Pictures of This and That

This and that meaning my kids being cute, of course. Because that's what they do best. (Or maybe making messes is what they do best. Hmm....)

Esther likes to play with toys in unconventional ways.

Not supposed to be a riding toy.

Meant for babies of the non-real variety.

"Stickers are for paper," we say a lot around here.

Hey, this is pretty close to what the stroller is meant for!

 Austin does not usually amuse himself very well. A bit needy, that child. Unless you give him the big box that a highchair came in and license to do with it as he will. Forty minutes later...

My oldest and my youngest.

Grandmas's first morning here, so naturally the kids were checking out
all the goodies she brought. Esther tried on the big girl panties Grandma
brought her. (No, not potty trained yet. Maybe over Zach's Christmas break.)

Grandma and Joshua.

Jude got a little too comfy in Daddy's lap.

All dressed up for church.

Austin's class went to the pumpkin patch and we all went along. It was the
coldest day of the year so far but we had fun.

Grandma and I each toted a baby.

A four year old was used but not harmed in the taking of this picture. The twins
love their big brother.

Joshua close-up

Jude close-up

Grandma and Grandpa took the big kids to a park just to play in the leaves.
Our yard has no deciduous trees. Cedar needles are just not the same when
it comes to fall fun.

Grandma and Jude. You might notice a pattern...Jude is much more likely to
quiet down and fall asleep in your arms, the swing, etc, than Joshua.

The grandparents are attempting to brainwash our
children into becoming MU fans. It's okay with us. I
probably would have gone there myself if I wasn't a
small-school kind of girl. Everyone around here will just
assume the kids are wearing Steelers gear from the colors.

Last Warm Days

This has been a beautiful October week, a warm and mostly sunny break from the colder weather. With each warm day I think, is this it? Is this the last day of outdoor comfort before the long long winter? With snow forecast for next week I definitely wanted to get my kids out to run around in the backyard for awhile today.

I told them to run off some energy. Run they did.

Sometimes with a lawn mower.

Mom, do you see that Esther is playing in the dirt? Yes, yes I do. Go ahead
and join her. :) We made time for a bath while dinner was in the oven.

Jude watched the goings on from the bouncy seat on the porch.

Joshua watched the goings on from my left hip. Took a lot of tries to get a
decent shot, holding the camera out to my side as I was.

Milestones

We reached a few significant milestones at our house this weekend.

First, with the twins just a few days short of six months we decided to give them their first taste of cereal this morning. Although we haven't been good at all about taking videos of the twins, we did think to pull out the camcorder today. After watching it, I almost decided against editing and posting the video but then I figured, maybe some of you have wondered just what kind of craziness goes on in our house. Grandpa was manning the camcorder, Grandma was taking still shots, Austin and Esther were being their usual busy, let's-get-in-the-middle-of-everything selves, we were Facetiming with Gran in Texas...and oh yeah, we fed the babies. Just a day in the life. :)

The twins were a bit upset at first because they were hungry but they both settled down and ate pretty well. We weren't sure how they'd do since their adjusted age is only four and a half months but I'd call this first feeding a success. So--gulp--here we go with solids. I remember from my other kids just how much time it takes to feed babies in the early days of real food and that was just feeding one! I'll be spending a lot of time in front of those highchairs in the weeks to come!

So the second milestone: Esther climbed out of her crib. You could say she finally crawled out of her crib. We'd seen her swing one leg over the rail a few times but yesterday she finally got brave and went all the way. Austin came downstairs to tell Grandma about it during "naptime" (yeah, obviously not a lot of napping was happening) and then she and I went upstairs and made Esther give us a demonstration. And naturally today I had to get it on video. Austin never climbed out of the crib--Esther is actually getting a "first" all her own!

Zach pulled the toddler bed out of the basement this morning so Esther is upstairs in it now. I'm not sure if I can say she's upstairs sleeping in it right now; I have heard lots of noise from that quarter despite it being over an hour past her bedtime. But she has only gotten out of it once so far (that we know of). Not bad for her first night.

What a Difference a Year Makes

One year ago today we learned that twins were on their way to our family. In a moment we went from our assumptions that children would continue to join our family in an ordinary, approximately-every-two-years fashion, to the realization that we would have four children under the ago of five. Shocking and a little scary. There was no longer any discussion of having three or four children; four it would be.

This year has been the most challenging, crazy, busy, beautiful year of my life. From the six months I spent (knowingly) pregnant with the twins to the six months I've spent raising them so far, they have dominated my life. Twins are all-consuming.

But that's a good thing in its own way. I am so easily distracted by the things of the world. The temptation to neglect my family and pursue my own interests (think Facebook and fluffy reading material) is strong, but the simple matter of keeping the twins fed, dressed, and in clean diapers takes a lot of time. My focus has been rightly redirected toward my family since the twins' birth.

