Happy Mother's Day

We spent the morning at the park and the monkeys helped KingKong do dishes and vacuum as I was being lazy on the couch otherwise occupied.

MonkeyButt has decided he'd like to have a Nintendo DS. Sometime today, while I was snoring busy, he and KingKong decided to discuss setting up an allowance system. Heh. CuriousGeorge was on board. Those monkeys did NOT lift a finger today without checking first to see if it was "going toward our allowance money?"

So, this afternoon, as I was testing my new hammock mowing the lawn, the monkeys decided to finish up some dishes and another round (because there are several in a day) of picking up the living room.

I came inside to a bunch of puffy-chested proud boys (KingKong included) proclaiming their love for me with sudsy hands.

MonkeyButt: See the living room, Mommy? I picked up and
vacuumed.

CuriousGeorge: And I helped him and I did the dishes.

MonkeyButt: Yeah Mommy, we did it alllllllllll for YOU!

CuriousGeorge: ...And the MONEY...

Wordless Wednesday

Innocent pic, huh? ...'Til you zoom out!...

For more WW, visit here

6,828

That's how many pictures are saved on my Adobe Photoshop. 6,828. I'd like to tell you that's since MonkeyButt was born 7.5 years ago, but it's not. The 6,828 photos have been uploaded since the day the Twinkeys were born in July. Whoa.

I just uploaded a couple one minute videos of the Twinkeys and a warning came up that said low disk space. 86.1 MB available on a 55 GB hard drive. I don't think that's very much. Heh.

I'm off to hit delete!!

Hopefully I'll post a couple hundred favorites soon. But I could be deleting 'til dawn! Good thing KingKong's working late tonight!! Ooh, and Idol's on tonight. Hmmm, maybe I'll get through the first couple thousand by then. Pssh.

PS. I added an updating blogroll to my sidebar. I only made it through half of my favorites before stopping to video the Twinkeys and all that jazz, so don't be offended if you're not on there yet...that's next on my to-do list. (Oh, and if you are offended, just let me know and I'll add you right now!) ;op

Greedy Little MonkeyButt

After T-ball the other night, we took the Monkeys to Arby's cause we wanted fast food, but we wanted something a little different (read: less nugget-shaped). $28.46 later, our bellies were full. *sigh*

Until, KingKong remembered the sign on the window for Chocolate Turnovers. He took SpiderMonkey to the car while CuriousGeorge, MonkeyButt and I ordered four. One for me, one for KingKong, one for CuriousGeorge, and one for MonkeyButt. It was late and the kiddos fell asleep in the car, so we decided that instead of chocolate marshmallowy cereal for breakfast, they might as well just have the chocolate turnovers.

Chocolate.HEAVEN. For real. You HAVE to go get some!!

KingKong forgot them in the car (which thankfully the night temps are the temps of the inside of the refridgerator anyway), so before the monkeys got up the next morning, I ran out and got them. And I ate one. Okay, two. Y.U.M!

The next day, when we were out running errands...

MonkeyButt: Mom, we should go to Arby's and get more of those
Choc-ohhhhhh-late Turn-ohhhh-vers (with crazy
I-wanna-be-eating-sugar-lots-n-lots-of-sugar eyes)

LadyKong: Oh, really? (I could just picture the chocolate
handprints the three of them would be placing on my car seats and
windows)

MonkeyButt: Ya, we should get four... one for me, one for
CuriousGeorge, one for SpiderMonkey, and... another one for ME!

LadyKong: *gasp* What about me??!?

I'm Not A Pray-er

Or should I have typed Person Who Prays. It's just not something I do on an every day, every week, or even every month basis. Maybe I should be, I don't know. There's probably a lot of things I should do. Like go to church. Oooh, or clean my house more and swear less. But, I don't.

I cannot claim to be any one particular religion, although people ask us all the time if we're Catholic or Mormon. I honestly don't know what either of those entail, besides my sister had to "become" Catholic and her wedding was loooooong and full 'o Latin. My wedding was on my porch. I think my parents were married in a Methodist church. My sister was baptised, but my brother and myself weren't. I went to Vacation Bible School when I was a kid, but now, I don't remember if I wanted to, or if my mom just needed a sitter. Heh.

