Press Family, Boys 3 Girls 0

In Memoriam

2009-12-15T20:55:00.000-08:00

Dear Breasts,
All of these years I've taken you for granted. You've been with me since I was 14 years old. Yes, I was upset at you for taking so long to emerge...we all know the only reason I wore a bra when I was in the 7th grade was because I had PE and there was NO WAY IN HELL I was going to change in front of those other girls without a bra on. I digress...

You were so perky. Almost to a fault. I didn't like that characteristic then, but of course, I miss it now. Isn't it crazy how you don't truly know what you've got til it's gone? I remember I could run down stairs without a care in the world. Sportsbra? Keep it. I didn't need it. You were there, breasts...needing no support, no special consideration...did I even take advantage of it then? No. I didn't show you off because I was too modest. I thought it looked trampy to have you on display. Stupid, stupid woman, I was. I didn't buy low cut shirts at those cheap Chinese import stores...what would people think?? Duh, they'd think I had a cute rack. Not a smokin' hot rack, not a Playboy model rack, but a nice one. One I should have been proud of.

When I was pregnant, you were even better. Again, I didn't take advantage because to offset this glorious new rack, I had a glorious new belly to go along with it. Should I have taken advantage yet again? You betcha.

After I had Zach, and I was breastfeeding...HOLY HELL were you fabulous, or WHAT??!! You were amazing. Especially when it was feeding time. And I was skinny. Of all times to throw caution to the wind, that was the time! Did I do it? No. Self conscious me took over, once again.

After the breastfeeding ended, you were different. You had changed. But in hindsight, you still looked pretty darn good. I couldn't see it then. I couldn't get past the fact that you were no longer the breasts of my 20's. I'm sorry. If I could take it back, I would. But I can't. There is nothing left to say.

You came back to me in full force when I was pregnant with the twins. Glorious twins in my belly and glorious twins on my chest. Again, the belly part threw me off and I proceeded to feel UGLY for the next 7 months. I may have been ugly, but you, breasts were not in that category. I kept you, once again, wrapped up in over sized t-shirts and unattractive maternity shirts that only that Duggar woman would wear.

But, after all that...after all the times I ignored you, hid you, pushed you aside...you still came back, in full force. Making food for one baby made you wonderful enough...but for two! Words cannot describe what you metamorphosed into!!! May I say, you could have competed with any Playboy model...and again, I was ashamed. I was self conscious. I was stupid.

Here I am, 2 weeks after ending breastfeeding. And I am saddened. I am humbled. I am nostalgic for the "good ol' days". I will never see you again...either at your peak or your day-today averageness. You have left me and in your place you have left these..."things". I don't even know how to describe them...

overcooked sunny-side up eggs
almost emptied water weenies
socks with tennis balls stuck in the toe
comparable to some indigenous tribe in Africa where they nurse until their kids are 12

Must I go on???? Is there anything I can do to make you reappear? (Aside from getting prego again...no thank you...and it would only be a temporary fix)

I will not have a surgeon slice you up and put bags inside you so I can feel better about myself. I avoid pain at all costs and with my luck I'd end up looking like 90% of porn stars...just want you to point forward, not towards my forehead.

To sum it up...I'm sorry breasts, for taking you for granted all these years...thinking you'd always remain the same, assuming that you would stay 24 year old boobies even though you were 33 and had fed three children. If I could do it over again, I'd wear those skimpy tops. I'd show you off to the world. I'd take you on dates...just you and me...but it's too late now. And I accept it, as hard as it is to do so....I accept it. I can't promise I won;t look at what's left with disdain every time I undress...maybe I'll get there...maybe I'll get to where I'm OK with what you've become.

No promises...

The folks house...and a boo-boo

2009-12-09T10:16:00.000-08:00

I went up to my parents house for a few days, leaving on Sunday and getting home yesterday (Tuesday). Jeff had some things going on for both business and pleasure and would be out of the house for about 4-5 days. My folks were going to come here to help out but instead I thought "I'm Supermom, I'll just go up by myself with three kids and a dog"! So that's what I did. Jeff helped to load the car for me but I ran around the morning of departure like a chicken with my head cut off. It's amazing how much stuff you need with three kids! Pack-n-Plays, sling chairs, clothes, diapers, wipes, blankets, burp cloths, sound machines, a favorite electric fish tank, toys/books, three best friends to sleep with...the list is never ending. Anyway, the trip up there was great. Zach is a great little traveler. I get him set up in the back with his snacks and a sippy and some books. Note I did NOT play the DVD player in the car. Not once. Didn't need to, he knows Mommy is not a fan. Daddy, on the other hand has been known to put it on for the 2 block run to preschool. ??????? I digress. The babies slept and I timed it so I wouldn't have to stop for a feeding. The 3 hour trip went off without a hitch.
Zach and Papa building a fire. He loved doing this, but of course when the fire building process takes 25 minutes a certain 2 year old lost interest by the time the fire was lit.

Nana and Trevor

The weather was bad...a major storm had come through pretty much all of California and we were cooped up for almost the entire 3 days we were there. Not great for a little boy who loves to be outside. The second day we were there, it was about 7:45am and the four of us had already been up for a while. Zach was his usual crazy monkey self and was standing on this stone stool my folks have. It's the perfect height for him to climb on, about 2 feet off the ground. Anyway, he was holding his Buzz Lightyear man and jumping off the stool yelling "To infinity and BEYOND!" which is what Buzz says. Well, he jumped, launched Buzz in the air and it sailed across the room and hit Trevor smack in the face. Hard. O.M.G. Screaming ensued, I threw my coffee around trying to get to my poor baby in lighting speed, my mom tells Zach to go in the kitchen (getting far away from me at the moment was the BEST thing he could've done). The screaming lasted for about a minute tops, but this is what Trevor's first war wound looks like now.

The big scratch is really more of a bruise and the scratch is the imprint of Buzz's shoe (I think). It's starting to turn a lovely shade of yellow now. Thank goodness that's as bad as it was. It could've been soooo much worse. Luckily, for Zach, I had to tend to Trevor for about 10 minutes and ascertain how bad things were. That gave me ample time to calm down, because truly I wanted to beat the child. Now, don't go calling CPS on me...this was actually the second war wound inflicted on Trevor by Zach. About a week ago, we were all sitting on the floor and Zach had Trevor's fingers in his mouth. All of a sudden Trevor starts screaming bloody murder and we realize Zach had bit him on his knuckle. Hard. There was a very deep imprint of his tooth. Zach happened to be running around without a diaper on and I thought this was a good time to give him his first spanking. Three good swats on his tushie, a big talking to and time out in his room. I don't think we'll be seeing him bite his brothers again. I intend to use spanking as a punishment for the BIG deals, like eating your brother. After the Buzz throwing incident, Zach only got a BIG talking to. It was an accident, he certainly wasn't trying to throw Buzz at his brother's face...at least I don't think he was.

