Again, Long time... ...

So, I officially have no excuse. It's been way, WAY too long since my last post. Not since last year. (Had to throw in some new year humor). Although Christmastime is crazy busy, it was no excuse.

Obviously, we all got over the flu, I do, however, still carry the scars. It was very traumatic, and anytime one of my beloveds burps, I ask if they have to spit. (It's become a reflex, oftentimes I look for the nearest vestibule in case my children have that sudden urge to empty their stomachs.) I really hope no other parent ever, EVER has to experience the flu with their children. Totally unrealistic as that is, I really do hope.

Well, if I haven't any excuse, besides flu trauma, what have I been up to? Knitting. I have acquired an obsession with knitting. In fact, I'm probably only blogging right now simply because my hands are sore from the craft. I am officially in love. Not only is it amazing to create something from string and two sticks, but it's extremely therapeutic, and with a 2 and 3 year old driving me constantly insane, well, it helps. Plus, I have convinced their daddy that we'll save money, because I can knit them stuff that we would have to buy. (Psst, don't tell him that yarn is probably more expensive then most hats/mittens would be for most toddlers).

In fact, I've been living by another blogger and amazing knitter, the Yarn Harlot. I might even be considered slightly stalker-like. I reached into her blog's archives to read her blog from the very beginning. In my defence, I'm still in her 2004 (the same year she started the blog) and I only started reading her archives on Monday.

Here's some of my recent knit work that I've been up to in the last couple of months:

This is a mouse toy for the cat... he kept attacking the wool I used for Lucas' hat, so I decided to make him a toy. I hoped this would get him to stop attacking my Peruvian Wool, apparently, not so much.

 These hats were knit for a friend who's having twin girls. Hopefully I can get the info to send them to her in the hospital before her girls arrive. We were going to give them at her baby shower, but apparently her girls had other ideas.

This last picture is us in a rare occurrence over Christmas Break, it snowed. Last year it only snowed twice, and only stuck once. The recently knitted item is Lucas' hat. This is the same as the mouse toy. I decided to lock the cat up when needing to leave knit-work out, and to have a spray bottle handy when he was out and about the house. I won, the hat was finished.

On a bright note, Emily has finally learned to undress herself. Unfortunately, this means after her nap, and before I know to even get her, she's stripped bare. And I mean bare, no diaper, nothing. Regardless of what the contents of her diaper were. If nothing, it's keeping me on my toes... ... no wonder Women have a higher rate of heart disease, all this child rearing takes it's toll.

Emily, WAY too proud of her stripping capabilities! I think we're going to have our hands full during her 

teen years.

Well, hope your adventures give you as many laughs as they do tears!!!

The Flu has Landed... ...

It's official. All last week we were rocked by the flu bug. Fortunately, my mom took sick little Lucas off our hands, so that I could work last Tuesday afternoon. Also, it was Wayne's turn to stay home with sick child(ren). As fate would have it, although, Emily and I both woke up Thursday emptying our stomachs into any available bowl/bucket. It was beautiful.

My kids and I have been sick so often this year, I swear my boss thinks I'm lying. Truth is, I would rather be driving the bus with my kids strapped into their seats, then at home with one sick and one cooped up toddler, or two cooped up toddlers. The kids are fine now, I think. Lucas was fine come Friday, Emily and I were still reaching for buckets and bowls, and of course Wayne didn't even feel the slightest bit of nausea. Emily then threw us for a loop again on Saturday night, throwing up all over her bed and me. Again, beautiful. Monday morning was a joke, the kids had barely eaten in days, and finally we were going back on the bus. However, waking them up early didn't go over so well (they were a tad cranky). As I was directing them to the bus door,  I chatted with one of my fellow drivers, Lucas and Emily were moaning behind me, and sure enough, Lucas threw up right outside the bus door. I called my manager/dispatcher, she told me she could get another driver out there, but I told her I really didn't want to go home. So plastic bag in hand Lucas sat in his carseat while I blissfully drove the bus. He honestly was no worse for wear, just a tad tired and didn't throw up again... yet.

I would like to say the flu has finally left our now messy home, but I'm afraid it might rear it's ugly head at such a challenge. I will say this, the flu has won. I can only be thankful that my children are finally eating better, and I am back driving the bus.

41 Days Until Christmas!!!!

Time flies when you're having fun, right? This past Saturday sure flew by for me. I spent the day with my mom, dad, sister, aunt and uncle at my aunt's church's craft sale. It was AMAZING. Not only the part where I had a day completely away from the kids (sorry Wayne), the whole day was great. Every year my mom bakes and bakes and bakes her infamous pound cake to sell at her table, and my aunt has gorgeous hand knit items, crafted by herself, at her table. I also, always get to snatch one of her knitted items for one of the wee beasties. After the sale we head over to my aunt and uncles, they live just down the street, and they make us dinner. Dinner is always better when someone else makes it. Ok, I suppose that comment depends on the 'someone' and their cooking capabilities. The only sad part, was that the day ended much too quickly.

