Tuesday, September 29, 2009

Chop, Chop!

Bobbed the hair today... i really like it :)
this is a horrid picture of me (i'm grimacing bc N was taking FOREVER to snap this shot!) but at least you can see the hair...

I had no idea...

that it was possible to love another human being as much as i love my boys. sometimes when i look at them, the strength of my feeling for them makes my heart ache. as much as i celebrate their milestones, i wish they could stay my babies forever.

Monday, September 28, 2009

...

I am laying on the couch in a state of complete exhaustion, & when con started crying a few minutes ago, N came racing by me (from upstairs) at full tilt so that he'd get there before i could get up. i love my husband.

Sunday, September 27, 2009

Beets, Buds & Birds

Beets are delicious. No, really-- they are. I roasted beets for the first time a few days ago (drizzled with olive oil & sprinkled with thyme & a little salt & pepper) & sauteed up the greens (i love "greens" of any kind. i know i'm a yankee girl & i'm not supposed to be into that, but i LOVE them.) anyways, i've been craving beets in the worst way ever since.

:)

My other best friend (K) came up from charlotte to visit this past week to visit her newest niece, & i got to spend the afternoon with her on friday. she only visits a couple times a year, & they're always whirlwind trips bc her family makes a lot of demands on her when she's here (big part of reason why she moved away), & this is the first time since the dudes were born that i actually got to go out with her & M. it reminded me how much i miss K. she's one of those people who seem to carry around their own personal sunshine. Even though she's going through some hard times with her husband right now & is feeling sort of down & confused, she still manages to make everyone around her smile. its not an act she puts on, she just genuinely manages to find the light in any situation. it's rare quality & i miss her lots.

in critter news, we're working on breaking the birds of a bad screaming habit. parrots are by nature noisy, & i don't mind normal racket (the boys don't even notice it), but lately they've developed a screaming game. we keep them in separate cages that face each other, so even when they aren't sharing a cage, they can interact. (they don't share a cage 100% of the time, bc they like to have bird sex. i would love for them to be able to have all the bird sex they want, but we really don't want eggs. scout is not maternal & cooper is the most jealous bird in the world. so no eggs. plus, i think its irresponsible to breed birds without having good homes for them.) anyways... scout has developed a habit of screaming to coop when they're separated, who then screams back & this continues for a while, & then they laugh like crazy. i'm trying to keep them in the same cage, but without all their hidey-holes, so they can't sneak off & get it on. wish me luck!

Saturday, September 26, 2009

Baby Blues

Nope, I'm not sad, it's just the color of my guys' eyes. Blue, blue, blue. How on God's green earth did i end up with blue eyed kids? the pedi doesn't seem to think they'll be changing much more, & Con's eyes are a nice slate grey-blue, & Val's are a pretty dark blue. yup, blue. i am armenian. like black hair, dark eyes, yellow (ok, olive, maybe?) skin, my family is from the middle east, & i have 2 fair haired, blue eyed dudes. N's folks were both brown & brown, N is brown & green, & no one seems to know where the blue snuck in. & somehow all my cousins (who are just as dark as me) who have kids also have blue eyed kids. i think their blue eyes are gorgeous, of course, but i also think it's pretty hilarious that i have such fair children.

when did your kids eyes finish changing?

Oh Yes...

we have a new tat. pics to follow :)

Friday, September 25, 2009

6 Month Dr. Visit Update

being cute in their high chairs :)
(yes, daddy was feeding them in front of the TV. mom made a "babies eat in the kitchen" rule this morning after finding dried rice cereal in the carpet.)
The boys' 6 mo. stats:


Conrad is 26 inches long, 17.25 in. head,16 lbs & .5 oz.

Val is 26 inches long, 17 in. head, 16 lbs & 7.5 oz.


:)


doc says they're prefect (of course) & developmentally are just about 6 mos., they're still on the preemie charts growth-wise, however. (although they're in the 90th precentile for height & 95th for weight, so i'm thinking by their 9 mo. check up they should be all caught up!)