My dad is having a heart to heart with Dylan

We came back a day early because they had closed the Grapevine and I didn't want to get stuck in Three Rivers. We have a lot to do this coming weekend...parties, get a tree, etc. I am 1000% exhausted...the boys were up a lot in the night both nights we were there and last night at home, too. Jeff is in San Diego for meetings, so of course, dog tired as I am, I lay in bed last night playing different scenarios in my head about murderers, rapists and kidnappers coming into my house and doing horrible things. I've GOT to stop watching Dateline!! Jeff, meanwhile, has been having nice dinners and sleeping in a hotel ALONE for the past few nights. Yes, you CAN hear the jealousy in my writing. I am trying to convey it through the written word. Spoke to him last night and he volunteered to get up with the kids tonight and let me sleep in tomorrow. I'm seriously looking forward to it.

Oh, and must tell you about another "incident". The drive home was going great. I even found a drive thru Starbucks right next to a Burger King in Bakersfield...perfect. What was NOT so perfect was that I had to pee and there was NO WAY I was waking up three children and take them on a field trip into some nasty public bathroom in my ridiculous sized stroller. So....the moral of this story is to always bring diapers with you on long road trips...or the LA freeways. Do you have any idea how much those size 1 diapers hold? A lot...but I did have to use 3. I'm sorry to any Burger King patrons that saw me in the parking lot.

Thanksgiving

2009-11-28T12:39:00.000-08:00

I think we should rename ourselves the Griswolds. That's the kind of Thanksgiving we had. I can laugh about it now, now that everything has turned out OK, but at the time, if the house would have exploded into flames, I wouldn't have been the least surprised.

There are no pictures of this holiday, therefore you won't see any in this post. You'll understand why in a moment.

The day started off at about 7:30. Jeff's mom called and said that his dad's heartburn that he'd been having for over a week had really gotten bad. They were going to take him to the hospital to make sure it was only heartburn. Well, turns out it wasn't just heartburn...he was having a heart attack. They whisk him away to have an angiogram, where they find two of his arteries pretty clogged. 90%, I think. They put in a stent in the one artery that they thought was the culprit. In a week they'll go in again and put another stent in the other bad artery. He is very lucky and we're all heaving a GIANT sigh of relief that Jack is ok and on the mend. He will be out of commission for a good month...he'll just need to take it easy. Unfortunately, that is no small task. Jeff's mom, Lenore is severally disabled and needs constant care. Jack does everything for her and with him not 100%, this poses a huge conundrum on what to do and how to handle this. Jeff is working out what to do with his parents along with his sister, Tracy. He stayed the night on Thanksgiving to care for his mom. Needless to say, the only turkey he got was a turkey meatloaf from Trader Joe's.
While all this was going on in West Hills, over here in Newhall was another kind of chaos. Zach has had a cold for a week now. The usual snotty nose, nothing crazy. Well, of course the twins are now snotty as well. So Dylan starts to ramp up a little fever. It keeps climbing all day. Poor kid had the thermometer up his little dupa more times than I can count. I kept getting different readings with all three (yes three rectal thermometers laying around!)...at the highest one said 102.7 and then 104.3. I started to panic a bit when I saw those numbers. That's when I called the pediatrician. But before I called, Zach, who had been quiet and lethargic all day, decided to puke all over the couch. And then again about 15 minutes later into the barf bowl. All of this is going on simultaneously. Oh, and I've got a huge dinner cooking in the kitchen. At one point I looked at my mom and said, "I don't think I can handle one more thing." And a few minutes later Zach barfed. At one point I just laughed...it was a bit of a shrill, bordering on insanity laugh, but a laugh all the same.

In a nutshell, the ped told me to give the Dylan Motrin (did you know CVS is open on Thanksgiving?), Zach only threw up twice and was back to his old self by 5pm, and our dinner was really freakin' good, albeit an hour later than intended. Oh, and our neighbor Ed called and cancelled about an hour before he was supposed to arrive because he had the flu. So we had A LOT of food. Planned for 9, only had 5...that's including Zach who only ate toast.

In the end, all the kids are doing much better. Fevers are gone. Throwing up has ceased. Jack is doing great.

Now you understand why there are no pictures. I had zero time to think about my camera. And, you can be thankful I didn't have any to share...they wouldn't have been pretty.

And this Thanksgiving, I am thankful that it's over.

Halloween 2009 (I know, it's really late)

2009-11-23T11:07:00.001-08:00

I know, it's almost Thanksgiving for Pete's sake (who is Pete?) but I had those other posts to write about. I can't skip our Halloween this year, since my little Buzz Lightyear had a BLAST! Oh my gosh, last year, he rode in a wagon and didn't get anything about saying trick or treat or getting candy or even dressing up (he was a dinosaur). THIS year, however, was a full 360! He couldn't wait to be Buzz, couldn't wait to "go the next house, Mommy?!!? OK!!" The candy concept was beyond him because aside from M7M's he doesn't get that, but he did understand that he wanted it in his pumpkin. If it fell out, he diligently picked it up...every piece. Sometimes empty wrappers from other trick or treaters, too.
We went to our friend' Amy and Donald's house. They have three kids, Duncan 14, Georgia 11 and Francis-Amelia, 3. Their neighborhood is amazing for Halloween. Last year, I'd never seen so many kids walking around. This year was a little light, I think because it was on Saturday. Still WAAAAY busier than our neighborhood, which is a bit older.
This is Halloween morning. Yes, pretty late to be carving pumpkins, but it's the only time we had together as a family. Once again, Zach wanted nothing to do with pumpkin guts on his hands. NOTHING. This is all he would help with, lifting the top off the pumpkin.

Ewwwwww Daddy....

Holding his very own pumpkin

Later that night at the Spadoni's house, it's Buzz! The wings have three buttons that say:

I am Buzz Lightyear, I come in peace.

I am Buzz Lightyear, I am here to fight the Evil Emperor Zurg.

And of course,

To infinity and beyond!!!

Which is what my kid yells out at least 198 times a day.

We're getting ready to leave...have you noticed what kind of karma has come back to bite me in the ass? Yes, I have a nail biter on my hands...ugh...

Zach started throwing his head back when he says "Cheese" for pictures...
So we told him to put his head down and this is what we got

Zach and Francis-Amelia (aka Scooby-Doo) ready for the festivities
Julie, me and Amy. Julie's daughter is Haylee who just turned 2. She was Tinkerbell. Very cute. She didn't care very much about the whole thing. She was like Zach was last year. Oh, I think that's Dylan.

Only one...

