Tuesday, July 31, 2007

Aparently, This Is Me




You're Catch-22!

by Joseph Heller

Incredibly witty and funny, you have a taste for irony in all that you
see. It seems that life has put you in perpetually untenable situations, and your sense
of humor is all that gets you through them. These experiences have also made you an
ardent pacifist, though you present your message with tongue sewn into cheek. You
could coin a phrase that replaces the word "paradox" for millions of
people.



Take the Book Quiz
at the Blue Pyramid.

Monday, July 30, 2007

Lucky Girl

I'm such a lucky chica...

Last night, completely out of the blue, J grabbed some lotion and a towel and gave me a surprise foot massage.

#1 is a great hugger and has really been into cuddling lately. Nothing beats that feeling.

#2 is hilarious and the kids played so nicely today.

J gave the kids baths while I went grocery shopping. I drank in their clean baby scent before we put them up to bed tonight.

Life is grand.

Sunday, July 29, 2007

Alumni Magazine Blurb Meme

Stacie over at The Twinkies has started an Alumni Magazine Blurb Meme and I thought I'd do one. The idea is to post two entries that you would submit to your high school or college alumni magazine, one bubbly and overflowing about how great life is and the other, well, a little more honest. I'm not going to tag anyone since I'm relatively new to the blogosphere, but feel free to do your own and let Stacie know what you have to say.

* Everything's great at the W house! #1 and #2 turned 1 in early April and are just amazing! Everyone has been sleeping through the night for a couple of months now and, boy, what a difference that makes! #2 is just as talkative as Mumma and seems to have inherited her appreciation of music, too! #1 has a great sense of humor and both kidlets enjoy exploring their world all day long (as well as eating all of their vegetables). J's job is going well and we hope to expand our family in the next year or so.

* The Amazing Muffins are toddlers now and H just. can't. believe. it. After a couple of months of middle-of-the-night-wakings (only to play for a couple of hours), J instituted crying it out and H had to leave the house on the first night because she couldn't take it. It worked, though, and all is peaceful for 13 blessed hours every night now. #1 and #2 tear up the house on a regular basis and H still doesn't manage to make dinner most nights of the week, never mind making the bed every day. H wants to get pregnant again, but J is awfully skittish after the delivery-of-near-death.

Thursday, July 26, 2007

Uninspired

I have some post ideas simmering in my mind, but I'm trying to decide how best to approach them and, more appropriately in the case of the one of the potential posts, how much I want to expose myself.

We've rigged up a new setup to contain the Muffins to an area smaller than the entire first floor, but larger than their play area was before. The kids are getting used to it, but are almost having too much fun throwing toys and sippy cups over the gates. #2, especially, doesn't enjoy having her will thwarted and rather liked being able to roam around the entire first floor of the house.

On a completely different note, I think we've pretty much decided to ditch the landline by fall. I'm slowly working on switching our primary contact number over to my cell number (I actually never realized how many places that would involve (like today, when I scheduled an oil change for the van)). We feel good about it. Now, to explore phone options...

Tuesday, July 24, 2007

Lunch Conversation

The Scene: Mom, eldest sister (ES), our sister, M, and I are sitting around the kitchen table at Mom's eating lunch. #1 and #2 are playing happily and occasionally coming over for bites of food. ES has been on vacation for almost a month.

ES: I want to be cremated.

(Mom and M kind of stare off into space and I look across the table at ES and wonder why she's telling us since, presumably, her children will be the ones dealing with this issue when the time comes.)

ES: My children already know this, but I'm just telling you all, too. I want as many people to know as possible. And I want it done for as little money as possible.

Me: You can pre-pay for your services. Lock in the price.

Mom: This is morbid.

M: We are eating lunch here.

ES: Really? Tell me more, H.

Me: J's grandparents did it. Way back in the early '80s or sometime around then. They made all of the arrangements and everything so they didn't have to worry about it later in life, and so that J's father and his sisters wouldn't have to stress about their parents' wishes. When his grandmother died a few years ago, everything was all taken care of. Same thing a couple years after that when his grandfather died. It made things especially easy because there was a lot of in-fighting between J's father and some of his siblings.

