Sick Babies :-(

Last week everyone got sick! Gavin started coughing Wednesday, Kaleb started Thursday and Jakob started Friday.
I took Gavin and Kaleb to doc on Friday but I couldn't for the life of me figure out how to take all three by myself so I figured whatever G&K had, Jakob probably did too and I would take him back if necessary :-P

The nurse practitioner determined it was probably just a cold but to call if the babies started wheezing. Jakob started wheezing Monday followed by Kaleb today. So off to the doctor we went....the doctor said most likely RSV that we could do official tests to make diagnoses but it wouldn't make a difference in treatment.

Jakob was wheezing the worst so he got a breathing treatment first while we were at doc office. While Jakob was getting his treatment, Kaleb was laying on the exam table by me making googly eyes, smiling and being his cute self :-) Then his eye lids got really heavy and then.....

Kaleb fell asleep LOL I have said since they were a couple weeks old that Kaleb was my 'sleep anywhere' baby :-) Gavin was never like that..would rarely sleep while we were out in his stroller or carseat. He only like to sleep in his crib. Jakob is not like this either...he likes to sleep in his crib.

And here is sweet Jakob...he of course had to be rocked in his carseat lol He is a bit more a busy body than Kaleb and has to see what is going on all.the.time!

So keep us in your prayers for the boys to get better!! They are happy sick babies and hanging in there! We have to do neubulizer for a few days and some steriods :-)

I need to go stock on some wine or maybe beer? something! lol

Where did all the good tv shows go?

I feel like everything on evening television is either a crime show, which are getting pretty gruesome for a 8:00 p.m., hospital, lawyers or reality.

What happened to good shows like Seinfield, Will & Grace, Friends and something I got excited to watch.

And then of course I was really in to Lost, Heroes and Prison Break but Lost finally ended...and let's face it, it was time for it to end. Heroes got cancelled and Prison Break disappeared...I miss Wentworth Miller!

Really the only shows we watch now are The Big Bang Theory and Rules of Engagement. And we have started watching Dexter on DVD, had to start from Season 1. I read the first two books and they were really good. My friend Kelly started talking about how good the shows were and then I heard it from someone else and decided to check them out, so happy we did!

And movies....I haven't seen a good movie in a long time. Not that I can really stay up for an entire these days (WHAT?! all these kids wear me out lol) but still, it would be nice to watch a good movie.

anywho...I need to go to bed, I am not sure why I am still playing on the computer *Sigh* And of course, there is laundry I need to finish but it will still be there tomorrow! nite nite

"The Idiot Girl's Guide to Costco Shopping" by Donna

My friend Janis has this on her blog - http://www.themagicthatisjanis.blogspot.com/ - from her friend Donna, http://stunninglysuperficial.wordpress.com/ who shared her experience at Costco, I love it! And if I were this good of a writer, I would have probably written the same thing because this pretty much sums up my feelings when I go to Costco! Except I really think they need to install traffic lights, lanes and blinkers on the carts because the people are crazy!

Enjoy!

The Idiot Girl's Guide to Costco Shopping

Step 1:

Spend 30 minutes mentally perusing your refrigerator, pantry, kitchen cabinets, laundry room, closets, bathroom cabinets, basement, garage, yard and shed to determine items you may need lots of.  Make list of items.  Include toilet paper regardless of your current stock.

Step 2:

Leave list on coffee table and drive to Costco. Enter Costco parking lot behind the slowest-moving minivan on the planet.  Crawl through parking lot behind minivan looking for an available space.  Stop near front door to allow 17 shoppers with overflowing carts to inch toward their cars (and freedom).  Glance at 44 empty handicapped parking spaces.  Breathe deeply.  Proceed to parking space approximately one mile from Costco entrance.  Curse the parking gods.  Look frantically around your purse, the passenger seat, the floorboard and the glove compartment (yes, the glove compartment) for your list.  Curse.  Convince yourself that you will remember items on list as you shop.  Proceed to Costco entrance. 

Step 3:

Obtain shopping cart and fumble through your wallet for your Costco membership card.  Curse. Swear that you will clean your purse TODAY.  Find card.  Jockey around slow-moving shoppers exiting store.  Breathe deeply.  Display Costco membership card to front door guard.  Wonder briefly why this is necessary, but immediately stop caring as you walk through the warm, stupid-dust infused blast of air.  Gaze lovingly at 60-inch HDTV and question – just for a second – why you had children. 

Step 4:

Proceed slowly through main aisle.  Stop behind confused woman who can’t decide which way to go.  Attempt not to become enraged at woman directly to her left who has stopped in the middle of the aisle to catch up with her neighbor who is directly to her left, thus blocking the entire aisle.  Breathe deeply.  Inch past seven aisles of housewares and auto supplies because, really?  Head to bakery section.  Resist temptation to purchase 10-lb bag of Fritos, giant cheesecake, 5lb bag of oatmeal raisin cookies and 24-pack of muffins.  Curse metabolism gods. 

