September 12: The shortest work-week EVER

September 12, 2011 by Leave a Comment

I took a few days off from writing and it feels good to be behind this keyboard. We had a great weekend with the children. On Saturday Hubby discovered a problem with his passport (expired!) so he needed to research a way to get that updated before Tuesday, when we go on vacation. So that gave me and the kids time to be together. Not doing much of anything, just talking, playing, eating. I brought out colored “sticks” (like the tongue sticks from doctors offices) and that kept all four occupied. After naps we went to a music festival on one of the town streets and I busted out to a Who cover band. Even the toddlers were running around crazy, dancing, having fun (they probably ate too much kettle corn). I had lots of beers. It was great.

On Sunday we took a walk over to our local fire station and the kids dropped of “thank you” bags to them — puzzles, dominos, cards, etc. It is cute in the eyes of a child what they think the firefighters would like. Red’s favorite present was the Cinderella puzzle and Big Bro really liked the 3-D Darth Vader puzzle. The firefighters would kind enough to give us an entire tour of their station (I think they were starving for attention – our neighborhood is very quiet).

FDNY in Memory

FDNY in Memory -- Red in a fire truck

Big Bro had a playdate and I sewed some jeans (pretty funny, the topic of another post to come).

Highlights of our Morning and Commute:

  • Red wakes up early and eats up the attention I give her with her pony-tail. She wants me to wear the same color so we can match.
  • All of the sudden Big Bro AND Twin Crazy come in too. THey are all circling me now singing Mommy! Mommy! Mommy! All grabbing me and I am LOVING IT. It is so easy to give them morning kisses when they are right down in front of you.
  • Then Twin Husky comes running in to join the fun. they are all laughing and having a great time. We realized that the Twins are now saying Twin Crazy’s name (a bit botched up) and Red is now also able to enunciate it perfectly. So all kids are chanting her name and laughing up a storm.
  • Big Bro says he needs my help and if I can “work on him first”. I say yes. He needs to find the firefighter eraser tops for the pencils that the fireman gave to him. We go through several loads of wash in varying stages of cleaning until we find them. He is happy. WHile I’m in the laundry room I throw in some loads since I’ll need to pack for the trip tonight
  • All kids are fed except Big Bro. Sliced peaches and toast. Done.
  • Red is dressed, Twins are diapered. Big Bro has his clothes waiting for him in a pile on the floor. Done.
  • More chants with Twin Crazy’s name. Too funny.
  • I pack the bag for daycare (why do I always wait until the morning of?). She needed pants for both kids, diapers. Shoes.
  • Twin Crazy is having a hard time this morning. She apparently put yogurt all over her head to her hair is now soaked. Too bad, she had a bath last night.
  • Red gets ready to leave with Hubby. She almost leaves without her shoes. The Twins and I scurry to find her shoes. She’s off!
  • I pack up the rest of the kids. Twin Crazy still crying until I bring her a stuffed animal.
  • 1st drop off: Twins. Fast. Easy. I let her know that they are having a hard time.
  • 2nd drop off: Big Bro. We play on the swings. Then its time to line up. I tell him I need to leave. I ask him if its OK to hug and kiss him now or if I should wait until later today. He smiles at me, bashful, and gives me a hug. I’ll gladly take that from him.

So now on the ferry, looking forward to vacation but still lots to do (everything). I hope packing won’t be too tough. I don’t think it will be. I hope Hubby is able to get his passport today. Otherwise it will be me and the 2 kids alone (which is OK, I ‘ve done that before) but its a 13 hour flight with a 6 hour layover. I have NOT done that before. I am wearing new drawstring pants that keep uniting themselves. How annoying. The last thing I need is to be running around at work with my pants falling off my ass.

I’ll be doing “forum” work today. Also talking with my brother to get ready for the trip. I am sooooo looking forward to this for so many reasons.

Highlights of my Working Day:

  • Got to the office, got myself settled with make-up, tea, water, graham crackers.
  • Spent 2 hours reviewing a presentation deck for a forum meeting in October. I suggested some ways to bring out the drivers of the data and ways to facilitate discussion with the group; so not only did I learn about the reporting, but I feel like I added a fresh perspective to the way the meeting could be facilitated and ways to create more value for our firm.
  • I spent some time putting to paper some criteria/thinking about how to “qualify” sales leads and then also whether or not as a team we should pursue certain opportunities – the way we make money in our business is through our time – so we need to make sure our time is optimized so we can be as profitable as we can be. Sometimes we chase business opportunities when we have little chance of winning. I think this is mentality left over from the recession; business has picked up since then but I think we still have a gut reaction to spend time with proposals where we are not well positioned to win.
  • I spent the rest of the day doing administrative items – time sheets, expense reports, etc.
  • I’M OUT OF HERE!   By the way, when I go on vacation or take a day off, I AM COMPLETELY OFF.   No email, no voicemail, no quick conference calls.   They all know this about me.

I am on the ferry right now and I am OFFICIALLY ON VACATION!!! We are headed to the Dominican Republic (Hubby, Big Bro, Red, and I). I still need to pack! So, I of course am drinking a beer. I can’t wait to see the kids. I need to see my toddlers. I will miss them while away. They are so much fun right now. It doesn’t feel right taking a trip with only a subset of our family.

Dinner and Bedtime:

  • I picked up all kids, 3 pick ups. Red LOVES her new school. She was running and smiling and bursting with energy when I got there. Big Bro was playing with his friends. Twin Crazy and Twin Husky were in shorts enjoying the warm weather and running up to the van when I pulled up.
  • I was busy cooking dinner while on a 4-way conference call with my brother, mom, and dad to talk about last-minute logistics. We’re excited!
  • After dinner I did not spend much time with the kids – I had to pack!
  • I kissed the Twins goodnight and was there for the singing (my favorite part).
  • Big Bro and Red were SOOOOOOOOOO excited for the trip. They know it will be a long travel day and that we will wake them up in the middle of the night before the sun comes up. Red helped to pick out her clothes, as did Big Bro. He, in turn, decided against some of my selections and wound up hiding them somewhere (I still don’t know where).
  • So, I’m finishing up this post so I can get my act together and go to sleep!!!

I may not post for a while – it depends on what I feel like doing on my days off with my kids!  🙂

Till later,

– Mama K

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September 9: Getting ready for the weekend…

September 9, 2011 by Leave a Comment

I decided to work from home today since I worked in the office the rest of the week.  So this morning was less hectic, until we realized we were running really late for Big Bro’s school:

Highlights of the Morning and Commute:

