The boys are apparently trying to out-do themselves with each passing day. Joseph woke up happy and ready for the day, while Jackson saw the sunlight and had a vampire moment. We had a fun, uneventful morning, but they were tired. I put them in their room for nap time, and that’s when the fun started. They suddenly gained energy and tried to break their door down. They figured out how to work together to remove the child proof door handle lock that is on the inside of their door, and started to open it and come out. I’m so paranoid about them leaving the house while we are asleep, or showering, etc. They know how to open the gate and the front door, so I’m definitely on heightened alert. I immediately reset the lock and went into the garage to see what I could find. While I was down there, I heard two sets of heavy footsteps running down the hall and I heard the boys screaming “I did it! I did it!” As soon as they heard me on the stairs, they scampered into their room and slammed the door. For the time being, I have the door lock, a baby gate, the gate at the top of the stairs, the locked front door, and an eye-hook lock on the screen door, which they can’t reach. I figure those are enough methods of security for now until I can find another solution. They continue to outsmart us.

While the boys were in their room again planning their next heist, Taylor and I did some practice work for school. She loves doing her letters, numbers, and math. We’ve worked on some reading and basic sentences too, and she continues to impress me. She even asked to do some more work tonight once her brothers were asleep. I love to watch her learn and love that she’s so passionate about it.

I heard some evil laughter coming from the boys’ room and saw a large lump when I looked in the monitor. I went in and found that the boys had burrowed themselves underneath their sheets. The laid still and kept telling each other “Shhhhhh!” with the hopes that I wouldn’t actually hear them. I wonder what they will come up with next.

We played outside for about half an hour before the sky opened up and we had a major storm. The kids actually loved it, once we were inside the safety of the car. They thought the lightning was fun, and they were calling it “fireworks.”

Tonight, I was adventurous, and I decided to cut Taylor’s hair. Her hair is so incredibly long, but she had some split ends and pieces that were really uneven. I figured I couldn’t do too much harm since her hair is really curly and wouldn’t be as noticeable if I screwed up. I think I did a pretty good job. She was excited about it, and she’s completely trusting of me. She loves the final result, even though as I was cutting her hair she said “I can’t even watch this, Mom.” I will probably entrust professionals to do her hair as she gets older, but for now, this was fun.

I have a giant, delicious Heath Bar flavored (yum!) iced coffee in front of me, and today, I surely earned every single sip. I also fed my kids strawberry frosted donuts (with rainbow sprinkles) for dinner tonight. No joke. Don’t worry, they had some ham and cheese later on for snack, but tonight, donuts were about all I could handle.

The kids were up way too early for my liking today, but I just went with it. I figured they’d take better naps because of it. It’s almost like I don’t even know my kids, because naps barely even happened today. Maybe I need a second ice coffee…

Anyway, after an oatmeal fight this morning that began over the wrong colored bowls and spoons, we spent some time outside. We met a police officer and a utility worker who were doing some work in front of our house. The kids loved seeing the big trucks and interacting with everyone. I had a brief thought about leaving them outside with their new friends while I napped, but the parental / responsible me took over instead. We came back inside, built some block castles that were promptly knocked over, folded some laundry that ended up mixed with toy-play food, and watched squirrels hump in our backyard. At this point, I figured watching cartoons would be better for their little minds instead of continuing to watch the “wrestling” squirrels, so we all sat down to relax and watch some tv. As soon as my “really big booty” (as Taylor says) touched the comfy couch cushions, there was a knock at the door. No, it wasn’t Publisher’s Clearing House telling me I was now rich and could quit my day job. It was a man from the power company telling me they were doing some work and were shutting off electricity to my house for a few hours. Fantastic. It was just what I needed when I had three kids who wanted to watch tv. We also lost our air conditioning privileges in the 90 degree heat. We couldn’t even leave the house as I was waiting on a contractor who ended up not coming. Everyone was grumpy, but we survived just fine.

The kids were starting to smell like wet gym socks, so I bathed them. In retrospect, I probably should have let them continue to attract flies instead of cleaning their little bodies because it was almost more work that it was worth. I filled up the tub and turned around to get towels and wash cloths (rookie move, I know) and one small boy starting sword fighting what I can only imagine to be a ghost with the toilet bowl brush.

