Owner: Twinfinite Chaos URL:http://www.paulnlaura.com/mommy Join Date: Fri, 30 Mar 2007 16:29:54 -0500 Rating:0 Site Description: I'm a stay-at-home mommy of five kids - a tween, and 2 sets of toddler-age twins. (Eeek!) Life is crazy, but we love it. Site statistics:Click here
I’m so excited!! 2007-04-02 21:46:53 I haven’t mentioned it here, because I haven’t wanted to get all excited
about it yet, in case it falls through. But…my sister is coming out for a visit on Friday!! For a week! I can’t wait! I’m so excited, I want to jump up and down and do that weird clapping hand thing that girls do.
We barely spent any time together when she was here in December:
I have so much to do before she gets here, too! Because not only will she be here, but my nephews are coming to visit, too! AND, it’s Easter! And I need to plan Easter dinner! AND, I haven’t bought one single thing for my kids’ Easter baskets!
Anyway - I just wanted to mention that real quick, since I’m obsessing about it inside my head and all.
Big news. 2007-04-05 07:56:39 I know it’s been like, All Dookie, All the Time on the ol’ blog lately, but I have SUCH huge news to share!
Pablo pooped in the toilet tonight! I can’t believe it. Mallory’s been peepee trained for months now, and she’s never mustered up the courage to actually “finish the job” in the toilet. I can’t believe Pablo beat her in the race to poop! I’m so proud of the boy.
And for a split second, I seriously considered taking a picture to show daddy. I wouldn’t have posted it here. Honest!!
Autism Awareness Month 2007-04-04 23:38:57 This month, I’ve changed my template to honor my autistic son, Pablo, and to bring attention to the autism epidemic. Do you have an autistic child? Do you know someone with an autistic child? If you don’t know someone, you will. The newest figures show that 1 in 150 children will be diagnosed with autism this year. That’s pretty startling, isn’t it?
If you believe that your child may be one of them, please don’t freak out. So much can be done to help very young children, but getting started at the right time is absolutely critical. There’s a small window in a child’s life where occupational therapy and speech therapy will make a HUGE difference. I’m a huge advocate of Early Childhood Intervention and I tell everyone I know - if you have a gut feeling that something isn’t right, pay attention to it. Don’t wait.
Every teacher, therapist, and doctor who has spent time with Pablo tells us that he’s much closer to the “ Read more:Autism
, Awareness
, Month
Summer’s a’coming! 2007-04-04 21:08:26 Pablo is doing so well going to preschool four days a week that it’s sort of freaking me out a little to realize that ::gulp:: he’s going to have the whole summer off!! I’m thinking about contacting the daycare that Kayley went to for eight years to see if they have a summertime preschool program, especially now that he’s using the potty! It would be great if I could get both Pablo and Mallory in a little 2 hour program just a couple of days a week.
I actually feel pretty lucky that I had such a good relationship with the directors of that daycare! Finding a childcare provider is so stressful, and it’s not something you want to find through trial and error! Kayley was actually at another center for a couple of months, but it was AWFUL. We had so many problems with the people running it. Back in 1997 (my God, has it been that long?) they didn’t have sites like DaycareBear.com where you could search for daycares by zipcode and prices. I had to just dr Read more:Summer
‘Tis the life of a mother… 2007-04-04 19:06:33 Mallory saw me open the dishwasher and asked why the bath toys were in there. Well, I was getting ready to throw everyone in the bath, and the tub was almost full. Lexi was the first one naked, and she hopped right in. While I was pulling off shirts and stuff from everyone else, Lexi started SCREAMING. I glanced over and saw&hellip
;a huge turd in the bathtub with her! She pooped in the tub. Ugh! If I’d known she had to poop, I would have put her on the toilet first, to see if she could have had a successful pottying attempt! Instead, horror. And then the other kids started screaming, too. Thankfully, nobody else had gotten into the tub yet!
I kept my cool, though, even though I quickly realized that Lexi had tried to pick up her poop, and it was on her hand and in her hair. I wiped her hand off with a washcloth and set her on the toilet, ordered the other children not to move or leave the room or touch Lexi, and I used the shampoo bucket to scoop out the lil Baby Ruth and let the Read more:lsquo
, mother
Heavy thoughts. 2007-04-04 06:48:05 I had a hard time sleeping last night! I went to my twin club meeting, and the speaker was a longtime club member who also happens to be a lawyer, specializing in family law. She had a lot of great information for us about wills and trusts and power of attorney and life insurance. It’s so scary to think about the prospect of losing my husband. I mean, I hate to think about it AT ALL, but it’s something you have to sort of plan for, right? I mean, I’m a stay-at-home mom. If my husband were gone, I wouldn’t be able to pay my mortgage. And it almost seems like no matter how much life insurance you have, it’s never enough, right? I mean, would I be content to be able to pay my bills, but not have enough to pay off the house? You can check out SecureInsuranceQuotes.com and get an idea of what a policy would cost.
