Rainy day surprise

Yesterday was our first "free" summer day. We always had Monday and Tuesday mornings open but yesterday we would have normally been at gymnastics. We've been playing outside a lot lately, especially with our neighbor and her nanny.  They are moving away today (sniff, sniff) but it's been fun having a playmate right outside our door every morning.  Anyway, we joined them on a walk downtown to meet up with a bunch of other kids and their nannies.  I felt a bit out of place, almost like a spy, being the only mom but no one seemed to mind. 

The kids had loads of fun even when it started raining.  We all gathered under an enormous tree and stayed relatively dry.  The walk home was another story.  The twins were in the jogging stroller which has excellent rain coverage.  Matteo was in the Ergo which has a head cover.  And me, I was just getting soaked.  Its about a 20 minute walk (uphill...) so by the end, I looked pretty awful.  We were just a couple blocks from our house when we passed a few high schoolers, just hanging out on a bench.  On of the girls said, jokingly, "she looks like she needs a babysitter!" to which I immediately answered, "yes, I do!"  She was surprised that I answered but excitedly so.  She jumped off and asked me if I was serious.  Yes, I most definitely was serious!  She talked about some other babysitting jobs she has had (or still has, not sure).  In my head I was thinking, why is she telling me this??  Then I realized, oh ya - she probably thinks I want someone with experience.  I'm so desperate, I forgot to consider that!  Not that I would just leave my kids with her.  I would have her come and "watch" them while I was home, let her get her feet wet.  But for me, anyone who sees my brood and still wants the job, chances are they have experience.  Caring for 3 under 3 is not usually how people want to get their start in the babysitting world, I would imagine.

I took down her number and asked her where she lived and how old she was.  She lives about 5 blocks from me (score!) and will be a junior in the fall (double score!).  That means I get two years before she is off to college, if she works out.  And since she is young, she will come a bit cheaper which is OK with me since she will mostly be a mother's helper to start - I'm looking for one afternoon per week as a set schedule, plus nighttime sitting as needed for me to go to meetings or out with Billy.

Are you all proud of me?  I'm totally going out of my comfort zone here.  Sad, though, that this is out of my comfort zone...

Pee Times Three

As nice as it is when your sisters call you up out of the blue to take your kids (well, 2 out of 3) out to dinner without you, it's not so nice when said trip results in three sets of sheets soaked in pee.

What does one have to do with the other, you ask? Well, FavAuntie dropped off her puppy while she would be out at dinner, so as not to leave puppy in her apartment all alone. Sure - no problem. Unfortunately, when the puppy discovered a clean bedspread and sheets (mine...), she decided to mark her territory. Not cool.

As for the other two incidents, it seems that the twins were both drinking more than their fair share of something while out to eat with their Aunties (and Uncle, who met up with them). I awoke this morning to two toddlers in wet jammies and wet sheets. Thank goodness their mattress are waterproof.

And now I get to do even more laundry! What a day :)

(But seriously, it was really great to have the kids out without us - they had lots of fun with their Aunties and Uncle, so THANK YOU despite the pee)

Makes My Monday: Super Daddy and Super Auntie!

This weekend, my Mother of Twins Club had their Spring tag sale and I was a seller for the second time. I didn't have too much but was eager to rid of some baby items as well as a plethora of plastic toys that my parents dump on me with each of their weekly visits. The sale is quite the undertaking and sellers have to set up Friday night and work from 6am Saturday morning until about 3pm that afternoon. In my absence, Daddy and Auntie Kim stepped in to look after the kiddos - Kim in charge of Matteo and Daddy with Sebastian and Collette.

Daddy took the kids to the mall and reported back that they behaved PERFECTLY! He braved the Rain Forest Cafe where they politely ate their whole lunch and, as a special surprise for me, got their picture taken with the Easter Bunny! Apparently, they loved him and each gave him a hug before saying good-bye. Figures, right? But I'm glad they are good for him because then he'll take them out solo more often.

Auntie Kim was stuck with Matteo. I say "stuck with" because, contrary to what I thought, he is just not that into his new sippy cup. I was able to nurse him right before I left in the morning but he still nurses every two hours so he had a hard time going down for his nap without me. When he woke up, Kim brought him down to the sale (thank goodness it's just down the street from my house!) and I filled up his little tank. Then she decided to show him off and met up with a friend of hers at a cafe in Davis Square. With a full belly, he behaved like the little angel he is.