As if that wasn’t enough fun, when I got him out of the tub and asked him if he needed to use the toilet before we put his diaper on, he promised he didn’t and then peed on my feet, the bath mat, and the tile floor. He quickly grabbed his little pistol and aimed at the radiator and wall, but thankfully he was empty by then. Joseph, I’m referring to you, by the way. I had my phone in my hand and was able to snap a quick picture when he was finished (and splashing in it) only because I quickly grabbed the phone as Jackson was trying to dunk it in the toilet. I should get a medal for that move alone.

After everything was cleaned up in the bathroom and the kids were all dressed, Taylor graciously let them play in her room while I ran downstairs to start urine soaked laundry. When I came upstairs, Joseph greeted me at the steps with what I thought was blood all over his face. After quickly determining it wasn’t blood, I ran to see what he got into and caught Jackson in the act of rubbing T’s “lipstick” all over his freshly washed face. He kept repeating “so beautiful, so beautiful!”

I cleaned them up and decided to get out of the house and get the boys haircuts. They desperately needed them. Since we were in public, the kids were all pretty well behaved and were so good sitting in the chair. The barber even complimented me on my parenting and them on their behavior and said “Your boys are so good! Usually, when kids come in, we want to drink afterward!” I will gladly take that compliment and store it for a rainy day.

Thank goodness it is bedtime. I will kiss their sweet faces and prepare for another day.

Once again, my heart is heavy due to recent tragedies. America deserves better. We deserve better. Please love and respect each other. Since I have zero brain power left after this week, I’m not going to write a traditional blog post, but rather list a few memorable things Taylor has said. I literally keep a running list on my phone because otherwise, I forget so many of her best lines. Jackson gets credit for one, too.

• The boys had a diaper explosion / peeing on their sheets issue which required me changing all of their bedding and shoving it in the laundry basket while I waited for the rest of the laundry to finish. Fun times. T came out of her room, looked at the basket, and said, “Uh, Mom? That laundry basket looks like it’s going to explode and erupt like a volcano. Shouldn’t you wash that stuff soon?“

• The kids were supposed to be cleaning the playroom but weren’t making too much progress. I heard T say “Hey boys, let’s go clean up. I don’t think the bones in your arms are actually broken so let’s go now.”

• While the kids were eating dinner, Taylor turned around and said “Mom, do you like having three kids?” I assured her that I, in fact, loved having three kids. She said “Well, are you sure you don’t want to get rid of Joseph or Jackson? Then there won’t be three. And you really aren’t going to get rid of me, right?“

• We were having popcorn and watching tv one night and Taylor said “I have a popcorn ‘internal’ stuck in my mouth.” She meant to say kernel and I found that to be so hilarious and sweet at the same time.

• Tonight, the kids were all taking turns gassing us out of the house. I looked at T and said “Taylor, do you have gas?” She replied with “Nope. It wasn’t me. But I just saw a skunk walk by.“

• The kids and I were coloring with chalk. Jackson, very sweetly said “I love you!” I said “Aww! I love you too, buddy!” He looked at me bewildered and said “No, mama! I saying I love you to Joseph!“

• Tonight, I sneezed twice in a row and Taylor yelled to me and said “Mom! You shouldn’t be sneezing like that because you will be getting sick. You know what you need? You need sleep and rest. Your body needs to rest.” Thanks, kid. I’ll let you know how that ‘rest’ thing goes in about 16 years.

Happy 4th of July! I hope everyone had a safe, fun weekend! We sure did! Taylor loves pointing out American flags wherever we go. She understands that the flags at the local veteran cemetery represent men and women who “help keep America safe.” She was so excited when she woke up this morning because she couldn’t wait to wear her red, white, and blue skirt for America’s birthday. I love her love and understanding for our country at four years old.

We managed to take the kids to see some fireworks this weekend. Thankfully, we were able to do it from inside a building so we didn’t have to fight the crowds and chaos at the beach. The kids are just a bit too young for that still. Taylor really enjoyed the shapes and colors of the fireworks and was pretty excited. The boys enjoyed watching them for the first thirty seconds. It’s a fun memory for us to have though!

We did a lot of chalk drawing, swimming, and other outdoor activities this weekend. Taylor asked tonight why the bath water was such a weird color. The kids love being outside. I’m still getting used to it. The boys even helped me trim trees and overgrown weeds today. That was eventful. They really thought they were being helpful by hauling the branches to the side of the house, and it was kind of cute. They were serious about their work.

