is there wrestling in summer Olympics?

You know the Lopez Family (3 brothers and a sister)? The family who went to the recent summer Olympics to compete in Tae Kwon Do? I wonder if my children will grow up to be wrestlers and compete in the Olympics.

Here is what I mean.



Thing 1 is wearing the light blue PJ and Thing 2 is in dark blue.

Meet & Greet - Soccer

There was a meet and greet for the YMCA soccer tonight so the whole troop went. We met two of Big Bro's school friends and the three of them acted like they haven't seen each other in years. After the ritualistic greeting (hitting/pushig/hugging) they squeeled and ran around in circles. They are team Strikers. It would be interesting to see if there is actually Soccer that happens on Saturdays with these three musketeers.

their new shoes are here

(Thing 1 standing, Thing 2 sitting)
The Robeez shoes I ordered online arrived today. So here are the girls modeling their new shoes. They are wearing a 24 month old shirt, and 18 month old pants and I must say, it makes them look very grown up. We are keeping up with the ponytail because that is the only one they cannot pull off.

Thing 1 has been standing up by herself without holding on to anything for a while now, but she's been doing it a lot more in the last few days. She stands up, squats down halfway and then stands back up again. I've also been getting her to practice taking steps and so far she can take 2 steps before making a dive for me.

my baby's baby doll

Thing 1 found 2 baby dolls last night and wouldn't let go of it. They are the dolls I bought for Big Bro when I was pregant with the twins, to get him used to having babies at home.

Thing 1 took it to bed with her. Daddy took it away because he didn't want her to have too many toys in bed, but she protested loudly. Finally, Daddy gave in and gave it back to her. (Though he again took it away after she fell asleep.)

Thing 1 is so cute holding the baby doll, I just had to take a picture. The other bear toward her leg is Coco.

Thing 2 was apparently still awake so I only got her excited. She also has a bear roomy, Zoe.

When Thing 1 woke up, I let her have the baby. She had to to have it in the stroller with her when took Big Brother to school this morning.

did he go from being a preschooler straight to being a teen-ager?

Getting a 3 year old to eat breakfast in the morning and get dressed in time to get to preschool is sometimes like being in a time warp of some sort. I run around the house to get the twins fed and dressed and ready while the boy sits in front of the TV moving slower than molasses. He moves so slow, you'd think he's frozen in place.

This morning after telling him to put on his socks and shoes for the 100th time, he finally did it and was very proud of the fact.

Big Bro: Mommy, I did it! I put one sock on.
Me: Good job! You're becoming a big boy and pretty soon you'll get to do more stuff yourself.
Big Bro: (pauses for a second) I don't know how to drive you car, Mommy. I know how to drive Daddy's car. I don't know how to drive your car.
Me: Oh.

I called Daddy to tell him this and give him a laugh and he reminded me of something that happened the other day when he picked the boy up from school. They were on a stop light right in front of a car dealership lot.

Big Bro: Daddy, what's that?
Daddy: That's car dealership.
Big Bro: What is it?
Daddy: That is where people go to buy a car.
Big Bro: I want you to buy a car, Daddy.
Daddy: Daddy doesn't need a car right now.
Big Bro: Daddy, I want you to buy me a little car.
Daddy: So you can drive around the backyard?
Big Bro: YEAH!!

Daddy and I both had a good laugh.

county fair

We went to the county fair yesterday and was pleasantly surprised that the little man can ride most everything by himself. He had a great time especially after winning a stuffed frog (now named Froggie) after racing cars with me and Daddy (one of those water squirting race). And then he tried his hand and ball throwing. He had 3 balls and missed the first 2 times but hit the target on the 3rd. He won a little Shark (now named Sharkie).

Daddy and the little man enjoyed the Ferris Wheel.

He hit a plate on the 3rd ball after he stood up. He won a Sharkie!

Of course we had to see the train exhibition. It was tough to get him to leave!

The girls patiently watched everything in their new stroller.

Having fun on the Dragon kiddy roller coaster.

Of course he had to ride the Fire truck on this vehicle merry go round.

Car racing! It's a self-driving train of cars which looked pretty boring until it rounds the corner and whipped him around, then it was all giggles!

We visited the Police tent and he got his very own badge.

The last ride of the day was this barrel ride. It went too slow that the boy in front of him (age 3 or so) got out in the middle of it!

I didn't know I had 4 children

This morning I was laying on the couch with Thing 2 and Big Bro climbing over me. Thing 1 was off in a corner playing by herself, but when she was done, she came up to us and wanted to join in.

