ready to go before Miss Nanny gets here! Whee!

Type fast, Laura, type fast!

2005-07-14T07:32:00.000-07:00

OMG, that title alone reminded me of something I'm pretty sure I forgot to share from last week. I was barreling along in my minivan at about, oh, 65 mph on a little rural road heading out to pick up K from daycare the day she came home from her dad's house - and I thought I'd call my girlfriend Angie to see how she's doing since she brought that new baby home - and RIGHT as the phone was ringing, a prairie dog ran out in front of me. I yelled at him "Run faster! Run faster! Run faster!" but he only cleared the first tire, and the second one got him. Ugh!!!! It made the most horrifying sound - it was the first time I've ever hit anything while driving. And Angie's boyfriend answered the phone right as I hit him. Ha! I was all, "Aughhhhh! Is Angie there?" Hehe! I noticed last night when we were driving to Lowes that the prairie dogs just sat by the side of the road and waited for me to pass before they crossed. Honey said they must remember me. "Bitch! You killed my nephew!"

Anyway.

I have no time to be online. I can only get on early in the morning before the kids are up or late at night after they're in bed. I still haven't found a new, safe home for my laptop yet with our new family room situation, where the kids are running free and hop on the sofa, where my laptop used to live. So, no daytime internet usage in this house at the moment. And the boy is already up, playing in his crib, so I need to hurry up and post!!

Perhaps bulleted lists are the way to go? We'll try it.

- Today, I'm meeting honey for lunch with the kids and the nanny we're interviewing is meeting us there! Woo! He wanted to meet her before I officially say, "Yes, get your ass over here and watch my kids so I can do laundry and clean bathrooms!" So, McDonald's Playland for us today. Woo!

- Echo did my wedding invitations and they're AWESOME! I can't wait to get them! AND - go read her blog, right now. She has big news!

- I don't want to say anything out loud until the tickets are in my hands, but it looks VERY GOOD that honeybun scored us free tickets to the Hilary Duff concert this weekend! K will be SHOCKED when she finds out. Nice birthday surprise, huh?

- My kids got to meet their cousin yesterday for the first time - I haven't seen him myself in NINE YEARS! It was SO FUN to hang out with him! He's taller than me and has a deep voice, and he's TWENTY-ONE. I can't even wrap my head around all of this. But it was terrific to see him. I hope we can see a whole lot more of him and my kids can develop a real relationship with him now that he's living here to go to school. Wheee, new family!

- I'm considering trying Crest White Strips to brighten up my teeth for the wedding. Thoughts? Experiences? Horror stories? Throw them my way, baby.

- The kids are all being AWESOME!! They're loving their freedom. The boy is still having tantrums once in awhile, but like people keep telling me, maybe he's pissed because he doesn't speak our language. LOL! That's gotta be frustrating. The little babies are sitting up pretty well now on their own, too! Fun times over here. I put some new pictures up over there <--- on Flickr from the park the other day. My big girl had ponies in her hair for the first time ever. Much cuteness.

- Okay, I'm freakin' starving all of a sudden. It's time to get those kids up so I can have a bagel or something.

I miss checking blogs throughout the day! I made my way through most of my blogroll last night and caught up with everyone pretty much. I'm thinking of you guys, even if I'm not leaving you thirty-seven comments an hour. Love ya. xo.

2005-07-12T22:19:00.000-07:00

I took this picture of the girls tonight - their dad says, "They look like they should be paddling a gondola or something with those shirts on!"

Checks in...

2005-07-12T06:59:00.000-07:00

So, this is what it's like to never get online, huh? Well...I guess I can deal with it.

The kids are doing terrific. They are still loving their freedom. They hardly even go in the playroom at all, actually. I guess once the novelty of scaling the couch passes, they might go back in there? The baby girls have been spending a little more time in there, though. And, funny. I was telling my honey last night, I don't think the girl really put it together in her head that the babies are here ALL THE TIME because now that all four kids are in the same room playing all day long, she's jealous as hell! She never was before - always trying to sit with them and feed them and play with them; now she wants nothing to do with them. I need to give her some extra loving today, I think.