Georgia, Francis and Zach. I was worried about how he'd react to the monster walking around, but he loved them! I made it sound like monsters were ultra-cool and he would give the monsters Hi-Fives...thank goodness all the monsters were cooperative. He wasn't scared in the least bit. Still biting the nails...
He must have taken out 200 kids with those wings he had on

My two little pumpkins

Ok, so once again I've stolen an idea from my friend Heather. She did, however, give me permission AND even suggested I do it. The pics didn't turn out like I'd hoped, so be on the lookout for another pic like this soon...hopefully next time Dylan won't look scared for his life.

Our new beach house...ok, ok, I'm just dreaming

2009-11-21T14:31:00.000-08:00

So, to wrap up our 10 days or so of a whirlwind paternity leave, we stayed at a beach house in Oxnard. Sam Adams gave every AD (Area Director) $1000 to do something fun with their GM's. It was kind of like a "thank you" for having Sam Adams beer on tap in so many of their restaurants. Jeff found this beach house for rent for $450 a night, so we were able to stay there for two nights. Everyone brought their families, which was nice. The weather was amazing, truly couldn't have been any better. About 75 degrees, clear, sunny. So great.
Here's a very dark picture of the whole gang

This is the main floor. This floor included two family rooms and a kitchen that would make any chef incredibly happy. All the GM's were drooling over the 6 burner Viking stove/oven. They cooked a great meal that first night, made all sorts of BBQ and everyone brought something to share. The house was designed and decorated in the modern style, which I don't usually like, but this was more simple/modern. Just nice clean lines, not a lot of superfluous decor...very tastefully done.
Dylan started beer:30 a little early this day. He was passed out by 3:00. I really need to reign him in a bit.

Mama juice. I have 3 kids under 2 and a half. This is what I look like most days at 5pm.
Raul playing Daddy

Brad is the GM at Santa Clarita. His wife, Heather and I used to work together at Northridge Chili's 150 years ago. We've known them a long time, they're great people. They have two kids, Amalia, 3 years and little Liam, 7 months. Zach and Amalia had a BLAST together...as Heather said, they were like crack for each other. If one started jumping on the couch (I say one, meaning Zach), the other would start up. If one twisted on the bar stool while trying to eat dinner, the other started up. If one ran like an insane hyena around the kitchen island, the other one took off...you get the idea. They really did play pretty well together...Zach would call for her "A-ma-RI-a"!!

Eating Mac n Cheese together

I think they were playing "7 seconds in Heaven"...not so much. But they did crawl into this little pop up shelter for the babies (it's designed for the beach). Zach is getting his nutrition from his monkey, Ami looks so happy...
Awwww...loves...

This is the master bedroom that Jeff and I had. Jeff felt bad about taking it, but when we got there and saw it I was like, "Um...yeah, this is where we're staying. You're the AD, you win." Zach slept in bed with us, the twins were in a pack n play and two people, Linda and Stephanie slept on Aero beds with us the first night. The room was certainly big enough to house us all.

And, of course, they view. The windows were wall to wall and even wrapped around the side walls a little. It was truly beautiful. The main living area had this exact window set up as well. The shades were all controlled by remote...how the other half lives...must be nice!
The whole fam-damily

I will admit this. I totally photoshopped this pic. What a great tool! I erased a lot of my under-eye circles, erased some laugh lines and got rid of a mole on my neck! Yes!! Oh, and I'm holding Trevor...details, details...

BIG Brother

2009-11-16T14:28:00.000-08:00

Zach had his 2.5 year check up at the doctor the other day. He did great and performed for the Dr. like a well trained monkey. Recited his ABC's, counted to ten backwards and forwards, sang some songs, and did a few algebraic equations. Ok, the last one might be a slight exaggeration.
His stats are:
Height: 37.5 inches (78th %tile)
Weight: 30lbs. (51st %tile)
Head: 19 inches (24th %tile)

All in all, it looks like he takes after my side of the family in the height department. Whew!

R.I.P. Storm 10/1994-11/2009

2009-11-13T05:46:00.000-08:00

This is Storm. We've all called her Stormy forever. She came to us in a very memorable way. I was 18. We had just lost our dog, Boomer not that long ago. My brother, Scott and his girlfriend at the time (now wife) went on a little camping trip. Nothing major, just a night or two. It was October, I think. They took their dog with them. On the way up to the mountains, along side the road, they see this little white fluffy puppy. My brother thinks, "Oh please don't let Renee see it...". Well, she did and demanded they stop to pick up the puppy. So they did.

They continue on the way to the camping spot. I think they parked the car and hiked in. They set up. They went to sleep. Unbeknownst to them, a major storm came through. Very unexpected. They were NOT prepared at all and only had windbreaker type clothing on. They woke up to snow everywhere! My brother and his wife are seasoned outdoors people, so you wouldn't think this would upset the apple cart, but it did. They were discombobulated and couldn't find their trail out. They were worried. They started dumping the contents of their packs to make their load lighter. They were worried about their own dog and now they had this no name puppy to think about!? Well, my brother tells us they couldn't worry about little no name, they were in a dire situation. Hopefully No Name would follow them out, because they couldn't carry her.

Would you believe that little No Name ball of fluff followed them out all the way to safety! She jumped from footprint to footprint, very "Fox and the Hound-esque". When they all got home, they took little No Name to the vet. Turned out she had worms. Scott and Renee had two other dogs so they needed a place to let No Name stay until her worms cleared up...they didn't want their other dogs to get infected. Of course, they brought her to our house. My mom wasn't thrilled. I think she was still upset about Boomer and said, "We're not getting another dog!" "It's only for a few days, Mom." my brother said.

Sure.

15 years later, my parents dog died. Her name was Storm, because she made it out of the storm safely.

She was a great dog and lived the most awesome life.
When I was 18, I'd walk her every day. She was great on a leash. I'd take her to Black Diamond Mines and we'd go hiking. Just us. Sometimes we'd go with a friend, Chris Jones. She'd scale those rocks like they were nothing, which was amazing given the fact her legs were so short! When I got my "new" car, a 1985 Chevy Cavalier, we'd go on day trips together. We'd often drive up to Stinson Beach, just her and I, wind in our hair, not a care in the world. Or, if I did have a care, she'd be there.

I moved away when I was 21. That's when she really became my parent's third kid. Especially my dad's. We joke that he loved that dog and treated that dog better than his own kids! When my parents retired, they moved up to a more rural area. Storm was in Heaven! She'd chase the quail, smell everything, sit in the sun...she loved it up there. Every morning, she'd go with my dad around the loop. Down the driveway, get the paper, up around the back of the property and home again. As the years ticked by, the loop took longer and longer. She was getting pretty slow. Her eyesight began to fail her, as did her hearing. She had glaucoma. She lost an eye about a year ago but did really well without it. A few weeks ago, she lost the sight in her other eye completely. She was also now completely deaf. My parents would have to lead her around to go potty or to find a spot to sit outside. She teeter off the edge of the deck or the walkways. They kept saying, "Well, she's not in pain...". Well, last week, she started chewing at herself. She was obviously distressed. Her balance started to get funny, too. They decided it was time, not an easy decision by any means. Apparently, the vet came out to the car to give her the "sleepy water". So much better than going inside the that awful, cold table. She hated the vet...what dog doesn't? She went to sleep in her car, on her dog bed, peacefully. Really....aside from her being immortal, what could be better?

