KOO KOO KANGAROO

It's a right of passage to get autographed by your favorite singer(s) at your first concert right?

 Right

 the hottest concert I have ever been to in my life... free concert at the library, which while pretty big was also pretty small for how many people were there! and we were up near the front!

 The twinners were beyond enamoured. I think they were confused as to why it was so loud but once they recognized the tunes and their favorite songs, they were jamming out! or at least Lo was, I know because I held him the whole concert!

 (right before Bryan snatched the binky from Lo's mouth and put the mike up to his mouth to finish the song! Baby boy was star struck!!)

 Babies, freshly signed, and little A throwing a fit because she was the only one to not get her head signed (and I was calmly trying to explain to her that they had already moved onto the next group. And while I know it's not my best angle, yes I do still look pregnant thanks((which must terrify people who see me with my four kids in tow like this!)) )

 Props to Drew who came straight from work in his workclothes, and my Kron fam for coming to hold babies up so they could see their (six foot tall!) idols! It was a really really fun night and I think the kids will remember this for a long time! Such a fun, energizing show and two guys who are really genuinely sweet and hilarious.

First world blogging problems and THREE boys in ONE room!

Remember how 99.9% of my blogging is done on my phone?

Well something happened over the last week, probably one of the many times on our trip that I let the boys play with my phone to keep my sanity, and my blogger app got deleted. It has happened before. Then I went to the app store and....

(unrelated but super cute puppy and adorable middle child shot to get me through the next part.

NO BLOGGER APP FOR IPHONE.

Whatttttttttttttttttttttttttttttttttttttttttttttt.

We researched it and I guess I am one of like nobody who uses the blogger for iphone app so they stopped making it. I can still access blogger through the browser on my phone but what's the point in that, I may as well use the browser on my computer, I can actually see it without glasses here.

Good thing Drew and I have an insatiable appetite for baking baked goods....

So here I am, emailing pictures to myself and blogging on an actual computer (which is admittedly probably better for my little fingers to handle than typing everything on my phone but still... access to pictures was sooo much easier on my phone!!!) and trying to figure out blogging. Again. If it is still worth it, my blog is so silly, blah blah blah, first world problems. I'll figure it out. I've been blogging too long (9 years!) to just stop cold turkey. I love doing it and I love having those memories easily accessible to myself and loved ones.

Onto more pressing matters. After much fighting (like every night for the last forever) of the big kids, we (I) decided to separate them. All THREE boys are now in a 10x10 foot room! Okay, it's not that small...but still. Our IKEA needs to be built ASAP so we can get those babies a bunk bed! ;)

 Thankfully I am a genius and as soon as we found out we were having twins I basically ripped the closet doors off their hinges in the off chance that we would be needing the closet space in this room. Enter the dresser...

 And while it feels silly to have an unused bed (on the left, little A's is on the right), it will make for a good place for A guest (hey, it's a single bed, which is about all that can fit in there!) for now, and we will reconfigure the bedrooms thing next summer when the boys are out of their cribs (I want to say IF but I have ZERO experience with kids in cribs after age 2, since the big kids were both out of theirs at that time... but then again my kids have never tried climbing out so maybe that will be what the babies end up doing?? time will tell!)

 Littlest Lo who we have officially dubbed our "baby bird" (Drew hates me using "Lou" as a nickname) being pushed around by our Panda... although to be perfectly honest 99% of the time it is usually much more violent pushing and it is usually the other way around. This afternoon was actually really nice, I was reading in the great room and the boys were just playing around doing whatever. We finally got rid of the huge gate, which while in the start was awesome to protect the TV and the stairs from the boys, in the end it ended up being used as a weapon and they would just push it to the side. They are both getting better at going up and down the stairs so hopefully by summer's end I won't have to worry about that part quite as much. The TV stand thing is still annoying but they can usually be distracted.

 And I leave you with little A vacuuming with me at 9pm, because how on earth am I supposed to get any cleaning done with so many kids running around my house making messes?! I am grateful I have been able to con the big kids into helping with cleanup, even though they complain that the babies make the big messes (that they do).

