Can't take much more.

Man, am I struggling these days. The kids have been doing so much screaming and crying it's killing me. Each of them, in their own way, create drama for themselves where none exists and it leads to a massive, hysterical screaming fit. Besides ignoring it, which is almost impossible to do in most situations, I have no idea what to do. Here are some examples.

Elizabeth:

Today at naps, she woke up after about 1 hour and 15 minutes. She came to the door and sat down and then rocked against the door over and over for 10 minutes, sobbing all the while. Finally I said not loudly or mean, "If you are done sleeping, just come out of the room." (I didn't want to go in because the other kids would just wake up when I opened the door.) What was her response? She started screaming at the top of her lungs at the door. (I should add she is completely capable of opening the door on her own which she does all day long.) She just kept on screaming about absolutely nothing, waking up Parker and Miranda who could have slept for another hour.

Miranda:

Whenever we go anywhere, Miranda is always lagging behind. Parker and Elizabeth generally walk with me, but Miranda is always 20 steps behind. Even if we all start out together, she ends up behind us usually because she stops walking. So I say, "Let's go Miranda. Time to go." She just stands there. So I keep walking. Then she starts screaming "Mommy! Mommy!" at the top of her lungs crying. This probably happens 5-6 times per day. I've tried holding her hand tightly while walking, but she cries if I do this too. My only other options are picking her up (which my back can't take) or putting her in a stroller (which my back can't take either.) And to top everything off, she has started hitting me when she is not happy. Which is pretty much all the time.

Parker:

Parker seems to get upset at the drop of a hat these days. This morning, he asked for Oatmeal. I told him it would take a few minutes and then it would be hot for a few more minutes. Did he want another cereal while waiting? "No." So I make the oatmeal. Did he want milk in it? "Yes" So I give it to him and say, "It's hot, so you might want to blow on it or wait a bit to eat it." Five minutes later, he starts whining about wanting a cereal while he waits for the oatmeal to cool down. So I give him rice crispies. Then he starts crying about the oatmeal and how it is in the bowl that is too big. Seriously crying. I calm him down and get him a smaller bowl (even though I want to tell him shut the hell up and use the damn bowl he has). Then he starts crying about how the milk isn't in the right place and how the oatmeal is too bumpy and how he isn't hungry anymore. I'm so incredibly annoyed at this point (and it's only 7:15 in the morning) that I tell him to stop crying and what else does he want? He doesn't want anything as it turns out. He just wants to scream and cry. So I put him in his room so I can hear myself think and carry on with the other kids and getting ready for the day. He screams in there like a wild animal (no exaggeration) for a good 15 minutes. Then he stops. Comes out and plays with his cars like nothing was ever wrong.

WHAT THE FUCK!?!?

Did the kids have a meeting to discuss how to drive me crazy? Did they work out a nice schedule as to who will be screaming and crying at what times during the day to ensure complete coverage at every moment?

I really have no idea what to do in any of these situations and I'm sure my responses to their actions will cause some long term psychological damage.

Ahhh, Parker.

I just taught Parker what Squares and Square Roots are. (He has this multiplication toy thing where the numbers pop up. He likes to make letters out of it.) He seemed to understand it immediately. After I did the squares of 1 through 10, I started writing the square roots of 1 through 81. After 81 and before I wrote the next one, Parker said quietly, "100 right?"

I then told him he would learn this "for real" when he was 8. (Just a guess, on my part) and he said, "You mean, in the 3rd grade?"

Sick

Parker got sick again today. Was fine yesterday, but today was miserable. Crying all day. Just lying on the couch. It was very, very sad. I took the girls to the lake and they had a wonderful time until it was time to leave when they both melted down completely. Good times.