  • Red winds up in our bed at 6:30 and asks me to fix her pony-tail.   We don’t get up until after 7 for some reason.   So we start a bit late.
  • Big Bro hides under his blanket and goes into the Twins’ room to make them laugh.  They laugh hysterically, over and over again.  In fact they are jumping in their cribs laughing.
  • I diaper the Twins but both REALLY want Hubby this AM.  He takes everyone downstairs for breakfast.  I head down too – no shower, no make up.  An easy work day for me physically.
  • Everyone eats well except for Big Bro.
  • I’m not sure what I’m doing but I guess I’m talking with the kids and holding them and cutting apples and drinking coffee.  For some reason, and I don’t know why, we are suddenly extremely late.   I guess I was too relaxed thinking we had all of this time but I looked at the clock and it was 8:10!!!   That’s usually when we are dropping off Big Bro in the school yard!    OH SHIT WE ARE MAJORLY LATE BIG TIME!!!!!!!   LET’S GO!!!!!
  • I do all drop offs, Hubby takes the car for another meeting.
  • 1st drop off:   Twins.   Fast.  Easy shmeasy.
  • 2nd drop off:   Big Bro.  All of the kids are on their way from the yard (in a line up) into the classroom.  We quickly make the last of the last line in.   I dance around with Big Bro and Red that “we’re in the back of the parade, we’re in the back of the parade.”  Seriously, we’re (I’m) singing and swinging their arms and dancing around saying this over and over again.  The kids are laughing.  I think they think I’m a bit silly sometimes.   But I have so much fun with them.
  • 3rd drop off:  Red.  I like taking her into pre-school slowly.  Not rushing.  She gets set up with an activity and she is so sweet.   She makes a comment to me that “after we drop off [Twin Crazy], there are TWO girls in the car.   And then when we drop me off, there will be ONE girl in the car – but when we go in together, there will be NO girls in the car”.    How cute.   I didn’t realize she could grasp those concepts.   I feel like I’m not in tune with them as much as I should be.    How cute of her.   My little mathematician.
  • I stop by the fire-station and talk to a fireman.  I want to bring the kids over here on 9/11 and bring the firefighters “gifts” that the kids get/make for them to show our appreciation.   The kids are excited about this.   I just wanted to confirm with him that it is OK and also what kinds of things they would like to have.   I’m going with the kids today to do some shopping and will steer them towards:  playing cards, dominoes, other games, fruit, etc.   I also mentioned that the kids might pick out toys or stickers for them (cute) and he said that’s great, they could give to Toys for Tots or even take them home for their own kids.   Great!!!
  • I head home and get my space set up for work.   Coffee is on.  Phones are charged.   I turn my computer on.
Highlights of my Working Day:
  • I spent about two hours on the phone working with my colleague who is transferring over responsibilities.  There is a lot of coordination that needs to be done across 4 big events that are coming up that I will be responsible for.   I get the latest status from her and feel good about my understanding of what needs to be done.    I know this is probably a  false sense of security since one day she will be gone and I’ll suddenly have 100 questions.   🙂
  • I finished up my sales efforts for one new initiative; and coordinated with the team to get them going and organized.
  • I finished up other sales efforts for another initiative – nothing more for me to do here.
  • I prepared an invoice for a project and sent; I’m setting up a meeting with the client and our leadership to see how are firms can continue to work together
  • I did some admin-related items and then called it a day.
  • I showered and then ran to my children.  I picked up Big Bro first, and then Red.  Both were excited about the shopping we were going to do this afternoon.  We went shopping to buy “thank you” gifts for the fire-fighters in our neighborhood.  The kids picked out puzzles (princess, bears, cars) and I helped them pick out playing cards, UNO, Yahtzee, and dominos.   They had a great time shopping for what the firefighters would like.  We passed by a lot of candy and snacks and I said that kind of food is not healthy for the body so the kids did NOT want to get that for the firefighters.  How cute.
  • I am alone tonight.  Hubby is at a sporting event for work.
Dinner and Bedtime:
  • I ordered a pizza on the way to pick up the Twins.  They were squealing as usual.  She mentioned that they were both singing “Happy Birthday” today.   They were excited to see their big brother and sister.
  • We were home literally for 5 minutes when the pizza man came!   Perfect timing.  He asked me if I’m a daycare provider.  Seriously.  I guess our place looks over-run with toys?  I guess we have too many children?  I guess I look like I’m 20-something and too fit to have had 4 kids?  🙂  Seriously.   I couldn’t believe it.  I never thought my life would look like this.
  • Twins were cranky so I took them up for a “cat nap”.   This really just turned into them laughing with each other in their room — squealing, singing, screaming, laughing…..  so I brought them back down after we were done eating pizza.
  • I set the Twins up with their pizza at the little table while Big Bro, Red and I were in the living room.  Friday is “movie night” and Big Bro was excited.   So we watched movies until Twins finished eating.   Then I made popcorn and everybody went nuts.
  • I really don’t know where the time went…. because by 5:30 we were fed and I started the bedtime routine at 7:30.   So I had TWO HOURS with them and I can’t remember what we did!!!   I remember lots of tickling and hugging Twin Husky.  LOTS of it.   He had so much fun.   I remember Red having an ENORMOUS poop and everyone running in the bathroom to look at it.   I remember dressing the Twins in their PJs and talking about the “balls” on Twin Husky’s pants.    I remember reading the Twins books downstairs.   And how Twin Husky is sooooooooooooooo curious about everything and asking what everything is.   I remember Twin Husky climbing on a big box (new sewing machine, I’ll explain another time) and me looking at him in the corner of my eye to make sure he was OK.  I remember Twin Husky and Twin Crazy running around and stealing toys from each other and crying/trying to bite.  I remember Big Bro asking me if I could spend some time with him watching his movie.    I was in bliss.   The time just flew by.   And I enjoyed so much of it with them.
Red "reading" to Twin Husky

Red "reading" to Twin Husky

  • 7:30 – time to go up!    I went up with the Twins and I asked Red and Big Bro to come up in a few minutes.  I also asked Red to straighten up the toys and seriously – when I came down EVERYTHING was put away and organized.   It’s like she had OCD.   Everything was perfectly lined up and there was not a toy out of place.  She was very proud of herself and I hugged her and wouldn’t let go.
  • I told a story for Big Bro and Red with all 3 of us laying in his bed.   It was a story about my travels in the past.  A time when I was in Morocco and I had to take a long bus-ride to the outskirts of the Sahara desert and we rode camels for hours and had a picnic in the Sahara.  I told them that my butt hurt after the camel ride.
I’m feeling REALLY good about today; I had a later morning with the kids, got a lot of work done, and had an amazing evening with all of them.  So relaxed, the kids were so good.   It just feels so right.   All I need now is maybe a glass of wine and maybe some adults to share a drink with.  In the meantime, I’m gearing up for a big weekend, a likely emotional weekend.   It’s days like this when I want to hold my children closer, hug them a bit longer, and caress them a bit gentler.   I don’t know what I’d ever do without them.   I can’t bear to think about it.
Great weekend to all –  particularly this Sunday.    So much has changed since then.
Til next week –
– Mama K

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September 7: “Happy Wednesday Mommy!”

September 7, 2011 by Leave a Comment

This morning was rough. I don’t usually say that, but it was. We were still coordinating the fact that there is no parking at the ferry station, and we’re still getting used to three separate drop offs for the kids. Here it goes:

Highlights of the Morning and Commute:

