One Week, Two Days To Go

I am honored that good friends use my deficient blog for family updates, I apologize for the lack of entries. Since the last entry, I have decided to begin a Sysphian (I'll have to check the spelling, but you know, the greek god who rolled a rock up the hill.....) task of undertaking the Illinois bar exam. Before anyone gets too excited, I don't want to discuss it or its ramifications other than to say that it is a chance of redeeming my lifelong academic record and I am honored to have a chance to rectify a long ago mistake. My state of mind and anxiety levels being much better today, plus a supportive spouse who is an attorney and a good one at that, has left me better prepared than ever before. I don't have the time to devote to it that I would have long ago, but I am leaner and more intent, so I hope that I am successful next week. Attorneys get a lot of flak for what they do, but after having this time to study again, I am astonished at the practice of law. To have a system where our duals are set in courtrooms with generally little actual bloodshed, is truly an amazing accomplishment. And to have a set of people in society who are dedicated to upholding the Constitution, at whatever cost, is mindboggling. Sure, there are many, many faults in the system, but overall, the upholding of the backbone of the U.S. legal system is an honorable and difficult task. So. There.

The kiddos are doing well. In addition to the rest of this next week's stress, the twins are having ear tube surgery tomorrow, which makes me sick to my stomach. We have good doctors, so I am hopeful that we will be all right. We are scheduled to be at the hospital at 7 a.m., which means we leave at the crack of dawn. This is going to be a LONG DAY. Jack is great and starting to be good to his sisters. (most of the time). Caroline and Brookie are walking. In the pics, the tribe destroying my pantry and the tribe with Daddy, post bath.

Christmas is coming......

Haven't blogged in quite some time! Apologies. Children are all well. Brooke and Caroline are 1! Great fun was had by all for their birthday. Jackson was in his first holiday production and jumped up and down throughout his two songs. We all laughed. And by "all" I mean everyone in the audience of 200. Sigh. We seem to have a class clown on our hands. This is what life is all about...the transference of knowledge to children and what you get back. All else pales. Merry Christmas to all.

Thanksgiving and Other Fun

We have, as usual, a great deal to give thanks for in 2009. We are ultimately grateful for health, particularly the health of our twinnies, who were 6 weeks premature. And the fact that we have been blessed financially so that I can take a year off, which I was thrilled to be able to do. Now, just to find the right new job. I have nearly given up on the lobbying business, for a number of reasons, but also because I'm just not sure it is the right time. Not the right time and no clients, so you see the struggle. I am having a bit of a tough time mentally, though it could be seasonal. However, with all our blessings, it is a wasted emotion! In the pictures, Aunt Emmy holds Brookie as she screams, Jack and his cousin Noelle enjoy Thanksgiving dinner, the twinnies are mobile, Jack and Dad at the Zoo (yes, we went in November, it was ridiculously warm) and Dad and Caroline at Thanksgiving. Also, Jack convenes his "Round Table" of siblings. It's only a matter of time before we lose all control. We're outnumbered, after all!

On Being Three

Jackson frustrates me so much sometimes I really want to cry. He still needs a nap or he loses his mind by 4:30 and has a complete melt down. Of course, he fights his nap every day. It has now been an hour and 20 minutes of arguing about taking a nap, going potty, throwing fits, asking for snacks, asking for a video (NO), asking for new pillows (? Apparently we can get these at Target, so I have been informed.) I hear silence upstairs, but I am untrusting. He's probably just rigging up a trap for me. Negotiation on behalf of corporations, easy. Three year olds? I am defeated. It is so frustrating because I have this time off, I want to spend time doing fun things, like going to the park (who am I kidding, it's raining here.) and we never have time to do these things because I spend 2 hours a day trying to get the kid to nap. And if he doesn't nap, the rest of the afternoon just trying to engage him. IN ANYTHING. Without a nap, he unable to receive any sort of comfort, be that in the form of a snack, TV show, painting, building with blocks. You name it, it just doesn't happen. And so, my fantasy of staying home with the kiddos, is, among other fantasies, shattered. Not to mention that Jack becomes the center of all things and the little babies don't get enough attention.