& we got an ok to start on more foods. he actually said they can eat everything we eat, except honey, but including peanut butter & eggs. (obviously in a consistency that is not a choking hazard.) i'm ok with this, since recent research says withholding foods can actually cause allergies bc of the lack of exposure, but i was surprised to hear it's endorsed by the pedi's too. anyone else hear this?


so we started them on squash this morning, which they LOVED. i expected them to take a while to warm up to it, but they dove right in. :) if nothing else, my kids love to eat! they're also both napping at the moment. crazy. today is like a magical baby day where everything just seems to go right. :)


(of course, now i've jinxed myself.... we'll see...)


we're also doing the flu vaccines. both seasonal & H1N1. i just think it makes sense, especially since N comes into contact with SO many people (lots of whom are very dirty) bc of his job. so vaccines for the whole family this year. they did ok with their shots yesterday... always makes val a little cranky for the rest of the day, but he was back to his cheery self this morning.

Thursday, September 24, 2009

Stoner Sing Alongs

so i think the verdict for portraits is onesies & dipes, & jeans & t's for me & N. i'll just do slightly different onesies for the boys so they aren't matching... i know it's cute to have twins match, but we try really hard to make sure people see them as 2 distinct entities, not "the twins", & clothes is an easy way to do that. & i think i'll get my hair cut before then too... i'm kinda excited about the big chop. :) especially since now i mostly just look shaggy.



& here's my random question of the day: do you edit your music choices around your babies?

yesterday i was singing to conrad (who LOVES music) & N pointed out to me that the song i was singing (which was very cheery & upbeat, mind you) was about smoking up & getting stoned. oops. i am a GREAT mom.
inspired by that incident, i was perusing our ipod, & our playlists are not very kid-appropriate. i haven't done any editing yet, bc quite frankly, i like our music, but i suppose i'll have to eventually so the boys don't show up to preschool singing about the joys of pot. or sundry other inappropriate things. (lest you all think we're unfit parents, let me also point out here than N & I are by no stretch of the imagination stoners or whatever. but i did grow up in ypsi. for those of you who aren't familiar with my town, you'll just have to take my word that "ypsi" is explanation enough. think detroit, but smaller.)

Wednesday, September 23, 2009

The Shotgun Approach

yet another post of randomness. rather than try to organize my thoughts, i thought i'd just shoot them all at you. enjoy :)

- kudos to nancy, who not only took the time to read my response, but made some very positive comments. gotta love a woman with good blog ettiquette. we wish her lots of luck as murderita, the super hot burlesque dancing mama.

- i think i'm going to make an appointment to cut my hair next week, just as soon as i make sure i have N or my mom to watch the dudes. bob-city, here i come. hopefully, i'll look as good as karianne ;)

- i've been wanting to get some portraits of the dudes done for a while now, but the whole sears portrait scene is just not us. we're jeans & t's kind of people, & i've never cared for the "look at the birdie" kind of pics. so i called up our wedding photographer & she agreed to do some portraits of the guys. i'm super excited about this-- she has a journalism background & does only candids. i love love love the way our wedding pics came out (here's a link to a few i had in an earlier post: http://kprzy.blogspot.com/2009/03/wedding-pics-just-for-fun.html they're all candids (i.e. unposed) except for the one of N & I making stinky faces at the camera), & i'm very much looking forward to having some "official" portraits of the boys.) that said, i have no idea what to dress them in. i'm leaning towards just plain short-sleeve onesies, so baby toes are visible. I think pictures should be about the people, not the clothes, so i want to stay really simple. i want the boys to look like themselves, you know? but i also don't want us all to be matchy either. maybe plain t-shirts for N & me & different colored onesies for the guys? maybe onesies are kind of trite tho.... i could do some kind of "outfit" i guess... any thoughts? suggestions? what did you all put your babies in for their first portraits?

- the boys have their 6 mo. dr. appt. tomorrow. shots & weights & all that fun stuff. i'm going to ask about starting more than just cereal (i think they're ready) & of course, question our pedi on the H1N1 flu shot dilemma. should we or shouldn't we? i'm leaning toward should. i'm absolutely terrified of the boys getting really sick.

