V-Day Special!

Hey ladies!

I love this girly's work, so get ready for a shameless plug.

Wait. Is it shameless if you're plugging someone else and not yourself?

Either way...

One of my good friends, Carly, just moved back to Baker with her hubby and daughter, and they're working on building a photography business. Carly has an AMAZING eye and natural ability, and it would just be awesome to see her succeed. Anyway, she and A'Diva have teamed up to do a Valentine's Day promo...$99 to have your hair and makeup done at A'Diva and then a mini-photo shoot with Carly, with a free 5x7 print thrown in to give your sweetie, parents, whoever. That's almost half the price that something like this would normally cost. All of this is taking place this Saturday, the 30th. Simply call A'Diva to set up an appointment. Believe me, you will NOT be disappointed with the work Carly does. My mom and I already have our appointments scheduled!

If you're a guy reading this, this would be a great Valentine's present for your lady love. Who doesn't loooooove a day of being pampered? Am I right, or am I right?

For more info and to see some of Carly's work, go to her blog and/or her website.
Blog: http://blog.carlycarlson.com/2009/01/v-day-makeover-photoshoot.html
Website: http://www.carlycarlson.com/

Just tell her that Lindy sent you, ha ha ha.

No. Really. Do it.

PS. It's Carly's birthday today. What better day to sign up for a photo shoot with her than on her birthday?!

Oh Mylanta!

Night before last was amazing. A-MA-ZING. I fed the boys at around 9:30 or 10 pm, they were asleep in their cribs by about 11 or so, after which Nathan planned to stay up for their next feeding. At around 1 am, he finally gave up waiting for them to wake up and just came to bed. At 6:30, he nudged me and said, "The boys still haven't woken up." I grunted some sort of reply and went back to sleep...until 8:30!!! They slept for over 8 hours straight! Actually, Asher slept for another hour after that, while I nursed Levi. Bliss. Pure bliss.

And then there was last night.

Levi and Asher were pretty fussy all day long because they kept getting tired but had slept so long the night before that they weren't taking naps. We went out to Barley's for dinner with my parents and when we got home, I fed the boys while Nathan took a nap. I woke him up at 10:00, got all my stuff ready for work, and was in bed by 11. Evidently the boys were fussy and didn't fall asleep until 1 am...and then were screaming to be fed at 4 am. Groan. Nathan was so tired that I ended up sending him back to bed while I fed the boys and put them back to bed...thankfully, they were both so tired by this point that they immediately fell back asleep. If only I could have done that. But no. I'm at work. No naps for me. Ugg.

In other news, Nathan and I have started doing the Dave Ramsey budget stuff and we're SUUUUPER excited about it. We sat down yesterday and filled out all the budget worksheets on the Dave Ramsey software that I'm borrowing from a co-worker. It was a pain the butt, but so worth it. All the sudden, we know where all of our money is going, which is enabling us to save money, know the minimum number of hours Nathan needs to work each week, and hopefully pay of our debt sooner. Finally, we're not just throwing money at various bills and hoping there's enough money in the bank; instead, we'll know exactly which bills come out of which pay checks and which paychecks to take our savings and such out of. Order out of chaos!!!

While Nathan and I were upstairs crunching numbers yesterday, my fantabulous parents were attacking our basement. The basement use to be our entertainment area, the place where we hung out and watched movies, played video games, entertained guests, etc. And then the remodel happened. Suddenly our basement was simply the catch-all for anything we needed out of the way. Add on top of that my being on bed rest for 7 weeks, us being in Boise for 6 weeks, and then bringing home two infants, and you have a recipe for the disaster that is our basement and back storage area. To say that it was terrifying was nothing short of an understatement.

So my dad, being who he is (which means that he's incapable of going more than about a week without a project), offered to tackle the challenge that is our basement. My mom jumped in as well and between the two of them, they managed to clean out and organize our back storage area, clean up and organize our main basement area, fill up the back of our Durango with things to go to the Young Life yard sale, and fill up the back of their truck with garbage/recycling. And now...we have a basement again! There are still a couple of areas to be cleaned out and still some tidying to be done, but...wow.

