PE 101 Kids Gym

We went back to PE 101 on Wednesday morning and we had a great time once again!
This time mommy remembered to bring her camera, so I can actually share the awesomeness with you!

Livvy in the foam pit - loving it of course =)

Bri in the foam pit - SO happy!

Livvy (and Bri too) loving their time on the trampoline!

Bri climbing into the rodeo clown mat barrel =)

Livvy actually climbing through the rodeo clown mat barrel =)

And our last picture before leaving PE 101 - one last jump into the foam pit with mommy! Can you tell we are pooped?!?!
And yes, I actually got in and out of the foam pit multiple times while we were there. It's a really cool feeling - so soft! And it's deep...4 ft at least. That's A LOT of foam!

(BTW, no, that isn't pregnant me in red on the other side of the pit - I am in purple, mostly hidden by Brianna's head. However, if you look closely, you can see my arm...lol)

Seriously we think this is the coolest place ever! The girls love it there. We are going back next Wednesday evening for a private play group. Lots of our MoM friends are going to be there to play so it should be a great time! =)

Do you guys have super cool play places like this close to you??? Do your kids love it?

What about bounce houses? Do you think the girls are too young to go to the bounce places, or do you think they'd have a great time? What other activities do you suggest?

Until next time -
Megan

It's Follow Me Friday!

It's "Follow Me Friday" on Multiples and More, and for some reason I felt compelled to enter my blog address into the happy linky, so I may have some first time visitors today!
If you are one of them, WELCOME!!! Feel free to look around!

My name is Megan, and my husband and I have 15 month old fraternal twin girls, Olivia and Brianna (pictured in the header above). It took us a lot of work to get them here, and they are the absolute lights of our lives. I was still nursing my girls when they turned one (in October) and we found out that we were (SURPRISE) going to be expecting another little peanut! I have to say I was relieved at our first ultrasound when we saw that there was only one little peanut in there this time. Twins x 2 would have been more than a bit chaotic! I'm already a bit panicked about 3 under 2!!

So, we are currently expecting baby #3, a little boy, probably the first week of June. If I can tell anything based on his movements in-utero, he is going to be a pistol! God help us! BUT, Si is absolutely thrilled to have a little man to wrestle with, play football with, and pass all of his "worthless car knowledge" on to, and me, well, I'm excited to get newborn cuddles and that "new baby" smell again =). Hopefully his sisters are equally as excited!

So, that's me in a nutshell! I normally try to post 1-2x a week, and I normally can't get around to posting any more than that. I'm a working momma, and my home time is spent with my girls, so my blog time is either while the girls are napping or at night after they have gone to bed. I share the same struggles as most mommas - the balance between work and home, treating each child equally (and not showing a preferance towards one over another), and learning to live each day with my girls to the fullest. Sound familiar?

Again, welcome! And if you are a new follower, let me know so I can follow you back!

Until next time -
Megan

I don't want to do it...do I?

I'm jumping back into an old debate I have with myself....working outside of the home vs. being a stay at home mom.

I have been asked multiple times recently, now that we are expecting baby #3, if I am planning on staying home to raise our kiddos. My initial response has been "3 children under the age of 2 - ARE YOU NUTS?!". I ususally elaborate a bit and explain that I really don't have the burning desire to stay home with three small children. That I feel like it would be more stressful to me than enjoyable. Plus, we have an awesome nanny who the girls love, and who I think Baby C will love just as much. And I have a good job (for now), which I like, and I feel good about.

But I think maybe I am having a hard time articulating how I really feel...and really, I have to question, do I even have a good basis with which to make this decision?

That, I just don't know.

I will start at the beginning. I thought it would be hard to go back to work after having the girls. And it was. But it wasn't incredibly hard for me. In fact, I enjoyed not being cooped up in the house all day long and being able to be in the presence of other adults with whom I could talk to about things other than poopy diapers, reflux, and how much milk I'd pumped or the girls drank that day. It was refreshing. I felt like I was needed. And not that I didn't feel like I was needed at home, I did! But I felt like I was needed SO much that I was slowly suffocating. Nursing and pumping and burping and changing diapers seemed like a constant activity with absolutely no down time. When I was at home I had to make the concious decision of whether or not I would like to take a 30 minute nap because after being up most of the night both girls happened to fall asleep at the same time, or whether I would like to shower for the first time in several days.

