Welcome to the Toy Shop

I have been home from work for six full days, it has been three days since Christmas, and the kids are finally settling down. Thank goodness. They were killing me!

Having just turned three, this was the first year Leon and Michael really "got" Christmas. And that made it really exciting. They eagerly wrote letters to Santa (and thankfully, after reading Berenstain Bears, were fully happy to limit their lists to around four items each). When Elfie, our Elf of a Shelf, finally decided to grace us with his presence in mid-December, they eagerly helped Ree look for him every morning and (thankfully) laughed hysterically when he forgot to move for three days. (Following Ree's lead, they kept joking, "What was in that eggnog last night?" in reference to his laziness.)

But it also meant they had Christmas energy. Leon spent the entire month in turbo, never sleeping. He was, however, a fairly happy little dude and the fighting with Michael was only a little worse than usual and the tears when I left for work only a little louder and longer than usual. Michael, though, wears his emotions on his sleeve. He has been known to skip up to me and announce, "I'm happy!" He has also greeted me at the front door at the end of the day with his head dropping, his shoulder slumped, his arms hanging and lamented, "It was a SAAAD day." When it came to Christmas, he told me through big tears, "I'm nervous."

At first the poor little guy was nervous Santa wouldn't come. Once Christmas day arrived, we thought for sure our little stressball would be happy again, but he was a big ball of emotions on Christmas Day. It wasn't until I walked into his room on the 26th and he gleefully announced, "Welcome to the toy shop!" that we realized he had been nervous his presents would all just disappear.

Now that he can relax, he is sleeping. And now that he is sleeping, he is a much happier guy. And because he is sleeping, Leon is sleeping too, and just having two sleeping boys is making life so much easier. It really is too bad I have to go back to work in five days and the drama will begin again...

Our Holidays...

...as seen in bad photos.

Here are some of the scenes of Christmas from our house. Martha Stewart would probably be horrified, but the kids are relatively happy and we are surviving.

Growing up I always swore I would have a beautiful, elegant Christmas tree when I grew up. One covered in white lights and coordinated ornaments. Instead, we have a village of Charlie Brown trees on a bar in the corner of the dining room and they are bursting with colorful, clashing ornaments. And I can't help but love 'em cuz they are just so dang homey.

And so you can fully understand how small and cluttered the trees are, Pru and Max will help put them in perspective. The trees are behind the dining room table in this picture. (This is the dogs on Christmas morning. They are obviously thrilled with the whole holiday thing.)

Jeff and I have been married for 7 1/2 years and together for quite a bit longer, and we've never had a full-sized Christmas tree. We were too lazy and cheap (I guess) before we had kids, and we've always had a reason not to bother since the kids have been born. One of these years we will get around to it. Really.

Our excuse this year was a super grabby monkey toddler. Natalia is not walking yet. (Although getting closer every day. She is cruising with wild abandon, and like her brother Leon, spends a great deal of time standing and pushing things around the house). However, the girl can climb. And she practices frequently. We took the kids to the mall the Saturday before Christmas, and she got to play on the mall playground for the first time. She wasted no time figuring out how to climb up the little slide.

And it wasn't just the stairs. The girl actually climbed the slide too.

We did manage to get Christmas lights on the house this year. It was a wonderfully warm December, except for the night I finally got around to putting up lights. That night it was windy and the temperature was dropping into the 30s, and I pretty much ended up actually throwing the lights on the bushes after the kids went to bed. (And, of course, we had to decorate the willow in our front yard. It's had quite a year.) Still, the kids were completely excited about the lights and gleefully ran out to watch us plug them in each night, at least until the night we drove around and looked at Christmas lights done by people who actually tried. I thought Ree was pretty tactful when she said the people with nicely decorated houses, "Don't have kids, do they?"

On Christmas Eve, we finally got around to decorating some cutout Christmas cookies. With the exception of Jeff, everyone in the house had a cold and was coughing and sneezing, and I am pretty sure the cookies could've been considered biological weapons despite the kids washing their hands before decorating. But they did have fun. And yes, we had pink icing.

And there was a significant colored sugar-to-cookie ratio.

Somewhere along the line, Leon insisted I take a picture of Baby Mickey because he participated in ALL holiday events along with us. Thankfully Mickey is quiet AND potty trained. (Leon has him sit on the big potty several times a day.) We like Baby Mickey.

I don't have a picture of one of my favorite holiday scenes. The kids have a Little People nativity set in the toy room. I love it mostly because it's so darn cute, but it also lets them act out the Christmas story. Leon's play kitchen is also in the toy room, and one night while cleaning up, I found Mary, Joseph, and baby Jesus all standing on the turntable in the microwave. I can only imagine the scenario that landed them there. I am just hoping they were riding the carousel and Disney World and no one was cooking up the holy family for dinner.

We Should Spend More Time in Nature

Bananas are a big deal at our house, especially since Leon and Michael recently graduating to eating them "like a big kid" right out of the peel. The boys love to discuss favorite foods while they eat them, usually reciting the recipe. The other day Michael asked where bananas come from.

Me: From banana trees.
Michael: From banana trees?
Me: Yup.
Michael: And apples come from McDonald's?

Something like that...

These Kids Don't Wait for Santa

The kids are having a tough time recovering from vacation. Leon especially is struggling with returning to "normal" life and there are lots of tears and angry moments. However, there are moments when it is okay that our adventures are so fresh in their minds.

Last Saturday we went to the mall so the kids could see the holiday decorations. The trip was, for the most part, a disaster. Everything was WRONG. Even Ree was upset about everything. I've blocked most of it out now, but she even had a meltdown when I wouldn't buy her a toy, not that we ever buy random toys. I think part of the problem was that the kids were so excited about the prospect of eating lunch at the mall that they barely ate breakfast, and so they were starving. But we survived, and we ate a disturbing quantity of chicken and shrimp teriyaki with vegetables, and we did (sorta) enjoy watching Natalia climb in the play area. Little monkey girl has no fear! She happily climbed a little slide over and over and over.

As we were leaving the mall, the kids spotted Santa. We have been reading lots of Christmas books, so they are well aware that you can go sit on Santa's lap and tell him what you want for Christmas. I realized we have never taken them to see Santa (I know. Bad parents! We need our token picture of crying kids with Santa!) and was not opposed to doing it. However, the line was really long, and I was hoping to avoid it. Thankfully, the kids spied the line and one of them (probably Michael) asked what the line was. And when I explained it, I know it was Michael that asked what it meant to wait your turn to see Santa. So I asked if they remembered what it was like to wait in line to see Mickey. All three big kids collectively said, "Ohhhh," and then just kept on walking.

November Flowers!

We are enjoying a nice, warm December. Actually, I'm not sure it is all that much warmer than average, we have just had very cold winters the past couple of years. Many of the locals are complaining, but I realized this is the first year I am not finding it weird to be in short sleeves in December. If nothing else, it is so much easier to get kids in and out of the car while taking care of the massive list of Christmas errands when they aren't all bundled up and shivering. And when we are stuck in traffic, it is great to crank up the radio and open up the sunroof and just enjoy the day.