My littlest baby woke me up at five. Yawn! RIGHT when I was falling back to sleep just before seven, the alarm went off. So, no sleepies for me. I got my shower last night, so I guess I should get up and get dressed, so we can go to playgroup hopefully.

I tried on my wedding dress with the "body briefer" thingy I got from Lane Bryant and it suuuucks. I hate how it fits. The dress is clingy. My body is not designed for clingy material. And the body briefer makes my tits look like mashed potatoes or something. It doesn't really provide any support at all! I was most displeased. I'll be returning that thing post haste. I just got on eBay and ordered a cinch-up-the-waist nice and tight titties-under-the-chin corset, total wenchy style. I have a black one already - this one is white and strapless, but I think will have a similar effect. I sure hope it works out, otherwise I'm going to be a lumpy, unhappy bride.

Hey, we got an odd letter in the mail yesterday. It was addressed to "Neighbor" with our address, no return address. The letter inside was addressed to the person across the street from us, except had some other dude's name - maybe someone else lives there that I don't know about. It basically said, you need to leave my 8-year-old daughter alone - don't talk to her, don't touch her, don't offer her gifts or rides, don't call her pet names, just stay the fuck away from her, and a copy of this letter has been sent to all your neighbors, the chief of police and the district attorney, and I'm filing charges against you if you don't back off. Nice, huh? Honey said he might go over there and ask the dude what's up with that, since he sort of knows him - I don't like the idea that there might be some child molestor/predator across the street who preys on little girls the age of my daughter. She doesn't play alone outside at all, EVER, so I'm not SUPER worried, but still...I'm going to have a talk with her and make sure her blinds are closed, since her window's on the front of our house, facing theirs!

Okay, I can hear children up, so that means I need to get my booty in gear. Have a nice day!

Why yes, my hands ARE full. Thanks for noticing!

2005-07-11T08:40:00.000-07:00

These kids!

Well, after my big old post Saturday about the kids hating their playroom, the man went and installed FIFTEEN drawer latches in my kitchen. Only one seems to be failing, and it's the drawer I keep the kitchen linens in - so other than it being a mess, it's no biggie. We put the playyard fence in front of the big screen TV to protect it from toys and fingers. It doesn't have the plexiglass protector cover on it because we have too many windows and there's so much glare you can't even see the TV, so I made him take it off right after we moved in. But that means the TV is so vulnerable to scratches and stuff, we HAVE to keep the kids away from it. So. Fence in front of the TV. And I put away my laptop, because the kids are curious and just want to jump on it and stuff. Ack! So, no online time for me ALL. DAY. LONG. Unless I figure out a new place to set it up where they can't get to it. (We aren't wireless.)

And they ARE doing much better and seem much happier. Hopefully, the novelty of opening and slamming the microwave door will wear off before I have to duct tape it closed. And how do I get them to stop RUNNING across my sofa like it's a racetrack? I don't want a broken down sofa like my best friend's. LOL!

I worry so much about my little boy. He gets SO angry and frustrated all the time - if his sister is in his space, or he can't get a toy to do what he wants, he goes fucking bananas, throwing himself on the floor and kicking and screaming and banging his head on the floor. He's got a great bruise on his nose right now from throwing a fit. And it makes ME so angry when he's like that! I feel so ... unarmed. Like I need to do research, research, research and figure out what makes him tick and how to get through to him and if I should feed him a special diet or what. It's SO hard. I mean, just the fact that there are four kids is hard. The fact that the boy has ISSUES makes it a billion times harder, though.

And, no work on the yard this weekend. Hmph. The man had to go meet a friend to help him troubleshoot some electrical problem in his basement and it turned into an all day and half the night affair. I was home alone with the kids until 9:45. I don't care about that, but it does frustrate me that our yard still isn't in place. And yesterday, his parents came over, so we sat and chatted with them for a few hours. And cleaned the house. And mowed the grass and fertilized and trimmed the tree and cleaned up the dead tulips and stuff. So, yeah. No work on the backyard yesterday either. The wedding is in 7 weeks and 5 days, and I'm sure he's going to have the yard done. But seriously - I want it done THIS SECOND. I know the kids would be better if we could get outside and play!! We were playing in the yard briefly, but it's just too dangerous. We have a split-rail fence in back that they can get through in about one second. We need to have lattice over the top of it. But we need our grass and rock and stuff first. And we have six-foot-deep window wells on our basement windows. Need covers for those. Plus, since he's been busy doing the walkways and working on the sprinklers, there are tons and tons of tools out there. Ugh. He works so hard for us, though. Works all day and then comes home and I make him work hard here, too. And still in all that, he plays with the kids. He's such a good daddy.

