Best Buddies

The other day I took the brothers to their 18-month appointment. Since I'm a regular at the pediatrician's office, the gal at the front desk was chatting away and commenting on how big the twins were getting, etc. She asked, "How is Alex doing with his little brothers?"

I answered, "Well... he does pretty good, but he's just a typical big brother."

She said, "Like right now?"

I quickly turned around to see Alex with Jackson in a head lock, giving him a noogie. *sigh* Yep... like right now. sheesh!

But these boys do really have a great time together, and every morning they are all so excited to see each other. Today they were "snuggling" on the oversized chair in the living room. They barely fit, but they were having a great time. It was a nice little "moment."

Lagoon...

Ahhh, the memories.

Last night I was driving home from Lagoon at 10:45 p.m. The roads were fairly quiet, and the car was even quieter. Alex was fast asleep in the backseat, lulled by the steady hum from the tires on the freeway. He was sticky, dirty, and completely satisfied.

My mind couldn't help but wander back to the days when I was that kid in the backseat, exhausted from a hot, sweaty, fun-filled day on rides with loud engines and even louder music. I remember having so much fun at Lagoon on my dad's work-sponsored day. I loved all the rides and always had a blast. (I couldn't understand how my parents would rather wait for us in the shade rather than go on those rides, but it's all coming clear now. I guess the equilibrium's not quite what it used to be.) I was usually with my parents and my brother, and it was a day I was always glad to be with my family. One of my fondest memories was eating KFC (like I said here, eating out didn't happen very often) and waiting for the drawing that my dad's company sponsored to see how much cash my dad would win. If we could score $20 or more, then I knew we were in for a delicious ice-cream treat at the end of the long, hot day.

And so it was last night. Alex was exhausted - even as he mumbled in his half-conscious state, "one more ride, please?" - and we had to get that coveted ice cream cone just before leaving the park. He licked and licked until his little tummy could take no more. Then he begged to be held as we made the long walk out to the car that was parked in Lagoon Siberia. The sky was dark, the lights behind us glowed as we walked further away from the muffled screams, laughs, roars and music that blanketed the night behind us.

As I held my little boy in my arms, his head resting on my shoulder, I couldn't help but feel an overwhelming love and appreciation for him and my role as his mother. I want to give him every experience that I can, no matter how small or seemingly insignificant. I want to create little traditions for him that he can look back on with fondness and a smile. I want to give him days that are so full of fun that they end in utter exhaustion. I want him to cuddle up in the back seat of the car, secure in knowing that his mommy is right there to love him and take care of him as he drifts off to sleep.

When it rains...

Well, well... what a week. I guess when it rains, it pours.

It all started with an awful night on Sunday night (last week, the 15th). Andrew cried all night long. He didn't seem sick, he was just super upset for whatever reason. The poor kid probably got about 4 hours of sleep, compared to his usual 10 or 11. Mom and Dad got even less. Grrrr... This mama doesn't handle no sleep very well.

That night led to an ornery mom and an ornery Andrew on Monday morning - especially when AJ only took an hour morning nap. I honestly thought it would last about 3 hours. The babies were also off schedule, since AJ fell asleep for his morning nap at 8 a.m., about an hour after Jackson woke up for the morning. So, I figured we were doomed to a whole day of nap-taking. Once AJ woke up, I held Jackson off for his morning nap until lunch time. I figured by then that AJ would be ready to go back down again. Well, predictably so, Jackson was a tired mess by the time I got ready to put him down. I fed them both lunch (or tried... Jackson was so tired [or so I thought] that he didn't eat much) and put them down.

This is where it all becomes a blur...

Jackson started moaning after being down for about an hour. I'd go in there, and his eyes were closed, but he was crying. I don't think he even knew I was with him. Finally after about another 1/2 hour, he became quite upset, and I took him into my room and tried to see if he'd sleep next to me on my bed. He was quite agitated, but still had his eyes half-closed. Suddenly, yup you guessed it, he puked all over me, him, and my bed. YUCK. My very first thought was, "Oh great... how in the world am I going to handle two babies with stomach flu?" Andrew hadn't shown any signs of sickness besides his extreme fussiness and lack of sleep, but experience told me it was only a matter of time. A quick call was made to Daddy to "hurry and get home, there's puke everywhere!" and another call was made to Becky who angelically came running. I got everything cleaned up (while blessed AJ was finally sleeping a loooong nap) and Becky rocked a now feverish and miserable Jackson.

That night AJ woke up in the night and followed in his brother's yucky footsteps. Mark dealt with him while I put in my fourth load of puke laundry. (Sidenote - it was quite depressing to think that I'd done four loads of laundry and to see that the laundry baskets were still brimming with the regular laundry to wash... what a bugger.) Jackson woke up with problems on the other end, and once again, it was a long night. Luckily Mark was able to take Tuesday off, and we both just held feverish, fussy, clingy babies all day long. This whole time Alex was a trooper and on his best behavior in days. He did so well. I was just waiting for it to be his time however. Which leads me to Tuesday night....

