Snow!

After a practically snow-free winter last year, we had our first good snow of the season just a couple of days after Christmas. Somehow, I found the energy today to dig out all the snow clothes and suit everybody up. My three bigger boys had a great time, but we learned that Benjamin does not appreciate snow. He was dismayed at the way the snow stuck to his gloves and clung to his boots. He spent his time using his hands to brush the snow off of his boots, coat and hat and then would cry when he saw his gloves were now snowy again. Snow, it seems, is something only to be prodded with a snow shovel from a safe distance or looked at as someone pulls you around in the sled. He did smile a few times in the sled but I never caught it in a photo. Whenever the sled stopped he would say "Go, go." When I finally decided that I was done pulling the sled around and told him "all finished" he cried until David John took pity on him and started pulling the sled around. What a sweet boy.
We also learned that four is definitely the maximum number our sled will hold so we'll need a second sled for next winter when we have 5 boys.
Gabriel and Elijah teamed up in an epic snowball fight against the neighbor's house (Sorry Chris and Danielle!). I think the house won that round, but they've definitely weakened its defenses. I'm sure the next fight will be a different story. (For the record, I made a strict rule they could only throw at the bricks, not the windows.)

O Christmas Tree

...o Christmas tree, how lovely are thy battle droids.
So, I did get our Christmas tree up but I never actually made it to the decorating with ornaments stage and based on my huge to do list before we leave for Grandma's house it isn't going to happen. No worries, the boys have stepped up to the plate and provided decorations of their own making.... primarily star wars pictures they have colored and cut out of their coloring pages. Also, somewhere in the branches are some mutant snowmen with unusual numbers of eyes and appendages. Our tree is sure to get anyone in the holiday spirit. May the force be with you.

It's Complimentary

Last week, we went to our last 'sniff 'sniff Cleveland Clinic Pediatric Christmas party. This year, they held it in the rainforest house at the zoo. We had a fabulous time with all of our friends and enjoyed the great food as well as the cool animals. It was fun to be there at night, different animals were active. The bats were fascinating to watch and we actually saw the chameleon walking around and actively changing colors. It was amazing!

We've enjoyed these parties each of the three years we've been able to go, but one thing that is always a little bit stressful is the fact that they are formal dress. Two of the years, I've been pregnant. Pregnancy and formal wear is a special combination. This year, I was able to just put on a fancy dress that is stretchy even though it is definitely not a maternity dress. I felt pretty good in it and received lots of kind compliments from Marc's colleagues about how nice I looked. However, the ultimate compliment came a couple of days later when our friend Cata approached Marc at work and expressed that she was concerned that I had not gained enough pregnancy weight based on the way I looked at the party. Marc gave a very diplomatic answer (fyi I have gained more than enough pregnancy weight, I always do) something like, "she's gained an appropriate amount, don't worry". When Marc told me what Cata said, it made my day. That was the best thing a woman 31 weeks along could hear. Cata was already on my list of favorite people, but her name has now been chiseled in stone, cast in iron, seared on for life. I think I will consider that my first Christmas present of the season. :)

If the Socks Fit...

This is a photo taken after church one Sunday when I was a tired grump. Sundays with my four little guys plus my giant belly can be a little rough sometimes. When I propped my feet up, I started laughing because they looked just like the feet of the Wicked Witch of the East. If only I'd been wearing ruby red slippers, or even silver ones (as they are in the book). Of course, I was already pretty grouchy. Perhaps wearing slippers would have pushed me over the edge from witchy to actual witch and caused my face to turn green. My likelihood for being involved in accidents related to random houses falling from the sky might also have increased. It was probably a good thing I just had the socks.

A Party, Me Hearties

As previously mentioned, the boys turned 5 on November 26th. I decided that this year I was going to get it together and throw them an honest-to-goodness party: friends, games, favors, decorations, presents, the whole thing. I'm sure my experience was compounded by the fact that this particular party took place in the midst of the holiday season which is a busy time in general, but planning it gave me a bad case PPSD: Party Planning Stress Disorder.
First, there was a theme to consider. The boys made that easy, they both wanted a pirate party. Done. So, I googled pirate party ideas. Don't do it. That way lies madness. You may find yourself, as I did, gaping open mouthed at blog after blog of elaborate ideas illustrated in gorgeous full-detail photographs. Now, there is nothing wrong with really awesome parties and mothers who throw them except for the fact that I knew, deep down, that I was not one of those mothers. I felt the guilt and panic rising as I researched each aspect of throwing a party. Didn't my boys deserve to deliver indivualized ship-in-a-bottle invitations to each party guest? Were other mothers expecting to receive a detailed treasure map complete with burned edges and other aging techniques with clues that would help them find the pertinent party information hidden in the map itself? Was I a bad mother because the invitation ideas alone made me feel weak in the knees and gave me the strong urge to throw my hands up in surrender before I had even begun?
Luckily, I pulled myself together, muttered "aargh", ate an orange to stave off scurvy and decided to forge ahead. I found some great (and free!) invitations online and had the boys make home-made envelopes with piratical drawings on them which we hand-delivered to their friends.

