My dilemma

Gavin and Riley will be three months on Saturday and my first dilemma has arose, well it had, but as of yesterday it got resolved....

Grama W and Grama T had both offered to take a grandson for the weekend...yes, the WEEKEND. We were going to do it last weekend, but the boys weren't feeling well, so it was postponed until this weekend.

The dilemma was, who took who. It's not a large dilemma, but one that kind of stumped me. How do you decide? Yesterday my Mom emailed and said she was interested in taking whoever she was going to get on Thursday night as she was going to visit her Mom on Friday. This entails a Ferry ride to Gibsons and also she is going to a dinner party on Saturday night, but not a large crowd.

In that conversation my decision was made. Gavin tends to do well at the beginning of the evening and then he gets tired and just cries.

We tried this on Saturday when we went to Gord and Winola's for a poker party. I attempted to put Gavin down in a room away from all the noise, but that didn't work. He just cried, so then I brought him back upstairs and he was passed around from Winola to Mel to me to the couch....but alas, he still cried. By this time he was overtired!!! Riley was awake pretty much the whole time, but didn't cry. I guess I should mention that we didn't leave until almost 2am, but this crying started around 10pm.

So Riley is going to go on his first ferry ride to Gibson's to surprise his great Grama B (I sure hope she doesn't read this blog) and then he is going to Uncle Mark and Aunt Nancy's for dinner on Saturday.

Gavin's going to hang out with Grama W and I'm pretty sure he won't mind not going out for dinner, but he might mind not going on a Ferry ride.

So, I'm a bad parent counting the hours. One more sleep with two, then one night with one and then TWO nights with NONE!!!!

We will miss them, BUT I'm going to get this house clean!!!!! Maybe go out for dinner with some friends. Either that or we will sleep for the whole weekend!!!

Happy hump day!!!

Cuteness

Thank you

I know there are people out there wondering where my manners have gone.....I still have them, honestly.

Now that my shower with the ladies from work has come and gone, I will endeavour to get out my Thank You cards for all the gifts the boys have received since they arrived. I was waiting for all the showers to happen so I only have to do it once. Okay, with two babies (who aren't feeling well this week), it may take awhile, but now I have all my ducks in a row (oranization of what came from where), I can sit down and start writing out the cards.

So, no, you haven't received a card yet, but you will. Please accept this as a prethank you and know that Glenn and I appreciate everything people have sent, dropped off and gave to us at the showers.

I'm feeling a little under the weather, runny nose and a cough, so this will be short and sweet. The boys will be three months next week, and hopefully I will post some pictures in the next few days.

Have a great weekend.

Happyness

Every year Santa gives Glenn and I 2 movie passes and $10 towards junk. So yesterday I dropped the boys off at my Mom's and Glenn and I went and saw The Pursuit of Happyness.

We went to the early show and were home by 9:30. I jumped into bed around 10:30 and read for awhile...haven't done that in ages. Usually I go through books in a matter of days. I have been reading this one since before Christmas!!!

Since there were no storms last night, our power stayed on and we both slept well. The dog and the cat slept peacefully as well.

I do not have to pick up the boys up unitl noon and now I'm not sure what I will do with myself. Maybe have a shower that lasts longer than 2 mintues!!!

Whatever it is, I'm sure I will enjoy the fact that I will be able to do it without interruption. Glenn did say last night that he missed them. I miss them as well, but I'm also enjoying the fact that writing today's post will take me five mintues instead of an hour.

I also have to do a post script to the bath time post...Glenn says he has NO problem with them being bathed in the sink....he just doesn't think that the sink was clean enough. Fair enough.....maybe I will let him clean the sink and bathe the boys :)

I hope you enjoy your Saturday, I'm going to go and enjoy my last few hours of freedom!!!

Bath time

Last night Gavin had a bath.....I ran out of time to bathe Riley as Beauty and the Geek started. I will bathe Riley today before we head to Auntie Kim's for dinner.

Now I'm not going to post the pictures I asked Glenn to take while I was bathing him. Nude pictures of my kids on the internet is so NOT cool.

Glenn is all for making life easier and the less complicated the better. So I used his reasoning last night and Gavin got his bath in the kitchen sink rather than hauling out the baby tub, filling that up and then having to put it away. Bath time took all of about 10 mins!!