  • Red wakes up first and I wake up to her wanting me to help her with her pony-tail. She wanted a green band today. She then gets dressed by herself (I love you I love you I love you thank you thank you thank you!!!)
  • We forgot that yesterday was Tuesday because of the holiday weekend so we forgot about the Chocolate Tuesday nutella breakfast. We make it up to them this morning and both Red and Big Bro are quietly eating their Nutella breakfasts when I come down.
  • Twin Husky and Twin Crazy are busy sitting at the dinning room table eating cereal and spilling milk. It now also looks like Hubby is trying the cereal with yogurt on top to reduce the mess. This seems to be working well.
  • We figure out that I will take Red and then go to the ferry. Hubby will take Big Bro and Twins and he will not take the ferry since he has a meeting that he must drive to. Sounds good.
  • I diaper Twin Husky and kiss his feet and his toes. He really likes this. He keeps motioning with his feet for me to do it again and again and again. So of course I give in.
  • Twin Crazy is cranky this AM. She is in a stage where she likes being held to see what’s going on. I don’t like that stage very much since we have four children. I try to give her some “up” time and talk about the things around us, but then I quickly tell her that I need to put her down, OK?
  • I run upstairs to get Big Bro’s clothes (he’s very particular and we are running out of clean stuff). While doing this the Twins have figured out how to break through the stair “gate” (essentially a board we put across the bottom of the stairs). This is the second “gate” they’ve figured out. So now both are running around upstairs getting themselves into trouble and laughing. Twin Husky in Red’s bed (Red HATES this), Twin Crazy in the bathroom on the stool playing with cups of water and straws. I need to bring each down individually which throws both of them into tantrums.
  • We all look at Big Bro’s booster seat that we got for the 2nd car for when we have to divide and conquer. He loves it. Red also loves her pink booster – this will be her 2nd day driving with it.
  • OK time to go!!! I kiss all the kids in the van goodbye. I tell them to have fun and learn a lot.
  • I drop off Red and she is the first one there. Her teacher is setting up 3 different activities (pegs, number pegs, rubber band boards). I am so happy that she is in this environment now. It was an easy goodbye. Red is also happy that I’ve picked out a green pony-tail holder for myself. We both match.
  • I have time to drop the car off at the house to make it easier for Hubby. I walk to the ferry and get there in plenty of time. I enjoy the walk since it is sunny out and not windy.

So, on the ferry by myself. No make up, no breakfast. Thinking about today and what I will do. Probably get myself started on the new role with all the forums. We have a busy few weeks of conferences that I will need to continue to organize and facilitate. I guess I better get started and ready for that.

Highlights of My Working Day:

I had a reasonably good day today. I left the office feeling valued and not too stressed. WE are having a Strategy planning session tomorrow and I will be speaking on two agenda items (that I just found out today) so that should be fun.

  • I started the day getting ready with make up etc. in ladies room. I picked up a HUGE Starbucks coffee and a cheese danish. I hope this does not become a habit or else I won’t be able to fit into all the new clothes I just bought.
  • I fixed a billing issue with accounting and prepared an invoice for a project we completed
  • I did some outreach to confirm attendance at a key meeting we are having in October
  • At lunchtime I stopped at the Farmers Market and bought freshly picked apples, prunes, and grapes.
  • I crafted two presentations for our planning session for tomorrow; one is a featured case study from a recent project I lead, the other is our thinking about the forums our firm conducts and the go-forward strategy — this would be my new proposed role going forward
  • I talked to a friend/colleague about the new role and she thinks it is a great opportunity for me; she also thinks the firm would agree to a reduced workweek
  • We had a planning meeting for the meeting in October – key participants, speakers, and next steps

I am on the ferry now; I just realized I forgot all the fruit I just bought; it is actually hot outside. I can’t believe it. Hubby is home picking up the kids so I didn’t need to take the earlier ferry. I am really looking forward to seeing the kids tonight. Particularly the Twins. They are becoming little people so quickly that I just can’t wait to see how they play tonight, how they interact, and what new words I can pick up from their “conversations”. With a first child, you are so in tune with each new word they say…. I have a feeling with the Twins that they’ve probably been saying so many words for so long but we’ve just been too busy to focus on each child and their development. Pity. But I see how they are developing into strong, independent people and it makes me smile.

Dinner and Bedtime:

  • I arrive home and Hubby already has all kids sitting down eating. Mommy!!!! Even the Twins are now able to say Mommy. I love it. What a warm welcome.
  • After dinner Big Bro helps Hubby wash the car, while Red and the Twins help me wash the clothes. I show them the water, how it fills up in the basin, and how the machine goes around and around to clean the clothes. Twin Husky is curious. Twin Crazy is scared. Red helps to explain it to them too. From here on I love being a mom to these kids. I love teaching them new things. I love stopping what I’m doing to sit down and explain how things work and why we use them the way we do. It is just so sweet.

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  • We run outside for a little bit; the kids are good and not going into the street; they are generally following directions which is encouraging.
  • I try to get them inside which works, sort of. Twin Husky was having too much fun and he tried to bite me. That didn’t go over very well.
  • OK! Time to go up! We work together to clean up the train tracks that are everywhere. We read to Twins; Big Bro and Twin Crazy are playing though which is so cute how they are interacting but so frustrating at the same time. Big Bro can’t stop himself and Twin Crazy is just acting crazy and not settling down. Twin Husky is pointing to pages of books and saying words. This is so surprising to me, I just assumed Twin Crazy would be talking first – she might be but she mumbles everything. He says things in one word…. but his words are very well-formed already. “Sun”. “Tree.” “Shoes” “Circle”. It is amazing. I love this age.
  • Red and Big Bro get banished from the Twins’ room but they brush teeth, do PJs, and pee all by themselves without ANY direction from us. We read books to them (I’ve read “Pinkalicious” now about 100 times) and commend them for being so independent and making it so much easier on us.
  • Kisses goodnight — I play the game:  Did I tell you how much I love you??? Red asks what day it is. I say Wednesday. She says “Happy Wednesday Mommy!” and I want to melt into her arms.

Til tomorrow –
– Mama K

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September 6: Trains, planes, and automobiles (or Bikes, Scooters, and Tricycles)

September 6, 2011 by 1 Comment

We are coming from a wonderful long weekend with the kids; we went to a new playground, went out to lunch, had a beach day, a slumber party over a friends house (whole family), another park…. it was great. It makes coming back to work harder.

Today and the rest of the week is a parking pavement project at our ferry station. So that complicated things a bit this morning. We decided to divide and conquer our drop offs — one take Red, and the other take the Twins and Big Bro. From there we had to find parking on the street and then run to the ferry. Uggh.

Highlights of the Morning:

  • Red changes by herself but then changes her mind about her shirt. This puts her into a foul mood. We find another shirt that she likes and I cuff the sleeves for her, extra big. This puts a smile on her face.
  • Twins are awake and they stop in to say hello – they always look so cute after a bath. They are so big now that I am amazed that at one time I had both of them together in utero. Simply amazing.
  • Red then wants a pony-tail. I get that ready for her, she wants an orange pony-tail band and then changes her mind to green.
  • I gather Big Bro’s clothes. He decides to get dressed downstairs.
  • The three of us go downstairs. They each want to be shuttled by Mommy and we laugh at this coming down the stairs together.
  • Hubby has breakfast ready for all kids.
  • I continue to pack the bag for the Twins. The booster seat for Red was prepared the night before and I stacked all relevant piles to prepare for the different drop offs.
  • Twins are eating cereal with milk and a spoon – they are doing great but this means they need to get changed into different clothes. I run upstairs to get a change of clothes for both of them. Hubby and I each change a child. I love this part. Where you get to focus on the child and look into their eyes and talk about their bodies and the clothes and they help you help them get dressed. I love this part of this stage. The blossoming of independence (but tantrums unfortunately also come along with this territory).
  • OK time to go!!! This is a different routine for us. Red is in her booster seat in the other car with her lunchbox and her sheets and big blanket. She looks so proud. I am so proud of her. I knock on the window and wave and blow kisses to her. They are off!
  • Drop off with Twins goes without a hitch.
  • Drop off with Big Bro is a bit long. Today in line we learned that today is picture day. F!! I look at Big Bro and his hair is sticking up like a porcupine and he is wearing a Phillies t-shirt. I look around me and I see frilly dresses and headbands and some boys with vests. We just can’t seem to get our act together. I then start to play a game with the kids in line about how they practice their smiles. This is really just to get Big Bro warmed up to the idea of picture day. This has always been an intimidating event for him. He asks for me to put his lunchbox away. I ask him if it’s OK for me to give him a hug and a kiss, or where I can kiss him (e.g., his hand). He whispers “at home”, so I abide by his request.
  • I run to the van; I see how the cars are lined up and parked on the street near the ferry station. I lock up and begin to run. I hear “It is 8:30 and the boat is going to leave. Please get on the boat.” I just make it. I find Hubby. I am exhausted.