Back at home, I started feeling sick. Achy, chilly, pressure in my head. Michael wasn't feeling too hot either, so we took turns being pathetic. It was so bad, that when I went to the store to get more motrin for Parker, I picked up a $5 pizza and the kids ate it on a picnic blanket in the living room for dinner while Michael and I sat on the couch watching 40 year old virgin. I kept suggesting we turn the channel when some inappropriate scenes came on, but Michael thought the kids wouldn't pick up any of it. Then there was a scene when Steve Carrell is doing magic tricks and pulls a fake ear off of a little girl. Elizabeth says, "That guy pulled somebody's ear off." Oh shit. Good thing we didn't watch the condom scene.

When it came time for bedtime, neither of us wanted to deal with it, so around 7pm we finally decided to get moving on and then discovered Elizabeth's blanket was missing. 40 minutes later, he found it and we got the kids to sleep at 8pm.

What a pitiful afternoon.

Necklaces

Parker asked to make a necklace this morning. He then asked if we had enough Ps. I asked him what he wanted to spell and he said he was making a necklace for Peter. Then he figured out how to spell it and started making it. The girls got in on the action and I left the room. Then I hear the following conversation:

Miranda: I'm making a necklace for Julia.
Parker: No, you should make a necklace to Oliver because you talk like Oliver.
Elizabeth: I talk like Julia.
Parker: I'm going to give mine to Peter in July.
Miranda: I like baby swings a lot.
Elizabeth: I have a lot of colors!
Miranda: I want to see my colors!
Parker: These necklaces are not for us. They are for our cousins in Los Angeles.

Babies Napping

This is how I found Elizabeth and Miranda's babies the other day. Not sure if it is the cat food proximity or the position of the babies, but it feels very creepy to me.

Pretend Baking

The kids were in a little funk the other day so I got out the water, dye, and flour and let them have at it. The funk went away!

Clothes

I recently changed the clothing situation for the girls. They can now access their own clothes (with the exception of dresses, which they aren't too fond of anyway). It has had two effects. Miranda is now getting dressed on her own most days. And Elizabeth is changing her clothes 5-10 times each day. Jammies to shorts to leotards to pants...all before breakfast. After naps, same deal. In the last 10 minutes, she has had four different outfits on. And when I say outfits, that is what I mean. She picks things that actually go together.

I'm so screwed.

Camp Day 4.

The girls and Sebastian went to preschool camp today without me or Susan. Although Sebastian continues to be the preschool champ, Susan said the teacher said the girls did well too. No accidents and no meltdowns.

At lunch, I asked them how camp was. And you know what, they actually told me. Elizabeth went into this long tale about how happened, what story they read, what Teacher Dale said. Miranda chimed in too adding other colorful commentary.

It's such a difference from Parker, who, when asked, "What did you do today?" responds with either silence or the phrase, "I don't know."

Big Math

Today Parker, who is sick and home from camp, told me while waiting for the elevator at my back doctor's office "999,999,000 divided by 999,999 is 100."

I didn't have the heart to tell him he was wrong.

Ok, that is a lie. I didn't have the brain power to figure out that he was wrong and then tell him what the right answer was.

So I just said, "Oh, it is?"

Parker's New Shoes

Parker is doing some serious growing lately. He's taller and his feet are bigger. I kept cramming his feet into his shoes, but I finally got him some new shoes yesterday. New pair of crocs and new sneakers. (This should be the last shoes I have to buy for a long while since Ebba gave me tons from Lincoln starting at the next size up.) Anyway, I got him real sneakers with laces. He was tickled pink and Michael is going to teach him how to tie them, which I think he will get quickly.

When he went up to show Michael his shoes this morning, he said, "When we see Peter and Oliver in August, I'm going to show them my shoes." Which pretty much cracked me up on numerous levels. 1) The fact that he doesn't want to show them to them in July when we go to LA. 2) That this was the first thing he thought of with regards to the new shoes. 3.) The image of Peter and Oliver standing there taking a moment to look at the shoes.

All funny.

