Children

They tear your heart out on a daily basis & then hand it back to you with sweet smiles on their faces. It's the best thing in the world & I wouldn't trade it for anything.

2 Little Monkeys Jumping on the Bed...

While "napping" Alessa decided to stand on the bed (definitely verboten in the Taylor house). She inevitably fell & took the edge of the table to the cheekbone. After lots of tears, an ice pack & some snuggles, she turned to me & said "I HATE having a broken face."

My Novel... er, New Year's Resolutions

Here it goes, in all my brutal honesty, for the world to call me out on several months down the line. And you know what? I WANT you to call me out on it. I WANT you to invite yourself & your little ones over to pressure me to keep my table clear. I WANT you to send harassing emails if I haven't updated my blog in weeks. I WANT you to ask me how my grandfather is & check if I've been keeping in touch with him. Know why? Because it's always easier if you're held accountable to someone. Whether it's your Weight Watchers leader or your Husband Project Accountability Partner... guilt is a great motivator. So without further adieu: Christy's Resolutions.

*Fit into my line-dancing Rockies that still have the tags on them. Okay, so that’s quite a ways down the line (size 18) – as is my senior prom dress (size 20) – but those are my eventual “goal clothes”. You know the ones I’m talking about – you know you have them too – the one or 2 pieces of clothing to remind you of your past physique that you haven’t hucked even though you’ve been to goodwill a dozen times. Alright, I know these are likely not achievable in this year, so to be realistic...

§ Get locked down on the track to a healthier lifestyle. I’ll admit it, as of my last doctor visit in October (for x-rays after a particularly challenging student jumped onto my foot & all but crushed it), I was 306 and size 28 (3x). That number scared me more than anything else. I passed out of the 200’s. I was the exact same weight I was at the end of my pregnancy WHEN I HAD 2 OTHER PEOPLE INSIDE OF ME!!! Enough is enough. I want to be able to shop at regular stores. I want to be able to keep up with my students. I want to be able to survive my girls’ teenage years when lord only knows what they’re planning on throwing at me. I want to be there, albeit crying hysterically, at their weddings. I want to hold my grandchildren – hell, I want to meet my great-grandchildren. Smaller portions. Smaller, more frequent meals. Eat breakfast. Don’t eat after 8:30. Yesterday I received a "waive the registration costs for you & a friend" to the new program with Weight Watchers - fruits are zero points now! - and I think I'm going to go for it.

§ Walk 2 days each week for the next 3 weeks. After that, increase to 3 days for 3 weeks & we’ll see how it goes. I haven’t worked out/exercised since I was about 6 months pregnant with the girls so I’m gonna have to be realistic & play it by ear.

§ Only eat out once a week (at most) as a family. I phrase it “as a family” because there are too many times where I take the easy way out on a hectic evening and find myself grabbing happy meals for the girls. Such a terrible habit to get THEM into. I phrase it “as a family" because there are to be 2 exceptions : we decided NOT to count my MNO’s as “eating out” since it’s an ongoing once-a-month gig. And we’d like to instate…

§ Date night. Going out at least once a month. I’m talking dressed nice, get a babysitter, order from a menu that you actually hold in your hands, maybe hit a movie or play kind of evening. We realized that our last “date night” (not including SMoM events like installation banquet) was opening weekend of Avatar. It’s hard for us because he works swing shifts, but we’re going to make a concerted effort – it’s too easy to fall into the “I think I’m a roommate/nanny with ‘benefits’ and I’m starting to feel resentment”.

§ Host 4 get togethers this year. Whether it be play days (with multiple families) or adult evenings – I love to host. Which brings me to my next resolution…

§ Keep the dining room table cleared off. As it is right now, it’s just a big flat place for “stuff” to accumulate… and then get forgotten as more gets piled on top of it. I know it sounds like a weird resolution, but it’s the main thing you see as you walk into the house & it embarrasses me when I’m ashamed to have people over because of it. I’m ashamed to have had my parents over for dinner only once or twice since we moved in… 6 ½ years ago.

§ Keep up on sewing & not let the repair basket become a black hole for clothing. I put off even sewing a button back on a pair of slacks or a skirt, place it in the “repair basket” and don’t see it again for a year or 2. By that time, I’ve forgotten about it & have purchased a new one. No more I say! Sewing a button on or ironing a patch isn’t high tech sewing. I suppose I should take the plastic packaging off the ironing board huh?

