"Pretty mommy," exclaims Cooper while looking at PRINCESS FIONA on his stupid washcloth while bathing a few nights ago. What??!! Of all the people for him to compare me to; Cinderella, Belle, Aurora....He chooses an ogre. Now, mind you, I don't agree with him in the least. But, something is making him think I am similar.....I MUST change!!
It's no secret that I'm no barbie doll, and no secret that I really don't wish to be, either. For my entire life I have struggled with my weight, and for many years I have made resolutions upon the new year to lose the weight. One year, I succeeded...somewhat. And, I put it all back on a few years later. Being pregnant for nearly 2 of the last 4 years hasn't helped any.
Finally, however, I am more determined than ever to make me healthier not just for myself, but for the sake of my family. I can teach them to be healthy so that they don't make the same mistakes I've made. I intend to prove to myself that I can do it without any "fad" diets, or medical intervention. Just plain old getting healthy is the plan. And the first step? Vitamin D....Yeah, turns out I had a deficiency that can actually hinder weight loss and add weight, even though calories had been cut. To date, 10 pounds down. I'll document progress throughout the year but don't ever expect me to reveal my top weight. Actually, when I make it to my goal weight range I will reveal how heavy I started...Trust me, it'll make your stomach turn. So, I'll wait until I'm smaller to share that depressing news.
On my Facebook page today I asked if God was laughing at my family, at me for all the craziness that happens constantly in our life. Sickness, lack of sleep, doctors appointments, sports, "bonks," ..... A friend responded that she thinks God doesn't laugh at us, but rather is just happy when we laugh. Lucky for the man upstairs, I have a sense of humor. I don't know if I could make it through the day if I didn't.
As we sat down for dinner last night I placed the twins in their playpen. They were screaming, as it was 6:30 and I'm pretty sure they were tired. I thought I could eat fast enough for it not to bother me. Cooper was in his high chair refusing to eat his chili, shaking his head back and forth, screaming for "coffee" (Coopers name for soda) and hollering about this invisible "bonk" he had on his foot. Just minutes before this Corey had walked in the door after a long day at work AND an after work trip to Wal-Mart. Those of you in this area know that a 5 o'clock visit to Wal-mart is like retail suicide - Needless to say, he was already rattled when he walked in the door. After a couple minutes of screaming from all three little ones, I hopped up and began the dressdown - Baby1 - Jammies, diaper, bottle, swing. Baby 2- Jammies, diaper, bottle, swing. Nearly 20 minutes had passed now since I sat down with the family for dinner. Cooper continues to holler about the "bonk," Katie's going on about something that happened at school, while giving it the "drama queen" touch, and I'm thinking Corey's about to leave again just to get away from the noise. Finally, in an instant, silence. The babies are down. Cooper has momentarily settled, and Katie has stopped talking. I sit to eat as everyone else hops up and Corey heads with Cooper into the bathtub. Five minutes of quiet pass until Mackenzie wakes, intent on not falling asleep at this time. Once again, the circus begins. This night, it continues into the wee hours of the morning. So much for sleep tonight!!
Not all moments in this household are the screaming wild ones like this. I get moments of quiet and moments where the three little ones are playing happily with each other. I spend little time with my husband, but, we're learning to make the best of each moment. Cooper is learning to share and he becomes so proud of himself when he does. The girls are crawling, sometimes at the same time and in opposite directions. But, the joy in seeing them move is overwhelming. They play, they laugh, they move, they watch, they learn, and they love.
Now, I'm sure some of you are laughing at the thought of my above mentioned chaotic scene with some sort of relation to it. Some of you may have sympathy. Some of you are just glad you don't have 4 children. And some of you are probably happy you have no children. I'm happy to have all 4. I'm happy that these four beautiful kids keep me going and give me great things to write about. I'm even happy that my little boy thinks I look like princess Fiona. Hey, it's still royalty, folks!!
Today I was blessed with some quiet time while ALL THREE children napped simultaneously. And, to top off the already wonderful quiet time, my husband came home for lunch - A rare occurrence. So I got an hour with my husband today, just the two of us, without the screaming, the hunger, and chaos that usually graces our lives. And, just possibly, God is not laughing at me, or with me, for this hour.
Tuesday, January 26, 2010
Thursday, December 31, 2009
Twenty Ten, Here we come!
Here we are at the last day of 2009. What a year it has been. All around the world, we have experienced a year so full of events, that it will be hard to forget that it all happened in one year. As I look back on this year, I am so thankful for all that I have been given, as I know that many others were not as fortunate as me.
This year has been unlike any other I've experienced. There were good times, and there were scary times. But, through all of it, my family was there every step of the way.
Though I'm elated every day to see the beautiful faces upon my little twins, I wouldn't wish that kind of pregnancy on anyone. The beginning was great, and I felt great, for the most part. But, by the end of the pregnancy I was on bedrest, hoping to keep those babies in for as long as I could. The pre-eclampsia overtook my body, and I was left "dealing" with it, and spending a majority of my time in bed. Thankfully, I was able to keep them safe in my belly until they were 36 weeks along. Born via c-section, the girls arrived on March 20th small, but safe and well.
Cooper has joined the ranks of the "terrible two's." I swear, it's almost like every child is pre-programmed to freak out as soon as they turn two years old. If I didn't know any better, I would believe that they are all a part of an army, joining together to fight for what they believe in, for what they want, never giving in to the enemy, no matter what the consequence. Talk about a war! However strong his determination is to prove that terrible two's truly
exist, he is the most loving, beautiful, precious little boy I've ever been lucky enough to know. And, best of all, he's mine and I wouldn't trade him for anything in the world!
At eleven years of age, Kaitlyn has shown us the best, and worst, of what she is capable of. Leaving elementary school behind, and heading face first into middle school scared us all. But, Kate showed us that she's quite capable of handling the "new" world, and adjusted so much better than we'd imagined....Thank goodness. She also got to experience the joy and excitement of being asked to a dance for the first time. Rest assured, Corey and I didn't have that same excited feeling when she came home to announce that she'd been asked to a dance. But, being one of those things that comes along with middle school, we sucked it up, and let her go....NOT with the boy, but with a friend. She's lucky we didn't chaperone. Unusually tall, for someone in our family, she already towers above me, and above many of her friends. As much a hassle as it is to her under most circumstances, she might actually do some good with that height when she begins her basketball season in a couple of weeks - This will be the last time she is able to play for the Community Ed league. Next year, if she chooses to continue, she'll be playing for her school. It seems though, she already has her sights set on volleyball - I guess being a giant would benefit in that sport as well. In all, an adventurous year for her full of new beginnings, new friends and new experiences has paved the way for all the things she'll get to see and do through the next few years.
Oh what a year....And I couldn't have done it without my wonderful husband Corey. His faithfulness, his love for his family and his super intelligent brain, has helped me to keep this family safe and well. He works tirelessly, making sure to do all he can to ensure I can stay home with this family. Even though his back has been worse than any one's I've known, he pushed through, suffering excruciating pain on a daily basis, never knowing when it would get better or worse. Until just a few weeks ago, this was his life. And, then he met Tom Moline - Magician, witch doctor, native healer - I don't know what he does, or how he does it, but he saved Corey's back. He diagnosed the REAL problem and fixed it. This has improved his life greatly and I can't wait until he's back to his good ol' self! This year has also brought on some fantastic opportunities for him at work with local, and national programs. He has grown so much, professionally, over the past year. And, though I still see the child within him, it's the wonderful man he's become that I love the most. I think I heard him exclaim this year "I'm all growed up!"
It's the year we all "growed up." It's the year we found love. The year we learned that a beautiful voice doesn't have to have a smokin' body on a 21 year old to be successful. The year we saw that having 8 babies is possible (not recommended, but possible.) The year that "texting" boomed and that people are learning, one crash at a time, not to text while driving cars, trains and planes. And, we learned that the people of this nation no longer judge a person's ability to run a country based on skin color or heritage.
I hope that the next year proves to be better for us all, and that we continue to strive for the best for our country, our families and for ourselves. Twenty ten can be the year for change. It can be the year we discover great things. It can be the best year of our lives.