Meanwhile, I had a great time at the sale. Saw all my big stuff go off to new homes and hopefully a lot of my little stuff sold, too. I donated everything that didn't sell because Billy would've divorced me if I came back with anything. I also picked up some new things for the kids - summer clothes, rain coats, a T-ball set, sand and water table, toy lawn motor (to match the one they already have and CONSTANTLY fight over), a few books and a toy car ramp. All in all, I know I made out on the plus side by quite a lot. Definitely a success all around.

Also, to propel myself back to regular postings, I am going to commit, here and now, to an overdue post for Matteo (he's 8 months old now!!!) and a Flat Twins post - all this week. Some of you know where the Flat Twins are but for those of you who don't, stay tuned! I have some very cute pics coming :)

Mini NaBloPoMo - Day 1

It's been really difficult for me to devote time to blogging lately (reading, commenting and especially writing) that I was looking forward to NaBloPoMo as a way to motivate myself. But naturally, November 1st came and went (along with the 2nd, 3rd and 4th) so I can't honestly participate this year. However, I have a plan to do a half-NaBloPoMo. Think of it like a half marathon. Except way easier.

I am starting today because today marks Day 1 of a 15-day solo parenting spree. That's right - me and my 3 under 2 gang are all alone for 15 straight days as Billy is on a business trip to Asia. I told him how jealous I was that he gets to go on this exotic trip and he looked at me like I was crazy. He knows that flying across the world so that you can work 12+ hour days is not a fun, exotic trip. He kept going on and on about how much he didn't want to go and how he'd miss us. Grass is always greener, and all that shit.

Since I'll be posting every day for the next two weeks, I will be piggybacking on some memes out there. I haven't done a Halloween post (I'll save that for later!), so I'll participate in LauraC's Show me the Mommy! with a little sneak preview:

Me and Tater at our Twin's Club Halloween party that I co-organized

Stay tuned to keep me honest with my mini-NaBloPoMp!

Colie's First Haircut

Well, it was time for the 'Fro to go. Collette was seriously getting dreadlocks in the back so we had to get her some professional help. In the form of overpriced baby haircuts at Snip-its.

Truthfully, the place was fantastic and, IMO, well worth the price. It was easy to bring all three kids (no, I was not alone!) and let them play while they waited. They could walk around and not be in the way like they would have been at a real hair salon. So, if you need to get your kid's hair cut, I totally recommend this place.

Collette was sold as soon as she get her lollipop. Animal crackers filled in the gaps. Overall, a very easy, fun experience.

Collette with the 'fro

Oblivious to the snips. Thank you, lollipop!!

Have you ever seen a cuter thing in your life?

Thanks Auntie Stacey!

Fav Auntie (Auntie Stacey, my oldest little sister) has been in town from San Diego for a visit since Thursday. She has so many people to see when she comes home but, of course, the twins got more than their fair share of Auntie time.

Yesterday, Fav Auntie came with us to the local lake so the kids could play at the beach. The water and the shade kept us all very comfortable and the kids had a good time, naturally.

Sebastian is checking out the scene

Collette is showing Stacey how to drown stuffed animals

Today, I drove into Boston with the kids and we met Stacey at the aquarium. This was Sebastian and Collette's first visit and they did such a good job! They were remarkably self-disciplined and kept requesting to go back in their stroller. Certainly made getting around to all the exhibits much easier. Of all the things we saw, the penguins were probably their favorite. Collette really liked touching the sea stars (apparently, they are NOT starfish) while Sebastian was not so much excited about touching the marine life. And they loved the Curious George baby/kid room where they could repeatedly dump out a bucket of plastic play fish, fill it up, repeat.

Sebastian demonstrating that touching is fine so long as there is thick glass in the way.

First look at the penguins. Of course the only kid looking at the camera isn't mine.

Collette about to give the penguin statue a kiss.

Collette and Stacey meeting some sea creatures

As a gift to Auntie Stacey for coming out to visit, both Sebastian and Collette say her name! Their pronunciation leaves a lot to be desired but considering how picky they are about the words the will attempt, it is a great honor!