It was also warm in Florida while we were on vacation. We managed to go swimming three days while we were there. Michael found the experiences to be too cold, but everyone else had a great time. And it was great to see so many flowers in November. We took a long walk around the hotel property one afternoon and got some great pictures of the Florida version of all colors.

Bathing Beauty

I think we forgot something...

Sleeping Beauties

Leon and Michael have a long history of just passing out when they are tired and strapped in together.

It happened on the way home from a doctor's appointment when they were 6 weeks old.

It happened when they were a year old and exhausted from having visitors.

And it happened when they were three years old in the Magic Kingdom.

Disney World!

Ever since we returned from vacation, Leon has been asking when we will go to Disney World again, and most of his play has involved reenacting our adventures. At bedtime each night, when asked about his favorite part of the day, he always shares his vacation memories rather than the actual events of the day. The boys is in firm denial that vacation is over.

We had another (not so) awesome night at our house last night, and consequently, I'm going to follow Leon's lead. Sometimes it is just better to pretend you are at Disney World.

We drove to Orlando in one day, leaving at 6:15 a.m. and arriving in our hotel room around 5:45 that night. The kids actually did pretty well with the car trip, but they had a lot of energy when we arrived at our hotel. So much energy that they would not go to bed, especially in a new place. We had planned on going to the Magic Kingdom the next morning, but when they finally passed out after 10:00, we considered changing our plans.

We shouldn't have worried. The next morning I stumbled into the kitchen at 6:11 because I'd heard squeaky little voices. Michael looked at me and smiled as he hugged my legs and exclaimed, "I'm awake, Mom!" All the boys had slept in a separate room from us girls, and apparently Michael woke up Jeff at 5:45 when he looked out the window and asked, "Where's the sun?" He was ready to go!

Because we were staying off property, just getting to the Magic Kingdom was an epic adventure. As Leon will tell you, you have to get in Goldie (our van), then get in the stroller, then "get on the purple bus that says 'Magic Kingdom'," then get back in the stroller to get there. My aunt, who has had an annual pass to Disney World for years, bravely volunteered to help us navigate the park the first day. This was us actually arriving at the Magic Kingdom. She was carrying Ree, Leon and Michael were "back in the stroller," and Natalia was in the sling, which is where she pretty much spent our entire vacation.

The first thing we did inside was meet Mickey and Minnie. This was one of Leon's favorite moments of the whole trip. One of my favorite moments was when Leon told Mickey that he was him for Halloween and Mickey gave Leon a giant, spontaneous hug. Forget Santa. That was an amazing moment for Leon.

My aunt was holding Ree when Ree first spied Cinderella's castle. I thought her eyes were going to pop out of her head. Yes, we were really there!

The kids all LOVED It's a Small World. The first time we rode it, Natalia was sleeping in the sling when we boarded the boats. She woke up about a minute into it and literally had to shake her head in disbelief. Had she really woken up in this crazy world filled with singing, smiling little kids?!? She was ecstatic and started bouncing up and down and clapping her hands.

It's always so funny to see what captures kids' attention. One of the big kids' major highlights of the day was watching a tube of water with bubbles in it while we waited for the Monsters Inc. comedy show.

But truly the best part of the day was that we made it the whole day with no tears. Now that is some Disney magic.

Phone Home?

I have started so many entries (or at least thought about many entries) over the past few weeks, and none have been completed. Things have just been INSANE. Most of the time life with four kids is actually pretty manageable, but right now we have four kids, at Christmas, following vacation, to Disney World. It is a miracle that we are all still alive.

I could share what the past few weeks have been like, but I am pretty confident it will just sound like whining. Yes, the kids have drug me down to their level. So in lieu of whining, I think it is time to start sharing a pic or two a day from vacation. I have a feeling these will be in no particular order.

This is our hotel room, or more specifically, our family's bedroom in a three bedroom villa we shared with my parents and grandmother. It was quite lovely. We were at Mystic Dunes resort, which is only a mile or two from Disney property. Jeff and I slept in the bed that actually looks like bed, with Natalia joining us after midnight. (She actually went to sleep each night in a pack and play. Amazing!) We put the other mattress on the floor for Leon and Michael since they are used to sleeping in toddler beds. And Leon and Michael discovered land line phones. We only have cell phones, and they loved learning about this new toy. I'm not sure the hotel operator felt the same way.

Double Digit Baby

Yesterday, Natalia reached double digits. She was 10 months old! (And we completely forgot to tell her. Oops.) 

At 10 months, she is a cheerful, chatty girl. Her favorite word is "ba" which she first used to identify the dogs. The use of ba then expanded to included babies and, well, anything else she likes. She has recently started saying hi, and she frequently waves and says "Hai" in her cute little voice to everyone she likes, and almost always when they aren't looking. 

She loves watching her brothers and sister and she often crawls after them, parking herself in the middle of the toy room and chewing on one of their toys while she watches them play. She pulls up on everything, but she isn't yet trying to walk, and that is perfectly okay with us. she is crazy enough as a crawler.

She is also more attached to me than ever, spending countless hours in the sling and insisting on co-sleeping, at least after 11:00 p.m. Yesterday we returned from an epic adventure. We spent the last eight days on vacation, and while we were gone we celebrated Leon and Michael's birthday and Thanksgiving. We also attended a family wedding and rehearsal in which Ree was a flower girl. And we did all of this at Disney World. It's been quite the experience, and I have a lot more stories to share. I'm sure it's also a bit mind-blowing when you are less than a year old, even if you have reached double digits.

While I am catching up, I should probably mention Halloween. We actually had a really fun Halloween this year. We started celebrating early with a party at Ree's school the Friday before Halloween. Then the whole family went to a costume party the Saturday before Halloween.

It was rainy and cool (mid-50s) on Halloween night, but that didn't slow down the kids at all. The boys insisted that I dress up (like it was that hard to convince me), so I ran door-to-door with them while Jeff pushed Natalia in the stroller.

This year Ree was definitely the big kid, taking the lead at each house. I guess it would be kinder to say she clearly showed self-confidence rather than saying she almost rudely got in people's faces asking for candy. Leon was close behind, running after her. Michael knew his limitations, and running in the dark in a costume was just not something he was capable of, so he shouted, "Wait for Buzz (Lightyear)!" more than anything. But he never seemed to be sad in asking them to slow down.

My favorite points at the night were just after we visited houses where the owners were handing out M&Ms. After getting their treat buckets filled, the boys would launch into their version of "Eminence Front" by The Who with one saying, "M&Ms front," and the other responding, "It's a put on!"

Birthdays, Part I

I know I've been MIA for awhile. This month has just been everything at once, and things aren't going to slow down until after Thanksgiving. So rather than even attempting to catch up, I will just jump in to our misadventures in the middle.