Me: "All my children can climb on me, I don't mind. M, how many children does Mommy have?"

Big Bro: "Three!"

Me: "How many girls and how many boys?"

Big Bro: "Two girls!"

Me: "How many boys?"

Big Bro: "One!"

Me: "Great job!"

Big Bro: "No! Two boys."

Me: "Two? Where is the other one?"

Big Bro: "IN THE OFFICE!"


NOTE: Daddy was in the office.

too much lovin'

Thing 1 was again the recipient of her big brother's love. Surprisingly, she enjoyed the whole thing.

Thing 2 got her turn, but she didn't look like she liked it. Either that or she just needed to warm up to it. I didn't catch Thing 2 and Big Bro on video because I had to referee really quickly.

Combi Savvy, our new stroller!

The girls and I checked out the Combi Savvy (thanks to the recommendation of some great twin moms!) stroller yesterday and test drove it around the store. It's an awesome stroller. It's so much lighter than the Graco DuoGlider. Here it is being test driven by Big Brother when he came home from school. Poor Thing 1 was left out of her own stroller.

I don't know what it is about this look, but Thing 2 has got Big Brother's TV look down pat, without needing the TV! Thing 1 is looking goofy as well with her tounge partly out.

I don't know where Thing 2 is but she's definitely note here. Perhaps she's day dreaming about being the only child, especially when Big Brother steals her crackers.

breakfast with the Transformers

Daddy gave this little man 2 of his Transformers from his childhood: a firetruck (blue) and an ambulance (red). The boy was of course over the moon. The firetruck is just too precious to him to let Daddy turn it into a robot though, but the ambulance he sacrificed. :-)

This is a TV face, by the way, while eating breakfast.

the value of money

I don't know how I could have forgotten to blog about something so amusing.

Two weeks ago, I took the little man with me to the grocery store. We do our grocery shopping at Wal-Mart because it's a one stop shopping (a must when you have twins and a toddler). Every time we go there, he asks for a toy. Most of the time, it's ok but we need to start putting some limit because the toys in our house are multiplying like rabbits.

When we got to the store the little man asked if he could get a toy. I told him no, not this time because we don't have money. He said he did have money and he brought it with him. He held out his hand and showed me a nice shiny penny. I grinned at him and explained that it wasn't enough to get him anything. He insisted that it was enough and that he wanted to give it to the cashier to get a toy. I told him if he wanted to buy something, he must save all the money he has, in the meantime I offered to hold his money for him.

I talk about not having money with him, but I think it's time to teach him the value of each coin. It may be tough though since I don't even carry cash anymore. :-(

free roam of the house

You can find Thing 1 & Thing 2 on enjoying the kitchen floor these days.

Thing 1 hugs her Giraffe. I asked her to give it a kiss and instead she had the Giraffe kiss her.

Thing 2 enjoys looking at herself on the camera while I take pictures. I addition to her 6 big chompers, 2 new ones on the bottom are peaking out.

Thing 1 converses with Thing 2 on the big chair. I bet they're trying to compare notes on how to be more mischievous.

A-ha! You see? You see Thing 2's face? They probably had just come up with something really bad to do.

my amazing little man

My little man is going to be 3 1/2 years old in a few weeks time. It's not been that long, but he is is developing by leaps and bounds and it's all so much fun to witness. Lately, we've discovered that he can count up to 5 without really counting. If he sees up to 5 things, he automatically knows how many that is. He can also do simple subtraction, addition and multiplication. He was playing something online a while ago where he needed to drag 5 balloons in a box. After putting 2 in, I asked how many more he needed and he instantly answered 3. Then last night while Daddy was giving him a bath, he asked if he could splash water on the bath wall 5 times (he was pretending to be a fireman), and after having done 2, Daddy asked if how many more he had to do to get to 5.

The little man has also discovered the difference between Daddy and I when we put him to bed. We always tell him that either Daddy or I can lie down with him only 5 minutes and then we leave and he has to to sleep. When it's my night to put him down, I set my watch for 5 minutes only after we've talked and played and ready to quiet down. But apparently, Daddy sets his timer for 5 minutes instantly, it doesn't matter if he's not done playing/reading/talking. So one night, the boy told Daddy that he must set his timer for 5 minutes AFTER he is lying down in bed with him.