She was a really great dog. And she will be missed.

My Favorite Place, Pismo!

2009-11-11T06:26:00.000-08:00

So, for our next adventure during Jeff's paternity leave, we headed to Pismo Beach. Our friends, Chris and Karen, generously offered to let us stay at their house. They are empty nesters, what with their kids of at college, so they had the extra rooms. We've stayed with them before, but that was with only one kid! I'm not sure if they knew what they were getting themselves into with 3! In all honesty, the kids all did great. I didn't sleep very well during this trip. I slept with Zach in Michael's bed. Usually sleeping with Zach isn't a big deal. He's a great cuddler, sleeps well...not this trip. He was up, wanting to chat, kicking me, hitting me in the face while asleep...ugh. Not good. The last night I slept with the twins, thinking it would be easier...not so much. That night with Jeff, Zach slept great...the twins were up and needing pacifiers and all that jazz. I think they were all ganging up on me.

Ok, so these pics are backwards. I'm too lazy and my small window of opportunity is closing, so just know that. ;o)

Trevor zonked out in the Baby Bjorn in Avila Beach

My little ham, loves to play in the "tunnel"
I've got Trevor

Yes, I've taught him to write. He's brilliant.

Avila Beach

The next few pics are from the Farmer's Market in San Luis Obispo. Everyone was dressed up for Halloween, again didn't think to bring Zach's Buzz costume...darn it! This is the biggest farmer's market I've ever seen! Very crowded! I think the whole town was there. It was a little stressful because it was already dark, and keeping tabs on Zach in those environments always sends my stress levels up. It was also tricky to navigate my HUGE double stroller through the crowds...harder than Disney, even!

Zach has been throwing his head back when he says "cheese!"
Chris, me and the twinkies

Zach waiting patiently for his balloon from the balloon man. He got a sword that lasted about 5 minutes.

Different day, we were in Morro Bay. Here's Morro Rock
We ate at the Flying Dutchman. It was right on the little wharf there, and we had the usual fare of clam chowder in a bread bowl, popcorn shrimp and of course, beer.

We had the boys in the Bjorns and lay them down on the bench seats next to us...figured they were tired of "hanging around"
Trevor

Dylan
"I only want french fries!"

We went to this little aquarium that has been there for 50 years or something crazy like that. All of the tanks were really old so it felt like we were transported back in time. A very nice place, I highly recommend going. The highlight were the seal and sea lion that you could feed chopped up fish to. The one seal acted like a dog, when we'd walk away to feed the sea lion, he'd swim around in circles and flap his fins like he was begging! It was all I could do to NOT jump in with him...soooo cute!

Sea Lion

Feeding the seal/dog

Earlier that day (remember all my pics are out of order...grrr...) we went to Montana de Oro. It's a park (National, maybe?) and it's beautiful. The shore is made up of perfect skipping rocks

We went to dinner at Jocko's. This place has been around for 350 years. Not really, of course, but it's been around for a looooooong time. I think the patrons have been going for a loooooong time. They looked as chic and as well kept as the place itself. It looks like a VFW hall. Not kidding. The hype about it is that the portions make Claim Jumper look like rabbit food. My filet was 18 oz.!
These were Jeff's pork chops

One guess on what I'm trying to convey here. It was something along the lines of, "put the camera down, you're embarrassing me." There may have been an expletive thrown in there but I censored it for rated G. Only Jeff would take pics of the food.
Zach waiting for his Heineken
When we first arrived into town, we went directly to The Station Grill, Chris and Karen's restaurant in Grover Beach. After we ate our awesome meal, we headed to the beach right by their place. It's my favorite beach but unfortunately it was hella (homage to my Nor Cal friends) windy. We didn't stay long.

I'm a Kangaroo

2009-11-06T21:39:00.000-08:00

When I was pregnant with the twins, I remember wondering how I'd be able to carry them in a Baby Bjorn. I carried Zach around in his for practically 8 months and he loved it! He was hardly ever in his stroller because he enjoyed it and I didn't have to maneuver the stroller around in stores...I'm not a good driver.
My cousin, Marie (Hi Marie!) sent me an email with a product that looks like a Baby Bjorn built for two. I laughed, scoffed at it even...how in the world would I not topple over!?
Fast forward to today, when my friend, Amy called me up and said she saw a woman at Costco wearing her 4 month old twins in 2 separate Bjorns. Amy ran up to her, remembering me having questions about this in the past, and asked her how she does it?

Well....

Ta Da!!!

Up at Nana and Papa's

2009-11-06T21:21:00.000-08:00

A few weekends ago, we went up to see my mom and dad. We hadn't been there in quite a while and Zach was especially excited to go. Luckily for us, they were having a pumpkin/fall festival at the local elementary school while we were there. What perfect timing! I wish I'd have known because all the kids dressed up in their costumes. It would have been yet ANOTHER opportunity for Z to be Buzz Lightyear! Oh well, he had a great time, nonetheless.

Papa teaching Zach the finer points of shooting a paintball gun. He loved it! Not sure if I love that he loved it...as long as it's only targets and pop cans he shoots at, I guess it's ok.

They had an obstacle course set up for the littler ones. Zach really needs to work on his grip here
Papa and Zach
Zach "fishing" for a prize. It was so funny, he lost his prize as he pulled his pole out of the hole, and a "magic flying fish" came to the rescue and tossed the prize (a glider) out!
Ok, so no childish pony rides for this kid! He moves right up to full fledged horse. I wasn't sure how this would all go down but as you can see, he loved it! I'm thinking next Halloween he might want to be a cowboy!

They also had a petting zoo. Ok, really it was a sheep and a bunny, but you could pet them! Zach thought it was funny when the bunny would squirm around.Me, my mom and Trevor

I Dare You

2009-11-06T13:11:00.000-08:00

Another fun Zach story to report. I don't have a picture of the actual episode, but I tried to capture his expression in another pic. It doesn't do it justice.