Step 5:

Walk toward gourmet cheese and meats aisles.  Stand in line with four other people making small talk with Costco employee while waiting for microwave to finish cooking chorizo.  Taste morsel of chorizo seasoned only with air. Note that it is the most delicious thing you’ve ever tasted.  Place 5lb package of chorizo into your cart.  Inch toward next aisle.  Elbow past unsupervised children to grab last piece of melba toast slathered with Boursin.  Place 4-pack of Boursin in cart. 

Step 6:

Walk past healthy produce section and head for paper aisle.  Place case of water on bottom of cart.  Take a second to catch your breath. Swear that you will get in shape. Consider purchasing case of Frappucino, but decide against it (not because you’ve sworn to get in shape, but because it’s too expensive).  Locate toilet paper and paper towels.  Briefly consider purchasing Scott toilet paper, but decide to purchase Charmin instead…because you deserve it.  Place toilet paper and paper towels in cart.  Consider space issue.  Crouch down and wiggle/heave case of water toward the back of the bottom of the cart.  Take a second to catch your breath.  Place toilet paper at the front of the bottom of the cart.  Curse. 

Step 7:

Walk toward refrigerated/frozen food aisles.  Wait in line with seven other people for Costco employee to finish cooking frozen spinach-ricotta ravioli seasoned only with Pam.  Taste ravioli.  Decide it’s the most delicious thing you’ve ever tasted.  Place $11.99 bag of frozen spinach-ricotta ravioli in your cart.  Proceed down aisle.  Place 24-pack of Light and Fit yogurt in your cart (for the diet).  Place 40-pack of ice cream sandwiches in cart. 

Step 8:

Proceed to cereal aisle.  Place giant box of Special K (with berries!) in your cart (for the diet).  Briefly consider jumbo pack of Pop Tarts.  Decide against it (not because you've sworn to get in shape, but because you don't like the brown sugar flavored ones). Proceed to end of aisle.  Wait while woman in front of you waits for an opportunity to turn onto main aisle.  Breathe deeply.  Do not become enraged when she starts talking to her 2-year old and misses break in traffic.  Curse.  Turn cart around and exit through other end of aisle. 

Step 9:

Proceed to pasta aisle.  Stop in front of tomato products.  Try to remember whether you need tomato sauce or crushed tomatoes.  Place both in cart just to be sure.  Briefly consider whole grain pasta, but place 8-pack of thin spaghetti in your cart instead (because it says ‘thin’).  Place 32oz jar of capers in your cart because it’s only $6.99.  Ignore the fact that you use an average of two tablespoons of capers per year. 

Step 10:

Proceed to cleaning/laundry products aisle. Place 3-pack of Pledge, gallon of Pine Sol and 120-load jug of Tide.  Rearrange items in cart to accommodate new items.  Take a moment to catch your breath.  Wait for crowd at end of aisle to move into main aisle that is crowded with check-out line overflow.  Curse.  Turn cart around to exit through other end of aisle. 

Step 11:

Proceed to vitamin/pain reliever aisle.  Spend 20 minutes desperately searching for 150-count bottle of Midol. Realize that it’s only available at the pharmacy.  Wonder why.  Curse.  Proceed to pharmacy.  Notice that it’s closed.  Curse.  Proceed toward Tampax aisle.  Note that Tampax products have been replaced by diapers.  Curse.  Stomp through aisles to find Tampax products.  Note that selection of Tampax items has been changed and no longer includes your favorite.  Curse.  Place lesser product into cart because it’s still a good deal.  Wipe sweat from brow.  Breathe deeply. 

Step 12:

Proceed to check-out lanes.  Quickly scan lanes for shoppers with fewer items in their carts.  Secure spot in line.  Wait.  Realize that you’re thirsty.  Really thirsty.  Read sign above café.  Consider $1.50 hot dog and drink deal.  Notice line for café. Curse.  Load products onto conveyor belt while woman in front of you writes a check.  Hand cashier your membership card.  Run to other end of register and frantically place scanned items into cart as she scans them so as not to hold up line.  Ask cashier to repeat the total amount spent.  Try to hide flash of horror. Breathe deeply.  Shove receipt into purse and inch away from register thinking of justifications for amount spent.