And then next they said they're going to take on our garden shed and garage. Because, let's face it, those two places are a little worse for wear as well. That's what happens when you get married, combine a ton of STUFF belonging to two people, live in one house for less than a year, move into a different house that isn't completely cleaned out before you move in, add your STUFF to someone else's STUFF, attempt to make said house livable while trying to decide what needs to stay and what needs to go, get pregnant, start a remodel (which requires completely removing everything from various rooms at various times), go on bed rest, have kiddos early, have kiddos in the NICU for a month and half, and then bring the kiddos home...all in the space of less than three years. Are we stark raving mad? I think so!

Thankfully, we have awesome family members who are willing to come to our rescue when we get ourselves in over our heads. Thank you, family. You're the reason we're still afloat.

PS. I apologize that there haven't been pictures lately. We have them! They're just on the camera. Or on the computer waiting to be edited. I'm being buried under said photos. Someday I will get them edited and uploaded to our online album. Someday. I promise.

Three Days

THREE DAYS, people! That's how many days in a row I've gone to the gym, and I'm loving every minute of it.

It is depressing, however, to climb back onto the treadmill to find that I can only run for about two minutes at a time (if I want to be huffing and puffing) when, less than a year ago, I was able to run for 30 minutes or more. Le sigh. But then I give myself a swift kick in the butt and remind myself that it only took me five weeks to get to that point and I can get there again! Yeah!

Now I just need to get over my severe chocolate addiction. My waist line will thank me for it, as will my REM sleep.

On Thursday, a nurse from the Health Department named Mary Ann came to our house to meet the boys, talk to us about immunizations, do some weighing and measuring, and check out their motor skills development. During the course of the appointment, she noticed several things about the boys:

• They don't startle nearly as much as most preemies do at this age.
• Their kicks and arm movements are very fluid and not jerky (is that redundant?)
• They are holding their heads up consistently.
• They've lost most of their step reflex when we stand them up, which most babies don't lose for another couple of months.

Pair all that with us telling her about the boys starting to roll over a week before their due date and them scootching across the floor, and her reaction was:

"These boys aren't normal!"

Don't worry boys, I'm sure she meant it in the most loving and positive way.

Actually, Mary Ann said that they are incredibly advanced in their motor skills, that usually preemies are a month or two BEHIND their gestational (adjusted) age developmental milestones and certainly not a month or so AHEAD of full term babies. She also said that their habit of staring at the ceiling fan in our living room, which is gold and brown, is amazing at this age because usually they can only really focus on blacks, whites, and reds at that distance.

Mary Ann also weighed the boys again, just a day after they were weighed for their WIC appointment. As a refresher, for the WIC appointment, Levi weighed 9 lbs 14 oz and Asher weighed 9 lbs 15 oz. Well, when Mary Ann weighed them, Levi weighed 9 lbs 15 oz (one oz per day is what we like to see) while Asher...are you ready for this...weighed 10 lbs 2 oz!!! That's THREE ounces in ONE day!!! Craziness!

Essentially, Levi and Asher are rock stars and all you other babies out there better watch out!

Four Months!

Being the tired, sleep-deprived, work-out craving mommy that I am, I didn't have a chance to post this yesterday (Wednesday), so we're a couple of hours late. But I figure you'll forgive me since, darn it, it was a busy day!

Yesterday was the boys' 4 month birthday!!! Holy moly! It blows my mind every time I think about it. That's 1/3 of a year! Seriously? We only have to go through that amount of time two more times before they're a year old, and I know exactly how fast the first four months went.

I'm personally at a very interesting...crossroads, I guess? I love, adore, and gush over Levi and Asher as infants. What's not to love about emerging chubby cheeks and rubber band wrists? But let me tell you, I am really ready for a lot of things that older children bring: being able to just hand them a bottle and they hold it themselves. The boys playing together so Mommy can accomplish something outside of the time when they're sleeping. Holding their own heads up all the time so I don't have to worry about two lolling heads. Less crying...oh my, less crying. I guess that's about it, beyond the obvious of looking forward to just seeing how they change and grow.

And yet don't get me wrong, for how much I am looking forward to those times, I am fully appreciating the sweetness of the present. Because I am going to so miss my infants when they are gone. I think I may cry now. Or have another child. Wait. Scratch that. We just met a gal yesterday at the Health Department who has two sets of twins. My uterus is cringing. I think I'll just live vicariously through my singleton baby producing friends.

