Monday, June 28, 2010

The Lake







This weekend was our annual family reunion in Plymouth, Massachusetts. My Uncle Peter and Aunt Nanci were the gracious hosts once again for my father's 7 brothers and sisters and all of the extended family. There were about 40 of us. As a side note, my grandmother had 3 sets of twin boys and a girl in between each set. That's a whole other story.

I have such fond memories of going to Pete and Nanci's every summer. They live right up the street from a lake so we would pack bathing suits and go swimming for the day. My Uncle Peter is hilarious and makes all sorts of irreverent jokes. That is what we love about him. My Aunt Nanci has a heart of gold and I can always remember her yelling, "Oh my Gawd, Peter. That's gawgeous! Take a picture!" Peter happily obliged.
Here is Uncle Peter trying to go incognito!

Last summer I was hoping that we would have another family reunion in Plymouth so that I could introduce the girls to everyone.  For some reason it didn't happen.  This year, it almost took place in Newport but after a desperate e-mail to Uncle Pete (and a little coaxing from Aunt Nanci) it was decided that we would all gather in Plymouth.  Sophie and Lindsay would finally get to see where I spent some of my happiest times.

We got to the reunion around 1:00 and the girls got to meet their cousin Charlotte, who is only about a month older than them.  They got aquainted in the usual way; with food!
Once the girls had eaten a few pieces of sauce pizza and some fruit, it was time to swim in the lake!  Nana helped me get the girls in their swimsuits and Gampy and I quickly changed and put on ours.  Rick is not much for swimming in lakes so he bowed out.  His loss! 
Gampy and I carried the girls down to the lake and were eager to get in.  It was a warm, summer day and we knew the cool water would feel refreshing.  I got in first with Sophie who started splashing and laughing immediately.  Lindsay had the same reaction.  The bottom of the lake felt very familiar-sandy and a little slimy!  But I could have cared less.  I was too busy watching a new generation fall in love with my childhood paradise. 

My dad holding Sophie and me with Lindsay.

After our swim in the lake, we went back to the house to enjoy some dessert.  The girls had a great time exploring the woods near Pete and Nanci's.


Pinecones!

But alas, they grew weary and it was time to go.  We carried them to the car, put all their gear away, and started our journey home.  It wasn't long before our little travelers were sound asleep.  Thanks again, Pete and Nanci, for another great reunion!  Love you guys!

Friday, June 25, 2010

Gymboree


I think that the world should be like Gymboree...covered in padded mats, full of things that anyone can touch, and filled with laughter and joy! I took the girls to a preview Gymboree class on Thursday and at the end of it one of the moms turned to me and said, "So, are you a convert?" Yes, I am!

For those of you who have never been to Gymboree, I'll give you a brief overview. They provide music, art, and gym classes. We went to a gym class so we were in a very large room with all sorts of mats to climb on, tunnels to crawl through, and parachutes to run under! Think first grade P.E. class back in the 80's. Fun, right? They do some structured activities every 10 minutes or so but you do not have to participate.

Lindsay is my less adventurous baby. She tends to sit and just watch what's going on. She's also a bit lazy. We like to refer to her as Lazy Lindsay or the Diva! So imagine my surprise when she got in the middle of the circle at Gymboree and danced like someone's drunk uncle at a family wedding. She was clapping, laughing, and jumping about. She also had no fear of running under the parachute or crawling through tunnels. It was so rewarding and encouraging to see this side of her.

Sophie is usually my little daredevil but she was also quite different at Gymboree. She enjoyed playing with the balls, running around, and hanging by herself. She was a bit of a loner and really didn't participate in the group activities. She chose activities that were easy for her to do and that she was comfortable with. I guess this makes sense because Sophie is very sensitive and has a hard time warming up to other people. She's a momma's girl.

Seeing both of my daughters running around with huge smiles on their faces made my day. As I watched them, I thought back to when they were first born and how scared we all were that they would never do any of these things and that they would be behind their peers. Watching them on Thursday morning, I realized that they were right on track. No one would have guessed everything they'd gone through. I'm not an overly religious person but I will end this post by saying God is good.