Happy(ish) 4th!

I'm so glad we got to visit Cassie and Brady and Charlotte for a few days but I'm equally grateful for the experience (since it was by NO means a vacation for Drew or I) of taking our kids somewhere for a few days and realizing we are NOT the sort of family that will be going on trips often... Actually at all. Weddings. That's about the only thing our family will all be traveling to for the next.... Indefinite period of time. Sigh. It certainly didn't. Help that Drew, myself and Panda were not 100%, but regardless, I did everything in my power to make this trip easy on us and we both agreed there was literally nothing more we could have done to make this a more positive experience (Brady and Cassie get so much credit for accommodating us and not over planning stuff and just letting us play things by ear... We had so much fun with them! And the big kids behaved mostly great!)... That's just the phase of life we are in right now and I'm okay with  that!

10pm and I just can't "mommy" anymore

After what has seemed like the longest week of my entire life, I finally got the kids to bed (at 9pm),took a good hard look at the downstairs: clothes and toys everywhere, kitchen messy, laundry in piles everywhere and a sinkful of dishes, and for the first time in 5 days.... I moved most of the stuff out of the way to clear a path for drew to walk in the house tonight, turned around and went upstairs. Before midnight.

Hardest thing I've ever done.

But I'm so so tired. Sorry honey. At least the kids are alive and well?

ACTUAL CONVERSATION with my 5 year old (who is nearly fully recovered)

him: mom....?

Me: yes?

him: Um...nevermind.

What?

I don't know if I can tell you. You're going to be mad.

You know I won't be mad if you are being honest with me.

Ok...(takes deep breath) Mommy are you going to have another baby?

No.

Okay...sorry if it hurts your feelings. Your belly is just really big, that's all. (pokes my belly) But nevermind...it's not as big as it was when you were pregnant with the babies.

***********************

So there you have it folks--my firstborn gives me the worst week of my life as a mom of 4 where I literally stress ate my way though it (as evidence, we have basically no carbs left in our house) and wasn't able to get to the gym, so naturally I gained weight.

A few lessons I've learned from this crazy week (I am going to pretend it is already over because that is the only way it can get better):

-Don't bother ever making plans more than 24 hours in advance
-I don't handle stress well. But I did manage to eat whenever I felt like I was going to lose it.
-You can always count on your kids to be honest
-I need to not keep things like cadbury eggs in the house, ever.
-I need to be more flexible, and learn to go with the flow.
-I need to be better about asking for help.
-Postpartum bellies with diastasis are unforgiving. Even a year later.

Big things going on for my little valentines

Most days go by like a blur and I have passing thoughts on what to blog about but by 8pm they are a distant memory...

(Pictured here with Valentine Nutella stuffed overnight French toast)

Made with what was left of the bread I made the other day mmm

Today I was thinking about my kids and how much they are growing lately. All four of them are working on really awesome huge life changing things right now! How many people can say that about their kids? This is such a unique time and I am just trying to enjoy it as much as I can.

Little d-really getting the hang of reading! He picked this book out on his own and started reading it... With a bit of help from me he read it on his own! It's been so fun having him read the kids version (with pictures) of the Book of Mormon, and as of today having him read/sing hymns with us at church.

Little a-working on potty training and most of the time does extremely well! We still have accidents but usually if i have her go (or just ask her) every 2-3 hours or so she does great.

Also we had a little mishap sometime today ( I think?) ... Girl definitely cut her hair (gah!!) just when that baby fuzz was starting to grow! I'm so mad, mostly that she did it with her silly little toddler scissors.

So even with my fixing the front a little bit we are basically still full on mullet mode over here...

Classy. And this is little a helping me "cook" (thank goodness we never leave the toaster oven plugged in)

And the twinners.... Both standing and crawling as much as possible... Working on the walking thing too!

