Yep that's right....Marcin and I are headed to Rehoboth Beach today AND tonight while the kiddos stay home. And would you also believe this will be our first night away together since before Gavin was born? Long overdue but I just couldn't leave. I can't explain it, perhaps it was my Type A personality thinking no one can take care of kids like we can? lol That is silly but that is the way my brain works, what can I say? I am also much more relaxed now that J&K were born. I really didn't have much of a choice in that matter because Marcin and I are clearly outnumbered, so I had to learn to pick my battles. I think that the second child or children in our case makes you more relaxed, or at least it did for me. You would think I would be more stressed being that they are twins lol
Marcin may have been ok with leaving before now, he talks a big game but when we left all three around dinner/bedtime for a friends evening engagement party back in November, he was more worried than I was! Dinner time and bedtime are pretty crazy at our house but my sister in law had it under control! She is also staying with them tonight and she told me yesterday that I am only allotted 3 texts between today and Sunday. hmph...just 3!!! I will have to make sure to make them worth it, hehe:-)
I am pretty excited to take the convertible to the beach and have NOTHING to do but whatever we decide to do on a moments notice! We don't have to worry about anyone being hungry or needing to get to bed, meltdowns, etc. One day, maybe we will be ready for TWO nights away =0
The rest of life is crazy as always. I have been waiting for it all to slow down since January and now it is already mid- June. How is that even possible?!
Marcin is working, working, working. Whether at his office or at our house. So much we need to do but every weekend there is something going and we haven't had time to do things we want to do around here : / After this weekend, we don't have many plans so hopefully in the next couple of weeks we can get the rocks for the landscaping, make it to Ikea, get started on Gavin's birthday, etc.
Myself, I am a personal chauffeur for 3 sweet boys and I love every minute of it. Well....most of the time. 85% of the time. Last week was rough but we survived, like always! I have been trying to go through all the clothing I have for the boys because I usually start shopping for them in advance. For example, right now I am trying to find fall/winter stuff for them. A friend of mine here started sharing her great finds at Goodwill, check out her blog http://themagicthatisthrift.blogspot.com/. I haven't been to a Goodwill store since college and that was just for silly halloween costumes! Even then, we wouldn't have been caught shopping there...no way! My friend kept sharing her great finds on Facebook so finally I decided I would see what the fuss was all about. My trips were well worth it! I pretty much found the boys fall/winter wardrobe for $125 for everything! It was all the brands I like the best like Carters, Old Navy, Gap, Children's Place, Gymboree, Osh Kosh, some Polo shirts for Gavin. I also found snow bibs with tag still on them for $4.00!!! Matching winter coats for J&K that looked they may have been worn a hand full of times, if that. Some of the things I found still had tags on them. The rest were all in gently used condition and no worse for wear than Gavin's hand me downs. Goodwill also has sales! As if the items aren't already inexpensive they offer incentives on some days. And coupons!!! I was checking out at Goodwill in Elkton and someone gave me their $5 coupon they weren't using. THANK YOU! For myself, I even found a couple of things....super cute Limited bermuda shorts for $3.00. Some American Eagle and Gap shirts for around the house, what I like to refer as my 'mom shirts' lol Last weekend with my grandmother, I found a very nice dark red Calvin Klein wool coat for $4.00. I am taking it to dry cleaners and it will be like I bought it brand new. So needless to say, I am addicted! I do love a good deal and you can't beat kid clothing for that cheap when they are going to grow out of it so quickly!
I also went back to the plastic surgeon this past week for a second consult. It has been about a year since my first consult. The first consult was alot of info and pretty overwhelming. I had some time to wrap my head around things and thought of more questions. I wanted more details on the procedure and recovery. It still sounds scary as hell but if it all works out, I will be going under the knife in January/February. I am so damn excited to get rid of the kangaroo pouch and have pants that will fit me normally! I have drawers full of jeans, pants, cute shorts that fit fine except for my waist because of the dreaded pouch *Sigh* It is a relief to know that its existence is coming to an end!
Gavin is the funniest kid! He went to his first summer camp this past week. The first day he was not crazy about staying. I kept asking him to go play with his new friends and he would reply, "no thank you." Such sweet manners:-) Finally the camp director told him that if he stayed, they were going to play on the big playground. He was sold. I, of course, felt like a horrible mother for the next 3 hours because I left my child somewhere he didn't want to be. In true Gavin fashion, I went to pick him up and he didn't want to leave. Does he realize the guilt trip he gave me when I dropped him off and now he wants to stay?! sheesh He had a blast all week. The Director told me mid-week how mature he is for his age and that he was so helpful to the camp counselors. Always nice to hear good things about your kids :-) He is doing 3 more camps this summer. When I was planning the camps, I thought it may be too much but I think we made the right decision. He has something to do and I only have 2 kids to contend with for a morning. This makes going to the park, running errands or just hanging out with J&K much easier!