- RIP clove cigarettes, chosen smoke of all the wannabe ypsi-tucky/thug allstar lowlifes i've ever known. (yes, i may have smoked a few in my day.) They've been officially banned by the FDA. kinda makes me a little nostalgic.

- happy wednesday all!

Tuesday, September 22, 2009

I've never pissed some one off with my blog before...

For those of you who read nancy's blog, geez didn't know wasbng so controversial! (i don't know how to do that fancy name as a link thing, but those of you who read her know who i mean.) Anyways, apparently she got pissed off that I made mothering into a competition. I happen to think this was misinterpretation of my vent, but I re-read it & it's a valid interpretation, & while she's totally entitled to her opinion, I don't want to inadvertently offend any of my buds on here, so here's an explanation & clarification, in case one of you thought this was aimed at you (it wasn't!)

i was venting specifically at an individual i know IRL who forever compares the trials & tribulations of a healthy singleton with every other person she knows with kids. i don't think you should say "oh, i know JUST how you feel" if you don't. i don't know what it's like to have triplets, & i would never pretend to understand the level of work and stress that a mom of triplets feels in her day. i don't know what it's like to bring home a kid on monitors, & i would never assume to know how that feels.
the subject of my original vent compares a bad cold with a NICU stay. she gives me lectures on how i should have just "toughed it out" with breastfeeding. (excuse me, but you feed 2 kids a diet of exclusive breastmilk for 3 months only thru pumping. it sucks & it's hard.) obviously there are many moms who have it much harder than i do. duh. i know that, & hopefully you kids know i'm not in to the whole "i had it worse" competition. what frustrates me is women (like this person) who have the luxury of having a healthy baby to whom they can devote all their time & attention, & they don't even realize how incredibly lucky they are & seem to spend their time looking for ways to make it sound like they have the hardest job in the world.
it's pry kinda neurotic of me to be upset that i pissed off some one i don't actually know, but i guess i'm kinda neurotic. am i out of line? i just think its really obnoxious to compare the "tired" of caring for a 6 week old baby who sleeps thru the night to the "tired" of a mom who cared for a baby born at 27 weeks who came home attached to all kinds of monitors. ( i know this sounds like C... so hopefully kim will get where i'm coming from. we were actually talking about my MIL & SIL, who was born at 27 weeks in circumstances similar to C.) i felt like it was a valid vent. shoot, i still feel like it was valid vent. but maybe i wasn't as clear as i could have been.

anyways, that's that. vents are written out of anger, & i guess they're bound to piss some people off. i would just feel bad if i thought i had inadvertently offended any of my PAL buddies-- you guys have been such an incredible source of support.

Monday, September 21, 2009

A bunch of random thoughts....

- I've been doing a bunch of experimental cooking lately. I decided N in particular needs to eat healthier, so I'm enforcing some vegetarian meals & we're trying a bunch of new veggies. Tonight it's beets. :) He's being pretty tolerant of my experiments (some of which have been pretty good!) but I know for a meat & potatoes guy it's a big switch. Seriously, before I started cooking, his idea of a fresh veggies was to open a can of corn.

- I like being back in school. It makes me feel productive. Although the thought of starting a full-time program (which I'll have to do when I start the official dental hygiene program) makes me anxious... I hate the thought of leaving my dudes in any one else's care. It would be ok if I could get my mom to babysit... I know she plays with them, reads to them, makes sure they get outside time, etc, at least as much as I do. I just hate the idea of some one parking them in front of a TV or something. Yup, I'm a control freak.

- & at the risk of offending some folks, I have to have a mini-rant. (sorry guys!) It REALLY irks me when a mom of a singleton complains to me about how hard her life is with her ONE full-term baby. How the little one sleeps though the night at 6 weeks, but gee whiz, mom still feels tired. How they just can't get anything done bc they have to carry around their little one, etc, etc. Come on, people. We did feedings every hour and a half when our TWO came home. At 3 months old, we were still feeding every 3 hours. You have to carry your kid around? Lucky you. It is a rare moment when I have the luxury to just hold one of my dudes, without also having to entertain the other one. We treasure every minute of one on one time, & you complain bc you have nothing but one on one time. I know life with newborns is hard. It's supposed to be. They're babies, for pete's sake. I just wish people had some perspective. Parents of multiples & parents of preemies have exponetially more work & guilt & worry, so please don't expect sympathy from us. I can empathize with newborn woes; I'm not a total jerk. But don't expect me to "poor baby" you.