We celebrated the boys' birthday last night. Technically, I suppose, the celebration started on Thursday. A week ago, when we asked them what they wanted to eat for their birthday dinner, Leon requested breakfast for dinner and Michael wanted a pizza party. As much as they have to share the rest of the time, I didn't want them to have to share on their birthday. Consequently, we ended up with two sets of paper plates, napkins, and cups. But two dinners felt like overkill (at least for one night) so we had bacon and eggs on Thursday and pizza and breadsticks on Friday.

It's crazy how the party came together, and even though it was just our family, with six people and two dogs involved, it did feel like a party. My in-laws visited a couple of months ago and left birthday presents for the boys including a play set of Black and Decker tools. While at a consignment shop getting dress clothes for the kids to wear to a wedding, I stumbled across a workshop to go with the tools. (And I got it for only $18, plus I had a coupon. I am going to be so sad when they get old enough that I have to limit my shopping to new things.) But other than that, we had done nothing to get ready.

So last Saturday morning the whole family set off on an epic shopping adventure to do the weekly shopping, to get ready for their party, to get presents, and to take care of some other errands. Amazingly, Jeff and I were able to split up enough that we were able to sneak all of their presents. The week was crazy, and we didn't get a chance to wrap presents until late Thursday night, and I was pretty fried from staying up til 11:30 a couple of nights this week and getting up at 5:00. So the presents looked pretty sad. No ribbons or bows. I was also out of wrapping paper, and we had few boy bags, so their presents were mostly wrapped in pieces of the Sunday paper.

I shouldn't have worried though. Jeff had the boys play in their room while we set up the workshop and presents in the living room. They came running out like it was Christmas morning, and once they saw the tools and workshop they were done. I had to beg them to open presents. That's so wrong, but the same thing happens at Christmas around here. My kids are happy to just play with one new thing. I am going to enjoy that while it lasts.

After presents, we had to have birthday cake. We didn't have a big, beautiful, professional looking cake. We had something even better. We had cupcakes the kids made. They were hideous to behold, but they tasted good (triple chocolate), and they were so proud of them. The boys, Natalia, and I had baked them Tuesday night while Jeff and Ree were at gymnastics. (Not too surprisingly, the boys took an early bath immediately following that project, and the kitchen and table and mixer and couch needed some scrubbing too.) On Thursday night they set to work after dinner decorating them.

Chef Leon was insistent on an all-chocolate theme, and he artfully arranged chocolate chips on top of his chocolate cupcakes with chocolate frosting.

Michael mostly ate sprinkles and inadvertently smooshed all the letters on his.

All things considered, it was a great party, and there is more fun to come on their actual birthday.

Leon Play

Even when he is not cooking, Leon remains Mr. Practical when playing pretend. Tonight he was in the bathtub playing with an empty bottle of body wash, the pump that goes with it, and he was muttering to himself.

Spray it all around.
Now use the brush.
Put it back in the closet.
Aaaaand...flush!

He was cleaning the toilet. I can't wait until he is this helpful in real life.

Natalia Randomness

Just a random update on all things Natalia:

On Tuesday Natalia finally figured out how to pull her big booty up to a standing position. By Thursday night she was standing up and pushing toys around just like her brother Leon did when learning to walk.

Lately, Natalia has decided she will only sleep touching me. She used to sleep in her crib some, at least after she ate around 3 or 4am, but over the past week, not so much. It takes some fancy maneuvering for me to get out of bed in the morning. Natalia sleeps between me and the wall which means I am stuck smack in the middle of our full sized bed. I have never been known for my ninja-like skills, so you can imagine the fun I have trying to ease myself out of there wihtout disrupting the princess's covers.

For a long time, Natalia's vocabulary was limited to saying "booba" and "doggie," but over the past few weeks, she has started saying "mama" as well. And she says it lots. The cutest was tonight when I arrived home from work and she excitedly announced my arrival with a "Mama!"

Also, Natalia has been slugging Jeff every time he calls her a cute baby or a cute girl.

Natalia

Some days the kids just make me smile. Yesterday was one of those days for Natalia. It started at dinner. Jeff and Ree were off at gymnastics, and it was just me, Leon, Michael, and Natalia for dinner. (And, yes, I realize how insane our house has gotten when a small dinner is four people and two big dogs.) At Ree's preschool, the kids sing a song thanking the earth for providing food before they eat lunch, and lately we have been using this as our blessing before dinner. Last night as the boys and I sang, I noticed Natalia also had her hands clasped together and she too was "singing." It was totally adorable. And rather unexpected since I hadn't even seen her bring her hands together even to clap.

She apparently read my mind, because after dinner she started clapping. And clapping. And clapping. And her siblings kept encouraging her by clapping back. They were all pretty cute. It turns out Ree had first seen her clap yesterday morning, and that started the clapping game with the sibs.

Natalia was also very affectionate yesterday and kept crawling over to give me big, drooly open mouth kisses. I'm sure they sound completely disgusting to anyone else, but trust me, they were totally sweet.

Then last night when Natalia got up for her 10:45 feeding, (She has an amazing internal clock going. She wakes up between 10:43 and 10:47 every night no matter what is going on. And we have yet to hear our neighbors make any noise at the time. Kinda crazy.) she cried a little, settled back down, and settled on calling to me until I came to rescue her from her horrible old crib. "Mum? Muuum? Mum?" And her little British name for me is just as cute as when Ree called me "Emma."

I have no idea what put her in such a good mood. It could be that the latest round of teeth popped through (she's up to 10 now, and she isn't quite 9 months old, for anyone who is counting), but I am going to remind her it is because she slept. Yesterday morning I tucked her into her crib at 4:45 following her last feeding and she slept in her crib until 7:45. Amazing.

Career Planning

In other Leon news, last night I saw Leon giving a bottle to a stuffed animal, and I couldn't help but ask if he wanted to be a dad when he grew up.

Leon: No.
Me: Oh, okay. What do you want to be when you grow up?
Leon: Mickey Mouse.

Then Michael chimed in, "And I'm going to be Buzz Lightyear. To infinity, and beyond!"

I hope they are ready for these two on preschool career day.

Bedmaking

My parents came to visit back in the summer, and on the day they arrived, I had to work. We've given up on actually cleaning before guests arrive, but we do at least attempt to straighten the house enough so that there is a path from the front door to the living room.  (What can I say? We are thoughtful!) But, with me at work, that left the straightening and tidying to Jeff who also had to take care of the daily needs of four kids.

When I arrived home from work, I noticed that while our bed was made, the quilt was on inside out. Not a big deal since the bottom is also quilted and a lovely navy blue, and it made me smile. It wasn't until later in the day I found out why it was like that. It wasn't that Jeff was so distracted that he didn't even notice. It turns out Leon had gone in and made the bed himself, including putting the throw pillows on the bed. How could Jeff possibly undue Leon's work when the little guy was so proud of himself for helping to get ready for his grandparents?

