A List

*I have two PRN jobs currently. I don't have the time to keep up with trainings at two hospitals, so I'm trying (yes trying) to quit one. I've contacted the head of the department, but have yet to hear back. I didn't know quitting a job could be so difficult? 

*We go to an open gym weekly. I say weekly like we've been doing this for months. We've been going for a month, but I think we'll continue to go weekly while the weather is cold. It's only $8 for both babies/kids. They get to be around other kids. They learn new skills. It's a beautiful thing. Evan has done a few interesting things while at open gym: Exhibit A-he stared at himself in the mirror and then made out with himself. I had to scrape himself and his tongue off of the mirror. Exhibit B-there is one (ONE) freaking outlet that does not have a safety plug in it in a HUGE space. He has found it and constantly tries to shove his finger in it. (I'm going to bring a plug form home and shove it in there next time). Exhibit C-he is the only kid who constantly runs out the door of the gym into the common space. I have to be the mom, hanging her head in shame, chasing him out or close the door. Other moms chase their kids out once or twice. Evan does it insistently.  Exhibit D-last week was very busy and some of the moms/dad's left their shoes in the gym lined up against a wall instead of in the common space. He was the only kid (out of about 40) who was constantly putting on the adult's shoes. He kind of made a mess of the shoes...I just ushered him away and pretended like it didn't happen. Exhibit E-he tried to kiss a girl today. She was a petite little blonde with blue eyes (good taste son). He went in for the kiss and was met with a hand in his face. The kid is persistent. I'll give him that. He went in another time and was met with the hand of denial again. Being Evan, he tried again, this time using his hands to grab her face as a mode of convincing her. He knocked the poor girl down and then she tried kicking him away. I could go on and on....he's the only kid trying to play with the sound system, running up the stairs in the common area (I noticed that door was closed this week...maybe because of him?) etc. Needless to say, keeping an eye on him and his sister is a work out for me.

*Ella needs her own open gym comment as well. She's the more timid of the two and more independent. One of the weeks we went, she continuously hugged a little girl that was about 8 months old. The little girl liked it and was smiling at her and welcoming the hugs, but the dad kept giving me odd looks as if to say 'get your kid off of mine.' I thought it was adorable, but after a few dozen hugs, I had to scrape Ella off of the girl and get away from the dad before he served us with a restraining order.

*If you are a twin parent, do you find your twins are more affectionate toward other kids compared to singleton kids? I don't see other kids hugging and trying to kiss strange kids at open gym, but ours do this several times. I wonder if they are used to having a kid their age to be affectionate towards and this makes them more open to sharing affection to other kids? Maybe it's just what kids do and I'm over thinking it. I don't know what the hell I'm doing in this parenting thing...I make it up as I go.

*I am so confused what to call the twins....are they babies? Toddlers? What do you call a 16 month old?! They will always be my babies, but I feel ridiculous saying this to other people. Do I have to start calling them toddlers? Will I give them some kind of complex if I continue to call them babies?

*Speaking of complexes, we (as in my husband and I) often make comments to each other about the kids. Evan frequently is referred to as 'wild' 'nuts' 'crazy' etc. He's just a rambunctious kid. He's a boy's boy. I'm also paranoid about giving him some kind of complex that he is indeed a wild child. We need to stop saying these things. They understand so much information these days! Maybe it would be wise to start saving for therapy...

*I'm not sure what to label myself. I stay at home with the babies (again BABIES?!), but I also work occasionally (less than 15 hours a week and typically in 4.5 hours chunks). I feel like a fraud when I say I'm a stay at home mom. Don't stay at home moms STAY AT HOME and NOT work? What am I? Kudos to the true blue stay at home moms out there. I need to work. It's not much, but it keeps me sane to get out and use critical thinking skills. Whatever the hell I am, it works for me/us.

*These clowns have yet to give us some good solid sleep for an extended period of time. There's always a tooth or growth spurt or maybe I'm just making excuses to make myself feel better about failing in the sleep department. I don't know what it is, but I'm going to kick the next lady I hear say 'my 5 month old sleeps 12 hours all the time!' in her left ovary. We get several nights in a row of sleeping  form 7:30 until 5ish-then needing a bottle and going right down until 7-8. I consider that a good night of sleep. If you don't just keep your comments to yourself all you people with sleeping babies! Then we hit a kick of several nights in a row where they wake up at 12 or 1 and then 4 or 5. The 12/1 wake up needs some comforting to go back to sleep, but the next wake up is a feeding. We've tried letting them cry, but then one wakes the other and then you have 2 babies up. I don't know what to do...it sucks. I need some sleep damn it! I'm a lot more pleasant when I get proper sleep. Ask my husband. So I don't know if our twins suck at sleeping or if we completely failed and missed the mark on helping them learn how to sleep. 16 months, damn it, and we are NOT sleeping through most nights. FAIL.

*My day is often determined by shit. Yup, shit as in poop. Our babies work like clock work. They eat breakfast. Get out of their chairs and poop while I'm cleaning up breakfast. It's a beautiful thing. We get dressed and take on the day from this point. If they haven't pooped after breakfast. WATCH OUT! There is often crankiness and whining to follow. I'm often afraid to leave the house if they haven't pooped, because there is no telling what is going to happen. I know things are heading in the right direction if we have a morning poop. 

*I don't want to end this talking about poop, but honestly, that is all I have running through my head right now. Our computer is in the basement and it's freezing. We ordered a laptop this week, so maybe next time I can write without getting frost bite. I've had enough of winter!