We do not negotiate with Toddlerists

Some time back, we started using the phrase "we don't negotiate with terrorists" when it came to dealing with the toddler tantrums.  We've determined toddlerists is a much better phrase because it really captures the essence of our statement.

I made a mistake the other night and decided to try reasoning with two 2-Year Olds.  It was bath night, so the kids were in and out of the bathroom in varying states of dress.  After everyone was in their pajamas, Sloane decided she didn't really want to leave the bathroom. 

"Ok, Sloane.  If you don't want to come out, you'll have to sleep in the bathroom tonight."  Bad idea - Sarah and Sloane promptly plopped down on the bathroom floor and informed me that "We sleep heah" (their version of here).  No amount of cajoling could get them out so eventually we just carried them to their room listening to their screams of protest about sleeping in the bathroom.

In case you didn't figure it out from this anecdote, bedtime has not improved.   We've added music  to the mix,  a nice compilation of Celtic lullabies.  Puts Erin to sleep in a flash, the twins dance to it.  We thought perhaps they were afraid of the dark so we found a nice battery operated nightlight.  This darling ladybug light projects stars and the moon on the ceiling.  The twins have figured out that by pressing buttons they can change the color of the pattern being projected so we hear "Puhple...NOOOOOO...geeeen" over the monitor.  

Yes, we have read all of the various theories and have tested just about every one.  I'm starting to think that the folks who wrote these books never had multiples in one room going through the same developmental phase in the same room.  So, we're back to our original theory - we don't negotiate.  Into bed, a bedtime story or 3, kisses goodnight, nightlight on, music on, door closed.  Last night they outlasted the 60 minute music CD.  Any guesses about tonight?

Summer to Fall

Apple picking was a hit - the girls are still talking about it. Some picture of our last days of summer and the fruits of our apple picking labor. And one of Cole practicting his new skill - smiling

The Big Boy Club

So, according to our favorite nurse at the pediatrician's office Cole is an official member of the big boy club.

At birth he was 9 lbs 10 oz. The first two weeks he spent regaining the weight he lost the first few days. As of yesterday he is 12lbs 15oz. So he's gained 3 lbs in 3 weeks. I can't tell you what percentile that puts him in because that is apparently off the growth charts. 24 inches long and a head circumference that is in the 100th percentile as well. Since my family all has fairly large heads, we're going with the standard line that the big head is to hold the big brain because he's so smart!

On a separate note, the twins have managed to stay in their rooms the past few nights - no gate crashing. However, at least one child takes up residence in our room each night so Matt his hearing a daily mantra from me - We need a bigger bed!

More pics to follow soon. If the weather holds we'll be taking the kids apple picking tomorrow and that's always good for a photo op or two.

Mommy - I'm strong!!

As I've previously mentioned, we've been having some bedtime issues of late with Sarah and Sloane. We've tried every approach to keep the girls in bed and have finally reached the point of kissing their heads, shutting their door and listening on the monitor to make sure they don't harm themselves or each other.

Last night, about 20 minutes after we put them in bed and hearing non stop chatter we heard a tremendous crash. Matt had Cole in his arms so I went flying up the stairs at record speed. Sloane and Sarah were standing in their door with huge grins pointing to the gate they had managed to dislodge from their doorway. Sarah pointed to it and said "Mama, it's down" and giggled. Sloane beamed and informed me "Mommy, I'm strong". I had two options - I choose to laugh and put the gate back up. And yes, we are now officially out of options with how to keep these kids in their beds. Interestingly enough, when the knocked down the gate they never left their room, so there is hope!

Some pictures just for fun:

Check out my chins...

Back to School Time

With back to school time always comes a new batch of ear infections, viruses, etc. Given how well Matt and I know our kids routines and behaviors we know when they are sick, right? Well, Erin and Sloane have both been congested and coughing as well as incredibly irritable so we took them off to the doctors yesterday expecting that one or both had ear infections or strep. We took Sarah along simply because if one girl is sick, usually at least one other is as well.

Yup, you guessed it - Sloane and Erin's ears and throat were fine if but a bit irritated. Sarah, who's been acting fine has a very red throat and ear infection. I guess she just gets her sisters to complain for her!