ES: Oooooh. I think I'm going to have to look into that. God, I wish I was on vacation forever!

M & Mom: (simultaneously) You'll still need a coffin of some kind.

Me: Just a plain pine box.

ES: I don't want anything! Can't they just burn me?

M, Mom & Me: No.

Me: But this is why you should look into making arrangements now. So everything is done the way you want.

ES: (getting up and walking away from the table, now standing behind Mom) I want the simplest of everything and the kids can plan the service. I want to make it into a kind of game. (throws hands up in the air) How can I cremate my mother the cheapest?

(pause)

Mom: Uhm...

ES: I meant me! I want my kids to say that! I'm not saying that I want to find a cheap way to bury you!

Mom: Who wants dessert?

Monday, July 23, 2007

Random

I want to learn how to make really good fudge.

Sunday, July 22, 2007

The Weekend In Review

It was Mom's birthday on Friday so we went out to dinner with her, my brother, P, and two of his children. It was a nice time and I was pleased that Mom relented to going. She was trying to get out of it all day, until I told her that a reservation, and other plans, had already been made and she just needed to relax and go. Though she feigned embarrassment as the cake was brought out, I know she was secretly thrilled that we marked the day in a special way.

C and I did the midnight Harry Potter thing and it was nice. We learned last time not to go to the big name chain store in town last time and, instead, went directly to the locally owned small bookstore downtown. Although there was a larger crowd this time around, seeing as it was the last book and all, it wasn't too bad and we even ended up chatting with some folks who had pre-ordered copies at the big name chain store in town but left empty-handed and found themselves at the local bookshop. Still, we were out by 2 am and made our way home to start the book. Well, I finished it. Meaning, I read the epilogue first so I know who, of the major characters, makes it (for the most part) and how they end up. I still haven't finished the last book. I seem to recall not being able to get into it very easily, but as I've been re-reading it this past week, I realized that I made it a good 350+ pages in. I just didn't finish it. No bother. I'm on my way. Even though J had gone to bed early Friday night, he woke up when I went to bed and we talked until well past 4 am. I'm still tired.

Yesterday started off lovely enough with a relaxing massage. The weather was gorgeous and the kids were happy. Halfway through the day, though, we dispensed with the living room gate altogether. #2 just kept escaping and #1 would get upset that he couldn't figure out how to escape from under the gate. So...most of yesterday afternoon was spent piling things up high and covering most of our elevated surface area with items that we didn't want the babies to touch. The kids love the newfound freedom, though, and it's cute to see them explore. For a couple hours after the gate was removed, #1 still would climb up on the couch and escape by launching himself over the arm of the couch and backing off of the end table. He caught on and now just walks around the living room - most of the time. I caught him still doing the end table gig today from time to time. Apparently just for fun. He's far more athletic than I.

The highlight of today was hooking up with P for dinner at my new favorite summer eatery. He made me ride with him in his new car, which is pretty sweet, except he almost made me sick when he tried to impress me with how much power the car had. Boys. Silly.

We're off to visit Mom tomorrow. My eldest sister will be visiting for a few days and she hasn't seen the Muffins since they were 7 months old, so she should get a kick out of how much they've changed. She has b/g twins, too. They're 29. Oh.My.God. They're 29. I'm starting to feel a bit old.

Friday, July 20, 2007

Escape Artists

(A little bit of background: we have a 5 foot wide gate that spans the distance between the couches in our living room. This has effectively cordoned off most of the living room as the Muffins' play area. It's worked out very well. In the middle of the living room, where the coffee table once lived, we had a playpen set up to contain a baby or two when the need arose. (The coffee table now lives in the basement, because #2 became proficient at climbing and dancing on said table.)

The Muffins have always been active, but since our trip to Vermont their tricks have reached new heights. Prior to our little weekend away, #1 was content to vault over the arm of the couch and sit on an end table, enjoying a different view of the living room. (Don't worry, he never participated in any unsupervised death defying acrobatics; someone was always there.) #2 showed little to no interest in trying to leave the living-room-turned-play-area and she could be trusted to play at her leisure in the designated baby area.