Gavin is finished with speech for the summer. They follow the school schedule so he may start back up in the fall. He will have at least one session to determine whether he needs to continue or not. He had four sessions and the therapists was impressed with his progress. He was having some issues with 'sh' and 'ch.' When he pronounces those consonants, it comes from his nose instead of his mouth. Hard to explain but he is fully aware of it and even will try to correct it himself if he notices that he said it.
I am sure I have said it before but Kaleb is just a big ole cuddly teddy bear! People assume he is the most dominant twin and roughest because he is bigger but it is the complete opposite. When he gets mad, will throw whatever is closest to him across the room ( working hard to break this habit!) or he will yell at you and walk away. Otherwise, he wants to sit and cuddle or play. He is learning so many words lately! Much to our relief :-) For such a big boy, he has the softest voice when he speaks. I have a feeling if he was evaluated for speech before 18 months he would have qualified like Jakob but in the meantime we are using Jakob's speech therapist ideas for both of them. He loves to say 'mama' and last week we were at the house and he just kept repeatedly saying "mama mama mama mama mama" as I replied every time, "yes kaleb? yes kaleb? yes kaleb?" Finally he came around the corner in kitchen and said, "hi" and took off running while giggling LOL He has pretty much mastered climbing most play sets including the big ones at the parks, oh vey!
Jakob started speech at the end of May. His speech therapist is great! He hit it off with her right away, which I was very grateful for. You never know if he is going to laugh hysterically or cry, so it was nice for him to take to someone easily for a change :-P She has been very helpful in teaching me things such as what is appropriate language skills at his age, how to help him pronounce his words correctly, etc. Jakob has quite a few words but it would hard for anyone else to understand them. He will mostly imitate the words you say but when he says them, his mouth and tongue are not creating the correct shape to pronounce them correctly. I asked the therapist why this is and she explained that due to the number of ear infections he had and the two sets of tubes, chances are the way he his pronouncing his words are due to him not being able to hear them pronounced correctly because his hearing was never 100% with all the ear infections. So really at this point it is more of a learned behavior and we need to teach the correct way to form his words. I am also working on him and Kaleb a PEC book so they can use the pictures to communicate with us and hopefully decrease the frustration between them trying to communicate their wants/needs with us. Before Jakob started therapy, a friend suggested this but we weren't sure if it hinder their speech. The speech therapist said in fact, it helps their speech because once they bring a picture of a drink to you, you can reiterate every time, "I want a drink" allowing the kids (and parents) more teachable moments with language.
Jakob has also earned the nickname Twinkle Toes because the kid is always dancing or galloping around. He also runs on the balls of his feet, super cute!
I am pretty sure I have bored you enough and the kids are waking up so I better get my crazy day started! I need to pack my bag to, yippee!!!!!!!!!!!
Marcin may have been ok with leaving before now, he talks a big game but when we left all three around dinner/bedtime for a friends evening engagement party back in November, he was more worried than I was! Dinner time and bedtime are pretty crazy at our house but my sister in law had it under control! She is also staying with them tonight and she told me yesterday that I am only allotted 3 texts between today and Sunday. hmph...just 3!!! I will have to make sure to make them worth it, hehe:-)
I am pretty excited to take the convertible to the beach and have NOTHING to do but whatever we decide to do on a moments notice! We don't have to worry about anyone being hungry or needing to get to bed, meltdowns, etc. One day, maybe we will be ready for TWO nights away =0
The rest of life is crazy as always. I have been waiting for it all to slow down since January and now it is already mid- June. How is that even possible?!
Marcin is working, working, working. Whether at his office or at our house. So much we need to do but every weekend there is something going and we haven't had time to do things we want to do around here : / After this weekend, we don't have many plans so hopefully in the next couple of weeks we can get the rocks for the landscaping, make it to Ikea, get started on Gavin's birthday, etc.
Myself, I am a personal chauffeur for 3 sweet boys and I love every minute of it. Well....most of the time. 85% of the time. Last week was rough but we survived, like always! I have been trying to go through all the clothing I have for the boys because I usually start shopping for them in advance. For example, right now I am trying to find fall/winter stuff for them. A friend of mine here started sharing her great finds at Goodwill, check out her blog http://themagicthatisthrift.blogspot.com/. I haven't been to a Goodwill store since college and that was just for silly halloween costumes! Even then, we wouldn't have been caught shopping there...no way! My friend kept sharing her great finds on Facebook so finally I decided I would see what the fuss was all about. My trips were well worth it! I pretty much found the boys fall/winter wardrobe for $125 for everything! It was all the brands I like the best like Carters, Old Navy, Gap, Children's Place, Gymboree, Osh Kosh, some Polo shirts for Gavin. I also found snow bibs with tag still on them for $4.00!!! Matching winter coats for J&K that looked they may have been worn a hand full of times, if that. Some of the things I found still had tags on them. The rest were all in gently used condition and no worse for wear than Gavin's hand me downs. Goodwill also has sales! As if the items aren't already inexpensive they offer incentives on some days. And coupons!!! I was checking out at Goodwill in Elkton and someone gave me their $5 coupon they weren't using. THANK YOU! For myself, I even found a couple of things....super cute Limited bermuda shorts for $3.00. Some American Eagle and Gap shirts for around the house, what I like to refer as my 'mom shirts' lol Last weekend with my grandmother, I found a very nice dark red Calvin Klein wool coat for $4.00. I am taking it to dry cleaners and it will be like I bought it brand new. So needless to say, I am addicted! I do love a good deal and you can't beat kid clothing for that cheap when they are going to grow out of it so quickly!