We'll miss you, Auntie, and can't wait for you to come back home in September!!

Summer Outings and Stranger Danger

It's hot here. I hate the heat. I didn't always but now that I have kids and am home all day in central A/C that doesn't work well, I'm not diggin' it so much. Being pregnant doesn't help. Anyway, the point of all this, other than to bitch a little, is that I have been on the lookout for cool activities to do this summer, especially when its just me and the kids. Mother Nature does not save heat and humidity for the weekend, as I remember well from my working days.

Yesterday, after a long nap for all three of us, I decided we should try to do a nature walk in the Fells. I used to take the dog there all the time before the twins were born and I think we may have done some walks there when they were very small. Since they have been so good at listening (for 19 month olds) and staying close to me, I thought we should give it a try. With all those tall trees, you could barely feel the heat of the sun - it was so nice. The kids played with rocks and sticks, stayed on the path when I reminded them, listened to birds and had fun pushing the empty jogging stroller.

On our way back to the car, we passed a family - three teen/pre-teen girls and their mom. We all said "hi', exchanged pleasantries, etc. As they were walking away, Collette walked over to one of the girls, tried to hold her hand and walk off with her! Now, I'm glad she is so friendly with new people, but good Lord! This child is an abduction waiting to happen. Gotta love her free spirit. :)

Thank You Isis!

For those of you who are local, I'm sure you are familiar with Isis Maternity. I first learned about this gem from a friend who did an internship there for his MBA. His wife was pregnant when I was pregnant with the twins so all of us went to one of their guest speaker events - I think it was about children and brain development. We went on to take their "Parenting Multiples" class which I HIGHLY recommend if you are expecting twins and in the greater Boston area. My personal favorite thing about Isis, though, is there selection of baby/parenting/nursing gear. They sell a lot of things that you can't easily find at Babies 'R' Us, especially their nursing and pumping stuff. We have yet to partake in any of their baby/kid classes but I would like to try them out once they are a bit older.

I told you all a while back how I won an Ergo carrier from them. I also mentioned that I won tickets to see Babies - also courtesy of Isis. As if all that wasn't enough, they invited me to special event where they announced their new name which I agree better reflects their services: Isis Parenting. The event was lots of fun, although I had to rescue Sebastian from the babysitting room - such a momma's boy. We learned about Isis' new brand and got to see a great cooking demo from a local Boston chef.

The next night was the Babies movie event. All the ticket winner received free goody bags with nursing mom essentials. I got a kick-ass pumping bra - much better than the one I had last time. These things have come a long way! The movie was adorable but I'll save my thoughts on that for another post.

So, a big thank you to Isis Parenting for letting us into your world this past week. I will continue to sing your praises and will remember to use your new name!

Not Mini Mozarts

One of the things I was most looking forward to about our one-nap schedule was the freedom to take some baby classes. With 2 naps, finding a class at just the right time is near impossible. Now, we have a 3-4 free hours in the AM and a class is a great way to fill up some of that time. Or so I thought.

Most mommy-baby classes are designed with a 1:1 ratio in mind. However, the wise members of my MoT group seemed to agree that a music class is very doable (even fun!) with two babes. So, I signed us up. I chose one that was only 6 weeks long (most are 10) because if the kids hated it, I didn't want to be stuck going or out all that money. The rec department in town runs a 6-week one and it's very close to our house so a win-win all around.

Monday was our first class. We got there on time and I got the kids into the room (no easy task, BTW, and I think this may have contributed to some of our problems). There were lots of different instruments for the kids to play with. Sebastian and Collette would both pick one up and then toss it to the floor to try another. But then, Collette set her sights on the instrument the teacher had. A wooden bowling pin shaped thing with a stick - musical people out there probably know what this is called. Anyway, the teacher needed it to sing her songs and keep the rhythm. It was the only instrument that was off limits. And for my little girl, it may as well have been the only thing in the room.

Things went pretty down hill from there. Thankfully, Sebastian, just ignored the class half the time and quietly explored the room with one of the shakers in his hand. But Collette just couldn't settle in. The only thing that made her happy was if I held her and stood up. And even then she wasn't always happy. She was fussing so much I had to take her out of the room for a few minutes and I gave her a little snack. And then 10 minutes later had to do the same thing with both of them - thank God I brought enough!