"Safety first mom!" As he and I were re organizing the great room to be more baby friendly)

And obviously our 11 year tradition of heart shaped pizzas! Adding a "Darsi" smoothie for dessert (raspberry chocolate chip).

a day in the life with two 10 month olds, a 5.5 year old, and an almost 3 year old (and a note about dinnertime meals)

I am always interested in what people who stay at home DO all day (ha! because I am one of them!) and while I feel like my days are so crazy busy it is fun to look back on old posts I've made about a typical day and see how they compare to what my life is like now (I had soooo much free time with only two kids but felt like I had none, haha!). I thrive on routine and a decent predictable schedule even though when I think about it, it can definitely be a little mundane but I guess the beauty of it is that I can cater it to whatever I want or need (or feel the kids want or need). This has only been an exciting thing to post about recently like as in two weeks ago since the babies finally started sleeping at night without me having to come in and feed them! Also, I feel like it goes without saying that peppered into every day is a delightful mix of crying, temper tantrums, and cleaning up after messes. Gosh there's so much cleaning and so many messes! This is a typical weekday when Drew is out of town, but honestly it doesn't change too much when he is in town, I just have an extra set of hands for mealtime and we usually divide and conquer the kids a bit better. Anyway.

5:30am The twins usually wake up for their first feeding of the day...it used to be also at 11pm the night before and 2am, but thankfully this last early morning one is the last of the mohicans and I am happy to see and snuggle their little warm bodies. Lo is usually the first to wake up, so I feed him then Lan, put them back to bed... this usually takes about a half hour (because I fall asleep on occasion while feeding!). Sometimes they fall asleep, sometimes they don't or it takes a long time but regardless I usually leave them in their crib unless they are really crying until about 7am. Also, I change into my gym clothes and then go back to sleep for another hour because I'm still adjusting and figuring out this whole "sleep" business.

7am. My alarm goes off, I get a little bit of reading to wake me up then put on my contacts and get ready for the day.... I can usually hear the big kids right when I wake up but thankfully little d usually keeps them in their room till he has to go to the bathroom, around 7:20. I really like that exra 20 minutes of quiet! (and someday I will wake up and actually get to do stuff before my kids wake up!!)

7:30am I help the kids change out of diapers, pajamas and into clothes for the day. We 5 all go downstairs and eat breakfast...big kids usually get cereal or waffles and the babies and I usually go with jammed toast or protein muffins.

8:00am Everyone is fed and sort of helps clean up after breakfast, I nurse the twins and we get on socks and shoes and coats after playing for a few minutes because...

8:20am Load up the car for the 30 minute drive to the gym (someday soon the one by my house will open and it will only be a 7 minute drive!!!). It never takes me less than 5 minutes (I've tried!) to get everyone in or out of the car and I try to plan accordingly. The kids get screen time (d with the tablet and a with the dvd player) because I figure the happier they are, the easier it is to get them to want to support my gym madness)

9am Ideally is when we get to the gym, right when the childcare opens. I drop off the kids, get in a 30-45 min sweat session (usually weights or running, occasionally some yoga), pick up the kids and reload the car for the ride home.

10:20am Is usually when we make it home. I nurse the boys as quickly as possible and get them down for naps by 11.

11am I get a blissful hour off of baby duty (assuming they both decide to nap and havent napped during the car ride) to spend with the big kids, usually legos or some sort of reading or we just play around in the kitchen (little a loves helping me cook!) and we prep lunch.

11:30 we eat lunch. Crazy early, I know, but if I want to eat anything in peace I have to do it... most days recently I swap the dinner plans with lunch since I actually have time to make a meal while the babies nap.

Noon Babies are awake and have lunch. Big kids are playing.

12:30pm We have pickup for carpool (something I am counting down the days until it is over/it stops being so freezing cold because I can't wait to just walk over to school, especially since it takes less time than driving) so I load up the car, drop off the kindergardeners and usually run an quick errand once or twice a week during this time since everyone is already in the car.

1pm we come home (unless we run an errand then it is usually around 2pm), the babies, little a and I hole up in the playroom and just hang out and play until they start getting tired then I start nursing the babies and putting them and sister down for naps...

