vaseline & ken dolls

Saturday night I went to my friend Danielle's bachelorette party and had WAY to much fun.  With that said, Sunday I received the World's Worst Mother Award.  I was tired and crabby all day.

Monday morning came around and I had to make it up to my sweet children for putting up with me the day before.  I decided to make french toast for breakfast in hopes for their forgiveness.  The way to my children's heart is definitely maple syrup. 

I called the kids down for breakfast.  Maya did not come.  I went upstairs and found this...

She found a tub of Vaseline.

"I pretty Mommy?" she asked me when I walked in.

These pictures do NOT do this giant gooey greasy mess justice. 

If you ever have this mess to clean up, alcohol works on the carpet and dish soap on the hair.  As for the body.  Lots of paper towels and time.  Ugh.  It's a nice way to start a Monday morning before your coffee.  But really how can you be upset with a two year old this cute?  

In other household news, Saturday I bought a Barbie Dream House for the girls for only $2!  I know they are a little young but I loved Barbie when I was a little girl and always dreamed of having her house.  I couldn't pass it up. 

They only had one doll that they received for Christmas from a relative this past year, so we went to Target to buy another.  Zander (my almost 6 yr old BOY) begged me to buy a Ken doll for him...so I did.  Two of them, one for each boy.  The boys have been playing Barbies all weekend. 

I haven't the heart to tell them they are "girl toys"

I have to come clean before school starts....or their friends come over.

It thrills me to  have these pictures to torture them when they are older. 

Evil?  maybe.  Funny?  definitely.

sick or a phase?

We're going on day five of Camille's (age 2) non-stop whining and crying.  The poor baby has been attached at my hip for four days straight.  It seems nothing can make her happy. 

I am hopping her amber teething necklace will do the trick.  I'm kind of at a loss.  I have noticed she is burping a bit more.  Could this mean indigestion?  or stomach ache? 

She's still eating.  Well....she's picky....but that's nothing new. 

Her voice is a little raspy too. 

What do you think?  Just a phase?  Or teething?  Or worse?

It is such a hassle to take my crew to the doctor.  Not to mention  what would I say?  "Yes.  My 2 year old is moody and fussy.  Fix her." 

Calgone, take me away!

It's one of those days. 

It's 11:22 am and my house is finally quiet.  All 4 children asleep, hopefully to wake up in better moods.  It's been a crazy emotional morning. 

The craziness is partly my fault.  Last night I let the boys talk me into staying up late and watching Star Wars.  It's summer right?  Why not.  They can sleep in. 

Well, they didn't.  Instead they were up at 7:30....that's earlier than they usually wake up. 

Since we were up so early anyway I decided to get the kids dressed and meet some friends for a playdate over at the mall playground.  We were all dressed ready to go, dog in the kennel, and babies buckled in the car seats.  I asked Gavin to scoot over so Zander could get by in the van.  He refused.  Things escalated.  Tears and screaming on his side.  I was at a loss as to what to do.  I told him to get out of the van so we could have a talk.  He refused again.  I told him that if he didn't listen to me then we weren't going to go play with our friends.  He still refused. 

What's a mother to do?  Make empty threats?  Not me. 

So I unloaded the twins....who, by the way, did not understand what was going on and were crushed because we were going back inside.  They both started crying.  Zander was angry at his brother. 

Gavin still refused to get out of the van.  Screaming at the top of his lungs ordering me to take him to the mall.  We all went inside and left him throwing his fit by himself....which lasted about 20 minutes. 

Then he can in.  He said he would be nice and asked to go to the mall. 

"Sorry Gavin.  It's to late.  I'm glad that you decided to be nice, but we're not going to the mall.  The way you behaved and talked to me was wrong." 

"Mom!  You're so mean to me!  I WANT TO GO TO THE MALL RIGHT NOW!!"  Followed by more screaming. 

Ok.  The husband and I have been talking about this a lot lately.  He thinks I need to spank him.  It's really hard for me to spank my children.  It's one thing to swat their little hand when they try to touch the stove.  But spanking as a punishment?  I have mixed emotions about that. 

But I did.  I spanked him.  Seriously he was acting horrid.  I needed to get his attention.  He's 4 going on 14 and if I don't get this attitude in check I'm in trouble. 

He was sent to his room where he continued to throw stuff and scream and he was making himself sick with anger.  I went in there after time had past and the tantrum hadn't ceased. 

"Gavin?  Calm down.  You're going to making yourself crazy.  Come here." 

I sat on the bed.  He walked over with angry eyes and said, "I want to cut your head off!" 

I hugged him.  "Calm down my son.  Mommy loves you.  Please stop saying hurtful things that you don't mean." 

"I want to go to the mall!" 

"We're not going to the mall today.  You have a choice now.  You can be angry and mad for the rest of the day OR you can get over it.  You can come down stairs and eat lunch with us if you want.  I made PB&J...your favorite." 

Sigh.  It's been one of those days.

He gets his wild emotions from me.  I can totally relate.  But it's my job to teach him how to control them.  Right now I'm at a loss on how to do this.  He really is a sweet boy.  Just very moody and emotional.  He's got all the makings to be a very successful musician or artist. 

What did I learn from this?  It's to late to start a movie at 8pm. 