As the class was winding down (and I was holding Collette, again), Sebastian started to fuss. At one point, I thought he was going to throw a temper tantrum right in the middle of the circle but he kept it together enough that we could finish the class. Overall, I don't think either of them really enjoyed it.

I have a few ideas to make it better for next time. I will use the correct entrance so I can bring the stroller into the room. (The way I came in, I was on a whole level above the room and was not about to bring my stroller down the stairs) I might get there early and give them snack right before class. At least they will have full tummies. Other than that, I'm not sure what I can do to make the experience a better one for them. I was almost in tears at how badly it was going. It's so discouraging to go through all this effort to do something fun for your kids and have them act like its torture. So, any words of wisdom? I don't want to quit because I know that they will probably to a little better each time. But, I don't want a repeat of last week either.

The One with the Attack Chicken

Like everyone else around here, Billy and I spent the weekend taking the kids out and about to enjoy the lovely weather. We hit Drumlin Farm early on Saturday morning. And with two sets of adult hands (and feet, for chasing), the kids got to spend a lot of time out of their strollers. Naturally, they loved it.

I forgot to bust out the camera until the end when we got to the chicken coops. But rest assured that they loved the cows, pigs, sheep, horses, goats and birds we saw. Here is Colie, getting a closer look at the hens:


And here is Sebastian, following suit:

As I was taking this picture (and seeing what a weird face Sebastian made), Billy was warning me that the chicken was going to bite Sebas' finger. But I'm stubborn and I really wanted to get a shot of him looking normal that I ignored the warning. And about 7 seconds after this was taken, the chicken attacked. Poor Sebas. Lesson learned, buddy. Lesson learned.

But despite the pecking incident, we had a very fun time. This afternoon, I signed us up for a family membership. If you live nearby, you should, too: just go here. We'll get our money's worth in 5 visits so really, its a no-brainer. Plus, you can buy yummy things like eggs, meat and veggies at their farm stand. I have some of their Italian sausages waiting for me to cook. I'll let you know how they are! :)

In Between

With the start of the crappy weather, the kidlets and I headed to the Klubhouse this morning to let them burn off some energy before running a couple errands. We have been members of this indoor playspace since late summer and its been awesome. The kids have a great time and its very easy for me to manage them on my own. However, that all changing.

After playing for about 5 minutes in the baby/toddler room (the room we always play in), both Collette and Sebastian were shaking the baby gate, watching the big kids play on all the (way more fun) big kid stuff. They have racetrack for scooters, a castle and pirate ship to climb and two bounce house things. Also, Collette is especially obsessed with big kids lately and tries to follow them wherever they go. Needless to say, the baby room was really not doing it for them anymore.

I figured I'd see how it goes out in the big room and if it was a disaster, we could leave. Well, it wasn't really a disaster but it wasn't a whole lot of fun, either. They kept walking onto the track and I kept having to take the off before someone ran over them. They went in opposite directions (you're shocked, I know) - one back into oncoming traffic, the other towards a table of someone else's snacks. I managed to get both of them to follow me to the art room where we had snack and made a card for Daddy. That killed about 15 minutes. Then back to the toddler room which lasted a bit longer this time, maybe 10 minutes. Then they were back at the gate, begging to be big.

The problem is, they won't be "big enough" for that room for a while. It's fine for someone with just one young toddler. They just follow them around, rescue them from danger and make sure they don't get into other people's stuff. But with TWO young toddlers, its just not possible. I don't really know when they'll be big enough to ride the scooters - we practiced on the carpet instead of the actual track and very little progress was made. I don't know when they'll be big enough to climb ladders and go down big slides. But I do know that it won't be within the next month or so. I'm hoping by the time Tater Tot comes (4 months - yikes!!), they will be able to play there (more) independently but for now, we are stuck in between. Too big for the baby room but not big enough for the big kid room. Guess I'll have to put my membership there on hiatus.

Children's Museum, Finally

I keep making excuses to not take the kids to the Children's Museum. It's cold out. It's too far. It's too hard to squeeze in between naps. But the (only) real reason is I was scared. I haven't been to the Children's Museum in ages and I just remember it being so big and crowded and overwhelming (in a good way!) that the thought of taking two just-turned-one-year-olds by myself seemed like too much. I worried that it would be a struggle to get there, with parking and getting in, etc.