They talked me into inviting 9 friends total. I feel a little bit guilty confessing some relief when only 7 could come. That still made 11 little people running around our house, which was plenty.

The party lasted 2 hours which meant we had 8 activities plus time to eat the cupcakes and open presents. I wish I had taken pictures of each of the activities before they were either destroyed or taken down if only to encourage other moms who may not have it in them to throw an immaculate party. Things were definitely homespun but the kids didn't care at all.  I have some great pictures from the party but unfortunately I can only post some cropped selections since I don't have the permission of everyone's parents to post pictures online. So, here are the details of what we did with a smattering of pictures. You can read it all or just scroll through the pics.

As the guests arrived, we had them decorate a brown paper bag for storing all their loot. We offered markers, pirate stickers, letter stickers and other miscellaneous stickers. They really got into it and got to put a sheet of pirate stickers in their bag to take home.

Once everyone arrived, we started in on the games. First up was "Walk the Plank" in which our little pirates had to walk across some treacherous 2x4s without falling off. Those who fell were eliminated and each round got harder. There was walk forward, walk sideways, hop, walk backward and hop on one foot. At the end of each game, the winner got to open a treasure chest and help distribute the loot. They also got to wear the captain's hat during the next game. The first treasure chest held bandannas.

 

Next up was "Pin the Eye-patch on the Pirate". I made this game by getting a large piece of felt and using a sharpie to freehand a pirate face on it. My boys informed that he looked like a pirate cowboy. I guess the hat left a little something to be desired. I cut eye-patches out of different colors of felt and numbered them wit my handy sharpie. The static cling was enough to hold the eye-patches on which means we avoided having to use any tape or pins. The treasure was, of course, pirate eye-patches to wear.

Our fourth activity was a huge hit. We taped off two roughly boat-shaped areas on the floor and split into two teams. Each person was given two "cannonballs" (these were large black yarn pom-poms that I made) to throw into the other boat. We played pirate music during which everyone could throw as many cannonballs into the other boat as they could (You were allowed to pick up the ones that landed in your boat and throw them back. I realize that this is not very historically accurate.) and when the music stopped we counted how many were left in each boat. The treasure was rub-on pirate tattoos. I am embarrassed to say that some remnants of these tattoos are still left on some of my boys upper-arms. I guess they don't scrub as hard as they should during baths.... maybe it's on purpose.

Game five was very much like musical chairs except everyone had to run and jump on an "island" (large pieces of newspaper) when the music stopped. More than one person could be on an island as long as no part of their foot was touching the floor, lest they be eaten by seamonsters. Treasure consisted of miniature spyglasses. (A note about the spyglasses: I bought them from Oriental Trading after reading a comment from a reviewer that they were small but actually did magnify. What the reviewer meant to say was that the plastic lenses were warped and so made things appear differently. Magnify? not so much. The kids loved them though and at 50 cents each, who can really complain?)

Then it was on to the treasure map beanbag toss. I made a large treasure map (Benjamin destroyed it immediately after the party.) and sewed some beanbags out of skull and crossbone fabric. The goal was to get your beanbag to land on the X-marks-the-spot. The treasure chest held canvas pouches for the next activity the...

Treasure Hunt! We created a small tropical island upstairs where some unfortunate pirates had lost all of their treasure before coming to a sticky end. Their deaths probably involved those vicious looking snakes. Everyone got to fill their pouches with chocolate coins.

While I got the cupcakes and snacks ready, Marc helped the party-goers play one more game. He tied a cannonball (this time they were black balloons) to each person's ankle and the goal was to stomp on other people's without getting your own "blown up". As each person was eliminated they got to come sit down for a snack which included pirate bananas, pirate cupcakes and goldfish. I had briefly entertained the idea of making a cupcake cake, but again, the sheer elaborateness of the designs I saw made me decide that pirate flags were good enough for me. Gabriel and Elijah were excited about the "solid gold" birthday candles. We also had a choice of green "grog" Hawaiian punch and blue "ocean water" Hawaiian punch to drink.

