JP:  OH I want to go on a safari!

C:  I want to doh on safawi!

M:  Ok, let's go on a safari!  What animals should we find?

C:  Horses!!!

JP:  I want to hunt!

M:  Ok, what should we hunt?

JP:  Turtles and horses and zebras and elephants and hippos and LIONS!!!

This face brought to you by PB&J

C:  Da wions will be NICE.  And dey will NOT roar!

C:  I am going to take my BOOK ON SAFAWI!!!

 

C: WOOK A ENEPHANT!!! WHERE is da enephant? OVER DERE! BY DA BOPPY!!!

 

C:  I need my wed wed hat! 

 

 

What's wrong with this picture?

 

Do you see?  I am not holding a single child and no one is crying!!!

 

It's a miracle.

7 Quick Takes Friday

 

Linking up with Jen at Conversion Diary for an excuse to compile all my random thoughts in one place!

 

--1--

 

March for Life today!  Hope all that are able are there - in this weather, there's just no way to get 4 kids under 4 there with adequate (and warm enough) time to nurse...  And it's the Conversion of St. Paul - see if you can blind anyone with your light :)

A couple of good links in that area - one on New Feminism and one on when life begins. 

--2--

I'm going back to work on Monday. I have mixed feelings on the matter...  I love my job - I teach choir & a music lab to 7th and 8th graders and it's way fun.  And it's awesome to have a little "grown-up time" where I can go to the bathroom by myself, sit down, listen to music in the car that ISN'T a kids' CD, eat whatever I want without having to share with the kids, etc. 

But I'm going to miss the kids.  A lot.  Thank goodness for the summer!  I'll be gone for 5-6 hours a day, so it could definitely be worse.  We need the benefits, so it's really non-negotiable whether I go back or not.  The house is also going to be a lot messier when I don't have those naptime hours to get stuff done...

I'm also REALLY not going to miss the kids.  Working part-time is a really nice balance for me.  And honestly, I'm a better mom when I have some time away from the kids - I appreciate them so much more when I come home, and I'm just a much saner person.

--3--

We're closing on a house soon!  Assuming all goes well, we'll be mostly moved by the 3rd weekend in February (want to help and do some heavy lifting?  Or sit with me and chat while I nurse the babies?).  This means Andrew will be about 5 minutes from work, we're changing parishes (from a good parish to another good parish!), we'll have a HUGE beautiful backyard with room for a swingset and a garden and a deck and a patio, I'll be able to cook on a gas stove again, and we'll need to buy window treatments that are fancier than the blackout curtains we currently use in our bedrooms...

--4--

 

John Paul whines SO. MUCH.  Every time he hears the word "No" or I ask him to do something, he lets out an ear-piercing, "NOOOOOOOOOOO!!!"  Usually it wakes up a baby.  I am at my wit's end - what do I do to stop this???  We had our terrible twos, that's for sure.  But this feels way worse because I know he's doing it specifically to push our buttons. 

Is this a face you want to see ever?

 

--5--

 

At least he's funny sometimes to make up for the whining and screaming...

 

(playing with some coins he found) "Oh! Another penny! It was on the wipe, good joke! I want to put it in my bank?"
"What bank?"
"Oh, the Wells Fargo bank?"
"What Wells Fargo bank? We don't have any Wells Fargo bank!"
"Oh, the BRICK one!"

(in a robotic voice) "Honest to God I didn't take it." (now in a normal voice) "Oh, honest to God I didn't take the syringe from Cecilia!"
"John Paul what movie is that from???"
"Oh! The ten commandments!"

His ten commandments book has an example of taking the Lord's name in vain. Another reason not to teach your child to read...

--6--

 

Elizabeth gained an adequate amount of weight for the 3rd week in a row!  Almost up to Cecilia's birthweight, pitiful as that is...  Mary Claire is continuing to chunk up, tipping the scales at 10 lbs yesterday (after sleeping 9 hours without nursing!  But don't worry, Elizabeth was up every 2 to make up for it :)

 

This picture is a few weeks old and exaggerates the difference but yeah, Mary Claire is definitely 2+ pounds heavier...