But today I finally bit the bullet. My usual play date had to cancel and I figured, why the hell not. And you know what? It wasn't so bad. Could we visit the exhibits? No. Could we stay for more than 90 minutes (including lunch)? No. Was it worth it? Definitely! The kids had a great time the play area. It's big so it was hard to keep them both with eye-shot but we managed. I packed their lunch but not mine so we ate at Au Bon Pain. It was nice to be out with them and have a good time and eat and be relaxed. I didn't feel rushed which was probably the best part. They do well with new places - they are distracted by everything NEW that they forget to fuss.

As for photos, I only got one good one. Sebastian in the train table, having a grand ol' time. Collette escaped before I could get a good one of her. Sigh.

Halloween Weekend

I haven't posted in a while because I have been quite busy doing things other than parenting twins, cleaning and cooking.  This year, I volunteered to organize our Mother of Twins club annual Halloween Party and we finally had it this past Saturday! 

The party was a big success, as far as I could tell.  I was freaking out a little bit because we had approximately double the number of RSVPs compared to last year and I was was sure we would break some sort of fire code.  But, with so many small people, 200 guests didn't really seem like that many and I'm sure we had a lot of no-shows.  The entertainment was great - we hired Joyce with Wiggles and Giggles and she did a fantastic job getting the kids singing and dancing.  For those of you in the area, she does do smaller events, like birthday parties and such, so check out her site if you're looking for a fun, non-clown, non-magician entertainer for your little ones.  And, as always, the bounce house was HUGE hit. 

Of course, I have no pictures because I was so busy running around playing hostess.  Billy got a few good ones on his phone so I'll have to steal those later.  In the meantime, Zimmer Zoo has some shots of her nuggets at the party - check 'em out here!

Now that this is behind us, I have to start planning the twins' first birthday party.  Would it be totally white trash of me to have the party at Chuck E Cheese, considering my kids won't even be walking, let alone playing games?  *Sigh*

Twins' First Fair

This weekend, we took the nuggets to the Topsfield Fair - the oldest agricultural fair in America!  I went as a kid and the only thing I really remember was that I got to ride an elephant.  More recently, my father decided to become a vendor at the fair and has had a booth there for the past 3 years.  Last year, I got to work the fair with him while I was still preggo.  My giant, twin-gestating belly got lots of people to our tattoo booth.  Writing that makes me realize how white trash it sounds...pregnant girl gives people tattoos at county fair.  They were temporary tattoos - does that make it sound better??

This year I was dismissed from tattooing duties now that the babies are out of the womb and require a lot more work.  But we had to visit Grammy and Grampa so we made the trek up on Saturday with Auntie Kim and her friends Geneva and Brandy.  We didn't have too much time to explore, what with driving there, feeding them lunch and getting an afternoon nap in.  But we introduced the twins to their first taste of fair food.  We had some pork ribs that were so soft we just broke off pieces and fed them right to the kids.  And they LOVED it!  We have some serious carnivores on our hands.  Here are some pics of them enjoying goodness:

Collette, mid chew

Sebastian, savoring the flavor

We also got to show the babies some real live animals - mostly just cows and goats.  The line to get in the pig barn was a mile long (why???) and the chicken barn was too crowded and the aisles were a bit narrow for us and the Schwinn stroller.  Not sure if they really understood that they were looking at animals.  The cows didn't move much and the goats were pretty calm and quiet too.  But all in all, we had fun, enjoyed the nice weather and tasty food.  I still have some pumpkin fudge so I'm doing alright.  Also got to buy some very local honey!  Next year will be even more fun when we can take them on some rides and let them play games.  And, of course, get tattoos from Grampa.  I'm thinking skull and cross bones.

Peach Picking (sorry, apples). And an angry goat.

