Mother of the year I am not

It's official, I'm the worst mother in the world. I missed Mason's very first t-ball game. Monday nights are always practice night, and since Matt's at a business conference in Nashville, my dad took Mason to practice in his practice clothes. Well, my mom calls me about 15 minutes after practice started to tell me that it was actually their first game and Mason is the only kid there not in his uniform. It wasn't marked as a game on their schedule and I somehow managed to miss the fact that it's all games from here on out. So I sent my child not in uniform and missed the first game. Crap mom of the year, if not the century. My mom offered to come stay with the twins, who were already in bed, so I could catch the end of the game. But by the time she got here and I got to the field, the game would have been about over, so she went to the field and helped my dad cheer Mason on. Thank God for grandparents. Mason couldn't have cared less that he was uniform-less and parent-less, but I'm heartbroken that we missed it and feel like the worst slacker mom in the universe. But that's the joy of mom-guilt. Mason doesn't care at all, but I'll feel bad about this for the rest of my life.
Not only did I miss my childs' first-ever baseball game, I let Will fall off the couch this morning. He and Hays were drinking their bottles on the sofa this morning before nap and I went to put Hays in his crib. Will was on the sofa with pillows next to him and I didn't worry because he's done that a million times and never tried to roll over before. But there is, of course, a first time for everything. So as I'm putting Hays in his crib I hear a loud THUNK followed by "Waaaahhh" and Will's on the floor. He wasn't hurt, just mad, but I figure that effectively knocks me out of the running for mother of the year. What can I say, I'm batting 1000 today. Oh no, batting- here comes the t-ball guilt again.

Mason in his t-ball uniform!


Silly boys



On the move!

Scrub-a-dub-dub, twins in the tub!

Busy playing
It has been a very rainy week so we've spent most of it inside. We had a few fun distractions, my girlfriends and their kids for a playdate one day and a trip to Target another, but that was about it. By the end of the week, everyone was getting cabin fever! Mason was supposed to have two t-ball games this week, but both of them were rained out, though they did have pictures Saturday. The rain finally stopped today and we even saw the sun for a little while. At first I was a little confused as to what that glowing ball in the sky was since it's been so long since I've seen it!

Matt and I got a night out last night and that was lovely. We didn't do anything super-exciting, just went to dinner and then over to a friend's house for a little while, but we relish any opportunity to hang out together and get to be "Matt and Cameron" instead of "Mommy and Daddy!"

Mason with his yummy cupcake


Awesome Batman cupcakes



Mason loves to help sift the powdered sugar



Me and my boy



Hard at work!

We've had a very productive day. We met with the twins' physical therapist this morning, and she was amazed at how well they're doing with sitting and learning to crawl. She feels like they're progressing well, and though there are still developmental delays, they're no worse than you would expect for twins born so prematurely. Personally, I'm pleased as punch with the great strides they've made over the last month, and I don't really mind the delays. It's kind of like they have an extended babyhood. And since I've always felt sort of cheated out of the first months of their lives, especially Will's since he stayed in the hospital for five months, I'm grateful for the extra baby time. They'll grow up fast enough, so I'm going to enjoy my cuddly babies while I can.

After PT, we were off to Wal-mart to get a few groceries and a new toy for Mason. He earned some money for helping in the yard this weekend and it was burning a hole in his pocket. Legos are his new obsession, so he was able to buy a cool lego kit with his hard-earned money. He spent most of the afternoon playing with his new creation.

Matt's dad came to visit this evening, and was kind enough to bring dinner and an essential cupcake-making ingredient I had forgotten to get at the store. After dinner Mason and I got to work on super-cool Batman cupcakes for his class. Since Mason has a summer birthday, he won't get to celebrate at school like the other kids. So his sweet teachers schedule a day for each kid who has a summer birthday to celebrate early with the class. Mason wanted to bring Batman cupcakes as his birthday treat, but I couldn't find any kind of Batman cake toppers. So I got the idea of piping bat signals out of melted chocolate to use on top of the cupcakes. I printed the Batman symbol and laid a piece of wax paper over it. Then I piped the outline using a small icing decorator tip and filled it in with melted chocolate. They harden pretty quickly, so I could peel them right off the wax paper and put them on the cupcakes. They turned out pretty cute if I do say so myself!

