A picture is worth a thousand.......

This is why a mom of a two-year old need not buy Dior mascara. Yes, it's the best, yes, it works wonders, but in the end, it will be tasted, so stick with the Maybelline! Jack decided to paint himself and the bathroom walls a bit last weekend....this was while, mind you, he had a sinus infection and was running at half speed. I was in the shower for about 3 minutes during this escapade.

I missed a week of blogging, mostly due to a series of small calamities. Jack got sick on a Saturday and luckily, this was an "other" Saturday and his pediatrician's office saw him on VERY short notice. God bless 'em. Sinus infection, etc., but post-antibiotics, he's fine. He also had his 2-year well check up this week, he's 37 inches tall and 33 pounds. If you believe that doubling a 2-year-old's height at two equals his adult height, Jack will be around 6' 1''. Not as big as Daddy, taller than Mamma, more inline with the relatives. (And he had his flu shot and DID NOT CRY. Couldn't believe it. I almost did.)

Then, on Tuesday, I came down with a GI virus (yes, that's the official diagnosis and yes, I did take my flu shot, apparently it would not cover such illnesses. I don't understand medicine.) Long story short, I got dehydrated and had to go into the hospital for an IV. Once I got to the hospital, they also discovered I was having small contractions, brought on by the dehydration, so I had medicine for that as well, resulting in a day that was a real picnic. J was a champion, Nana took care of our little one and 7 hours later we released and fine. They gave me a few days of an anti-nausea drug (perfectly safe during pregnancy), and I didn't realize how often I am nauseous even without a virus. Too bad you can't take that medicine all the way through! The twins are kicking furiously and fine. They need to cook a little longer, full lung development occurs at week 32 (two weeks to go!)

Two days later, I interviewed with the new head of our department at work. He's a twin as well, we had a nice talk. I am hopeful that as things move forward the flex and part time work options will come to pass. Keep fingers crossed!

The c-section has been scheduled for 11:30 am on December 30. New Year's Eve in the maternity ward, J is undoubtedly SO excited! I'll have to sneak in a Jack Daniels and diet Coke, all will be well.

Later in the week, J made a push for Lauren instead of Claire. I'm still thinking about it. Love to all, thanks to everyone, particularly Nana for all the help this week. We'll hope to stay out of trouble for the next little while.....

For our third Halloween, Jack went as a Giraffe, in homage to his lovey, Raffee. My first lovey was a giraffe I used to chew on in my toddler years. I bought Jack a Build-a-Bear giraffe for his first Christmas and I'm proud to say he takes after my love of the safari. No sleeping occurs without Raffee's presence.

Overall, we had a pretty good Halloween, just visiting around 5 or so houses. He had a good time though. Who isn't happy with Halloween Dots? I believe his favorites are Skittles and M&Ms, though. As usual, he was the singing frog, repeatedly saying "Trick or Treat" all day on Friday but not once when he got to a door. Oh, well. He's a sweet giraffe nonetheless.

This week marks Week 29, thank god. Week 32 is safety zone for lung capacity, 28 was safety zone for brain development. We're trying for week 36 or 37, depends on how things look at that point. But, we'll hope for the best. I bought coats and onesies and washed them this weekend. When Emily arrives we'll work on the second crib and we have one of the bassinettes put together. We have a lot to do before they arrive, I need to make a list!

I usually love election day, being somewhat of a poll watcher and the like. However, this year I have had enough. Too long of an election season, too long on the commercials, too many debates....particularly long primaries. I wish that Hillary had had one-tenth of Sarah Palin's personality, we'd be looking at a different election. My old liberal sensibilities have perked up from time to time, god knows Obama can preach with the best of them, but I really hope that he picks experienced, knowledgable people to help him. At the very least, the race made people take a second look at politics and it seems to invigorate a lot of people who would have otherwise not voted. So, for that reason, I fall into the hope camp this year. Noting, however, that as a family with a small business, McCain is the better fiscal choice, as we run the numbers. People should not be penalized for providing JOBS! But, I digress.

Looking forward to Thanksgiving!

Thomas the Train

All boy as he is, Jack dearly loves all cars, trucks and trains. His favorite, however, is Thomas the Train. Thomas visited our town this weekend and we, along with all the other preschool-aged children in the vicinity, took a ride. The Thomas people need to work on their brand image and packaging, but Jack had a good time, which is all that matters. And hats were purchased, what else could one want? (Perhaps a location not located in East St. Louis, but we're too picky?)

The doctor's appointment went well, the twins look good and are on a good growth track. Should everything continue as it is, it looks like the twins will arrive the week after Christmas. It will be good to be home for the holidays, despite my growing discomfort. Long time friends will note that I've come a long way from my infertility days in a by-gone era, so I take nothing for granted so far as family and children go, but seriously....in addition to not being able to sleep horizontially, eat anything much and a variety of stomach aliments....we're adding to the list of discomforts excruitating charley horses in my calves at night. J, the hero that he is, has been waking up and applying massages and flexing my feet and the like, but this is all becoming quite tiring. The end result(s) will be fantastic and worth every minute, but the long slog toward December 27 seems quite daunting. Any tips to relieve some of these ailments is greatly appreciated.

