Drive-by blogging

The past months have been busy, and my posting has been spotty at best.  I'm hoping that someday soon, I will be able to resume regular and interesting blogging.  I am getting more sleep, in fact, so my ability to form full sentences is slowly returning.  In the meantime, here's a quick check-in about life overall in Casa de Sunny.

Celebrating.  Yes, we are now into our second year of having twins, and our three-under-three has turned into three-under-four.  Nix and Gax's birthday party was small but lovely, and I will be posting a bunch of pictures at my earliest opportunity.  And for those who are curious, their one-year check-up with the pediatrician went well.  Nix is 30 inches tall (75th percentile) and 21 lbs 12 oz (40th percentile), while Gax is 29.25 inches tall (50th percentile) and 20 lbs 8 oz (25th percentile).  Now that their first birthday is past, I am having trouble letting go of the thought that after a full year of raising twins, I should have my life back in order.  Which then brings shame and guilt, because even at best it's in the neighborhood of controlled chaos.  A lot of things are easier now, for sure.  Their nap schedules are flexible but reliable, for example.  But we still have three small and mobile munchkins who have c.o.n.s.t.a.n.t. needs.  There's no setting one down to care for someone else -- they can follow you now and hang on to your leg, immobilizing you while you have the another kiddo (or two!) in your arms.  My saving grace is my parents; I don't know what I'd do without them, and even thinking about it makes me sobby.  The boys absolutely adore them, and I appreciate them more than I could ever express.  Can I get a cheer for awesome life-saving grandparents everywhere?

Weaning.  Disproving my theory that absolutely everything has to be as difficult as possible, the twins weaned from nursing to sippy cups in about two weeks around their birthdays.  On the down side, my cup size once again resembles the report card of your high school valedictorian.  On the up side, I'm freeeeeeeeeee!  As soon as my Mom and I can escape to the mall, I'm heading right to the training bra section at Macy's Victoria's Secret to buy a little gift for the girls for nursing twins for a year.  I am a little wistful that I couldn't nurse them longer (Bean self-weaned at 18 months), but honestly, I was pretty burned out after 12 months with two babies.  It kinda counts as 24 months, right?

Sleeping.  One of the best outcomes of weaning the twins is that they now sleep better at night.  Nix only wakes when he loses his binky.  (And no, littering his crib with pacifiers does not help, as he is inexplicably still unlikely to find one on his own even in a Binky Utopia.)  Gax will fuss at times, but as he quickly learned that he will just get groggy snuggles instead of comfort nursing (sorry my love!), he will put himself back to sleep.  The two biggest offenders of night waking now are Bean, who suffers from the occasional nightmare or night terror, and the dog, who prefers the brisk midnight air and privacy of darkness when she wants to take a dump.  Overall, though, I have been upgraded from the walking dead to the typical worn-out mommy.  Still looking for ways to get Gax to sleep past 6 am, though.  No matter what time he goes to bed, he's ready to get the day started bright and early.  Never wants to miss a thing, that kid, day or night.  And lord knows there's exciting stuff happening around here, like cooking waffles in the toaster oven and every now and again, if you pay careful attention, you can catch Grandma vacuuming a rug.  Thrilling!

Hosting.  My grandparents visited us for a week to celebrate the twins' birthdays with us.  It was so fabulous having them here.  The kiddos took to them immediately, and I was proud of how they both jumped into our hectic schedule without missing a beat.  It means a lot that my children get to spend time with their great-grandparents, I only wish it was more frequently.  They put us to shame in the amount of energy they brought to handling these three creatures who pretty much level us to exhausted blobs by the time they are in bed for the night.  I can only hope to have that level of endurance in 50 years.  Heck, I can only hope to have that level of endurance tomorrow.

Convalescing.  It's been a tough winter (and now spring, so far) for illnesses in our house, one thing after another.  Mostly tough colds, but recently Bean had a sustained fever as well.  We just keep riding them out and crossing our fingers that we'll get a break soon.  With the twins, however, I've been concerned about how much antibiotics they have been taking for ear infections.  We have been considering ear tubes for them, but the specialist is advising us to hold off and see how they do in the summer when colds and infections are less common.  The main risk of tubes is the anaesthesia, as the boys will have to be put under for about 10 minutes.  "There is never a zero risk," the pediatric ENT explained to us, "but you are more likely to get in an accident in your car."  To which DH insightfully pointed out, "So then there's the added risk of driving to the hospital for the procedure."  I thought it was funny, but I think the doctor is hoping we choose not to get tubes, as even the income won't be worth spending additional time with us.

Adjusting. While the twins are getting bigger and more destructive active, sweet Bean continues to struggle to get used to these two short people who want nothing more than to be near him and "help" him play with his toys.  It's hard on him, and I do feel bad for him that he has to deal with two little siblings at the same time when most kids get to adjust to one at a time.  But obviously that doesn't excuse acts of retaliation when Nix knocks over his blocks or Gax dares to breath air in the same room as Bean.  It's up and down, we'll have a bad day of Bean acting out followed by some calm when the mere existence of his brothers doesn't elicit a 3-hour whine session.  When he's not busy protecting his property from the twins (and "his property" includes everything in the entire house), Bean is busy being his usual brilliant, funny, adorable, helpful self.  When he's being good, it doesn't get any better than Bean.  I think the three of them will have a lot of fun when the twins are old enough to start some real trouble around here -- I'm clinging to that notion, anyway!

Renovating.  Worthy of a brief mention... no more linoleum in our kitchen.  As I type this, the floor in our kitchen and pantry/mudroom/laundry room is being replaced with the same pretty laminate wood that we put in our family room and living room.  They've really come a long way with the processed stuff, it looks great and is so durable.  We also had the pantry painted a yummy goldy yellow color, much happier and still coordinates with all the Chef Boyardee cans and Mac and Cheese boxes stored in there.  Before and after shots coming when it's finished.

Losing.  According to my Wii Fit Plus trainer, my BMI places me in the "overweight" category, my body performs as if I'm in my early 40s, and my poor balance indicates that I probably walk into walls a lot (which I do).  I allowed myself to scarf carb after carb while nursing with the promise that I would lose some weight after the twins weaned, and now it's time to pay the piper.  I started on the SlimFast diet last Wednesday, and so far I have lost about 2.5 pounds.  I have been on two diets previously in my life: SlimFast when I was 24 to fit into a dress for my brother's college graduation, and Gestational Diabetes diet when I was pregnant with the twins.  The diabetes diet is far more healthy, but SlimFast is faster, easier, and doesn't require the threat of harm to unborn babies to keep me from ditching it in favor of a bag of Reese's Peanut Butter Cups.  Because in fact, I am enjoying my lunch of a "Chocolate Peanut Caramel" bar as I type this.  I know carrying over 14 pounds of baby in my stomach has destroyed my body beyond repair, but I'm hoping to at least fit into my closet full of size 8 jeans again someday.  That's not too much to ask, is it?  And until they come out with a SlimInstant diet, this is the best I can do.