And we're off!...

So we're leaving for Mexico in the morning, all four of us. And I use morning loosely, because frankly I consider it the middle of the night. The alarm is going off for Chris and I at 3 am. We'll be gone for a week, I'll post some pics of our fun in the sun when I get back. For now, here are a few odds and ends:

Here are the girls having a tea party:

Climbing in the laundry basket (Rowan chose her own outfit):

Wearing mixing bowls:


Apparently it wasn't silly enough for Saoirse:

And hanging with their new best friend, Sareena:

Snowbound

We have gotten more snow this year than I can remember since I was a kid. Maybe I just think that because we're homeowners this year, because shoveling definitely highlights the frequency of the snow. Today Chris had to do some serious shoveling, and the girls and I bundled up and went out with him. It was the first time the girls had been out for days, because the temperatures have been so low here lately that they've been warning of frostbite danger. Today it warmed up into the teens. Rowan experimented a little, seeing if the piles of snow along the path to the door would support her weight. It was mostly powder, so the answer was no. Her hands plunged into the snow, followed by her head. She took it pretty well. They ran around until I was concerned about how red their cheeks were, then we went inside and warmed up with their first cocoa. They've been obsessed lately with cocoa, because we have this book about snowmen at night, and in it the snowmen drink "ice cold cocoa made by snowman mothers." They had never had cocoa, but they apparently liked the sound of it, because for days now, they run around asking for "cocoa, cocoa!" So, sippy cups of cocoa it was.

The girls are more fun every day. They chatter nonstop, repeat everything they hear, and are turning into little girls before our eyes. They are really into being twins right now, they definitely see themselves as a unit. For instance, when I gave Rowan her cup of cocoa this afternoon, she reached and pointed for the other cup, pointing to "sha-sha". Rowan didn't start drinking hers until Saoirse had one too. When I put one in the highchairs, she points to the other chair. When they sit on their potties, they point to the other one. This evening when I came upstairs with Rowan she found their babies in baskets. She picked up both, then held one out to me, saying "sha-sha." I had to call Saoirse up to join us from downstairs, because Rowan would not chill out and play until Saoirse got that baby. They want their highchairs close enough to touch, so that they can hand each other food that they think the other one needs, or get what they want. They know what they like best and what the other one likes best. Saoirse passes Rowan toast, for example, and Rowan passes Saoirse eggs. Of course, don't get me wrong. They have also learned the word "Mine" recently, and they use it a lot. This morning Rowan wanted some of Saoirse's eggs, and was reaching for them. Saoirse moved her pile of scrambled eggs to the other side of her tray, out of Rowan's reach, covered them up with her hands, and repeated Mine!" gleefully while Rowan whined. But overall, I think they're getting along a little better lately. More negotiation, and a little better delayed gratification.

We're getting excited about our first family vacation together. We leave next Saturday for Mexico, and we'll be gone for a week. We're renting a villa with two other families. I think some time on the beach (and in the pool) sounds like just what we all need. I can't wait to see the girls in Mexico! :) The fact that they have passports at age 1 is so funny to me, I didn't get my first one until I was 16.

I'll post some pics later, my camera battery is charging.

What can I say?

I know, I'm becoming a very bad blogger. I would say that it's my New Year's Resolution to be better, but really that would doom the blog. We all know how well we keep N.Y. resolutions.

Christmas was veru busy. The girls loved it, and I realized why people have always said that Christmas is for kids. It is so much more fun to see your kids enjoy Christmas than to enjoy it yourself. For the first time in my life, I actually meant it when I said that I really didn't need anything for myself. Actually, I don't think I've ever even said it before, let alone meant it. :)

The girls got to hang out with all of their grandparents, see their great-grandparents, enjoy the chaos of extended family and play with cousins. They enjoyed opening presents this year. Saoirse would open one, then just want to play with whatever it was for a while. She'd turn down other gifts for a while. Rowan wanted to tear open every package she got, and some that belonged to other people.







Since we came home after Christmas, we've been struggling with sicknesses. Both the girls got colds, then Saoirse came down with the croup. Yes, my mom's biggest phobia, the dreaded croup. It's pretty miserable, she's on steroids and exhausted. I've never seen her look more pathetic. Her new nickname is "sickie."

I know Rowan has her eyes closed in this picture, but I had to post it to illustrate a point. This year the girls got a lot of gifts that were the same, so they wouldn't fight over them. So, two dolls, two letter toys, two puzzles, you get the idea. They love the baby dolls, but the funniest thing to me is that they often carry two of them. Like...how else do babies come but in a set of two?

Here are Chris and the girls on the couch on New Year's Day. It wasn't very festive, although he did enjoy the cuddling.


Hope everybody else had fun over the holidays. Hopefully you're all healthier than us.

12 days 'til Christmas....

First. as promised, a photo of the tree. I set it up in the library so that people can see it from the road:


Then, a funny picture from the "Saoirse is silly" collection. Here we are making meatballs for our spaghetti the other night. The girls actually both wear this piece of Tupperware around, Saoirse just happened to be wearing it this time. What I love about this pic, though, is that it captures how nonchalant it all is. Like it's a normal hat, not a really silly thing to be wearing on your head.