- I have to go shopping for a dress to wear to my friend's wedding soon. They are 2 of our favorite people, & there is no way we're missing this one, even though it's in Chicago & we're still freaked out about layoffs. (The fact they're moving to Madrid afterwards also has something to do with this!) Anyways.... I am so not looking forward to buying a dress. I HATE the little tummy I've acquired... drives me nuts. (Yes, I'm working on it, but it's not gone yet!) & a bunch of my old work cronies will be there, so I want to look totally amazing so I can not only rub in their faces how happy I am since I left that horric job, but how great I look after having twins. (I know this is incredibly petty of me, but at least I'm honest!) The only downside to my plan is that I don't look that amazing yet.... sigh... so I need to find a dress that will help....

- I kinda want to chop my hair into a long bob. I've had layers forever, & want a change form just growing it out. Any opinions? I'll see if I can finda recent picture of me with my hair down....
ok, here are some pics... not the best, but you can see my hair. (the first one was after I accidentally spilled a glass of wine all over me & con man)this one is with my cousin... i'm too lazy to crop him out, but you can still see my hair, i think.

Saturday, September 19, 2009

Look how far we've come....

My dudes are 6 months old today! Half a year... wow, where has the time gone?

here they are last week in our yard...
& at a few weeks old, the first time they "met" on the outside :)
(i don't really like to post pics of them right after they were born... they were attached to so many things & look so fragile, i think those pics are private for them...so here they are, when they were almost brand new!)
& now the half-birthday boys are no longer napping, so my quiet time is over.... happy saturday all!

Friday, September 18, 2009

Smelly People

Ever notice how some people just kinda smell? Not like a clean shampoo smell, or a perfume/cologne smell, or even a BO smell... just a funky smell... like they're old & musty or something. Is it because they haven't washed their clothes in a while? Do they sleep in mothballs? Live in a horse stable? maybe they just have really nasty pheramones? Whatever it is, how can they not notice they smell? I think it's gross & really rude to impose your funk on innocent people (like me) trying to do homework in the local library.

Tuesday, September 15, 2009

25 Firsts... yup, jumping on the bandwagon

Ah, Karianne, you doomed me to steal this when you mentioned my name...
:)

1. First prom date?
nick. the first, but not the last, of many asshole boyfriends.

2. do you still takl to your first love?
no, thank goodness. he was a cocaine addict & probably the most self-centered person i've ever met. (although i guess that goes with the whole "addict" thing)

3. what was your first alcoholic drink?
a slug of ouzo from my dad's stash when i was 11. grossed me out enough that i didn't try anything else for a long long time.

4. first job?
at Y&S sandwich cafe in ann arbor. long since closed down.

5. first car?
a chevy cavalier. it was a scrap title, & the front seats didn't lock, so everytime i braked, we all slid into the dash board. i don't knwo why anyone ever got into that death trap with me.

6.first person to text you today?
my dad, about soem fungus he found in the woods.

7. first person you thought of this morning?
val, who was kicking his crib bars with a vengeance.

8.first grade teacher?
mrs. mucha (moo-ha)

9. where did you go on your first plane flight?
to new york when i was a kid to visit my parents' friends

10.who was your first best friend & do you still talk?
laura pasiak, & no, we lost touch long long ago.

11.first sleep over?
at laura's.

12. first person you talked to today?
val

13.who's wedding were you in for the 1st time?
my cousin jeanette's i was the flower girl

14. first thing you did this morning?
roll val back onto his back so he'd quit kicking the crib

15. first concert you went to?
aerosmith, i think....

16.first tattoo?
an "A" drawn in armenian that my little bro designed.