I had completely forgotten about this until I went to crawl into bed last night. Again, the bed was made, and I was not responsible. I highly doubted Jeff had taken the time to make the bed on a football day, and as soon as I pulled back the covers, I knew Leon had been helping again. He had pulled up the quilt, but the sheets and blanket underneath were still all tangled. (So, basically, he already has the college style bed making cuz the parents are visiting thing down.) He had the pillows piled up with bed pillows on one side and throw pillows on the other. And if I had any doubt as to who had been in my bed, there was a nice pile of sand all over my side of the bed where he had curled up and gotten cozy, after playing in the sandbox.

Seneca Gun Fun

So in a year in which Wilmington has experienced snow, earthquakes, water spouts,and a hurricane, we can now throw Seneca Guns into the mix. Jeff said these rattled the whole house, especially the sunroom and woke Natalia from her nap. Didn't they get the message not to wake the baby???

The Co-Sleeping Bed Hog

Natalia was a great sleeper until she was about 4 1/2 months old, and it's been downhill ever since. Starting a few weeks ago, she started getting up about once an hour at night, and at best we would get one stretch each night where we could sleep for an hour and fifteen minutes to an hour and a half. (And by "we", I really mean "me" since Jeff is exhausted enough after chasing after the kids and dogs all day to sleep through it most of the time as the non-nursing parent.) In our desperation, we had totally given up on trying to get Natalia to sleep in her crib, and when she slept, it was either in her swing or cuddled up with me. Then last Wednesday, the motor in her swing died. She is 8 1/2 months old and I figured we were more than overdue for giving it up. Wednesday night was a special kind of miserable, and after spending about 9 hours curled up with her to only sleep for about four hours, I stopped at a consignment store on my way home from work on Thursday to buy another swing. I also bought a music and light attachment for her crib (and I seriously contemplated stopping at the liquor store for a big bottle booze for me).

Thursday night wasn't great, but it was better than Wednesday night. They say sleep begets sleep, and she has been taking good naps for Jeff in her swing. At night, however, she much prefers to sleep with me, and we've even had a few 3 and 4 hour stretches of sleep the past few nights. I will take it, even if she tends to punch and kick me in her sleep. Not to mention, the girl is a bed hog.

Charlie Brown

In many ways Michael is a smart kid. He has been reading books for several months now. It's hard to day whether he has memorized them or if he is reading sight words, but either way, he's got the concept and he is doing more with books at 2 1/2 than even Ree did.

However, then there are the other moments. I won't say Michael was dumb tonight, but I will say he was having a Charlie Brown moment. Shortly after I gave Leon and Michael two of our old cell phones to play with, Michael started crying. Sadly, I immediately looked at Leon, but he was busy chatting away. "Hi, Gran...uh-huh...uh-huh...OH! That's too bad..."

So I asked Michael what was wrong. He looked at me, tears streaming down his face and said, "No one was home."

Our Weekends

Ever since the boys were born, people have been telling us we should have our own reality show.  (This comes from friends and casual acquaintances.  Strangers just keep on telling us, "You have your hands full."  Right.  Thank you for that brilliant insight.)  Anywho, what people don't realize is how incredibly boring our lives are.  They would make one episode where we did dishes and laundry and realize, oh, that's all they do.  Huh.  Jeff's best friend did recently come up with an interesting twist.  He thought we should have a reality show sponsored by Direct TV in which they provided us with NFL Sunday Ticket so Jeff could watch Bengals games at home.  That could probably lead to at least one full episode of unintentional comedy with entertaining moments in other episodes.

While I was feeding Natalia earlier tonight I was looking at facebook and in reading everyone's weekend status updates I was again reminded of the dullness of our lives.  I suppose I could post about my weekend too, but I'm not sure anyone wants to read things like:

Woohoo!  It's Friday night!  I finally have time to take apart my breast pump and clean all the parts.  Sweet.

Jeff is at the mall with the big kids so I can clean.  After 4 hours I finally got all the floors swept, mopped, and vacuumed.  Managed to fill a trashcan with dog fur, black sand, and mystery trash.  Good times.

On the other hand, there's a lot to be said for not leading exciting lives.  I have time to cook and we've been enjoying lots of good food.  I am even learning to cook fall produce (something that has always scared me).  We've also been able to play outside every day lately, and we are enjoying amazing weather.  Temperatures have been in the 70s and 80s the past two weekends with beautiful, clear blue skies.  The three big kids can finally really play together, and they can spend hours running around the back yard together.  Also, because there are three of them (and because Ree is a bossy five-year-old girl) they lapse into school activities outside.  Today Ree made the boys "stand in line" to take turns playing hopscotch, and I love when they all hold hands and play ring-around-the-rosie.  Plus, you never know when the kids might burst into song.  A Michael-led rendition of "Yellow Submarine" with Leon chiming in on random words may not be the same as going to see Paul McCartney cover it, but most of the time, it's good enough for me. 

Oh, cool

The boys are currently in one of my very favorite stages of language development.  They are suddenly busting out grown up expressions and using them correctly.  I giggled every time Ree did it.  I knew she didn't really know what she was saying, but she still managed to use phrases appropriately.  Michael is a myna bird, so it's even more exaggerated with him.

Part of the humor (to me at least) is he uses so many of my expressions.  The other night as I was tucking the boys in, Leon discovered the stuffed baby monkey he sleeps with was missing.  Leon immediately climbed out of bed and began ransacking the house for this monkey that is approximately 1" wide and 2" long.  Michael wanted to know what was going on, so I told him that Leon had the mommy monkey but not the baby monkey.  Michael's face indicated he was clearly concerned, and he said most seriously, "That's not good."

And, really, both boys have their moments.  Like at dinner last night when I took their plates into the kitchen to get seconds.  I asked Michael if he needed more baked beans, and he replied, "I sure do."  Meanwhile, I went ahead and refilled Leon's plate without asking.  When I got back to the table I said, "I got you more peppers, onions, and mushrooms."  He simply replied, "Oh, cool."

Autumn Equinox Fun

As I mentioned previously, we attended a very lovely autumn equinox celebration last Friday.  The party was held on a large, private wooded lot out in the country.  It was so relaxing, and it felt like I was back in Athens.  The hosts were three families who homeschool and I'm pretty sure the only reason we were cool enough to get an invite was two of the families also had a two-year-old daughter when their twins were born.  (And crazily enough, both of those moms were also in the same situation as us in that they didn't learn they were having twins until an ultrasound for the anatomy scan was done around 20 weeks.)

The children in the homeschool families made banners with their wishes for the earth. Under the pictures are words like strength, joy, and love, and all the guests walked under the banners before going on a walk in the woods to look for signs of autumn. As we were walking, we realized it was the first time the boys had ever been in the woods.  Our poor little sheltered beach dwellers!  They were very excited, even if they kept tripping over roots and falling into holes.