Wednesday, June 23, 2010

A New Day


So, I have dusted myself off, picked myself up, and decided to get on with my life. My pity party is over! I am going to enjoy the summer with my beautiful girls and look for a job. Based on everything my family went through in 2008, I know that life works out the way it's supposed to and that no amount of crying and carrying on will change that.
And as I said in my last post, my Northern Friends are fabulous. Calls of support have been coming in, e-mails, and posts to Facebook. I think I'll keep these people around awhile.
Hope everyone enjoys the day! I know I'm going to.

Tuesday, June 22, 2010

Not a Good Day


When I started this blog I had every intention of being positive, light, and funny. Can't do it tonight, folks. Just found out I lost my teaching position at a school that I love. Tears are flowing. I feel like I have been kicked out of my family. The people I work with are not only amazing teachers but are also incredible people. In September, 2008, my water broke (I will discuss more in another post) at 21 weeks and I almost lost Sophie and Lindsay. I had to lay in a hospital bed for 7 weeks and was not allowed out of my room except for tests. During that time, all of the teachers at Northern Lincoln Elementary got together and rallied around me and my family. They brought me care packages, sent me cards, visited daily, made phone calls, etc... They even threw me a fabulous baby shower. These people are family to me and the thought of not seeing them all every day literally breaks my heart. You do not find people often who care so much about you and would do anything for you. I found these people and while I know they'll always be in my life, it will never be the same. I don't know that there is another school that exists that has teachers and people like those at Northern. I am grateful that I was able to experience this kind of "work family" at least once in my life. Maybe that is all I can ask for.

Saturday, June 19, 2010

If You're Tired and You Know It, Clap Your Hands!


I am going to apologize right off the bat if my post doesn't make sense. I have had about 2 hours of sleep! I always assumed that once the girls were out of the waking-up-to-feed-every 4 hours-stage that I was home free! You veteran mommies can laugh. I know, it's funny.
Last night was one for the books. I am a night owl so I didn't go to bed until
11:30. At 12:30, I woke up to Lindsay screaming her head off. She has a cold so I chose not to ignore her and went in to see if she was okay. I attempted to lay her back down, gave her the binky and lovey, and told her to go back to sleep. No go! She kept screaming. So, against my better judgement, I scooped her up and put her in bed with us. Fast forward to 3:00. She is still awake-kicking me, pulling daddy's hair (have to admit I enjoyed that!), and laughing. Back to her crib she went. Again, screaming, crying, carrying on. By this time, Sophie is awake and has definitely pooped. I pick her up, put her on the changing table, and now she is laughing and throwing herself all over the table. This is when I turn into Linda Blair. I swear my head spun around and I began channeling the devil.
"Lay down, Sophie!," I growled.
This was met by even more laughter. Oh, and the best part is that there is poop all over the changing table. You know, the little rabbit pellets? I am literally scooping up poop in my hands!
I finally get her all cleaned up, wash my hands, and head back to bed. It is now after 4am and I make the critical decision to shut the monitor off, close my eyes, and ignore them. They were up by 7 and as of 10:45 they have refused to take a nap. And did I mention? We're going to a birthday party for a 2 year old today. Fun times!

Friday, June 18, 2010

All About Me

Since this is my first post, I thought I would tell you a little bit about me. I am almost 37 years old and gave birth to twin girls in November, 2008. Their names are Sophie and Lindsay. I am currently working as a reading teacher but it looks like I may be jobless due to budget cuts. I'm married to Rick, who owns his own construction business. I will be ranting and raving about the "joys" of motherhood on this post. And believe me, there are many. But there are also a lot of tough days that no one seems to want to talk about. I will, though. I am going to give you the down and dirty of what it's like to be a mom of twins. I must warn you that if you have not had children yet, you may not want to read this. If you already have children, though, I can already see you nodding your head in agreement. This blog will be a glimpse inside the life of a "typical" mom. Hope you enjoy reading and feel free to comment.