17. first piercing?
my ears, at 13

18. first forgein country you went to?
canada, technically, altho no one in MI really considers that foreign. otherwise, italy.

19.first movie you remember seeing?
dumbo

20. 1st state you lived in?
MI

21. first roommate?
my dear friend jessica... i really miss that girl!

22. 1st detention?
never went, which is kind of amazing considering how frequent a skipper i was....

23. in honor of all who skipped this one before me, 23 stays blank.

24. what is one thing you would learn, given the chance?
i would love to learn to be a really great chef. although a foreign language would also be cool. i guess that's 2 things. whatever.

25. who will be the next person to post this?
maybe kim? :)

Monday, September 14, 2009

Co.caine & Control

So there are some days when I feel like the world's best mom... not to toot my own horn (although if I don't, who will?), but when things go well with multiples, you feel kinda like wonder woman. it's pretty sweet. I say that as a preface, bc by no means am I salty about being a SAHM right now. I'm not sick of my dudes, I like my "job", etc, etc.
BUT.... at the end of most days, I am DONE. with capital D. As in, if you aren't going to help make my life easier, (by reminding me I'm more than a mom, washing bottles, folding laundry, whatever), shut up & get out of my way. I don't begrudge the dudes a minute of my time with them, afterall I did sign up for this "mom" thing, but N is driving me nuts. I work all day while he's gone (& he works 12 hr shifts plus overtime, so for half the week, it's just me & the dudes-- he leaves before they're up & gets home after they're out.) & by "work" I mean I do ALL the house-related work & ALL the baby-related work. ALL. He comes home, eats & goes to bed. & that's ok-- I'm not the bread earner right now, & he works alot of hours. But I do expect some help at home on his days off. I NEED a break from the house & the babies, just to remind myself I'm still me & have a few hours without being attached to a child, & without having to make every decision that needs to be made.
I mean, love the man, but I sometimes I feel like he's becoming a 3rd child. He's started asking permission for everything. (Can I go fishing tomorrow? What pajamas are the boys wearing tonight? Should I feed the boys? etc.) I appreciate him asking me before he makes plans, but I hate being put in the veto position all the time. (i.e. "my wife said I can't.") drives me nuts. I don't mind if he goes out, & I write all upcoming acitivites on our family calander. All he has to do is look.
I just want him to use his brain & common sense & make some decisions. I mean really... the dudes wear the same thing to sleep every night. A sleep sack & varying levels of underclothes depending how on chilly it is. A 30 year old man should be able to make the pajama decision on his own. Likewise with the "should i feed the babies" dilemma. If the kid is hungry, feed him.
I married an strong, independent man who was capable of running his own life. 2 years later, I'm left wondering how he gradually ceded his decision making abilites to me.
Yeah, ok, I'm kind of a control freak, so I appreciate some of his deference to me, but I don't want to be deciding what the man eats for lunch for the rest of our lives, you know?
I've decided I'm going to start insisting he make some of these calls without me. Since I'm in school again now, just me being absent for some chunks of time should force some of it on him, & if things don't improve we'll have a sit down.
I love the man, he's mostly an amazingly wonderful guy, & I really want to nip this in the bud. Wish me luck!

Oh yeah, & the co.caine from the title? In some unrelated spousal bragging: My super star hubby single-handedly chased down (by car & on foot) a dealer with a kilo of co.caine & tackled him on the expressway. He's a little banged up bc the guy put up a fight, but I'm so proud of him... he hasn't lost a chase yet!

Sunday, September 13, 2009

Gratuitous Baby Pics

I got bored uploading pictures, so more will pry pop up here next time i have nothing to say, but for now here's some pics from our week up north.
Here's the dudes & Xander the poodle, rolling around on the floor. For the most part, my parents' dogs were really good. Zoe wanted to love them to bits & decided it was her mission in life to guard them again scary things (like the mailman, passing cars, neighbors, falling leaves, etc.) & Xander mostly ignored them, except for diaper changes, which he thought were very interesting. (really, what is it with dogs & poop?) Here's Conrad passed out in my mom's lap on their porch after an especially good bottle. I love "drunk baby" pics.
& Val, in the front seat of our lincoln after a quick diaper cahnge at a fair. Not sure why he's giving the steering wheel the stink eye in this picture, but it makes me laugh.



