Double Trouble and Double Blessed!

Their birthday was actually February 18th, but I've been a little busy (can't imagine why...)


Ah...has it been two whole years? Wow. I must admit the first 3 months I literally didn't sleep at night. Only during the day I might snag a quick nap when or if my mom came over to help. I have a hard time remembering much that went on their first year. Sleep deprivation can affect your memory, you know. All my babies have been pretty good sleepers, but when you get one baby who gets up every 2 hours, and another baby who does too, but they stagger their wake up time so one baby is awake every hour...that can drive you nuts! And I literally would be nursing a baby every hour. I also vaguely remember lots of diapers, bottles, laundry and questions.

People in the store LOVE to stop you and ask questions when they see you with two infant seats. Some day I will list all the silly questions I got, and my silly answers. A lady in Target once told me not to worry, it won't last forever. Once they're out of infant seats it won't be as noticeable that they're twins. She had 3 yr old twins. I said, "Oh, so you survived the first year then?". That was what I worried about alot, lol.
Now I sort of miss people asking about my twins, but some think I'm just a crazy person with kids very very close in age. If I get a comment about it, I make a point to mention they are actually twins. I don't know why I feel I have to clarify that. I also don't like being told that I must be some amazing supermom to "handle" twins (and all my kids). I tell them my ability to produce many children, including two at once does *not* give me instant celeb status in Mommyworld.

But on the other hand; it's been hard sometimes, lots more work, and sometimes, I need just that little ego boost that says, "You got to be a part of something special". These twins, Allison Ivy and Robert Kenneth, are, truly special. Not that they're favored over our other children, but they're different. Our home is such a fun and happy place, largely due to them. Sure, it was pretty hard getting them here with all three of us intact(well, I came out of the pregnancy minus one appendix), but with great trials come great blessings. And wow, is our cup running over with blessings!







So, Happy Birthday Robbie and Allie! I love you more than you will know...(until you have your own children ;) Maybe a matched set in there? That would teach you! lol)
Life wouldn't be the same without you, Little Princess and Handsome Rob!!!!!!XOXOXOXOXOXOXOXOX

Make him STOP...oh PUHLEEZ!

Where is this child's off switch? When does he stop for air? Will he EVER run out of things to say?

Ethan is 4 and talks NONSTOP. My 6 1/2 yr old can be quite the talker, but he can't hold a candle to Chatty Cathy, or just Cathy as my hubby refers to him. Probably because it takes to long to say Chatty and Cathy, and by then he's off rambling again.

The other day I was feeding him chewy dried mangos (yum! From Costco) just to keep him from talking. I mean seriously. He was singing songs he'd made up and talking inbetween them for a good 20 minutes straight without a pause. I told him to come to me (I was nursing baby Liam on the couch...otherwise I would have run screaming from the room a good while ago), and I stuck a mango slice in his mouth. He started telling me thanks, but I said, "Uh uh. Don't talk with your mouth full!" When he was done with that and started to talk again I stuck another in his mouth. He giggled...thought it was funny. I thought I was losing my mind! I must have fed him 1/4 of that huge bag.

Today, as soon as he got home from preschool (they had their Valentine's Day Party today) he listed every single thing they did in the last 2 hours. Play by play...in real time. This meant it would be a good long 2 hours before he stopped.

Have you seen that Volvo (I think) commercial when the little girl is talking to her dad and she doesn't stop, even though he's buckled her in the backseat and he's trying to close the door, but she won't stop talking? That is sooo my child. He doesn't even care if you get up and leave the room while he's narrating. I know that sounds mean, but it does not phase him! I can hear him still talking in the other room. Eventually, he'll find me, but he doesn't restart his story (Oh, thank goodness for that!), he just carries on with his epic about nothing and everything.

*sigh* I love that little chatter box, but he doesn't even stop telling me about Megaman's super macho power bombs while I scream into my pillow. He just pats me on the back when I come up for air and explains how Machoman uses his super mega bombs to go "pichu pichu chu!" and crash into Bombman's power supers and can we have macaroni and cheese for dinner, the kind he likes, not the other kind and it can't have the curls, but he likes the yellow sauce and Spiderman is cool cuz he shoots webs, "Chu chu chu" like this and why are there freckles on your face, Mom?

All Hail the king of runon sentances!!!

Hubby says he's my boy.

Picture is of Ethan (4 years) and Liam (1 month).

5 good things that happened to me today

1. I made it to the post office in time!
2. My sweet hubby made dinner.
3. My 3 oldest boys cleaned the living room, kitchen and dining room! (Sure, it was to earn their Game Boys back...but I'll take it anyway I can get it!)
4. I found a missing earring.
5. I started this blog. (Hooray! Another thing to keep me on the computer instead of attending to all the other things that need my attending. Oh well!)

Deffinition of Positive Pessimism

I think I'm a realist, but I can get a little pessimistic sometimes. Ok, sometimes a lot. I believe that all stems from my childhood and my dad's eternal optimism that would drive a saint crazy (well, my mom's still sane, so maybe it's not that bad.)... but that's a saga for my therapist(I kid!) I try to keep that to myself though. Mostly, I'm positive on the outside, pessimistic inside. Like a bi-polar oreo. Hence, my blog name.

I found this "article" while googling my new blog's name. Pretty cool, I think. I didn't realize I was actually doing something useful while anticipating the bad, lol. Oh, and I think it's very appropriate that Eeyore be my mascot. I've always loved the sad, often homeless, little donkey. Just ask my parents who once had to go back and walk alongside a busy freeway to retrieve my little squeaky Eeyore toy I'd thrown out the window of our car when I was 2. I do a pretty good "Thanks for noticin' me" Eeyore impression too.

THE POSITIVE PESSIMIST

Can pessimism be positive? Although the term "positive pessimism" may be considered an oxymoron, practicing positive pessimism is anything but moronic. Positive pessimism in action is the practice of Crisis Anticipation

Crisis Anticipation is the process of predicting possible obstacles and developing a plan to overcome them before they happen. Sometimes planning for the worst can be the best thing we can do for ourselves. Let's face it, there are times when even the best-laid plans go awry. Remember Murphy's Law: If anything can go wrong, it will. Individuals that are prepared for this make the proper adjustments when crises occur, achieve solid success despite crises and continue to move toward their goals.

Crisis Anticipation will help you eliminate or overcome anything that can get in the way of achieving your goals. When things do go wrong, the positive pessimist is prepared and takes action rather than suffering from a reaction.

By looking for opportunities to turn negatives into positives, you will become more productive, confident and cool under pressure. You will continue on your path to success no matter how many obstacles come your way.

by Mark David bottomlinecoaching.com