Now, though, it's a very different story. No longer is #1 content to perch on the end table or even sit on the arm of the couch, idly bouncing his feet up and down. No longer is he happy to dive back onto the couch, laughing while he body surfs the cushions. No no no no no. All of a sudden, he's discovered the pure joy of launching himself over the couch, carefully plotting his hands on the end table and barely grazing the table with his knees as he makes a break for it. And he's fast. Very, very fast. He's over and down before I can fully utter, "No, #1. Let's stay in here and play with the shape sorter!" He does not find the shape sorter appealing. The phone, the kitchen, the high chairs, the book case in the front room - these are all so! very! exciting!

I thought I had at least one Muffin who was content to stay put. Stupid me. I should have known. #2 decided it was time to up the bag 'o baby tricks, too. The other day, I had just fed the babes lunch and put them in the living room to play while I cleaned up (carefully placing #1 in the playpen to ensure no escapage on his part - a playpen, mind you, that we weren't even going to set up upon our return home - we thought the kids would enjoy more floor space...wrong! We need it now more than ever!) With the lunch mess tidied up, I sat down for a moment to catch up with J via IM. All of a sudden I hear the telltale thudding of little feet not quietly playing on carpet, but happily (and loudly) stomping on linoleum. I look to my left and #2's strolling by, looking as innocent as the day she was born. She looks at me as if to say, "hey, Mumma, fancy seeing you on this side of the world!" I look in the living room and can't for the life of me figure out how she got out. I gather #2 back up and we go and read some books in the living room.

Half an hour later...

#1 and I are sitting on the couch watching Sesame Street and all of a sudden I see it. Out of the corner of my eye, I see the gate slowly go up. Over #2's head. She figured out that the gate is only really secured at the top, on the arms of the couches, and that we hadn't tightened it between the legs. Faster than Harry Potter spoilers can spread online, I witness #2 escape from underneath the gate and, after she's out, the gate falls back into place, giving no hint of its participation in the development of a Baby Houdini.

I've resigned myself to the fact that the kidlets can no longer be contained and that the rest of the first floor is just going to look like a tornado has swept through. On the bright side, though, toddler twins may ultimately be the cure for my insomnia.

Tuesday, July 17, 2007

I Still Get This A Lot...

While up at the birthday party this past weekend, I had the following conversation with a fellow partygoer:

Me (to #1, who was in my arms): I know, it's kind of hot out here, huh? Let's get into the shade under the tent.

Best Friend's Sister: So he's the more passive one, eh?

Me: Oh yeah, they're total opposites of how they were in utero. He was active all the time and she was so quiet. Now, she's the active, talkative one and he's quiet and observant.

BFS: Is she your Baby A?

Me: Nope, he is. From the moment they were born, though, they've been like this.

Annoying Guest: Oh wait! The other baby is yours, too?!

Me: Yep.

AG: Are they twins?!

Me: Yes.

AG: Who's older?

Me: Well, he was born a minute before she was.

AG: I knew there was another baby here, I just didn't realize that they were brother and sister.

Me: (grinning proudly) Yep, they're my sweet muffins.

AG: And you have a boy and a girl?

Me: Yes.

AG: Are they identitcal?

Me: (pause, biting tongue) Well, no.

AG: Oh wait. A boy and a girl. No, I don't suppose they could be identical could they?

At least she figured it out on her own. While I was pregnant, people asked left and right (once we knew what we were having) and I'd say, "a boy and a girl." We were forever inundated with "are they identical?" We thought it might stop once the kids were born, but nope. Sometimes I wonder if it's the only thing most people know about twins, that they can be identical. Either that, or we all have our internal scripts that we follow and end up asking questions on automatic pilot most of the time.

I suppose, though, that it might be more tiresome for a mother of fraternal same sex twins who may or may not look a lot more alike than a boy and a girl set. But still. Really? Upon discovering that it's b/g twins is the next logical question really "are they identical?"