Step 13:

Proceed toward exit.  Get behind at least one customer with a flatbed cart, one with ADD and one with at least three children in tow.  Curse the café customers who have left their carts in the middle of the aisle while they enjoy their $1.50 hot dog and drink deal.  Breathe deeply.  Proceed past carpet and hardwood flooring samples.  Wonder who buys those products.  Inch toward Costco exit door guard.  Realize (when it's finally your turn) that you’ve shoved your receipt into your purse.  Fumble through purse desperately trying to find receipt.  Swear that you’re going to clean your purse TODAY.  Hand crumpled receipt to Costco exit door guard.  Wonder if he thinks you believe he’s actually making a note of what’s in your cart.  Roll eyes.  Wait for Costo exit door guard to run marker down your receipt and set you free.  Proceed to car.  Defy laws of physics and squeeze items into trunk.  Get into car.  Take a moment to catch your breath.

Step 14:

Drive home.  Unload items onto kitchen floor in 35 trips.  Put items away.  Realize that you already have at least 17 of 40% of the items you’ve purchased.  Curse.  Sit on sofa to rest a moment.  Notice shopping list on coffee table.  Realize that you forgot to purchase 35% of it.  Curse. 

Step 15:

Locate vodka.  Prepare cocktail.  Drink cocktail.  Nap.  Wake up disoriented.  Decide it’s too late to cook dinner.  Order take-out.

Laundry...who wears all these clothes?!

I seriously feel like we do laundry every day! I am either bringing it down, taking it up, procrastinating because I don't feel like taking it out of dryer and folding lol

And I do the kids laundry the most....how do 3 little people have so many dirty clothes?!

I cannot imagine the laundry as they get older and start playing sports, oh my!

Between laundry and keeping enough food in the house for FOUR boys...my oh my! I REALLY need to get started on my coupons...I keep talking about it and thinking about it but I get overwhelmed when I look at websites but then when I look in paper, there is rarely a coupon for a product I use. Not to be picky but some brands of some foods, I just don't like. I prefer others....

Well I should probably go fold the laundry *sigh*

40 minute sleep cycles....

...are frustrating! BUT Jakob and Kaleb seem to be getting the hang of soothing themselves back to sleep when they happen :-) YAY!! GOOD JOB BOYS!!! I am so proud of them that they are learning these skills!

However, if I miss their sleep window...Gavin and I get to hear quite a bit of yelling :-( I do my best but sometimes everyone doesn't cooperate!

Oh did I mention I have THE best husband ever? I seriously do..I am not just saying that because I want something (hi honey), did anything or spent lots of money LOL

He is amazing and I think we work really well together, which I already knew but it has only been emphasized since Jakob and Kaleb were born :-) Love you babe!

PREGNANT!

HA! not now :-P A year ago we found we would be adding another little Michalski to our family...little did we know that in a couple weeks we would find out we were actually adding TWO little Michalski's to our family! Whew...what an adventure that was :-)

Even though it was just last year...that pregnancy seems so long ago. Probably because I try to block out most of it since it was such a hard pregnancy. Like nothing I ever imagined..I knew a twin pregnancy would be tough but nothing like that. And compared to others I have talked to and seen on multiple boards...mine was pretty easy. And blessed that I carried Baby A (Kaleb) and Baby B (Jakob) until almost 37 weeks :-)

I've got lots to do while Gavin is napping so I will have to reflect on that another time :-) Be careful with all the snow and ice!

4 month wakeful period or 4 month sleep regression...whatever! my child isn't sttn anymore! lol

Jakob and Kaleb got two of their 4 month shots last Wednesday. Ever since Jakob started waking at night...not at same time, sometime 10:00 or 12:30 or 3. I have been racking my brain and overanalyzing everything....should we let him cio? is he hungry? growth spurt? too cold? too hot? side effect of vax? I could NOT figure it out! His naps were also different too and neither Marcin or myself could figure out why :-P

Then suddenly this morning BEFORE my first cup of coffee...I remembered friends mentioning the 4 month wakeful period with their first born. Gavin never went through this and apparently Kaleb isn't either (knocking on LOTS of wood lol) so it didn't even occur to me!

For those that aren't familiar....the 4 month wakeful period usually occurs because babies start to be more alert, moving around more and just their development changes so quickly that it becomes hard for them to sleep because they would rather play. Some babies are rolling by now so they would rather practice their new skills than sleep...I remember Gavin did do this when he started rolling but the big lug didn't start that until about 6 months LOL

I am just happy to have thought of this....I am going to give him a few more days and start decreasing the amount he is eating when he wakes up to see if that helps. It might also be a growth spurt so I don't want to assume he isn't hungry when he could be.

Baby Clothes, Boucy's, Play Gyms....OH MY!

the amount of baby clothes and equipment at our house is ridiculous! Yes I brought this on myself because I wanted somewhere to put the babies if we were in the basement, the main floor or upstairs. And I was right...it is hard enough to get 3 kids up and down steps, let alone lugging something for them to sleep or play in :-P

But now they are growing out of some of it. Kaleb is in the exersaucer and seems to like it :-) Jakob isn't far behind him. And then of course the jumper has to come out....So needless to say, the rest of the stuff has to GO! And the clothes...my goodness!!!