So, the other morning, I see Zach playing in his new playroom area. I think I smell poop so I ask him, "Do you have poo-poo, bud?" He responds by sticking his tongue out slightly, making his neck disappear and turns his face red. Okaaaay. Guess that's a yes. So I say, "When you're all done, tell Mama and I'll change your diaper."
I wait a few minutes and ask him, "Are you all done going poo-poo?"
He says, "No Mama, not done". I'm like, "Really? It's been a while, are you sure you're not all done?"
He responds by again, turning red, sticking his tongue out and making his neck disappear.
Okaaaaaay. I get it, it's gonna be a doozy.
So, I give him a GOOD 10 minutes to do his business. I ask if he's all done and he says, "yes."
I go get a dipe and he lays down on the carpet. I can really smell it now. I don't know what this kid eats but it's NOT pleasant.
I open the little tabs as he's watching me intently. I pull his dipe down a little and can see that this is going to be a very FULL, very MESSY diaper change. It's clear up to his balls. Ugh. I quickly put the diaper back up over his peen and look at him.
In his most mobster like tone he looks at me with a half smile on his face and says...
"Open it".
Like he was daring me to! I shook my head and said, "I don't wanna!"
He says it again..."Open it, Mama". Very calm like, very Kevin Spacey talking in the movie "Seven".
So, doing as I was told by my 2 year old, I opened the awful present he left me and as I'm reaching for the wipes (it was a 20 wipe poop, by the way) he says...wait for it...
"Clean my butt."
Very simply stated, very deliberate, very...authoritative.
And very weird!
If I start seeing this kid using my cell phone or wearing fedoras, I'm going to start getting suspicious.

M-I-C-K-E-Y M-O-U-S-E!!

2009-11-05T13:48:00.000-08:00

Well, we did it. We went to Disneyland. Ok, now I don't want to offend any of you "Mouse lovers", but Jeff and I aren't part of your group. I would never go to Disneyland without kids. The only reason we went is because we have kids. I've only been twice, once when I was 8. I recently found out my mom took me on this trip because we had just moved to Northern California and I was miserable. So, she tried to buy my love with The Mouse. And Knott's Berry Farm. And Universal Studios. Can I just say how amazed I am that my mom did this? (Hi, Mom!) You see, my mom is not the type to drop everything and take her kid to 3 different amusement parks because said kid moped around for 2 months. When I broke my leg when I was about a year old, my dad called my mom to tell her and she said something along the lines of, "Handle it. I'm in the middle of my bowling game."

Another time, when I was 8, the Tigers were playing in the World Series. I sprained my ankle pretty bad...it really hurt a lot...my mom said she'd take me to the Dr. after the game. This is not to say my mom's not great. She is, but looking back, I'm rather shocked she took me on that trip.

I digress. So, I went when I was 8 and I went for grad night when I was 18. Hardly remember that night at all. We drove 8 hours on a bus, changed our clothes on the bus, went into Disneyland for several hours and returned home. I know we went to Toon Town because I have a picture of it and I vaguely remember Space Mountain. That's it. Jeff hadn't been in 22 years for his grad night. However, we wanted to go because the twins are so little right now and it's easier to this now while there immobile. Also, Jeff had a hook up through Karl Strauss (beer co.) and we were able to get in free. We went with our friends Joe and Julie and their kids, Luke (age 4) and Riley (age2.5).

All in all, it was a fantastic trip! Zach was fairly well behaved. For the first time, he skipped his nap. He's the type of kid who really needs his nap. We weren't sure how it would go, but he did great until about 6pm, where he had a mini meltdown and then promptly zonked out in the stroller. Speaking of stroller, ours looked ridiculous. I wish we'd gotten a picture of it. We had the double stroller, which is a behemoth anyway. We had the bottom filled to the brim with snacks, clothes, diaper bag, baby bjorns x2, sling, camera, video camera and the kitchen sink. We also had an umbrella stroller bungee-d to the side of the double stroller. OMG. We looked like the Beverly Hillbillies, kids style!

The difficult parts of the trip revolved around the twins. Feedings took 30 minutes so that took time. Diaper changes, etc. Also, I had to pump, so I'd have to get my pump out of the locker, go to the Baby Care station and pump, return the pump back to the locker and meet up with the group at the back of the park. I will say the Baby Care area was awesome! It's decorated like something out of Little House on the Prairie and the women there look like old time midwives. The have changing tables, pumping areas, nursing areas, high chairs, a microwave and a sink with soap to clean equipment. It's cool and quiet. Really great, I only wish they had more of these centers.

The other hard part was we couldn't take the twins in the Bjorns on some of the rides. Luckily, Joe and Julie took all the kids on the Nemo Submarine ride, but I wish I could've seen his face on it.

Other than that, the trip was great! We only managed to see probably half the park. I'd like to go again in the near future and just take Zach. That way we could really see a lot more and just concentrate on him.

Okay, now for the pictures!

Upon arrival, it's imperative to get the picture by Mickey.

The castle. The crowds weren't too bad, thank goodness. This is Main Street.

Me, Julie, Riley and Zach. Yes, my back and I regretted carrying Zach like this.

Zach trying his hardest to get the swine flu

This is classic "Family with 3 kids under 2.5" picture. Notice the only two people smiling at the camera appropriately are me and Jeff. Jeff has Dylan in the Bjorn with him blinded in the direct sun. I have Trevor, who is so far tipped forward, his hat is over his eyes and I'm surprised he didn't lose his lunch. Then there's Zach, who can't get over the size of Goofy's feet.

Trevor and I in Toon Town

Zach trying to call a cab to take him through the park faster

A better family picture

Julie and Riley on Autotopia. This is the only ride I remember from the trip in 1984.

Joe and Luke

Joe and Julie

We happened to be right in the area where the dance parade travels through so we stayed and watched. It was time for a feeding anyway, so I welcomed the chance to sit, even if it was on the ground. Zach loves to dance and so does Luke, so they had a great time watching. Here they are getting warmed up for the festivities. How odd that my kid loves being in front of an audience

Zach nonchalantly looking up the dancers' dress. 'Atta boy.

We're doing the conga line. All we had to do was hold the rope and walk. It was all going so well until...

He would periodically decide to play gymnast and hang off the rope. He thought it would be more fun if we all carried him

In the New Orleans Square area

Zach in the car ready for the ride home. This is the response we got when we asked him if he had a fun time

"Awww, Mom...no more pictures, please!"

Zach's favorite ride was BY FAR the Buzz Lightyear ride. You'd sit in a car and it had a gun, where you would shoot at targets and get points. Zach loves Buzz, so when we were in line and we came to a life size Buzz Lightyear, oh my gosh, his mouth hit the ground! He couldn't believe Buzz was there telling him to fight the Evil Emperor Zurg! It was great to see his face! We took him on the Pirates of the Caribbean and he liked it, but he was just scared enough to want to sit as close as possible to Jeff and hold both his hands. I'm glad he didn't get too upset. There were also a couple of drops the boat went down and none of us were expecting that!

