Cuties!!

Leah stole Madeline's book and she wants it back!

Madeline is all smiles!

Leah(l) and Maddie(r)

Huh? Wuh? They both have the exact same expressions! Do you think that they're identical?

Rub-a-dub-dub we need a bigger tub

You swine

After listening to the news early this morning and now taking a few minutes to read stories on CNN...how concerned are you about the Swine Flu? I'm always scared for the kids during flu season and thought we had escaped another season "flu-free". We are going to be 6 deep with flu shots next year. I think the twins will be old enough by then however I'm not positive. I hate getting the kids vaccines and flu shots because I hate hate hate pumping them full of medicines and controversial drugs, the autism link to me is still not cut and dry in regards to vaccines and when you ask the doctors about it they give you a major b-s answer. Scary stuff. But that is a discussion for another time. As for right now, the twins are napping and I'm off to finally take a shower.

Blessings

I have had a rough two days with the kids. It seems as though our "rough patches" come in two's. However tonight at bedtime things went smooth so I have had some "Mommy time" and feel much better after a little 'front porch sitting'. There are many nights that I spend a little time on the web reading other twin Mom blogs and linking from them to other blogs just looking for other Mom's out there that are in the same place that I am. However lately I have been stumbling upon blogs of Mom's and Dad's who have lost their children or who have very ill children. It breaks my heart to read them yet I can't turn away. There is a blog that I have read several times written by a Mom who just lost her twin 6 month old girls within a day of each other due to a rare disease. I cannot begin to imagine her pain. I don't want to begin to try. I am beyond blessed to have 4 wonderful and healthy children. There are times when I am so caught up in the fighting, feeding, cleaning, crying and temper-tantrum filled hours that make up some of my days that I totally lose sight of just how lucky I am. I have amazing kids. I'm off to bed early tonight and am looking forward to kissing all of my babies in the morning.

two more nights

I will make it through this day. I will make it through this day. That is what I keep telling myself. Matt has tonight and tomorrow night yet on this rack of night shifts so I won't be getting help from him until Tuesday around noon. Grace was up this morning at her usual 6am on the dot. Evan at his standard 7am. The twins officially got up for the day at 5:40am after being awake the better part of the night due to teething pain. I'm exhausted. To add to my sleep deprived state is Grace and Evan being normal toddlers with normal toddler attitudes multiplied by about 1000. I don't know what is wrong but man are they in awful moods. I have already filled the pool outside to give the water a chance to warm up a little bit so I'm hoping that after Evan's nap we can make it outside to swim and play in the sandbox. A big part of me feels like they don't deserve to go outside but I feel like if I don't let them outside in the beautiful weather I will be punishing myself more than anyone. I pray that the twins take a nap this afternoon that lasts longer than 20 minutes. It would be nice to get outside with Grace and Evan and just be able to sit and watch them play for a little while. Ahhh - to dream the big dreams. :)

Swimming in April!!

Here are a few pictures from today, it got to 87 degrees today! The kids LOVED swimming and playing outside ALL day! I hope they sleep well tonight. I sure will! The pictures aren't great since they wouldn't slow down long enough for me to take any good ones. I have so much to blog about but just can't find the time. Matt is on night shift so my days are MUCH more chaotic!

Sunshine!

Leah (L) and Madeline (R) on the porch enjoying the warm weather!!

Uncles came to visit!

My brother in-laws Doug, Greg and his daughter Eleni came to visit tonight. We don't get to see them very often so it was a nice treat. Once the kids all warmed up to each other they ended up having a blast together. Grace and Evan went to bed exhausted from playing!

Weighty Issue

As I pushed the double stroller, walked with a baby strapped to my chest and repeatedly lifted Grace and Evan to see animals yesterday at the zoo nothing was more painful than seeing myself in the pictures from yesterday. I 'will' defend myself that the black sweater I was wearing added 10 pounds to me and I have since thrown it in the trash, however...I am still BIG. I spent all of last night depressed and feel even worse this morning. Yes, even with 4 little ones to chase, lift and play with - I can't seem to lose this weight. Matt and I just got our tax return and I think we might take a portion of it and buy an elliptical machine. We need it. We need to be healthier. I need to feel better about myself. I cannot be a cow in a bathing suit at the beach. There is no food that can taste as good as skinny would feel to me.
My goal is to lose 15 pounds by July 11th. It's about a pound a week. Realistic, right? Wish me luck! July 11th is when Matt's cousin Mike gets married. I want to look good in a dress since this most likely will be the first time Matt and I will get out on a date without the kids since the twins were born --- And yes, the twins will be 8 months old at that point.

The Zoo #2

Evan, Grace and I after our Carousel ride!

Madeline and Leah taking a little snooze!

Evan , Matt and Grace after watching the tigers!

Ev was so excited to see the elephants!

Philadelphia Zoo

Grace, Evan and I on the carousel at the Zoo!

Leah and I in front of the Elephants!

The Zoo train that Evan loved!

Grace on the pony ride - She was in heaven! (Even if the horses were shaggy and not so cute!)