Now, I don't want to jinx this, but I think we may be already heading towards bluer skies in terms of the boys' sleeping habits. I'm starting to notice a pattern, and I just hope it continues in the direction it's going. For the past week or so, both of the boys have been having their last feed of the night somewhere between 10 pm and 1 am, and then falling into a very deep sleep...which they then have been staying in for anywhere between six and eight hours. No joke. And then after their morning feed, whenever that happens, they usually sleep for another three hours or so. Let me tell you folks, this is bliss. Please Lord, I'm begging you, let this continue. Because it's nothing short of a miracle that they're both sleeping this well.

*Edit* Yeesh, for a second I thought I had jinxed it just by typing about it, because I heard one of the boys grunting and moving over the monitor but when I poked my head in their room, they were both still sound asleep. They're just incredibly active sleepers. Right? That's not crying I hear over the monitor now, is it? Please? Nope, that's definitely crying. DANG IT! Then again, it's not surprising since their last full feed was at 8:30ish and it's now 3 am. Excuse me while I go feed two hungry boys.*

Speaking of the Health Department, that's where we spent a good 4 hours yesterday getting signed up for WIC. Usually I hate the idea of using assistance like that because we have it a lot better than a lot of people, but let me tell you, considering the fact that we have twins and are surviving on essentially one income, I'm totally ok with taking however much free formula they're willing to give us! Which, it turns out, is actually quite a bit and will be saving us approximately $300/month. Yes, that's about how much we spend on formula each month, kid you not. Thank you Federal government, we appreciate it!

At said appointment, I got my finger pricked to check the iron level in my blood - not sure what they're going to do with that one; "Sorry, your iron level is low, no soup for you." - while the boys got weighed and measured again. So as of their 4 month birthday, Asher weighed 9 lbs 15 oz and Levi weighed 9 lbs 14 oz. Both of their height to weight ratios are at 80%, which the WIC nurse said was totally amazing for preemies. Woop woop!

After getting done with the boys' 1:00 WIC appointment (I had mine at 8:30 am, which consisted of the previously mentioned finger poke and a lot of questions about the boys), Nathan and I hit up the store with our freshly printed vouchers, got the boys' formula, and then my mom and I hit the gym. Oh sweet sweat, how I've missed working out. No really. The way my body feels after working out is kind of like a drug. What's that? Those are the endorphins, you say? Ok, well, as long as they keep making me feel that good, I'm more than happy to keep working out. Because have I mentioned how much I miss my pre pregnancy/c-section body? The one that had lost 11 lbs as of the day I found out about being pregnant? Cause if I haven't mentioned it, I do miss it. A lot.

And speaking of my mom, here's some exciting news! Not sure how excited they are about it, but I sure am excited! My parents are staying in Baker for the next month to help Nathan and I get further settled into our 'Nathan staying at home with the boys, Lindy working' routine and to give us a little more time to track down some good help with the boys!!! We're hoping to find someone older than high school age to come in on the days that I'm working, in order to give Nathan a couple of hours to rest since I pretty much work and sleep on the days that I work. 12 hours shifts will do that to ya if you want longer than 6 hours of sleep. Oh, and also to give Nathan and I the ability to have more than one date night a year. Ok, that's a bit of an exaggeration, but that's what I do.

So I get to keep my workout partner for another month, which excites me to no end because, ya know, I kind of like my parents. But then I'll need a new workout partner, because I'd love to be in good enough shape by next November to do the 2nd Annual Turkey Trot, the 5k race that takes place here in Baker on Thanksgiving Day. So if anyone would like to join me during my ridiculously random times at the gym (gotta love having a rotating schedule) or knows of an older baby sitter/nanny type just waiting for two adorable boys to come into their life, just let me know!

To Touch My Heart

At the risk of sounding like a blog stalker, I was once again reading through some of Pioneer Woman's previous posts (I have about two years worth to catch up on), when I happened across a post entitled "More Changes in Plans", wherein PW asks her readers to tell her how their lives compare to the plans, dreams, and expectations they had ten, twenty years ago. Reading through the 500+ comments, it struck me just how alike we all are and how we face many of the same triumphs and trials.

One in particular reached out to me, not so much because of her story but because of a quote that she included:

“We must be willing to get rid of the life we’ve planned, so as to have the life that is waiting for us.” ~ Joseph Campbell

I can't even describe how much that quote has reached into my heart and taken up residence there. In the past 7 years or so, I've felt so much disappointment in myself, mainly because I felt I was disappointing the people I care about the most. It wasn't until recently that I've realized that I need to let go of the life I thought I wanted/needed in order to fully appreciate what I have now. Because my life is so much better than I ever could have imagined.