FavAuntie and I headed out to Smolak's farm (in my home town, woot woot!) yesterday, as planned.  We tried to wake the babies up in time to make the last hayride but, alas, getting two babies diapered and dressed always takes longer than I think it should.  Still, it was worth the trip.  First stop was the farmstand.  We zipped right by the fruit and veggies and headed straight for the toy/donut section.  I was pleasantly surprised to see that they sell Schleich toys - I heard of these from RaJen Reviews here.  I have a bucket of animals (a la Target) that look real (as opposed to cartoony-looking) but the dog and pig are too small for my mouthy babies to play with.  FavAuntie bought them the big Schleich pig and dog so now their farm is complete!  And then she treated us grown-ups to some cider donuts. (insert Homer drooling noise here)

Donuts in hand, we made our way towards the farm animals to get some picks before it got too dark.  The babies were rightfully scared by the goat and llama.  The llama had crazy, blue ostrich-y eyes and the goat was mental and trying to break through the wire fence to eat my new stroller.  He actually managed to get his head out far enough to lick the handle.  Awesome.

Then, we checked out the play area for more photo ops.  Collette and Sebastian had fun getting their pictures taken on the tractor/truck.  Collette was a little too excited and kept trying to reach for the steering wheel so it was hard to get a good shot of them sitting still.  Shocker, I know.  We let them wander around the back of the truck and they enjoyed that even more.

(Collette looks so much bigger than Sebastian - peanut boy!)

We finally made our way to the orchards where we realized that they were having a deal on peach picking - $0.99 per pound!  I already have some apples from my CSA so we just did the peaches.  Picked about 4lbs and am thinking of doing a peach crisp, same topping as my strawberry rhubarb crisp.  Always a crowd pleaser.  Not that a plan to share it with crowd. :)

Lastly, here is a pic of FavAuntie with the nuggets - love it when aunties do double duty!

Weekend Update

It was a BUSY weekend for us this weekend.  Friday night, I "worked" at our Mother of Twins club tag sale, helping set up and organize.  I was not selling anything but got to shop that night if I worked.  This also meant that Billy had to do his very first solo bed time.  Sebastian put him in his place by having a total meltdown after his bath.  But other than that, he did a great job.  I also scored big time at the sale.  Spent $100 and got two rocking horses (well, one is a unicorn), two ride on/walker toys, two toy shopping carts, a doll stroller, a bag of balls for a ball pit, two puzzles, 6 pajamas, 3 pairs of shoes, one set of hats and mittens per kid, and a couple tops.  The babies are enjoing the new toys, especially the ride on toys (that they don't ride on - they just press the buttons) and the puzzles.

The next day, bright and early, was breast cancer Race/Walk for the Cure 5K.  Our family and some friends had a team, the Breast Friends Forever, and had a fun time doing the three-mile walk in Boston's Seaport District.  FavAuntie flew in that morning from Cali and went straight to the walk to join us - and she's here with me until Wednesday so it'll be a fun week!  Collette slept through most of the walk while Sebastian cried through most of it.  But even he eventually caved.  This was one of the very few times that I messed with their naps.  We had to be there at 8am and it ended around 1030am, so they pretty much had to nap during the walk and an the way home.  All in all, it worked out fine.  As I mentioned in my earlier post, I feel more comfortable taking these chances when there are lots of helpful adults around.  Here are some pics FavAuntie picked out:

(twins are sleeping in this one, hence the blanket over the stroller)

Yesterday, FavAUntie and I took the kids to our brother's house to visit our niece and nephew.  Our nephew, Ben, turned 6 last week so we got to wish him a happy birthday.  Later, we took the kiddos to the Carter's outlet store and got some very good deals on fall clothes - 15 pieces of clothing (shirts and pants) for $43!  Not too shabby.  PS - there is an online printable coupon for 20% off any purchase over $50, good until Wednesday.

***

FavAuntie and I will probably take the babies apple picking tomorrow - gotta take advantage of her while she's here!!  So, I'm thinking apple crisp, apple muffins, maybe even an apple pie?  Gosh, I love fall!!

Successful Outings with Twin Babies

In the past few months, outings with the twins have been more enjoyable than ever. Obviously, age has a lot to do with this but us parents make a big difference when it comes to an outing be a success or failure. This is by no means ground breaking but here is the Sotorrific Guide to happy outings with your (older) babies:

1. (capable, caring) Adult:baby ratio

Naturally, having as many, if not more, adults than babies makes any outing easier. Of course, those adults need to be willing and able to help with the babies (playing, soothing, feeding, etc.) for this to actually be helpful. I have been with plenty of people who take a very hands-off approach to my kids and I therefore cannot include them in the ratio. But, when I go to my aunt's house for cook out, there are usually 10+ adults and only my two babies. This is a very sweet ratio that makes for an enjoyable afternoon.