Going Green

I watched a documentary not to long ago (sorry, don't remember the name of it).  Some very educated man concluded that multitasking was a delusion, in reality one simply does one thing, switches to another task, then switches back.  HA!  Obviously he isn't a Mother of 4 young children like me.  I have cooked dinner, helped with homework, and breast fed a baby all at the SAME TIME! 

Multitasking is ONE reason I love cleaning green.  My twin girls are now two.  They love their bath time every evening....usually spending 30 minutes in the tub.  I still have to watch them the entire time, but I don't have to be at arms length anymore.  When you make your own non-toxic cleaners you can safely clean the rest of the bathroom without worrying your babies are breathing in harsh chemicals.  See?  Multitasking. 

Here's a few other perks of making your own homemade non-toxic cleaners: 

• You save money.
• Down size your cleaning supplies....seriously, go through your house and count ALL your cleaners....I had 32 in my house.  32 different cleaners...that's a LOT of space I could be saving. 
• It's good for the environment and your families health.
• Safety.  If your child gets into your homemade cleaners it's not that big a deal.  There are over 5 million reported poisoning every year, the #1 cause of child poisoning is household cleaners. 

We all love our children and want what's best for them.  We all baby proof our home with those annoying cabinet and drawer guards.  The problem is both my boys mastered these by age 3.  Not to mention they could push a chair up and climb anything.  I have the cutest video of Zander in the kitchen when he was about 2.  He got into the cabinets, somehow opened the vegetable oil (it was a push down, twist off top!) and poured it all over the kitchen floor.  He was so proud of his mess and had a blast slipping around in it.  But what if that was Drano?!  Drano is the most dangerous thing to have in your home.  Don't take my word for it.  Check with the all knowing google...he'll tell ya.  I'm guilty of buying the liquid poison religiously.  With my long hair you know I've got some clogged drains.  My husband wonders how I have any hair on my head at all because I shed so much! 

I will stop now.  As you can see I have become a little obsessed with learning about this kind of stuff and I feel like I need an outlet.  Hey, maybe I'll do a spin off from this blog.  Hmmm....what should I call it?  Going Green w/ Suburban Hippie Momma?  Or how about "Learning Green" because I definitely don't claim to know it all and am learning everyday.  I sure as heck haven't led a green lifestyle.  I'm embarrassed to say I just started recycling religiously this year.  Yeah.  Shame on me. 

So it's settled.  I'm starting a new blog.  Don't worry faithful followers.  Surviving 4 Kids isn't going anywhere.  I just know that some people are settled in there ways and don't care about this stuff.  I'm not a pushy person, just passionate.  PLUS this is my children's blog.  It's my mommy outlet.  Don't want to weigh it down with startling statistics and non-toxic cleaner recipes. 

I also plan on tackling other issues of concern.  One step at a time.  Like the food I eat and feed my family.  Yikes.  I love me some Taco Bueno.  Not sure if I really want to learn where that food comes from or how it's processed!

I think it will be fun and educational, plus, knowledge is wisdom right?  I talk can talk the talk, but can I walk the walk.  We shall see. 

Any ideas on what to call the new blog?  "Journey to Green" ?? 

And more important, would YOU be willing to take the journey WITH ME??

Secret Agent Zander

I just had a very funny conversation with a couple of 5 year old boys.  Joe (the kid from next door) came down stairs from playing with the other children, looking very disturbed. 

"Ms. Dana?  Is Zander really a spy?"  Joe asked.

I had to pry.  "Why do you ask that?"

Kid by day, spy by night

"Well, Zander said he was.  A real one.  He said when you go to sleep at night he sneaks out of the house to his secret headquarters.  He said he fights bad guys that our in our neighborhood.  He says he's a ninja and he uses rocks as weapons.  Are there really bad guys in our neighborhood?" 

"He is just pretending Joe."  I tried to reassure him. 

Zander joined us downstairs. 

"Your mom said your not really a spy."  Joe told Zander.

"Yeah I am.  She has no clue.  She thinks I'm just her normal kid....but I'm really not."  He leans over and whispers in his friend's ear, "I'm a Secret Agent."   

"But there are no bad guys in our neighborhood!"  Joe exclaimed.

"Not anymore.  I fought them all.  Some tried to sneak in your house, but I fought them right in your front yard!  You must have been sleeping.  It was around midnight." 

"Zander!"  I gave him the look.  "He's pretending Joe."  I could see the look of concern in Joe's eyes. 

"Believe what you want."  Zander said with an evil grin. 

I have to admit that I'm a little impressed of this whole scheme he's got going on.   I love his imagination but is it really necessary to scare the neighbor kids??  Joe's parents are just gonna love this one.   

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?

Tulsa Kids Magazine

Be sure to pick up a free copy of Tulsa Kids magazine this month.  There is an article in it titled, "Twins Plus More, Giving Siblings Room to Grow" written by the very talented Holly Wall.  She interviewed me (yup, I feel like a star) and a picture of our family is in it! 

I was so excited to show my boys (ages 4 & 5) their picture in a magazine.  Unfortunately, they weren't to impressed.  In fact, they were a little jealous of the four children on the opposite page. 

"Hey, no fair!  They get to go swimming and play with bubbles."  Zander pointed out.

"Yeah.  We're just sitting in the yard."  Gavin added.