3:15pm usually the time that all 3 kids are down for naps or at least in their beds. If I'm lucky. I tidy up the house, grab a quick 5 minute shower, and if I am really lucky and got them to bed any earlier I get a 20 minute power nap, but that happens so infrequently I no longer use that point to bribe myself out of bed in the morning because about 90% of the time it won't happen.

3:35pm Little d is dropped off at home after school. We chat for a bit, he gets a snack (I try not to faceplant into the nutella) and I get a little time with my oldest till

4-4:45pm is when all the littles start to wake up from naps. Sometimes earlier depending on 5 billion different factors. We play downstairs and by

5:15pm we are usually starting dinner. I try to wait till 6pm when Drew is in town but when he is out, all bets are off...I try to limit snacks so everyone is hungry and dinnertime goes as smoothly as possible. I have the boys in high chairs and I feed them as I get everyone else's dinner ready, usually by the time I sit down to eat (most of the time I eat standing, so I really try hard at dinner to sit!), Lo is done with dinner, and Lan and the other kids follow suit shortly thereafter.

6pm we play in the playroom back upstairs, and I start baths. I bathe 2 kids at a time right now, so one big kid and one baby. Usually A goes with Lan first and little d bathes with Lo. They all use the same bathwater (what can I say? I bathe them pretty fast), and whoever isn't bathing is back in the playroom.

6:45pm everyone is clean and happily playing together, we read a few books or do some "workouts" till the babies get tired and I nurse them and get them to bed. Usually a crazy amount of fighting ensues between the big kids during this time.

7:30pm Babies are in their beds with the last feeding of the day done (YAY!!!), I pray and talk with the big kids for a bit before putting them to bed.

8pm. I collapse downstairs. FINALLY some peace and quiet time to myself. Butttttt.... the kitchen has to get cleaned, food needs to be prepped, laundry needs to be done, meal plan or grocery list, stuff for my church calling, etc etc. So I usually spend the next two hours doing that.

10pm. IF I can get all my "chores" done I needed to, I will watch a recorded show and usually do my Mutu workouts or get blogging done while I have the TV on in the background. It's probably a terrible habit but I really cannot sit still and just enjoy a TV show anymore because THERE IS SO MUCH TO DO!

11pm Sometimes I make it into bed early and can read for a bit but most of the time I collapse into my bed, always promising myself that tomorrow I will go to bed by 10:30 so I can get a little closer to 7 hours of sleep.... According to my fitbit it never takes me more than 3 minutes to fall asleep. Also I always hit my goal of 10,000 steps on typical days because helloo I never stop moving! It's exhausting but also a relief that my days of insomnia when I was pregnant with the twins are a distant memory. I sleep soooo well and never have trouble going to bed anymore. I remember a quote from some famous person that said if you are not going to bed completely exhausted every night, you aren't working hard enough.

So I may not have any time to have any hobbies other than working out right now but at least I'm working hard, right? haha!

**Side note about dinnertime.... I get asked a lot about what I do for dinner since Drew is frequently out of town. Well I have tried a lot of things over the last 4 years and what it has boiled down to is I make what I want to eat! It's that simple. My kids may eat it, they may not, but at least if I have to have leftovers its going to be stuff I want to be eating! I do occasionally make mac n cheese or ramen with eggs, but once a week at most (because I really can't stand either!). I have found that the more I focus on having well rounded meals, even if it involves a decent amount of prepwork beforehand (chopping and roasting veggies the night before or crockpotting chicken that morning), the happier and more satisfied I am with the meals I am eating. Also I feel wayyyy less guilt about indulging in chocolate just about every day of my life if I have eaten 3+ servings of veggies that day. And since I am not a fan of fast food and I am too scared to go out to a restaurant with my crew, we rarely dine in or eat takeout at a restaurant. So yes, I spend a LOT of money on groceries, I buy a lot of produce that I eat the most of but it keeps me happy and I feel like most of the time, my kids at least are curious enough to ask about what I am eating and have a desire to try it, even if they don't like it. Little d has actually gotten to be a much better and more adventurous eater over the last year, while his sister probably lives off of fairy dust and air as far as I can tell... but it keeps my sanity that I can always save her meal for my lunch the next day ;)

NEWS FLASH: ITS NOT EASY!