The speaker last night pointed out to us how the laws vary so much from state to state, for example, in Colorado, it’s not a big deal to go thr Read more:Heavy
, thoughts
Remembering Mojo! 2007-04-03 16:01:45 We were going through old pictures the other night, trying to find pictures from a little disco party Kayley had here when she was 8 1/2, and we found a bunch of pictures of our old kitty, Mojo. Awwww! And, interestingly enough, this happened on March 30th - Mojo’s birthday!
Mojo was this delightful little kitty we used to have - we inherited him from a friend who moved out of the country. He was a tonkinese munchkin, with itty bitty front legs, and looked like a little lowrider kitty. He got out of the house the day we came home from the hospital when the little girls were born, and we never saw him again. I like to believe that someone saw him and said, “Wow, what a cool looking cat!” and scooped him right up and gave him a wonderful new home, in a baby-free house. People keep telling me the odds were against him, living out here in coyote-ville, but I’ve never “felt” like he was gone from this world. It completely feels, to me, that Mojo is sti Read more:Remembering
Where is it? 2007-04-06 22:00:07 I know we have A TON of Easter stuff - baskets, grass, egg dye, etc. SOMEWHERE in our basement. Paul has reorganized it so many times, though, that I can’t find it! I bought eggs and white vinegar. Now I just need to find that bag of Paas kits!
Freaking out. 2007-04-06 17:38:45 I’m so excited! Eeeeee! My dad called me last night and told me that MY BROTHER had just called him, and he’s coming to town too! OMFG! I haven’t seen my brother since New Years Day of 2001. His girlfriend had just died of cancer, and I went down to our hometown for her funeral. He came back to Denver with me, because he just - needed to get away from there, I guess. And that was the last time I saw him. He hooked up with a friend who was moving up to Gilette, Wyoming for a job, and David went with him. We’ve talked on the phone a handful of times, but he has never seen my little ones, he hasn’t seen Kayley since she was six years old, and (if he doesn’t flake out) this will be the first time our whole family - me, my sister and brother, and our parents - have all been together since my first wedding in 1994. I’m trying not to obsess about it too much and stress myself out - like I do so often - because he is SUCH a flake. Love him, but he is - Read more:Freaking
Thursday Thirteen 2007-04-06 00:05:57 Thirteen
Things I Need to DO Before My Sister Visits
Clean the attic! (I spent 2 hours doing this today!)
Clean out my van, so she doesn’t realize what a slob I am. I’d hate for her to find THAT out!
Buy lots of wine.
Find out once and for all what flight she’s on and when it gets in!
Clean all the bathrooms.
Put away the mountain of laundry stacked up in the laundry room.
Plan Easter dinner.
Assist the Easter Bunny in assembling baskets.
Figure out where we should go next week - the zoo? The museum? The park with the train and petting zoo?
Clean out the fridge, so I have someplace to put the Easter leftovers.
Clean off my memory card and charge my camera’s battery.
Vacuum everything.
Run around the room airplane style, because I’m so excited!
Get the Thursday
Thirteen code here!
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Bloggers Choice Awards 2007-04-05 22:47:59 Yesterday, Julie let me know in my comments that I was nominated for an award for Best Parenting Blog at the brand new Bloggers ChoiceAwards
. Kinda cool, huh? And this is where I’m supposed to say, it’s an honor just being nominated, right? Hey, to heck with humility, I want to win! Check out all the web awards categories…Hottest Mommy Blogger, Best Celebrity Blogger, Best Blog Design…they go on and on. I see a lot of cool people I know have already been nominated!
Ooooh, and I just noticed you can snag a little brag badge if you’ve been nominated…look at mine!
You can nominate anyone you think deserves to win. I nominated someone I know; I wonder if he’ll even realize it? Hehe! I wonder what Worst Blog of All Time is all about? I’d be ascared to nominate someone in that category! Heh - I was about to nominate another chick I know for Best Photo Blog - and she’s already been nominated for Freakiest Blogger! Haha! I think it&r
Oprah today! 2007-04-05 17:41:03 Reposting from MySpace:
On Thursday, April 5, The Oprah
Winfrey Show will devote a full hour to autism.
Portions of Autism Speaks’ documentary, Autism Every Day, will be featured throughout the program, entitled The Faces of Autism. Several of the parents featured in the film, including Jesse Mojica, Katie Wright and Michele Pierce Burns, will participate in the show, along with Autism Speaks Co-founder Suzanne Wright.
Other topics that will be addressed include teens with autism and the effect autism can have on siblings. In addition, the show will profile a pediatrician who specializes in the treatment of autism and is also the parent of two children on the spectrum.