Once I was at work, I had time to eat lunch! To pump! To respond to emails (work of course, but responding to ANY emails at that point was a major success)! To talk to other adults! And I loved it. Thrived on it.

I work 4 - 10 hour days and have every Wednesday off with my girls. I love my Wednesday's off with my girls, but I have to admit, they can be a little chaotic. Most of my time is spent trying to do dishes, throw in a load or fold a load (or 10) of laundry, picking up tupperware off the kitchen floor for the 17th time, making breakfast and lunch, putting toys back into the toy chests, going to the grocery store, reading reading and more reading, pick me up, put me down, vacuum the floors, scrub the toilet...the list goes on and on (as you all can relate to I'm sure =)). I spend a very decent amount of time on Wednesday's managing my girls and a pretty small amount of time enjoying them. By 5 PM I am absolutely exhausted. I can't imagine doing that day in and day out! And then considering the whole thing again while adding in a third child?! Eek! With what time?!

I have spoken with my mom about this several times and she has explained every time that when you are a SAHM that you have all week to get done the things that I am trying to fit into one day. That when you stay home with your kids it isn't stressful every day because you aren't constantly rushing around trying to get things done. Things slow down. You slow down.
One example my mom used was: you don't have to find time to nurse your baby and find time to pump because your baby is there with you. When he is hungry, nurse him. There is no reason for you to pump afterwards. And the girls can be right there with you - building with blocks, reading books, etc. - while you nurse. They won't be alienated during the process.
"When you stay home with your children you will have more of an opportunity to enjoy what you have in front of you."
It sounds lovely, doesn't it?

And I want to believe her, I do.

But I just can't see it. It sounds like a fairy tale land to me. My perspective must be skewed. (Maybe from having twins?) I am a working momma who is always busy and rushes all day to get everything done, and I really can't relate to what it may be like to be a SAHM.

Here's an example of my inability to relate. Feel free to clue me in, because I feel like I am quite clueless...

The girls and I attended a MoM's playgroup last week (during the day) at PE 101. They loved it. I loved it. There were a ton of other MoM's there with their kids, and I am quite sure that every one of them were SAHM's. I decided after our play group that I was going to set up some play groups at PE 101 - one in the evenings so the working mommies and/or daddies could come too, and one in the daytime primarily for the SAHM's. I thought that the SAHM's would probably jump on the opportunity to do both a day time and an evening play group (weeks apart, and at a time when the daddies could come along too)...but generally speaking, they didn't.

I was perplexed.

I didn't understand at all. I have the girls 100% to myself once a week (and of course I'm home on the weekends too), and sure, we will go to playgroups if they fall on the day I am off or if they are somewhere I REALLY want to go, but otherwise, we are all for evening and weekend playgroups where BOTH of us can go. Equal parenting.
Some SAHM's shared that sentiment, but others did not. Nope, several responded they would only do play groups during the day, not in the evenings.

But why? Is that time the SAHM's "time off" (if there was such a thing)? Their "break" from their kids now that daddy is home? A chance to have some time alone? I really have no clue.

From my perspective, I am thinking - shouldn't the daddies get to be involved in the fun stuff too? Shouldn't they get to play and have fun with their kiddos outside the home? Do only the mommas get to do the fun stuff with their kids?

I think perhaps I am a bit niave to how the world works in the life of a SAHM. I mean, I know we all have a different family dynamic, and we all parent differently, because we all do. But are things SO different to a SAHM that I can't even really understand where they are coming from or what their life is like on a day to day basis?

And then one step further...if I can't relate to a SAHM, how can I be sure that I don't want to be one??? Do I want to be one?

So tell me...what is your life like as a SAHM? What is your life like as a working momma? Do you share my sentiments? Or are your thoughts totally different? Can you share them with me? Thanks!!!

Until next time -
Megan

15 month update, and week's worth of updates (and pictures)!