Thank you Joseph Campbell, you're a profound man. You've managed to touch my heart.

Sigh

Well, it's the big day.

You know the one I'm talking about.

It's the day that liberals have heralded as the beginning of change...yet when you ask them what kind of change, not many can give you a straight answer.

It's the day that extreme conservatives have heralded as the possible beginning of the end...a stance that I have heard a great deal more of, considering the fact that I live in a town of 10,000 people surrounded by farming country. By the way, that pretty much instantly spells out a largely conservative population.

It's Inauguration Day.

(shudder)

I'm sitting here at work and wondering how many calls I'm going to get from the local crazies today, wanting us to do something about 'that darn Obama'. "I'm sorry sir, but there's really nothing that Baker City PD can do about a swearing-in that is happening in Washington DC."

Here's the thing; I have many liberal friends who are practically doing backflips about Obama being sworn in today. I guess I just have a hard time believing that he can deliver on all the promises most liberals believe he has made. Sorry folks, the vast majority of you are still going to have to work, the government isn't going to pay you to simply turn oxygen into carbon dioxide, and yes, you're still going to have to pay taxes. And yet I remain cautiously hopeful that things won't go as badly as the conservatives I'm surrounded by think they will. I just hope he doesn't try to take away our guns, because there may be riots. And yes, that IS a big deal, sorry to break it to all you liberals out there.

And how about all those assertions out there that he could be the AntiChrist? I'll keep my opinion to myself on that one, but if you start hearing murmurings about one world currency and/or one world religion, you might want to be worried.

I don't pretend to know all of Obama's potential policies, 'cause let's face it, I've had two little beings capturing all of my attention for the past 11 months and the last thing I wanted to think about was politics. But yes, I'm nervous. Big time. I mean, think about it. When was the last time you saw the American people this incredibly split, with such a yawning gap between one side and the other? When was the last time a president was hailed as a savior? Oh man, that one should have you shuddering, people. I know it makes me want to run for the hills.

So here I sit, cautiously hopeful that things won't become too extreme in either direction, that more good will come out of today than bad. Because I am, before anything else, an eternal optimist.

Oh My Holy Heck!

Yesterday evening I hit my all time Mommy low. After five days of nearly solo twin baby parenting, I hit the end of my rope and completely lost it. What made it worse was that there was no end in sight to Nathan being sick since his temp and symptoms were/are persisting. Picture wailing, crying, and gnashing of teeth. When my parents called from Montana to check in, I even went as far as wailing "Mommy, please don't leave me!" Yep, it was not pretty, people.

Thankfully, my dad came to the rescue and arranged for one of our family friends to come into town to sit with the boys so Nathan and I could both sleep. Her name is Jacque and she also happens to be the nurse that gives the boys all their shots and was the one who verified my pregnancy. She got to our place by around 9:30 or 10, and stayed until 1 am, at which point Nathan took over for the rest of the night. I actually got over 8 hours of non-baby-interrupted sleep. It was...blissful. Granted, I was downstairs in the basement on the twin-sized air mattress that mysteriously loses some of its air halfway through the night, so my butt was significantly lower than the rest of my body, but I really didn't care. I woke up actually wanting to see and hold the boys, which was a VAST improvement over last night. Before leaving, Jacque told Nathan that taking care of the boys was definitely hard, and she told my dad that they were pretty overwhelming. That made me feel...oddly vindicated.

Spending the day watching the 6-hour version of Pride & Prejudice hasn't hurt either!

Yesterday was the boys 2/4 month well-baby doctor's appointment. 2/4 as they are four days away from being 4 months old, but in adjusted age, they are 10 days away from being 2 months old. Crazy. Four months old already? Anyway, Smithson said they look absolutely wonderful and are gaining weight like champs. Usually you can see a distinct difference between the growth rate of full-term babies vs preemie babies for almost two years, but if the boys keep gaining like the have been, he said we shouldn't even be able to tell that they were preemies by the time they are 6 months old! Wow! Levi is now 9 lbs 10 oz, while Asher is 9 lbs 11 oz. I can't believe it. They're already three times bigger than they were when they were born! As for measurements, Levi is 21" long and his head is 15.25" around while Asher is 21.25" long and his head is 15.5" around.