As I was driving home tonight from the gym, 35 minutes with two crying babies and a movie playing for the toddler and some game on the tablet singing in the backseats, I had this moment of thought...what was I thinking?! this is so inconvenient, what could I do to make this easier.... and as I played different scenarios in my mind of arranging sitters, schedules, etc, I had this realization:

Working out and eating healthy is NEVER going to be convenient or easy.

It wasn't when I was in school or working full time.

It wasn't when I had one baby.

It wasn't when I had two kids.

And while I can't say anything about having three kids, I can definitely say that having to work out with FOUR kids sometimes feels impossible because just NOT working out and grabbing whatever convenience food can be eaten quickly and not bothering to food prep, THAT's easy. In theory. But it also leads to a miserable mama.

Every day is a battle. Most mornings (and I will tell you, EVERY evening) I don't want to eat healthy or work out because I'M TIRED and LOOK AT ALL THESE KIDS I HAVE TO KEEP TRACK OF! I was so excited to quit at my old gym, LA Fitness, at the end of last year, for a smaller "boutique" gym (AKA not a conglomerate where you have no one to complain to when there's no one that shows up to watch your kids) that was supposed to open in January.... and it is still not open. So for the last month I have been managing without a gym while Drew is at home to go for runs or just try to get some sort of a workout that my FitBit would accept as me being "active" at night at home before I went to bed, etc. but enough is enough. The original location of the gym I joined (where they are building a second one literally about two miles from my house) is a good 30 minute drive. But two or three days a week making that drive with my kids for hopefully only a month till the new one opens is worth it to save my sanity.

Because let me tell you, Drew and I have a date set that I will be spending a solid week in a bathing suit in Costa Rica and I want to feel better in that week than I will have felt in the last 18 months or so.

Let's do this.

how to survive having a traveling husband/father/head of household whenyou have young kids at home

First and foremost, I have to say, to the incredible amount of people who comment constantly on my status of oh you poor thing, it is a situation I have been dealing with since little d was 18 months old... so the majority of his life and the entirety of my other 3 kids, that is all they know as "normal". Either daddy is working from home (which, by the way, is so incredibly awesome for us but I know hard on Drew when we all just want to be around him all the time when he is home!) or he is traveling, which is such a huge contrast and even with it being "normal" for us, it is still very, very hard. But I know from my limited experience that having a traveling spouse (as in, one that travels at all for their job) is becoming more common, so I wanted to share my coping mechanisms in case it could help anyone else out. Or maybe it will just give all those worryers some peace of mind.... I got this ;)

1. Plan Food. I'm not talking about diving headfirst into a pint of Graeter's (although truth be told, I have done that), but I try to plan ahead and have enough good food in the house so I don't have to go shopping. Planning dinners so I don't have to use too much brainpower during those hours. And since most of my eating is done between everyone else's meals, it has to be prepped and easy for me to eat or else I end up living off of chewy granola bars which always puts me in a rotten mood. Staying on top of drinking water is so essential for me to avoid getting massive headaches which is more prone to happen when I am under stress. (Below is prime example of a post bedtime routine "meal"... Obviously I didn't get enough food for dinner because I had this twice over tonight!)

2. Overplan my week. Sunday night is usually a mad scramble of texting and emailing to make sure my days (and sometimes evenings) are full of fun things to do and playdates with awesome people. The longer my kids sit at home the more they complain and cry about missing dad, also the more we are active and playing and not just laying around the house the easier my kids are to put into bed (and bedtime is just about the bane of my existence sometimes). On days that we don't have a lot in the evening I try to get them to bed as early as they will tolerate (and they usually get a longer bedtime routine) so that I have more time to myself in the evening before I go to bed. Later nights usually mean they help me clean the downstairs in a bid to stay up later, or we just get home late from hanging out with friends or family (like tonight) and they get to watch a show or get some screen time while I get the babies into bed before them.