Sunday was also a fairly good day, didn't quite beat Saturday. We had a great time at home I mostly watching and playing around with the beasties (amazing how a day away makes me much more appreciative, and patient with them), while Wayne did the flooring and installed a new vanity in our bathroom. The only regret of the weekend... no dishes were done, and no groceries were bought. Guess I'll be catching up today/tonight.

Saturday my mother asked me what was on mine, Wayne and the kid's Christmas lists. Honestly, I had no answer. The kids are fairly well off in the toy department, Lucas gets so many hardly used clothes from his cousin, and Emily... well, she needs some clothes, but not much. Wayne already got himself his Christmas present in September, an iPad, so he doesn't really need anything, and me... ... I have no idea. Some date nights for Wayne and I would be great. Kinda hard to put that in a box or stuff in a stocking. However, the topic really got me going... too much to do and get, and too little time to do it in. Only 41 days until Christmas. I usually create a Christmas list with every person's name and gift idea, then check beside when I've bought the gift. I've already bought a few gifts, kid wise, but haven't invested any time or money into the adults on my list yet.

Here's hoping you guys/girls out there are much further along on your Christmas shopping than I. Well, best make the wee beasties their lunch, I hear them chanting 'I hungry' upstairs.

Support

I recently realized I have a new follower, a new irish twin mommy out there. First, congratulations on two beautiful boys, and second... as stressful as this voyage may seem most times, I've found there are so many 'aww' moments that make up for the stress.

Looking back, I remember how difficult it was the first few months after Emily came home. 1. She was a horrid sleeper. 2. Lucas only wanted mommy (but because of my c-sec, I couldn't hold him for a while without help). and 3. I remember someone telling me to take it one day at a time. This advice I had to switch to taking it one minute at a time.

The first few weeks after Emily was born, my mom and sister were there all the time to help. (Wayne worked horrible work hours and only had the first week after she was born off). After that, it was September, my sister went off to school, and I was stuck, alone, with two babies who needed lots of attention--Lucas was still only crawling at this point. Lucas quickly learned to hold his own bottle while drinking, or propped it on the coffee table while I fed his sister. And soon thereafter, I learned to put Emily in a reclined high chair with a blanket on her tray to feed her while spoon feeding Lucas. I will add a picture for demonstration. I did have to stop numerous times to pick up Emily's bottle and re-adjust the blanket, but for the most part, this worked (thank you to my ingenious mother-in-law who taught me this trick when Lucas was younger).

The hardest part, I found, was putting them on the same schedule, and sticking to it. Unfortunately I was little lax with my schedule, and had little time to call my own. Eventually, though, we made it through. I'm glad I always had a camera on hand, because if it were not for all the pictures of Emily's first 4-6 months of life... I don't think I would remember much of what we did.

I highly recommend a double stroller. We bought ours in the states the April before Emily was born, and it was the best thing I ever bought. Also, when you have this double stroller, do NOT take it for granted. Think of it as a third child. Unfortunately, a couple months after starting as a bus driver, I backed our truck into the stroller... ... the kids were in the truck, I had just forgotten to put the stroller in the truck too. I had to make do without a stroller for months before Wayne finally fixed it. So, treat the stroller like gold... it is a nightmare to do without.

Invest in a magic bullet. I was highly upset when infomercials in Canada started broadcasting the baby bullet when Emily first born. I had totally had that idea first! However, a magic bullet works just as well, and if you have a tupperware set, then you already have a place to store the food you make for your baby(ies).

Clothing, now, if you're lucky, you'll have two boys, or two girls.. I, unfortunately-clothes wise, got one of each. With two boys/girls, you can just pass the clothes down (so long as there is a size difference between your children). With one of each, once you find out you're pregnant with a boy/girl, when you go to buy clothes for the one, buy the same size in the opposite gender. Also, ALWAYS look for sales, this helps a bunch. I personally go to a used clothing for kids store. Especially for my daughter. Lucas gets hand-me downs from his cousin, Logen, who's 17 months older then him. Emily, however, she was in newborn clothes for the first 3 months of her life. In fact, right now she's only in 12 months and possibly a 12-18 month depending on the make. Again, she's our itty bitty. We rarely get asked if Lucas and Emily are twins, because Emily is so small she looks almost 2 years younger then Lucas instead of only 10 1/2 months younger.