Check your local listings to find out when The Oprah Winfrey Show airs in your area.
Also on April 5, Autism Speaks Co-founder Bob Wright will ring the closing bell of the New York Stock Exchange in recognition of Autism Awareness Month.
I’m going to try to record the show so I can watch it later, uninterrupt
Nobody likes meetings anyway. 2007-04-05 16:34:03 Paul had to scoot out of here quickly this morning to make a meeting on the other side of town. He RAN out the door and I made him come back and give me a smooch! Won’t it be nice when video conferencing is as commonplace in the working environment as, say, fax machines? I’m sure it would save a lot of time and headache for everyone who has to drive all the way across town to sit in a meeting with everyone else, who also had to drive all the way across town!
Read more:Nobody
Just thinking… 2007-04-05 15:53:27 Is it weird that there’s a Black Dating website out there? Would it be creepy if there was a White Dating website? Probably, I’m thinking
. And I’m wondering - if there are people who believe a site like this needs to exist so that they can find similar minded people within their own race, does it annoy them that there’s a white girl featured on the front page? It seems like everybody I know is either in, or has been in, an interracial relationship. Is it really that big of a deal? I guess it is for some, so I guess I’m glad they have a site to go to.
Read more:hellip
Hangover cures. 2007-04-04 16:46:38 I was in line at Walgreens the other day and saw several different hangover cures positioned among the “impulse buys” near the register. My hangover cure has always been to drink a huge glass of water and take an Advil before going to bed, but maybe there’s something I don’t know? I guess the only real hangover cure is not to get drunk at all, right? Yeah. Y’know, having 5 kids is also a huge hangover cure. I don’t even want to think about getting drunk and having to get up early and wipe little tushies and listen to screaming. Hey, I guess having 5 kids is also a great birth control method!!
Love the loveys. 2007-04-04 07:48:19 We have some new loveys at our house. Lexi is an Elmo FREAK, so we picked up a Chicken Dance Elmo and a Baby Elmo that actually burps when you stuff the bottle in its mouth. She’s in heaven. We also found a Tickle Me Cookie Monster, which Nikki has claimed as her own. I actually had to have Kayley run downstairs and quickly find the thing so we could tuck Nikki in bed the other night! And she’s so darling, the way she says it, “Cooooo-eeeee Mon-ter!” I just love this age!
Guess I’m the dork here. 2007-04-03 23:42:39 I’ve been trying really, really hard to earn a few extra bucks and keep us out of the poorhouse, as I’m sure you are well aware. I was telling some friends at my twin club meeting all about sponsored posts and how I get paid to blog, and I was met with blank expressions, and questions like, “Uh, what’s a blog?” It’s funny to me how people are on such different ends of the internet spectrum! You’ve got folks like me, who are married to their broadband connection, and then you’ve got my twin club friends, who don’t use the internet for anything other than checking their email.
Read more:Guess
Murphy’s law, right? 2007-04-02 23:35:59 I was at the supermarket today and I couldn’t believe what I saw - a whole bunch of wheat free cereals, marketed toward those on a gluten-free diet, such as autistic kids and people with Celiac disease. When we were trying the gluten-free diet with Pablo, I had to drive across town to a natural foods store to find almost every food I bought for him! And now, I see the very same cereals I bought for Pablo - at Target! Cool, I guess, but it always seems like I find this stuff after I don’t need it anymore!
Read more:Murphy
Happy Easter! 2007-04-08 08:01:33 So, I think by the time I hit “Publish,” it will be after midnight, so, HAPPY EASTER!
What a day! I’ve spent time with my brother and sister and nephew, and the weekend is just beginning. We have a houseful of people showing up over here tomorrow, and we’re grilling steaks and burgers and hot dogs. Tonight, my sister and nephew and I dyed 3 dozen eggs. The kids missed out, because we didn’t have time to set it all up before it was time for beddy-bye.
So, good night! Pictures tomorrow, maybe! Whee!
Read more:Happy
, Easter
, Happy Easter
Sad kid. 2007-04-08 07:27:55 My nephew is here for the weekend, too - he rode a bus all night to get here and I picked him up at the Greyhound station downtown this morning. He had a super long face, too. His girlfriend broke up with him on the phone while he was on his way here. Nice, huh? Part of me is almost annoyed that he’s so broken up about it, but the other part of me remembers what it was like to be a teenager in love! Poor kid’s been moping around all day. And the dumb girl isn’t helping things - she kept sending him text messages the whole time we were in the grocery store this afternoon. Guess she’s not sure what she wants!