We are at the dock now in the city. It is a bit foggy outside. I am not looking forward to going back to work. I was out of the office all last week so maybe I’ll change my mind once I get there. I miss my kids. I miss how Big Bro sat in my lap this morning. I miss how Twin Crazy looked at me with happiness when I remembered to put socks on her in the van. I miss the look of Red’s face when she was all buckled up in her booster seat with her lunchbox on her lap. I miss how Big Bro asked me to hold my hugs and kisses for at home – it just makes me want to hold him more, hold him closer.

I can’t think about work now. I’m still thinking in my head about the weekend and mentally saying goodbye to my children.

Highlights of My Working Day:

  • Cried on the way to work; stopped at Starbucks for coffee and a danish. Hopefully food and caffeine will help.
  • Prepared for go-to-market meeting for a firm initiative; led conference call and sent out materials of next-steps.
  • Talked with the leader of our “geography” for our firm on strategic issues. He bounced ideas off of me in preparation for an internal Strategy Meeting with our team to help improve our profitability.
  • Started to think through next steps for the different groups I may be taking over; I still need to talk to the company about a reduced work week but I have not figured that out yet; I am leaning on 60 % work-week but may need to go to 80% to be acceptable to the company. I’m not sure about when to have that conversation but my hunch is earlier than later.

I’m on the ferry now; I need to take an earlier one so I can pick up Big Bro from after-care — he needs to be out of there by 6 PM so taking the later ferry would be impossible. I will likely pick up the car (down the street since the parking lot is under construction) and head home to think about dinner. Then I’ll go on a round of pick ups: probably 1) Red, then 2) Big Bro, then 3) Twins. I still can’t believe we went from 2 to 3 drop offs/pick ups. I thought my life was supposed to get EASIER not more complicated….

Dinner and Bedtime:

  • I decide to walk to the car and get everyone first.  I’d rather have the extra time with them instead of alone time getting dinner ready.  First pick up is Big Bro. Someone mistakenly took his lunchbox which is a shame because the other back-ups we have are not “cool”.
  • I get Red next. Big Bro says hello to his old teachers. Red is smiling ear to ear. She is jumping and skipping and showing Big Bro around her classroom.
  • I next get the Twins. Each squeals as they run to the van. Each refuses to be put in the seat until AFTER they’ve had a chance to turn around and say hello to Big Bro and Red who are sitting behind them. They are getting very strong, very forceful, very aggressive lately.
  • At home, I bring all kids outside as water is boiling for pasta. An amazing thing happens… suddenly there is a parade of two and three-wheeled “vehicles” in our back yard and all kids are playing on all the toys. Scooters, tricycles, bicycles, etc. I find Twin Husky scaling Big Bro’s big bike. Twin Crazy and Twin Husky are both fighting over a princess scooter so I have to go into the garage and fish out a toddler scooter that I was saving for Christmas. It is out of control. There are kids everywhere and vehicles everywhere and they are pushing each other and helping each other get on the bikes/scooters, etc. What a scene! It was great!!!!
Bicycles, Scooters, and Tricycles
Bikes, Scooters, and Tricycles
Big Bro being a big brother to Twin Husky
Big Bro being a big brother to Twin Husky
Twin Crazy is already a princess diva

Twin Crazy is already a princess diva

  • Dinner is a hit – pasta, shrimp, chopped spinach, and toasted pine nuts. All eat well.
  • After dinner we play with trains, train tracks, etc. We all try to do this together but Twin Husky and Twin Crazy are too busy pulling the tracks apart and trying to rebuild themselves. This makes Red laugh but really pisses off Big Bro.
  • Time to go up! I get milk for everyone; Hubby takes the Twins upstairs. Red and Big Bro help to clean up all the toys.
  • Hubby has a hard time reading to the Twins. Apparently Twin Crazy isn’t listening so she is banished to her crib early.
  • Reading to Red and Big Bro is really cute tonight. Red reads us our family “picture book” which essentially is a book of photographs of our family and extended family. Big Bro picks out the book “You are all my Favorites” and he said that book reminds him of me because I’m always telling each of them how much I love them. My heart melts.

So today was an up-and-down day, but mostly up, I think. I’m glad to have had the extra hour tonight and will actually need to leave work for the 4:30 ferry going forward. I’m happy about this. That’s an extra hour each day, 5 hours for the week – so that makes a difference especially when everyone is happy and getting along together.

Til tomorrow –
– Mama K

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August 31: Away from my children

August 31, 2011 by Leave a Comment

I am on the east coast on a work trip, so this daily journal will be brief. At a high level, I think some separation is good when it comes to my work trips – it almost is win/win for me and hubby since I get a break, he gets to be in the driver seat, and the kids get to experience him as a full fledged provider and I get the sweet reunions with my little ones. I think the travel poses a problem if it becomes unpredictable, too long of a duration, too frequent, or if the trip carries along with it slot of stress. I can happily say that this trip is a good one. I am also fortunate to catch up with some friends while I’m here.

My morning consisted of room service and a long hot shower. I got ready quickly and my walk to the office was across the street. Not too bad.

I spent all day working with a colleague to transition her responsibilities. I do not think the job will be difficult. I could make more of it if I want to. I could probably also twist it into more of a sales role, and also work from home. But deep down inside I know that these are just “tweaks” to my situation – not the major change that I envisioned or was driving towards. It is unclear if I could do these new duties on a reduced workload basis -say at 50% or 60%. So I don’t know what to do. I will need to probe on this topic with my colleague tomorrow. I want/need more time with my children.

I met friends at their house and I fell in love with the work they did with their yard. Their house is wonderful. Their neighborhood is awesome – they are right down the street in walking distance to the town square with tons of restaurants and bars. We walked to dinner. I loved the feel of the air. The sound of the crickets. The tree lined streets with old homes. The sense of community. I feel homesick on so many levels now that it’s hard for me to describe. Missing my children, and longing for a life that feels so out of reach. I feel at home out here but my house and my family are so far away – on the wrong coast.

We had a great dinner and it was great to catch up with them. However I’m feeling so confused now and just want to lay down to sleep. I feel so misplaced and am trying so hard to find my way back. I’m still not there yet but the hard part is not knowing how far or near I am or if I’ll ever get there….. Work, family, relationships, community. What I do know though is that I do have some control now over the job so I need to focus on that and see if there is something that could work while still allowing me to achieve a better semblance of living day to day with a much better quality of life for me and my children.

That will be my goal for tomorrow – to see what may be possible.

Til tomorrow,

– Mama K

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Random Thoughts: Excercising with your kids

August 30, 2011 by Leave a Comment

I recently came across the below article that I thought was extremely interesting and relevant for our group – it provides tricks and hints to keep your kids active, versus letting them get sucked into TV, video games and other butt numbing activities.   Big Bro is five and he is already pressuring us a lot more than I thought he would about using computers and watching TV.   We are probably more strict in our household when it comes to these things.   We do not have games on our phones and we limit “movie nights” to Friday nights only.   Our kids are allowed to pick either computer OR a movie on Saturday and Sunday mornings when Hubby and I are still slumbering (the kids know that mommy and daddy do NOT get out of our beds until 8 AM on weekends).