This morning after I asked him to finish his candy and brush his teeth, he told me that the candy he was eating is not a "chewer" candy. He said it's a "change side" candy. I didn't know what he meant until I realized he was responding to my many many reminders that if he must try and chew candies so that he does not choke on them. I guess the candy he was eating today was too hard to chew. I just love that he has labled the candies so appropriately.

Daddy and I are just amazed by him everyday.

Should I get a side-by-side twin stroller?

Twin moms, I need your help! I'm thinking of getting a side-by-side twin stroller for the girls. Do you think it's worth it? What would you recommend?

We have a Graco DuoGlider. I don't mind it, but I'm finding that the girls want to interact with each other more and more, especially when they feel overwhelmed. I take them wherever we go, doctor's appointments, errands, etc. so I need one that would fit through standard doors. The DuoGlider is big and takes so much room when we go visit the grandparents, when the van is already full (even when we use a top cargo!).

Please let me know what you recommend and what you love about it, or let me know what to stay away from.

Thanks!!!!

learning to climb down and making mischief

It's amazing how fast they learn to climb down the right way when you let them experience how it feels to fall down.



This bookshelf seems to be a hot spot. They like going there just to pull all the books down.

brown?

Big Bro was brushing his teeth one morning getting ready to go to school when he looked and touched my arm. He said, "Mommy, I'm turning brown like you!"

It's safe to say it's not me he heard it from. He really isn't as dark as me, but he isn't a glow-in-dark-white like his Daddy. But he does now have a yellow (or dare I say, Asian) tinge. The girls are also getting a nice golden yellow tinge to them.

baby sign language

I am happy to say that Thing 2 has been highly conversational in the last couple of weeks, using baby signs. All I have to do is mention the words and she does the sign. Of course when it comes to eating and asking for more, both Thing 1 and Thing 2 do them on their own without prompting.

Signs that Thing 2 knows and does regularly:
-more
-eat
-good night
-stinky (we made this up - she pinches her nose)
-milk

Thing 1 knows all of the above as well, but she's too stubborn to use them regularly.

I've been trying to video tape either Thing 1 or Thing 2 doing each of the signs but no luck yet.

CORRECTION: Note that it's Thing 2 that does the signs regularly, not Thing 1. Thanks to Daddy for catching the mistake. With all these Things, I'm getting confused. :-)

shopping for milk-free food

In spite of feeling crappy last night because of my cold, I headed out to the grocery store to get some food. I know my cold will only get worse so I had better head on out before we get incapacitated and starve over the weekend (hubby is sicker than I am).

It seemed like I all I did was to read labels looking for anything that doesn't have any milk products. And what I learned is that almost everything I have been given the girls have milk in them. I was looking forward to going home with tons of safe food for the girls, instead I came home with even less stuff. Even some of the baby food I give them has milk.

It's not going to be easy. Here is a list we have to now live by. (We are going to buy a small laminated list to put in our wallets from The Food Allergy & Anaphylaxis Network )

allergy skin test

Thing 1

Thing 2

There are letters all the way to their side under the arm and right on the diaper line. Each letter corresponds to 1 prick. Based on the what I told the nurse and doctors, the only thing we were able to spare the girls were wheat and eggs. They've eaten eggs and wheat before and had shown no reactions.

I told Daddy that had I known there would be any testing down yesterday, I would have insisted that Daddy came with us. But because the pediatrician down-played the allergy, saying, "I don't think the pediatric allergist will do any testing because it sounds pretty mild.", I was pretty sure there testing wouldn't be done.

Daddy said he's had the skin prick done before and it's not pleasant and it is itchy. Based on the conversation the pediatrician and I had, he thought that only blood testing would be done because the girls are so young. He said had he known skin prick test would be done, he would have insisted that he come with me also.

so it's a true milk allergy and it's a true asthma

Yesterday I got a call from the pediatric allergist that they had a cancellation for 1pm today and if I wanted to, I could have it. Of course I said yes. We were to arrive 15-30 minutes early, but got my time all wrong and we got there right at 1pm. But funny how it all works, apparently my appointment was really 1:30. I guess they heard about me and my mommy brain. And we didn't leave the place until 5:30. Yup, we were there for 4 1/2 hours. Poor little Things.