Sorry for the lack of posts this week...we've been busy!
Here's what we have been up to:
This past weekend Gramz came down and spent the weekend with us. We played A LOT, ate a lot, and slept a lot. It was pretty awesome!

On Monday we had our 15 month check up at our pediatrician's office. We got two shots this time, will get one at 18 months, and then we will be done for quite a while - whew! Si didn't come with to the visit, and he is NEVER getting out of going again! It sucks to have to be the one to hold down both screaming girls while they are getting shots! What crap! He is never not going again- PERIOD!
Other than the shots, the appointment went well. The girls are growing like little weeds! Here are their stats:
Miss Olivia - AKA Baby A
Height - 32 inches - 92nd percentile
Weight - 26 lbs 13 oz - 93rd percentile

Miss Brianna - AKA Baby B
Height - 32.5 inches - 95th percentile
Weight - 27 lbs 2 oz - 95th percentile

Both girls seem to be on target developmentally; however, due to my apparent negligence, they did not meet two of their developmental milestones. 1 - they can not color scribbles (they only want to eat the crayons...they have NO interest in coloring), and 2 - they can not build blocks on top of each other. (This is probably mostly my fault as I didn't even break out the blocks until after Christmas, and they weren't really interested in building with them - they only wanted to tear my creations down!)

Anyhow, we have since reversed both (negative) findings...the girls can color in scribbles if you force them to encourage them to do so and sit practically on top of them so they can't move or focus on anything else, and Livvy has a new found desire to stack two legos on top of each other. Looky there. We have now met all our milestones!
And just as a sidenote; why don't they give you the list of developmental milestones they want you to hit by your next pediatrician visit before you leave your current visit?? You know, so you KNOW what to work on with your children... or am I just an awful momma who should be scouring some source on the internet for these milestones so I can make sure that my girls actually reach them? Did you all know the milestones your kiddos were supposed to meet by each timepoint? Am I really a slacker momma?! (It's okay if the answer is yes, I just need to know that!)

Anywho...moving on....what else happened in the last week or so?
The girls finally got their new car seats...we decided on the Britax Boulevard 70 CS in Cowmooflague =). Good thing, because we had officially outgrown our old ones as of Monday - 32" and 35 lbs was the max on our snugride 35's!

The Christmas tree came down, and in its place went our little reading cocoon chairs (which we LOVE!). We are obsesesd with reading! I love that they love it so much!!!

We had a playdate with our local MoM's group at PE 101 on Tuesday. That was AWESOME! I don't know if that is a local chain or a national chain, but I have to tell you, this place rocked! It had a large foam pit (think big ball pit, except large foam blocks instead), a big trampoline built into the floor, big balls, hula hoops, a big open dance floor, a zip line, mats to tumble on, all kinds of stuff!! I wish I could post pictures, but I only took them on my phone and I can't for the life of me figure out how to get pics from my phone onto my blog. You will just have to imagine the awesomeness =). The girls haven't played that hard EVER. Their favorite thing by far was the foam pit, although Bri loved having so much space to run wild. They kept jumping into the foam pit and getting back out and jumping back in again, and just giggling! It was a perfect playdate! We will definitely be going back!

So that's what we have been up to over the last week. Have you guys been this busy too?! Sheesh!

Until next time -
Megan

I Am

I read this on 3 Little Men and a Mommy and thought it sounded like a great idea, so I joined in too! I think it's very interesting to read other people's responses to the fill in the blanks. If you do this too, let me know! I'd love to read about you!