If I have grown one way in the last year, it is in my understanding of the sovereignty of God. Or perhaps I should say, in my understanding of the mystery of God's sovereignty. So many questions: why did He choose us to have twins? Why were our twins healthy when some suffer from TTTS? Why did He think I could handle four children so close in age? More recently, why oh why will they not sleep well at night? :) But as there are not easy answers, I've been learning to trust more and question less. To use some biblical language, He is the potter and we are the clay. Twins are how He is molding our life and I trust He will use them to make us more beautiful vessels.

Pictures to come soon. I have taken some but need to transfer them to the computer.

Sunday Pictures

Just a few more pictures. And Esther is included this time. :)

Getting better at smiling on cue. Man, I love this
kid more every day.

This girly does not sit still! She was up and down,
up and down, up and down the stairs as we took
pictures. Have I mentioned how much I love having
a daughter?

The "big kids." When I look at this picture I understand why people
are always telling me Esther looks like her brother.

This is how far we've come: Zach took this picture while I was out, I looked
at it for the first time this morning while he's already at work, and I will say
with complete confidence that Jude is on the left and Joshua on the right.
(Hint: look at their hairlines.)

Adorable pile of twins.

Jude says let's be fair; now it's my turn to lean on my brother. And Joshua smiles
anyway.

Pictures

Hmm, haven't posted any pictures in a while. Haven't been great at taking them, either, but I think I can find a few. In honor of the twins' five month birthday, let's say.

Grr, blurry, I know. Someday I would like to learn how to really use
the nice camera we bought. I do not know how to get two babies in
focus together. Obviously.

(Lack of photography skills apparent again.) But aren't these the most
awesome shirts? I love geeky humor.

I love love love the following series of pictures. Jude was in the swing a few weeks ago and we realized he was making one crazy face after another. Perhaps he saw himself in the mirror on the other side of the little butterfly?

Austin's first day of Pre-K4. Yes, we still plan to
homeschool, but we decided that this year, with
 the twins severely limiting how much we get out
and do stuff, it would be best for him to go to school.
He loves it so we're quite happy with our decision.

And finally, a video Zach put together (on his iPad, nifty!) from the sports class Austin took this summer through our local parks and rec department. I love it. Classic little boy stuff.

On My Side

"The God of the universe is on your side!"

Gina, a friend from church (and mother of five, including twins) spoke those words to me a month or two ago and they have been bouncing around in my head ever since. This parenting twins thing continues to be hard hard hard. I could go on at length about the latest challenges we're facing here, the sleeplessness, etc, but I'll spare you the details. There's always going to be a challenge (haven't noticed my big kids becoming suddenly easy to parent) but good news: The God of the universe is on my side.

Ponder that for a minute. Unworthy as I am, as prone as I am to make selfish decisions, react to the kids in impatience, fail to pray as I ought...God is still on my side. The unimaginably powerful God who created the entire universe cares personally for me. And He did not give us twins so He could sit on the sidelines and laugh at our failures. He gave us twins because it was His good and perfect plan for our family. To bring Him glory. To make us more dependent on Him. To sanctify us. And I have to believe that He is actively helping us through each and every hard moment. Easy to forget sometimes, at 3am when we're listening to a baby or two cry again, but then Gina's words come back to me. God is on our side.

Many mornings following hard nights I have gotten up and sought and found comfort in the psalms. "God is our refuge and strength, a very present help in trouble." (Psalm 46:1) "How blessed is he whose help is the god of Jacob, whose hope is in the Lord his God," (Psalm 146:5) "I would have despaired unless I had believed that I would see the goodness of the Lord in the land of the living." (Psalm 27:13) I have been on the brink of despair over and over these past few weeks but I am ever thankful that God will not let me go.

A Bit More About the Meal Planning

One or two people have expressed curiosity about my monthly meal plan so tonight I figured out how to share it; click the image below and you should get to a Google doc that is big enough to actually read. You'll see that I made several little notes to myself, like a reminder that the Italian sausage I need for one dish is in the freezer (because we had extra when we cooked sausage for pizza). I try to be efficient with my ingredients and this month especially I tried to use up older freezer and pantry stuff when I could.

We are already a bit off what I planned; we have lots of leftover pasta sauce from our annual Tubaphonium Back to School party last night. So we'll eat pasta an extra night or two; might not eat soup from the freezer this next week. No big deal. It's been nice to look at the plan and know that 95% of the ingredients are in the house and I don't have to worry about when to fit in a trip to the store.

On the topic of efficiency/saving money like you were wondering about, Megan, I think the number one way I'll save money by planning and shopping monthly is that I did the big shopping trip at Aldi. So many staples are so much cheaper there but often in the past I haven't gone because I wanted to go one place and get everything I need. But now I know I can get most things at Aldi once a month, then the stuff Aldi doesn't have in our quick trips to the regular store for milk and produce.

If anybody out there wants to try this kind of shopping, I really recommend going to Raising Arrows and reading her posts about monthly shopping. I made my own master grocery list and despite its massive size, I found it easy to use and helpful for making sure I didn't miss anything at the store that we would need during the month.