He met her on MySpace. It seems like you don’t hear too many “success” stories from folks hooking up via MySpace, y’know? I always wonder if those places you see ads for, like eHarmony, are more reputable, since you have to pay to use them. K’s dad met his last few girlfriends through one of those sites, and this last chick he&rs
Hyperventilating! 2007-04-07 17:34:10 My mom just called. She and MY BROTHER are on their way HERE! To my HOUSE! Eeeeeeee!
It’s almost eleven and… 2007-04-07 06:56:53 I’m almost completely done with everything on my gigantic to-do list! Wow. My house is so sparkly clean and spic-and-span! I should take pictures, because it never looks this good.
Read more:hellip
Who knew? 2007-04-07 06:55:47 I just found kind of an interesting article about Dark circles under eyes and the real cause of them. It mentions stress and nutrition as potential causes. Growing up, my mom always noticed (and pointed out to everyone!) how I would get dark circles under my eyes during “that time of the month.” Thanks, ma! And here I am, twenty years later, talking about it on the internets. Here’s another article about something that would probably help, also: getting more sleep at night!
Quickly… 2007-04-10 16:30:09 Hi! I know I haven’t been around - I haven’t been online at all, actually! I’ve been having SO much fun spending time with my family. My nephew left yesterday, and an hour or so later, my other nephew showed up! My brother is leaving late tonight, but my sister is here until Friday, so I probably won’t be around much until then. It’s been SUCH a special time for us, though! We’ve been going through old photo albums and staying up late talking and laughing so, so much. (And drinking so, so much, too!)
I’ll try to post some pictures later. That one I put up in the last post sort of says it all, though!
Read more:hellip
Five years, baby. 2007-04-13 00:37:01 Guess what today is? It’s only the anniversary of the most important day of my life! On April 12, 2002, I met PAUL! And these past five years have been so amazing! Buying this house, having twins, having twins AGAIN, getting married…I feel so blessed and so LUCKY. Not everyone is lucky enough to bump into their soulmate in a cheesy 80s bar, an hour before closing time, completely drunk on Mind Erasers and Bud Light. But then, I do tend to lead a charmed life, you know.
I remember those early weeks and months so vividly - I was SO completely smitten with that guy! I remember getting so giddy when my cell phone would ring and I would see his name on the caller ID. My coworkers always teased me that I changed into my sexygirl voice when he called. Hehe! Looking back, we didn’t have a whole lot of one-on-one dates - we mostly hung out with his friends or my friends. But we always had so much fun together, whatever we were doing. We did a lot of family friendly stuff, t
TV on the Radio 2007-04-12 21:30:34 Did you see my nephew’s snowboarding videos I posted the other day? If not, scroll down and watch. I insist!!
I really liked the song in the first one, and I hadn’t heard it before. I Googled the lyrics and found out what song it is: TV on the Radio
- Wolf Like Me.
Gaming at home. 2007-04-12 20:28:28 While my parents were over here, my brother and sister and I were reminiscing with them about the house we grew up in. My dad finished the basement and turned it into a totally cheesed out 70s party room, complete with parquet wood dance floor, pinball machine, slot machine, and full sized bar, with 6 barstools and matching leather couches! We were talking about how popular casino games are nowadays, and how much fun it would have been to have some gaming tables in our basement rec room! Even my twin club hosts a casino night at someone’s house every few months!
I think I mentioned that Kayley’s dad is *into* this stuff, right? I mentioned stopping by his house after the bar closed one night, after dropping off a friend of ours, and Kayley was up, playing Blackjack at 2 in the morning? Yeah. She was betting her Halloween candy for money, and beating the pants off of everyone! Anyway, I’ll bet her dad would be all over this game of the month club. He’s really int Read more:Gaming
Almost over. 2007-04-12 15:54:57 Today is my sister’s last day in town. Tomorrow at this time, I’ll be driving her to the airport - in six inches of snow! She’s so worried that her flight will be canceled or the airport will close or something. I keep reassuring her that it only closes when we have like, four feet of snow, so she should be good!
Kim spent the night at our parents’ house last night and she’s going out shopping with my mom today, so I’m going to do some running around that I’ve been putting off all week. I need to sign the paperwork for Mallory to start school next year, and we are thisclose to being out of baby wipes and diapers (ack!) so we’re going to have to make a trip to Wal-Mart, too. And then, while there’s nobody here but me and the kids, I’m going to clean up my house again! It gets so dirty, so quickly, when we have so many people here! The downstairs bathroom is just grossing me OUT! Between having all kinds of people using it on Read more:Almost
Yay! 2007-04-12 06:48:14 I got a call today from the elementary school Pablo goes to. We applied for Mallory to go to preschool there next year, and she was accepted! Yippee! I was sort of worried about it, because it’s not our neighborhood school, and they told me it would be first come/first serve. That’s a relief! Now I just need to make sure I get them both in the morning session!
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