Well, this is all the time I have to give some support. Hopefully this helps all you moms out there who're going right along with this Irish Twin insanity. Remember, things will always get better, you just have to look for the bright side, or make your wee beasties laugh.

HAPPY BELATED HALLOWEEN TO ALL!!!! From my little dragon and my paper bag princess!!!

Long Time, No Post

I'm sure as most of you other mom's out there know, being a mom to a 2 year old and 3 year old is A LOT of work and extremely time consuming. Hence, my lack of posting. We have also been dealing with fleas our cat brought home; yippee. On top of all that, we officially have pink eye. Part of me is groaning at another thing going wrong, however, another part of me is recognizing that this will be a much needed down-time break. We've been going fairly busy around here since our move July 16th.

I believe, last time I wrote, I was laughing at the fact that my friend is pregnant, again, with a 10 month old? Well, he's officially 1, as of October 23rd, and mommy and daddy are happily and eagerly awaiting baby number 2. Lately, Wayne and I have been going back and forth over whether or not to add another wee beastie into our mix. Part of me loves the cute newborn baby stage (not so much the lack of sleep) and how amazing it is to see the world for the first time again, through their eyes. However, I've decided the only reason I would want another child, is to do it right.

To explain, I was only dating their daddy 8 months before we found out we were 2 months pregnant. Only a couple of months before Lucas was born did we live together. I felt a lot of guilt in getting pregnant, when not meaning to, I was on the pill. After Lucas was born I had an IUD inserted. Sure enough, when Lucas was 4 months, we found out we were 2 months pregnant AGAIN. I feel like I made the decision to have these children, regardless of what Wayne thought or wanted. We never planned either of our children, but can honestly say, we would never change them for the world! Another reason I think I feel the need to plan a baby, is to have the baby the way I always wanted. Lucas was a c-section. I was in labour for 8 1/2 hours before his heart rate started going crazy with each contraction and the Dr. decided this was due to the fact that he would not fit through my pelvis. I always dreamed of a more natural childbirth. Emily was also a c-section. An emergency one, this because my incision from Lucas' c-section was thinning apart with all my braxton hick's contractions.

Sometimes, I wonder what it would be like, if we had planned Lucas and Emily, and had the more natural birth. But then, thinking of having another baby, I remember all the diapers, and sleepless nights, and frustration at trying to decipher baby cries. Wayne and I decided, we're good. We've got two wee beasties, and for now, that's just enough for us!

Computer fixed, for the time being...

I have officially fixed what was wrong with my computer and the internet set up. Now back to posting funny stories and asking/giving advice.

I remember when I first found out I was pregnant with Lucas. Everyone had advice for me, as every mother, aunt, sister, cousin, etc. have for new expecting and even after you've had the baby, mothers. I think the best advice I ever got came from a friend's sister in law. She had just had a baby boy (Max, her 3rd baby) and told me that I would get ALL sorts of advice. The best advice she gave was to take the advice you like, and will use, and smile and nod at all other advice, even if you don't want to hear it.

I think the worst part is, that I have used this SO much. As great as family and extended family is, everyone is different, and parents differently. Not to say one person is a better parent then another, but sometimes, the advice just doesn't work on one child, where it works amazingly on the other child. Everyone is different, that is why I sometimes use any and all advice (except for something I really am against--like abuse) in situations, where I just have simply no clue what to do--like for potty training, or discipline, or bed time armageddon, well, you get the picture.

On a lighter note, Wayne said to me at dinner tonight, "Remember when we used to have to feed them both? Like last year?" Ugh, I shuddered at the memory. We were eating spaghetti and I remember the amount of clean up and tears (from all of us, maybe excepting Wayne) over dinner time. Lucas was only 2 last year, but because Emily was 1 and usually fed really messy dinners (less mess this way) Lucas regressed to a 1 year old state.

We then laughed at the thought that my friends are going to have to deal with this soon. As mean as that is, at least we'll have close friends understanding the difficulties, and novelties, of having irish twins (or in their case, 18 month apart babies, which I'm thinking will feel just the same).

I can't wait to meet the new little bundle. I like using her already for my baby fix, but her boy is now almost 11 months and not really wanting to snuggle so much anymore. Oh well, perhaps Wayne and I will revisit the decision on having another little one over the next couple of years. Of course, by that time, we are going to make absolutely sure there will not be another irish twin occurance, no offense to my baby girl, but she was quite the shocker. Finding out you're 2 months pregnant while dealing with a 4 month old was quite unnerving. However, now that they're getting much older, it really is getting easier.

Knock on wood.