I’m sure that this is a struggle that all families have — things have changed a lot since we were kids.  There are a lot more “sitting” activities to compete with now – the below may give you some ideas on how to limit this and get your kids MOVING….   and of course I want to poll the group at the end of the article….

Fit as a Family

Did you know that kids are more physically active when a parent encourages and supports that interest?

Parental support boosts children’s positive attitude toward exercise as well as their interest in organized sports. And when you participate in free-time physical activity with your child, you increase his or her enjoyment of unstructured fitness fun. Try these ideas for playing and being active together:

  • Take a family bike ride or walk. Find nearby trails, tracks or safe routes for all ages in your group. On weekends, when you have more time, plan rides or walks at sites farther from home to keep up interest.
  • Reduce the time your kids spend inactive—watching TV and DVDs, playing computer games, even at the movies. Substitute active entertainments such as swimming, bowling, going to the roller or ice rink, visiting the zoo.
  • Play games outside with your kids—everything from hopscotch and jump rope to hide-and-seek, basketball or badminton. Don’t worry about what the neighbors will think.
  • Play physically active games indoors with your kids. Treasure hunts, dancing, hacky sack, ping pong, even yoga can keep the family moving when the weather makes staying inside necessary.
  • Consider getting a family membership at the local community center. These facilities give you opportunities for several kinds of play and often have special parent-child activity sessions.
  • If you belong to a health club or gym, find out if your adolescent or teenager is eligible to join. Then you can exercise side-by-side on various types of equipment. Be sure to have a trainer show your child how to use the machines and set up an appropriate workout program for him or her.

Source:  Healthy Woman E-Newsletter, August 2011

So I’d like to hear from the group about:

Thank you so much for your participation!

– Mama K

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August 23: Big steps. For Twin Husky and a new job opportunity for me

August 23, 2011 by 1 Comment

The sun is out and it is Chocolate Tuesday!

Highlights of the Morning:

  • I head downstairs to find some clothes and I heard the twins running around and talking – for some reason I thought Red and Big Bro were still in bed, but when I entered the kitchen I saw the both of them on their stools at the counter looking and acting like perfect, angelic children, waiting patiently for their Nutella chocolate breakfasts. It was too funny. They were so cute and quiet just sitting there on their best behavior.
  • While I was getting ready upstairs, I was visited by Twin Husky. He was pointing a lot, helped me close the closet door, pointed to his diaper and then pointed to the toilet. So I asked him if he wanted to try the potty. I got him naked and we sat there for a while but nothing happened. It was a good try though and I am so proud of their interest in this topic especially at 18 months old. It will be a HUGE milestone for our family when we are rid of diapers for good.
  • I gathered clothes for Big Bro and Red. By this time Twin Crazy was upstairs too investigating what we were doing.
  • As we head downstairs Twin Husky is very adamant about going downstairs by himself. He holds onto the banister and his latest thing is lifting his right leg up REAL high and saying “down” with each step. It is so cute. I took a video.
  • Twin Crazy still is too scared to go down by herself, so I carried her.
  • Diaper change with Twin Crazy included me kissing her feet and pretending to eat her toes. She loves that.
  • Red wanted to do gymnastics flips on me. This is her new thing lately. I hold her hands, she scrambles up my legs, and then I flip her over upside down “like a monkey”. She’ll do it over and over if I let her. Then Twin Crazy wanted to do it. She grabbed my hands, did not walk up, but did put her head backwards so I knew she wanted to flip. I picked her up and manually flipped her a few times too. My two little gymnastics girls. So cute.
  • Big Bro gathered his toys for school today. Tomorrow will be his last day at pre-school and he is excited about spending time with his friend Ryan. He’s bringing in toys that Ryan has not seen before.
  • Vitamins — both Red and Big Bro followed the new “rule” of giving mommy kisses for each vitamin. I love it. And they giggle.
  • Red was having an issue with her hair. She wanted it wet but couldn’t decide if she wanted a pony-tail or not. I suggested putting her hair band in her jacket pocket if she wants a pony-tail later.
  • OK time to go!!!! Toddlers in car seats. I packed the bag with shoes. Big Bro grabbed his shoes as did Red. We are off.
  • Drop off #1 went well. Kisses to all.
  • Drop off #2 also went well. I helped Big Bro put his hair down – again mentioning how his hair has “personality” and we just need the back down and it looks cool to have the front scruffy. His old teacher was back after the summer and she mentioned how tall Big Bro looks even after only 3 months. He looks so mature for his age and I think he will be very tall.

So now we’re on the ferry. It is sunny and beautiful. People are on the ferry with their blackberries. I’m a bit down today – last night we saw the movie called “Inside Job” about the recklessness resulting in the financial crisis and the complete lack of oversight and compensation structures that lead the country (and the ripple effect to the world) to where we are now. It also depicted the strong ties of the financial leaders to government – and claims how leaders under Obama’s administration are actually the same folks who played a part in the demise of the markets. It really was very disturbing – There obviously is another side to the story but it really makes you feel helpless; people’s lives are affected by all of this mess and you don’t know who to trust.

It is sunny. And I am hopeful that we will be able to make change for the benefit of our family.

Today at work I will work on sales effort for the partnering opportunity; and likely sales efforts for our meeting in October. I don’t think it will be a busy day for me.

Highlights of My Working Day:

  • Found out of a key loss within our company (a great colleague took a job elsewhere) which presents an opportunity for me professionally. I need to think through things a bit since this would not be the “step back” strategy I originally was hoping for. But it might allow me more flexibility to work from home most of the time. I need to mull it over and talk to Hubby. I’m emotionally exhausted from thinking about this and the implications to my job, my work/life balance, time with the kids, etc. It will need travel in the Fall and Spring, but this travel would only be 1 week at a time and extremely predictable. I spoke to Hubby… he thinks it will be an amazing role for me especially if I can negotiate working from home most of the time (which I think I can). Plus it will get me to the next level (Director) quicker since I’ll be able to meet my sales targets more consistently, if all goes well. If I am able to strike a deal where I can work from home, theoretically this job can be done anywhere in the country… which is very appealing to me since I strongly believe our family needs a change to a more affordable city.
  • I read a lot about the earthquake on the East Coast – what a surprise! Earthquakes are something I fear daily out here on the West Coast; I guess the issue with today’s earthquake is that it was shallow so it was widely felt along the coast. I think it scared a lot of people.
  • Organized a go-to-market meeting with our partner for a big firm initiative. I think this project is going to be fun.
  • We celebrated summer birthdays and I ate three cupcakes.

The ferry ride home is wonderful today; it is hot and sunny. We are thinking about pizza for dinner tonight.

Dinner and Bedtime:

  • Pick up with Big Bro went great; tomorrow is his last day of pre-school. 😦
  • We order a pizza on the way to Pick up #2
  • Pick up with Red was a surprise… daycare provider bought her a cute halter dress and had her hair in a pony-tail. She looks so grown up
  • Not much to do except play today until the pizza comes!
  • Twin Crazy pulls out books off of shelf and then we put them back together
  • Red wants to do flips non-stop where she walks up your legs and flips backwards
  • Big Bro and I play horse, following Twin Crazy and saying how we’re going to tickle her
  • Big Bro and I play peek-a-boo scare with Twin Crazy and Twin Husky. The twins are outside in the yard playing with strollers and toy shopping carts and Big Bro and I are “roaring” at them like lions to scare them. They are giggling.
  • Twin Husky and Twin Crazy keep falling down everywhere. I’m wondering if they’re pants are fitting OK or if they are just very rambunctious now running back and forth
  • Pizza was great; all ate well
  • Afterwards I was playing physical with all kids; acting like a lion, pretending to eat their legs, tickling them, and Big Bro and Red balancing on my body and flipping over. They were so tired, winded, and wound up when they went upstairs.
  • Twins were easy to put to bed; Big Bro and Red told “stories” with their new story cards. Red wanted to change her PJs and that’s when I lost my patience and left the room. “We already did PJs…. I’m done with that…. if you want to change them, please get changed by yourself. I’m done… goodnight sweeties….”