3. Do something for myself every day. Usually just going to the gym is good enough, but also I try to get time to just read or put my feet up during naptime or get the kids to bed early so I can watch something I DVR'd earlier in the week. Anything where I don't have to feel so much like "mom" for even a few minutes of my day (or night).

4. Try to stay on top of everything. It is so easy to think that since Drew is not in town, I don't need to do whatever...but it is really important for my sanity to (do my best to) stay on top of daily showers, keeping up with laundry, general cleaning of the house and the littles.

5. Give myself a break. That being said, there are nights when I don't want to clean my floors or do the dishes or finish the laundry before I go to bed... it happens! Even when Drew is in town, the difference is that when I don't do it, it doesn't get done by anyone else when I'm the only adult there (except when my amazing mom comes to watch the kids and then usually leaves my house spotless!). And when I do choose to leave a sinkful of dishes, I try to light a candle or two at night to keep the stank out, and pick up a couple of toys for good measure so I've at least done a little something.

And that's it! My kids may not be perfect but they are incredible at helping fill in the gaps and give me breaks or timeouts as needed when daddy's away. It's important to me to always allow myself to empathize with the kids while still assuring them that we need to continue living our lives regardless of our circumstances.... If the past four years has taught me anything it's that I need to be responsible for making MY OWN happiness.

And I sure do have plenty of it to go around!

500 threats + 2 bribes + 2 midday baths + 1 blowout on the carpet =NAPS FOR EVERYONE!

Have you ever been so tired your face hurts?

I've been feeling that way, most of the day since the boys had their miraculous "more than 4 hours of sleeping" night (notice that that was a singular night. Expected but still disappointing).... Was that a week ago? It feels like five years.

The boys are taking two naps a day. One when we get home from the gym which means I get some time with the big kids to do whatever which has been great. Then they wake up right before little d goes to school and are awake right up until pickup or just after. I still put little a down for a nap but she's not napping.

Which obviously makes her super delightful. 

Nothing gets done during the day and I am eeking out a meager sleep existence at night. I'm fighting a losing battle that would be a thousand times easier if my kids (can't blame just one, it's always a combination of at least 3!) didn't take four hours every night to get to sleep. And still all manage to wake up for the day at freaking 7am.

Did I mention the boys are still up every three to four hours at night for feedings?

Yes it sucks. Please tell me something I don't already know.

Someone at the gym who saw me coming in with all my kids commented on how difficult it must be to get to the gym each morning. Thank you captain obvious would you like a seat next to every lady who tells me my hands must be full? Which comment of course made me flash back to when little a was nursing every two hours around the clock until 6 months of age and I still managed to go to the gym every day even when I didn't want to. Because it was the only way I could be selfish and save my sanity for the day. I would love to stay at home and sleep in and have my kids just watch tv and do nothing. It would be awesome!! But the babies won't stand for it, once they are up they want awake mommy, and the big kids are only good for about 30-45 mins solo with the TV if I am lucky before they start fighting and getting be into trouble. Ergo, it is not worth it to me ever to skip the gym and stay home. In a way, it's my justification... "Oh you want to give me no sleep?! FINE. But then I (we) get to go to the gym today!" Probably not the best mentality but I am trying to make lemonade with some very tart lemons. I have no idea how people can manage to "work out at home". I'm sorry your kids must be better behaved than mine. Because when I say I don't get an uninterrupted 30 minutes of "Ruth time" I mean it. And even if I did, I'm too stupid to use it for anything other than blogging or your pick of any eternal household task that I will only have enough time to finish halfway.

Life is really hard and time crunched lately and I knowwwwww.... I am getting time With my babies especially little d that I will never have again and trust me when I say I am TRYING SO HARD IT HURTS to enjoy it. Some days or hours are better than others. But mostly I am just ready for a nap.

Oh how I love and miss my sleep.