The kids all sat on two blankets (there were a lot of kids there!) while one of the moms told a story about the harvest, and the kids brought things from nature to represent the harvest and to share and discuss.  I personally love the shark book sitting at the back of the table, but Leon was obsessed with the eggplants.

We had a picnic dinner (Ree also counted this as a first since the only other picnics we've attended were at preschool) and the kids all ate heaping plates full of vegetarian food.  I knew Leon and Michael would eat the pasta and rice salads as well as lots of raw veggies, but I wasn't sure Ree would eat anything.  I was glad she embraced the moment.

Following dinner, the kids played instruments and sang songs around a bonfire. (Yup, another first for the boys. They slept through the only other bonfire they've attended.) This photo is actually Michael holding a rain stick about 30 feet from the fire.

For us, the party abruptly ended when Michael stepped away from the bonfire area and realized it was dark.  He freaked out and took off running for the car with the rest of us tagging behind.  But with any adventure, it's not complete until someone (usual Michael) is in tears.  We still chalked the party up as a success.

Proper Parenting?

I am horribly addicted to magazines. It is an affliction that began way before I felt compelled to buy every issue of Bop in order to learn the latest news about NKOTB. (These kids of the internet age will never know what it was like to have to wait a whole month before another installment of bad celebrity gossip.) I can remember being much younger than that and excitedly curling up in a recliner at my grandmother's house with her old issues of Better Homes and Gardens. (I was a wild and crazy kid!) 

I am that person that will read magazines anywhere, yes, even the icky doctor's office copies. (I have four kids and two dogs. Being a germaphobe is out of the question.) This leads to lots of random knowledge about how to clean my house (I should do that some day), manage my finances, and the latest diet fad (Paleo, anyone?). It also occasionally leads to some insight.

I was flipping through a copy of Vogue I picked up in the break room at work, when I read this. "We, the mothers of North Seattle, were consumed with trying to do everything right. Breast-feeding was simply the first item in a long, abstruse to-do list: Cook organic baby food, buy expensive wooden toys, create an enriching home environment, sleep with your child in your bed, ensure that your house was toxin free, use cloth diapers, carry your child in a sling, dress your child inorganic fibers...And don't quit your job...Also, don't forget to recycle." The list sounds so familiar in the things I feel like I should do as well as the author's sentiment that it's not possible to do them all. I suppose one of the benefits of having four kids,though, is there is no time to agonize over what we should be doing. We just have to do what works for us and our kids. Quite a few of those items are on our list, but many don't make it, and that's okay.  Despite their best efforts at doom, the kids were still alive the last time I checked...

Hope (and willows) Spring Eternal

So back in August, Hurricane Irene did a little landscaping to our front yard.  The next weekend, Jeff's parents came to visit, and Jeff and his dad took a chainsaw to the remnants of our weeping willow.  I never got the whole story, but they ended up leaving the stump.  Little did they know, it would quickly work on growing back.

They cut the rest of the tree into logs, I guess with the hope that someday we will be brave enough to use our fire pit and can put it in there.  (Does willow burn well????)  The wood is stacked behind our tool shed.  To our surprise, this weekend we realized it too was growing.

And if you look closely, the new shoots are coming out of the middle of the logs.

Kinda creepy.  It's alive!  We may just have our very own whomping willow.

It's a Party

A few weeks ago we celebrated Ree's birthday at school.  On the day we celebrated I aided in her classroom (with some help from Natalia in the sling), and at the end of the day, Jeff and the boys joined us for the party.  Each day at preschool ends with the kids sitting in a circle, listening to a story.  For birthdays, the story is followed by the teachers placing a small table in the middle of the circle and lighting a candle on the table to represent the sun.  The birthday child then holds a globe to represent the Earth and walks around the "sun" once for each year they are old.  While they are walking, their parents tell about what happened in their life that year.  Following the ceremony, school is dismissed, and the kids who are allowed to partake enjoy cupcakes on the playground.  (We have several families that avoid eating sugar.  While I respect that immensely, the very thought makes me want to run for the M&Ms.)

Jeff and the boys arrived that day during story time.  Michael walked in, waved, and loudly said, "Hi, guys!"  Leon is a little better at reading situations and he chose to be quiet when the other kids were all silently listening to a story.  He quietly came over to me, wrapped his arms around my neck, sat in my lap, and whispered in my ear, "Where's the cupcakes?" 

Tonight we went to a belated autumn equinox party with some other families.  Having never attended one before, we explained to the kids as much as we could ahead of time, but it was still a bit of a mystery.  Adding to the intrigue was the fact that it was out in the country, a truly foreign adventure for our city dwellers.  Upon arriving, Michael jumped out of the car and ran toward the other kids, ready to join in the fun.  Leon held back and wanted to hold hands with me (a true sign of nervousness since it practically takes a supernatural act to get him to hold hands in a parking on a regular day).  We had been there about 10 minutes when Leon again whispered in my ear.  This time he said with surprise and awe, "Mom, it's a PARTY!"

Natalia slept Sunday night. She went to sleep around 10:30, got up at 1:00 and 3:30 to eat and fell right back asleep both times, and then she slept until 7:15 Monday morning.  Amazing.

Yes, I know there is room for improvement, but it's hard to explain how little we've slept over the past 3 1/2 months.  And things have been really bad the past two weeks.  Just sleeping, at all, is somewhat of an amazing change.

So, of course Monday was a big game of "let's try to recreate yesterday." On Sunday our day started with me taking the kids to Target and Harris Teeter while Jeff watched soccer. It was actually a really productive day, so Natalia spent much of the rest of the day plopped on the floor playing with a tray of toys wherever I was working. However, while I didn't have to go in to the office yesterday, I was working from home, so that immediately changed everything. I did my best to recreate as much of Sunday as possible. Natalia had lots of time in the sling and I tried to keep her in the room with me at all times. And then, doom! Natalia generally sleeps for at least two hours in the afternoon, and I laid down when she had been asleep for about an hour, thinking she would sleep for another hour, and I could get some rest too. Even though I was on the bed and she was across the room in the swing, she must've sensed me, because her eyes immediately flew open. She was done napping.

Then, to make matters worse, she passed out during dinner. Just flat our fell asleep. I tried to be optimistic thinking "sleep begets sleep" but when it came to bedtime again, she made sure I knew that was nothing more than a disco nap. She was ready to party all night. Around 11:00 last night, shortly after I had given up all hope, she passed out. And slept until 5:30. She ate and was still sleeping when Ree woke her up at 7:25. It may be false hope, but I'm starting to think that someday we will sleep again. Ahhh.