The peanut gallery started up as soon as Gavin hit the water. "Oh gross, look at the stuff floating in the water!!!" Um yeah, fluff from his toes maybe? "You know, he's probably gonna get some disease from that!!" Ok, we wash our dishes in here, so will we also get some disease? Now I know that I was bathed in the kitchen sink (I have pictures to prove it) and I didn't get some sort of weird disease. I may not be normal, but I'm healthy!!!

The thing is, after all was said and done...for the first time since we have brought him home from the hospital, he didn't cry through his whole bath. He was alert, kicking his feet and waving his arms and NOT crying. They haven't started to smile yet, but I think if he was, I would have seen a smile.

So are they too young to have a bath in the sink? I have a stat counter, I know people read this blog, so please step up with your comments and let me know if I am wrong!!! I hate to be wrong, but it does happen from time to time.

One month ago

On December 17th I decided to take pictures of the boys and then take the same shot a month later. Alot of you notice the difference in them when you see them, but I need pictures to compare. Not quite the same shot, but you get the idea.

I had planned on this post being for yesterday but our internet for some reason was shaky. I had done this post and lost it. Today's post is

It's been awhile

So my last post was all about the snow storm and the accumulation that I couldn't believe. Since then life has been nuts!!!

Gavin's little system doesn't seem to like anything we feed him. I switched him to Soy on Friday. All last week everytime we fed him he acted like we were feeding him poison. Then about an hour after he was fed he would cry inconsolably, after awhile he would pass gas and if you took a breath it would knock you out. So I knew something was not right, but didn't want to keep switching him (this is formula #3). Since I have switched him, he still has gas but you don't need a gas mask when he finally farts!

He is still quite fussy, but it's not as bad as it was. I was lulled into a false sense of security after four days after the last change and bought a case of the lower iron (which I thought was his problem), and am now stuck with that. I will keep up with this for a few more days before I make that committment again.

Last week I also was doing some work from home. I know that I'm on mat leave, but there are certain jobs I'm continuing. Now I don't get paid for this work, but I do get to bank time for when I go back. I could say no or have somebody else do it, but honestly it keeps me sane!!! Also, when you go to a client's to pick up their quarterly books and they hand you a gift for your kids, well, you tend to want to make sure they are taken care of.

Yesterday was the first of two showers for the boys. My mom hosted the one yesterday and I couldn't believe the people that were there. Some people I haven't seen in FOREVER and others I just saw. About 80% of the gifts were clothes, some were size 3 and I'm not talking months!!! My friend Gord and his wife gave us a prepackaged tower of diapers, that was wrapped with receiving blankets and bibs. There has to be over 100 diapers in this thing. Best part they are a size 3 (not years), so they will come in handy in the next couple of months.

My work shower is next week and that should be fun as well. I have taken the boys to the office twice now and I don't think everybody has met them. Then again my firm is on three different floors in the building now (yes Angella....THREE!!!).

Today was spent sorting the stuff from yesterday, washing new bedding and comforting my first born. I still have some work to do, but it will probably have to wait until Glenn gets home as I hear some stirring from the corner of the living room.

Oh by the way, the Noon news informed me that there is ANOTHER snow fall warning in effect for this evening....another 2 inches at least! No comments from the peanut gallery Karin!

Keeps on coming

9:30am

12:30pm




At noon I measured 12 inches on the railing. It had stopped and it's now snowing again!

I sure am happy that I'm on mat leave....no commuter hell for me!

Winter weary

Yesterday morning I got up with the boys and fed them at 7:30, then jumped into the shower and then headed out. First stop was a client's to pick up their records for the last quarter of the year and to show off the boys and then we headed to my office.

After we finished there we headed home and I had every intention of posting regarding our doctor's appointment the day before. I got home around 3 and started to feed Riley.....all of a sudden the wind picked up and our trees started to sway. Then the lights started to flicker the TV was going off, on, off, on (that CAN'T be good), so I abandoned Riley to get to the power bars on my computer and Glenn's, then I dealt with the TV and then finished feeding Riley.

Now....do you think we lost power??? Ok, I know there are people out there worse off than me...I do recognize that...what about the lady in Sooke who had a tree fall into her house where she was with a newborn and had to be rescued. I also have a newborn * 2.