Oh, and we did move the kids to their boosters, too. They look SO BIG sitting at the table! We have had a plate throwing incident (little brat girl!) but other than that, they've done terrific. And I took apart the highchairs, washed the chair pads in the washer and dryer and the NASTY straps in the dishwasher, then scrubbed the chairs down really well. They looked brand new when I put them back together, and the little girls look so cute sitting in them. I had been feeding them in their walkers, so now THOSE are nasty with spilled bits of food on the toybar and stuff. I'll clean those today, probably.

I will not get frustrated with my children today. I will not get frustrated with my children today. Fuck it, I think we'll go out to Target or the bookstore or something and get some fresh air.

Okay, so it's 8:39 and I can hear the boy howling from his crib, so it must be breakfast time! Have a splendid Monday! (I saw an episode of Desperate Housewives last night that I must have missed during the regular season. It made me miss watching it! I can't wait for it to come back on!)

Oh yeah, I forgot to mention all the stuff I got when I went garage saling on Friday! I had K with me so it was much easier to keep the kids entertained. I took twenty bucks and spent every penny, and got all this:

Two Gap Kids outfits for my big girl, two matching sleepers for my little girl, those cheezy unicorn pictures for K's room (she saw them from the street and flipped out!) a Little Tikes drum, maracas, and tambourine that were BRAND NEW (because our house is far too quiet) a Little Tikes tiny little kitchen, 4 board books, a big bendy caterpillar baby toy thingy, a Fisher Price electronic play table thing with three interchangable discs (it's way cool! AND it came with a dead cricket inside - bonus!), and that baby pool thingy. The baby pool thingy isn't actually a baby pool for water - the bottom is fabric and has things you can press on that squeak, plus a toy that's attached to it and an area you can fill with water so the baby can press on it and see floaty fish and stuff. It's very cool, and it was a dollar! A dollar! I was pleased with my haul!

2005-07-09T18:12:00.000-07:00

2005-07-09T18:00:00.000-07:00

Supernanny, please come and rescue us!!

2005-07-09T10:32:00.000-07:00

I hate writing a downer post after my huge, "My life is awesome because I'm in loooooove!" post the other day, but that's how it goes sometimes.

I'm really frustrated!

I can't seem to get my act together and it's driving me bananas. We're getting by, but it's like I'm just barely treading water. The house is a pit and the laundry piles up and the kids are bored to DEATH.

I need to pull out the booster chairs and strap them onto the kitchen chairs so the little babies can start using the high chairs. (Chairs! Chairs! I have to say it a few more times so it starts looking like a made-up word. Chairs! Chairety chair chair chairs.) I need to figure out some magical way of keeping the kids out of the kitchen cabinets and drawers. We have locks on the cabinets, but the kids still grab the handles and yank on them over and over, which can't be good for the cabinets. I haven't yet figured out a way of locking closed FIFTEEN kitchen drawers, and the kids pull them open and get out all the silverware, and HANG from the drawers (which I KNOW isn't good for them) and sit INSIDE of the drawers and my GOD it all just drives me insane. So they stay in the playroom all day. Every day. And I go in there and sit on the floor and play Itsy Bitsy Spider and watch Baby Einstein and Elmo's World with them and feed play bottles to teddy bears and tickle little chubby thighs and put puzzles together, but it's getting old, dude.

When are they going to get to an age where they'll listen A LITTLE BIT when I say, "Get down from there," or "No knife throwing," or "Stop hotwiring the van!"

I know I'm just going on and on about shit I've already gone on and on about...I just feel MORE overwhelmed right now, I guess, because I can't seem to get motivated to do anything! I know I need to switch things up a little and put some toys away and get new toys out and rearrange this and clean up that, but all I can do is sit here and lie on the floor under the air conditioning vent, while the kids eat Nilla Wafers and drop crumbs in my hair.