Cheers to all of you for a safe and happy new year!!
This year has been unlike any other I've experienced. There were good times, and there were scary times. But, through all of it, my family was there every step of the way.
Though I'm elated every day to see the beautiful faces upon my little twins, I wouldn't wish that kind of pregnancy on anyone. The beginning was great, and I felt great, for the most part. But, by the end of the pregnancy I was on bedrest, hoping to keep those babies in for as long as I could. The pre-eclampsia overtook my body, and I was left "dealing" with it, and spending a majority of my time in bed. Thankfully, I was able to keep them safe in my belly until they were 36 weeks along. Born via c-section, the girls arrived on March 20th small, but safe and well.
Cooper has joined the ranks of the "terrible two's." I swear, it's almost like every child is pre-programmed to freak out as soon as they turn two years old. If I didn't know any better, I would believe that they are all a part of an army, joining together to fight for what they believe in, for what they want, never giving in to the enemy, no matter what the consequence. Talk about a war! However strong his determination is to prove that terrible two's truly
exist, he is the most loving, beautiful, precious little boy I've ever been lucky enough to know. And, best of all, he's mine and I wouldn't trade him for anything in the world!At eleven years of age, Kaitlyn has shown us the best, and worst, of what she is capable of. Leaving elementary school behind, and heading face first into middle school scared us all. But, Kate showed us that she's quite capable of handling the "new" world, and adjusted so much better than we'd imagined....Thank goodness. She also got to experience the joy and excitement of being asked to a dance for the first time. Rest assured, Corey and I didn't have that same excited feeling when she came home to announce that she'd been asked to a dance. But, being one of those things that comes along with middle school, we sucked it up, and let her go....NOT with the boy, but with a friend. She's lucky we didn't chaperone. Unusually tall, for someone in our family, she already towers above me, and above many of her friends. As much a hassle as it is to her under most circumstances, she might actually do some good with that height when she begins her basketball season in a couple of weeks - This will be the last time she is able to play for the Community Ed league. Next year, if she chooses to continue, she'll be playing for her school. It seems though, she already has her sights set on volleyball - I guess being a giant would benefit in that sport as well. In all, an adventurous year for her full of new beginnings, new friends and new experiences has paved the way for all the things she'll get to see and do through the next few years.
Oh what a year....And I couldn't have done it without my wonderful husband Corey. His faithfulness, his love for his family and his super intelligent brain, has helped me to keep this family safe and well. He works tirelessly, making sure to do all he can to ensure I can stay home with this family. Even though his back has been worse than any one's I've known, he pushed through, suffering excruciating pain on a daily basis, never knowing when it would get better or worse. Until just a few weeks ago, this was his life. And, then he met Tom Moline - Magician, witch doctor, native healer - I don't know what he does, or how he does it, but he saved Corey's back. He diagnosed the REAL problem and fixed it. This has improved his life greatly and I can't wait until he's back to his good ol' self! This year has also brought on some fantastic opportunities for him at work with local, and national programs. He has grown so much, professionally, over the past year. And, though I still see the child within him, it's the wonderful man he's become that I love the most. I think I heard him exclaim this year "I'm all growed up!"
It's the year we all "growed up." It's the year we found love. The year we learned that a beautiful voice doesn't have to have a smokin' body on a 21 year old to be successful. The year we saw that having 8 babies is possible (not recommended, but possible.) The year that "texting" boomed and that people are learning, one crash at a time, not to text while driving cars, trains and planes. And, we learned that the people of this nation no longer judge a person's ability to run a country based on skin color or heritage.
I hope that the next year proves to be better for us all, and that we continue to strive for the best for our country, our families and for ourselves. Twenty ten can be the year for change. It can be the year we discover great things. It can be the best year of our lives.
Cheers to all of you for a safe and happy new year!!
Monday, December 21, 2009
Dashing through the rain, in a Poncho in LA......
I knew that it would be sometime between this blog and the last.....It's been a month and a half. I did not expect it to be that spaced! Oops......
Thanksgiving was great. On Turkey day, Corey and I stayed home with the kids and did some "Cooper and baby proofing" throughout the house. Our children have become so wild that this whole house is now nearly under a complete lockdown. I just need a warden out front to keep scoundrels out! Ha. Corey's sister and family, and his brother and his wife were off other places doing Thanksgiving with their families. So, this family Thanksgiving was postponed a day. Still, we cooked a little Thanksgiving dinner for our family, and invited Flip and Maija up, as they were alone too. It was just a nice, small dinner and it was perfect. The day we celebrated Thanksgiving was great. Corey cooked the turkey (best turkey ever) and we all got together at Corey's parents house. All the immediate families, and some extended, joined in the eating festivities. In all, about 20 people graced the floors of Maija's house. Aside from Cooper attacking Aunika's ink well and dumping half of it on to Maija's white carpet, it was a very nice family holiday.......as are all here in Yasui land.
I'm a sucker for the holidays, and was ready for it the day before Thanksgiving. I've been singing Christmas carols to the kids for weeks, and pulled out the decorations right after Black Friday. Right now, our house is decorated in wreaths, holly, garland and displays, all for the holiday joy. I've been accused (mostly by my husband) of being "grandma-like" during the holidays. Ya know, some gaudiness is involved. But, what else should he expect? I was raised by my grandparents, and my grandmother gets quite, um, excited, for holiday decorating. We just decorated the tree a couple of days ago, though it's been up for a week and a half. We put the tree up before we headed to Disneyland for 5 days.....Yeah, some things just couldn't wait!
The Trip
Right before our long awaited vacation our dear Mackenzie decided to get sick. And, by sick, I mean a constant fever of 102 and above, sleepless nights, constant crying and such a loss of appetite I was sure she was losing weight. Just a few weeks ago she came down with a urinary tract infection, which is not too common in infants. We thought that this illness she was suddenly battling was probably a recurrence of the infection. We went to the doctor, she was catheterized, TWICE, she was poked and prodded, and we went to Portland for a kidney ultrasound and a VCUG...The stress was overwhelming. And the result? She had nothing! NOTHING! All of her tests came back negative and she was apparently just fighting (really hard) a bug that her little body had. Or, possibly teething. All this occurred the week before we left for Disneyland, and for a moment, we debated one of us staying home to be with her and sending Maija in our place. But, by the grace of something, she became miraculously cured the day before we boarded the plane. Whew!
I was worried about leaving the girls. Not because I didn't trust Maija, but because I was dreading leaving them for so long. Corey, being his wonderful self, set Maija and Flip up with a Skype phone so that we could check in and see the girls daily. That made the trip so much easier for me, and I was so thankful that I could see my girls, and that they could see me, every day we were apart. But, still, the separation was hard, and I won't be doing that again any time soon.
Day 1: We boarded the plane and got the kids situated. This was the first flight for both Katie and Cooper, and we were excited to be a part of the experience. Buckled in, we were all ready for flight - As the plane revved the engines and then finally soared down the runway and into the air, both kids were full of panic; Eyes were HUGE, both of them were gripping the sides of their seats. After takeoff, though, the flight was great. Everyone was comfortable. And, thank goodness, Cooper was happy!
We arrived in California and unloaded from the plane and reloaded onto the shuttle bus. After a thirty minute ride from the airport to the Paradise Pier Hotel, we looked forward to getting to the room and relaxing for a short while. We went on this trip with Corey's sister Kim and her family. A few days prior to leaving Kim informed us her plan of attack for each day. For day 1: Board plane in PDX at 11am, arrive in LA at 2:10, get to Hotel and be IN Disneyland by 4pm. Both Corey and I laughed at this, as we thought she was just messin' with us. But, as we all got to our rooms, which were adjoining, Kim announces: OK, we're dumping the bags and then we're off to the park.....Are you guys ready?! Ha....She was friggin' serious! It was 3:40 and she was hell bent on making it into that park by 4. I suppose that with older kids this is much easier. But, we had Cooper. He hadn't rested yet that day, we were all starving and we were already somewhat exhausted. So, we sent Katie with Kim so that she could begin her fun immediately. At 5pm Corey, Cooper and I were able to gather ourselves enough to venture into the park. And, as we headed out, we saw it....The rain was pouring down. Oh, crud.