We obviously took the kids to the Zoo today and we all had a blast! We became members so we can now go back for free as many times as we want over the next year. We decided to join since it was only $18 more than if we just paid for one trip and we knew that we wouldn't get to see all of the animals in one day. I cannot wait to take the kids back again! Grace and Evan were excellent today. They were both walking around most of the time and listened to us, stayed right with us and held hands with each other or held onto the stroller the whole time. Evan only started riding in the stroller within the last half of an hour that we were there since he was tired. Maddie and Leah loved just being outside and did like looking at some of the animals. On our way home we stopped at Maggie Moos and got the kids ice cream as an extra treat for being so good and listening so well. I was a good girl and didn't have any. When we got home we cleaned up the yard a little bit, then took a walk while Matt was mowing. After he was finished we brought out the sliding boards and let the kids play and run around a little more. They are exhausted and were asleep as soon as their heads hit their pillows! I'm pretty tired myself but have some major cleaning to do before Matt's brothers come over tomorrow afternoon. Greg is coming over and is bringing his daughter Eleni - Grace is beyond excited to see her! Doug is also going to stop by for a little bit on his way home from work. It should be a good time!

Wrap it up

Daddy with Leah in the Moby Wrap - Leah loved it!!

Then the other kids had to get in on the action!

I think they're a little too big for it! :-)

Mountains!

Two out of Three

I took about a thousand pictures trying to get all of the girls looking in the same direction...this was the best one. Evan wanted no parts of the photo session!!

Wordless Wednesday #2

Wordless Wednesday

Rain, Rain, Go Away

I know, I know...April showers bring May flowers but I am so over being stuck in the house all of the time! The kids are beyond bored and I am past the end of my rope! We're supposed to be going to the mountains this weekend and I'm hoping that the weather will be nice enough that Grace and Evan can "get their fill" of wide open spaces and fresh air to the point that when it's time for bed they literally pass out mid-complaint that they don't want to go to sleep! I will make them run up and down the mountain if I have to! lol (No CPS, I wouldn't really do that!)
I tried to sneak in a blog post but the rest will have to wait since Leah and Madeline just woke up from their mini-naps and are looking for dinner!

Whirlwind Weekend

I started Friday already behind schedule and it just kept getting worse all day even though Matt was home to help. Things just got worse as the day progressed. I ended up at Walmart to go food shopping in the afternoon on Good Friday, not a real good idea. I had to fight people just to get my cart down the aisle. But - I escaped Walmart alive and $200 lighter. I got home to unload the groceries and start getting things ready for our friends to come over. Luckily I finished everything and had just gotten the Maddie and Leah out of the tub as they were pulling up! Friday night was great as always when TJ, Molly, Em and Colin come over! Colin turns 1 at the end of May and is crawling all over the place. He 'thinks' he can walk already and it won't be long before he's running around keeping up with the big kids! Em and Colin are such good kids! We have so much fun when we can all find time to get together. TJ & Molly have started riding bikes together and pulling the kids in a trailer attached to the back of Molly's bike. That has prompted Matt and I to start thinking about that as a way to get exercise as a family. Up until now it's just been pushing the kids around in strollers but we are starting to look into bikes. However I haven't ridden a bike in forever so that's a scary thought!
Saturday turned out to be a fun day. We took the kids to the mall to see the Easter Bunny! At first they were telling me that they wanted to see him and were even excited to stand in line and wait their turn but when it came right down to it we strolled right past him, waving cautiously as we passed. Maybe next year. I have to get back to the mall this week since I have officially blown out my "good" jeans with a big hole in the knee. I'm not looking forward to jeans shopping though. With my first pregnancy I was back into my "skinny jeans" in no time! By 4 months I was sporting a bikini - yes, a bikini at 4 months post-pregnancy!! And I looked GOOD! Then with my second pregnancy it took 6 months to get bathing suit ready and back into my skinny jeans. I am now almost officially 5 months post-twin pregnancy and bathing suits are no where in my realm of consideration!! I'm still a 6/8 and just not firming up like I would like to. I'm trying to give it time. I really am but things like Easter just keep setting me back. However I do have to admit that ALL of the Mom's before me who warned me that it was harder to "bounce back" with each pregnancy were right. And after a TWIN pregnancy - forget it. I sometimes feel like it's out of my reach. Well - enough about that.
Sunday was tiring but very FUN! Grace and Evan were ecstatic to see that the Easter Bunny came and left them baskets and eggs to hunt for around the house! Then after baths Grammie and PopPop came to visit for a while and Evan especially was in HEAVEN with PopPop here! He talked about him for the rest of the day! That was such a nice visit! We miss seeing them. We are heading up there this weekend for a night. Which I am scared to death about but looking forward to none the less. After Evan had his nap we went to my parents for dinner and an Easter Egg hunt outside which was a huge hit! Grace kept asking where her cousin Ellie was - so we missed having her there but she was down in Georgia soaking up some rays with her Bubby and Zayda (Not sure that I spelled that correctly!) I'm jealous! I would love to go on vacation right about now! But we have to wait until September - It seems to far away but will be here before I know it!
Have to cut this short since dinner for Matt and I is ready - It's 7:45pm and we're eating dinner alone since the kids are in bed!!