At the fair, hanging out listening to a local do really weird covers of old dean martin songs


Con man, very excited over his bottle. The dudes really love the great outdoors. :)



Me, taking Conrad for a little stroll on the beach. You can see lake huron in the background-- it was like glass. A bit cool for swimming, i thought, but the locals didn't agree. I love the great lakes... it's like looking at a little ocean.






Introducing Con to sand. He wasn't sure what he thought of it, but he liked when I poured it over his toes. Conrad is more of a grass kind of dude, I think.





My mom & Val at the beach. Val LOVED sand. In this pic he's trying to roll off his gram into the dirt. When we got him home, he was covered in sand. Sand in his hair, his toes, his diaper. I would have thought it would drive him nuts, but the dude apparently likes being dirty.






I have loads of other pics of us at various fairs & lots more at the beach, but darn blogger takes so long to upload pics.
Mostly we hung out outside every chance we got. Who doesn't love the beach, right? :)



Friday, September 11, 2009

Vacation is Over.

We're back. sigh....
I didn't realize how badly I needed to get out of here. (I took the dudes north to my folks' place on lake huron for the past week. it was WONDERFUL.) Even though I was stilll doing the bulk of the work that I usually do (all baby related, of course), somehow it was refreshing to be doing it in another place. I feel like myself again, not a boring, bored housewife.
& boy did I need to recharge. I feel so much better I didn't even feel like complaining that N hadn't done laundry, washed dishes or gone grocery shopping since I left. It was like the house was frozen in time. poor N really missed us, which made me feel less like a comfy piece of furniture & more like a valued wife. I know that sounds awful, but I really think sometimes you have to leave to make a guy realize what he's got. & I hate feeling like furniture.
I have some great pics of the dudes doing all kinds of fun baby things up north (babies at the beach, babies at the fair, babies on the deck, & other sundry activities), that i'll try to get up in another post. N is working late tonight, the boys are asleep, & I should be doing homework, but i'm lacking the motivation.
hoping the sense of well-being I picked up this past week hangs out for a while... with school & the lay off stress, I could really use the extra zen-ness in my life. at least I finally got a bit of a summer vacation. bring it on fall-- I'm ready.


p.s. i promise i'll catch up on blogs soon.... i'll read up the next couple days & reappear in comments, i swear!

Wednesday, September 2, 2009

Gimme!

This picture cracks me up. The dudes are really getting into grabbing at each other lately, & when Con decided to gnaw on Val's bib, their faces were too funny for me to pass up. :)

Road Trip Time

i think i'm going up north tomorrow. (my folks have a place 3 hrs north of here, right by lake huron. that's one of the big lakes, for those of you not familiar with michigan.) with the dudes. by myself. we aren't going to chicago now bc of the pending layoff, & i'm just getting antsy of hanging around ypsi. not that there's tons to do up north in the fall, but at least it's a change of scene. so if i still feel brave enough to make the 3 hr drive solo with 2 teething babies tomorrow, i'll be MIA for a while.
N is so super excited at the prospect of being a bachelor for a week that i'm almost jealous. i was really looking forward to our night in chicago without babies or critters. i doubt i'd be happy being solo for a whole week, i know i'd pine away for my boys, but one night with no one to take care of would have been nice. instead, i'm settling for a change of locale & twice the work, hoping that the new scenery is enough to recharge me.

sat is also the 1st birthday party for my friend's little boy. i'm looking forward to seeing her & her son, but it's also a little bittersweet for me, since the son we lost would have been turning 1 this fall too. all of her boy's milestones remind me of him; they would have been so close in age. i love our twins, but i still miss the babies we didn't get to keep here with us. i'm just feeling kind of blue today, i guess.

boys are napping, so i should get packing. i have class tonight, so i won't have much time later. this will be N's first time putting the boys to bed by himself. hahahahaha!!! (evil laugh)