Monday, July 16, 2007

And We're Back

We went up to Vermont this weekend to celebrate my best friend's daughter's second birthday. J took a four day weekend and we headed up on Friday to stay with my sister, A, who lives outside of Burlington (she's also the Muffins' Godmother). Overall, I was a little concerned about how this weekend would work. The last time we went away, the kids weren't mobile yet and therefore were easier to contain. Plus, they've never slept in their pack and plays before (having both slept on a king sized bed surrounded by pillows galore for our previous weekend away last fall). I worried for no reason. We had a great, though exhausting, time.

A's been telling me for months how great it will be to visit her because her house "is so childproof" because she "is such a minimalist." While she does have less clutter than we do, her house is also larger (read: our stuff would be a lot more spread out in her place, too) and her children are all grown and mostly out of the house (youngest is 18). So...within less than 30 minutes of our arrival, her house was showing evidence of having been hit by two little hurricanes. She quickly discovered how not childproof her home really is. Favorite temptations of the weekend included the kitty cornered shelves of dishes in the dining area that did not have a door, the stairs, kitchen cabinets which contained worlds of wonder (especially for #1), the lamps, and the numerous doors which were loads of fun to open and close. Oh! And the tv, vcr and dvd players were all at perfect toddler height!

The party was Saturday and all went very well. It was rather warm and J and I were chasing babies nearly the entire time (#1 and #2 were the youngest and smallest children in attendance), but we had a good time and I really enjoyed seeing my friend's family again. KL and I met at college and became instant best friends. I love her mother and sisters as if they were my own. I was thrilled for her family to finally get to meet the Muffins (we couldn't attend last year's birthday party because our kids were barely 3 months old and we were just too sleep deprived to attempt a weekend away with newborns). Needless to say, J and I, as well as the kids, were exhausted after the party (the kids slept great that night!).

Back at her home, A cooked us amazing meals (chicken marsala Friday night with mashed potatoes that I declared to be better than Mom's and creamy homemade mac 'n cheese Saturday night that the kids fell in love with) and we had a lovely visit. We promised to visit again in the fall (I'm hoping to plan it for the weekend of this). I always love visiting Vermont and often think it would be nice to live there, if J could find comparable work. A would love it if we were closer, too.

We came home yesterday and had a belated birthday gig for C, which included ordering take-out Chinese and C and me catching the latest Harry Potter movie (the best one yet). J has today off as a recovery day. We'll be heading out later to meet Mom, my brother and his kids for an early dinner at my new favorite summer eatery.

Life is good.

Sunday, July 15, 2007

If...

...on the rare occasion that I am out without the Muffins and I go to McDonald's for a large Diet Coke without ice and you give me a Coke (which I only discover after I've pulled away from the window), I will turn around and get the right drink.

Friday, July 13, 2007

Happy, Happy

Happy 21st, C!

Have a wonderful day and don't go too crazy tonight.

I love you.

100 Things About Me, Part 5

  • I'm a scorpio.
  • I always knew I'd have twins.
  • I love old school Nintendo games.
  • I still play those games on the Nintendo at Mom's house. My brother bought it when I was 13 and I had just had my tonsils removed.
  • I hope to have more children
  • I'm trying to find the perfect wooden Advent calendar to start a new tradition for the Muffins this year.
  • I now drive an automatic, but prefer manual transmissions.
  • I have a crush on Kiefer Sutherland.
  • It bothers me that titles that begin with "The" are in alphabetical order under "T" on the On Demand listings and elsewhere.
  • My father died when I was 6.
  • I wear my hair in a ponytail almost every day so the kidlets don't pull it. This leads to them playing with my earrings, though.
  • My favorite story when I was a little girl was The Elves and the Shoemaker.
  • My sister, N, waited all morning with me so I could pick out the perfect Cabbage Patch Doll when they first came to town.
  • When Mom sent our sister, K, to bring us breakfast, everyone thought that the store had opened and rushed the doors. Somehow, N still managed to be fourth in line.
  • I still have that doll. Her name is Greta Lee. I took her everywhere for a very long time.
  • Someday, I hope to visit Nova Scotia, Iceland, England, Scotland and Ireland. Nova Scotia, Iceland and Scotland are tops, though.
  • One of my favorite books is A Stranger in the Kingdom.
  • My wish for my children is that they know happiness and love, can learn from sorrow and grow to be kind, confident people who work to make this world a better place.
  • My all-time favorite band is U2.
  • I'm a big fan of hand sanitizers. I guess I'm contributing to the mutation of a superbug.