Even though we had a wonderful weekend, I’m glad that everyone is in bed! I just hope all of the neighborhood fireworks don’t wake them up.

Today was a pretty gross day, weather wise. Not to mention, we were all running on very little sleep, thanks to some kids I know who spent hours kicking their closet doors and causing pure destruction well after bedtime last night.  We are technically still under “tornado watch” until 10 pm,  which worries me a little bit, but my awesome southern friends told me how to prepare.  At this point, it looks like the chances of us getting it here are slim to none and for that, I am thankful.  This morning started off with Jackson unlocking the front door and walking out.  I obviously caught him and asked him what he was doing and he said “I’m walking to G’s (my mom) house now.  See you later.  Have fun!”

Earlier this afternoon,  Jackson, not so accidentally, locked Taylor in the boys’ bedroom.  She got mad at him and screamed “Hey! You locked me in the boy room! If you are going to lock me somewhere, at least put me in my room where there’s really cool girl stuff.  This is a stinky penis room and it supposed to smell like flowers.”

Tonight, while trying to distract the kids and dog from the thunder and lightning, we had a movie night and a chip party.  During said chip party, Jackson took one chip out of Joseph’s supply, just because. Joseph lost it and desperately tried to get that one exact chip out of his brother’s mouth by prying his lips open.  It didn’t work so well and many tears were involved.  We followed movie night up with reading a ton of books.  Taylor kind of went off to the side to read her own book when Jackson came over and started to turn the pages on her.  She said “Jack! Get away!  Can’t you see I’m reading here?”  As if on cue, Joseph showed up and began to do the same thing and Taylor said “Oh come on! Seriously, Joseph? Not you too!”  She doesn’t even realize how funny she is.

Ranger is petrified of thunder, but thankfully he had his best girl help to calm him down by snuggling with him.  Once the rain and thunder ended, Taylor looked outside and said “Wow! I love when it rains because then we get rainbows and puddles to jump in!”  Perspective is everything.

Today’s most memorable temper tantrum (so far) was the result of me not allowing Jackson to use “Daddy’s underpants” as a blanket. I’m pretty sure he grabbed them from the basket of dirty clothes, but either way, that was not happening. The 495 clean, actual blankets we have were not suitable to his needs. Cry on, my friend.

Summer sicknesses are the worst. In the winter, we kind of expect to get sick sometimes because of the cold weather and nasty germs. In the summer, we just want to do our thing and enjoy being outdoors. We did not want to get held up by illness, but that’s exactly what happened. All three kids had low grade fevers on Sunday, but seemed to be comfortable with Tylenol, and fine by Monday morning. By Monday evening, when we were getting kids in pajamas, Jackson had a full, raised rash all over his back and belly. We spoke to his on-call pediatrician who was not comfortable with him waiting to be seen in the morning based on the rash and some other symptoms. Off to the after hours urgent care center we went. Jackson was so excited to go to the doctor with just me. It’s very rare that I do anything with just one child, and even more rare when it is one of the twins. They usually hate being separated. This time, Jackson ran over to Joseph, gently grabbed his face in between his little hands, gave him a kiss and said “I going to the doctor to check my belly with Mama. Okay? I be back soon. Okay? Love you. Have fun!” Their little conversation was completely adorable and was much better than two separate temper tantrums.

Since we all know “Immediate Care” isn’t exactly immediate, we spent a few hours there. I had to fill out ten pages of paperwork because even though I had been there with the other two children before, Jackson had never been seen there as a patient. People ask me this a lot too, so let me just answer here: Yes, even since the boys are twins, I have to fill own their own, individual set of forms wherever we go. Jackson happily played on the waiting room floor (gag) and zoomed around the office on the doctor’s rolling stool. Don’t worry, he got washed up and changed as soon as we got home. He made friends with people at the front desk, told a lot of stories, gave high-fives, and even gave his male nurse a big hug! When he was getting tired and had had enough, he told the doctor “Let’s go. I want to go home and see Joseph and Tay Tay now, okay? See you later!” It was cute, but it didn’t make his strep test or exam go any quicker.

