The Volcano Beast (and other disasters)

I was doing laundry today and the girls were "helping" me.  I sent them upstairs, each with a pair of boys underwear in hand to put up.  Time went by and I went on folding laundry downstairs.  I figured they got distracted with Lego's or something else forbidden by their brothers if they were home from school.  I should have known the trouble those two mess makers could get into in only 15 minutes!

When I finally got around to checking on them I found every single article of clothing my two boys own on the bed.....how thoughtful of them not to throw it on the floor, right? 

I walked in the room and squealed in horror.  They looked up at me proud and said "We're doing laundry Mama!" 

Yes, those are flower print sheets on my son's bed.  When you wet the bed at 3 AM, well, you get what you get and don't throw a fit. 

In other household news, Zander is studying space in school.  He had to create an Alien and write a report.  He loved this assignment!  He got into my recycle box and made his creature out of 4 paper towel tubes, an egg crate, and a raisin container.  Then he added a little paint, a lot of duct tape, and the top of a pineapple and I present to you...

THE VOLCANO BEAST

A few facts about his alien, which he presented in front of his class:

• The Volcano Beast is from Venus.
• He is 18 years old.
• When living on Venus the Volcano Beast usually got hit by lava.
• He likes to eat lava and bad guys.  (Hints the bad guy wrapped in his tail.)
• He likes to dig for fun.
• Zander hopes that one day his alien will teach him to breath fire.
• In return, Zander hopes to teach his alien friend how not to eat people. 

Beautiful Day

I lOVE this beautiful fall weather we have been having! 

Today the girls and I went to Hunter park to feed the ducks. 

Camille and Maya

Stopping to smell the flowers along the way.  As parents we are supose to teach our children about life....but mine are teaching me what life is really all about. 

Maya laid like this for a good ten minutes.  I had no choice but to put down the camera and join her.

"Look Mama!  A SQUIRL!"  ~Camille

Picky Eaters

My girls have taken "picky eater" to a whole new level.  This is totally new territory for me.  The boys ate everything I put in front of them.  If they didn't like it....well, tough cookies.  Eat it anyway or starve.  I didn't play that game. 

Not sure what really changed.  Maybe with the more children I have the more relaxed and laid back I get?  Or is it they are girls and I'm more lenient with them?  What ever it is, they don't eat if they don't want to.  If it's new or different....not interested. 

This is how Maya eats her toast.  Yeah, most kids don't want the crust, I get it.....but only the top layer of the toast....that's just crazy! 

Camille

In efforts to get the girls to eat more I have been trying to include them in the cooking. 

Maya

We made pizzas the other night.  Kids love pizza, right?

They had so much fun making them. 

My plan didn't work.  Maya still would not even try the pizza.  She picked at the cheese a little, but only drank her milk.  Hoping this phase will end, but have a feeling it's just her personality.  Oh well.  Thank heavens for smoothies....I think that is her only form of nutrition (which I sneak all kinds of veggies in!)

window shopping

So the boys are both in school....ahhhh....

Yeah, yeah.  I know they grow up fast, BUT this mama is HAPPY 2 of my 4 children are in school!  I am a much better mom when I have structure and a schedule.  Without it my house is pure chaos! 

The other day after we dropped the boys off at school the twins and I headed to the mall...it was still closed...but honestly, that's the way I prefer it with two two year olds!  We just strolled amongst the mall walkers and did a little window shopping.  They were thrilled to be out of the stroller.

And I was thrilled to be in the air conditioner.

We pretended to ride rides.....but only pretended....75 cents?  Outrageous!

Camille & Maya

I am so very blessed and love spending quality time with these peanuts.

another "accident"

I was busy washing dishes after dinner this evening and Gavin came down stairs and tattled, "Mom!  Maya and Camille are naked again!"

"I'll be right up."

After I finished rinsing plates I headed upstairs where Gavin met me at the top.  "It was an accident, Mama."

Uh-oh.  That's never good to hear. 

"They're stuck in my room,"  he explained.

Gavin had locked his naked two year old sisters in his bedroom! 

Not a huge deal if you have normal bedroom door knobs, but the boys bedroom has a knob like this...

Yeah.  I never noticed until tonight. 

Anyway.  I tried my best to pick the lock but had no luck.  I tried talking the girls into unlocking the door but they just got frustrated with me for not letting them out.  I called the hubby at work....he was no where near being off work and wasn't much help.  He mostly just laughed and told me to knock the door down as a last resort. 