Disneyland was just as awesome as I remember from my trip 14 years ago. Seeing Coopers face light up with astonishment was priceless. Even the rain couldn't damper that first moment as we entered "Mickey Mouse's house," as we call it here at home. We met up with Kim, her family and Katie, and headed on to the rides at Disneyland. Through the evening, we noticed that our clothes were beginning to get heavy, our sweaters and coats seemed a little longer than they were at 5pm and our heads resembled what we might look like freshly out of a nice, long shower. The evening ended, with everyone riding the "It's a small world" ride. Fitting, considering that the song has been a constant with Cooper for several weeks. He was amazed, and nothing in the world could take away how much he was enjoying this ride. Once done, we headed back to the hotel and hung our clothes, dripping wet, in the bathtub. We managed to put on pj's and it didn't take any longer than 5 minutes for every single one of us to be sound asleep. What a wonderful first day at Disneyland.
Saturday morning it almost seemed like a hurricane was outside. The rain was coming down sideways and it might have been 50 degrees outside. We had special "early entrance" tickets, and we wanted to take advantage of that since we're up so early with Cooper anyways. By 7am, we were on the monorail headed into the park. There were so few people there, because of the weather, that it was so easy to get to the front of the line in rides. We made sure to hit some of the really popular rides first: Nemo's Submarine adventure, Peter Pan, Space Mountain, The Matterhorn....All with wait times less than 5 minutes.
While on Peter Pan, Corey ran to the front gates to rent a stroller (lifesaver) and buy a few ponchos. I didn't pack well, and we weren't prepared for the weather we encountered. We headed toward the Pirates of the Carribean and the Indiana Jones ride. By the time we exited Indiana Jones, the rain was coming down so hard I could barely see in front of me. We decided that since it was nearly 9am, we should all probably find a restaurant to get breakfast in, and get out of the rain. The one place we ended up at was packed....of course it was, everyone was trying to get out of the rain. We ordered our food, tried to find a table, and ended up going outside to the patio under some umbrellas to eat. HA! We got out there only to find that the umbrellas were set up to shield SUN, not rain. So half of every table was in the rain. We sucked it up, sat in the puddled chairs and ate our breakfast as the rain doused our heads. It was a sight for sore eyes, but there we were! And looking back, it's just one of those great memories we made!
We continued our day at Disneyland, riding on rides, sitting in puddles, and for the heck of it since it wouldn't have changed anything at this point, we let Cooper jump in every puddle he wanted to. He loved it, we smiled, and all we wanted was for the kids to be happy under the circumstances. Even if that meant puddle jumping! We were back in our room by 4, showered and dried. The weather outside was not changing, so we decided to stay in for the rest of the night. We ordered food and ate in....Skyped with Meemaw and the girls. Just a great ending to another great day.
Day3: The forecast for this Sunday was not a good one. It was supposed to be worse than the day before and rain all day long, with a fully overcast sky. This was our day to tour Universal Studios. We planned for the bad weather by packing a second backpack full of extra clothes for each of us, as our day at Universal began at 10 and wasn't scheduled to end until 7pm that night. We all headed outside to find that the clouds were out, but it wasn't raining. Yay! We boarded our tour bus, and headed to Universal Studios. On the way, the sun began to peek out. "What??", I thought. Upon arriving at Universal, the sun was out, hardly a cloud was in the sky, and it must have been around 60 degrees. It's like the weather santa came and saved us!! However it happened, it made for the best day of the trip. We went on all the rides, saw so many characters and live street performances. The holiday season was aglow in Universal Studio world, and I wouldn't have traded places with anyone that day. Every single character, worker and show was wonderful. The food was fantastic, and the park nearly EMPTY! Yeah, it's like everyone had planned for such a crappy day, and avoided the park. We went to the front of the line on every ride, and got some really great pictures along the way. The studio tour was great. I loved seeing all the old sets of movies, and some sets that are still occasionally, and currently, in use. For instance, Wisteria Lane (Desperate Housewives) is REAL....I mean, the houses are not really full houses, but the set is REAL. There is a real road. All the house fronts are real. The flashy cars parked in front are REAL. Heck, the yards are real! It was so cool to see that and know that in just a few hours, camera crews and the housewives would be filming right there, right where I was sitting. T'was pretty darn cool. We hoped to get a glimpse of Teri Hatcher, but no such luck. We did see a wild coyote, and the tour guide so excited to see an animal in the park that wasn't mechanical or portrayed by a human. We closed our Universal day with a waltz through the "City Walk." This is an area directly in front of Universal Studios filled with stores, restaurants and vendors of all kinds. We caught a short concert stint of Emily Osment, as we headed into the Hard Rock Cafe...She was performing some Christmas songs, but her sound system quit working before she could finish. By the sounds of it, she wasn't happy. She ran off pretty quickly. Oh, well.....I didn't even know who she was until one of my nieces pointed out "That's Hannah Montana's BEST FRIEND!!"
Cooper fell asleep before we left the parking lot...He continued to sleep through the ride back to the hotel (45 minutes), as we unloaded the bus, as we hobbled up to our room, and even through the changing of the diaper and into jammies. Poor kid slept until 6:30 the next morning! In all, that day was my favorite, and I can't wait to go back in a few years when all the kiddos are older.
Day 4 we did California adventure and finished off with the Christmas fireworks show at Disneyland. Between the overwhelming orchestral Christmas music, hundreds of people standing above him, and the "bangs" and "booms", Cooper was maxxed out...He got scared to death, and nearly tipped his stroller as he clamored to get out and into any familiar arms that would hold him. That was his max, and he couldn't take anymore. After the show, we went back to the room. We decided that, even though we had another day pass at Disneyland, we'd use the early part of the next morning to gather ourselves for our trip home that afternoon. We packed, and headed down to the last event on our trip: The Character Breakfast. We'd looked forward to this the whole trip. All the main Disney Characters: Mickey, Minnie, Goofy, Pluto, etc....were at this breakfast. Each character came up to every kid for hugs, dancing and pictures. Cooper was so excited for this, and we knew this was the kind of last memory we wanted for him to take home with us.
After breakfast, we headed to the airport. This flight home was not as easy as the flight in, unfortunately. We began the craziness at the security checkpoint. We thought we followed all the instructions, but apparenty Corey was supposed to remove the DVD from the DVD case and place it in a separate box for scanning. We did this with the laptop, but didn't have to do this in Portland. Because it came up "unrecognizable" on their scanner, they had to confiscate it to check it directly, then run in through the scanner again. Luckily, we weren't late for our flight or that would have been troublesome. We were now ready to board. The airline announced the boarding for first class and families, so we went up. They took our name as we boarded, but apparently didn't identify that in their computers. So, just before we were set to take off, the captain came back to see who all these extra people were that the flight attendant counted, but was not accounted for the in computer. After some questions of who was who, and who was where, it was settled, and we were set to go. Just before they had announced the boarding, an announcement came on notifying passengers that this plane had been chosen for random extra security checks. To then have passengers unaccounted for made it that much closer to us having to be that chosen family for the extra security check. I think that our restless toddler made them rethink that and soon, we were on our way! Thank goodness. 20 minutes into the flight our boy became restless. And halfway through the flight we became the family that had "THAT" kid. You know, the one who kicks the seats like a donkey, screams bloody murder for no apparent reason, and fights like Tyson to get out of the restraints. We did what we could to calm him, and he finally responded to the DVD I put on for him. He was moments from being asleep when we hit bad turbulence. The pilot came on to notify us to shut down all electronics and that we'd need to keep them off for the remainder of the flight. "What??!!" Turbulence is OK!! The moment I shut it down, the screaming resumed. He was exhausted and we were beyond calming at this point. We finally landed and quickly de-boarded the plane. We hurried to get our bags and rushed to the car. Aaaahhhh......Our own car. We loaded up, turned up the heat and headed home. Within minutes, Cooper was asleep. He slept the rest of the way home.