§ Refinance the house. Though the thought of pulling the mortgage back out to 30 years is daunting, the thought that we could be saving potentially 1 ½ % over what we’re paying now is encouraging. I could start putting away the difference to help pay for the girls’ college or weddings.

§ Do thing that scares me every month. This is a pretty easy resolution seeing as I dig my heels in at change – life has gotten pretty predictable. So for me, this could be a new restaurant, a new activity, even invite a new friend over for a playday/chat.

§ Update my blog at least once a week for six months. I enjoy writing – I’ve been told I’m an okay writer – and I’d really like to be able to look back when I’m old & senile and read through the antics of my Twinadoes. Who knows, maybe I could even start reviewing products & get endorsements! ;)

§ Continue/increase usage of “The Husband Project” (by Kathi Lipp). Such simple things to do & such amazing benefits. All those little things you did when you were trying to “win” your spouse that you stopped doing once you “won” them -or had children - and didn’t even realize you had stopped. Hide little love notes in lunches or on the driver’s seat of his car. Hide a special treat (like salsa, a guy movie or new CD) for him to find while I’m away or out with friends. Wear a skirt more often. You know – the stuff that shows you CARE.

§ Set aside some time every evening to focus only on my children - no computer, no fixing a meal, no prep for tomorrow's lesson - storytime, listening to them read to me, having them tell me about their school day without having to get my attention in the rear-view mirror - total focus. They’re 5. I can’t believe they’re already 5. I want them to remember little snippets from these early years as fondly as I remember spending the days with my own mom. I need to slow down. As a wise man once said, “Life moves pretty fast. If you don't stop and look around once in a while, you could miss it.” ;)

§ Call Poppy at least once a week & visit or have lunch/dinner with him at least once a month. He has always done so much for us. He misses us – especially the girls – and is sometimes so lonely in that big house. As hard as it is for me to spend time in there – the pain of the absence of Grammy still oftentimes strikes so hard – I need to realize that he lives through it day in & day out. I need to suck it up & go visit him with the girls more often than I do.

§ Prioritize my time better so “The Great Scourge of December 2010” doesn't become a reoccurring event. I need to make sure that I'm giving myself "down-time" - whether it be a night out with friends (thanks guys for making me have at least one night of sanity each month) or a date night and DEFINITELY at least 8 hours of sleep each night. I know it sounds like I’ve suddenly become 60 years old, but when I’m up till midnight one night and then 1 the next night and 1:30 the next and keep telling myself “I can sleep in over the weekend”, fate inevitably laughs at you and either sends you insomnia, a sick child or smites YOU with sickness.

Wow. A lot more ambitious than I originally set out to be, but I suppose if you’re in for a dime you’re in for a dollar huh?

Clear Out the Clutter - 500 Item Challenge

You save a lot of time and money by being organized. From clothes with tags still on them to Sharpie markers, unopened boxes of ziplocks to easy up tents – it’s amazing what you forget you have when they are “out of sight, out of mind”. You waste time searching your house for your items that don’t have a “home” & often waste money when you end up buying duplicates of “lost” items.

We’ve been working through our house room-by-room in an effort to ruthlessly rid our home & lives of unnecessary things. My challenge to you? Rid yourself of the trappings of 500 items. And be honest with yourself – each book from a bookshelf counted as one item for us, but clearing out our pen basket counted as only one item as well (not the bjillion I tossed or took into work for others). You’ll be surprised how quickly they add up. Even without cheating.

Get your children involved! They are often happy to join in as well. We have celebrated Boxing Day since the girls were born. At first, Rik & I would surreptitiously abscond toys in the dead of night, but now we enlist the girls’ help. The trick is in how you frame the task. When I ask them to choose what to donate, they suddenly choose to keep everything but when they’re asked to choose their favorites to keep, the outcome is revealing. This technique has made a difference for all 4 of us - choosing to keep only what we love and donating what's left over.

So, roll up your sleeves, grab a box & a big garbage bag and let’s roll.

Clear Out the Clutter Assignment #1

Go through your living room, coat closet & hall closet (or any other closets or cupboards which reside in your living room area) and then ruthlessly clear out any and all clutter and unnecessary items you find. The 8 jackets each family member has? Sacramento winters get very cold for our needy citizens. That puzzle that no one has played with in a year and you keep because you’re hoping to find the missing 3 pieces? Toss it. Those twin sheets you have “just in case someone else needs them” even though you got rid of the twin bed? You’re right, someone does need them - go place them in your donation box. That French maid costume you wore in high school decades ago which your husband then wore to work last year to win a Halloween contest? Well, I’d suggest lighter fluid & a Bic. It worked for us...