What has become of me?

I need the Supernanny to come in and say, "Mum, this is unacceptable. Let me make you a giant posterboard with a schedule for you to follow. We'll hang it on the fridge and by the end of the day, the kids will behave."

I'm so tired! I just want a nap.

The Story of Laura

2005-07-07T12:53:00.000-07:00

Okay, since my life story has been requested, here it is the Reader's Digest condensed version. I'm going to include my online life too, since it's such a big part of who I am. :grin:

I was married at 21 to someone who was my "rebound guy." I knew at every step along the way (moving in together, buying a house, planning our wedding) that I wasn't completely head-over-heels in love with him, but honestly - my self esteem was so low and I guess I had such tunnel vision, I didn't listen to my inner voice nagging me that something wasn't right. How many of you know one of those Angry White Guys? Do you know who I'm talking about? The ones who have road rage and love movies like Top Gun and hate their mothers and belittle people at work and can't dance and stand in their driveway on the weekend, drinking cheap beer and making fun of gays and minorities? The ones who never lift a finger to help with the kids or the house, who can't even take their dinner plate from the table to the sink, who leave skid marks in their underwear and wear sneakers with Dockers and consider that "dressing up?" Who don't believe in God and who think saying sorry makes it okay that they got drunk and called you every name in the book? Well, that was the guy I was married to. And we had a daughter together, which is at the same time the best and worst thing. The best because she's the light of my life - the sweetest little girl you'd ever want to know - and she looks just like me! The worst because it ties me to him for the rest of my life.

I was a stay-at-home mommy most of the time during her young years. We had so much fun together! We went EVERYWHERE - shopping, out to eat, to museums and libraries and parks and swimming pools. She was the sweetest, prettiest toddler - ruined me for these guys, because she was SO well-behaved. I never had to childproof the house beyond outlet covers - she never got into anything. Once she wrote on the wall with a pencil. That's all I can think of as far as Toddler Destruction is concerned. And I loved being her mommy. And the older I got, the sadder I got, because even though I had this wonderful child, that's all I had. I didn't have a life partner who loved and supported me. I didn't have anyone to talk to about my feelings and my hopes and dreams. I was lonelier than I've ever been.

I spent a couple of crazy years trying to figure out just how to deal with my life - we partied with our friends all the time (Although my ex is a heavy drinker, I am not and never really was, except for that two or three year period.) I met a whole bunch of people online through a parenting forum during this time, and I credit them with helping me realize that I was a worthwhile person who deserved love and who deserved MORE out of life. There are a dozen or more of these women I still talk to today, nine years later - we still talk online almost every day. I went on for a couple of years, miserable, only finding happiness when playing with my daughter or chatting with my friends online.

We went through marriage counseling and had actually close to a year that was really awesome. I was really in love and happy and I thought there was a real joy in our house, until The Fight happened. My ex came home drunk, woke me up in the middle of the night, and spent several hours saying awful things to me - things you can't take back. The next morning, he didn't remember it. That's when the real depression started. The realization that no matter what I did, it wouldn't be enough. Unfortunately, it took close to a year and a half after that for me to come out of my fog enough to make changes. I remember it so clearly. It was like someone turned a switch. One night, I was talking to a friend of mine online on AIM, and out of the blue I said, "I think I'm going to leave." Just like that. The next day, I opened up a PO box and a bank account. The day after that, I told my parents. A couple of days later, my dad sent me money to pay the retainer to my divorce lawyer, and my mom and I were in his office, writing up the paperwork. It was that fast.

I went from being a stay-at-home mom to a full-time working mom, living in a little crappy apartment with our daughter within just a few weeks. This is also where I started to see God working in my life. How could I have just had some sort of...epiphany like that, and done all that, and found a great job in a terrible job market...just like that? People came out of the woodwork to help me. Friends of my husband helped me move out - they even bought me my first cordless drill as a housewarming gift, so I could put together my new bed. It was emotionally wretching - my personal rock bottom - but I knew I had to do it. I knew it was tearing apart my family and hurting our daughter - but I knew I had to do it. I couldn't live with the idea that she would spend her life watching her dad belittle her mom every single day, and think that's how husbands and wives behave. I couldn't stand thinking that SHE would marry someone who treated her like garbage. I've always maintained that I did what I had to for the greater good.