We picked up our girls, came home, and crashed. What a busy 5 days for us.
But, without hesitation, the next day Corey was back to work, I was busy at home with our kids, and life was back to normal before we could even "plan" to adjust. Exhausted beyond words, it took us a good 3 days to regain our strength to keep up with our home, our schedules and ourselves. It's now 4 days until Christmas, and, well, I've finally had a while to sit to blog. All children, until 5 minutes ago, napped happily and gave me this quiet time. An early Christmas present, I think.
We'll do some more wrapping tonight, and maybe finish the gingerbread house we began last night. We have our dinner/murder mystery party tomorrow night, and are so excited for it. Thursday night we'll have Christmas Eve with 40 friends and family at Flip and Maija's house. And Christmas morning, we'll get to spend with all FOUR of our Children, as Katie is home with us this year.
I can't wait to see their faces Friday morning. What a day it will be......
Merry Christmas to you all. Be safe. Be happy. Be MERRY!!
Thanksgiving was great. On Turkey day, Corey and I stayed home with the kids and did some "Cooper and baby proofing" throughout the house. Our children have become so wild that this whole house is now nearly under a complete lockdown. I just need a warden out front to keep scoundrels out! Ha. Corey's sister and family, and his brother and his wife were off other places doing Thanksgiving with their families. So, this family Thanksgiving was postponed a day. Still, we cooked a little Thanksgiving dinner for our family, and invited Flip and Maija up, as they were alone too. It was just a nice, small dinner and it was perfect. The day we celebrated Thanksgiving was great. Corey cooked the turkey (best turkey ever) and we all got together at Corey's parents house. All the immediate families, and some extended, joined in the eating festivities. In all, about 20 people graced the floors of Maija's house. Aside from Cooper attacking Aunika's ink well and dumping half of it on to Maija's white carpet, it was a very nice family holiday.......as are all here in Yasui land.
I'm a sucker for the holidays, and was ready for it the day before Thanksgiving. I've been singing Christmas carols to the kids for weeks, and pulled out the decorations right after Black Friday. Right now, our house is decorated in wreaths, holly, garland and displays, all for the holiday joy. I've been accused (mostly by my husband) of being "grandma-like" during the holidays. Ya know, some gaudiness is involved. But, what else should he expect? I was raised by my grandparents, and my grandmother gets quite, um, excited, for holiday decorating. We just decorated the tree a couple of days ago, though it's been up for a week and a half. We put the tree up before we headed to Disneyland for 5 days.....Yeah, some things just couldn't wait!
The Trip
Right before our long awaited vacation our dear Mackenzie decided to get sick. And, by sick, I mean a constant fever of 102 and above, sleepless nights, constant crying and such a loss of appetite I was sure she was losing weight. Just a few weeks ago she came down with a urinary tract infection, which is not too common in infants. We thought that this illness she was suddenly battling was probably a recurrence of the infection. We went to the doctor, she was catheterized, TWICE, she was poked and prodded, and we went to Portland for a kidney ultrasound and a VCUG...The stress was overwhelming. And the result? She had nothing! NOTHING! All of her tests came back negative and she was apparently just fighting (really hard) a bug that her little body had. Or, possibly teething. All this occurred the week before we left for Disneyland, and for a moment, we debated one of us staying home to be with her and sending Maija in our place. But, by the grace of something, she became miraculously cured the day before we boarded the plane. Whew!
I was worried about leaving the girls. Not because I didn't trust Maija, but because I was dreading leaving them for so long. Corey, being his wonderful self, set Maija and Flip up with a Skype phone so that we could check in and see the girls daily. That made the trip so much easier for me, and I was so thankful that I could see my girls, and that they could see me, every day we were apart. But, still, the separation was hard, and I won't be doing that again any time soon.
Day 1: We boarded the plane and got the kids situated. This was the first flight for both Katie and Cooper, and we were excited to be a part of the experience. Buckled in, we were all ready for flight - As the plane revved the engines and then finally soared down the runway and into the air, both kids were full of panic; Eyes were HUGE, both of them were gripping the sides of their seats. After takeoff, though, the flight was great. Everyone was comfortable. And, thank goodness, Cooper was happy!
We arrived in California and unloaded from the plane and reloaded onto the shuttle bus. After a thirty minute ride from the airport to the Paradise Pier Hotel, we looked forward to getting to the room and relaxing for a short while. We went on this trip with Corey's sister Kim and her family. A few days prior to leaving Kim informed us her plan of attack for each day. For day 1: Board plane in PDX at 11am, arrive in LA at 2:10, get to Hotel and be IN Disneyland by 4pm. Both Corey and I laughed at this, as we thought she was just messin' with us. But, as we all got to our rooms, which were adjoining, Kim announces: OK, we're dumping the bags and then we're off to the park.....Are you guys ready?! Ha....She was friggin' serious! It was 3:40 and she was hell bent on making it into that park by 4. I suppose that with older kids this is much easier. But, we had Cooper. He hadn't rested yet that day, we were all starving and we were already somewhat exhausted. So, we sent Katie with Kim so that she could begin her fun immediately. At 5pm Corey, Cooper and I were able to gather ourselves enough to venture into the park. And, as we headed out, we saw it....The rain was pouring down. Oh, crud.
Disneyland was just as awesome as I remember from my trip 14 years ago. Seeing Coopers face light up with astonishment was priceless. Even the rain couldn't damper that first moment as we entered "Mickey Mouse's house," as we call it here at home. We met up with Kim, her family and Katie, and headed on to the rides at Disneyland. Through the evening, we noticed that our clothes were beginning to get heavy, our sweaters and coats seemed a little longer than they were at 5pm and our heads resembled what we might look like freshly out of a nice, long shower. The evening ended, with everyone riding the "It's a small world" ride. Fitting, considering that the song has been a constant with Cooper for several weeks. He was amazed, and nothing in the world could take away how much he was enjoying this ride. Once done, we headed back to the hotel and hung our clothes, dripping wet, in the bathtub. We managed to put on pj's and it didn't take any longer than 5 minutes for every single one of us to be sound asleep. What a wonderful first day at Disneyland.
Saturday morning it almost seemed like a hurricane was outside. The rain was coming down sideways and it might have been 50 degrees outside. We had special "early entrance" tickets, and we wanted to take advantage of that since we're up so early with Cooper anyways. By 7am, we were on the monorail headed into the park. There were so few people there, because of the weather, that it was so easy to get to the front of the line in rides. We made sure to hit some of the really popular rides first: Nemo's Submarine adventure, Peter Pan, Space Mountain, The Matterhorn....All with wait times less than 5 minutes.
While on Peter Pan, Corey ran to the front gates to rent a stroller (lifesaver) and buy a few ponchos. I didn't pack well, and we weren't prepared for the weather we encountered. We headed toward the Pirates of the Carribean and the Indiana Jones ride. By the time we exited Indiana Jones, the rain was coming down so hard I could barely see in front of me. We decided that since it was nearly 9am, we should all probably find a restaurant to get breakfast in, and get out of the rain. The one place we ended up at was packed....of course it was, everyone was trying to get out of the rain. We ordered our food, tried to find a table, and ended up going outside to the patio under some umbrellas to eat. HA! We got out there only to find that the umbrellas were set up to shield SUN, not rain. So half of every table was in the rain. We sucked it up, sat in the puddled chairs and ate our breakfast as the rain doused our heads. It was a sight for sore eyes, but there we were! And looking back, it's just one of those great memories we made!
We continued our day at Disneyland, riding on rides, sitting in puddles, and for the heck of it since it wouldn't have changed anything at this point, we let Cooper jump in every puddle he wanted to. He loved it, we smiled, and all we wanted was for the kids to be happy under the circumstances. Even if that meant puddle jumping! We were back in our room by 4, showered and dried. The weather outside was not changing, so we decided to stay in for the rest of the night. We ordered food and ate in....Skyped with Meemaw and the girls. Just a great ending to another great day.