We left the office and actually had to go to two different pharmacies. We went to the drive thru at the first one. There were two female pharmacists mixing the medication and getting everything ready. Jackson was getting crabby in the car seat, so I was talking to him and telling him that we’d be done soon / he could have milk when we get home / just a few more minutes. I could see the two women looking at each other. They came closer to the window and said “Um, m’am. We don’t see anyone back there…” They were looking in the middle row at Taylor’s empty car seat and were confused. I assured them that Jackson was in the third row, rear facing, and since my car is so large, it would be difficult for them to see him from where they were. I promised he was back there, and Jackson loudly yelled “hi guys” for reassurance. We laughed about it and they said they were initially a little concerned because they thought I was going crazy. I told them about how Jackson is one of a set of twins and they have an older sister who is only 22 months older than they are. I told them how everyone’s been under the weather and they’ve been up super early, so it’s not beyond me to be going crazy and talking to myself, but I always know where my kids are and that they are safe. I loved that these women were innocently joking with me, but I also knew that they would have called the police on me for negligence or something had they not heard his little voice responding to him, from the way back. When I went to leave, I pulled up just a little bit so they could see him and wave to him from the safety of his seat, in the third row, and they were like “We see him now!” You know what? I could have easily gotten angry that they were judging me or poking their heads where they don’t belong, but I honestly don’t blame them one bit. With all of the news stories about negligent parents these days, I feel it’s better to say something than not. It easily turned into a funny story once they realized I wasn’t actually crazy, but they could have saved a life if there was actually a negligent parent behind the wheel.

Next, we went to CVS, which Jackson affectionately and hilariously refers to as the “ABC Store.” He told everyone we saw that he was in the ABC store with Mama and that brother and sister were home. He missed them, but he was loving this alone time with me. When I went to sign my name for the purchase, Jacks reached out for the pen and said “No no no. Let me do this. I write my name!” He had everyone in there laughing.

Taylor has been so extra sweet and considerate of both boys, but especially Jacks since he doesn’t feel well. She made sure he has his glasses on first thing in the morning, gets them their milk cups, brings them toys and blankets, etc. It’s awesome to watch. The other day, all of them cuddled on the sofa to watch Aladdin for the first time. When the movie was over, T hugged her brothers and said “I just love a happy ending. Don’t you, fellas?” She can not wait for them to wake up from nap time each day and immediately needs to give them hugs. It’s heart melting material.

In case anybody reading this is new to the blog, I can assure you that my kids are not all kittens and rainbows all the time. As I was writing these lovely things, I noticed it was time for lunch, so I asked everyone to go upstairs. Jackson went upstairs, closing the baby gate behind him so Joseph couldn’t possibly follow. Joseph freaked out, and as I was walking over and telling Jackson how that wasn’t nice, Joseph spit right in Jackson’s face (through the slats of the gate) and said “Open the door.” I didn’t even know he knew how to spit like that. They followed this up by actually wrestling and fighting over the exact same yogurt pouch. Somehow, they thought it would be a good idea to do this on the living room sofa, so I’ve been cleaning yogurt up from everywhere. Joseph is also now sporting a beautiful new scratch on his face now. Cheers to nap time!

I am pretty obsessed with this summer, so far. We had another wonderful weekend of fun in the sun. The kids spent so much time in the water (pools, baths, and sprinklers) that I’m surprised their skin isn’t permanently wrinkled. They indulged in way more deserts than they are usually allowed, and enjoyed every bite. They’ve stayed up late to watch movies and eat fruit and corn on the cob. They spent a ton of time playing on playground equipment and just having a good time with each other. It is so much fun to watch them enjoy each other by playing tag and hide and seek. These are such simple things that kids do, but watching the fun through the eyes of your own children is nothing short of magical.

This afternoon, we went to a local grocery store that has a small animal farm / petting zoo out front. We greeted the sheep and chickens with lots of enthusiasm and high hopes for this adventure. When we got near the stationary cow that makes noise, both boys lost it and started screaming and shaking. They were yelling out “No cow! No cow! Go away!” We quickly walked on to the next area, which happened to be real live cows. The kids have seen real cows numerous times before at the Nature Center, but they were not at all interested this time. The giant fake cow ruined it for them. When we went inside later on, the kids were all in one shopping cart and Taylor pushed a button on yet another mechanical cow (that she loves) and Jackson flipped out. I caught part of his fit of screaming on video. I felt badly for him, but it was pretty funny and it will be amusing to show him some day when he’s older. He’s actually already watching it on my phone tonight and laughing at himself. He’s a good sport.