So...one night a girlfriend of mine said it was time for us to go out and have some fun. I felt like such a dork - it was really the first time I'd ever gone "clubbing" - and I was twenty-nine years old! I ended up meeting a guy who was SO cute - I remember thinking, he looks like the guy from Smashmouth. I know it's shallow to say it, but I really found myself gravitating toward him because physically, he was the absolute opposite of my ex in every way. Tall, broad, dark...and SO cute. We started dating, very casually, and I thought - perfect. This is the perfect guy for me to be with and not have to worry about getting serious. He's cute, funny, likes to party - we'll have a great time together. I wasn't planning on falling absolutely head-over-heels, weak in the knees, twitterpated when I saw his number on the caller ID, absolutely madly crazy in love with him. But I did. Before my divorce was even final, I realized I'd found my true love, my soulmate. I truly believe God/fate/whatever brought him to me. It wasn't by chance.

When I look back on those weeks and months, all I can do is smile. I remember I was positively walking on air. The little notes I would find when I woke up in the morning...the sweet emails throughout the day...the roses I would get "just because you're my baby"...it was an amazing, magical time. And then when I found out - oops - I was pregnant - I was so worried. Worried about what would happen to us, how it would change things. It turned out to be the best thing that could have happened to us. The man was thrilled to death about having a kid - and when we found out it was twins - he was even more excited. We went house hunting - started construction on a new home for our family - and waited for our little angels to arrive.

And when the babies came, he continued to amaze me. He immediately jumped into the parenting thing, staying up all night with me, helping me feed the babies, changing diapers, doing everything he could to help. And he's been the best daddy EVER. And when we decided to have one more baby and it turned out to be twins AGAIN, he held me while I cried, so afraid of what was in store for us. He told me it'd all be okay and we'd make it work and he'd take care of us - and it has been. It's all been okay. We've made it work. And he's taken care of us. And we have four little babies we love so much, who make us crazy every single day. And we've been broke as a joke for two years, trying to sell his old townhouse. And we've dealt with psycho family issues. And death. And drama galore from my lameass ex husband. And illness. And you know what? It's EASY. It's mostly easy. I'm stupified by it almost - still - daily - how it's EASY to get through life's ups and downs when you have someone who loves you by your side. When you fall asleep at night and feel safe and loved and hear someone tell you how much they love you and appreciate you every single day. It's just EASY. It's so easy to appreciate what NORMAL is when you've lived through pure shit.

And so that's my story. We got together and fell in love, but the babies came before the marriage. And now that they're all here, we've decided it's time to have a nice little wedding. There are a billion other details I've left out (hard to believe when you scroll up and see eleventy-seven paragraphs) but the key idea is: it's all about the love, baby. That's all. That's the secret. When people see me with my huge stroller o' babies and go, "How do you DO it?" That's how. I have someone who loves me, no matter how screwed up I am. Someone who loves my big ass and my stretch marks and my sparkly green eyes and the way I laugh at Seinfeld and my ugly tattoos and my eccentric parents. Someone who loves me, no matter what, even if we have a fight, even if I wreck the car, even if whatever. And that magical, butterflies feeling hasn't gone away, four kids later. Yay, us!

Good Tuesday Morning!

2005-07-05T08:36:00.000-07:00

Feels like Monday. Peh! Honey's back at work after a 4-day weekend. I miss him already! It's weird to get into a routine where he's HERE every day and then realize, oh yeah, I have to bring all the kids downstairs by myself again. Boooo!

We went to a barbecue at his aunt's house yesterday and it was nice. I mean, it wasn't RELAXING - we just chased the kids the whole time, trying to keep them out of shit - but it was nice. The kids were really good - just being kids - and we had some good food too. I uploaded pictures to Flickr over there <--- in the sidebar.

Now, back to the grind! I'm freaking out a little bit over the fact that we're getting married in eight weeks. We have so much to do! The yard is coming along, but it's still JUST DIRT at this point. The walkway is halfway finished and looks fantastic. We're doing those keystone bricks - we did the same thing on the sides of our driveway and it looks lovely - so finished, so much nicer than plain concrete.