Forgot to mention Zach woke up for the fireworks show, which was great because he really enjoys them. The show was pretty amazing and we were there with about 1.5 million people. Not really, but there were A LOT of folks there. Walking out with the herd was pretty organized, too. I will say, Disneyland is kept so nicely and the employees are so nice and helpful. Not sure if those things justifies a $72 ticket...PER PERSON, but I thought I should mention it.

Long Time No Blog

2009-11-05T13:19:00.000-08:00

Well it has been forever since I've written a new post. Not that there hasn't been a TON to write about, on the contrary. What has been difficult is finding some stolen moments to get on this darn computer and give an update on our exciting travels and excursions.

Jeff took his paternity leave starting on October 22. Since that day, we haven't stopped. Most people, given the gift of some time off, would stay home, try to relax as much as possible with 3 kids, maybe get a nap in. Not us. The first day of leave, we went to Disneyland with the 3 kids and our friends Joe and Julie and their 2 kids. Post on that to follow shortly. The next day, Friday, we went up to see my parents. They live near Sequoia Nat'l Park. We were there until Sunday (again, post to follow later) and then came home, kept the car running and dropped the dog off and went to our friend Amy and Donald's for a crab boil and football. Monday we were home, I think for the sole reason of doing laundry. Oh, I also went out to dinner with some girlfriends. We all have kids so this had been on the books for a while, it's so difficult to get the three of us together. Next day was Tuesday and we loaded up the car once more to head to Pismo Beach. We have friends that live in Arroyo Grande and they generously offered to let us stay at their house. Again, post to follow. We got home on Friday. Saturday was another laundry day and I had a hair appointment (finally!) to cover all the gray hair I know have. Thanks, kids! That night was Halloween, which was a BLAST. Can't wait to tell you about that! The next day, bright and early at 8:30am, we were on our way to Oxnard to a rented beach house for 3 days. Yes, it was amazing and even more awesome because it was on Sam Adam's and Chili's dime, not ours. We got home Tuesday morning and Jeff went back to work on Wednesday.

Whew! I'm exhausted just writing this.
Was it relaxing?
Uh, no.
Did I get some well deserved extra sleep?
I got a nap one day.
Am I glad we ran around like crazed monkeys high on monkey methamphetamine?
Definitely.

We had such great times at all these places and if you can believe it, we had no major disasters, no bleeding, no injuries, no forgotten anything...
we're getting pretty good at this 3 kid thing.

So, I'll be posting separate entries about each thing we did, so keep your eyes open!

Slideshow of the boys

2009-10-21T08:45:00.000-07:00

My Favorite 2.5 Year Old

2009-10-19T09:38:00.000-07:00

Just a couple of pics of my favorite toddler. He was all ready for preschool on a very rainy day. He's really a good kid, but MAN does he like to test. If I say don't touch, he gives me the most evil grin and touches it again, slowly, deliberately. He was in major time out in his room yesterday three (THREE) times in a matter of 3 hours. First, he poured an entire bottle of baby shampoo into the baby bathtub. I thought he was in the yard, playing while I was drying and dressing Trevor. Second, he would NOT lower his voice while the babies were sleeping and proceeded to wake them up. He seems to only have one volume and that's earth shattering LOUD. At that same moment we had a "no touching" incident that I already explained so off he went. Third, he put his feet on the table three (THREE) times at dinner. This was after I calmly (and when I say calmly, I mean very quiet, very direct, very "calm before the storm" calm) told him to get his feet off the table. My little tester. I'll have to ask my mom if I was like this...

Ta Da!

Say cheese!

To Infinity and Beyond!

2009-10-17T21:55:00.000-07:00

A few weeks ago, October 3rd to be exact, Jeff took Zach to see the re release of Toy Story. I had already gotten him the Buzz Lightyear costume (it was a toss up between Buzz and Brobee from Yo Gabba Gabba). His obsession with Toy Story began this past summer when we went camping and brought with us the portable DVD player. It came in very handy, especially at meal times and when he would wake up at 5:30 am every morning. Little did we know he would want to watch Toy Story every single time. Nothing else, not Ice Age, not Baby Einstein, not Thomas the Train...it was always "Buzz and Woody!"

So I'd been anticipating the movie coming back to theatres, knowing my little man would LOVE it. That morning we wanted see what the costume would look like. Zach wanted nothing to do with it so we wrangled him to the ground, hog-tied him and got it on him. Well, of course once he saw himself dressed as Buzz, he would NOT take it off! We had to wrangle and hog tie once again at nap time to get it off him! Go figure.

I told Jeff, "You should take him to the movies with him wearing his Buzz costume!" Jeff thought that idea was "lame". His exact words. "No, that's totally lame". I told him, "I'm not asking YOU to wear a Buzz costume...he's 2!" Well, when Zach woke up from his nap and the first thing out of his mouth was "Wear Buzz!" Jeff relented.

For the record, apparently everyone thought he was adorable and kept saying, "Wow, he must really like Buzz!" Haha...

I asked Jeff how many other kids were dressed up and Jeff told me just Zach. Haha again.

Getting ready to go

How could you NOT let him wear it? Look how happy he is!

Jeff "flying" Zach around while he yelled "to infinity and beyond!"

Oh, and the first thing he said when he had his costume on and realized he liked it was, "I wanna FLY!" Uh oh...I had visions of him climbing up my entertainment center and launching himself.

The Proper Care and Feeding of Boys

2009-10-16T12:17:00.000-07:00

These were taken a few weeks ago...I'd completely forgotten Jeff had taken them.

This is how we often feed the twins. Jeff showed me this technique one day when he was bragging how he did his middle of the night feeding in about an hour. I was like, WHAAAAAT?? It takes me about 2.5 hours, but that includes pumping. So he showed me the prop-the-bottle-squared technique. Zach was helping out for this feeding. He has to earn his keep somehow.

Oh, and this proves that he is related to his Nana. Picture with his eyes closed. I think there are 4 pictures in existence of my mom with her eyes open.

Cuddle time on a Sunday morning

Not everyone enjoys cuddle time

And they like to trade off who enjoys cuddle time and who doesn't

Pumpkin Patch

2009-10-12T19:13:00.001-07:00

Last weekend, we went out to Pierce college in the valley, where they have a great pumpkin patch. We'd never been there before, but it's definitely worth the trip. They had a bunch of rides and activities for the kids, fair food and of course, pumpkins.

My little pumpkin, Dylan. My, what big eyes he has!

Zach had a great time, even though he's still getting over yet another cold. His little voice is raspy...that's never happened before...it's pretty darn cute.

These pics are all out of order...I'm too tired to care...lol. The fact is I've had this post in the works for 4 days now and at 5:30 am can finally find the time to write the text to it.

Bumper boats. He did not fall in but we were watching him like a hawk far any "To Infinity and Beyond!" moves.

Almost the whole family. Zach wasn't in the mood to say cheese.

I don't know who's showing more teeth...me or the horse.