We had ice cream there, before dinner. That was such a big deal for Taylor and she keeps telling me how special it was to do that. It was quite an interesting experience. A woman walked up to us and told us what a beautiful family we had. She said she also had twins that were away at camp and she gifted us with a free ice cream coupon. It was so nice not to be bombarded with “twin questions” for once. As soon as we sat down, Jackson dropped his entire cup of ice cream, face down on the pavement. Joseph dropped his spoon into something nasty on the ground and threw a tantrum when Todd wouldn’t allow him to continue to use it. The replacement spoon just wasn’t right to him. We were in an outside tent-like area, so there were birds loudly chirping and flying overhead. Apparently, they were bugging Taylor more than the rest of us because she looked up and said “Mom! I told those birds to shut up!” Todd and I were both completely flabbergasted. It took a moment for me to compose myself (he was laughing silently and uncontrollably into his shirt for way too long) and discuss what she said and why she is not allowed to say it again. We generally don’t speak like that in front of the kids, but will definitely have to watch our words even more so now. The kids also got a new movie (a Disney one, believe it or not) that we discovered uses a lot of “not kind” words. We discussed it when the words were spoken on screen and reminded her that she is not to repeat them, or she will not get to watch the movie anymore.

With that said, Todd and I are off to round off the weekend of wholesome family fun by watching some more Orange is the New Black. Surely, there won’t be any unkind words on there.

I was looking forward to summertime and Taylor being out of school so much. I figured we’d have a lot of lazy days, and days spent home playing in the sandbox or running through the sprinklers. In actuality, we haven’t stopped and have only become more busy! It’s been fun though. I love having Taylor all to myself and not having to share her with school! We actually took the kids to Cracker Barrel this week because it’s the one thing Taylor requested to celebrate her graduation. She enjoys that place more for the country store than the pancakes, but whatever keeps her happy.

On our walk the other night, we heard wind chimes. Her little face lit up and she said “Mommy! Is that Santa coming? I hear Jingle Bells!” The poor kid was so excited, so I let her down gently and told her Christmas was still a while away. She said “Aww man; I really miss Christmas.” This year should be even more interesting because Santa has to get more creative and sneaky. I only hope that we are all healthy this Christmas. Every year, the boys have croup. It even required a hospital visit at 2am one Christmas morning. We are hoping their preemie lungs are maturing. They sure are giving those little lungs a run for their money with all the *adorable* screaming they do.

Yesterday, we visited Todd and my Dad at work. They work for the same company, but in different departments on different floors. We all visited my dad and then went upstairs to see Todd’s coworkers (and my former coworkers). For those that don’t know, we met at work many years ago. Scandalous. While we were standing around talking and people were interacting with the kids, Taylor ran into someone’s cubicle, jumped on him and said “Hey Brampy. Can I write my name on your computer?” She was so exited to see “him” although it was the wrong guy. She saw the same color blue shirt and the same hair coloring as my dad’s and just went in. She didn’t even think that my dad was downstairs where we just were. Thankfully, the guy was a good sport about it. We all cracked up, and poor Taylor was mortified. I think this was the first time she was actually embarrassed by anything and it was actually adorable. She bounced back quickly and had a great time. The kids had so much fun at the office. They fielded some calls and Taylor made sure to make note of every pony’s birthday in my dad’s calendar for him!

Later in the day, we were getting back in the car. I started to open the garage door, and Jackson, who decided to purposely leave his glasses behind, walked straight into the door. He smacked his forehead hard, bounced back and said “Oww! I have a boo boo!” Taylor looked at him, and without missing a beat she said: “Well Jack, that hurt! I bet you won’t forget to wear your glasses again, will ya?” She’s so fresh, but she was right, so I’ll give her credit.

Aside from growing a few inches and being able to stand on their beds and pull at their window shade (again), the boys have been fairly decent lately. I got a lot of compliments this week from people at work, the grocery store, the hospital, etc. about how well behaved everyone is and how well-spoken and polite Taylor is. Hearing comments like those really makes me a happy Mom. Even with T’s wise ass remarks, I know I’m doing right by her, and am so pleased that other people notice how awesome she is.