I AM...a wife, a mother, a daughter, a sister, and a friend...but where's the instruction manual??? It's a lot harder than I thought it would be to be good at even one of these things!
I WANT… to do enjoy every single thing I have been blessed with, and not worry about what I don't have.
I HAVE...a job, a roof over my head, transportation, a wonderful family, great friends, food on the table and in the cupboards, closets full of clothes, and hearts full of love. See, very blessed!
I KEEP...my family and friends close to my heart, always.
I WISH I COULD...sleep in on weekends....lol....only 18 more years to go!
I HATE...rudeness, insincerity, and being lied to.
I FEAR...being alone.
I HEAR...people talking negatively behind other people's backs. Why???? Why do we feel the need to do this?
I DON'T THINK… that people always get what they deserve. Some people get slighted. Life is a crapshoot sometimes. And that sucks.
I REGRET...losing contact with good friends...
I LOVE...98% of my life...I try to ignore the 2% that stinks.
I AM NOT...perfect, in any sense of the word. I have many things that I need to work on to make myself a better person.
I DANCE...with my husband, my girlies, and my pugs... like no one is watching...those ballroom lessons paid off - LOL=)
I SING...any time I can. I love music. So does Si. So do my girls. I think music is so important! Keep the music alive!
I NEVER...have used ANY illegal drugs. Ever. Not once. Not that I didn't consider it, but um, I'm a puker when I get drunk, and that really sucks...I figured that if that was my reaction to alcohol, my reaction to something illegal would be MUCH worse!
I RARELY...get road rage. Si can yell at other drivers like it's no one's business, but not me! I always think worse case scenario...what if that other driver has a gun or something?! NOT worth it!
I CRY WHEN...someone close to me tells me they are disappointed in me, or in something I have done. It's not often, but it happens.
I AM NOT ALWAYS...happy. We all have bad days. I really am a happy person about 97% of the time though. I love that about myself. I think it drives others batty =)
I HATE THAT…I carry grudges....if you did something to really hurt me, I may never forgive you. I think that's sad.
I'M CONFUSED ABOUT...why people abuse and neglect their pets. We see this SO often in pug rescue, and I can never understand it. Why hurt the ones that give you literal unconditional love???
I NEED...coffee first thing in the morning. Right now it's 1/3 caff, with cream and sugar, please =)
I SHOULD...spend more time enjoying my girls instead of managing them....I've mentioned this before, and it's seriously a work in progress. I have to make a conscious effort every day to enjoy them more. They are wonderful! Why can't I just enjoy their company???

So that's me!! Tell me about YOU!

Until next time -
Megan

Sorry, no pics this time! This was an unplanned post and I don't have any new pics to share today!

Girlies vs. Lemon Meringue Pie

Aunt Denise picked up a Lemon Meringue pie from Village Inn on Friday. The girls seemed interested in this fluffy yellow creation, so we gave them a bite or two. They made the awful sour food face and wanted nothing to do with it (which we didn't catch on camera of course, but was definitely hilarious).

Fast forward to today....we were finishing up the remainder of the Lemon Meringue pie after dinner and the girls again wanted some. Fine I thought, but you aren't going to like it!

On the contrary!

They LOVED it! Crazy!

I stuck them back in their highchairs and put some pie on their high chair trays....

This is the final outcome....LOL! The girls really enjoyed the pie, and consequently we learned that lemon meringue pie would also work as a stellar hair gel, just in case you were curious and in the market...HA!

Brianna:

Olivia:

Pie = 0, Girlies = 2. Lemon Meringue pie is no match for our girls!

Hope you are having a great day!

PS - Thanks for all of your input on the sippy cups! We intend to transition to the hard spout Platex ones THAT DON'T LEAK in the next week or two =). Then hopefully, within a couple months, to regular cups. You're suggestions were awesome!! Thanks ladies!!!

Until next time -
Megan

Eradication of the bottles...

We made the decision on Thursday; Friday would be the last day the girls would be getting bottles, and they would make the "cold turkey" transition to nothing but sippy cups starting Saturday morning.

AND????

It's gone fairly well.

Olivia was furious Saturday morning when Daddy handed her a sippy cup of milk instead of a bottle. I'm quite sure she chucked it multiple times in fact. She refused to drink it. And we let her pout. By about 11 AM she had come around and was fine with the sippy cups. She was upset that we gave her a sippy cup for her last nighttime bottle as well, and again, chucked the sippy cup. BUT... she had no problems going down for the night. Success!

Brianna was pretty much fine from the get go, but our issue with her and sippy cups has been that she spits whatever liquid they may contain out onto the carpet...so puddles of milk and juice everywhere. Ugh. Overall though, she really didn't spit that much out yesterday. YAY. Progress!