Getting friendly with the goats.

Ice cream!
Pretending to be a farmer on his little John Deere
Choo choo train!

Waving to all his fans...such a ham!

I was telling him to smile and he mimicked what I was doing

After the patch, we met Jeff's parents at Maggiano's for some dinner. It was a Saturday night, already crowded and I thought, "oh, this is NOT a good idea." We eat at places these days where we can leave at a moment's notice. It all ended up being fine...Trevor had a little meltdown but I walked with him a bit by the banquet rooms and he settled. Zach surprised me by NOT wanting the kid's spaghetti I got him (not the surprising part) but wanting the "BIG noodles" that we were all eating. Just when you think you know your kid...

Before we got our table, I took Zach outside to burn off some steam. We ended up in Barnes and Noble, where of course I bought him a few books. While in line (forever!), he was entertaining everyone. He was looking at an M&M puzzle, asking me, "Where's M&M's?" I would tell him it's not candy, it's a puzzle and he would sing, "puzzle, puzzle, puzzle...". Too cute. He was Mr. Chatty Cathy that night and I could hear the people in line tittering as he would talk about the M&M's or grandma or books or Buzz and Woody or anything else under the sun. As I was paying and collecting my receipt, he says, quite loudly and VERY clearly, "Momma! I have my hand in my butt!" Sure enough, there's my blue eyed blondie, with his hand down his pants....beaming with his little diastema showing. Well, the crowd went wild and were out and out laughing...no more tittering. I laughed all the way out of the store.

Pirating Picture People

2009-10-11T09:59:00.000-07:00

At preschool, Picture People came and took school pictures. Can you believe we've never had professional pictures taken of Zachary?
I don't know why...I can't wait to do it again!
They were there on 2 days. The first day, being the astute, on-top-of-it-mom that I am, I forgot it was picture day. No pictues that day because his outfit was not chosen well, and his hair was probably not brushed. The next day, Zach was not going to preschool, but we threw an outfit on him, quickly ran a comb through his hair and Jeff ran him down for his picture. I will be much better prepared next time!
I think they turned out so cute! I guess he listened to what the lady said and did all the poses. He always says "CHEESE" when he has his picture taken, so that's the deal with his tongue out!

They gave us the package, and we're to keep the sheets we want and give back the ones we don't want with a check. Now, of course I'm buying 3 sheets, BUT Jeff did scan them into our computer so we can make more...hee hee.

Pretending to be a Photographer

2009-10-06T12:35:00.000-07:00

Again, I attempted to do a photo shoot with the boys and use my fun camera without really knowing anything about it. The twins are doing really well. Trevor is well over 9 lbs, probably creeping towards the 9.5 mark. Dylan is probably over 8lbs. I should weigh them today. Maybe after their baths.
We think Dylan may be alittle colicky (Not sure how to spell that...). He's always been the more feisty one, but I would say at least one feeding out of 6, he screams, claws at his face, flails his little limbs around. He's literally like an angry little vulture. Hungry, but mad as hell. Jeff was really concerned. I can somewhat understand because he gets home and gets to witness the witching hour. He doesn't know that all day he's been a sweet little bug-a-boo. So, I called the Dr and described what's happening. I told the Dr. that he wakes up and he's p-i-s-s-e-d. It's the best way to describe it. The doc said that it sounds like classic colic. He recommended some Gripe Water. It's an herbal thing with fennel and something else that is supposed to calm babies bellies. Dylan has only been on it for a few days and it's either purely coincidental or the stuff actually works, because he's been quite a bit better. We are so not used to this crying baby thing. Zach was such an easy baby...a fact I certainly didn't appreciate then because I didn't know any different.
Other than that, the breastfeeding/nursing/pumping thing is not going as well as I'd hoped. Dylan is a lazy eater so I've stopped nursing Dylan. In a 30 minute nursing session, he'll take in an ounce. He drinks his bottles slow, too. So he's on bottles only. Trevor nurses great. However, it can be tricky to nurse him and prop a bottle for Dylan...if he chokes or needs attention, my boob pops out of Trevor's mouth and that's frustrating for him. Also, when Zach is home and added to the mix, it's quite close to impossible to bottle one, boob the other and pay attention to Zach so he doesn't climb on my head...literally. Also, I've got this schedule thing looming over me. For example, breastfed babies will often eat, and then maybe an hour or two later, will want a snack. That throws my feeding schedule off and I can't have that. This happened a few weeks ago and thank goodness I got them back on schedule...I can't be feeding all day at different times...it's all I'd be doing! The pumping is also starting to get difficult. Finding the time to pump is difficult most days. Either one of the boys is awake/fussy and if they are both sleeping, I have a small window of opportunity to do the 300 things I need to do. By the time I sit down to pump, someone wakes up and then I'm screwed. Again, adding Zach to the mix only makes it more difficult. My supply has decreased substantially, but I will keep it going as long as I can without losing my sanity. They are 10 weeks, so if I make it to the three month mark I'll have to be happy with that. I'm just so glad I got to have such a wonderful nursing experience with Zach because I really loved it and so looked forward to it this time 'round. Ah well...

Lots of boobie talk today, sorry to any men reading this. Or your welcome...whichever you prefer.

Some pics:

Trevor really wants to see that new movie "Zombieland". Yes, he told me. He tried to nurse his brother's head for a good 5 minutes. Dylan was a good sport until finally he was d-o-n-e. He was like, "GET HIM OFF ME!"

Ok, so this turned out stupid-amazing. I don't know how I did it, what setting the camera was on, how my lighting was...nothing. I do know I fully lucked out.
(Trevor, by the way)

Trevor on the left, Dylan on the right. Dylan wasn't loving the photo shoot today. He was crying his head off, which is why he looks constipated...fast button action in between wails.

We resorted to using the pacifer in between shots, but you could tell we'd pull it out and snap a picture...his tongue was still in curled paci mode. Trevor is thoroughly enjoying his close up. Or he's enjoying giving me the bird...not sure which.
As you can see, we are still taking Dylan to the tanning booth. His skin tone does not look so radically different than Trevor's in person, but the camera really makes it show up.

The Walker's House

2009-10-01T03:52:00.000-07:00

A few weekends ago, our friends Joe and Julie invited us over to their house for a pasta dinner. Of course, we accepted! A meal I didn't have to cook and great company...it was a no-brainer! They have two kids, Luke who is 4 and Riley who is 2.5. She is 3 weeks older than Zach, as a matter of fact. We all go camping together and have been friends for 10 years.

The kids "eating" their pasta. It was more playing than eating.

Julie and I and who knows who was in the sling. I DO know it was the fussy one.

Miss Riley and her ice cream cake face.

Zach and his ice cream cake face. I would normally bet that more got on his face than in his tummy, but we're talking ice cream here. I know he got a TON in his tummy!