After I called Glenn to say the trees looked pretty ominous (sp?), I fed Gavin and proceeded to pack up the diaper bag and gather candles and a flashlight. Nightfall was coming. By this time it is after 4 and I have to make a decision, start the generator in the RV or flee to a motel...

Now, my husband didn't marry a wimp...so I sucked it up.

Out I went to the garage, found the string to release the garage door and pulled the door up. I then found the keys to the motorhome and proceeded to move it closer to the house (one because it sits by the bank of trees that can't decide whether to lay down or stand up and two because well...it's closer to the house).

With the generator in our motorhome, you have to let it warm up before it will start. So while I waited, I packed up a few things for myself and started to take stuff out to the RV. Maybe it was premature, but I could feel the temprature dropping in the house and the news had said earlier that it was supposed to start to snow.

It took a little maneouvering but I got the generator started, but the furnace was just blowing cold air. So I phoned Glenn, seems I hadn't turned the propane on for the furnace. Ok...done. Now I just wait a few minutes for it to warm up. So I bundled up the boys and loaded them in the motorhome for the second time in a month.

We do have a TV in the motorhome, so I turned it to the news at 6pm and just waited. Glenn arrived home around 7 and we discussed our options. (Again our main road was impassible due to a downed tree and wires, but they were working on it.)

So we fed the boys and then decided that we needed to eat. We were trying to decide whether we should venture out in the RV as it was low on propane and wouldn't last the night, or just go out in my truck for dinner.

My truck won out and we headed out for dinner. We lingered a little bit longer in the restaurant than we normally would, but it was pretty much empty and we were hoping the power would be restored.

When we left the restaurant, we decided to see if we were able to get through the main road and if they were still working. Surprise, surprise, road clear, power ON!!!

It hadn't been on long as there was still a slight chill, but it was on and that was all I cared. Dec 17th - 36 hours....Jan 5 - 12 hours.....Jan 9 - 6 hours. Getting better.

I'm getting very tired of power outages.....in the spring our power goes out quite frequently.....it's not normally so draining, but when you have to worry about two small people it becomes draining.

So they called for snow overnight, boy am I glad that our power came back on.




These pictures were at 8am this morning and I measured the snow on the railing, 6 inches (15 cm)!!!! It is still snowing heavily. I don't mind the snow, I have nowhere to go today.

Again I ask...global warming? My smart alec friend in Alberta, emailed me after our last snow fall, laughing and said her flowers were blooming!!! I replied that my snow would be gone in a day. Okay, so it left and then came back! I'm certain I will get a comment today.

I will post about the doctors appointment another day, but just for the record...Gavin is now a nice 8lbs 10oz (5lbs heavier than when he was born) and Riley weighs in heavily at 9lbs 8oz (almost 6lbs heavier than when he was born)!!!!

Because I do love the snow, Georgie and I will get some play time today!! She loves, loves, LOVES snowballs! Hopefully photos to come.

PS - I just measured again an hour later.....9 1/2 inches-seriously!

Auntie Kim is tired

My sister and her boyfriend took the boys on Friday night. Glenn and I dropped them off around 5 and left instructions regarding feeding them and the timing but that was it.

We left there, came home for a short period then headed to Boston Pizza for dinner (thanks Leslie). From there we went and rented The Break Up and Rounders. We had a very nice quiet evening and were in bed by 10:30. Thanks a million guys.

Storm #2,589 of the season or whatever number it is started shortly after we retired for the evening. The wind began to blow, the rain came pelting down along with thunder and lightening, which caused Georgie to come running. Then of course the power went out.

Glenn got up to check everything and found

Wondering what you are looking at? That would be the last three trees that fell...they righted themselves during the new wind storm!!!

Needless to say, I didn't get as much sleep as I was anticipating, but got a nice chunk anyway. The power came on at 11am and the kids came home at 1pm.

My sister seemed to enjoy herself and John thinks we should take the kids to high schools and rent them out.....good birth control! Overall, they didn't get alot of sleep but I think they had fun, but don't want to do again for a few months...or in John's words, until they sleep through the night :) Little does he know that some people classify 5 hours as "through the night".

