my day

Today the girls have a dentist appointment at 2:30.  Here is how the day went. (is going)

3:30am . boys wake up. feed, put down. desperately try to get back to sleep (been having problems with getting back to sleep)

7:53 yell at A to get out of bed.  Bus comes at 8:07 or so.  She is trying the ol' I am tired and don't want to get up so I'll try the stomachache routine. I tell her that if she stays home she'll have to miss the dentist, do chores all day, and deal with me being cranky.  She obliges and gets up and out the door.

While all this is happening the twins need to be fed. I sit down to nurse and remember that I still need to write a note for them.  I nurse and write a note. I'm so good at multi-tasking (please forgive the sloppy handwriting front office :) )


They make the bus, notes in hand.

I finish nursing and put the boys on a blanket on the floor and turn on PBS for toddler E.  I'm tired and in a daze since I didn't get into a good deep sleep after the 3am feed.  It was weird.

I finally get moving.  Three diapers changed check!  Outfits chosen for our outing later today? check!

The boys, toddler E, and I hang out until about 10 when its time to  nurse the boys for their nap. I round up the swaddles and wrap and nurse them.  Toddler E and I hang out until about 12:30.  Toddler E gets his lunch and I hop into the shower for the quickest shower ever. no hair washing.  Just a quick wash.

toddler E has managed to drain his water all over the table and himself as well as some of his lunch. 

I give him a towel and tell him to clean up. He does a little. He isn't 2 yet. I'm impressed.

1pm.  Babies get up and get nursed and changed into their outfits for our dentist trip.  Toddler E gets a clean diaper (poopy) and a clean outfit since his other one is now wet and dirty.


 1:46 pull out of the driveway.  The kids take forever to get to the front office.  I end up waiting outside with the kids who are still in the car. 

2:03  the decision has been made to go home for the toothbrushes and toothpaste that I left on the counter.  A quick stop and we are on our way again.

2:30 we are pulling into the dentist office. Impressive.  Except that we'll be late because we still have to get all of the kids out of the car.  But only by a few minutes!

Toddler E chases around the waiting room and childrens area. The twins stay in their carseats.  The girls are in and out and in while they brush teeth, go potty, get their teeth cleaned and then both in for a final check from the dentist.  No cavities!

A quick stop at McDonalds for an early dinner because A has a academic achievement award (ie give the kid a free cheap meal and make the family spend $ on food for the rest of the family. yuckiest chicken sandwich I've had in a while).

4:10 home again home again jiggety jig. now its time to nurse the babies again.

The girls and Toddler E are playing outside. About 30 minutes pass and they all come inside. Toddler E is screaming because he was playing in the slushy snow and his hands are really cold. A hot bath later and he is feeling much better. 

Hubby is home now and A and I go and feed the Chickens. Hubby goes to feed the cows.

The girls and I ate at McDonalds and hubby had a sandwich at work (this is really not normal for us. I make dinner, I do!) I heated up some red pepper potato soup from yesterday so that I could have some nutrition in my dinner.  The chicken sandwich I had at McDonalds was just not very good.  But it didn't have mayo on it, I didn't order pop, and only had a handful of Toddler E's fries.  So overall, it could have been much worse. the kids had chicken nuggets, chocolate milk, and apple slices. So yeah, not great, but not like we all had cheeseburgers, fries and pop. 

Anyway, enough of that :)

The boys had diaper changes in there somewhere. One of them had blown out.  

I just nursed the boys again and the girls have done their chores. They are now emptying the dishwasher.

We will most likely watch a show (The Biggest Loser?) together for the next hour.  I will work out at 8pm and then 8:30 is bedtime.  

Diapers will be changed!  Swaddles will be used!  Kids will be in Bed! And The House Will Be Quiet!

Just in time to start all over at 3am :)  Good thing we don't have any appointments tomorrow.  However I do need to go to Costco...Maybe tomorrow?  (probably not, but a girl can dream, right?)