Mommy Thoughts

It is the time of year that always fills me with a bit of sadness and a bit of anxiety: Zach's return to school. His summer is gloriously long and although he does quite a bit of work from home, there are so many hours for playing with the family that sometimes we almost forget that he has a job. But Indiana has filled up overnight with college students, our evenings are accompanied by the sounds of the IUP Marching Band...it definitely feels like school time again.

I know I have been unusually blessed to have had my husband home so much in the twins' early months and I have always known that that would come to an end, of course. The end of each summer with a new baby has been filled with thoughts of "how will we do without Daddy?" but naturally things seem a bit more extreme this time around. But as I was saying to a friend at church this morning, this is just the start of a "new normal." It may take us awhile to figure out exactly what the new normal should look like, but we'll make it somehow.

Practically speaking, lots of things have to be different in our new normal. For example, it is all but impossible to take four kids grocery shopping when two of the kids are four month old babies. I suppose if I was really desperate I could put one baby in my Baby Bjorn, the other in his car seat in the cart, and have Esther and Austin walk...sounds a little crazy to me. (I have visions of Austin and Esther gleefully chasing each other around the store while I stare at the shelves unable to remember what I want because I'm so distracted by my crazy kids.) So weekday shopping like I've always done will probably not be part of our routine anymore.

I found a blog called Raising Arrows a few weeks back that has been enormously helpful as I've been thinking through the practical, emotional, and spiritual aspects of our new season. Amy, the mom who writes it, has more children (and wisdom) than me and her blog is full of good advice for managing a large family and keeping Christ at the center of it all. One specific idea I've gleaned is monthly meal planning and shopping. I have a few friends who do this but it had never seemed like a good idea til now. I dislike after-bedtime and weekend shopping so the thought of always shopping at those times depressed me, but one big weekend trip per month...that I thought I could handle. So I spent part of a few evenings planning and yesterday was the big shopping day. Now my pantry and freezer are stuffed, the month's meals are posted on the fridge...we'll see how it goes! We'll still need to make some small trips for stuff like milk of course but I don't mind running out in the evening for that.

The other thing that's been on my mind is my cleaning routine, or rather lack of a routine. Last year I made a neat little schedule with tasks for each day and I was actually pretty good at sticking to it. That lasted a month or two, then I got pregnant with the twins and all semblance of a routine ended. I can now tell you definitively that nothing really bad happens if you go a long while without dusting. Or cleaning the bathroom. Or mopping the kitchen. :) But to be serious, I desire a clean home and I want to get back into a routine that will help us achieve a clean home. So I ordered a pocket chart and am making a chore chart that will include myself and the two big kids. I have felt for awhile that it is time to give Austin a few more responsibilities but I haven't felt good at coming up with age-appropriate tasks. However, I taught him how to Swiffer Vac the dining room and kitchen the other day and he loved it. Score one for me and the house! Esther's part will mostly be stuff like putting away her pajamas and brushing her teeth, but with the craziness of twins going on, some days I need a reminder to even take care of the basics like that.

Sigh. It is getting late and Zach and I are hoping/needing to get up earlier tomorrow. So off to bed I go and so begins the new normal!

Another Month Gone Already?

Goodness, I was doing so well at blogging for awhile and then what happened? Got on a roll, I guess, and then off it again!

So what have we been up to? Let's see...Zach took the big kids to the zoo. I stayed home with the babies because I would have spent about 50% of the trip nursing. Not worth it. But apparently it was a good trip.

Elephant in the background. I wonder what Esther is looking at.

The aquarium was the real highlight of the day.

 There have been several more attempts at group shots. This one is a little blurry but otherwise not bad.

In the last couple weeks I feel like I've started seeing differences in the twins' faces. When I pulled this picture up tonight, I guessed correctly who was who.

But in case you didn't, here's the cheat sheet.

Probably our most significant activity of the last month was a weekend trip to Virginia for a wedding, that of Zach's longtime friend James. We stayed in a nice Homewood Suites that had plenty of room for us and all four kids. (Napping twins in one room, playtime in the other--awesome!)  Zach was away with the other groomsmen for part of Friday so the kiddos and I were left to amuse ourselves. Good thing we had a hefty supply of stickers.

Here is how Esther plays with stickers. 1) put stickers on paper. 2) take them
off and put them on legs or feet. 3) take them off again and put them on the floor.

 Then Daddy came back and more hotel fun was had.

Soccer-bowling with duplo pins--it's the next big thing.

And finally the wedding. It was a beautiful, Christ-exalting ceremony and a fun, family-friendly reception. James and Kat, we are so happy for you!

The reception was getting started right around naptime so Esther found a
nice spot for a snooze.

Then it was back to Indiana with Zach's parents and grandfather, who had come out east for the wedding. Our visit was unfortunately marred by nearly all of the adults spending some time under the weather (and perhaps explaining why I have no pictures of Pops--he had it pretty bad), but the kids stayed healthy and loved every minute they could get with their grandparents.

Gran made hats for everyone! Esther especially loves them and sees them as
all-weather apparel.

So that, more or less, is what we've been up to this month. Zach goes back to work for real next week and I will be responsible for these four little people 8+ hours a day. Gulp.