Paradise Cove is...well...Paradise!

2009-09-27T21:36:00.000-07:00

Last weekend it was going to be over 100 degrees again so we thought let's go to the beach! Yes, all of us. We packed up the car which took us well over 1.5 hours, packed the kids, packed ourselves and off we went. When we got in the car it was still up in the air on which beach to go to. Often times, the beaches here are wonderful, but you have to walk a decent distance to get to the water's edge. The last time Jeff took Zach, he had to carry him along with all the beach accoutrement (boogie board, sand toys, snacks, towels, etc.) because the little pooper got pooped. We didn't want to be trudging along the sand with two carseats or dragging a double stroller for days...not fun. Jeff remembered a place called Paradise Cove in Malibu! He hadn't been there in years and I'd only seen it from the car once, years ago. A bigger bonus, Jeff knows a manager that works there as she used to work for Chili's. Off we went.

We were planning on a late breakfast as well, and this place was just the best ever! It's privately owned, and there is a restaurant, as well as a bar, a snack station, bathrooms. Also, there are adirondack chairs all over the place to hang out in, and there's service provided. On top of that, they have these cabanas you can rent, with huge couches that line the walls and that of course has service, too. We opted to rent a bed for $25 for the day and as you can see by the pictures it's a raised bed with a nice mattress. It also has service and a cooler that slides out from underneath for your bucket of beer. We didn't know this then, but because it's privately owned, you can also BYOB and food! These are Malibu beach prices, so you'll pay $26 for 3 Bud Lights. (I overheard the guys next to us talk about it). It also costs $25 flat rate to park. Well, we lucked out because of that manager, and she validated us for the day, so free parking! Can't beat that!

Well, needless to say, we had the BEST day! All the boys (including Jeff) took a snooze on the bed. Zach slept for over 2 hours and the twins slept a lot, too. We ate breakfast, and even though it was a tick pricey, the portions are huge. Zach had a blast in the water and I had to keep the twins from jumping on the surfboard. We didn't bring our camera (GASP, I know!) so no pictures that day. However, we had such a great time, we went back during the week and brought the camera that time!

Relaxing on our bed, Dylan (Fussy Fussbucket) is probably in the sling

Zach not looking like he was having fun, but I promise you he was all smiles the rest of the time. He was probably not happy about the girl swim diaper I made him wear (hand me downs from a friend with a girl). I didn't count on him not wanting to wear his bathing suit OR his wet suit, so I felt like I had to explain to everyone we passed why he was wearing a pink swim diaper. Nice scrape on his side from falling off a rock.

The twins, all packed up and ready to say goodbye to the beach!

Jeff feeding...someone. I can't tell from this distance.

%&**@^#!!

2009-09-17T08:59:00.001-07:00

I love Zach's age right now. The positives FAR outweigh the negatives.
Things I love:

When you take his clothes off he grabs his junk, yells, "I NAKED!" Then says, "Uh oh...no pee pee on da carpet...pee pee! Pee Pee!" Then he runs to the toilet and goes. Then asks Mommy to go, too. This morning we talked about how mommy has to sit down because mommy doesn't have a penis...
He's able to communicate almost 100% with me. Sometimes it takes a bit to translate "ahfdkhkaenn hdkahdehn" into "I played with blocks at preschool", but I can figure it out almost always.
He asks when he needs help.
He helps me all the time, cooking, picking up stuff, sticking paci's in babies mouths, etc.
He LOVES on his brothers.
We have a hug-kiss-high five-fist bump routine in the morning when he leaves for preschool.

There are some challenging times, of course. The usual no-listening moments. The usual climbing moments. The usual cursing like a sailor moments...him, not me.

The other day, he's playing in the other room and I think I hear him say, "Stupid!" I say to Jeff, "Did he just say stupid?" No, I'm told. He says it again a few seconds later and I ask him if he just said "stupid". He looks at me proudly and says, "Yes!!"

Greeeaaat. He must have learned it at preschool. So, I sit down with him and explain that it's a bad word, we don't use that word in our house, that word hurts people's feelings, etc. Of course, I'm thinking I'm being too verbose about the whole thing with him and should I have ignored it and what do all those stupid parenting magazines say to do...second guessing is FUN!

So, Jeff comes back from the park with him a while later and says, "Your son has learned another word at preschool." Zach, as if on cue, yells (very articulately, I might add) "G*d Dammit!" Uh-oh. Stupid is one thing, G-D is a whole other playing field. So, of course I quickly and firmly say, "NO! We don't say that word! That's a bad word, I don't want to hear that word come out of your mouth again!" Again, probably all the wrong things. I'm probably not supposed to make a big deal of it and I'm probably NOT supposed to do exactly what I just did. For the record, Zach tells me he learned the word from James at preschool. That brought back to mind that wonderful scene in "A Christmas Story" where Ralphie drops the F-bomb and his mothers asks where he heard it. When he tells her it was from a friend up the street, she calls the friends mom and tells her and then listens as the mother beats her son bloody...haha...I love that scene.

Well, to add to the story, the other day Jeff was trying to get me to go somewhere and after the 47th time of him asking if I'd go, I said, "What the hell??" ABout 20 seconds later Zach says, "What the hell, mom?" Clear as day. Niiiiiiiiiiiiiccccccceeeeeee.

I did have to turn my head because I was about to lose it...to see your adorable 2.5 year old stand there and look at you with those cute curls and big blue eyes and say, "What the hell, Mom?" It was too much.

And yes, I collected my Mom-of-the-Year award at the end of the day.

My Three Sons

2009-09-14T10:42:00.000-07:00

Double Trouble

2009-09-14T10:35:00.000-07:00

Just a few new pics of the boys, since my Mom said, "You know, you haven't updated the blog in a week!" Ok, Mom. Here you go. They are really growing and getting so big! I took them in for a weight check last week and the results were:
Trevor: 7lbs 9oz.
Dylan: 6lbs 6oz.

Trevor is getting to be a real chunk-o-love. He's got rolls everywhere! Dylan is still on the lean side, just like Zach was. Zach didn't get any rolls until he was at least 5 months!

Heather sent some clothes that her son, Nikos wore. He was a preemie, too. You can find her blog in my blog list...she cracks me up and the craziest things happen to her. Someone should follow her around with a video camera, it would make great TV! Anyway, she sent some clothes and I had the same outfit from when Zach was little, so it worked out perfectly!

I DO like dressing them the same. I never gave it much thought and people would always ask me if I was planning on dressing them alike. I had no idea at the time. But, it's so fun! I certainly don't do it all the time...they are usually wearing whatever doesn't have baby puke on it or whatever is convenient. But don't they look cute??

And here is some of the latest innovation here at the Press house. I call my new invention "God, give me something to hold this freakin' pacifier in his mouth!"