Day3: The forecast for this Sunday was not a good one. It was supposed to be worse than the day before and rain all day long, with a fully overcast sky. This was our day to tour Universal Studios. We planned for the bad weather by packing a second backpack full of extra clothes for each of us, as our day at Universal began at 10 and wasn't scheduled to end until 7pm that night. We all headed outside to find that the clouds were out, but it wasn't raining. Yay! We boarded our tour bus, and headed to Universal Studios. On the way, the sun began to peek out. "What??", I thought. Upon arriving at Universal, the sun was out, hardly a cloud was in the sky, and it must have been around 60 degrees. It's like the weather santa came and saved us!! However it happened, it made for the best day of the trip. We went on all the rides, saw so many characters and live street performances. The holiday season was aglow in Universal Studio world, and I wouldn't have traded places with anyone that day. Every single character, worker and show was wonderful. The food was fantastic, and the park nearly EMPTY! Yeah, it's like everyone had planned for such a crappy day, and avoided the park. We went to the front of the line on every ride, and got some really great pictures along the way. The studio tour was great. I loved seeing all the old sets of movies, and some sets that are still occasionally, and currently, in use. For instance, Wisteria Lane (Desperate Housewives) is REAL....I mean, the houses are not really full houses, but the set is REAL. There is a real road. All the house fronts are real. The flashy cars parked in front are REAL. Heck, the yards are real! It was so cool to see that and know that in just a few hours, camera crews and the housewives would be filming right there, right where I was sitting. T'was pretty darn cool. We hoped to get a glimpse of Teri Hatcher, but no such luck. We did see a wild coyote, and the tour guide so excited to see an animal in the park that wasn't mechanical or portrayed by a human. We closed our Universal day with a waltz through the "City Walk." This is an area directly in front of Universal Studios filled with stores, restaurants and vendors of all kinds. We caught a short concert stint of Emily Osment, as we headed into the Hard Rock Cafe...She was performing some Christmas songs, but her sound system quit working before she could finish. By the sounds of it, she wasn't happy. She ran off pretty quickly. Oh, well.....I didn't even know who she was until one of my nieces pointed out "That's Hannah Montana's BEST FRIEND!!"
Cooper fell asleep before we left the parking lot...He continued to sleep through the ride back to the hotel (45 minutes), as we unloaded the bus, as we hobbled up to our room, and even through the changing of the diaper and into jammies. Poor kid slept until 6:30 the next morning! In all, that day was my favorite, and I can't wait to go back in a few years when all the kiddos are older.
Day 4 we did California adventure and finished off with the Christmas fireworks show at Disneyland. Between the overwhelming orchestral Christmas music, hundreds of people standing above him, and the "bangs" and "booms", Cooper was maxxed out...He got scared to death, and nearly tipped his stroller as he clamored to get out and into any familiar arms that would hold him. That was his max, and he couldn't take anymore. After the show, we went back to the room. We decided that, even though we had another day pass at Disneyland, we'd use the early part of the next morning to gather ourselves for our trip home that afternoon. We packed, and headed down to the last event on our trip: The Character Breakfast. We'd looked forward to this the whole trip. All the main Disney Characters: Mickey, Minnie, Goofy, Pluto, etc....were at this breakfast. Each character came up to every kid for hugs, dancing and pictures. Cooper was so excited for this, and we knew this was the kind of last memory we wanted for him to take home with us.
After breakfast, we headed to the airport. This flight home was not as easy as the flight in, unfortunately. We began the craziness at the security checkpoint. We thought we followed all the instructions, but apparenty Corey was supposed to remove the DVD from the DVD case and place it in a separate box for scanning. We did this with the laptop, but didn't have to do this in Portland. Because it came up "unrecognizable" on their scanner, they had to confiscate it to check it directly, then run in through the scanner again. Luckily, we weren't late for our flight or that would have been troublesome. We were now ready to board. The airline announced the boarding for first class and families, so we went up. They took our name as we boarded, but apparently didn't identify that in their computers. So, just before we were set to take off, the captain came back to see who all these extra people were that the flight attendant counted, but was not accounted for the in computer. After some questions of who was who, and who was where, it was settled, and we were set to go. Just before they had announced the boarding, an announcement came on notifying passengers that this plane had been chosen for random extra security checks. To then have passengers unaccounted for made it that much closer to us having to be that chosen family for the extra security check. I think that our restless toddler made them rethink that and soon, we were on our way! Thank goodness. 20 minutes into the flight our boy became restless. And halfway through the flight we became the family that had "THAT" kid. You know, the one who kicks the seats like a donkey, screams bloody murder for no apparent reason, and fights like Tyson to get out of the restraints. We did what we could to calm him, and he finally responded to the DVD I put on for him. He was moments from being asleep when we hit bad turbulence. The pilot came on to notify us to shut down all electronics and that we'd need to keep them off for the remainder of the flight. "What??!!" Turbulence is OK!! The moment I shut it down, the screaming resumed. He was exhausted and we were beyond calming at this point. We finally landed and quickly de-boarded the plane. We hurried to get our bags and rushed to the car. Aaaahhhh......Our own car. We loaded up, turned up the heat and headed home. Within minutes, Cooper was asleep. He slept the rest of the way home.
We picked up our girls, came home, and crashed. What a busy 5 days for us.
But, without hesitation, the next day Corey was back to work, I was busy at home with our kids, and life was back to normal before we could even "plan" to adjust. Exhausted beyond words, it took us a good 3 days to regain our strength to keep up with our home, our schedules and ourselves. It's now 4 days until Christmas, and, well, I've finally had a while to sit to blog. All children, until 5 minutes ago, napped happily and gave me this quiet time. An early Christmas present, I think.
We'll do some more wrapping tonight, and maybe finish the gingerbread house we began last night. We have our dinner/murder mystery party tomorrow night, and are so excited for it. Thursday night we'll have Christmas Eve with 40 friends and family at Flip and Maija's house. And Christmas morning, we'll get to spend with all FOUR of our Children, as Katie is home with us this year.
I can't wait to see their faces Friday morning. What a day it will be......
Merry Christmas to you all. Be safe. Be happy. Be MERRY!!
Wednesday, November 4, 2009
Happy Thanksgiving
Forgive me readers for I have sinned......It's been well over a month since my last blog session.
Baby Kenzie has adjusted very well to her new butterfly helmet. At first, it seemed so invasive, so large and so hard to have on our baby's head. But, with practice and a week
and a half of constant wearing, we're all used to it now, and it's no big deal. She wears this helmet 23 hours a day, 7 days a week. The one hour that she gets to have it off she gets bathed (this poor baby smells so bad after wearing that thing for 23 hours) and the helmet gets washed. After the helmet comes off, and with a tongue hanging out and an "I'm FREE!" kind of smirk on her face, Kenzie rubs her head back and forth like a retarded cat high on catnip on whatever she's leaning against; couch, mom, dad, floor, playpen, swing. It becomes such a relief to her to be able to move her head without that helmet on, and I can't imagine being in her place. I do, however, feel a slight guilt in putting her in the thing, and think sometimes that I should find a helmet to put myself in for fairness sake. Lucky for me, that's just a thought and not a true inclination. A few months in the helmet and she'll be as round as her little sister!As of late, I haven't been able to help anyone do anything and I'm beginning to feel a little bad for all the help I've recruited over the past few months for childcare - especially Maija. She's been there through thick and thin, well planned and short notice for one or all of the children. I thank her, and thank anyone who helps. But, still, I feel like I need to give more. The appointment schedule that I must keep for the children is as hair raising as nails on a chalkboard. It never seems to end - I e-mailed a list of all appointments through the end of the year (that were scheduled) to Corey and as I was typing one appointment after another I just couldn't believe my eyes. Were there really 16 appointments and events to keep up with in the next MONTH?? It was unreal. No wonder I can't help anyone out....I can barely help myself!