Thursday, July 12, 2007

Strictly Cell?

I've been toying with the idea lately of ditching the landline.

I'm not entirely sure how I feel about this. J and I both have cell phones, and I know mine would end up being the "primary" phone number (the one all the Dr's offices call with reminders about appts, the one the pizza place uses to identify our address when we call in an order, etc.) and that's ok. If we go out, we could always leave his phone here and take mine so we can check in with whoever's watching the Muffins (although, they're never watched by someone who isn't family, and all of those people have cell phones, too).

I just think it's ridiculous to keep paying over $70 a month ($70!) for the landline. But, I also like knowing that I don't always have to keep my cell handy. I can leave it at home if I want and know that someone can leave a message on the home phone. I suppose that I feel that having both a landline and a cell affords me the ability to not have to care when the phone rings. Is that stupid? (Yeah, I know, I could always let it go to voicemail, but somehow it seems like more work to deal with accessing my voicemail on my cell than to listen to the messages on my machine. I'm crazy, I know.) I think I would resent that I might feel tied to my cell phone all of the time.

Ditching the landline means an upgrade to our plan, most likely doubling the minutes on our current plan (which would still be significantly less expensive than keeping the landline) and an upgrade in phones. Maybe I'd be less conflicted if I liked the new phone and didn't feel like a slave to it?

For his part, J is all on board with ditching the landline except...in the case of an emergency, he likes that fact that a call to 911 could be easily and quickly traced to the landline.

I guess there's a part of me that is concerned that it might be irresponsible to only have cell phones when we have young children.

Maybe I'm overthinking it?

What do you think?

100 Things About Me, Part 4

  • I'm an ENFJ.
  • I pray every night.
  • I prefer to be the driver. This works out well because J hates to drive.
  • When I was young, I always hated going to my sisters' houses because they made their kids go out to play. I wanted to stay inside and read.
  • I got married shortly before my 21st birthday.
  • I don't drink alcohol.
  • I don't like bananas, unless I'm making banana nut oatmeal bread.
  • These are my favorite snack. Ever.
  • I have a crush on James Marsters. Spike was definitely the hottest vamp. Seriously.
  • I collect Bennington Pottery. In Blue Agate.
  • In middle school, I prefered shop to home ec class. You could talk more during shop class. And, power tools are fun.
  • My biggest craving while I was pregnant was for milk.
  • My biggest aversion was to Chinese food.
  • I absolutely hate to wear socks. I wear my sandals until the day it snows, and I have them right back on at the first sign of spring. I don't wear my sandals with socks, though.
  • I have wide feet with a high instep. It's a bitch to find good shoes.
  • Unfortunately, it looks as though I've passed my feet onto both #1 and #2. (He's got some serious flippers going on.)
  • I put only mustard on hot dogs.
  • Every year for Christmas, J buys me an Ansel Adams calendar.
  • Sometimes, I can't believe that I drive a minivan.
  • I'm always grateful for the reason I drive a minivan.

