House update: the playroom

When I was pregnant with the twins I read a lot of twin blogs, advice articles, discussion groups, etc etc to try and learn about what to expect. One thing I read and heard in multiple places was to have a dedicated room where you could safely leave the babies. And it wasn't an option because our last house has no extra room that could be used for such a purpose - unless it was the basement and I certainly didn't want to spend the whole day in the basement every day.

But our new house. Our big house with lots of room to grow into? It has a nice big living room. And we don't have any living room furniture. So we set up the family room, and it has quickly deteriorated into the same chaos/mess/comfortable room we're used to. And with the living room.... we did this:




The area behind the playroom has a couple of IKEA chairs and a table I want to set up with crayons and activity books. And I am LOVING this room. We've had our first ever playdates since it's been set up and it's so nice to have a big room to let all the kids hang out in!

Wanna come over and play? :)

5 for 5

In January I heard about this sort of meme going around on Facebook called 5 for 5 and I thought it was a FABULOUS idea so I did it. And lately I've been thinking a lot about how much I like to create things, especially for people, so I thought I'd post it on here too. I love the idea of reaching out with a more personal touch to my bloggy friends.

Here's how it went:

The first five (5) people to respond to this post will get something made by me.This offer does have some restrictions and limitations so please read carefully:

- I make no guarantees that you will like what I make.
- What I create will be just for you.
- It'll be done this year (2010).
- You have no clue what it's going to be. It will be something made in the real world and not something cyber. It may be a mixed CD. It may be a poem. I may draw or paint something. I might bake you something and mail it to you. Who knows? Not you, that's for sure! [not me either]
- I reserve the right to do something extremely strange or kind of perverted.

And in return, all you need to do is post this text into a note of your own and make 5 things for 5 others - if you do not post a note of your own, then I cannot make and send your item!

That last bit, the part about you having to do this for others, seems to be daunting to many people though, so instead I propose you either do 5 for 5 as well, or, pay it forward in some other way and let me know (see how flexible I can be? :)

Make sure to include an email address (or email me at lara(dot)wellman(at)gmail(dot)com) so we can figure out my getting your address to send you your item.

best brothers

I always hoped my kids would get along, of course. But I never really put much thought in it. Yet one of the things that warms my heart most with having multiple kids is seeing the way they interact with each other. Kiernan and Quinn have a very special relationship. Quinn thinks the sun rises and sets on Kiernan. Kiernan walks into the room and Quinn lights up. He thinks that just about anything that Kiernan does is HILARIOUS and as a result Kiernan enjoys putting on a show for Quinn.

Juliette sits back and watches the whole thing quietly, not seeming particularly interested in getting involved. But these two boys - how they have fun together. And I really hope it lasts through the years.

My things: class ring

While we were moving my mother in law came upon my high school class ring. I don't even remember where she said she found it, but it certainly wasn't the kind of place you keep a prized possession.

And since she found it I've been thinking a lot about this ring and how much of a symbol of my years in highschool it really is.

- I remember looking at the styles of rings and thinking that anything small and dainty would be lost in my fat hands. So I went for the chunky ring for the chunky girl.
- The ring is very personalized. You got to choose what images were stamped on to the sides. I put band instruments on one side - I was in the band for a couple of years but wasn't in the band any more by graduation. I did it, but I never really loved it. On the other side, I couldn't come up with a single other symbolic thing to put on the ring, so I had them put a flower there. Completely un-symbolic.
- There's a viking under the stone. Our mascot. I'm assuming. Because this is how much I cared about that.
- I never really liked this ring, even when I first got it. I never really liked highschool. But I think I needed this symbol to punctuate the end of a fairly unhappy stage.

And maybe the flower is symbolic after all because right after I graduated I really did bloom. I found my voice and my courage and my self.



I just hope highschool is an easier journey for my kids.

9 months old!

Somewhere around the 6 or 7 month mark I realized I no longer felt shocked that the babies hadn't JUST arrived. They've been around for a long time now - 9 months in fact. And they're doing so much!!