Camp for the girls

I took the girls (and Sebastian) to a preschool camp (the same one Parker went to last year) yesterday. It went pretty much as I expected with Elizabeth jumping right in and acting like a 4 year old and Miranda getting a bit nervous and overwhelmed, but hanging in there. I stayed the whole time since it's a co-op camp, but didn't hang out with them every second. Each had two little 'episodes', but otherwise did very well. Miranda freaked out when a rough 4 year old tried to come up the slide when she was going down and when the teacher didn't collect her ribbon after circle time. Her freak outs look like she is a deer in the headlights and she just freezes. I had to save her each time. Elizabeth started screaming MOMMMMMMMY when she dropped this big gong and couldn't pick it back up and when everyone else was dancing and she didn't want anything to do with it. Sebastian, who was about half the size of the second smallest kid, did great all day. Sure, he couldn't reach the toilet and no one could understand a word he was saying, but he thought he was a big kid and just went with the flow playing with blocks, doing the art project, running around, sitting in boats. He had a blast. Susan and I were both thrilled no one crapped their pants.

During the last circle time, the teacher read Jack and the Beanstalk (its a fairytale themed week). As soon as she said the title, Elizabeth yelled, "I have that book at home!!!!" as if that was the coolest thing ever.

Susan is taking them today while I get to hang out with Fletcher, who isn't quite ready for any kind of preschool setting.

Self Sufficient

This afternoon, the kids were all just playing outside, doing whatever it is they do while I at my computer at the dining room table. I see Elizabeth out of the corner of my eye walking down the side of the house. Then I see her pushing a tricycle towards the house. The next thing I know, she has it on the deck (which as you know if you've been here means that she lifted the thing up a couple steps to get it there.) And then, before I notice, she is riding it across the dining/living room. At first I was just plain impressed that she did that all but then I realize I probably didn't want trike riding in the house and asked her to remove it. She then got very upset and said, "It's too hard for me to carry it out!" Yeah, right, I thought but said, "You rode it in, you ride it out."

And she did.

Drums

In an effort to reduce the constant banging on everything from Parker, we got him a drum set. Since I knew I would go absolutely crazy with a real one, Michael got an electronic version that comes with headphones. Yay! I can still hear the banging, but it is much more acceptable for some reason. He's pretty good on the drums and luckily for me doesn't spend all day on them.

Pony Rides

I took the girls to Isaac and Owen's birthday party this past weekend. Leslie went all out and had pony rides for the kids. I didn't think either of mine would do it, but they did. You can't really tell by the pics, but they both really enjoyed it. Oh, and do you like the matching pink jackets I got for free??? So girlie!

Dinner for 5.

We had the Nunes boys over for playtime and dinner tonight so Mom and Dad could see a movie. (Susan and I do these kinds of trades all the time, and I love it!) We played outside in the water, played inside, had dinner, took a bath, had dessert, and read books. Then Michael put our kids to bed (which was easy as they had not napped today) and I played with the boys. Sebbe and I had a nice walk around the block while Fletcher stayed with Michael. Susan and Roy arrived shortly after full of popcorn and a good movie.

Dinner.


Dessert


Elizabeth reading Sebbe In The Night Kitchen. Seriously.

Habitot Morning

This morning, I took the girls and their BFF, Riley, to Habitot, a kid's museum in Berkeley. They have monthly "support" group meetings for parents of twins in a separate space. They provide coffee, pastries, a facilitator, AND activities for the kids. After a few minutes of warming up, all the kids (only 7 today), kept busy the whole time.




We had some time to kill after the meeting so we went to the actual museum and played until it was time to get Parker.

Puffer Fish!

Parker advanced to his next level in Swim Class. He is now a Puffer Fish which means he is learning the actual strokes. First up: Crawl! The next youngest kid in his class is 7. :)

Tuesday Playdate

Yesterday, I had Riley, Sebastian and Fletcher over here to play. I had all manner of activity ready for them and they all picked something different to play with at first.


Riley with Playdough


Sebastian with the barn and animals.


Fletcher with the wedgits.


Elizabeth with some flash cards.


Miranda with the garage.

After a while, we went to the backyard where we did the jumpy house and some playdough. After just a short while later, all the kids were naked and running around like crazy monkeys. Parker and Aidan arrived home shortly after and they joined in the fun (not the naked part).