Wednesday, July 11, 2007

100 Things About Me, Part 3

  • I hate, hate, hate turning around in other people's driveways. I've been known to drive for miles just to find a spot to turn around in that isn't someone's driveway.
  • I always sleep with at least one foot outside of the covers.
  • I'm the youngest of 10 children. There's a 23-year age difference between my oldest sibling and myself.
  • This is why I have some nieces and nephews who are around my age, others who are in their teens and early 20s and still others who are more the ages you'd expect when someone my age mentions having a niece or nephew.
  • I have a niece who's older than I am by nearly 2 years.
  • I don't drink coffee.
  • I love coffee ice cream, though, and am a huge fan of mocha frappes.
  • I hate it when people think a milkshake is the same thing as a frappe. (A frappe has ice cream, milk, and syrup; a milkshake doesn't have ice cream, despite what Wikipedia says.)
  • I believe in God.
  • I have 19 nieces and nephews on my side, and 2 nieces on J's side. #1 and #2 are Mom's 20th and 21st grandchildren.
  • As the 10th child, I always wanted to have the 20th grandchild.
  • Since the Muffins were born, I don't always get to shower every day.
  • I adored being pregnant.
  • I have a crush on Nathan Fillion.
  • I like to quilt and knit, but don't have time for much of either these days.
  • I pronounce "either" and "neither" like "eyether"and "neyether," not "eether" or "kneether."
  • J and I eloped.
  • Sometimes I wish we'd had a small wedding and reception with close family and friends.
  • I didn't hyphenate my last name until I'd been married for 4 years. J was a little miffed that I didn't do it from the outset, but he got over it. I was trying to be all traditional, but really missed my maiden name.
  • I did not hyphenate the Muffins' last name. They have J's last name only.

Insomniac

It started sometime last December. Apparently, postpartum insomnia isn't all that uncommon. At least, a lot of women seem to consult Dr. Google about it. It started off with my being exhausted but entirely unable to fall asleep. I would lay in bed tossing and turning, my mind spinning about the most minute details of our lives (and, usually, looping the lyrics to some children's song - almost always Baby Beluga). Finally. I'd give into the fact that I couldn't sleep and come downstairs to read or watch tv or zone out in front of the computer. I'd eventually be able to settle into something resembling sleep somewhere around 3 am.

It hasn't really gotten any better. I ended up in the hospital in early February for a massive migraine and absolutely unbearable vertigo. They ran tests and couldn't come up with an answer. My Dr. proudly proclaimed, however, that they'd "ruled out anything that could kill me." Always a good thing. The vertigo lasted for a long time and now still comes and goes. In August, I'm going to the Great and Powerful Oz to see if they can determine anything. We think we know what's going on, but want to be sure (they're currently treating me for this condition, given my family history - the trip to Oz is to verify the diagnosis). There's some debate about whether or not lack of sleep affects the migraines (which, thankfully, have been few and far between) and the vertigo/Meniere's symptoms.

Still, though, I can't sleep. Now I toss and turn until somewhere near 5 am. Fortunately, J is a heavy (read: oblivious) sleeper, so he doesn't care in the least that I'm forever rolling around next to him. I try to limit my caffeine intake after 9, but I honestly don't think a Diet Coke is keeping me awake. Fortunately, the Muffins sleep in so I can get a bit of sleep every morning, but still - I'm going a little crazy.

Dr. You're Not Dying gave me a prescription for sleeping pills in early March. I was taking one on a weekend night for a while b/c I didn't want to be totally out of it if a baby woke up. Maybe now that the Muffins' sleep is under control I'll talk to J about doing one a couple nights a week to see if that'll work. Still, I don't want to rely on pills to get some sleep.

Valerian does not work for me. I tried it in my late teens when I was having sleep issues and it always made me feel hungover in the morning. And it didn't help me to fall asleep any faster, it just kept me asleep once I managed to find my own way to dreamland.

Tuesday, July 10, 2007

100 Things About Me, Part 2

  • Even though I'm a native New Englander, I can't stand real maple syrup. Give me the fake stuff any day.
  • However, I probably won't notice if you sneak real maple syrup into a recipe.
  • I'm kind of a recycling nut, but not in a bad way.
  • I once tried to like tofu to impress a guy in high school. We're talking eating it plain. On top of salad. It was wet, white and mushy. He didn't care.
  • I now make a really mean tofu casserole (but it's the only tofu I'll eat).
  • Last night, I inadvertently put my facial cleanser on my toothbrush. Fortunately, I caught it before I put the toothbrush in my mouth.
  • I've never regretted leaving work to be home with the Muffins.
  • New Year's is my least favorite holiday.
  • I have a crush on Christopher Walken. Seriously.
  • Growing up, you were either a Cyndi Lauper girl or a Madonna girl. I was a bigtime Cyndi girl.
  • I went home from summer camp early.
  • I was homesick.
  • I hate to cry in front of others. Even J.
  • Terms of Endearment is the one movie that can always make me cry.
  • Since I've had children, I cry more easily.
  • I'm a bit of a control freak.
  • I've loosened up a lot since I became a mother.
  • Even though I was adamant about having it done while I was pregnant, I decided not to have #1 circumcised.
  • I tend to laugh inappropriately at violence in movies. That scene in Red Dragon where the guy goes screaming down the street in a fiery wheelchair? Fucking brilliant!
  • Once, in fourth grade, I went to the bathroom and pinched the corners of my eyes to make it look like I had pinkeye so I could be sent home. I had to keep pinching them surreptitiously until someone could come pick me up.