By this point a good twenty minutes had gone by.  I decided to call my sister, Jacque.  Her boyfriend tried to help over the phone....but it was useless.  Nothing was working. 

Soon I heard the dreaded "uh-oh" on the other side of the door followed by "Mama I poo-poo!"

"DON'T TOUCH IT!!"  I yelled through the door. 

I ended up calling the non-emergency police line.  When Gavin heard this he flipped out. 

"Mom!  PUH-LEEEEEASE don't call the police!!  I don't want to go to jail!"

Gavin then burst into tears.  It was hilarious.  (call me cruel, whatever, YOU try not to laugh at that situation!)

A HUGE thank you to Tulsa Fire Dept for coming to our rescue!!  Our hero's!

We are officially the talk of the culdesac. 

It only took them 3 minutes to open it up.  This is what we found.

Two babies in the buff (well, they were wearing converse and socks!) They obviously had a good time destroying their brothers room.  One of them pooped and Camille stepped in it and smeared it in the carpet.  Not to mention, there were tinkle tracks throughout the room.  It was great.

frightening revelation

I was at the mall today and met a man on the elevator with 5 kids....two of which looked like identical twins. 

"You have twins I see."  I said to make conversation, making sure I didn't ask the most annoying and obvious question...do you have twins? 

"Triplets actually."  He then introduced me to his family which consisted of a 6 year old boy, triplet 4 year olds (a girl and identical boys) and a 3 year old girl.  Did I mention he was alone?  No mom in sight.  This guy needs an award of some sort, and possibly teach classes at the local community college for other fathers.  I gave my respects and admiration and was on my way. 

I kept running in to them throughout our day.  I was in total awe of how well behaved his children were.  They followed behind him and kept together.....that's when it hit me.  He had no stroller. 

This is a frightening thought for me.  The stroller is my sense of control in public places.  My twin two year old's are safely buckled in and I have a handle for each older boy to hang onto.  The very idea of not using one scares the heck out of me! 

I didn't even realize that I am on my way OUT of the stroller phase.  I'm gonna have to get one of those ropes with handles that the former Jon & Kate +8 use....even though I know Zander will boycott that idea because he's way to cool. 

I'm also contemplating the possible scares of having two 5 year old's in strollers.  Do you think it will have the same social akwardness as breastfeeding a 5 year old? 

uno, dos, tres...

Say what you want about children watching TV, they can learn from it.  Maya came walking downstairs last night counting in Spanish!  She can count to 8 all by herself....and to 12 with a little help! 

We don't watch a lot of tv in our house, but I do allow the children to watch morning cartoons on netflix.  They usually choose Diego, it's the only show ALL the kids can agree on.  It gives me a little time to myself to drink some coffee and check my email and facebook. 

I got all excited when I heard her and decided to sit the girls down just to see how smart they were.  We got some of our favorite counting and color books and I got to work quizzing them. 

camille

That's when I observed something very interesting in my girls. 

I've been asked several times "Which one is the dominate twin?"  I never really know how to answer.  They are just different.  Both have pretty strong personalities but neither one dominates the other. 

When the girls are together Maya answers all my questions.  She is very bright and articulate and loves to "play school."  Camille lets her sister do all the work and just sits there quietly listening.  She doesn't speak up or participate.

I separated them and asked Camille her colors and we practiced counting.  She did great....away from her sister.

So this makes we wonder about school in a few years.  As parents of twins we have the choice to separate them or keep them together.   On one hand preK is a HUGE adjustment and maybe having each other would be nice....but I want each of my girls to shine and not be thought of as a unit. 

Maya Princess

A while back at our TMOM's (Tulsa Mother's of Multiples) meeting we had a panel of older twins and their parents.  One mother decided to keep her boys in the same class throughout elementary school because she wanted her children to have the same foundation in education.  She feared one twin would get a "better" teacher.  Not to mention the annoyance of different homework. 

I have 2 years before I need to make a decision, but this observation in my girls really got me thinking on the subject.  A question for other MOM's ......

Are you going to separate or keep you twins together in school?

5

The single most annoying thing about babies growing up is going up a size in diapers!

Ugh. 

The twins just graduated from a size 4 to a size 5....that's 26 less diapers!!  Let me tell you, they aren't peeing any less.  Perhaps more now that they prefer a straw in there cup. 

Is this Pampers way to motivate parents to potty train? 

With Zander I pushed potty training.  We sat for hours in the bathroom reading books.  We had a chart with stickers, M&M's, and watched video's encouraging it.  With Gavin...well, lets just say he taught me the individual child will choose when to go in the toilet.  It's their decision. 