Plums Away

After years of debating, years of disgusting smooched up sticky plums under our feet and years of not being able to use half the backyard, we finally removed one of the plum trees. It took so long because the thought of actually removing a healthy tree was terrible. But the need for space for the kids to play and hangout that didn't become ridiculously gross for 3-4 months a year got bigger than the guilt of cutting it down.

So, with just about an hour of work, it is gone. The backyard is still very green and 'tree-y', but a bit brighter too. So far, I like it a lot. We'll see how the squirrels feel about it when the come later in the summer to find their treasure gone.

Camp

Parker had his first day of camp today. Camp is essentially the same as preschool but with a different theme each week. This week was dinosaurs and it was held in the preschool next door to his. The teachers and kids are mixed so he knew some and didn't know others. After camp I said, "Do you like school or camp more?" He said, "I like camp more because the playground had monkey bars and I am getting really good at monkey bars."

Poor Dog. Poor Miranda.

Today, Miranda was playing with her 'breathing dog' (the dog that is always asleep and it's stomach goes in and out like it is breathing). She noticed that the fur had come away from the paw and this distressed her to no end. She came over to me crying about the broken dog. I checked it out and quickly determined that I would not be able to "fix" the dog. Some crafty friends of mine might have figured out a way, but not me. So I thought for a bit and then said, "Do you think he needs a band-aid?" "Yes!" Miranda replied and we all went to the bathroom to find the right one. We didn't have any big enough to cover the whole problem, but two did just the trick. The dog was mended, Miranda was happy and all it took was 2 band-aids. Of course after that, all the animals and dolls and kids needed band-aids, but that is a whole other blog entirely.

More birthdays

Rachel had her twins club garage sale this weekend, so I came home at noon Friday for a weekend with the kids. I was amazed, as always, at how easily the girls go to sleep at naps, compared with bedtime. Parker opted for quiet time, so he goofed off upstairs for a while, and then he came down and we played quietly together in the living room. Parker let me know that it just happened to be Ted's and Lion's birthdays, so we made cupcakes while the girls finished sleeping. We didn't have any frosting, so I improvised a nice cream cheese frosting that went well with the lemon cupcakes.

When the girls woke up we all played together in the living room, and ran around in the back yard before dinner. The jumpy house was still up, so we plugged it in and jumped for a good long while. For dinner I prepared a smorgasbord of leftovers, which allowed each kid to eat a full dinner of something they liked, while turning up their nose at most of what was offered. After dinner, we sang to Ted and then Lion. They turned 56 and 38 respectively, but Parker said it was ok if we put 6 and 7 candles instead.

I asked Parker if Ted would share his cupcake with me, and he said yes, so I took a large bite and gave it back to Ted. Parker was not happy with the size of my bite, and evidently neither was Ted. "Daddy, next time it's Ted's birthday, and he says you can have a bite, you should take bite that is not so big." The whole thing was a little tense, so I apologized to Ted to smooth things over. Luckily, Lion stepped in and told Ted he could have some of his cupcake, so it all worked out.

They were all pretty tired after dinner, so we went in for an early bedtime, and they were all asleep by 7:15pm. I cleaned the house, ate some dinner, and was asleep on the couch by 8:45pm.

Guitars

Michael picked up another guitar today so the kids all had a jam fest. Parker sings and everyone else strums along.









Elizabeth shot this video below.

Camera Lady

Elizabeth is truly amazing with the camera. She took all these pictures with zero help from anyone. Sure, she didn't have to focus or anything, but she did have to hold the camera still and stand at the appropriate distance.

Garage Sale Finds

The big twin club garage sale was this weekend. I did my best not to shop at all, but Susan was determined to have me come home with some cute stuff and I did fill a big bag up for $5 which was quite a deal. I get most of my stuff from this twin mom named Amy who has identical girls born at 23 and 24 weeks (yes one week apart). She has nice stuff and is very good about giving me some of it for free (she sees me looking at it and rips off the tags). These dresses were hers. They have little shorts that come with them. The girls were pretty happy about the whole thing.