Hey, Stefanie

At dinner on Friday night the kids were discussing the new nicknames Jeff made up for them. Ree was Peach, named after Princess Peach from Super Mario Brothers. Michael was Mater ("like tow-mater!" for all you Cars fans), and he took his name so seriously that when I said, "Goodnight, Michael," he corrected me and said, "No, Mater," so I dutifully told "Mater" I loved him. (I also regularly hug and kiss Leon's stuffed dog good morning and good night and I help Leon tuck the dog into Natalia's baby swing when we leave the house, so referring to my child as a vehicle is really no big deal.)

Leon's nickname is Doc and I asked if it was also a reference to Cars or if it had to do with the toy stethoscope he's been carrying around. I was told that it was neither. It was due to his striking resemblance to Danny Torrence in The Shining. (Redrum! Redrum!)

The kids told me Jeff was JPo, of course, so I inquired about my nickname. Silence. Apparently I was not cool enough to get a nickname. Ree was the first to speak and offered, "Um, Stefanie?" I joked that Stefanie wasn't my NICKname, and we went on with the meal.

Apparently, it did register with Michael, though, because all weekend when he's needed something he's said, "Hey, Stefanie!"

Knock, Knock

Leon and Natalia have a lot in common. They are my blue eyed,  brown haired children.  Leon was the super nursing champion of the world, and Natalia is giving him a run for his money.  Leon is a crazy little explorer who is always puttering around trying to discover how things work and who has never let things like large dogs in his path or objects placed five feet off the floor discourage him.  Scarily, Natalia is much the same.  Leon logged many, many hours in the sling, and at Ree's preschool they joke they have never seen Natalia below the neck because she spends so much time in the sling. When all else failed, Leon convinced us he would only sleep at night if he could sleep touching me.  Natalia is much the same, and our mattress is back on the floor so I can safely leave her to take care of other kids during the night and because it so nicely complements the crown molding in the bedroom. 

However, they handle jealousy differently. I've always been the one to tuck the kids in to bed so I could get in a few last cuddles each night.  When the boys were younger, I tucked Michael in first since he is an early to bed, early to rise kid who needed to get to bed as early as possible. Plus Michael was easy to tuck in - he would just chug a bottle and pass out, and I never knew how long Leon would want to nurse. Each night I would sit Leon on the living room floor to play with toys while I fed Michael on the couch. And inevitably, Leon would sit there, flapping his arms and crying hysterically. He refused to crawl to me. He was paralyzed.  Mommy was cheating on him with another baby!

Now it is Natalia's turn to sit on the living room rug and play with toys, waiting for her turn with Mom, while I tuck in her siblings.  She isn't much of a fan either, and she often cries too.  However, Natalia is much more willing to take matters into her own hands.  Each night I take the boys into the bathroom individually to brush teeth and go potty, and then three of us sit on the floor in their room and sing bedtime songs.  (Currently, "Yellow Submarine" is requested every night with me singing the lyrics and Michael adding in the background comments and noises.)  While we were singing last night, we heard a knock on their bedroom door, which was shut to allow us privacy as we butchered the Beatles' classic.  I ignored the knocking and kept on singing.  We heard more knocking, and the boys got curious.  After a third round of knocking, they insisted I open the door.  They were quite shocked to find Natalia outside the door, on her hands and knees, clearly proud of herself that she had left the living room, crawled down the hall, and found us.  That girl knows how to get things done!

Mi Familia

Each month a family is featured in Ree's preschool newsletter. I was asked to write something about our clan for the October edition. This is what I came up with.  Oh, and PCP is the name of the preschool, not some illicit drug reference. :)

 

Back in the summer of 1999, a friend from college asked me to go to a Cincinnati Reds baseball game with him and some of his friends from high school while we were all home for the summer.  I tried to get out of going since I had work to be at work early the next morning, but he insisted.  Little did I know, I would meet Jeff that night and some day we would find ourselves living in North Carolina, twelve years, four kids, and two dogs later.

The beginning of our relationship was a little crazy since, among other things, I lived in Ohio and Jeff lived in Montana.  But by 2002 we were together and living in the small college town of Athens, Ohio.  We ended up staying in Athens for over five years and while there we managed to get married and acquire Prudence and Maxwell, our two rescue dogs named after Beatles’ songs and better known as Pru and Max.  We also got the silly idea to start having children.

Ree was born in Athens, and is the oldest of our crazy clan.  She likes princesses and, as she describes it, all things girlie.  Ree is very inquisitive and absorbs everything she sees and hears (occasionally to our dismay!).  She loves creating incredibly complicated pretend worlds that seem to involve placing every toy she owns on her bedroom floor at once.  She also loves art projects and often has a marker or a pair of scissors in hand.  Despite my best efforts, she has my sweet tooth, and most weekends include a “baking project” where we concoct some sort of treat in the kitchen.  

We moved to Wilmington in late November 2007, and by the following Thanksgiving we had managed to add two more children to the family.  Leon is the oldest of our twin boys by five hours, and he loves cooking.  He is nearly always stirring things together whether he is playing at home, outside, in the bathtub, or at the beach.  He also loves cleaning and fixing things and is always puttering around the house.  Here’s hoping he loves the same things in ten years!

Michael has the personality of a teenage boy trapped in a toddler’s body.  Michael likes laying on the couch, eating junk food, and watching sports on TV.  Michael also likes flirting with girls, and you can often find him sitting in a wagon on the PCP playground, waiting for some older girls to pull him around.  Amazingly, they often do, and it helps that Michael is also very funny, sweet, and loveable.

Natalia is our newest addition.  The girl has been short and wide since the day she was born, and she loves eating, which keeps her cheeks delightfully chubby.  She has also recently learned to crawl, and now that she is mobile, she is trying to take on the world, or at least keep up with her siblings.  Natalia has been hanging out at PCP since she was four days old, and I’m sure she thinks she can run the school from inside the baby sling.

Jeff and I often joke about what people without children do since we are hard-pressed to remember a time when we did things other than wash dishes, fold laundry, and watch episodes of old TV shows in 10-minute increments in our “free” time.  We love the beach, and our family spends tons of time there when we can.  We also both enjoy reading, and we are happy to have passed this love on to our children.  I like writing, and I blog about my family and for Where’s MyMidwife?.  I also enjoy cooking and baking and thankfully also love working out.  Jeff loves music and is a huge sports fan devoted to the Cincinnati Reds and Bengals and Liverpool FC.  And when we can, Jeff and I still like to watch Reds games together, you know, for old times’ sake.  

Six Toothed Wonder

When Natalia was four months old, she got her first two teeth. Despite much drooling, gnawing and misery (for all), there had been little action on the teeth front since then. Then last
Saturday night while she and I were in the garage doing laundry, she was making a sound like she was grinding her teeth.  It was really irritating and a bit perplexing.  How does one go about grinding two teeth that are side by side?  I got inside and saw this boulder of a top tooth had popped through.  I told Jeff, and he said, oh yeah, that came in on Wednesday.  (Um, he could've mentioned that. Then again, I could've noticed sooner.) This Wednesday night I noticed the other top tooth had popped through.  Four teeth! Then on Thursday afternoon Jeff texted me. He had been showing Ree Natalia's new teeth when they discovered two more teeth on top. She's up to six teeth, with most of those teeth coming in the week she learned to crawl. That kid is out of control.