They Watch & Learn

Today Kevin & I went to go see one of our past professors over at ARC. Dr. Joan has always been one of my favorite teachers - the kind where once you have your full course load determined, you check which of their classes you haven't taken and throw that one in "just for fun"... granted, my "just for fun" has always been science, but that's neither here nor there.

We were supposed to meet up with her at 2; however, my husband gets ready for work at 3 which meant I had to take the girls with me. I talked to them about how important it was to me that they behave while we were there - that Dr. Joan was Mommy's favorite teacher - she had taught Mommy lots & lots about nature - and I wanted her to see what good, smart, WELL-BEHAVED girls I had. They nodded solemnly and off we went.

"Are we smart because we can read?"

"Yes."

"Are we smart because we can write?"

"Mmmhmm."

"Are we smart because we know about nature?"

"Definitely."

We arrived at the college, found Dr. Joan's office & I set them at a small desk with their "errand bags" (crayons, pen, paper, 1st reader books, etc). They kept talking to Dr. Joan & trying to show off a bit... can't say I did much to stop them - I'm very proud of how well they're doing in school. While Dr. Joan, Kevin & I chatted, Alessa decided to show off her writing a bit. She wrote the names of things she saw in the room - bons (bones) fethrs (feathers) spidrs (spiders) & so on. Then came the random one.

I was talking to Dr. Joan when Alessa says, "Excuse me Mommy?"

"What Baby?"

"See what I wrote?"

There on the page in big bold letters was the following...

OXE

CLEN

Kevin & Dr. Joan just about died laughing.

:::sigh:::

I guess that confirms it - my days of birding & hiking & field study classes have been put on hold for laundry for a while :)

Holy SMoM Party Batman!

Last weekend was our annual Mothers of Multiples Halloween party. Alessa decided that she wanted to be Wonder Woman again. Though the costume was a little short (she wore it 2 years ago), we supplemented it with some patriotic shorts. Caleigh wanted to wear her Batgirl costume.

The story with the Batgirl is as follows: 2 years ago, on the girls' "3 year old Halloween", we decided we'd bite the bullet and buy each of the girls whatever costume they wanted for the first Halloween they they actually seemed to "get it". Much to their father's delight, they both firmly insisted on being superheroes (each $40 costumes). When Halloween actually rolled around, Alessa was still thrilled to be Wonder Woman - albeit, the costume was a bit big for her (super cute though).

Caleigh, however, absolutely REFUSED to wear her Batgirl costume - she INSISTED on wearing the Ren Faire garb I threw together for them earlier in the month for Folsom Faire. The garb was my first real sewing attempt. I suppose I should feel flattered by the fact that she loved it, but all I could think about was the $40 we had wasted on the Batgirl costume. Eventually I relented and she wore her Ren Faire dress with a few little accents to spruce it up - though I still grumbled occasionally about the wasted money.

This year, however, was quite different. Mid-August she started grilling me about where her Batgirl costume was & was quite persistent about finding it. We located both costumes & hung them in the closet for safekeeping.

Flash-forward to last Saturday night. Caleigh has donned both the costume & the persona of Batgirl and spends the first part of the evening whoooshing from person to person. Suddenly she screeches & clutches her face. As a mother, this is quite concerning to me. However, she peers through her fingers, glances swiftly about the yard and dramatically exclaims, "DON'T LOOK AT ME!!! I'VE LOST MY SECRET IDENTITY!!!"

:::sigh::: The strap on her mask had broken. Rik has made sure they take their superheroes VERY seriously.

Mad Ducats

Today the girls received their Halloween cards in the mail from Grandma & Papa Watsie. They were absolutely vibrating with the shear excitement of unexpected mail, but when money fell out... they were tipped over the edge of the cliff.

"Money!?!?" Alessa all but shouted. "Why is there money!?!?"

"Well, let's sit down & read the card," I offered. I read the cards, letting them pick out the sight words they'd been working on & sounding a few words out.

"Wow," breathed Caleigh reverently, "a whole dollar."

"A dollar? Check the number on it again," I challenged.

"Five dollars!?!?" Alessa exclaimed.

"Five dollars!" Caleigh echoed, "we can buy ANYTHING!!!"