Miss K is coming back from her dad's house today. I miss her so much! She's been gone an extra day because I let her stay there for the 4th. I'm sure she had more fun there than she would have with us, at a party full of adults!

I'm starving, and I'm sure the kids are - I can hear them jumping up and down in their cribs! Time to fetch the bebes and head downstairs for the day. Bye for now!

Happy 4th of July!!

2005-07-04T11:17:00.000-07:00

Ha. I just titled that for LaDonna! HAPPY INDEPENDENCE DAY!

We're heading out later for a barbecue at honey's aunt's house, and my parents are going too, so YAY!

Our bitch of a renter moved out yesterday and she was REALLY pissed off that she wasn't getting her full deposit back. Since she didn't move out until the 3rd, we charged her three days rent - $90. Plus a $50 carpet cleaning fee - and it says that right in her lease. She was all, "This place is cleaner now than it was when I moved in! I shouldn't have cleaned it at all!" Ugh, I know my man is all too happy to be saying goodbye to her - she's been the biggest pain in the ass!! And all the neighbors hate her too, with her barking dogs and her hoodlum kids always smoking weed on the patio. Na na na na, hey, hey, hey...goooooodbyyyyye...

Guess what? My littlest baby girl is crawling. Okay, not officially crawling for real, but getting up on all fours and lurching forward, pushing off with one leg and dragging herself along. She's doing the bum-leg crawl! And her 4-minutes-older sister is about to start too. Both are SO CLOSE to sitting up, too! Big, big girls. I just started them on meat, too.

I'm trying to pretend it's Monday still even though it feels like Sunday. So I've cleaned the bathroom down here and straightened up. I'll start some laundry in a minute. I just mopped the kitchen, too. I'm such a dumbass, though, I somehow forgot to clean the counters first. So I'm sure I'll end up with random crumbs on the freshly cleaned floor. Don't you hate that?

Honeybun is busting ass on the backyard. This weekend, he laid a whole brick walkway. It looks great! He needs to do the finishing bricks around the corners - where actual cutting is required - but it definitely resembles a walkway! I should take a picture from our master bedroom deck - you can pretty much see the whole thing from up there.

Well, this was one boring-assed post, wasn't it? Have a nice Monday/Independence Day!

The poop! The poooooop!

2005-07-03T07:48:00.000-07:00

My God, I'm sick of poop.

The big twins will not stop taking off their diapers. We've had two poop incidents in the playroom now. Which results in a huge amount of work for me that I just don't have time for. This last time I had to wipe down every damned toy with Clorox wipes and shampoo the carpet. I've got the kids in the dorkiest outfits ever - they're a little big to be wearing onesies, but they ARE, man, they are. The boy actually took off his diaper and pulled it out through the leg of his onesie yesterday! They're talented little brats, I'll tell ya. And duct taping them isn't really an option, because they just pull them right off like underwear. I guess I could fashion duct tape suspenders to keep them on, but it probably would hurt to pull all that tape off, so we won't be doing that.

Oh, I can't wait for this phase to pass!! (Especially since...well, do you know how hard it is to find onesies in a size 3T???)

Some thoughts about God and stuff.

2005-07-01T21:29:00.000-07:00

Well.

You know, I keep finding myself lately - as in the past year and a half or so - praying a lot. Which is a weird thing for me, a former atheist, a former Pagan Wiccan practicing in a coven, a former, uh...child dragged to Baptist Sunday school by my grandparents every summer as a child.

I've never felt like I fit in with any religion. I've always thought it was all bullshit. I hate being so blunt, but...I always felt like I was in the story of the Emporer's New Clothes, and nobody could see he was naked but me. As a child, I listened to the stories and sang all the Jesus songs, but I never felt it.

And as an adult, Wicca was the closest I came to feeling at home in a religion. When I practiced as a solitaire, I felt almost like I was *there*, you know what I mean? When I meditated and listened to the wind blowing, I felt closer to God than I ever had in my life. But when I practiced with a coven, I started feeling once again like it was all bullshit. The invocations felt so theatrical and overdramatic that I felt more like I was playing a part in a play than trying to become closer to the Goddess. And then, a falling out with the coven I was in left such a bad taste in my mouth, I completely distanced myself from anything religious at all.