Actually the biggest hurdle we ran into was that the stupid cups (while SUPPOSEDLY leak free) leak like crazy. This was not a good time to figure this out! We've been using sippy cups for months for juice in the mornings and occasionally milk througout the day, and I'd never really noticed any leaking problems. But now, now that we are guns a blazing, full speed ahead with sippy cups, AND we have spent a small fortune trying different kinds and purchasing enough for a decent supply, we find that they are pieces of crap and leak. UGH. We are using the Nuby sippy cups with the flexible spouts (not straws). DISLIKE.

I'm trying to decide what exactly we should switch to...we tried a bunch of different kinds to start with (most with less flexible "spouts") and this was the only kind they would take. We haven't tried the Born Free sippy cups that you can buy at Whole Foods...well, because they are $12.99 A PIECE. Um, we would need like 10...do that math...I don't really want to spend that on sippy cups! I suppose I could get a couple and see if the girls would even take them and do my own little review....I know one of my other twin momma friends "Miss O" uses them and loves them....hmmm...(and as a side note, they are only $9.97 on Amazon, so I would save a little bit of money ordering that way...)

So, for the time being, we have kicked the bottle habit! We have been bottle free for nearly 40 hours. YAY! Go girlies go! The next challenge on our list is an introduction to potty training (yes, you heard me right and I have a whole blog post about it) but we have to fully conquer our sippy cup escapades first!!

So...what sippy cup has worked for you and your kiddos? Any expert advice for me guys?

Hope you are having a wonderful Sunday! We are enjoying the unseasonably warm temperatures here and are spending lots of time outside =). Here's a picture of the girls with Aunt Denise by the pond (not that you can see the pond)...they are loving it!

Until next time -
Megan

Some time to ourselves =)

For the first time since the girlies were born, Si and I BOTH got to sleep in this morning! It was AMAZING!
To clarify, we made it all the way to 8:25 AM - definitely not "sleeping in" according to our previous standards - but post baby that is awesome!
Si and I were both off today, but our nanny extraordinaire volunteered to work anyway, so we JUMPED on the opportunity to have some time to ourselves and go out and about without the girlies!!

After we leisurely made our way downstairs and were greeted by two beautiful little smiling faces,

we took showers and got ready to head off to the movies. Again, our first movie together at a theater since before the girls were born. We saw Mission Impossible- Ghost Protocol. It was a great movie! An excellent choice for our first movie together in nearly 18 months!

We then decided to run to the mall and hit up Victoria's Secret Semi-Annual sale (what can I say, I'm a sucker for VS stuff), and we dropped by Target since we were right there too. I was so proud of myself for finding my bargain buy of the day....a new Chicco Playyard for Baby C...normally $189.99, on clearance for $56.84!!!! (Seriously, check out the specs on this thing - it has a play yard with toys attached, it vibrates, it plays music - holy buckets! These baby/kid items are getting so advanced!)

I figured that Baby C would need to start out in a pack n play, and I intended to buy him a new one (since Bri has killed the Winnie the Pooh one), but I didn't expect to get this particular one, and I didn't expect the purchase to happen quite this early! Oh well. The new pack and play was my one big purchase that I intended for Baby C...that and maybe a new carseat since the girl's car seats are a set and match the stroller that we intend to sell at the multiples sale in April. I figured the pack and play would be a relatively pricey purchase. I feel so proud of my thriftiness! YAY! =)

Otherwise we had a very low key New Year's. We caught the tail end of the fireworks Saturday night in the Downtown Omaha Old Market, then drove through Mickey D's for some ice cream (Dairy Queen was closed already - slackers). New Years Day we went to church, then lots of playing together on the floor and just plain old having fun=). It was a great start to 2012!

It's been over 4 weeks since I've posted a shot of my growing baby bump, and I am proud to say that my bump is coming along! I think I look pregnant now! YAY! And I really started feeling baby C move earlier in the week...it's such an amazing feeling...I remember missing the kicks so much after the girls were born...now I remember why!
Anyhow, here's a current belly shot, just shy of 17 weeks =)

Wishing you all a happy and prosperous 2012!! Happy New Year blogger peeps!

Until next time -
Megan