The crying began at the very start when the nurse weighed them. Then we were ushered into the room where I was asked a heck of a lot of questions. An hour or so later, more people came (doctors and students) and there were more preliminary examinations. Then the pricking began. While Thing 2 was on the table with one doctor listening to her lungs and looking at her ears, I was sitting down with Thing 1. The nurse had drawn a line of letters on her whole back, then the pricks. Of course Thing 1 cried and cried and cried. To the nurse's credit, she did it super fast. When Thing 1 was done, someone put Thing 2 on my other leg. She cried and cried and cried, and Thing 1 cried. They both cried so hard, their noses started bleeding. After all the crying, I was left alone in the room "hugging" a baby on each leg. I couldn't really touch their backs.

Instantly, there were obvious reactions. When the nurse returned and measured the welts (if any), Thing 1's welt for the milk allergy was 9mm and Thing 2's was 8mm. This is actually very big! The only other reactions that were noted were for peanut (4mm).

The doctor said that around 4mm is really not considered 'true' at this age. But the milk welt being so big, it is a true milk allergy. The peanut allergy is noted and would be watched, but it's not enough to be worried about right now. So the girls were prescribed an epi pen, Singulair and antibiotic (apparently they have a sinus infection). Then she went on to the subject of asthma. She said with the risks factors of eczema, food allergy and family history of asthma, this is an asthma that must be treated, especially that the girls often wheeze. For the asthma, they were given Singulair which they are to take everyday for a loooooong time. If it doesn't control the wheezing, we'll have to consider a steriod by nebulizer.

After being shown how to use the epi pen, we were sent for blood work. The blood work is to put quanitity to the allergy and for the purpose of comparison a year from now when they get tested again.

The blood work. Well. The phelobotomist worked on Thing 1 first. I normally don't look at the needle when I get blood work done, but this time I did. I thought I should see the whole thing in case something goes wrong. The woman had to fish for a vein. She stuck Thing 1 and fished this way and that way. It was horrible. Finally the blood flowed, but then it stopped. Absolutely horrible. The poor girl is exhausted, sleepy and she has been through too much by this time. But finally it was over. Than it was Thing 2's turn. The woman exclaimed, "wow, they have the same vein", but yet she also had to fish for it. It was especially horrible. Thing 2 trashed and kicked and I had to really really hold her down. She was hysterical at this point but yet no blood. The woman took out the needle and said she wanted to try the other arm. Thing 2 kicked and trashed some more. The woman said, she doesn't like this arm, she'll do the first one instead. Finally, she got the vein. By this time Thing 2 was absolutely hysterical. By this time, I am so frustrated and felt so bad for the girls I was on the verge of crying.

I really needed another pair of arms today. Not because it was tiring for me, but because it was a horrible experience for the girls. They needed a familiar face to comfort them but there was no one. I did my best, but someone had to be put in the stroller to cry by herself so that I could hold the other one.

The day has been horrible and the girls faced it like little troopers. I'm glad it's over with, though the diagnosis has left me a little depressed. There's nothing like being made to carry an epi pen to shock you to your motherly core. I know it's not the end of the world. I just need time to process and to adjust.

We are to avoid any milk products for a year and then the girls will get another blood test to see where they are then. Having no clue about food allergies, it was another shocker to think that all we had to avoid was the word "milk" on the ingredients. I need to read up on a lot of information.

We were given this as a trusted source: The Food Allergy & Anaphylaxis Network

who would have thought the girls are more difficult alone than when they're together

Daddy wasn't feeling well on Sunday so only Big Bro and I were planning on going to church. Then I had an idea that I can take one of the girls with us to see how they will do alone. Also, partly because I took Thing 1 with me a while ago to the grocery store and I've been feeling guilty that Thing 2 never got her turn.

So with Big Bro and Thing 2 in tow, we headed to church. Big Bro was as good as a 3 year old can be with his coloring books and stickers. Thing 2 was great also, but in the 2nd half of the mass, she started fighting me to get to the floor. She was still a good little girl, but just more fidgety.

When we came home, Daddy said Thing 1 was a little more challenging than usual as well. Instead of playing by herself (like she and Thing 2 usually do), she just kept hanging around Daddy and climbing all over him. And according to Daddy, Thing 1 kept saying, "wan jo, wan jo."
When we put Thing 1 and Thing 2 on the floor, they didn't look at each other but they started playing very close to each other.

Very very interesting....

Oh, I almost forgot. On Saturday afternoon we went to a restaurant for my birthday dinner. But before we left, Big Bro kept saying, "we have to get a cake or we will miss Mommy's birthday!". When we were at the restaurant making our orders, Big Bro told the server that it was my birthday. Out of nowhere! Of course Daddy had a laugh and was amazed that he didn't even have to put him up to it.