It wasn't until I left my ex-husband and was going through what was my personal rock bottom time of my life that I felt like I needed something more to hold onto. So, I guess it was roughly three years ago that I found myself praying regularly. And after going through the emotional rollercoaster (that doesn't even begin to describe what it's like, really!) of having two sets of twins back to back and caring for them 24/7 day in and day out, I guess I find myself praying a lot these days. I still don't know who I'm praying to. My friends who are Christian seem so at peace with life and so confident that things are gonna work out...well, it makes me want to be a Christian. But I just can't. As much as I want to believe that Jesus Christ died on a cross for my sins, I just don't buy it all. I can't even begin to wrap my head around the idea that millions of people FULLY BELIEVE WITHOUT A DOUBT that every animal and insect and gnat and bug and kitten and rat and alligator floated around on an ark for forty days. It all just seems like total bullshit to me. Even when I want to believe in it with my heart, it reads like Greek mythology. So I don't believe in it.

But something is stirring within me, without a doubt. Otherwise, I wouldn't find myself on my knees every day, praying for patience and guidance. I don't know if I'm praying to God or if I'm just trying desperately to find my reservoir of inner strength. Trying to "fake it 'till you make it", so to speak. I really don't know. I don't know if I'll ever know. But for now, it's working for me. I believe that praying every day and begging for forgiveness for losing my temper with my children and asking for help becoming the best wife and mother I can be is helping me, slowly but surely.

I think, for me, this is as good as it gets. I really feel like I've found God for the first time in my life. When I see my beautiful children, I know they are miracles. I know there has to be some greater force going on - when someone like me is given a second chance at happiness - escaping a terrible marriage, finding a wonderful man, and just by chance, having four beautiful babies. Something is at work there. And I'm choosing to recognize that in my own mind and be thankful for it.

It's Garage Sailin' Day!

2005-07-01T18:37:00.000-07:00

It's Friday, which means that I went garage saling! Well, I don't go EVERY Friday, but I do like to go. I think it's the thrill of the hunt I like best. I got a Chicco electronic train toy, a Sesame Street little violin thingy, a wooden puzzle, a Barney board book, and a Fisher Price jungle animal baby gym for the babies. And a couple of little clothing items for the wee babies. For nine bucks. And then I went into Kohl's and spent NINETY BUCKS. Whoops! I got the big twins new shoes, I got the boy a few outfits he really needed, and the baby girls each got two outfits. Seems like SO LITTLE for $90. I'm having major buyer's remorse. I think I'll keep the boy's clothes and return everything else. They can wear the shoes they have for a little while longer and the baby girls don't need matching outfits ALL the time. We've been broke for so long that I can't bring myself to spend money, even when EVERYTHING I get is 50% off!

Honey took the day off and finished building the trailer he's been working on for a month. Now he just left to get a load of sand to level out where he's putting the shed he's about to buy. I have faith that my yard will be finished before too long. Seriously, the wedding is in EIGHT WEEKS. And we have DIRT. But I know the man has a plan, and I'm trusting him.

I need to start getting pictures together to send to Echo so she can make our wedding invitations. Have you seen her work? It's pretty incredible - she has a great eye for digital collages, and I regret not having her make baby announcements when all the kids were born. I can hardly wait to see what she comes up with for us! Whee!

Holy crap, I've had this window open for almost two hours, trying to type out this post. The kids didn't get a nap and they've been a little needy. I just put a pizza in the oven for them for dinner, so hopefully a little something in their tummies will mellow them out. Then it's into the tub and off to bed. G'bye, whinybutts! Sweet dreams!

Oh, and you know what I've noticed? People keep asking me questions in my comments about various things, and it occurs to me that since I started blogging here in April, I may have some new readers who don't know my entire life story. I think I'll have to write up a little "All About Me" story soon.

Okay, now the pizza is done and I've got to get the whiners in their highchairs before they kill each other. Ack! Bedtime is in less than three hours. Whew.

Self Portrait Friday

2005-07-01T13:39:00.000-07:00

The theme today is tattoos. Which is the only reason I decided to participate - I knew I had this photo online already, and it shows three of the seven I have. I'm in the far right.