The kids are finally on the mend, and we have had a very productive weekend. We've been working out in the backyard, trying to get some grass planted. We have a huge fenced in backyard, but it has tons of trees and very little grass. Matt's parents were kind enough to lay down sod in part of the yard last spring, but thanks to the drought, it pretty much all bit the dust. More of it has come back than I expected, but we're still working with about 95% dirt. We chose a sunny spot down by the swingset to lay down a decent patch of grass. Matt spent the last two days tilling up the dirt with a pickaxe and a rake (we're too cheap to rent a tiller for the day), and today we put down the grass seed and covered it with wheat straw to keep the birds away. We bought grass seed that's guaranteed to grow anywhere, so we'll see if it lives up to its promise.
Even though Mason had an ear infection, he made it through the weekend with no problems. He had T-ball practice yesterday morning and he did great. I loved watching him while I froze my behind off on a metal bench at nine in the morning! He was still going strong after the twins went to bed, so we were able to have movie night. We've started making our own pizza for movie night and he LOVES helping with that. I remember making pizza with my dad when I was about his age, so I hope we're making good memories for him just like my dad did for me.
After we got him to bed after pizza and Ice Age II, Matt and I watched Twilight. I read all the books, so I was anxious to see the movie. It was AWESOME!!!!!! Rarely do I think that a movie is as good as the book, but this one totally was. (Maybe it was the fact that the books aren't particularly well written, but whatever). I can't wait for the next three movies!

Another One Bites the Dust

So, remember how I said that the kids were on the mend? Seems I spoke too soon on that one. This afternoon Mason comes in the kitchen with his hand pressed over his ear and said"Mommy, my ear hurts." Oh crap. Luckily, I was able to score a late afternoon appointment at the pediatrician's office so we could avoid yet another trip to the urgent care center this weekend. I decided to bring the twins along for good measure since Hays's eyes were still awfully oozy and I wasn't completely convinced that Will's ear infection was clearing up like it should.

Sure enough, we managed four infected ears spread among the three of them. Both of Will's ears were infected, Hays has a disgusting left ear, and Mason has a gross right ear. Augmentin all around! And of course, that leads to the inevitable round of diarrhea that comes with a very strong antibiotic, and the wretched diaper rash that accompanies diarrhea. And while I'm being completely disgusting, turns out Hays didn't have pinkeye- it was merely snot oozing out of his eyes from the hideous cold that led to said ear infection. Fun, right? But hopefully (dear God, please) we are on our way to beating this vile funk. Seriously, if augmentin doesn't fix these little crudbuckets, nothing will.

Things are looking a little brighter than they were a few days ago. Will's ear isn't hurting anymore and I'm no longer in immediate danger of coughing a lung or various other internal organs out on the kitchen floor. Will did atch Hays' pinkeye, but we expected nothing less. Their eyes are slightly less oozy, so I guess we're all on the men. Will is still trying to push two more teeth through, so that is causing some definite discomfort, but I think we're almost there. I'm not sure how Matt and Mason managed to remain untouvhed by the scourge of illness, but so far, so good.
I'm so glad that tomorrow is this first real day of spring! I'm ready for the weather to stay warm and beautiful. This afternoon was so nice that I filled up the little inflatable baby pool with warm water, tossed some toys in and let the twins sit beside it and splash to their hearts' content. It was too cool out to actually put them in the pool, but they had a ball anyway. Well, until they were both completely soaked and starting to get cold. Then the fun was over, but it lasted for quite a while!
Now that they can sit up on their own, life has gotten much easier. I guess it's been about 2-3 weeks since they finally figured out how to sit up withput toppling over after a while. The still weeble-wobble sometimes, but they've pretty much gotten this sitting thing down! Now that I can sit them on the floor with a basket of toys and let them go to town, it has gotten much easier to entertain them. It makes the day pass more quickly, and that is a good thing!