Just yesterday I was reminded that even when life gets too hectic, it can make a person's day just by letting them know you're thinking about them. I was the recipient of the good thought - My friend Paula, a wonderful
woman who I have known for two decades...wow....took time out of her busy schedule to design a card with a compilation of pictures that I had posted on facebook, or sent out in personal emails, that included a little note thanking me for sharing my life moments with her. Who would have thought to do that? Certainly not me....at least not until now. I mean, I was so enlightened to know that she was thinking about me, my family. And I've been such a tool about staying in contact with her. I regret that, and that little gesture of hers has reminded me that I need to remind the people in my life, near or far, that it's good to know them. I should remind them that they make me happy....They are a part of me.Several years ago Corey and I participated in the search for Corey's aunt Tazu Higashi - She went missing from Lake Oswego in January 2006. The story didn't have a happy ending, as many of you know, but the affect it had on my heart to just help to look for her was overwhelming. Tazu's immediate family was so grateful to everyone's desire to help find her, and thanked us again and again and again. To this day, I can remember how good it felt to help out - To be a small part of something so big.
It only takes a moment to let someone know you care or to stop and help someone in need. It could be the ultimate gift.......a lifesaver to some. But, if you can't help someone, you can thank someone. I've learned that lesson all too well the past year. So, thank you Maija, Kim, Kathy and Niko for your willingness to help care for our clan when we need to be somewhere. Thank you Corey for being the rock you are, working hard to provide for this family. Thank you friends for including me in your life. Thank you Paula, for reminding me that it's good to give......Give love, give hope, give happiness, give thanks and give life. I guess it's fitting for the upcoming holiday.
So, to all my dedicated readers, Happy Thanksgiving - Whatever that might mean to you!
Tuesday, September 29, 2009
Helmet Head
When thinking about when to conceive, there are several factors that come in to play. First: Are we ready? Our answer was yes. Second: Do we want our children to be somewhat close in age so that they may grow up together? We thought yes. There are many other factors, but I think those were the first two that we asked ourselves. We were ready and we did want our kids to be close in age. Now, Katie is a different story. She's older, and didn't have any siblings to grow up with, and I think that has affected her tremendously. Corey and I didn't want that for the children we'd have together. HOWEVER..... The end result is not always what we had imagined.
We pictured Cooper, a baby boy or baby girl, cooing, playing together, and Katie being this great helper, wanting nothing more than to be the proud big sister of two. Ha. Instead, we have an eleven year old who is quite distracted with raging hormones, middle school and friends, a two year old who is hell bent on proving just what the true meaning of "terrible twos" actually is, and twin girls who, for the most part, have kept everyone on their toes with medical craziness and personalities that are so opposite you'd think they weren't related.
Having twins was a surprise for us, but we were excited beyond words. Twins can also bring on so many unexpected twists and turns in life, and you're rarely prepared for it. From the day they were born, everything was different. Feeding was different. Sleeping was different (at first, nonexistent). Even though everything became different after the girls were born, we all sort of slid right into the new dynamic and have worked it out pretty well. But, the unexpected still happens. Gas appears out of nowhere, in the middle of the night, and after one night of constant bouncing in the football hold, we're stocked up on Mylicon for faster relief. Next time, we're ready. Just when you think they're secure, surrounded by pillows on the floor, you look up and one has rolled over the pillow and is headed under the coffee table. It never ends and the anxiety of expecting the unexpected is KILLING me!
I blogged a couple months back about Mackenzie's head. She developed positional plagiocephaly - When the head becomes misshapen due to pressure on one area of the head. It's quite in
teresting. Twins have a much higher chance of developing this, and being a preemie boosts that percentage even higher - We had both factors against us. Luckily, so far, just Mackenzie has it. I took her to Portland in June to Doernbechers for a consult with a specialist. She confirmed it and instructed us to do 10 weeks of repositioning and home physical therapy to attempt to reshape her head on our own. We did it diligently, and we noticed her head becoming more round. But, before her appointment last week I knew there wasn't as much improvement as we'd hoped. At her checkup last week the doctor was impressed with the improvement, but she discussed what we already knew - It's still misshapen.
Yesterday I went back to Portland to an orthotics specialist to discuss helmets and such. The process was amazing. The specialist put a sock like thing with a cutout for her face on her head and stuck in this electronic node thing and put it on the top of her head. The sock thing held it in place. There was a cord from that node thing going to the computer. With a scanner gun, that looked much like a scanner gun used in a grocery store, the specialist began at the top of her head and scanned down the side of her face. He continued this on all angles of her head. I looked at the screen and I was amazed. For each scan he took Mackenzie's face began to appear on the screen. Then her whole head appeared....It was absolutely amazing. This machine had scanned Mackenzie's whole head structure into a 3 dimensional design on the computer. And it truly looked like her! With this scan, Mackenzie's helmet can be specially constructed for only her use, and will fit her head exactly. It was pretty darn impressive. So, yes, Mackenzie gets a helmet! It will take some getting use to, but it's going to help her to reshape her little head so it's somewhat round instead of "rhombus" looking. She'll be in it for 4-5 months, maybe less. I'm sure we'll get looks, lots of questions, and if Cooper continues on his little defiant streak, he might even try to head butt her just to see if he gets hurt.
Today I'm watching Coopers finger - He decided to grab a yellow jacket while I was in Portland yesterday, and the yellow jacket didn't want to be his friend. He got stung. But, we learned he's not allergic to them, and the only thing left from the incident is the memory. I suppose he won't be grabbing onto bees anytime in the near future. Now, if he'd just learn to quit riding our cats like a horse, we'll be in good shape!
So, now that alone play time is over for Cooper, I'm going to head in to play trains and tracks with him in hopes that he doesn't chuck a train at my head (Corey has a scar from a gash received from a flying train last week.) Now that I think about it, it's going to be a great thing that Kenzie has a helmet. Heck, maybe I should just get one for Rayla, too! At least they'd be safe from Cooper's attempts to make his toys fly to us!
We pictured Cooper, a baby boy or baby girl, cooing, playing together, and Katie being this great helper, wanting nothing more than to be the proud big sister of two. Ha. Instead, we have an eleven year old who is quite distracted with raging hormones, middle school and friends, a two year old who is hell bent on proving just what the true meaning of "terrible twos" actually is, and twin girls who, for the most part, have kept everyone on their toes with medical craziness and personalities that are so opposite you'd think they weren't related.
Having twins was a surprise for us, but we were excited beyond words. Twins can also bring on so many unexpected twists and turns in life, and you're rarely prepared for it. From the day they were born, everything was different. Feeding was different. Sleeping was different (at first, nonexistent). Even though everything became different after the girls were born, we all sort of slid right into the new dynamic and have worked it out pretty well. But, the unexpected still happens. Gas appears out of nowhere, in the middle of the night, and after one night of constant bouncing in the football hold, we're stocked up on Mylicon for faster relief. Next time, we're ready. Just when you think they're secure, surrounded by pillows on the floor, you look up and one has rolled over the pillow and is headed under the coffee table. It never ends and the anxiety of expecting the unexpected is KILLING me!
I blogged a couple months back about Mackenzie's head. She developed positional plagiocephaly - When the head becomes misshapen due to pressure on one area of the head. It's quite in
teresting. Twins have a much higher chance of developing this, and being a preemie boosts that percentage even higher - We had both factors against us. Luckily, so far, just Mackenzie has it. I took her to Portland in June to Doernbechers for a consult with a specialist. She confirmed it and instructed us to do 10 weeks of repositioning and home physical therapy to attempt to reshape her head on our own. We did it diligently, and we noticed her head becoming more round. But, before her appointment last week I knew there wasn't as much improvement as we'd hoped. At her checkup last week the doctor was impressed with the improvement, but she discussed what we already knew - It's still misshapen.Yesterday I went back to Portland to an orthotics specialist to discuss helmets and such. The process was amazing. The specialist put a sock like thing with a cutout for her face on her head and stuck in this electronic node thing and put it on the top of her head. The sock thing held it in place. There was a cord from that node thing going to the computer. With a scanner gun, that looked much like a scanner gun used in a grocery store, the specialist began at the top of her head and scanned down the side of her face. He continued this on all angles of her head. I looked at the screen and I was amazed. For each scan he took Mackenzie's face began to appear on the screen. Then her whole head appeared....It was absolutely amazing. This machine had scanned Mackenzie's whole head structure into a 3 dimensional design on the computer. And it truly looked like her! With this scan, Mackenzie's helmet can be specially constructed for only her use, and will fit her head exactly. It was pretty darn impressive. So, yes, Mackenzie gets a helmet! It will take some getting use to, but it's going to help her to reshape her little head so it's somewhat round instead of "rhombus" looking. She'll be in it for 4-5 months, maybe less. I'm sure we'll get looks, lots of questions, and if Cooper continues on his little defiant streak, he might even try to head butt her just to see if he gets hurt.