Today was a draining day – more decisions to make – life is still in motion I just never expected this opportunity to present itself today.

Until tomorrow –

– Mama K

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August 22: Re-energized and hopeful post-camping!!!

August 22, 2011 by Leave a Comment

Happy Monday.

I first have to write a quick update from our weekend. It was the first time that we went camping as a family of six and let me tell you we had an amazing time. The kids had so much fun – it wasn’t the “outward bound” kind of camping (Hubby used to do solo camping hikes through Alaska with only himself and a compass) – this was a KOA camping outfit with a petting zoo, jumpy trampoline, pool, face paining, playground….. and we went with a group of parents of multiples so there were kids EVERYWHERE. We were the only family with four kids and I think we were the family with the least amount of stuff. The twins had a great time climbing and falling down hills, exploring, jumping in mud puddles, and looking at REAL animals. Big Bro and Red are experienced campers so they liked the headlamps and the tent. Big Bro organized the tent for the 2nd night sleeping and he set out his spot and stole Hubby’s sleeping back. Smart kid. It was a great time!!!

Four kids camping

OK – back to reality.

Highlights of the Morning and Commute:

  • I got out of the shower to hear Red screaming about something and also to hear a huge commotion from the Twins downstairs. I had no idea what was happening down there with breakfast, but I ran to Red. She was upset that her band-aid came off her owie. I inspected the owie and it looked pretty healed to me. But we made an agreement for me to put some lotion on it and instead of 2 band-aids which she had before, I put on one band-aid. That seemed to work but she was still sulking and clingy.
  • Big Bro came in and I was already dressed so the 3 of us made our way downstairs holding hands. Red picked out her outfit the night before – pink shirt, pink pants, pink underwear, and Halloween (orange) socks.

My pink pumpkin

  • Downstairs, the Twins were completely covered in yogurt. We had baths yesterday and you should have seen the amount of yogurt on top of their heads. Even Red and Big Bro were laughing. I couldn’t believe it. It looked like they put more yogurt on their bodies compared to what went into their mouths.
  • Red was still sulking and a bit difficult but she finally said she wanted oatmeal for breakfast. I was on it.
  • Big Bro was in a great mood; I grabbed him shorts and he was looking forward to bringing the movie “The Jungle Book” into school today and also telling his friends about his camping trip.
  • I gave Twin Crazy a diaper change and kissed her belly, kissed her feet, and even started to “eat” her toe which through her into a laughing fit. We had a great time.
  • I only was able to give Twin Husky morning kisses – he was too busy with a shopping cart and a walker moving things all around the house.
  • vitamins – new rule: to get your vitamin, you have to give mommy a kiss. We have two sets of vitamins for Red and Big Bro so I got 4 extra kisses in this morning which was great.
  • Red proclaims: “Mommy…. I am wearing all pink and a YOU are wearing all black!!!” (I am dressed for a client meeting later today). She is so cute and really is doing a lot of comparisons between her and me lately.
  • OK…. ready to go!  I pack up jackets, diapers, wipes.
  • I find the Twins in the office, Twin Husky on top of the chair leaning on the desk with the computer mouse, and Twin Crazy by his side looking up at the computer. They are partners in crime…
  • I scarf down a bagel (thanks Hubby) and pack up some instant coffee for the drive during drop offs.
  • Drop off #1 was fine – there was a trash truck that all the kids were excited about.
  • Drop off #2 was fine – Big Bro’s hair was sticking up all over the place since he went to bed last night with wet hair. I said that his hair has “personality”. He laughed at this. We stopped in the bathroom at school so I could wet his hair down a bit… but told him that it is really handsome to have some scruffy hair and that he is a very handsome kid. I kissed his nose. He was excited to tell his teacher about camping and also show him the movie. The teacher also commented on his nice hair.

So, back on the ferry for another week. It is extremely gray and almost looks like rain. Today at work I’ll need to do some outreach sales efforts on two initiatives but also get ready for a “kickoff” with a client whose project I believe we are starting today. I feel like I’m at a point where selling the work is more fun than doing the work – but I do like the aspect of client interaction, and this project is quite contained, so I think it will work out well.

I’ve struggled lately with the changes that I need to make with my job – I created a new job description for myself back in February but that has not taken hold since we are really short-staffed. I’m trying to think through reduction in work hours and what that could look like but am terrified to do this…. some days are really good at work but some days are not – and overall I don’t feel like I have the balance I need but the cost of living where we are is so outrageous. I wish we could just take a step back and find a different part of the country that would work better for our family. This has been the hardest struggle for me – and one that I’ve grappled with ever since Big Bro was born. I feel like I’m just going through the motions on most days and my life is just going by – but too fast and not the way I choose to live. More on this later. But I think there are big changes on the horizon. Big Bro starts Kindergarten next week which will mean THREE drop offs and THREE pickups and I really can’t imagine doing that…..we shouldn’t be doing this as a family.

Highlights of my Working Day:

  • Got to the office and went to the ladies room to “get ready” (makeup). Oooops! Shit!!! I don’t have my make up bag with me. Damnit.  I look like shit but all dressed up.
  • Check my emails; The big proposal was sent off without a problem on Friday. Folks were congratulating each other on the great “team effort”. I’ve heard and seen this before and it really does not motivate me. I will feel good if we get the project – yet I will also be scared to shit. It will be a big one and I think quite stressful to execute.
  • I didn’t have a meeting until 1 PM so I ran to a drug store and bought some make-up to keep at work as a back-up. NOTE TO WORKING MAMAS: get a small bag together of back-up make up if you don’t have time to get yourself together in the morning and ALSO forget your day-to-day make up bag!!!
  • I checked on our budget for the white paper project and we went way over, as I expected. But it was a win-win since we developed a stronger relationship with another consultancy and that can serve as another channel for work.  Both directors involved agreed and they are encouraging me to continue to cultivate the relationship and position us for more.
  • I gave some verbal feedback to the consultant who worked with me on the Whitepaper project. She did a great job and I let her know that. As a company we are really bad about performance reviews over all, and we give NO feedback on a per-project basis, but I thought it was important for me to spend the time with her since she really did the heavy-lifting even though it was a small project. I think it’s important to recognize these efforts and communicate them to the people and upwards. So I spent time today doing that – I enjoy this aspect of the job since this is something I do differently than others. People just don’t expect the feedback so they are appreciative when they get it from me.
  • We had a meeting with a prospective client at 1 PM; we will likely start his project on Thursday of this week. He seems REALLY good to work for (smart, but easy-going – the CEO of a smaller bank) and the work does not seem complicated so I hope we win this one.
  • I spent the rest of the day on admin-related items

The ferry is really nice now – the sun is out. I feel like there are changes that are imminent in my future but I’m not certain what they are just yet. I am hopeful. If work gets to be too much over the next several months I will be forced into a change but we’ll see what happens.

I’m looking forward to reuniting with the kids; although Monday’s in general are a bit rough and I think we’re all still recovering from our camping trip. I think we’re going to make burritos tonight – even though we had them for lunch yesterday. Lowering the bar about things like this makes it much easier for us to get through each day.