Still..

Still drowning in boxes. No we didn't unpack over the weekend. I just couldn't seem to get started.  In other news the laundry is caught up and the kitchen is clean!  Just a little more folding to get done.  I'm trying to focus on what has gotten done. If I start making a to do list I may drown.  :)

The boys are napping and toddler E is playing on the floor beside me.  We have been watching PBS.  The babies are back to only waking once a night again, but now seem to be waking at 3am instead of 6. So that is good because they go back to sleep again fairly easily.  they started waking up 2x a night last week and that turned me into a zombie very quickly. I was a mess on Sunday. I just couldn't think clearly.  Just ask the primary. I was conducting and among other things forgot about a birthday and turned the time over to the wrong person who then though I knew something they didn't know and went with it and then it threw everyone off for all of jr primary, and the nursery singing time was all messed up. Some days I don't know why they haven't fired me. I'm glad they haven't though. I really enjoy my calling.

Toddler E is very polite. he has learned that if he says pweesh? that he can get nearly everything his little heart desires. He also says thank you every now and then.  Add to that 'sorry' and he is the cutest thing ever.  He and I hang out while the twins sleep for a few hours every morning.  I am still trying to merge the nap times and now that they are in separate rooms it is getting easier. For the last 2 days I've had a whole hour to myself!!!!!!

moth·er /ˈməT͟Hər/

One who runs toward the screaming child when all they want to do is run the other way.

We've been busy here trying to get our flood cleaned up.  The carpeting finally got replaced yesterday and we are all moved back in.
Since we decided to move all the bedrooms around, we have to rearrange all the closets.
Then we have to unpack all of the boxes that we packed since we chose to have nearly the whole house recarpeted.  Then the great handyman from the restoration company has to come back and finish up a few things.  AND.THEN.WE.WILL.BE.DONE.

This has really dragged out. I can't lie.  Its been a pain.  I never want to do it again.

Maybe someday eventually we might be done.

Maybe.

:)

I'm tired.

Boys are sleeping from 9-6 regularly now. I just wish they would sleep all the way until 7 or 8.  Its hard to get them back to sleep, and I never have time to get more sleep myself. If only I would wise up and go to sleep at 9 also!

In other news, I'm working on a modification to my 2 needle sock pattern at the suggestion of a friend who is a more experienced knitter than I am.

Toddler E is getting into everything and back to climbing on the table at every opportunity. He has also discovered that he can reach up and grab things from on the cupboard. He also says "Ma! Ma! until I look at him and say What?" He learned that from his sisters. He will also say "Mon!" and wave his arm (beckoning) if he wants you to follow him and get him something. Typically its to get me to the pantry to get him a "Sna?"  He is a sweet kid who is into everything. It can be aggravating. It can  melt your heart.

C and A love their new room. Lets just hope they will take care of it.  Their old room is slated to be repainted and arranged for the twins.  In the meantime though, the twins are just going to have to endure the pink/purple walls.  :)

4 month check up

Everyone healthy and happy, just a little cranky from all those awful shots.

Baby N was 13 lbs 4 oz
Baby Q was 11 lbs 10 oz.

We have been blessed by cute little healthy boys!

My easy peasy 2 needle knit socks

So this post is dedicated to my easy peasy 2 needle knitted socks.  I came up with the pattern myself, having been long intimidated by sock patterns calling for, we'll, more than 2 needles.

I am an elementary knitter, but an avid crochet-er.  Frankly knitting intimidates me.  But I love the stretchiness of it and how it's less bulky than crochet. And I had a desire to learn to knit socks.

So I bought a lions brand learn to knit kit and one scarf later i knew a basic stitch and did a cable on it. Cool huh? Well I thought so anyway.  I still wanted to learn socks though and didn't want to use more than 2 needles.  So I bought a knitting machine off of Craigslist.  And then I learned how to make some socks on it in about an hour.  And then I had a toddler around and then twins and getting out the machine seemed like a lot of work.  So I've adapted my pattern for 2 needles.