2. Get outside

Sebastian and Collette are very easily distracted when we are outdoors. It seems that I don't need nearly as many toys as I do inside - just watching everything around them is entertainment enough. New England weather doesn't always make this a possibility but take advantage of those sunny enough, not too hot, not too cold days and head outside. A blanket on the grass, a park with swings, a walk around a park - all good!

A fire an a cool afternoon is a great outdoor distraction for babies and grown ups!

3. Lower your expectations

With two babies, the likelihood that something could go wrong is high. Babies are unpredictable little creatures and you can't plan for every possibility. Therefore, you have to take it easy. Don't plan all day activities every Saturday. Maybe stick to activities that will take a couple of hours. This is much more manageable and decreases the likelihood of meltdown. Take on small challenges (quick grocery store trip, farmer's market) instead of big ones (all day IKEA shopping bonanza, day-long beach party).

4. Bring twice as many snacks as you think you'll need

I'm sure this advice holds true through the teenage years but now that we have solid food babies, it is one of the biggest parts of planning an outing. My diaper bag has a canister filled with rice puffs for quick snacks - ideal for giving the babies while you are waiting for their food to arrive at a restaurant. On walks/trips to the park or mall, I always have bagels, crackers or baby biscuits which are easy to hold onto while they chew on them.

5. Respect the nap!

It may be tempting to head to festival downtown because it would be so fun for the whole family. But, if that festival takes place during nap time, I can be sure my kids will not appreciate the trip. I often pass on things that run smack in middle of our naps because it's simply not worth it. And if I say I'm doing something for them, how is it really for them if I am disturbing their precious sleep to do it? If you have to do something, by all means, do it. Maybe fit naps in around it - move naps up and hour so you'll make it in time or move them back so you can stay as long as you need to. But don't mess with naps just because - it's no fun to soothe to tired, crying babies, even if you got some fried dough out of it.

6. Choose an appropriate place

Going out to eat with two babies can be daunting but its SO doable. As i mentioned above, bring snacks for before the food arrives and respect naps. But, you also have to pick a good place. We have taken the twins out for breakfast, lunch and dinner an d have had mixed success. The key is pick a place that can get you your food fast, has an easy escape route, and won't get mad at you if you end up with two screaming babies you left a huge mess under the table. We made meals work at Bickford's, Legal Seafood (surprisingly!!) and Rain Forest Cafe. We order as soon as we sit down, don't choose things that will take long to cook and get the check as soon as we get our food. When I'm alone with the twins, I try places like Bruegger's and Dunkin' Donuts because they are even faster and easier to get in and out of than a proper restaurant.

What do you do to increase the odds that your outing will be a success?

I proved you wrong, Daddy!

Although we are thoroughly enjoying parenthood, Billy and I feel like sometimes these infant days/weeks/months just drag. Little milestones and accomplishments seem to take forever. They start to do one thing (sleep through the night, roll over, sit up, etc.) and then it's a month later before they do the next thing. S...l...o...w.

Billy decided a while ago that they will simply never walk, talk or have teeth. Well, he was wrong on that last one. My little boy was gnawing on my finger this morning (lovely!) and I suddenly felt something sharp, Holy crap, a tooth!! Billy almost got me believing in a toothless, wordless future that I had forgotten to expect them. You can just barely see it peeking through so I can't take a picture and even if I did you wouldn't be able to see because I still haven't fixed my camera cord/computer feud.

And, in other milestone news, both Sebastian and Collette are pulling up. The other day, I caught Collette standing up in her crib (that just days before we had moved down - thank goodness!!!) while I was getting Sebastian downstairs. When I saw her, it almost scared me, like some creepy stranger had broken into the house for the sole purpose of standing her up in her crib and freaking me out. But alas, no crazy people. Just a baby girl getting less baby and more toddler every day. Sebastian, not to be outdone, has evolved from pushing up on low pieces of furniture to pulling up using taller pieces, He especially like to pull up on the bouncy seat, the part where the toys hang from - it's sturdier than it sounds and is the perfect height and shape.