So we got free dessert and a birthday song. My boy is soooo sweet. And contrary to what Daddy thinks, I did not get embarrassed. In fact, I enjoyed it.

an afternoon at the mall

We were going to have a picnic at the Botanical Garden on Friday but it they were not open late enough for us to enjoy it. So we headed to the mall. There was a band playing so the little man got to shake his bootay.

(Thing 1 is on the left, Thing 2 is on the right.)

our very own guitar hero

We finally bought Guitar Hero III for the xbox 360 this weekend. And look, we already have a pro! We all had fun taking turns, unfortunately, we had a little too much fun. We already beat the game.



Then our house came under attack. By hail, that is (notice the white stuff). It was so loud and so scary, I wish we didn't have so many windows. I also thought surely a tornado was imminent, fortunately it was only a severe thunderstorm. In a matter of 20 minutes or so our yard was flooded. But more unfortunate for our neighbor though, as you can see.

it's really not an indication of how bad they are...really

Thing 1 is the one with 2 horns ponytails, but Thing 2 only wanted one.

speechless

Yesterday at 5:30 pm, I got a call from the husband, "I'm DONE! I'm DONE! here, you talk to him."

"Mommy, I'm mad at Daddy! Daddy hurt my feelings! I don't like it, Daddy!" the little man said in between sobs.

I got the whole story when they came home. Daddy and the little man had a race on who could get to the car faster and when Daddy won, the little man threw a tantrum.

Fast forward to this morning. "Matty, don't fight with Daddy today when he picks you up," I said.

"Mommy, I need to. Cons why [because] I want YOU to pick me up!"

I was stunned for a few seconds but recovered nicely. "Matty, I can't pick you up. And if you don't want Daddy to pick you up, you're going to have to walk home. And it's a long way home!"

"Huh?" he said.

Now, we're both speechless.

Freedom!

I cleaned and cleaned and cleaned yesterday. Most of Big Brother's toys are now in the hallway and only the girls' toys are in the living room. I vacuumed, I mopped, I disinfected. It was back breaking work and now, finally, the girls can roam around outside the play yard! They absolutely loved it. They can now go and roam through the entire kitchen and living room.

Thing 1 went to the bookshelf that Big Brother used to love to go to and empty. She pulled the books one at a time until it was completely empty and then tried to climb on the pile of books. I think he may may climb in it like her brother used to do.

Of course we had to put the baby gates back on. And with that, we had to teach Big Brother to open it, which is not too easy for him and then there's Daddy complaining about it. He hates the gate. But hey, what can you do. The girls need to be able to crawl around and learn to climb up and down of stuff and practice taking steps. Now we have to be very vigilant about Big Brother's little toys lying around.

I am a mom of 3 and I have bum knees

Is there ever such a bad combination?

I've been suffering from crunchy knees for the past year and I have never thought anything of it (based on a casual response from my husband when I say my knees make noise). But then one day a couple of months ago, I actually let him hear it. His response was a contorted face that clearly told me the noise my knees make isn't normal.

I saw an orthopaedist and had tests done. And the result is that I have femoral arthritis and before considering surgery we have to try 6 weeks of physical therapy. My physical therapist thinks that I may have had this before and the weight gain with my pregnancy with the twins made it worse (but truth be known, I actually gained more weight with my son than with the twins). I've been holding myself in such a way that required less work from certain muscles, which made my knee caps wear out. Physical therapy then serves to develop those muscles (mostly the inner thighs) to support proper functioning of the knee caps.

After 6 weeks, I returned to see the orthopaedist on Friday and the verdict is "looks like the Physical Therapy is working, let's try 6 more weeks." I swear the whole consult took less than 2 minutes (the girls and I waited in the lobby for 45 minutes, and then waited in the exam room for 30 minutes).

I'm in pain, especially when I go up and down the stairs carrying the twins. But hey, it's better than surgery. I just can't imagine how things will go if I were to be out of commission for even just a week. Between deep squats (which I'm supposed to limit, as it is extremely bad for my knees) to get up and down on the floor to tend to the twins, and walking around the house at my toddler's beck and call, there trully isn't any rest for my bum knees.

Who knew hyper extending my knees could become such a problem. BAD, BAD KNEES! You have disappointment Mommy. Though on the upside, at least it isn't Rheumatoid Arthritis, so good, good knees. No. NO, still.... bad knees! Very bad!