The only thing that is cause for slight concern is that both Levi and Asher have developed flat spots on the back right of their heads. Evidently this is very common in preemies because they spend so much more time (2 months more in the boys' case) on their backs. However, Smithson said that this is by no means the most severe case he's ever seen and as long as we're very deliberate about making sure the boys are laying with their heads turned the other way, it should correct itself in the next few months. If it hasn't by the time they're six month old, though, they'll have to have some funky helmets made to help correct it. Wouldn't that just be classic? "Yes, my sons have to wear helmets...please don't laugh at them, they're kind of sensitive about it."

They've also graduated from their preemie doctor visit schedule...they don't have another visit with Smithson for another TWO MONTHS!!! Next month they have a visit with Jacque for their Synagis shot (protects against flu/colds) and will be receiving a once-a-month visit from the Health Department nurse to be weighed, measured, and have their development assessed. But other than the Synagis appointments, none of that is anything that a full-term baby wouldn't be receiving. Yay!

Now if we can only get through tonight without any histrionics, life will be good! My parents are coming back from Montana tomorrow and will be spending the night in Baker tomorrow night, so I will hopefully be able to get enough sleep before going back to work on Monday.

And now I'm going to go enjoy some Pioneer Woman posts, which always manage to put a smile in my soul, while the boys sleep in their swings...they go through phases as to where they like to sleep, and for the past few days it has been sitting up in their swings. Not that I'm complaining, as long as they're not screaming their heads off!

Cute Shot Of The Day Part 2

Here's another great photo that I have been playing with for the past hour or so. It's till not perfect, but hey, I had a baby asleep in my arms so I wasn't 100% focused. The blog I read written by Pioneer Woman is partially a photography blog, and in it she included a bunch of Photoshop actions that you could download for free. An action basically makes it possible to adjust a bunch of little settings on a photo to make one big effect with one punch of a button...which, by the way, is awesome. The main one I used here was PW's B&W (or Pioneer Woman's Black & White). Yeah, it's not super clear or light, but I love how dramatic it is.

By the way, the photo is of my dad and Levi asleep in our recliner. Love it.

Cute Shot Of The Day

The boys are loving sitting up, especially when on my lap. Today they got to hang out with Daddy for a few hours while I got some sleep, complete with a closed door and earplugs, yay! I think the boys really missed him because they were constantly following him with their eyes and were smiling like crazy. oh yeah, have I mentioned that the boys are now smiling at us on a regular basis, in reaction to us smiling at them and to the sound of our voices. Love it!

Anyway, this photo was taken this afternoon when Nathan came out to take over baby duty and they were staring at him so intently as he walked next to the chair. Too cute.

And now it's feeding time at the zoo. Ta!

Where's My Genie?

But instead of three wishes? I just want one thing...one simple, itty bitty thing.

A pre-paid nanny. Do they make those?

I don't want her full time or really even part time, I just want her for today. Because let me tell you ladies and gentlemen, this double mommy is wiped out!

On Monday, Nathan started mentioning that he was feeling a little under the weather. I figured that he was just exhausted, since last week was my 5 day work week. So I took over watching the boys and he slept pretty much the entire day, which was a-okay with me. My parents came over in the afternoon and helped me with the boys, and I loved having that time with the boys, just the two of them and mommy. And then I took care of the boys all night. Thankfully, they slept for about 6 hours in a row so I was able to crash on the couch for a while

Unfortunately, yesterday Nathan was feeling even worse and spent another full day in bed. My mom picked up the boys and took them to the house they were staying in so I could get a couple of hours of sleep and then I joined them out at that house for a nice relaxing afternoon before going to dinner at Barley's...after which, I came home with the plan of handing the boys off to Nathan so I could get some sleep before work today.

...no dice. Nathan had a 102 degree temp. So I ended up calling in 'sick' to work, because the last thing we needed was for Nathan to give whatever he has to the boys and land them back in the NICU. Yeah, it would be that serious. Which means that Mommy had another long night with the boys. They did, however, let me get about 4 hours of sleep this morning after their 5 am feeding.

*Side note: I just looked next to me where the boys are enjoying some tummy time and Levi has scooched about two feet. Eeeek!

Anyway, as you can probably imagine, after taking care of twins by myself almost non-stop for a couple of days (except for a few reprieves given by my parents), I am SOOOO ready to crawl into bed and pull the covers over my head for a few hours. Unfortunately, I don't think that's going to happen any time soon, since Nathan is still passed out on the downstairs couch.

So...pre-paid Nanny? You know my address, right?

My Favorite Activity?