Afterward, I vowed that I would never again use red icing on anything. One of the moms came back a little early before Benjamin was all cleaned up and thought he was covered in blood.

When everyone had their fill, the boys opened presents while Marc made awesome balloon swords for everyone to take home along with their loot bags. In retrospect, Marc wishes he would have made cutlasses instead of the fancy pommels since a cutlass would have been more accurate. No one was complaining. Several moms commented that if, you know, this doctor thing didn't work out he had a future in balloons.

The boys loved all of their gifts, but I have to admit that I was gratified that when they opened the monster hoodies that had cost me hours of hand-stitching and some frustration since I am not at all a seamstress, both boys put them on and didn't take them off for the rest of the day.

I know that I called my mom a couple of times during all of this planning and doing for the party to tell her thank you for all of her hard work that I'm sure I didn't appreciate nearly enough as a child but I want to say it again. Mom: you are a saint. Thank you for the wonderful birthday parties I had when I was little. Party planning is not for the faint of heart. I'd like to see Black Beard try it.

Turkeys

This Thanksgiving, I had a lot to be grateful for. I got to go to my mom's house for Thanksgiving dinner for the first time since I got married ten years ago, Marc was actually able to come (a miracle!), and we had gorgeous weather so the boys could play outside a lot during our visit. In addition to my little family and my parents, my brothers Joe and Sam were also there. I wish I had more pictures, but maybe not taking them was one thing that helped keep our day simple and non-stressful. My mom and I whipped up a meal that included turkey, mashed potatoes, green bean casserole, gravy, stuffing, rolls, a twelve-layer rainbow jello, fresh cranberry salad, pumpkin pie and chocolate pie. It was all good. In the evening, when it got chilly, my dad lit a fire in the fireplace. I loved the smell of the burning wood and the boys were mesmerized by the flames. It made me think of my childhood and other chilly evenings by the fireplace. I am so thankful for both the family I grew up in and the family Marc and I are raising now and for this fifth little boy who will be joining us soon. Anyway, I did want to share just a handful of pictures of our little Turkeys from our Thanksgiving visit:

My boys are totally spoiled in the pancake department. They always want different shapes. I was very impressed with these Turkey pancakes I made on Thanksgiving morning. My boys were not. They informed me that these definitely looked like bunnies.

My brother, Sam, made this gear for David John to dress up in out of cardboard and duct tape. If anyone needs to quell a riot, David John is ready for your call.

 

Here are all four Turkeys or are they fierce warriors? I'm not sure.

My mom had a little mini-party for the twins since she wouldn't be able to come to their actual birthday party the following week.

They played pin the nose on the pumpkin. Benjamin insisted on putting on his own blindfold. His nose placement was impeccable. I wonder what his secret was?

Gabriel loved to go outside and then warm his toes by the fire. May we all be so grateful for the simple joys in life.

Birthday Boys

Five years ago, today, I was being wheeled into the OR for an emergency C-section to deliver my little (and I mean little) twin boys. I remember the nurses saying, as they pushed my bed down the hallway, "Get ready for kindergarten! Time will go much faster than you think." While the boys aren't in kindergarten just yet, it is hard to believe that they are five. I will not pretend that there are not days or sometimes even hours that seem to drag on for an eternity. Take, for example, the entire winter when they were two years old. That was rough. The point is, the days are long but the years go by so fast. I love and adore these boys. I felt frightened and ecstatic and overwhelmed and grateful when they were born and I'm not sure that my feelings have changed that much. I am so grateful for them, so ecstatic when they learn new things or having an outstanding day but I am also frightened and overwhelmed with the responsibility for raising these two incredible people. Happy Birthday Gabriel and Elijah!

Halloween Take 2

So, remember how Halloween was cancelled and rescheduled? For a day in November? This is what we did on New Halloween weekend.
We started Saturday out right with chocolate chip BOO pancakes. Yum.

That night, we made gruesome spaghetti spiders with blood sauce. Bwahaha!

The boys contributed their own scary ideas- like hanging stuffed animal carcasses from their bunkbed...

...or making mutated potato head monsters!