With that diagnosis we went off to get the prescription filled and ran into another minor issue. It seems Sloane is very jealous of Sarah's medicine. So, each night after Sarah torments Sloane by parading around singing "my medicine, my medicine" we need to mix up the magic medicine (read: water) and let Sloane have her dose.

Cole is doing well - he's gaining weight after a slow start where his weight dipped a few ounces after coming home. I pointed out the beginning of a double chin on him to Matt today but Matt thinks I'm imagining it. We're still trying to figure out if the smiles we've gotten are true early smiles or gas, which is plentiful!

The Palin Acceptance Speech

First, I know most folks come here for the pics of the kids and the family updates. But I warned you early on that I'd occasionally be sharing thoughts on other things as well.

I was already writing this post in my head when I stopped by one of my daily reads http:\\ninetexans.blogspot.com and Karen had a post about Palin's speech up as well. What she wrote made me think and flesh out some of my reactions to the Palin acceptance speech.

When I was just old enough to vote, I registered as a democrat. Part of that was being a very liberal young college student and part of it was to support a good friend of my moms that was running for Congress at the time. I tended to vote as a democrat for several years and as I've gotten older I've started voting based more on issues than party affiliation.

The last presidential election was a tough one - I really didn't like any of the choices. This time, once it was narrowed to Obama and McCain I promised myself to keep an open mind to both so I've been trying to read and follow both to get a feel for who is better choice for me.

With that open mind I watched Rudy Giuliani's and Sarah Palin's speeches. Giuliani gave the speech I expected and I agreed with many of his points. I watched Sarah Palin's speech with particular interest as determining whether I can support her as a candidate will play a large part in who I choose to vote for.

She's taken a tremendous amount of heat for being a working mom. I'm a working mom, so I obviously don't take issue with her working. What I do struggle to some degree is that she is embarking on a grueling campaign for the second highest office in the country with a 5 month old special needs child. I'm sure she has a tremendous support system in place and I would like to have faith that it will not impact her ability to parent. Like Karen, I do look at it some what selfishly - having a mother of small children, particularly one with special needs in such a high office could bring new light to issues that are currently ignored. But I do still struggle with whether or not it's fair to her young children even if it ends up benefiting many others.

I disagree with McCain and Palin on some key issues - I unequivocally support a woman's right to choose, they are vehemently pro-life. I think gun control is huge, having worked in a city where I've witnessed shootings, stabbings and other crimes - usually committed by young kids with access to illegal weapons. Palin is a member of the NRA. On the other hand, I also disagree with Obama and Biden on some key issues and I'm not impressed with how Biden presents himself or the issues.

I am definitely part of the soccer mom demographic I think McCain was shooting to reach when he selected Palin as his running mate. I represent that critical "undecided" voter. Since my husband just reminded me that I shouldn't be talking about politics or religion on the blog, I'll leave it that. I truly am still undecided. In the end, I'll have to decide which issues are the most important to me and to my family and vote accordingly.

Now I'm off to go check the swimming pool in our basement so graciously provided by tropical storm Hanna.

First Day of (Pre) School

Erin, Sarah and Sloane are all moving up to the next classrooms at school. Erin is joining the Caterpillar classroom and Sarah and Sloane are following Erin's footsteps into the classroom she just graduated from - Ladybugs. They are all very excited! (Even if Sloane doesn't look it)




In other news, Sloane finally succeeded in pole vaulting out of her crib so both she and Sarah are now in toddler beds. I'd love to say it's been a smooth transition but each night we have one or more of the following - one or both of the twins sleeping in our bed, one or both twins asleep on the floor, one or both twins stealing the others bed, every toy and piece of clothing dislodged from it's keeping place. They have been through so much change in such a short period of time, we're hoping that as we settle into a routine bedtime becomes easier again.



Cole is doing really well. Despite what the pictures show, he really is awake the vast majority of the time. He handles the constant chaos in our house with ease, sleeping through most dog barks and sisterly shrieks.





Matt went back to work today so it's Cole and I! We'll try to update the blog more frequently.