Apparently, I spoke too soon. Since I can’t sit down and simply write a blog post, I often have to do it in stages. Since I’ve started this particular post, the boys have gotten a handful of timeouts each, they’ve lost their beloved “dogs” for the day, and they’ve given me new grey hairs. Awesome. I wish I could somehow make the phrase “No, mama!” automatically turn into “Mom, you’re so pretty and we are so lucky to have you.” One day. We just put the boys to bed after an evening of fun in the sun, swimming, and a pizza party. I figured they’d be tired and fall right asleep. Wrong. I heard giggles and since I knew they weren’t telling knock knock jokes in there, I walked in to find them chewing something. They ripped the collar off of Joseph’s stuffed dog and were eating it. I’m thankful I caught them before someone choked on it, but I’d be even more thankful if they would sleep and act like humans.

Happy Father’s Day!

This will be a post of mostly pictures since we are all exhausted from the fresh air and sunshine (rough life), but I had to get something down for today. My kids are so incredibly lucky to have Todd as their father. He is so wonderfully loving with them. They can not wait for him to get home every day, and look forward to the weekend where they can wrap him around their little fingers and just have fun. Seeing him grow from the wonderful man I married into an incredible father has been surreal. I am so lucky that he is my partner in life. We started off the morning by pretty much needing an exorcism for the boys, but just like everything in life, we handled it together and enjoyed the rest of the day.

I know how important it is to grow up with a great dad, and thankfully, mine is pretty fantastic. He’s definitely helped shape me into the person I am today, and I have him to thank for my humor. He may be obsessed with shopping at Walmart and he might have an obsession with delivering me coffee, but hey, everyone has their faults. 🙂 I love you, Dad!

The first picture below is one of my favorites, even though everyone isn’t looking. The kids have a bacon cheeseburger, corn on the cob, and watermelon in the pool.

At Costco today, two women wearing burkas (traditional Muslim head scarves), commented on the boys and how well behaved they were sitting in the shopping cart. They were trying to show their own children that our kids were good examples and they should be more like them. We laughed back and forth and exchanged pleasantries about our children. I told the woman who was leading the conversation that my boys were far from quiet, but they put on a good front in public. We talked about their ages and typical things people with kids talk about when they are greeting each other. We wished each other a good day and carried about our separate shopping trips. We were united in the fact that we were women. We were moms who clearly each loved our children very much. We were humans. Although I am used to being a spectacle when out in public because of the twins and my red-headed beauty, I was not prepared for what I felt today. People were walking past us and glaring. People were looking at the Muslim women with repugnance, and then looking up at me with a hateful look in their eyes. Clearly, I can’t read minds, but some of the looks I received were quite obvious. How could I be conversing with Muslim women after the night club shooting in Orlando? I thought maybe this was me just being overly sensitive, but Todd (who was lucky enough to be on this shopping trip with us) said he noticed it too. I was greatly taken aback by this, and couldn’t help but think, if I was feeling this way, I can not even imagine what the other women, and others like them were feeling. It just was not right.

I am downright sickened by the senseless, cold-blooded shooting in Orlando. It was inexcusable, morbid, and hateful. The actions of one man altered the lives of many families forever. It altered the hearts of the American people. I am truly scared to be raising my children in a world where hate is acted upon in mass shootings. I am a firm believer that hate is taught. It’s not something you are born with. You are not born with a damaged soul and a need to hurt others; that is learned. The shooter was a hateful person, but you know what? Those people that are hating on an entire community of people for the actions of one person are no better. Why do it? Why give the Muslim women in Costco who were shopping with their children awful looks? Why look at me like I am a traitor for being kind to them? It just isn’t right. I want my children to know that they should treat everyone with respect, until it is no longer deserved. You treat people the way you want to be treated. This is kindergarten fundamentals, but many adults still can’t grasp the concept. I think most people would agree that I am a very kind person and respect everyone. That is not to say that I won’t allow you to directly hurt me or my love ones. I won’t take that. But until that point, you respect people.

Everyone has different religious, political, and personal beliefs. That is what makes us great as humans. We are all different, and that’s okay. That’s what makes us unique. We are never going to have an entire population of people agree on everything, but if we could all stop teaching hatred and start embracing differences, maybe the world would be a bit better place to live in. Nobody should be afraid to be who they are. Spread love.