Work continues to challenge with the merger hopefully going through by the end of the year, which will allow for some more certainty in all things. Wishing for independent wealth today!

Love to all,

More Fall Fun!

Fall is, by far, my favorite season....the returning to school, smell of leaves, smores, football games, mums, sweaters, I love it all. Topped off with the celebration of another year with our precious Jack, definitely the greatest time of year.

Two of these pictures are from Eckert's Fun Farm, visited for a neighbor's birthday recently. Jack embraces the Red Baron (a little fast for my taste) ride, rejects entirely the pony ride (much more tame). No amount of coaxing from dad would entice him to ride. Oh, well, he's still such a little guy.

Jack is really conversing with us now. Upon our usual morning wake up call at 6-ish, he states, "Want Milk," and "See Elmo," with quite a bit of emphasis. He did say, "Thank you, Daddy," this morning when J brought him his milk, which was quite endearing. Oh, and after days of wrestling with the concept of crying the kid out in his new 'big boy bed,' we put him down on Sunday night, didn't lay down with him and after only two times of having to put him back in his bed, he went to SLEEP. BY HIMSELF. Without crying. He even told me, "I close the eyes, Mommy." (As J says, "The inmates are running the asylum.").

Friday is the next ultrasound and doctor's appointment. Fingers crossed that all goes well. Next week will be 7 months -- about 6 weeks or so to go. We're starting to buy some girly things, onesies and the like. We bought some sleepers at Target last week, made the whole situation become more real to us all!

JACK TURNS 2 AND OTHER TALES.....

No, I haven't blogged in a looong time. For shame. I blame the terrible 2s and pregnancy. Nonetheless, let me catch up. Our wonderful son celebrated his 2nd birthday, complete with cake, ice cream and bounce houses. He had a great time at his party, most of our friends and the neighbors dropped by for some fun. Jack is moving incredibly fast on the learning curve of all things.......conversing, eating, sleeping and learning to use the potty.

A few weeks ago, he moved out of his crib into the "big boy" bed. While this is a great stride, we seem to have regressed to needing help going to sleep at night.....to J and my horror, the situation could be pointing toward another 'Crying Out' scenario, which we dread. Me in particular, because the only way we were able to do it at age 1 1/2, was when we were fortified by a little vino (for us, not Jack!). Gestating as I am, this crying out attempt will make transition MORE difficult!

Jack tells us what he wants and is starting to have little conversations with us. It's truly a miracle to see this little guy grow up. With a promise to blog more frequently.....

We have moved into week 26 of the twin pregnancy. Doctor thinks things are going very well and he even let me stay working full time for a bit longer. Our next ultrasound and doctor's appointment are next Friday, hopefully we'll have more good news then. At this point, we think we'll have a Brooke and Claire. (No one reflect back on the Brat Pack movies and quote Judd Nelson telling Molly Ringwald that "Claire's a fat girl's name." I've heard it, I remember it, thanks. I'm still not changing my mind).

TWIN GIRLS

J and I found out on Friday that Jack's little siblings are girls! Thankfully, they are very healthy and all looks fine. We are still a bit shocked, as I had really assumed that we'd have more boys (I'm not sure why, but I was really certain.....so much for maternal instinct!)

We have been talking to Jack about the twins, he now points to my belly and says, "Babies sleeping," and then kisses them. VERY cute kid we have. He is also astute and knowing when he's getting a time out. When he gets caught these days, he looks at me and says, "No time out, Mama." Hard not to laugh!

36-37 weeks is optimal for twins, which means the week of Christmas or shortly thereafter. More than halfway there!

Send your girl names our way! We have some ideas, but will take suggestions......

Joie de Vivre

Much as I cannnot believe it, our Stinker turns 2 in September! As you can tell, he is embracing the toddler independence with spirit. He is a darling boy (I'm not at all biased).

I was the proud owner of an imaginary friend as a young child, mine took the form of a purple mouse. Where I came up with this, who knows? I had the purple mouse in my pocket until I was around 4, upon which I 'lost' it. I cried and carried on for days. Not much poor mom and dad could do to console at that point. I seem to have passed on the imaginary friend trait to Jack, who constantly shows us "Monkeys," in the closet, in the bedroom, under his bed, sometimes in the kitchen cabinets. Our wonderful nanny thought maybe we had a video or went to the zoo recently, but no. Now that we've told him there are no monkeys inside the house, he is now sadly saying, "No monkeys." I feel we've disappointed him. A trip to the zoo is certainly in order for the weekend. Happy Friday!