(I know this picture doesn't show much! I don't really have time to take pictures today though - maybe if I get a chance, I'll upload some I already have...)

Thursday mini-update.

2005-06-30T13:30:00.000-07:00

Soooo, guess what I did? I ordered some new clothes online yesterday! For me! Clothes! For ME! I'm so excited! Hehe! I still haven't gone shoe shopping, though. I need to find a babysitter before I can go shopping anywhere. It's too hard with all the kiddos!

Last night we all went to an outdoor concert in our neighborhood - it was really a lovely evening with a nice breeze, and the music was great - I can't remember the name of the band, but they played sort of salsa/Tejano music. And I ate a big old Hebrew National hot dog all slathered with mustard, and the kids behaved. It was a great night! It's been great anyway, just being able to hang out a little bit without all that added "can we buy groceries this week?" stress!

I'm sure other stuff has been going on too, but I haven't had a chance to sit down and blog about anything, so - apologies for the lame entry, here. I think I did put a few new pictures up on Flickr, though, so have a look at those.

Bye!

Oh, happy freakin' day!!

2005-06-28T18:14:00.000-07:00

It's all good, baby. All good.

Yesterday, WE CLOSED ON THE TOWNHOUSE!!!! I can't even begin to stress how much this is going to change things for us. After paying our own mortgage plus the mortgage for a goddamned empty house for almost two years, we have gone without EVERYTHING and we can finally play catchup a little bit. I haven't bought new shoes in a year and a half. I haven't bought clothes (except maternity clothes) since before the first twins were born. And our kids - oh, our poor kids! I can finally buy them something that doesn't come from a garage sale! Don't get me wrong, I'm still going to be one frugal bitch - that's not going to change; after all, we still have FIVE KIDS! But just losing the stress every month of wondering how we're going to get by...that's the best thing of all. I'm so happy!!! So happy that the first chance I get, I'm going shoe shopping!!

And last night, while floating on air because of the whole house closing business, I went with my new twinmama friend to meet some people from HER twin club at Cold Stone Creamery. It was SUCH a nice night, with a little breeze - we sat on a bench near a pretty fountain and just chit-chatted about our kids. It was a GREAT little escape for a couple of hours.

And today, honey took the day off of work and went with me to playgroup. We went to a tumbling gym at a rec center, which was SO much fun. This crazy woman in charge of the place about near ruined our experience bitching at us about EVERYTHING. (They tried to charge me four bucks a kid - INCLUDING MY FIVE MONTH OLD TWINS WHO WERE ASLEEP IN THE STROLLER!!! I made a huge stink until they only charged me for the bigger kids.) But the crazy lady in charge had this CRRRRRAZY mullet that was shaved like a crew cut on top and all pulled back in a bun everywhere else, so at least I got to make fun of her hair. All's well that ends well. And then we went to Sam's Club to buy a shed, but they didn't have it in stock anymore. Phooey.

And that's been my Monday and Tuesday! All kinds of fun! Whee!

P.S. I cracked up at this referral in my stats: Tom Cruise Sucks Ass. Hehe!

Yay, it's Monday!!

2005-06-27T09:35:00.000-07:00

Wow. I am SO glad the weekend is over and it's back to the old schedule where I am the one in charge of the world and there isn't anyone extra monkeying around with the ROUTINE. K had someone spend the night Saturday night and it was a pain. It was actually less work when she was GONE the night before at a sleepover! I was thinking, "Cool, two girls here I can put to work!" NOT. Everything they did for me I had to BEG THEM to do, and then they did it half-assed and complained the whole time, and then I had to clean up all their messes and fix food for them and all that. Blech! I miss the days of having an only child sometimes - sleepovers were a lot more fun when we could bake cookies and do crafts and stuff.

And the Mister was being kind of a butthead yesterday. Hmph. I hope all THAT drama is over. Seems to be.

We're out of milk - a travesty in this household - so we're off to the supermarket in a minute, as soon as everyone gets their shoes on. Including me. Oh, and K lost ANOTHER tooth last night! The toothfairy brought her a five dollar bill, folded like a fan. She thought that was neat.

Have a splendid Monday!