I've heard through the grapevine that girls are easier then boys to potty train.  I also swore that when summer got here I would let the girls go around nude and they would magically train themselves....because, after all, they are so much smarter then boys! Yeah, a couple of accidents squashed that dream.   

I've come to 2 conclusions. 

#1 I don't know a single kindergartner still in diapers...they will eventually be potty trained. 

#2 I've become lazy with 4 kids and just don't have the time or energy to sit for hours in the bathroom reading. 

Summer Time

I am secretly excited about school being out for the summer.  Please remind me of this excitement when it's 110 degrees outside and the kids are running around and destroying the house because it's just to hot to swim in the shade.  Not really sure why I'm so happy....it's not like my kids sleep in or anything!  I do have lots of fun stuff planned....zoo, aquarium, splash pads, sandwiched in at the library, free bowling & $1 movies, story time on riverside, utica square music nights....not to mention all the "down time" at home. 

In other DesJardins news, Camille fell (again) and hit her face on the driveway.  That poor girl always has some horrific accident....at least this time it didn't result in stitches!  Ely has been sing "Camille the red-nose redhead" to her all week (the tune of Rudolph). 

Our garden is doing pretty good this year.  We have 4 raised beds with lots of tomatoes, spinach, eggplant, squash, zucchini, peppers, jalapenos, and more!  Ely built a fence to keep the kids and the dog (and hopefully rabbits!) out of the garden.  We're going to plant grapes along the fence so they will "climb" it. 

Our first bell pepper!

The twins have been fighting so much lately it was super sweet to see them kiss through the fence this evening! 

Best. Rainy Day. Ever.

I've wish I could say that I have always enjoyed being a stay at home mom.  But that's just not true.  It was a really hard transition for me.  I enjoyed working.  I loved having the freedom to go out with my friends whenever I wanted.  I was one of those who took off for the weekend to see a concert in another state.  My life was to busy for a dog....let alone a child. 

Then I got pregnant...by accident.  I always new I wanted children.  But when they started rolling in...well, I wasn't sure what to do with them.  I even resented my husband for "getting" to go to work. 

It took me a few years to truely love being a stay at home mom.  Not sure when my "ah-ha" moment was.  Probably a combination of several things.  Moved back to OK to be closer to family and friends.  Found the most amazing group of women at TMOM's (Tulsa Mothers of Multiples) and now have a fantastic network of moms.  I can honestly say there is nothing I would rather do than take care of my children each and everyday.  They have taught me more than I can ever teach them.  I am so thankful to have a husband who works so hard to allow me the opportunity to stay home and watch these amazing little people grow up. 

Here is our morning in pictures.  Best.  Rainy day.  Ever. 

Maya

Camille

Not sure which was more fun:  painting or clean up time.

Gavin is not known for his patience.  Drying his painted noodles.

Modeling his finished product....obviously bored by all my picture taking.

Murphy's Law

"Whatever can go wrong will go wrong." 

There are two things that I am absolutely sure of by being a mother of 4 small children.  #1 I will have to do at least 15 loads of laundry every week .  #2 If we are running late to the bus stop in the morning one or both twins will have a dirty diaper.  Never fails. 

The other morning I was in ultra-frantic mode.  Running late....again. Trying to get 4 kids dressed, fed and out the door in a timely manner.  Like clockwork both girls left a nice deposit for me in their diapers just as we were trying to load up in the van.  I got aggravated and marched the kids back in the house. 

Zander (5) noticed my frustration and said, "It's ok Momma.  They just had to go poop.  It's ok if I miss the bus, you can just drop me off at school."  How is a five year old so much wiser than a 31 year old??  It isn't a big deal.  Murphy's law is true if you believe it...but my goal is to not give in the that frame of mind anymore.  Wish me luck!  

In a perfect world, I would get up 2 hours before my kids.  Take a shower, do a little yoga and meditation drink a cup of coffee with my husband before seeing him off to work.   Be totally awake and centered before diving head first into mommy-mode.   But that would put me at getting up at 5 am....ugh.  Do you get up earlier than your children?  If so when and why?  I totally want to try it, but the truth is I'm lazy in the mornings and kind of a night owl. 

Silly Sisters

I've said it a thousand times on here....and I'll probably say it a thousand more....I LOVE having twins! There is something so special between them. It's a joy to watch them everyday.

Sure, it was tough when they were younger, and we still have our days, BUT it's so nice that they always have each other to play (and fight) with.

Camille sunbathing in daddy's chair....but what is so funny?

Sissy's got her toes!