Dinner and Bedtime:

  • Pick ups were great; 2nd pick up Twin Crazy ran into the street and around our van. She has been testing us with the street lately (NOT good). We also lost Twin Husky. We found him along the side of the house looking at flowers.
  • At home Twin Husky and Twin Crazy were outside running around while I was getting the mail. It was rough corralling them into the garage. Twin Husky then wanted to ride on the toy jeep. I literally had to pry him off of the driving wheel. He has gotten to be unbelievably strong.
  • Kids were grumpy; I got all kids upstairs with me while I got changed, and while Hubby started dinner.
  • Twin Husky got a diaper change and then I took them outside in the back yard. They were looking for apples at the floor of our tree.
  • Red and I went outside and took in the empty garbage cans. She wanted to do the little grey one by herself — and she did it! It was so cute. She led the way with one and I carried the other two behind her. She was so helpful.
  • Dinner was great; except Big Bro ate at the counter while Hubby was cooking and therefore didn’t want to come to the table with the rest of us; our rule is that we all eat together at the table so it was rough getting Big Bro over but he eventually did it
  • Mother’s Helper was busy folding about 5 loads of laundry and cleaning up from dinner.  🙂
  • Big Bro and Red were doing magnetic drawing boards together – tracing each others’ hands which was cute
  • Twin Husky and Twin Crazy helped me clean up the toys – putting blocks in the “block bin” and play food in the play kitchen area. It was great.
  • Changed twins into PJs; kissed feet and pretended to eat toes. I loved it.
  • Time to go up!!! Twins went upstairs; we got milk for all; we read to Twins, sang songs, all kissed. They were down. So easy.
  • Big Bro was going potty and brushing his teeth at the same time (gross). I asked him if he needed help – and then I clarified with his teeth, not his poop. I laughed and said – “I can’t help you with your Poop!” but he replied “Yes you can mommy. You can reach in and grab it and pull it out. Ewh. Gross!” We were both laughing at that.
  • I did not read to Red tonight because she pushed Twin Husky earlier and did not apologize. So she did not get a story. Hubby read a quick book to Big Bro.
  • Each wanted their backs scratched; I count their scratches to 10 and then give them extra if they were good. They both got extra tonight.
  • Red got cold, then got hot so there were some changes to PJs. “You are so lucky that I love you so much… do you want to know why?? Because you drive me CRAZY.” This is a standard quote that I have with the kids that makes me laugh and them giggle.

All are upstairs now in bed; it is quiet and 8:30 PM. We had a great night together. I really enjoyed each of them tonight. The toddlers are doing so great with their words and also listening. And the bigger guys were so good with just one breakdown.

All in all a great day; a hopeful day. Not bad for a Monday!

Till tomorrow –

– Mama K

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Retrospectives: Pets and my need to nurture

August 21, 2011 by 2 Comments

Yes, I have four kids now. Did I EVER think I was going to have so many kids? No. Was I particularly good with kids growing up or even as an adult? Absolutely not. I never was good as a babysitter. And I never really ever wanted to hold my friends’ babies when they became mothers. I just wasn’t into the “baby” thing. I guess I thought I would break them.

But that doesn’t mean that I was uncaring – in fact, just the opposite.   From a very early age as a child, I have always had an undeniable urge to care for things. So don’t think babies… think animals.  Just to give you a GLIMPSE of how insane I was (am) about dogs and puppies, I was a complete sucker for ANY puppy walking down the street – even when I was living in NYC. Yes, I would get on the sidewalk and play with strangers’ puppies on the urinated streets of NYC. In fact, one night at about 1 AM I was waiting for a bus on the upper West Side with my boyfriend. Along came a stranger with a cute little lab puppy. I was immediately on the sidewalk playing with the puppy, rubbing his belly, scuffing his ears, wrestling with it, and talking to its owner — “what’s his name? How old? oh my goodness how cute this puppy is!!!” Over and over and over I was rolling around on the sidewalk with this puppy and loving life. Then the bus came, and I heard my boyfriend say, “Thank you very much….” to the man. When we got on the bus I asked him why he acted like that and he said, “Do you know who the f&%* that was? That was Conan f*^%*&%ing O’Brien!!!!” So there I was talking with Conan O’Brien for about at least 2-5 minutes playing with his puppy and I never even looked up at him or even noticed who he was. Maybe that’s why he stayed so long because I honestly did not give Conan the time of day…. just his puppy. So, that’s how crazy I am about animals.

My childhood was filled with little hairballs and fecal matter –some were official pets, some were orphaned wildlife. Some were saved because of my care, and some were lost because of my carelessness. But they were special to me and it’s because of my experiences with them that helped to build the kind of mother that I now am.

  • My first pet was a sorry excuse for a dog — a “peek-a-poo”. I didn’t like him. He was ugly and smelled bad. We “gave” him to my grandmother and she claimed he ran away. To this day I don’t know the truth behind that story.
  • We looked after guinea pig from school for a summer when I was about 8. He was missing a foot. He was cute and cuddly.   But I had to give him back to the school when summer was over.
  • We then progressed to a series of hamsters. “Rocky Balboa” was our first (I grew up in Philly) and lasted for 3 years which is actually a long time in hamster years. There were many times when I would forget to latch his cage but he always managed to come back… except once…. the poor thing made it to the basement but I guess drowned in the sump pump.
  • We also tried fish — Michael Jackson and Diana Ross. I think they died pretty quickly.
  • I adopted a baby wild rabbit from our backyard.  What a terrible idea. We had no idea what to feed it. After several days being trapped in a shoebox, the poor fuzzy guy died. I remember we had a funeral for it in our backyard. What a shame. I’m not proud of that story.
  • I once saved a nest of baby robin birds – there was a huge summer storm and their nest had collapsed outside of our door. I grabbed s shoe box and swept them up. We had to feed them a concoction of soft dog food, wheat germ (i think) and some other stuff by toothpick every several hours. I did this even throughout the night — I set my alarm and everything. It was such a strange feeling to lift that shoe box top up and to have these baby birds opening up their beaks real wide and chirping for me and my toothpick. I really felt like their mommy bird. After 3 days the birds flew away – I was so proud, but a bit empty inside.
  • When I was about 10 years old, I’ll never forget the day when my dad came through the door with this LITTLE puppy cocker spaniel, SOOOOOOO cute, with her little face and droopy ears hanging. She started running and jumping all over the place and then quickly pooped on our living room (white) carpet. We named her Lady (Lady and the Tramp) but then her nickname quickly turned to Aldo for no clear reason. She was beautiful.  We loved her. We teased her. She became a solid member of our family. She wasn’t that bright. We over-fed her and she became heavy. She lived to be about 15 years old (I think she started to small bad too towards the end). I heard of her death when I was at work — and was surprised by my reaction – I was sad, but I did not cry. I don’t think I ever cried over her because she lead a very long life and we were good to her. She was loved. I didn’t see her too much towards the end since I was living on my own in NYC so I hope she didn’t feel too lonely. I do feel bad about that.

 

Aldo, a cocker spaniel who was part of our family

Aldo, a cocker spaniel who was part of our family

 

  • We had a rabbit once that overlapped with Aldo. It was a lopped eared bunny and was beige, with hanging hears, so the rabbit actually looked like Aldo’s twin. This rabbit was great. He actually would hop over to me for attention and love. I would give him a bath which was totally unneccessary but again, I had a need to nurture. This rabbit did not last long – about 6 months — he was put outside one summer day and we thought he would enjoy it and had lots of water – but I guess the sun was too strong for him and he had a heat stroke or something. His name was Cupid.  I’m not thrilled about that story either.