Today I'm watching Coopers finger - He decided to grab a yellow jacket while I was in Portland yesterday, and the yellow jacket didn't want to be his friend. He got stung. But, we learned he's not allergic to them, and the only thing left from the incident is the memory. I suppose he won't be grabbing onto bees anytime in the near future. Now, if he'd just learn to quit riding our cats like a horse, we'll be in good shape!
So, now that alone play time is over for Cooper, I'm going to head in to play trains and tracks with him in hopes that he doesn't chuck a train at my head (Corey has a scar from a gash received from a flying train last week.) Now that I think about it, it's going to be a great thing that Kenzie has a helmet. Heck, maybe I should just get one for Rayla, too! At least they'd be safe from Cooper's attempts to make his toys fly to us!
Thursday, September 17, 2009
Where credit is due
It's absolutely wonderful when I come across things, and people, that make my life easier. I don't go looking for things, but when they come up, it just makes me happy. Obviously, when you have a family as large as mine now is, you have to cut corners, improvise and do things in ways you never imagined. The cleaning habits change. The cooking habits change. The bathing habits change. Everything changes. So in my blog today, I'm going to praise a couple of things that make my life easier, and maybe it'll help someone else, too!
The dryer bar. OMG! That thing is just awesome. Bounce has a dryer bar that you stick in the dryer and replace every 3 or 4 months (Walmart). I'm at the end of the second month and it hasn't let me down yet. I was getting sick of finding dryer sheets stuck in my bra's, or in Coopers jammies. And, because I'm just anal about our clothes smelling good, and no static, I always stuck in 3 or 4 sheets. Corey HATED that. But now, I don't have to dig through the dryer sheet box, or fight away sheets stuck together, or gather up the hundreds of them floating through the house on laundry day. Just a little bar in the dryer that stays there. Aaaaaah.
The laundry hamper. With a big family this is a must. I have a steel supported (sturdy little sucker) canvas 3 hamper bag get-up that, when full, is exactly the amount for 1 load of laundry (Amazon.com). YES, a bag that does half the work. We sort darks, whites and linens, and when everyone's doing it right, it's just a breeze doing laundry. It's on rollers, so if someone's being out of line, I can just roll it into their room to be filled appropriately. Ha, super laundry hamper on wheels. I suppose if anything were to make this easier it would be that the hampers washed, dried and folded the clothes as well. But, that's just silly.
My triple jogging stroller. It's a Bebe Love EVO triple - (Overstock.com). And I love it. When I first opened the box I almost broke my back. I never imagined it being so big, and I didn't think it would be THAT heavy. HA. But, now that I'm using it regularly, it's just a dream. It's seats properly hold all three munchkins with deep separators, so Cooper doesn't punch a baby, and all three seats are equipped with the 3 point harness system. Yay! There is so much storage and the sun shield is nice and big. It's so easy to push, and now I have the folding and lifting and storing down to an art, and it's not so big anymore. I believe I mentioned in a blog some weeks ago about a trip to Walmart I took with the kids in the stroller. People were looking at me like I had peed myself, had my clothes on backwards, a booger sticking out of my nose and a bird in my hair. Seriously, it's an eye catching thing, but some people were just ruthless with their stares. Especially the super old folks, who were probably mulling over how incredibly larger that vehicle was compared to their wheelchairs. But in the end, I'd recommend it to anyone who has 3 kids who are stroller bound - Each seat holds up to 50 pounds, so we've got several years to go!
And lastly, but certainly not least, my in laws. I have praised her in past blogs, but seriously, I have got to have the best mother in law in the world. Unfortunately for the rest of you, she's not for sale! On so many levels this woman has made my life easier. With her giving, her caretaking, and sometimes even her cooking, she alleviates some of my stress and never hesitates to offer more. She's just an incredible person with the biggest heart in the world.
So, thank you Bounce. Thank you Overstock.com. Thank you Amazon.com. And, thank you Maija and Flip for making my life a little easier every now and again. Now I must head over to one of the two swings that sit in my living room, and feed little Rayla. That little stinker has to eat every few hours in the night. Oh well....Not everything's easy!!
The dryer bar. OMG! That thing is just awesome. Bounce has a dryer bar that you stick in the dryer and replace every 3 or 4 months (Walmart). I'm at the end of the second month and it hasn't let me down yet. I was getting sick of finding dryer sheets stuck in my bra's, or in Coopers jammies. And, because I'm just anal about our clothes smelling good, and no static, I always stuck in 3 or 4 sheets. Corey HATED that. But now, I don't have to dig through the dryer sheet box, or fight away sheets stuck together, or gather up the hundreds of them floating through the house on laundry day. Just a little bar in the dryer that stays there. Aaaaaah.
The laundry hamper. With a big family this is a must. I have a steel supported (sturdy little sucker) canvas 3 hamper bag get-up that, when full, is exactly the amount for 1 load of laundry (Amazon.com). YES, a bag that does half the work. We sort darks, whites and linens, and when everyone's doing it right, it's just a breeze doing laundry. It's on rollers, so if someone's being out of line, I can just roll it into their room to be filled appropriately. Ha, super laundry hamper on wheels. I suppose if anything were to make this easier it would be that the hampers washed, dried and folded the clothes as well. But, that's just silly.
My triple jogging stroller. It's a Bebe Love EVO triple - (Overstock.com). And I love it. When I first opened the box I almost broke my back. I never imagined it being so big, and I didn't think it would be THAT heavy. HA. But, now that I'm using it regularly, it's just a dream. It's seats properly hold all three munchkins with deep separators, so Cooper doesn't punch a baby, and all three seats are equipped with the 3 point harness system. Yay! There is so much storage and the sun shield is nice and big. It's so easy to push, and now I have the folding and lifting and storing down to an art, and it's not so big anymore. I believe I mentioned in a blog some weeks ago about a trip to Walmart I took with the kids in the stroller. People were looking at me like I had peed myself, had my clothes on backwards, a booger sticking out of my nose and a bird in my hair. Seriously, it's an eye catching thing, but some people were just ruthless with their stares. Especially the super old folks, who were probably mulling over how incredibly larger that vehicle was compared to their wheelchairs. But in the end, I'd recommend it to anyone who has 3 kids who are stroller bound - Each seat holds up to 50 pounds, so we've got several years to go!
And lastly, but certainly not least, my in laws. I have praised her in past blogs, but seriously, I have got to have the best mother in law in the world. Unfortunately for the rest of you, she's not for sale! On so many levels this woman has made my life easier. With her giving, her caretaking, and sometimes even her cooking, she alleviates some of my stress and never hesitates to offer more. She's just an incredible person with the biggest heart in the world.
So, thank you Bounce. Thank you Overstock.com. Thank you Amazon.com. And, thank you Maija and Flip for making my life a little easier every now and again. Now I must head over to one of the two swings that sit in my living room, and feed little Rayla. That little stinker has to eat every few hours in the night. Oh well....Not everything's easy!!
Tuesday, September 1, 2009
My confession
It's September. I can't believe it's September. This summer has passed by as if it were a breeze, hastily moving to get somewhere. It's flown by so fast that I can't remember some of the things I've done during that time. That may just be my exhausted brain, however.