I have listed some stuff on craigslist....which in theory sounds great but I am learning that not everyone shows up when they say they will. Or there is no follow through....very frustrating! And I don't want to sell the big stuff on ebay because it too much of a hassle to ship *sigh* There is always the Mom's of Multiple's resale in the spring :-) We thought about doing our own garage sale but I think that people don't bring a lot of cash to garage sales so I don't think we could that much for stuff as we would on craigslist.

The clothes are taking over our closets! Although I have some put aside for friends, other stuff to donate and some to sell :-P And maternity clothes also...WHEW!!! But happily I do know the 2nd time around that there is an end in sight for all this stuff to one day be gone! Obviously it will replaced by other things that the boys MUST have but maybe it will smaller? lol

more snow? nooooooooo

ok I am officially ready for spring.... we have had 3 total snow falls not amounting to much and I am already tired of it. Not that it matters much because I am not able to get out that much with all three kids on my own ( I still do but the cold weather makes it that much more difficult to make sure everyone is warm, so much effort to get us all dressed lol) but still! I want to go outside, go to park, walk and just get some nice warm fresh air. But I would imagine we have about what....8 more weeks of this cold weather? YUCK!

And it gives me time to sort through all my maternity clothes (That I will NEVER need again), the good stuff is being sent to a friend and the rest I hope to sell on craigslist. And the baby clothes....I do think I could open our own store! We have so many baby clothes! I am going to try and consign some of it but not sure I will get my money's worth, we shall see!

gtg bedtime for me! night night!

Sleep "training"

So life with 3 under 3 is definitely interesting...its exciting, challenging, stressful, fabulous and crazy all at the same time! Never a dull moment in our house :-)

I have been waiting for the twins to turn 4 months because at that point I am comfortable letting them 'sleep train' aka cry it out and learn to put themselves to sleep for naps/bedtime.

So I have been stressing over this since they were born...Gavin was a great napper and night time sleeper once I finally figured out his sleepy cues and how often he needed a nap. A friend had suggested I read "Healthy Sleep Habits Happy Child" It  was very boring and dry but had good information. However it got to a part where it said to let baby cry...and I was outraged! I couldn't let my first born child cry by himself in his crib! I immediately put the book down refusing to do what I just read. Another month went by of Gavin only napping his swing, us rocking him all the time only for him to wake up when laid down in his crib, no naps at all, etc. It was AWFUL! I went to get my hair cut and my hairdresser who had 3 boys asked me if I had read the book, I said yes but I can't let him cry! She said she didn't read the book with her first son and he is an awful sleeper but she read it with her youngest two and they were great sleepers. At this point, I was desperate lol So I decided...I CAN DO THIS! I did it and while it was difficult, completely worth it! I knew it was important for Gavin to learn how to put himself to sleep and how else could he learn unless I gave him the opportunity?

So when the twins were 4 months...I second guessed myself. Maybe they weren't ready yet, should I wait? They had been napping in their bouncy seats and weren't taking very good naps in them anymore so I thought it was definitely time to move naps to cribs but could they put themselves to sleep? I decided to try Kaleb first...he did it, no problem! A few days later, I let Jakob try....a little more of a challenge but it has been a week and he is getting the hang of it :-)

But they both started out doing what Gavin always did...40 minutes on the dot and they are awake. It seems to be the end of their sleep cycle and until they learn to sooth themselves through that sleep cycle, they will continue to wake after 40 minutes...this means LOTS of trips up and down the stairs for me LOL But I do give them at least 10-15 minutes to try and go back to sleep. Kaleb can get through it and Jakob sometimes but at least they are learning :-)

No paci's, no swaddles....just their nap routines every hour to one and half hours and they go to sleep. Did I mention how nice this is? and less stressful? And I get my exercise going up and down the stairs all.day.long :-P Can't beat that!

Another plus to them not only getting better rest in their cribs...I get some one on one time with Gavin which I love! I miss that time with him. I wouldn't trade my life for anything but it was quite a transition going from one child to three....we will save that discussion for another day :-)

I remember when I was pregnant...Marcin and I would always talk about what a great laidback baby Gavin was and what were the chances of the twins being the same? We were pretty sure it was slim to none but we were wrong...Jakob and Kaleb are so much fun! They are healthy, happy, laidback and seem to be on their way to being good sleepers too. We are truly blessed with our family :-)

Finally...took a little time to get this started :-)

I have been wanting to do this for ages but for some reason couldn't find the time :-P

Not to say there will ever be tons of interesting things on here, mostly myself reflecting on life with 3 under 3 :-) And of course, lots of pictures of the kiddos! Must have those!

So if you have time to catch up with me on here, I will do my best to keep it active and post when I have time!

Thanks for reading!