Either way, we certainly appreciated the break and felt refreshed. I spent most of the day tidying up the house. Today will be more of the same.

Have a great Sunday!!!

Global warming and date night

I looked up the definition of Global Warming this morning and in a nut shell....Global warming is the observed increase in the average temperature of the Earth's atmosphere and oceans in recent decades.

Um, ok, then what the heck is it doing snowing....AGAIN!!! We had a huge dump 5 1/2 weeks ago....

I know that when I posted about the snow back in November I said that I usually don't mind the snow, but I hated driving in it.

Tonight is date night. We have had numerous offers from family and friends to take the boys so we could go out. Well, my sister offered to take them OVERNIGHT....she won. She is very excited and so are we.

She called this morning and first thing out of her mouth, "I guess I'm not getting them am I?" Now strangely enough I was still alseep and had NO idea what she was talking about. (I don't make a habit of looking outside when I get up in the middle of the night to feed the guys).

Once she informed me that it was snowing, I reassured her that I would talk to Glenn and see what was up. (As I'm typing this a snowplow just went up and down our road!!!). He thought at that point it looked ok.

We are in a wait and see pattern. When I started this post it was rain and now it has turned back into snow (I had to stop and feed the dudes). About an inch has fallen and stuck since it started, but what it looks like here is no indication as to what it looks like at my sisters. It could be better or worse.

Gavin looks like he has something to say...

is it...I want my Auntie????

Let's keep our fingers crossed that we get that dinner, movie and a quiet sleep.

2 months

5 days old

2 months old

It's amazing to me that they have been here for two months (yesterday). As of tomorrow they will have been home for 5 weeks!!!

They change almost daily....I have found that as soon as I post about a positive change in either of them, Murphy's Law kicks in and they no longer do what I posted about...ie stretchs of sleep :(

The tough part about all of this is the differences in them. What works for one certainly doesn't work for the other. Riley for instance, I can not get him into sit in a seat like I used to, he likes to be on his stomach or nothing. He will not last very long sitting upright or on his back....for example....I put him in a seat this morning so that I could go pee......I had just sat down and he started to scream like he was in pain. I have come to realize that he can scream for a few mintues while I finish whatever it is that I am doing and he won't be TOO traumatized :)

On the other hand, I'm glad that they are different and that they will do things at different times. They aren't going to smile at the same time or roll over at the same time...and that means we get to celebrate the milestones twice. They smile now, but I know that it's just twitches and not actual smiles....even though I like to think so.

Obviously there are good and bad things about having twins...and every stage will be challenging, but in the end it will be worth it...right?

My friend Karin in Calgary emailed me what she thinks is going to be a funny stage.....when they learn how walk/run in opposite directions!!!! Now what I think is funny is how I'm going to watch her from the staging lanes at the race track as she tries to corral them herself!!!

Just a warning, be careful what you laugh at!!! Have a great day!

Happy New Year

Our celebration consisted of going to bed at 10pm and waking up to feed the boys at 1am, with a groggy "Happy New Year honey" mumbled from both of us to each other. A combination of the holiday season and newborn twins has taken it's toll and December 31 just became another day.

Yesterday was our 2nd annual New Year's Day bonfire. This is the day that we invite our family and friends to bring their Xmas trees and paper products to burn. Maybe it's not eco friendly, as some people prefer to recycle, but I would rather burn my bank statements than shred and recycle. Our Xmas tree is live and will be our Xmas tree until we can no longer lift it into the house. We do our part!

I like this tradition that we started. It usually consists of the men outside tending the fire and the women inside. A little different this year as everybody wanted to see the boys and it was POURING rain all day. There were a few kids and they had on their boots and played in the puddles. Some of them even walked the property to find sticks for the fire...
That was the pile pre transported Xmas trees and such.

So a new year begins and it's back to the grind for most people. I have a few things to do...get in shape is one. I actually gained a pound or two over the last two weeks. Yikes!

The elliptical sits in the living room mocking me on a daily basis, we haven't had a relationship since April. First it was morning sickness and tiredness, then it was doctor's order not to do anything, then it was c-section recovery.....I've run out of excuses.....I don't think sleep deprivation counts.

So now I sign off...as I do so, I'm eyeing up the ellpitical.....will I start today?