Chris and I took the girls out the other night to finish up some Christmas shopping. It is awesome to be able to shop for them without even trying to keep things a secret, since they don't understand what's going on anyway. While we were shopping, we stopped at My Urban Toddler, a place I've mentioned before. Usually we just shop there, I've never been brave enough to take the girls to the playspace alone. This time, Chris was along, so we tried it out. It was awesome, and now I feel guilty for not having tried it out before. It's set up like a little town, with an open space in the middle, a "road" running around it, and little stalls all around the outer ring that are different stations. There's a market, a library, a theater, a house, etc...each one filled with toys and stuff that go along with the theme. Here are the girls playing in the fire station:


Chris went to Cleveland yesterday to help his parents with some stuff, and I didn't feel like being cooped up in the house for over 24 hours with the girls, so we drove over to visit my parents last night. This afternoon we took the girls out sledding for their first time. Saoirse kind of liked it. Rowan loved it at first, until she tipped over rounding a corner and faceplanted into the snow.




And while we were in G.R., I saw a sign last night advertising that Kate Gosselin (of Jon & Kate plus 8) was signing books at the nearby Barnes and Noble. I already owned the book, and I thought it sounded like fun. So we stayed an extra night, and Chris drove over here this afternoon to join us. I was a bit nervous about going to the booksigning, because I had a bad experience at one in NYC. I know, dorky, right? Most people have bad experience stories about bars, or one-night stands, or vodka (well, I have one of those too, actually). But I have a "bad experience" story about a book signing. But I used to like the author Jodi Picoult. She wrote a couple books I really enjoyed, and I was reading most of her stuff for a while. It's nothing that's going to win any awards, you know, but it's enjoyable. Then she came to the B&N by our place in Manhattan, and I dragged Chris there with me. We sat through a reading, for her new (and pretty weak) novel. Then we stood in line for ages. And you know how when you're standing there in line, you're kind of thinking...what am I going to say when I get to the front? Well, the guy right before me told her while he got his book signed that he lives in Hanover, NH, went to Dartmouth, his mom sees her around town. (Apparently that's where she lives). I hadn't known that before. So I get up next, like 10 seconds after he says this, and I say, "Well, I didn't go to Dartmouth, but my freshman year roommate at Michigan was from Hanover." Kind of in a "what a small world" kind of way. Hanover isn't a very big place, I thought it was an interesting coincidence. She doesn't even look at me, says, "You don't have to try to impress me." Seriously. I thought I might punch her. I said, "Uhh...I wasn't trying to impress you. I went to Michigan, and I'm proud of it. I was just making conversation." Then she handed me the book she signed, and I left. And I have never bought, or even read, another one of her books. Was I being too sensitive? Chris laughed about me being so pissed, said he'd hate to get on my bad side. And he would. ;) But seriously, what a bitchy thing to say. So...I'm wary of meeting people that I like from afar.

But Kate was nicer, I had no trauma. I told her that I have twin girls from IUI ( as she does) and that because of her my husband is terrified of my "just one more." She laughed, said, "As he should be! Maybe he can learn something." And that was it. Okay, we won't be best friends, but I still like her. Here's a cheesy picture of me talking to her to prove that I'm not making it up out of some stalkerish psychosis. :)

the Christmas spirit

Sorry for the lack of posting. Adjusting to having Chris at home, and job searching, is throwing everyone off a little. The girls had colds this last week, which seem to be getting better. We're starting to settle into a new routine. We're keeping our fingers crossed that an opthalmology job turns up soon. And we're getting ready for Christmas.
If it were just Chris and I, I'm pretty sure we would be going the Scrooge route this year. We're feeling pretty Grinchy. But...we have kids. Yet another way that having kids changes your life (and you). So I hung the Advent calendar, put up stockings, wrapped some gifts, and we ventured out in the snow to get a tree. The first tree, actually, that Chris and I have ever had. Our apartment in NYC wasn't a great place for a tree (small, a long trip up on a small elevator...plus we would have had to walk a tree home like that scene in When Harry Met Sally). Last Christmas the kids were still so small...I could barely breathe, let alone get a Christmas tree. So this year it is.
Here are Chris and the girls all bundled up for the trip:

Here the girls are taking a ride in the cart meant for the tree:


Something I learned while at the tree farm: the girls know what to do if you say "smile" for a picture. Here's Rowan, and then a before and after set of Saoirse.




I'll post pics of the tree later. It's not fancy, but it smells so good. And having the decorations up does make us all feel more in the spirit.

Teething is no joke

I never really took it all that seriously before I had kids when people said their children were teething. I guess just because I took it for granted. Every person in the world gets teeth, after all. It just seemed so routine, how bad could it be?
Rowan never really has had all that much trouble, but Saoirse does drool and chew and sometimes get cranky. But today really topped it all. She was acting strange on Thanksgiving, but then when she passed out at the table I chalked it all up to exhaustion. But today she just wasn't herself right from the beginning, and by early afternoon she was in full meltdown phase. Screaming and sobbing until she hoarse, throwing herself on the floor, drooling by the gallon, totally inconsolable. When I managed to get my finger in her mouth, there were three molars breaking through the surface. So almost her whole mouth is swollen, no wonder she's in such pain. I lay down with her and finally got her to fall asleep, but she woke up screaming again after only about 45 minutes of fitful sleep. It was awful. Her pediatrician's office is totally closed on weekends, so it's pretty handy that Daddy is a dr. Once she started on some Tylenol-3 late this afternoon, life has been quieter. She even goofed around a little, and we were able to go to Toledo to meet some friends of ours. As Chris said, "Wow, that codeine really works!" Yes. And I have a new respect for teething.

Here's a picture of Saoirse once she got dosed enough to be calm:

And here she is getting ready to go visit our friends. Isn't she cute in that hat?

I'm an auntie....:)

Okay, so they were born like 6 weeks ago, but yesterday I got to see them. These are at least the second cutest set of twins I know. :)



Newborns smell so good!