Easter

Thursday

Maddie!! She's so silly sometimes!!

Leah and Maddie...Best Friends for life!

All of the kids wishing that they could go outside! Instead they were stuck inside on Tuesday since it was cold and they were already in their PJ's at 4:30pm after an early bath!

I'm still contemplating the whole Easter Bunny idea...maybe after I take a shower and get dressed I'll feel energetic enough to load up the gang and head to the mall. We will see!

Way Back "When-sday"

This is something new I'm going to try to do every week on my blog - post a picture from "way back when" so here is the first one...

This is when Evan was about 8 weeks old and Grace was 18 months.

Loco

I'm considering taking the kids to see the Easter Bunny tomorrow. I may have just really lost my mind, but Grace especially wants to go. I follow a Mom on another blog that just posted a picture of her oldest daughter with the Easter Bunny and I made the mistake of showing the picture to Grace. (Check out the picture here: http://3underthree.blogspot.com/2009/04/adventures-with-charlotte.html )
She only asked to see said picture 400 times today so I gave in about 5 of those times and let her look at it. Grace was only slightly disgruntled that the Easter Bunny in the photo was brown and not white, "like he should be".

Emergency Doctor Visit

First things first...Leah's going to be fine. Yesterday I noticed her belly button looked irritated and upon further inspection it was red and open like a brand newborns belly button would be. I changed her diaper and when gently pressing the tabs of her diaper closed a yucky fluid came out of her belly button. I called the pediatrician and he said that it could be something very serious and to bring her in as soon as they could fit her in. So Matt left work, got home at about 7:30pm and I got to the pediatrician a little before 8:30pm. It turns out that her belly button had an infection in it that could have become extremely problematic if I hadn't caught it when I did. The doctor said something about the infection finding a way into her actual stomach through the 'newly' closed belly button. The infection itself is the same type of skin infection they have had since they were newborns that I'm still convinced that they picked up from filthy LGH when they were admitted there after birth for jaundice. I thought that that infection had cleared up through weeks of gross cream application and careful cleansing. I guess not. The doctor inverted her belly button (ewww gross) and cleansed it then showed me how to apply the cream to make sure that I get it everywhere it needs to be. I'm off to Walmart now to get the prescription filled. So on to more cream application we go. I got home last night and Matt headed 'back' to NJ to finish his shift so he wouldn't have to use vacation time, poor guy. But all is well that ends well I guess.

Tuesday

Leah and Madeline relaxing in their diapers on Evan's birthday!

Grace, Madeline, Matt, Leah and Evan on Evan's birthday.

Evan eating his birthday "doo-nut"!

Ev giving an "oohhh" about his "big moonies" from Grandma!

Feels like Friday

I still sometimes get messed up about what day it is because of Matt's schedule. For example, Matt worked day shift Friday, Saturday and today so today feels like a Friday since he has off tomorrow. I'm never on the same 'page' as everyone else in the world since his shifts are so crazy. I shouldn't complain though, he has a job that supports the 6 of us and allows me to stay home. We're never without and that's more than I can say for a lot of others, especially right now.
Evan turns 2 tomorrow. On one hand I cannot believe that he's 2. On the other hand I cannot believe that he's ONLY 2 and has 2 younger sisters!! That's just craziness!

I'm still struggling with my weight and regaining my body after the twins pregnancy. I am trying to cut myself a little slack since I did have 4 kids in 36 months but that doesn't make me feel much better when I'm looking in the mirror. My goal is to be a size 4. I know I will never be the size I was before I had kids but I think being a size 4 is realistic for me. I'm a 6/8 right now depending on which jeans I'm wearing. I'm a 6 in Ann Taylor Loft and an 8 in Old Navy. I would love to get a piece of exercise equipment but we just don't have anywhere to put it. I may try to see if we could fit something in our bedroom since we did fit a full size crib and extra dresser in there when the twins were in our room. We will have to see after I get everything moved and reorganized since we're still not finished transitioning all of the kids.

Maddie and Leah are getting sooo big! They are transferring toys from one hand to the other now and really starting to like playing with each other! They are both teething so that's not pleasant for anyone involved. Leah is a rolling machine! She will just keep rolling over and over until she's reached the other side of the room on gotten stuck on something in the process! Maddie is a little more content to just lay there and look around and 'talk'. I'm getting a little concerned about going to the mountains in two weeks since it will be our first overnight trip since the twins were born. It's going to be rough trying to get them all to sleep in a strange place. Evan usually does pretty well but Grace is a whole different story. I have a feeling that I won't be sleeping at all that night. But I've done it before and can do it again. At least after we get home we can take turns taking naps and sleeping in since Matt will still have 4 days off after we get home.

Maddie and Leah just went up for their morning nap and put themselves to sleep by laughing at each other! It's times like these that I wish I had a video monitor in their room to see what they're doing! And since they're asleep now - I'm off to run around and clean and play a game with Grace and Evan!!

Park

Matt pushing our jalopy.

Prince Evan enjoying himself on the slide!

Grace stopping to flash Mommy one of her famous smiles!

Leah hanging out in the stroller watching Grace and Ev run around at the park.