Motherhood is a joy. And motherhood is work. Yet, here's what I hear: " You shouldn't think of parenthood as a job. Just think of all those mothers who HAVE to work and put their kids in daycare instead of being home playing and oogling and googling over all their children all day long." Blah, blah, blah.....If I had a nanny, a housekeeper, a groundskeeper, a cook and a home health nurse, then yeah, I could POSSIBLY oogle and google at my children all day without biting my tongue, shedding a tear, yelling at the wall or throwing my hands up in an effort to convince myself that it's OK to give up for the moment. It ain't easy and in my case I've got about the craziest scenario imaginable to work with - That is, the craziest scenario imaginable within the realm of normal sane people, unlike the craziness brought on with J&K plus 8 or Octomom. No, it's not a job. But it's work, and if anyone wants to argue that they can visit my house for a day.
The first month after the twins were born life was crazy, but it was due to constant hospital comings and goings and not due to crying or hysteria associated with having 4 children at home. But, as the girls get older, our pre-teen lashes out more often, and our boy becomes more of a toddler, things are getting more difficult by the day. I am blessed today to have all three younguns sleeping at the same time, allowing me to do something.....So I choose to blog. Hey, it's been a month! In a usual day the girls will find a way to make sure that one of them is always awake to keep an eye on me. Not often do they sleep simultaneously....And rarely do all THREE sleep at the same time.
The girls are now eating solids, and I still have yet to find the groove to getting that done peacefully. I can never feed them fast enough, and more often than not, one girl doesn't like one of the foods she's eating. This result is a good, hefty cry that requires me to feed the other a little faster. If a free hand is here (Kate, Corey, Maija) I usually wrangle em' in to assist in the feeding frenzy - Dinner time at our house resembles feeding time at a Monkey exhibit in a zoo. Rush, rush, cook, spoon it up, stir, "hush, baby, hush", Corey grab this, Katie grab that, Cooper sit down, Don't throw that on the floor, pick it up! I'm already exhausted just thinking about it.
I more often than not get so caught up in other things that I fall behind on the laundry. I find myself with all three hampers, fully loaded, a load in the basket still waiting to be folded, and, heaven help me, a load in the washer that I somehow forgot was in there...Maybe a few hours, maybe a day or two. I know as soon as I open the lid! The dishes get stacked and sometimes I end up leaving them in the evening and doing them in the morning when I find I have an inkling more energy and am able to crash and bang without waking a kid or two. My bathrooms are neglected, as the time I spend in there is quick, no matter the business, and to clean them would take lots of hands and knees time with some pretty intense cleaners.
And finally, like clockwork, all children in this family manage to get sick one right after the other. Now, I don't know what's worse: Having all kids sick at the same time and just getting it done and over with, or having one sick for two days, then another sick for another two days and so on and so forth - Illness now lasts a week or more at a time instead of a quick 24 hour bug. Corey and I don't have time to be sick. Yet, still, we are.
I confess: This is the hardest thing I have ever done. I have let a baby cry for a while if I know she's not hurt and I am doing something that needs immediate attention. I have given Cooper cookies or snacks and plopped him in front of the TV just to induce a moment free of insanity. I have bitten my nails down to the core. I have neglected my husband. I have yelled at Katie over the littlest thing and slapped my hand on the counter to get attention. I have accepted that baby puke is just a part of my wardrobe now and I can cry at the drop of a dime.
Maija has been my saving grace this year. She was by my side with Cooper while I was pregnant, battling to keep the babies in as long as possible. And, she's been my right hand man in helping with the kids, even with last minute notice, during this summer while Corey has been busy at work with his cherry and pear harvests. I thank my lucky stars to have her be the mother in law I was blessed with. I couldn't have done it this summer without her.
It's no wonder that I have headaches, chest pain, and I look hideous. But, if anything, a little confession never hurt anyone and is probably good for my soul. I'm not perfect. I get tired, frustrated, mad, even furious at some of life's happenings. It's all a part of growing with this family. I learn something new every day and, though it's tough for now, I get my share of smiles from the heavenly little things that my children do. I love my life and wouldn't change it for the world......dirt, poop, boogers, screaming and all.
Motherhood is a joy. And motherhood is work. Yet, here's what I hear: " You shouldn't think of parenthood as a job. Just think of all those mothers who HAVE to work and put their kids in daycare instead of being home playing and oogling and googling over all their children all day long." Blah, blah, blah.....If I had a nanny, a housekeeper, a groundskeeper, a cook and a home health nurse, then yeah, I could POSSIBLY oogle and google at my children all day without biting my tongue, shedding a tear, yelling at the wall or throwing my hands up in an effort to convince myself that it's OK to give up for the moment. It ain't easy and in my case I've got about the craziest scenario imaginable to work with - That is, the craziest scenario imaginable within the realm of normal sane people, unlike the craziness brought on with J&K plus 8 or Octomom. No, it's not a job. But it's work, and if anyone wants to argue that they can visit my house for a day.
The first month after the twins were born life was crazy, but it was due to constant hospital comings and goings and not due to crying or hysteria associated with having 4 children at home. But, as the girls get older, our pre-teen lashes out more often, and our boy becomes more of a toddler, things are getting more difficult by the day. I am blessed today to have all three younguns sleeping at the same time, allowing me to do something.....So I choose to blog. Hey, it's been a month! In a usual day the girls will find a way to make sure that one of them is always awake to keep an eye on me. Not often do they sleep simultaneously....And rarely do all THREE sleep at the same time.
The girls are now eating solids, and I still have yet to find the groove to getting that done peacefully. I can never feed them fast enough, and more often than not, one girl doesn't like one of the foods she's eating. This result is a good, hefty cry that requires me to feed the other a little faster. If a free hand is here (Kate, Corey, Maija) I usually wrangle em' in to assist in the feeding frenzy - Dinner time at our house resembles feeding time at a Monkey exhibit in a zoo. Rush, rush, cook, spoon it up, stir, "hush, baby, hush", Corey grab this, Katie grab that, Cooper sit down, Don't throw that on the floor, pick it up! I'm already exhausted just thinking about it.
I more often than not get so caught up in other things that I fall behind on the laundry. I find myself with all three hampers, fully loaded, a load in the basket still waiting to be folded, and, heaven help me, a load in the washer that I somehow forgot was in there...Maybe a few hours, maybe a day or two. I know as soon as I open the lid! The dishes get stacked and sometimes I end up leaving them in the evening and doing them in the morning when I find I have an inkling more energy and am able to crash and bang without waking a kid or two. My bathrooms are neglected, as the time I spend in there is quick, no matter the business, and to clean them would take lots of hands and knees time with some pretty intense cleaners.
And finally, like clockwork, all children in this family manage to get sick one right after the other. Now, I don't know what's worse: Having all kids sick at the same time and just getting it done and over with, or having one sick for two days, then another sick for another two days and so on and so forth - Illness now lasts a week or more at a time instead of a quick 24 hour bug. Corey and I don't have time to be sick. Yet, still, we are.
I confess: This is the hardest thing I have ever done. I have let a baby cry for a while if I know she's not hurt and I am doing something that needs immediate attention. I have given Cooper cookies or snacks and plopped him in front of the TV just to induce a moment free of insanity. I have bitten my nails down to the core. I have neglected my husband. I have yelled at Katie over the littlest thing and slapped my hand on the counter to get attention. I have accepted that baby puke is just a part of my wardrobe now and I can cry at the drop of a dime.
Maija has been my saving grace this year. She was by my side with Cooper while I was pregnant, battling to keep the babies in as long as possible. And, she's been my right hand man in helping with the kids, even with last minute notice, during this summer while Corey has been busy at work with his cherry and pear harvests. I thank my lucky stars to have her be the mother in law I was blessed with. I couldn't have done it this summer without her.
It's no wonder that I have headaches, chest pain, and I look hideous. But, if anything, a little confession never hurt anyone and is probably good for my soul. I'm not perfect. I get tired, frustrated, mad, even furious at some of life's happenings. It's all a part of growing with this family. I learn something new every day and, though it's tough for now, I get my share of smiles from the heavenly little things that my children do. I love my life and wouldn't change it for the world......dirt, poop, boogers, screaming and all.
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