Jackson went to bed with a 100 fever, and AJ 103. We loaded 'em up with ibuprofen and we all went to bed. At about 1 a.m., I hear Alex coughing. Poor kid didn't have the stomach flu, he had croup! He coughed, wheezed, and flipped out about his labored breathing until about 3 a.m. when I finally snuck into Jackson's room and got out the nebulizer and steroids that were stashed in there. It helped his breathing immensely but by then he was WIDE awake and wanted nothing to do with falling asleep. Luckily our feverish babes slept the whole night! yeah! Too bad the parents didn't.

Well, the flu hung on for a few days. On top of that, AJ got a horrible sinus infection (which he still is getting over). Jackson, of course, soon caught the cold, and we added that to our list of yuckies. Every night since, I've been up with someone at least twice a night. Our good sleeper, AJ, has been the worst sleeper ever. And then, of course, by Friday (or was it Thursday? like I said, all a blur...) I got the stomach flu. Oh joy! Luckily, I have an awesome family, and Aunt Wendy came and saved the day! She just jumped in and took great care of those babies and Alex while I spent the whole day in bed. sheesh.

Now it's the following Thursday, and last night was the first night that everyone slept thru the night in almost two weeks. Dare I say that we're finally kickin' these bugs? Maybe I ought not be so bold as to put in in black and white. The noses are still running green, the fussies are still hanging around, but I really think we're on the mend. My patience is about as long as a grain of rice, but that'll be my next project when I get a few nights of sleep under my belt. Ahhh...

So, thanks to all of you who helped, and thanks to my mommy for letting me cry over the phone one-too-many times. This motherhood can be good stuff sometimes, huh? The one thing that makes it all bearable? Those eternal cuddles from those sick babies. Too bad those only come with sickness, huh? Oh well, they sure were nice.

My carpet won't get heartburn...

Yep, you read that right. The carpet in the babies' room certainly won't get heartburn. Not since I spilled half a bottle of Mylanta all over it. Why Mylanta in the boys' room? Well, I was told it helps with raw bums from what I call, "acid poops." Yep, we're dealing with a major case of diaper rash. Again. What is up with that? My first child had a diaper rash three of four times, maybe? Poor little Jackson's bottom side is bleeding more often than not... Too much info, but true. So... As I'm trying to get my cotton ball saturated with Mylanta and keeping a very wiggly 1-yr-old from rolling off the changing table, that poor bottle just went flying. Good thing it wasn't the berry variety, huh? Hope there's some of that stuff left for me after this long day...

Oh what a night...

I don't know if it's the snow on the ground, or the dark gray skies, but Mother Nature had our whole family fooled today on this April 1st that it was still winter. And man, our moods felt like a dark, dreary winter as well.

Alex didn't stop fussing all evening. It finally escalated in sending him to his room to sort things out as the babies bawled from a) being ignored while we dealt with Alex, and b) nursing their wounds as brother tipped them over, and over, and over again. Exhausted babies cried all through their baths, got mad every time we took away the remote control, and Alex continued sobbing since he lost some privileges, blah, blah, blah.... Needless to say, Mark and I were both at our wits end and ready to walk out the door, leaving those little needy creatures to fend for themselves.

After all was silent, I came to vent my frustrations on the keyboard.

And then... I read this. Be sure to listen to the words of the song...

Thanks for the little reminder.

What to do...?

This scene is an all-too-familiar scene at my house -- Alex lounging on my bed, watching his "kid shows." Part of me feels so much guilt, because I didn't want my kids to be those kids that spend their days and nights parked in front of the tube. However, it works out sooo nicely that he loves to watch tv. The babies get a nice, quiet nap, and mom gets a nice, hot shower. Sigh... What to do? Is everyone's house lacking in the insulation that mine is, so that sounds carry through every wall? If he's not sitting here, then he's making noise which wakes the little ones... So anyway... venting away. Oh well. Much worse things have happened than Mickey Mouse Clubhouse, right?

One of THOSE days...

Sheesh. Crying, crying, crying... That's all I heard all day today. It tends to get so frustrating at times. Therefore, I'm venting! I love my kids, but, man... The babies have colds, don't want to sleep, and don't want to be more than 1 inch away from mom. Alex has been on a whiny kick for the last few weeks, and it's only getting worse. I think we've hit the terrible-nearly-threes. I'm definitely not feeling the Christmas spirit. I can't believe it's only a week away! Send me away to some sunny spot, and don't make me come back for... oh, two years or so?

Then... there's the whole "to move or not to move" question. We've been toying with the idea, but it's so risky! We really like our house, and we love our location. But we want something newer, and we want a younger neighborhood. However, we don't really want to make a parallel move (or downgrade), we'd like to make a jump. We think we might be able to get a screaming deal, but it's a huge risk. The bank and/or builder might not accept our super low offer... stress. I can't get this darn thing off of my mind. I feel bad, like I'm being totally materialistic or something, but that doesn't stop my mind from thinking about it... *sigh*

ON THE BRIGHT SIDE....

We attempted the Santa Claus thing this year. It actually went better than expected. Alex mustered up the courage to tell him that he wants "a candy cane and a fire truck," and to tell Santa that he's "two (with his two fingers held up)." But (and no surprise here) there was no way he was going to get on that man's lap, and mom had to stay close by.

Later that night, he had to pretend he was Santa by putting on his "white hair and white beard."

And here's one more of Alex and AJ. See that fading red mark by AJ's right eye? Yep... that was another one of "those" days when big brother felt he had to inflict wounds on the younger crowd. Sure is fun stuff...