Natalia's Morning

In case you ever wondered what a day in our house is like, I thought I would edit and share part of an email from my hubby about the fun he had this morning with just one of our children.

Natalia started her morning by waking up screaming while Jeff was in the shower. Then she wouldn't eat anything; she just wanted to crawl around and moan. We still have a VCR/DVD player we use for old videos, and Natalia then managed to crawl over to it and get her hand stuck in the VHS tape slot. They finally made it to preschool around 9:00 a.m., and Natalia freaked out because Jeff took her in without taking her out of her carseat.  She was so traumatized, she cried all the way home, and preschool is at least 20 minutes away in traffic. Exhausted, Natalia chugged 6 ounces of breastmilk when they got home. She then proceeded to crawl into the toy room where she started eating Leon and Michael's toys. Leon has a large collection of empty food boxes (cereal, granola bar, pasta, etc.) that he uses when he is "cooking."  During Sesame Street (on at 10:00 a.m.), Leon had all his cardboard boxes in the living room. Having lost her toy eating privileges, Natalia chewed a cardboard box and got a piece of cardboard stuck in her throat and started dry heaving. Thanks to Elementary Ed. classes in college, Jeff knew to give her some back body blows (baby Heimlich), followed by a finger sweep, and she puked it out. After that, she passed out in her crib. Most likely, right before they needed to leave again to pick up Ree at preschool.

I Wish They All Could Be Carolina Girls

While we were at the beach today, Jeff and Michael were walking along and passed three girls in bikinis walking in the opposite direction. Michael looked at them and said, "Hi, pretty girls!" One of the girls smiled and said hi to him. Apparently this only encouraged him, because while we were leaving we passed a group of girls with surfboards, and the scene was repeated.

Do these girls not realize they are creating a monster???

Nervous Nellies

Ree does not do well with new situations, and she really struggles with changes in plans. In addition, she processes by learning as much as she can about the topic at hand. Consequently, thanks mostly to her dad's efforts, our house turned into a giant science lesson on hurricanes last week. We read about them, looked at pictures of them, and discussed all the possible scenarios.  By the end of the week, Ree was so into hurricanes, she was swirling her foamy bathwash in the bathtub and saying, "Look, Mom!  It's a hurricane.  It's spinning counter-clockwise!"  As a result, Ree did just fine with the hurricane.

It wasn't until the power went out on Friday night that we realized we really hadn't talked to the boys about hurricanes.  Oops.  It probably would've been okay, but we were watching a movie at the time, so there was definite drama in losing the TV.  It was already getting dark at that point, and thankfully the kids were already bathed, so we decided it was time to eat snacks.  As the kids were sitting down, Leon asked me to turn on the lights.  I did my best to explain to him that we didn't have electricity.  He thought about it for a second and then demanded, "MAMA, you turn on lights now!" 

Thankfully, the power actually came back on right before the kids went to bed.  Hallelujah!  That made life so much easier.  Everyone could go to bed with their usual fans and nightlights.  But then it went out again during the night, and so it was pretty dark when the kids woke up at 7:00 on Saturday morning.  The boys' room was especially dark since they sleep with both closed plantation shutters and a blackout curtain.  (It takes a lot to keep Michael asleep!)  Leon tries to act tough, but he is just a little kid under it all.  What he does do, though, is take care of himself.  The boys sleep with their beds touching, and Leon has repeatedly been reprimanded for climbing into bed with Michael.  (Even when I was pregnant with them, Mikey liked his space.  This has not changed.)  Leon has actually been trying very hard to do the right thing lately, so that wasn't an option for him.  Instead, on Saturday morning I discovered he had made a nest for himself on the floor next to Michael's bed, which was also further from the window than his bed.  Leon placed one blanket on the floor, and he was laying on that.  He brought over his pillow, another blanket, and all his stuffed animals, and he tucked himself in to sleep where it was safe.

Meanwhile, if Ree deals with situations by learning, Michael deals with them by talking.  Holy cow!  That boy's mouth never stopped moving on Saturday.  My jaw ached in sympathy.  I think Jeff had to laugh at some level when even I commented about the constant chatter.  Apparently this is my payback for keeping up a steady stream of noise until about the age of 23.

The Fix-It Men

The tree in our front yard actually went down Friday night before the kids went to bed, but we waited until Saturday morning to show them. We had no electricity on Saturday morning, and it was pretty dark, so I opened the boys' curtains as soon as I went in their room to wake up. They both went to the window to watch the storms and, of course, saw the uprooted tree. They just stood there staring for awhile. Michael finally broke the silence. "Need a hammer and nails to fix it."

Leon thought about it and added, "And a screw driver."

Leon paused then lit up when he realized what was truly needed. "And new batteries!"

Post Irene

So when we were buying our house, we bought what we could afford.  While I would've loved an older house with character, there was not one in a safe neighborhood with a decent sized yard even remotely in our price range.  So we ended up having to select something in the newly built, vinyl-sided suburbs.  At the time, it wasn't all bad because it least it meant the house was move-in ready, and that was a huge plus when we were moving with a 2 1/2 year old and two five-month-olds.  We also didn't think about it at the time, but it also meant the neighborhood was built with retention ponds and drainage to prevent flooding, our house had wind-resistant siding, and our roof was rated for a Category 3 hurricane.  (It can theoretically withstand winds up to 125 mph.  I am glad it has not yet been tested.)  These actually turned out to be important things the last 36 hours or so.  Our electrical lines are also mostly underground, which meant we had electricity until 4:30 this morning, and it was back on around 3:00 p.m., not bad, especially since they are predicting some people will be without electricity for days.

There were a few factors that attracted us to this particular house.  One was the big backyard with covered patio.

 

(Conveniently, Zillow still has the sellers' pictures from when we bought the house.)  The patio canopy in the picture built the dust in a storm the following spring.  So, we bought a replacement.  A winter storm took it this year.  Before buying yet another cover, we researched them.  Everything I read led me to believe they were just gonna keep on getting destroyed, so we planned to save up and replace with something more permanent next year.  However, it wasn't all that long before my inner redneck took over, and wanting a place for the kids to play in the shade, we went to Home Depot and bought a cheap tarp to cover the patio this year.  As an added bonus, we discovered it kept the sunroom about 10 degrees cooler in the afternoon.  And it turns out, unlike the canvas covers, it had no problem withstanding winds near 70 mph.  This is it, totally intact, post hurricane.  (Doesn't it make you want to run out and buy an equally stylish addition to your yard?)

 

Another thing I loved about the house was the weeping willow out front.  This picture doesn't really do it justice, but it was really quite lovely in the summer.

As we were tucking the kids into bed last night, Jeff looked out and happened to notice this.

It didn't look much better in the morning.