Quinn

- scoots around on his bum. Not very fast, but he's starting to make his way across rooms.
- rolls across a room to get something
- pulls himself up to kneeling (mostly only on Kiernan's bed)
- is eating a lot better than at the beginning. He'll eat most anything as long as it's well pureed or puffs or cheerios or cookies.
- has his 2 bottom teeth only. His top teeth have seemingly been ON THE VERGE of coming through for about 5 months. I've lost hope. He will have 2 teeth only forever.
- thinks the world revolves around his older brother. He is delighted by him and Kiernan puts a lot of effort into getting Quinn giggling as often as possible. When I put Quinn on Kiernan's bed K performs in front of the bed and Quinn pulls himself up to kneeling on the bed rail to get a closer look. He flaps his arms and giggles incessantly in excitement.
- has slept through the night a few times. And by slept through the night, we're talking 7pm to 7:30 am!!
- Is wary of strangers. Or even people he knows if they aren't us. Takes him a good 10 minutes before he'll warm up and start being his jovial self.
- weighs 20 lbs. Just for comparison, I believe Kiernan was about 18 months old before he hit 20 lbs ;)

Juliette
- army crawls all over the place and gets at anything you didn't move out of the way. What's that WAYYY over there, a tiny piece of plastic from god know's what? Don't worry - Juliette will find it and EAT IT!
- is an amazing eater. Inspired by some other bloggers who use baby led weaning as a way to feed their kids I decided to try to let the babies try their hands at some big hunks of food. Quinn was disgusted. Juliette went to town. Yesterday she ate an entire avocado and two huge hunks of potato from my stew on top of some big hunks of carrot and sweet potato I'd made her. After two picky eaters, she amazes me.
- is cutting her SEVENTH tooth. Perhaps she stole all of Quinn's teeth.
- Weighs about 16.5 lbs.
- Has slept through the night a few times.
- Is still the smiliest baby ever. She is uber social and will grin from ear to ear at anyone who smiles at her.
- Wants to stand all the time. If you try to sit her down she'll often plank her body and what she wants is for you to sit on the floor and hold her upright. It wouldn't shock me if she started furniture walking soon. Kiernan started doing that around this age and took his first independent steps at 10 months.

They are both very easy babies. They don't fuss a lot, they take naps and they have great dispositions. And I am enjoying them more and more... especially as I'm getting more sleep and settling into the new house :)

Sometimes I wonder....

... what it would have been like to have lived in a huge manor house in the 1800s and have servants and have my only responsibility be to do needlework and do charity work. But I'd probably been a washer woman or something anyways.

... if I could have had an international life of intrigue and adventure. But then I remember who I am and realize, no.

... if I'd have made a good YaYa. And I think yes.

... how much I would get done without the internet. Probably a lot more, but I'd be a lot lonelier and pretty bored.

... if I'll ever go on a vacation again. Chances are yes, but it feels like a lifetime away.

... if anyone wants to go for drinks this weekend? Mama needs some time away.

What do you wonder about?

I'm an adult now

I often wonder when it will kick in.... this "I'm an adult and should act like one" thing.

There are a lot of things I've kept thinking I would start to do, once I had a home of my own, once I was married, once I was a parent. And a lot of them still haven't happened.

My house is a mess. I would rather sit and blog, or read blogs, or watch tv than tidy up the house at the end of the day. I kick dangerous stuff out of my kids' way instead of making sure it wasn't there in the first place. Dishes pile up in the sink for days. Having clear counters in my kitchen must mean company is coming over. Most of the couch is covered in stuff... from clean laundry, to dirty laundry, to kleenex boxes, to mail, and well.... my computer.

And I want to be better about it... but I have such a hard time finding the will. But I vowed I would be better in our new house. And tonight was a success. After dinner I washed all the dishes, put away all the tools, ingredients, etc and put the leftovers away before doing anything else in the evening. And it's kind of sad that I felt pretty proud for what ought to be a routine task. But I was. And it gives me a little hope that eventually we will get there and set a relatively good example for our kids. Or at least sort of. :)

(do you remember that Pursuit of Happiness song? :)