I also went back to the plastic surgeon this past week for a second consult. It has been about a year since my first consult. The first consult was alot of info and pretty overwhelming. I had some time to wrap my head around things and thought of more questions. I wanted more details on the procedure and recovery. It still sounds scary as hell but if it all works out, I will be going under the knife in January/February. I am so damn excited to get rid of the kangaroo pouch and have pants that will fit me normally! I have drawers full of jeans, pants, cute shorts that fit fine except for my waist because of the dreaded pouch *Sigh* It is a relief to know that its existence is coming to an end!
Gavin is the funniest kid! He went to his first summer camp this past week. The first day he was not crazy about staying. I kept asking him to go play with his new friends and he would reply, "no thank you." Such sweet manners:-) Finally the camp director told him that if he stayed, they were going to play on the big playground. He was sold. I, of course, felt like a horrible mother for the next 3 hours because I left my child somewhere he didn't want to be. In true Gavin fashion, I went to pick him up and he didn't want to leave. Does he realize the guilt trip he gave me when I dropped him off and now he wants to stay?! sheesh He had a blast all week. The Director told me mid-week how mature he is for his age and that he was so helpful to the camp counselors. Always nice to hear good things about your kids :-) He is doing 3 more camps this summer. When I was planning the camps, I thought it may be too much but I think we made the right decision. He has something to do and I only have 2 kids to contend with for a morning. This makes going to the park, running errands or just hanging out with J&K much easier!
Gavin is finished with speech for the summer. They follow the school schedule so he may start back up in the fall. He will have at least one session to determine whether he needs to continue or not. He had four sessions and the therapists was impressed with his progress. He was having some issues with 'sh' and 'ch.' When he pronounces those consonants, it comes from his nose instead of his mouth. Hard to explain but he is fully aware of it and even will try to correct it himself if he notices that he said it.
I am sure I have said it before but Kaleb is just a big ole cuddly teddy bear! People assume he is the most dominant twin and roughest because he is bigger but it is the complete opposite. When he gets mad, will throw whatever is closest to him across the room ( working hard to break this habit!) or he will yell at you and walk away. Otherwise, he wants to sit and cuddle or play. He is learning so many words lately! Much to our relief :-) For such a big boy, he has the softest voice when he speaks. I have a feeling if he was evaluated for speech before 18 months he would have qualified like Jakob but in the meantime we are using Jakob's speech therapist ideas for both of them. He loves to say 'mama' and last week we were at the house and he just kept repeatedly saying "mama mama mama mama mama" as I replied every time, "yes kaleb? yes kaleb? yes kaleb?" Finally he came around the corner in kitchen and said, "hi" and took off running while giggling LOL He has pretty much mastered climbing most play sets including the big ones at the parks, oh vey!
Jakob started speech at the end of May. His speech therapist is great! He hit it off with her right away, which I was very grateful for. You never know if he is going to laugh hysterically or cry, so it was nice for him to take to someone easily for a change :-P She has been very helpful in teaching me things such as what is appropriate language skills at his age, how to help him pronounce his words correctly, etc. Jakob has quite a few words but it would hard for anyone else to understand them. He will mostly imitate the words you say but when he says them, his mouth and tongue are not creating the correct shape to pronounce them correctly. I asked the therapist why this is and she explained that due to the number of ear infections he had and the two sets of tubes, chances are the way he his pronouncing his words are due to him not being able to hear them pronounced correctly because his hearing was never 100% with all the ear infections. So really at this point it is more of a learned behavior and we need to teach the correct way to form his words. I am also working on him and Kaleb a PEC book so they can use the pictures to communicate with us and hopefully decrease the frustration between them trying to communicate their wants/needs with us. Before Jakob started therapy, a friend suggested this but we weren't sure if it hinder their speech. The speech therapist said in fact, it helps their speech because once they bring a picture of a drink to you, you can reiterate every time, "I want a drink" allowing the kids (and parents) more teachable moments with language.
Jakob has also earned the nickname Twinkle Toes because the kid is always dancing or galloping around. He also runs on the balls of his feet, super cute!
I am pretty sure I have bored you enough and the kids are waking up so I better get my crazy day started! I need to pack my bag to, yippee!!!!!!!!!!!
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