Once the rain and wind died down, we actually left the front porch and went to investigate.  This is the new view from the street.

Looks like we will finally have an excuse to plant flowering trees in the front.  And I have to admit, the hostas around the base make me smile.  Those little suckers are hanging on!

Nine O'Clock and All is Well (Enough)

The first really nasty rain band came through around 4:30 this afternoon. It was one of those moments where we thought, "Oh. THAT'S what they're talking about." The sheets of rain were going sideways and you could just picture some idiot in a raincoat screaming into a microphone, "Yeah, it's getting pretty crazy around here. The rain is starting to really come down." That, combined with flickering lights, made us decide to finally get serious about getting ready, so we took care of some "important" things that we hadn't gotten to like baking cinnamon rolls for breakfast and printing out fantasy football information in case Jeff is without Internet during his league's draft on Sunday.

Around 7:00 we lost electricity. Thankfully, the kids had already taken baths, so we just ate snack and squinted at a book in the semi dark. Ree was begging for a "camp in" in the living room and the boys were freaking out and running around the house when the power miraculously came back on. We quickly started the dishwasher, put laundry in the dryer, and dug out the extra candles. We are enjoying it while it lasts.

Afternoon Update

Around noon a band came through with blinding rain and strong enough winds to down branches on trees on campus. At that point my boss decided it was time for us to get out of Dodge, even if the university was still technically open. We started packing up and thankfully were able to leave during a break.

So you know how you always see news footage of long lines of cars sitting on the highway evacuating? It's true. We are just under a voluntary evacuation for the beaches, and the drive home was still nuts. I only live about 5 miles from work, and the drive takes me 9 minutes early in the morning or 15 - 20 minutes in traffic. It took me 20 minutes today just to get to Carolina Ale House which is a restaurant just off campus. Good times. While I was driving home listening to the radio, I did get to discover just how many song there are about hurricanes and storms. I feel so enlightened.

The wind and rain have been increasing all day and have been pretty steady for about the last hour and a half. At this point we are only supposed to see tropical force sustained winds with hurricane strength gusts. We shall see. It does look cool out. All the trees in our yard our tilting sideways in a perfect counter-clockwise direction.

Irene, Continued...

Yesterday was the first day of school for our local schools.  So you can imagine the annoyance of the parents and the excitement of the kids when they announced yesterday morning that the schools would be closing at noon today, presumably so they could start preparing them to be shelters.  It seemed silly, especially with yesterday morning's forecast of a tropical storm hitting late tonight.

Then we watched the updates throughout the day.  (New thing learned this week: hurricane updates occur every 3 hours at 2, 5, 8, and 11.  Our lives have not revolved around such a fixed hourly schedule since the boys were in the NICU and Michael got to eat at 4, 8, and 12 and Leon at 5, 9, and 1.)  With each update, starting at 11:00 a.m., the storm was tracking further west and closer to us.  By the 5:00 p.m. update, they were projecting landfall at Emerald Isle, which is just on the other side of Camp LeJeune near Jacksonville.  (Oh, yes, it is time for more bad graphics!)

For those who aren't so entrenched in North Carolina geography, here's what it looks like in the bigger scheme of things.

Adding to the insanity, I didn't get home until 8:00 last night.  (And the Bengals game, which was televised because they were playing the Panthers, started at 7:00.)  So I worked on getting the big kids off to bed and dealing with Natalia who was WIRED and bouncing off the walls, at least as much as one can when they can't yet walk.  Finally, after the Bengals game, we were able to start planning.  Decided to postpone Ree's birthday party, which was scheduled for Sunday, to next weekend since there is a good chance that we won't have electricity on Sunday and we are working around out-of-town guests.  Then I had to go shower and get ready for bed, because I have work today and it is business as usual.  Sorta.

(As a side note, this morning they are calling for Irene to get here earlier, but to make landfall at Cape Lookout, which is further northeast.  It's always interesting.  Oh, and as of 8:30, it is already pouring rain as the outer bands starting coming through.)

Irene Update

So this morning, the outlook for us regarding Irene is looking much better.  (The rest of the east coast is a whole other story.)  While we are still in the red,

at least we are not in the purple.  (And why is purple the color for the worst part?  Purple is a nice, soothing color.  What did purple do to get associated with doom?)

We are under a tropical storm watch, but a tropical storm ain't nothin!  We'll pick up the yard and play inside.  The same thing we've been doing since January since it is always too cold, too hot, or too rainy to play outside.

The official forecast is for 2 - 4 inches of rain (which we desperately need to put out a 2-month-old forest fire in the next county) and for winds to remain below 50 mph.  That works.  While our roof is rated to withstand a Category 3 storm, I would be really grateful not to have to find out if the claim is true.


However, if there was ever a reason to be optimistic, it's that Jim Cantore of the Weather Channel is not heading our way.  Phew.

Weird Wild Weather

It has been an interesting year for weather. It started off bitterly cold, and there were a few nights where Natalia swept swaddled with a hat on because her bassinet was on an outside wall and there was a cold draft surging through it all night. Then came late spring and it got hot and dry. And it was really hot and really dry. The upside, I suppose, is that Jeff has only had to mow the grass twice this year, once in early May and once in early August. But the past few weeks have been a special kind of crazy.

We've lived here almost four years, and in that time we've never had tornado warning, at least that I knew about. We have now had three in two weeks. Two were garden variety funnel clouds, but one was much more interesting. Several water spouts, or tornados over water, appeared. Because so few people in this town work 8-5 jobs, we know people who were at the beach and got to see the water spouts. They said they were pretty impressive, if a bit disconcerting.

Of course we are also watching Irene, and when I first checked the forecast this morning, I saw this.

Yes, they were calling for a direct hit. Always fun. But tonight it looks like the storm will turn east, which is good for us and not so great for the northern east coast. So right now we are juggling planning for Ree's birthday tomorrow, the parent orientation I am leading at preschool on Thursday, (not to mention Thursday night's Bengals game!), for Ree's birthday party this weekend if the storm turns a lot, for riding out the storm if it turns a little, and for evacuation if we get a more direct hit. Oh, and work is crazy too now. I am getting up at 5:30 and going in at 6:00 to get stuff done. (I have always preferred going in early.  You don't want to be around me if I have to work late.  I am not very effective and a total grouchy puss.)

But in the madness is a weather related story I find amusing.  This afternoon, as everyone was getting ready for naps, Jeff and Leon were sitting on the love seat in our living room, Ree was on the couch, and Michael was on the floor next to the couch.  The boys were squirming around as little boys often do.  I was at work and don't know the exact details, but I guess at one point Jeff told Leon to stop shaking the couch.  That's when Ree said, no, it's Mikey kicking the couch.  I also don't know this part, but I'm guessing there may have been a reprimand or two in there.  In hindsight, Jeff realized our wine glasses were also jingling.  Only in our house could an earthquake be blamed on twin boys.