You're all going to think I'm strange. Mental, even. But I have to admit that one of my favorite things to do is...

...
...

...change the boys diapers.

I'm not kidding. And the reason I enjoy it so much is because the boys absolutely LOVE getting their diapers change. Unless they're too hungry to think of anything else but screaming for food, they smile, wiggle, kick, and smile some more, through the entire event. And it steals my heart every time.

But don't take my word for it, check it out for yourself:

Just try to resist that. Go on. Try. I dare ya.

Only moments before this video was taken, he was crying. Kid you not. But lay either one of them down on the changing pad and the screams disappear. It's lovely. I was under the impression that babies hated getting their diaper changed and I definitely expected to hate changing them. What a pleasant surprise.

And yes, I always make a fool of myself like that when I'm talking to my sons. They just have that effect on me.

Man I love these boys.

My Secret Ambition

Do me a favor. Scroll down a bit until you get to the section on the right entitled "Random Sites I Like". See the blogs called The Pioneer Woman, C Jane, and Baby Squared? Read them. If nothing else, read just a tidbit. But be warned, you'll get hooked.

Deep down in the part of me that holds the need to share myself with the world, which stems from -I believe- being an only child, I want nothing more than to be the witty and charming author of a blog like those listed above. Especially Pioneer Woman, because deep down, right next to the need to share myself with the world, I still harbor a dream of living a life like hers, out in the middle of nowhere, a life filled with getting my hands dirty and working hard with the people I love. Oh, and I wouldn't mind if this life was also as impossibly whimsical and riotous as she makes it out to be as well. But that's neither here nor there.

In truth, I really would love to be able to entertain the masses simply by clacking away at a keyboard about whatever happens to pop into my mind. Which would require 'the masses' to be somewhat bigger than my family, close friends, and co-workers and would require the things which pop into my mind to come out in such a way that said masses wouldn't be able to help coming back for more.

Which requires one more thing...for me not to give a flying fart about peoples' opinions on my subject content. I have to be able to be candid about myself and my life, without feeling self conscious about it the next day at work. (gulp) I have to be able to tell stories on my present and future without worrying about what my mom thinks. (double gulp) I can just hear it now. "You did WHAT in high school?!" Am I ready for that?

For that matter, is my husband ready for that?! After all, it's his life too.

I want to be funny. Light hearted. Opposite of boring. How in the world do I go about becoming as accomplished of a writer as these women have?! How do they afford their own private websites? Do they keep a notebook close by them at all times, where they can scribble down clever thoughts and random post subject ideas? Maybe I should grovel and beg one of them to take me on as their apprentice. Now there's an idea. "I want to be you, literately speaking. Mould me, shape me."

The other thing I am vaguely worried about is that becoming a serious blog author involves, I believe, a certain amount of pretension. You have to assume that people even care about what you have to say, especially since, nine times out of ten, every word written is about yourself and/or your family. You start referring to the important participants in your life by nicknames, ostensibly for the purpose of protecting their dignity. (As if changing my husband's name is going to throw you all off of the scent.) No longer can you throw up a hasty post without taking the time to examine every sentence for the flow and the wit that I aspire to.

Uh oh...maybe, by proclaiming all of this, I have shot myself in the proverbial foot. Maybe it's a blogging no-no to announce your intentions of becoming a serious blog author. Who knows? I'm new to this game.

But hey, could be fun right? Who wouldn't be well served by being taken down a notch by none other than yourself? An exercise in self-abasement. Humility and pretension peacefully cohabiting. Sounds fun to me. Maybe I'll give it a whirl.

Calling All Moms

Hey ladies!

That time has come, the time when Nathan and I have realized that the lack of grandparents living in Baker means that we need to track down a reliable baby sitter, and fast! Not on a daily basis, Nathan gets to stay home with them instead of going to work, lucky guy! But more for date nights, times when we both have to be somewhere and can't take the boys, etc. So I'm turning to you, oh wise mothers, for any recommendations you might be able to make! (Obviously, your recommendations would have to live in Baker.) We'd be more than happy to have who ever it is come over for an afternoon to get to know the boys' schedule and quirks before turning them loose, cause let's face it, twins isn't exactly something you deal with on a regular basis. I have a concealed weapons permit class on the 17th of this month and it would be awesome if Nathan could take it also, so we're hoping to find someone before then. Ha ha, concealed weapons and babysitter in the same paragraph...awesome.