We touched up and reinforced the awesome guitars for beggar's night on Sunday.

Thankfully, our friends Carla, Kevin and Ben came over for dinner and to help with the trick-or-treating.  The boys scored some serious loot and having a one-to-one adult to child ratio was amazing! Carla got this shot of all four of them in our neighbor's "graveyard".

The only thing that would have made it better was if we could get the boys to sing in four-part harmony. We did manage to get Gabe and David John to each sing a few bars of some Beatles songs. The boys were pretty tired by the time we walked home. I'm pretty sure they would say that it was a "hard day's night".

What the Belly Belies

Being pregnant is a very strange thing to do.
This is what I have concluded after a lot of pondering on the subject. Since this is our last pregnancy, barring a flashing neon sign from Heaven and another fertility miracle, I have really been feeling the need to write something down about the experience especially because pregnancy seems to be one of those things that I conveniently get amnesia about.
I think because it was so hard for us to achieve pregnancy at first, all I really remember about it in between pregnancies are the euphoric feelings that come with the knowledge that a new little person will be joining our family. I forget about the bizarre and the difficult that come with the lovely and wonderful.
Marc, on the other hand, remembers it all. He reminds me that, yes, I absolutely did feel this sick last time. Yes, I was this crazy and cried every time I saw a remotely sappy commercial. Yes, I did get this big and no, I am not fat. Marc is a very patient man.
Anyway, setting out on this last pregnancy journey, I was determined to really Enjoy It. You know, not complain or feel yucky but just really live it up. As part of this plan, I decided to have a basketball belly. You know what I'm talking about. You see these adorable pregnant women who literally look as though they have shoved a regulation men's basketball under their shirt. No other part of their body seems to have been affected by pregnancy at all. This time, I was going to be one of those women. I counted calories, I made healthy choices, I worked out. I even denied myself some of my intense food cravings.
It didn't work. Perhaps having a basketball belly is a genetic trait like cleft chins or attached earlobes. My body seems to have decided that it prefers a model of carrying a baby that we will call the "wrap-around porch" look. In this model, every part of your body between your neck and your calves looks like it is pregnant. My boys seem to recognize this. David John has stated several times that it looks like there is more than one baby in there, and he was not always pointing to my belly. Thank you, son.
The second part of my quest to fully Enjoy It was to really revel in all the little fluttery baby movements you can feel as the baby gets bigger. In this, I think I have been mostly successful. I generally enjoy the nudges and little kicks and sometimes the timing of his movements is uncanny. I often feel as though he is responding to a joke or a comment or a song. It helps me to feel as though there is really a budding personality inside his tiny body. There are other times, however, when the movements are a little less enjoyable. I don't get angry or irritated really but sometimes it is just uncomfortable. It's as though a new roommate has moved in who doesn't pay any rent or even help with the food or utilities but feels that he has the right to rearrange all the furniture (aka internal organs). Marc assures me this is not the case, but I always imagine that when doctors do a c-section delivery there are frequently conversations like this, "What the?!? How did THAT get THERE?" and then they have to put everything back where it belongs before sewing everything back up. I am pretty sure that's how it happened when I had the twins despite Marc's version of events.
Part three of my three-part Enjoying It plan was not to be as emotional this time. I confess on this point that I am an epic failure. I am one emotional momma. To be fair, the majority of this pregnancy is taking place during two of Cleveland's least sunny seasons Almost Winter and Winter. The sun disappears for weeks at a time and even grown men start crying about random things. I came to the conclusion that I was not doing well on this point when I started crying over a Verizon cell phone commercial I saw while watching a show on Hulu. Recently, I burst into tears because Marc asked me if I had rotated the toys recently. I became irrationally upset when he made another pitcher of orange juice even though we already had one in the fridge. Just today, I got all choked up while Marc was showing the boys youtube clips of space shuttles launching right after they built some awesome shuttles and launchpads with their blocks. I couldn't help it. I started thinking about American ingenuity and brave men and women and about how Marc is such an awesome dad to take time to play with blocks when he just got home from back-to-back 14 and 24 hour shifts. Sometimes, I cry because I am frustrated that I cry so much. So, despite my best efforts I am still volatile but I am trying to just relax and laugh at myself and enjoy the roller-coaster ride even if I can't be happy all the time. Being pregnant is a crazy thing to do. It is hilarious and embarrassing, hard and tedious, weird and wild but also amazing. Exciting. Incredible. Beautiful.