Lastly, Collette is CRAWLING!! She kind of started over the weekend but yesterday was the day she really got her sheez together and covered some distance. And now, it's like old news. She does it all the time and I'm all, whatevs, you did that yesterday. But seriously, I am excited about this. She can now get to and from different toys whereas before she would just whine and we would have to change things up for her. Of course, the babies get up in each other's business more often now which results in more toy fights. And I realize this is only the beginning but I'm welcoming these changes. I don't think I will be one of those moms who mourns babyhood. I enjoy forward progress and even way back when I was just a mom-to-be, I only ever dreamed of doing fun toddler/kid things. I honestly never thought about baby things, mostly because I never knew any babies. So, bring it toddlerhood!! I'm ready! :)

And here are a couple pictures that I lifted from my cousin's FB page - thanks Brett!! We were enjoying a Labor Day BBQ - I'll post on that tomorrow now that I have lots of pics to steal.

Holy Watermelon!

The twins, Billy and I went to Penny and Ned's first birthday party this weekend. Fun was had by all, the birthday boy and girl were cute as could be, and Sebastian and Collette discovered a new food - watermelon. Sebastian was fussing (shocking! I know...) so I decided to calm him with food - don't worry, I've taken my name off Mom-of-the-Year Ballot. Between cookies, brownies, cupcakes, hot dogs and fruit salad, I figured I should go with fruit salad - more of the junk food left for me!

As it turns out, watermelon is a terrific finger food for my kids. When they hold things, they tend to squeeze them really hard so foods like banana and avocado won't work as finger food. Well, watermelon is quite fibrous and doesn't yield much when grasped by a baby hand. However, the babies can still bite and chew the watermelon, even without teeth. Finding more finger foods has been a goal of mine lately so I was pretty excited with this discovery.

Lucky for me, watermelon is very much in season and I picked one up at the grocery store. $5 each - regardless of the size. Naturally, I picked the biggest one I could find. And because it was so enormous, I made Billy chop it up - HOLY SH!T. I have enough watermelon to feed the twins until Christmas. I have some in the fridge and three very large, very full freezer bags in the freezer.

And of course, I don't even like watermelon. Figures.

On that note, any other finger food suggestions? My biggest issues are things that are too small for Sebastian to pick up (for example: he is really bad with Cheerios) and things that are too squishy. I have used the "roll it in some cereal dust" idea and this has helped but does not turn a squishy food into a non-squishy food. Big winners so far (in addition to watermelon) are bagels, croissants, sweet potato fries (when I don't burn them), Arrowroot biscuits, Club crackers and strawberry quarters. Note the overabundance of carbs on this list. Sorry, Dr. Atkins.

Proud to be an American (almost...)

Billy got his green card yesterday! Hurrah!!

We had to go into Boston for the interview and, as is life, there was no shortage of hassle. You have to go through security to enter the building, much like an airport except they let you keep your shoes on. We had decided to bring the babies with us since we figured there is no better proof of our relationship than them. With the two of us, it wasn't too bad getting everything and everyone through.

Once we made our way to the appropriate room and Billy got in line, the fire alarm went off and the building went on lock down. Everyone was evacuated. As luck would have it, the exit next to us was no handicap accessible (read as: not stroller accessible) so I had to go all the to the other end (where we came in) and go out that way. After 15 minutes outside, on the hottest day of the year, they let us back in. Only now I was alone (Billy had to stay in line by the other exit) and had to carry two babies through security, while people stared at me like I nuts. In their defense, it would have been a little nutty to plan to do this alone.

The interview went well, the babies (mostly) behaved and the nice immigration officer approved Billy's green card request. So, he is now a resident. Not an American citizen but close. I'm thinking of making one of those American flag cakes. Billy may take offense, though, which kinda makes me want it even more.

Now we just have to get the babies their dual citizenship in El Salvador and we will be done with government forms and meetings and the like for many years.



PS - the woman who manned the desk at the immigration interview room looked exactly like the Crypt Keeper. No lie. And she acted like she might be part dead, too. Do you ever think that just maybe, certain people are simply unemployable? And that the government finds all those people and gives them jobs? I kinda feel bad for those government workers who are actually good at their jobs. These zombie people are totally giving them a bad rap.