    Cupid, a mini-lop rabbit who loved to give and get affection

    Cupid, a mini-lop rabbit who loved to give and get affection

 

  • I went back to fish when I went to college; it was very pretty and very colorful with hanging, flowing fins and a tail. I took him/her home on Thanksgiving break and was planning on giving him extra fish flakes for the holiday but he didn’t seem right after the car ride to mom’s house. I think he got tossed around too much with my driving. He wound up down the toilet before the turkey even came out of the oven.
  • When I moved to the West coast by myself I got lonely and decided to get TWO mini-lop rabbits — Lenny Kravitz and Sarah McLachlan.  I got two so they could bond while I was away traveling for work. I had them “fixed” so that the pair would not propagate. My experience with them was terrible. Instead of bonding with me, they bonded with each other and rejected me. So I had to deal with rabbits that hated me but still clean up after their hair, their poop, and they smelled terrible. When I started to date Hubby and then moved in with him, the rabbits made their exit. I interviewed several people until I found the right home for them.

Despite not being all that great with kids while I was growing up, having experiences with pets groomed an inner need to nurture – to care for another being, to be responsible for that being, and to say goodbye.  I guess some could say that these experiences got me started on a much bigger (and longer) road to the challenge and joys of REAL children.   But honestly nothing could prepare me for the real thing, let alone four of them!!!

When I was younger and thought about what my life would be like with kids, I always assumed that a dog would be part of that story…. but what a change of heart I’ve had. It is so much easier for me to say, “No more dogs!  I have enough mouths to feed!!”  Imagine my reaction when Big Bro innocently said just the other day, “Mommy, when are we going to get a dog for a pet?”   Of course I’m at some point going to give in to HIS “need to nurture”…. Uggggh.    But maybe we can start with a goldfish or something.

So, I guess the moral of the story is 1) listen and cultivate to that need to nurture; and 2) people’s attitudes change!   Any advice from moms who have been there with their kids??!?!??!

Thanks for listening –

– Mama K

Filed Under: Retrospectives Tagged With: , , , , ,

August 19: Getting ready to camp – first time as a family of SIX

August 19, 2011 by 2 Comments

I had a glass of wine last night with dinner and in my middle-age I am feeling it this morning.  We have some extra time to get folks together this morning since I will be working from home.  We are getting ready for our camping weekend with other families of multiples — this should be a crazy but fun weekend seeing all the twins and triplets.

Highlights of the Morning and Commute:

  • I got out of the shower hearing Red crying.  She was upset that her band-aids on her owie were off.  She wanted new ones.  The Hello Kitty ones.    I was not dressed so I needed her to wait until I got some clothes on.  She also requested that I wear the socks that match hers… the white ones with the grey toes.   OK sweetie.
  • I head downstairs to get the band aids and my socks that she requested.   I meet her upstairs and she has already picked out her clothes for the day and is dressed.   I just help her fold up her sleeves, and also fold up her pants… HIGH.   She is particular this morning so she may need some extra attention.
  • I get dressed quickly and check in on Big Bro.  Red climbs on me like a monkey.   Big Bro wants to wear shorts but he has rejected all the newer shorts I bought for him at the beginning of the year.  So I suggest he wear pants and he can wear his old shorts from yesterday over the weekend on the camping trip.  He thinks this is a good idea.
  • We all head downstairs.
  • Twin Husky and Twin Crazy are busy eating blueberries and cereal.   They are excited to see us
  • Twin Husky likes closing doors now.  Garage doors, refrigerator doors, bedroom doors, etc.  I meet him closing the garage door and almost on Twin Crazy.
  • One of Twin Crazy “lovey” blankets is clean so now she is walking around with two of them completely happy.
  • Twin Husky is playing with a stuffed animal rabbit pointing to eyes, ears, mouth, etc. and then both Twins are pointing to their own.  So sweet.
  • Diaper changes with both of them were really easy this morning since I had the 2 blankets and the rabbit as props.
  • Twin Crazy found a red marker and proceeded to write all over her hands, face, and white rug.
  • I threw some laundry into the washing machine.
  • Twin Crazy pointed to her ear which is what we do when we say that we hear something.  I listen and the dishwasher is on.   So we all go into the kitchen and look at the dishwasher.  We feel the dishwasher vibrate.  We talk about how the dishes are getting cleaned and there’s lots of water and the machine is what we hear and feel.   Twin Husky loved it.  They were so cute.  I love doing things like this with them.  Stopping what I’m doing to teach them something new.   To listen to them and react to what they’re trying to communicate and/or ask.   I really try to stop when I can for them so show them that I respect who they are and what they need.

Can you hear what I hear? Kids listening and feeling the dishwasher

  • Then the blueberries went flying and smashed in the white rug.  We just had the rug professionally cleaned so we’re not too happy about that.
  • Red was having difficulty with her cuffs – she kept getting upset about the size of the cuffs on her arms and pants; they had to be even and just right.
  • Eventually got Big Bro dressed in pants
  • Got them vitamins
  • TIME TO GO!!!!!!!!   I was doing the drop offs solo since Hubby will come back early and therefore couldn’t take the ferry due to scheduling.  We are hoping to leave for our camping trip a bit early.    the bag with extra clothes for daycare was already packed so I threw that along with the shoes in the car.
  • Drop offs went fine — Red was still a bit particular about the cuffs.

On the drive home I’m thinking about work.   It will be a busy day getting the proposal together and sent off.  I am hoping that I will be able to leave for camping by 3ish so I do not want to be the last one holding the Master of this thing until 5 PM.  I need to get everything packed and kids picked up early so DO NOT want to be stuck with this proposal.    I’m hoping it goes smoothly today.

Highlights of my Working Day:

  • At home a make a huge pot of coffee.  Eat a bagel.   Eat the leftover blueberries and cereal that the Twins did not destroy.
  • Wrote out this post.  Now I need to switch gears and get on work email to see how the proposal stands.  I have a meeting in 20 minutes to prepare for.  I’m hoping the day goes smoothly.  I’m looking forward to the weekend with the kids in a brand new environment with all activities provided to us.
  • Had a call with the team about the proposal.   There is more to do but we’re in good shape.   Some empty areas to fill but we got those areas assigned.   I now own the Master document.
  • I took the proposal as far as I could go and then sent it to our Admin for formatting – and also to merge the last remaining pieces from people.   All open items are clearly laid out so she knows what is missing.
  • I eat some lunch at 1:15.
  • We have a call at 2 PM to discuss pricing.
  • It is now 1:30 PM and I need to:  pack for all kids for camping trip (clothes, books, cards, games, sleep stuff); pack for me (clothes, beer, pills), and pack food.   I need to do this in 30 minutes (less than that actually since I’m typing right now) before the 2 PM call.
So, I’m going to sign off now.  Hopefully I’ll get the packing done and be ready for the 2 PM call.  Hopefully the call won’t go beyond 3 PM and hopefully I will not have to do anything after that.   I want to be packed, kids picked up, and on the road somewhere between 3 and 4 PM.
I’m really looking forward to our camping trip.   This will be the first time with our family of six.   My camera battery is all charged – I’m sure there will be lots to capture.   I just hope that we don’t lose Twin Husky, our outdoor man of adventure.
Everyone have a great weekend!
Til Monday,
-Mama K
Filed Under: Daily Journal Tagged With: , , , , ,
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