--7--

 

In anticipation of moving her to a "big girl" bed (mattress on the floor) when we move, I've been letting Cecilia sleep in John Paul's bed (mattress on the floor) for naptime and she LOVES it.  But she has started sleeping with a blanket completely over her head, so she wakes up with the most incredible sweaty bedhead:

 

 

 

Now check out more quick takes at Conversion Diary!

Life these days

Capturing the elusive smile

I can't decide which baby I think is cuter.  That's probably a good thing...

Some rare tummy time

A loving brother

My favorite time of day

Calm awake time is cool, too

Showing a baby to her babies

The house isn't clean, I'm rarely wearing much more than sweatpants and a nursing tank, and dinner is NEVER ready when it should be.  But if we get through the day and everyone is still alive, anything more is a bonus!

 

Knock knock jokes

Cecilia and John Paul, both being approximately the same emotional age, are learning about knock knock jokes, but they don't quite get the point...

John Paul: OH I want to tell a knock knock joke!
Me: Okay...
John Paul: Knock knock!
Me: Who's there?
John Paul: Interrupting Cow!
Me: Interrupting Cow who?
John Paul: ... MOO!

Cecilia: Knock Knock!
Me: Who's there?
Cecilia: Interrupting Cat!
Me: Interrupting Cat who?
Cecilia: Uh... Mawwy Cwaire! KNOCK KNOCK!
Me: Who's there?
Cecilia: Interrupting Dog!
Me: Interrupting Dog who?
Cecilia: EWIZABEFF!!!

John Paul: I want to do interrupting mouse!
Me: Okay...
John Paul: Knock knock!
Me: Who's there?
John Paul: Interrupting mouse!
Me: Interrupting mouse who?
John Paul: SQUEAK SQUEAK!

One of these days they'll get it... But they still think it's pretty funny!

I felt like a really good mom this morning, letting the kids do a "science experiment" while the babies napped. 

 

Baking soda + vinegar - how exciting!

 

 

Even though John Paul soon decided just to dump his whole bowl of vinegar into the pan...

 

Next time I'll try food coloring added to the vinegar, and separate containers for both kids (which I should have done to begin with!).

What I Wore Sunday

Volume 1:  The tantrum edition

 

 

Joining the ladies at Fine Linen and Purple for something kind of fun this week...

 

 

This is what our Mass looked like today.  Cecilia wore a clearance rack Carter's outfit, which she insisted on accessorizing with a flower hat (not shown), Old Navy heart tights (below), and consignment store pink faux-Uggs (not shown).  And she cried and misbehaved for most of Mass.  Shocker.  The twins did pretty well, as did John Paul (despite his constant whispering of, "She DOESN'T need to nurse!" directed at whichever twin was nursing at the moment.  He actually said the priest's parts in a softer voice than usual this week, so I'll consider that a success).

 

And here's Cecilia tantruming on the couch.  I wore a black tummy-sucking-in skirt from Target (I'm only 2 months post-partum, you better believe I still need help sucking it in!), brown boots that were my Christmas present last year, a Shade blouse and an Ann Taylor Loft cardigan.  I would have belted it, but then I wouldn't have been able to pull up the blouse to nurse (for the entirety of Mass.  This is my life.).

 

In the background you can see our potty, because we don't have a bathroom on the main floor.  Worst. Floor plan. Ever.  Also a twin nursing pillow in stylish denim, which hides spit up like nobody's business!

 

Don't you feel bad for her?  She wanted to put on her sweater by herself and then it was inside out and backwards and she couldn't find the floor and Dad insisted on helping but only MOM was the one who SHOULD help and EVERYTHING IS SO BAD!!!

 

Then she found a booger.

 

And examined it while Andrew changed both babies.

 

Do you see that little bit of knee poking out?  I actually SHAVED my knees in anticipation of wearing a skirt.

 

And I took it away from her.

 

Seriously, maybe the worst the kids have ever behaved during Mass.  Mostly because of Cecilia, who insisted on yelling, "I WANT TO BE A BAD GIRL!" during the 2nd reading.

 

Awesome.

 

It gets better, right?

 

And now I'm writing this in (maternity) yoga pants and a nursing tank - I consider it a success if I don't get spat up on until *after* Mass, and it took 30 minutes after we got home for that to happen.  Win!