To quote Ouiser in Steel Magnolias "This is it, I've found it, I am in Hell." To run down the list of illnesses, me- bronchitis and sinus infection, Will- ear infection, Hays- pinkeye. And who knows how many of us will be felled by the virulently contagious pinkeye by tomorrow. Sigh, there is not a big enough can of Lysol on the planet to de-funkify my house. Thank God for antibiotics.

The only good news I have to report is that Will learned how to clap. Extremely cute. Well, it's extremely cute now. At first he couldn't quite bring his hands together and it looked like he would probably have to ride the short bus to school. But he figured it out, and I am proud to report that both the twins are expert clappers.

Other than that, we are merely trying to contain the cooties. I'm thinking of putting a quarantine sign outside the house for the next few days. Mason may have hit the nail on the head when he looked around at all the sick people in the house and said "Jesus hates us." So if you should happen to drive past our house, I would advise you to hold your breath!!

The plague has hit our house. I got the beginnings of a cold on Tuesday, and it's been downhill since then. I now have a full-on cold with sinus pressure that's threatening to make my head explode. And the fact that Will hasn't been sleeping well over the past couple of nights has not helped matters. He's been running a fever since he got his Synagis shots (RSV vaccine) on Wednesday. I didn't think much of it since he usually runs a fever after shots, but today the coughing and runny nose started. Yup, he's got a cold too. Yay. I gave him some Benadryl before bed and that knocked his little fanny out, so he should sleep good tonight! But even though he was out like a light the second he hit the bed, Hays had other ideas. He spent the last hour crying for no apparent reason. I know he was tired because he's barely napped the past two days, but he refused to go to sleep. I was thisclose to dosing him with Benadryl just to make him sleep, but I resisted the temptation! My mom tells a story about a woman she knew years ago who gave her daughter Benadryl anytime she wouldn't sleep, and let it suffice to say that the girl ain't quite right! I'd hate for Hays to wind up a slack-jawed yokle, so I guess we'll just have to endure the fussiness. He seems to have given up the fight for now, so we're praying for a peaceful evening.
I started planning an exciting trip for me, Matt and Mason- Disney World!!!! We're planning to go in October when he has fall break. It's a good ways away, but we'd better start saving our $$$ now. I was looking up ticket prices, food prices, etc. and let me tell you, that darn mouse will bleed you dry! Luckily, Matt's Aunt Judy has generously agreed to let us borrow her time share, so our accomodations are taken care of. And since it's a condo, it has a full kitchen so we can do breakfast and dinner there. That way we'll only have to eat lunch in the park, so we won't have to spend $15 dollars on a hot dog more than once a day! We are really excited about getting to do a really huge fun thing with just Mason. Has had a lot to deal with over the past year, and he's done an amazing job at being a big brother. He deserves a really big reward, and we can't think of a better one than a trip to Disney World and several days alone with mom and dad.

Matt and I had a blast at our high school reunion. It was so much fun to see old friends that we haven't seen in a while, plus I got to scope out who's gotten fat or married ugly people! (I know, I know, mean, but I've never clamed to be sweet!) We stayed out entirely too late, and we are grateful that my parents stayed with the kids until we finally got home at 1:30 am, and didn't leave them with the dog!
Hays did something very exciting yesterday- he crawled!!! He's been working on it for a while. He's been able to get up on all fours and rock back and forth, but he hasn't actually been able to coordinate the arms and legs moving together. But yesterday he figured it out. He crawled a foot or two, then fell over on his side. He hasn't done it again today, but now we know he can!
All the boys had a good time today because we went to the park this afternoon. My nurse, Bo, and I took them to the park and met my mom there. Mason ran all over the playground while the babies sat on the grass and dug their hands in the dirt. Their little fingernails were GROSS after that! Then we took them all down to the creek and sat on the rock shoals and let the babies splash in the water. They had a great time, and I'm just hoping they don't wind up with some kind of nasty parasite!
We sure are enjoying this incredibly warm weather. I've been trying to do lots of walking around our neighborhood. WE have some pretty steep hills, so I figure thats as good a way to get in shape as any. Steep hills + 20 lb. twin stroller + 30 lbs. worth of twins= one heck of a workout!