Some of you may wonder whether it's too soon to get a baby sitter...after all, the boys are only three months old, right? Let me tell you something. YOU try spending all your time with two infants, barely leaving the house and only talking to other adults over the phone while your wife goes to work. I think Nathan's starting to lose his mind. Or, in my case, leaving home only to deal with the portion of our general public that has the maturity of 5 year olds. Trust me, three months is not too soon. And after utilizing said baby sitter and returning from a night on the town (consisting of dinner at Barley's and maybe a movie if we're lucky...hey, we know how to live it up here in Baker), we will be all the more recharged and ready to be even better parents than we were before date night.

We've had several friends offer to watch the boys periodically, and while I'm sure we'll accept that offer graciously on occasion, I'm one of those people who hates to impose on our friends on a regular basis. I prefer to keep our friends and I'm not sure that subjecting them to twin infants screaming their heads off at the same time is the way to do it. Don't get me wrong, the boys aren't that bad. But come on...there's TWO!

So, yeah. Any recommendations you can make would be awesome. I'd love to know that the person we are trusting our boys with is trusted by the people I trust.

....did you follow that? Because I'm not sure that I did.

Speaking of the boys, I've come to a conclusion. I'm sure I'll look back on this post someday, years down the road, and laugh at my naivety but I'm going to share it none the less. I've decided that the boys are already starting to show their personalities and that those personalities are going to be very distinct indeed. Asher, our baby (by one minute), has distinguished himself as the child who pushes himself physically and knows exactly what he wants...and isn't afraid to let you know about it. He's the over-achiever and I think we have a future athlete on our hands. As demonstrated by the videos in the previous post.

Levi, on the other hand, is our mellow baby who has already started to bob and weave to any beat he hears...and sometimes there is no beat except the one in his head. Regardless, our oldest child has a natural sense of rhythm and is happiest when there is some sort of music playing. Eliot, my brother in law, made each of the boys their own classical music cd's, peppered with some Disney tunes. Can I just tell you how much Levi loves them? Asher could take or leave them. But the moment you plop Levi in his Winnie the Pooh swing and turn on the music, he is entranced. Entertained. Delighted. Asleep. Ahh, my future musician. Way to take after Mommy.

Oddly enough, I totally thought it would be exactly the opposite. I thought Asher would be the artsy-fartsy musician type and Levi would be the athlete. Maybe it's their names. Asher just sounds more artsy to me.

But don't worry, I refuse to put my boys in a box. Or two. Still, it's fun to speculate, no?

Aaaaaand, We Have Lift-off

The Labunski household is in some serious trouble.

Observe:

Crazy, no? And then there's this one:

I think it's time to invest in a baby corral.

Welcome To Parenthood

Last night, after sharing a steak dinner with our friend Anders at our house, Nathan and I went over to Anders' place for a New Year's get together (boys in tow, of course). It was pretty mellow while we were there, with only a total of 6 people there most of the time, which was understandable since we got there at around 7:30. It was fun to see our friends again, but after being there for about an hour I realized that things had changed.

It use to be, when we hung out with these friends in the past, that things would get pretty rowdy. Not out of control, just a lot more energetic. Last night was...quiet. We all played some Guitar Hero, I enjoyed a little Crown Royal, Nathan and I fed the boys, they played some pinochle (never have understood that game), and around 9 pm I was ready to go home.

I blame it on Levi and Asher, but in a good way. Since having them, any desire I may have had to "relive the glory days" of the college life-style have fled the building. I don't want to stay up late whooping it up. I have no thirst for partying (no pun intended). I'd rather be home with the boys and Nathan, relaxing on my own couch.

Along the same lines, I'm tired of superficial friendships, which I seem to have collected in abundance since moving to Baker; people that I call friends but don't go any deeper with. I want deeper friendships, ones where you don't wonder whether they actually want you around or whether you calling is more of a nuisance than a pleasure. The kind of friendships that help you to be a better person and yet also accept you for who you are now. I've had friendships like that before but, unfortunately, those people all live across the state from me now. Is it too much to ask for a friendship like that here in Baker, a BFF that I can call up anytime to invite over for hot chocolate (it's snowing outside, hot chocolate sounds good) and chick flicks without needing to get out of my pj's because I know they just won't care? Ha ha, random I know but I miss those friends. But I digress.

So last night we drove home at around 10 pm and I was in bed by 11 or so, fast asleep long before the ball dropped. Is that lame? No, that's parenthood.