Well Now This Is Cool

I followed a height predictor link from The Twinkies and tried it out to see what the prediction would be for the Muffins. I used the most recent numbers I had, from their one-year check up (which was actually when they were 13 months old) and the prediction was that #1 is going to be close to 5' 11" and #2 will be a bit over to 5' 3". I'll run the numbers again when they go for their visit next month.

As it is, everyone assumes he's older because he's got a good inch and a half on her, as well as a ton of hair.

Monday, July 9, 2007

For Future Reference...

  • J - My husband
  • #1 - Son, 1 minute older than his sister
  • #2 - Daughter, trying to always assert herself as the Alpha Baby
  • C - My niece who lived with us for over 5 years; she's out on her own now, but we're very close
  • Mom - My mother
  • LD - Little Dog; he's a little bit crazy and hates everyone except for me, J, #1, #2 and C, but he's our other baby and we love him - actually, his affection for the Muffins is directly related to whether or not they have food for him; otherwise, he doesn't care much about the kids

That's it for now. There are several others, and I need to come up with appropriate pseudonyms for each. The above are the main players, though.

100 Things About Me, Part 1

  • My eyes turn green when I'm angry.
  • I'm terrified of thunder storms.
  • My first crush was on Darth Vader. Seriously.
  • I prefer baking to cooking, but do both well.
  • I make kickass chocolate chip oatmeal cookies.
  • If I had to choose between the lake and the ocean, I'd choose the ocean. In winter.
  • I abhor seafood.
  • I often skip ahead and read the end of book. This does not prevent me from finishing the book. I like to see how the author gets to the ending.
  • I don't like summer. Fall is my season of choice, followed closely by winter.
  • I have a thing for even numbers. I'm still not completely over the fact that my children were born on an odd-numbered day.
  • I am happy, though, that Easter will not fall on their birthday until they turn 17.
  • But! 5 is my favorite number.
  • My nose is pierced on the right side.
  • Originally, this was to "even out" the number of piercings I had on each side of my body. I've since let some others close up and I now have 1 extra piercing on my right side. It's in my nose.
  • My favorite colors are green and blue.
  • I love the bagpipes.
  • If I owned it, I would never watch Gone With the Wind. Whenever it's on tv, I can't tear myself away.
  • Growing up, I thought my family was the only one that had a tradition of eating Chinese food on New Year's Eve.
  • I've been wrong before.
  • I never learned how to type properly. This amuses and amazes J to no end.

Here I Am

A bit about me then?

I'm a very content stay-at-home-mom to boy/girl toddler twins who keep me on my toes. In my previous life I worked in a library and flirted heavily with the idea of becoming an English professor. Really, though, I was just kind of skating through life until we were blessed with our children. Purpose now found.

I'm married to the incomparable J who is an amazing partner and friend.

I'm opinionated and strong and can hold my own in an argument. My mother likes to describe me as a bull in a china shop, but I'd like to think I have a little more grace than that.

Why A Grateful Flea? My mother has forever called me Flea. She claimed once it's because my two middle names, when run together, sound like the word "flea." Once I was done looking at her as though she had four heads, I reminded her that that was only the case if you took my middle names out of order. I've always been told that I had the energy of a flea when I was a little girl - constantly hopping from one thing to the next. Either way, it's led to a nickname that I respond to sometimes more easily than my own name. I hope the grateful part speaks for itself.

My niece thought a blog would be "good for me." Whatever that means.

I suppose the first entry is always a bit lame, eh?