I used size 3 needles and have size 10 feet.  So I'll try and give pointers on size as I go.

My 2 needle sock pattern
Cast on 30 stitches
Knit 1 pearl 1 and repeat for the whole row and the next 9 rows for a total of 10 rows.
(Knit the entire next row and pearl the entire row after that) 10 times.
Congratulations, you have just made 1/2 of the cuff of your sock.
Now for the heel. You are going to start skipping stitches.
--
Skip first stitch on each end of your row.  Knit a row and then pearl a row . ( a total of 28 stitches)
Skip the first and 2nd stitch on each end of your row. Knit a row and pearl a row ( a total of 26 stitches)
Skip the first, second, and third stitches on each end of your row . Knit a row and pearl a row (24
stitches)

Keep doing this process until you have skipped 7 stitches (16 stitches total knitted on this row) . Now reverse the process and add one stitch ( starting with the most recent skipped stitches) . Just like before, this time adding the stitches ( so add a stitch to each side, and then knit a row and pearl a row)
---

Yay! You have a heel!

Now on to the foot

Knit one row and pearl a row.  Repeat until the sock is the correct length to fit from the heel to the base of the toe.

 Now I count the 2 rows (1 knit and 1 pearl) as one .

This is where you can tweak the size.  For my size 10 feet, I do 30 rows. For an adult size 6 I did 20 rows.  Just fit them to your feet.

-----
Now for the toe. It's kind of like the heel but quicker.
Skip the first stitch, knit the rest of the row except for the last stitch which you will skip. (28 stitches)
Skip the first and second stitch, pearl the rest of the row, except for the last 2 stitches which you will skip stitch.(26 stitches)
Skip the first 3 stitches, knit the rest of the row except for the last 3 stitches which you will also skip(24 stitches)
Skip the first 4 stitches, pearl the rest of the row except for the last 4 stitches which you will skip.(22 stitches)
Keep doing this until you have skipped a total of 7 stitches on both sides.
Now do the whole process in reverse, adding the most recent skipped stitches first.

Congrats! Now you have a toe!

---
Ok, next you need to knit the top of your sock.  Knit 1 row and pearl one row just like before, the same number of times ( remember? For my size 10 feet it was 30 rows?)

Ok, now you need to (knit one row, pearl one row)10 times for the other half of the cuff of your sock.

Now you need to (knit 1 stitch pearl 1 stitch), repeat to the end of the row and for the next 9 rows .  

You will want to end with a stretchy bind off. I found one I liked on YouTube.  http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=cGHItYwr1us

Now you just need to stitch the edges together and you have a pretty nifty sock!

I would like to do a youtube video of this eventually to make it easier to under stand. In the meantime, leave a comment with questions and I will try and answer.

Happy New year!

We were such wet blankets. We were in bed by 10:30 (the kids by 9:30).  For dinner the kids had a choice between mac n cheese and frozen pizza.  They chose mac n cheese.  We had sierra mist and sherbet in a float which we all agreed was very yummy. Then as a further treat shared some nutty buddies and swiss rolls. 

The boys have been sleeping really well last week. But the past 2 nights the one twin who never wakes me up at night has been waking me up at night! Around 2-3am.  Ouch. I was getting used to them  sleeping from 9-5. Maybe its a growth spurt? I don't know. I'll just have to feed them more.  But we were up around 2am and again a little before 6.  Luckily (for me) baby Q was crying quite a bit (don't know why, maybe I was positioning him wrong because I was half asleep?) and woke up daddy.  He came out and worked with baby N who didn't want to go back to sleep.  That allowed me to go back to bed. 

I don't know how we are going to get back on schedule.  after this vacation.  Hubby is back at work tomorrow and the kids are back at school Monday.  Its going to be a rough ride!