And in the meantime I am trying not to completely lose my sanity and freak out about the piles of laundry, dirty dishes, 15 pounds of baby weight, etc because nothing is going to ever be the same in this house until I can manage to get some sleep. So it will be a hot mess. I will be a hot mess. But at least thanks to Cassie I can watch the Mindy project with the babies (closed captioned so I don't miss something over all their noise!) so it's not a total loss for the day. A day which, like every other for the last few weeks (months?) has found its only success in the fact that I am still managing to get into the gym at least 3 times a week and there's still food in our house, most of it relatively healthy (because I eat all the unhealthy stuff too fast)

Counting my blessings. I love my kids, all of them so so much and wouldn't have it any other way than having them so fast and furious. It's not hard to look at their faces and smile or laugh with them.  I have a lot to be grateful for but I don't feel too inspired to blog much lately until I can manage to have more than 15 minutes to myself where I am not tending to someone else during the day, or consistently getting at least 6 hours of sleep at nights.

I feel like I could sleep for a year.

Going to bed.

That is all.

Kicking off the hallo-weekend 2015

Kathryn got the boys these outfits earlier this year... And size 9-12 mo was too small!! So we finally found size 18-24 month of the same ones and they fit! Apparently Disney babies are supposed to be tall and skinny :/

Since my car was in the shop, we spent a lot of time outside. Little a took a Chilean scarf and turned it into a skirt

Lots of wagon time with my middle Littles. I cant believe how well Lan does in the wagon!!

Big boy! Six months and so sturdy!! (Must be those delicious thighs!!)

Little d got a lunch play date before school the other day

And his mom reciprocated by letting d&e come over to play for 5 hours! It was nice to get a break from my little d on his second day of no school and he LOVED more time with his BFFS.

Same friends from this trip to innis:

She looks sweet until she whispers to you that she's going to destroy your shoe with that little stick (!!) crazy girl. And I'm sure she has no idea what she's talking about...

The last few days the boys have been on opposite schedules In the daytime which is always lovely. I love the one on one time but also by 8pm I'm like I NEED TO BE ALONE!!!

Love those faces though!

More park play dates 

Drew went to parent teacher conferences then I decided we should go boot shopping and like a good husband he agreed. My two favorites that I am book marking till Black Friday ...

Went to book club Friday morning without having to read the book because after 48 hours with no pilot and therefore no gym time, I needed an outlet. Specifically one where I could just chat with friends and eat pumpkin chocolate chip cookies. (Thanks Amy!!)

That bike ride I mentioned... I love the bike trails around here and can't wait to take better advantage of them when I can run more than 1 mile again or just next summer when the twinners can go in the trailer!!

I love that even though they sleep in separate cribs, I can sit them up like this with some toys while I get siblings and myself ready for the day 

And they are so happy!!! No fighting yet!

Saturday was busy... Meeting with friends for two rounds of Halloween parties

Yes I did have a costume and only two people were able to correctly identify me, and one was a five year old boy, an old friend of little d's. Nickelodeons April o Neil. Google it. I bought the shirt and had everything else.

We will get the hang of pictures someday right?!

Classy.

Walking home...

Less photos for round 2 since we were late and it started raining!

Twinners were exhausted!

I guess that's what happens when you get no naps or candy.

Ahem....

Gosh I love you ohio. Even with your rainy halloweens.

Priceless. What I saw when I went to get him out of the car:

Kevin has no loyalties to the Pilot. He just loves snuggling with cars.  I doubt I'll ever understand it.

A busy busy last couple of days... Grateful to my dad for letting me borrow his car and hopefully I'll have mine back within the week. Just getting this fixed from a little fender bender last Sunday:

And the other car:

Needless to say, I had a lot more damage. It's a long story but it was both our faults so we each took care of our own cars. Lesson learned: always check your blind spot. 

And for those of you curious as to my "other accident" this week:

My capris sustained the most damage, aside from my knee. My left knee took the brunt of all my weight when I landed and is more swollen than anything else, makings it hard to bend. Or go up or down stairs... Hopefully it goes away soon.

Such a full and fun weekend! And now I have to go hide all the candy my kids have been eating all day so we can give them out to kids next Saturday ;) I am so over the sugar fueled tantrums!! Candies are for mommies to use as a bribe, not for meals!!