Ah, the worries. I am exhausted. And, for those readers I don't speak to frequently, we didn't land our first client. They went with another firm, which, of course, casts all sorts of self doubt into work. Ugh. Honestly, I was a bit shocked. Too confident. Why don't I just stick with my general downtrodden view? Things are much easier to take. Ah, well. Try, try, try again. We are under consideration by my old employer, should hear something back by week after Thanksgiving. Though I don't really want to enter that fray again. But, beggars cannot be choosers. Footsteps upstairs. Kid is staying at preschool for afternoon session tomorrow.

Eleven Months Old

On a shocking day in June 2008, we were informed by our doctor that we were having twins. He gave us quite the doom story, "Twins are difficult and twin pregnancies are tough. This is going to be a long road." He's a professor in his spare time and prone to such monologues from time to time, so we didn't pay him much mind. He was right, but he did discount the joy. Having twins these last 11 months has been life changing. My career is completely in disarray, but I am much more fulfilled today. It is just a different life and one that I frankly had not contemplated. We are thrilled that our little ones are doing well, all three of them. J and I are still shocked that our house is so full! For an only child and one with one sibling, this is a lot of kiddos!

In the pictures, Caroline is standing by herself and she is close to walking. Brookie is loving on dad. Jackson is enjoying the construction zone at the Magic House and this is a common sight at 10 p.m. on most nights at our house. Life is short, but it is wide. (Rebecca Wells)

What Am I? Crazy?

It's exactly a week before our big client interview and I am swinging between thinking that we have this in the bag and "Am I crazy? This company has 22,000 employees and some of the best known brands in the world. Geez." Well, let's hope I land on confidence next Tuesday. Barb and I are flying up and back, which will assist in the child care situation for all involved. We've coordinated our outfits enough so that we don't arrive looking like twins or clashing too badly. At the end of the day, isn't it about the shoes? :)
We seem to have weathered this round of the flu. Last Friday, Jack went to the doctor for a sinus infection. Antibiotics again. Tomorrow the twins get checked to make sure their ear infections from two weeks ago cleared up. We might as well have a standing appointment at the doctor's office. At the present time, everyone seems to be healthy.
In the pictures, the 3 munchkins in the playroom, Jack and Grandma at the pumpkin patch and the twins play with their stand up music table.

Chicago, Potty Training and Emergency Rooms

The delay in blog updates occured because I went to Chicago without my camera charger, then couldn't locate my battery once I came home, etc. So, it took awhile to get back to my basic photography. J and I took Jack to Chicago on a business trip. While J conferred with his client, Jack and I went to the Shedd Aquarium. We enjoyed the carribean reef, the catfish, penguins and beluga whales. We also saw some dolphins. We did not enjoy, sadly, the world renown Dolphin Show, simply because it was lunch time and Jack waits for no one. The lunch opportunities were slow and meager at the aquarium, so we went outside. We had nachos while we waited for a water taxi. The water taxi was quite the harrowing ride as the winds were up that day and it was more than a little rocky. Just thankful we made it the short way to Navy Pier. We then had a real lunch and did a little shopping before we went to the Chicago Children's Museum. The Children's Museum was the hit of the day. We built forts and skyscrapers and painted. Good fun was had by all. The drive home took seven hours. Really, no additional information needed there. Jack was a trooper, J and I were wrecks. Jack, however, had a personal DVD player and his new Dora videos, so we thank goodness for technology. All in all, a successful trip.

Our potty training continues to go well, though we seem to have quite a few accidents, or perhaps it is just experimentation with pee. Our hallway shower curtain had odd wet spots that turned yellow, following inspection, seems that Jack is testing his range. Boys will be boys.

For Halloween, Jack is going to be Mizzou's Truman the Tiger, Brooke and Caroline are going to be MU cheerleaders. Too cute. In pic, Brookie is trying on her outfit.

Yesterday, Brookie and I spent the afternoon in the emergency room due to her 104 temperature while on antibiotics for her ear infection. I will say, though, that again, Cardinal Glennon did a great job and they get rave reviews from me. She has the flu, though not likely H1N1. She is on Tamiflu, which worked wonders and she slept through the night.