Mason had his first t-ball practice this morning, and he was great! He had some really good hits when he was up at bat and he did a pretty good job of fielding as well. And let me tell you, that boy can slide! He slid to catch the ball whether he needed to or not. His jeans will never be the same, and his cleats are good and broken in! He's on a team with his good buddy Bowen, who was his best friend in preschool last year. Bo is crazy-good and I'm thinking we'll have to look for him in the majors in about 20 years!
Mase-man has had a big week. We got him all registered for kindergarten on Thursday! It doesn't seem possible that he could be going to kindergarten next year. I'm both sad and elated at the thought of him going to school all day! But I know he'll have a ball. We spent a nice afternoon together on registration day. We went and got haircuts together, then we got ice cream! It was nice to spend a couple of hours alone with my big guy.
Matt and I are so excited because we get a grown-up's night out!!! We're going to Atlanta for our high school reunion, and we plan to make it a full-on night on the town! We're going to spend a couple of hours at the reunion, then we're going out with some friends who came into town to see everybody, but aren't going to the actual reunion. We can't wait to see how everyone has changed (i.e. gotten fat and bald) over the last 13 years!

Winter Wonderland

The twins bundled up in the cold house!

We had an exciting couple of days. The weathermen had been predicting snow on Sunday, and we were all excited about the possibility of getting to play in the snow. Around lunchtime the white stuff started to fall. We were expecting to get an inch, maybe two, but we got a whole lot more! Within three hours we had 3-4 inches of snow on the ground. It was all fun and exciting until the power went out around 4:30. We thought about taking the kids over to my parent's house. They didn't have power either, but they do have gas fireplaces. We decided that it would probably be worse out on the roads and surely the power would come back on soon. After bundling the babies up snugly and putting them to bed, I had to scrounge up something for dinner. Earlier in the day I was making fun of all the people who run out and buy milk and bread the minute there's a possibility of snow. I wasn't laughing when I had to make dinner in the dark and remembered that we had used up the last of the bread at lunch!

As the evening wore on and the house got colder we tried to entertain Mason and keep him from being scared. It's awfully hard to play Candyland by candlelight- the blue squares and green squares look exactly alike! We put him to bed covered by about twenty blankets and then Matt and I sat around in the dark praying that the lights would come back on. We went to bed around 9:30 because we were bored and cold!

I woke up several times during the night praying that the power was back on, but no such luck. In the morning we were still power-less and it was 58* in the house. I bundled the babies into the warmest things I could find, but we were still pretty miserable. The worst part was that we couldn't make coffee, which is pretty much a life-sustaining staple for Matt and me! We saw power crews in the neighborhood around 8:30 and the lights finally came on around 10:45. We all did a happy dance, then made coffee as fast as we could!

Mason had a good time playing in the snow. I did too, up until I busted my butt trying to surf on a makeshift sled (a big cookie sheet. Don't laugh- that's what we used when I was a kid, cookie sheets and the wok!) Matt got his car stuck in the mud and ice at the end of the driveway, and it's still stuck. One of his co-workers had to pick him for work this morning! My car is currently parked on the street in front of our house because I managed to get it down the driveway to make a grocery store run yesterday afternoon (had to get bread you know.), but it was too slick to get it back up the driveway! I'm hoping to get out for a while with the kids today, but right now the driveway is still too icy to walk down it. Mason went out to play for a while this morning, but he came in when he was tired of slipping and falling all over the place!