I have prayed when the kids were in the hospital. I just think that if I am bothering someone up above, I should make sure it's super important and that I really need help that I cannot provide for myself or others. And, really, I don't know if you'd call what I do praying. There must be some kind of format to that, like starting with "Dear God..." or holding your hands together with closed eyes. I think what I did was just some silent begging for the health of my children, and probably some empty bartering also.

I swear, I started this post as a one word sentence. It was this: "Today, if I prayed, I would probably pray for my period to start." (Believe me, I now know how totally wrong that sounds!!)

And I'm only two days beyond. The feelings I was having--besides the extreme panic--was utter selfishness. Not because I would mind being pregnant, but because other people would mind if I was.

My kids would be happy (MonkeyGirl would be over the moon if I could dress one of her siblings in pink). And KingKong talks about an addition fairly frequently. It's the rest of my family who judges. My mom and my sister in particular.

My sister is experiencing problems conceiving with her husband and has been for many months, including a miscarriage at 9 weeks. They've been trying with the help of a fertility specialist. How can I expect her to be happy for me celebrating my 6th (our 8th together) child when she can't even conceive one??!?

The Twinkeys will be 10 months old May 20. I've been on the pill for 8 1/2 months. But between KingKong's Sperm'o'steel and my Jumbo size eggs, it might be inevitable.

Through writing this out, I was able to take a moment to figure out how I really feel. MonkeyButt and CuriousGeorge were 19 months apart and it.was.perfect. The Twinkeys would be as old as SpiderMonkey is right now, 19 months. I've always known I was not done having children. KingKong says I'm happiest while pregnant. And my deliveries were not hard. I had just reasoned to myself that I'd like to get the Twinkeys into Head Start (age 3)before adding another, just to have an easier time of it...and really, I think, to give myself the opportunity to become satisfied with all I have been fortunate to receive.

I've always heard that you "know" when you are done. You have that feeling. And I can not count how many times I've heard people regret getting "fixed." I've never felt my family is complete. I think we make a beautiful one. But, I have this feeling sometimes that someone is missing.

I don't understand it either. I assumed it was my desire to mother a child who doesn't pee standing up. But I'm completely happy with the revelation that my next (and with high probability, my final) child would be a boy.

I'm not naive. I even know that having had so many pregnancies, we're playing with some serious odds here. We already pushed the multiple pregnancy numbers.

So, in the 56 minutes it's taken me to think these thoughts as I've typed them, I've gone from "Please come period!" to "Eh, it's okay if you want another vacation."

Holy crap. I'm crazy.

Playing Catch-up

Let's face it, I'm never going to be a woman who has time enough in the day to do scrapbooking. MAYBE I could handle a little time each day once the Twinkeys (and any potential future siblings) graduate high school. And that's a BIG maybe, because I could just be in a padded room by then, and probably won't be allowed near sharp objects, like scissors.

So, for now, this is my scrapbook. I think there are four or so posts below that I completed this morning (sure is faster than the cut n paste of scrapbooking...and last mess!).

Our Walks

I've been picking up the big Monkeys after school and we've been strolling around town. It's our new thing. They've really enjoyed it. Although, I keep reminding them that the further we get from the car, we still have to walk ALL the way back. They've done great! The Twinkeys even fall asleep in the stroller eventually, which is something SpiderMonkey has never done...still doesn't. *sigh*

I love, love, loooove my new stroller...for outdoor walks anyway. It rolls and turns so easy! I've not attempted a Walmart trip with it, though, and honestly don't see that happening. The aisles just aren't wide enough for this sucker!

My View
Posers

Those little specks on the bench are the big Monkeys. I couldn't get over how tall the trees were back there!

That trail is the only one in town that has a gravel path wide and smooth enough for bikes and strollers. All 1/2 a mile of it. Woohoo! It's a cute, short walk and then we come out on the sidewalk and go up through town, after I scare the bejesus out of them gently remind them that we are very near moving traffic. I like to wear my superstar shades so I can people watch.

The big Monkeys refused to move 'til I took their pics on this.

Hams. The sign behind CuriousGeorge says Triplet Park. There are three little gazebos with benches back there (more below).

8+ years ago January, a large white farmhouse with a big wraparound porch was on this property. A couple lived there with their one year old daughter and triplet autistic sons. I believe they were six-years old at the time. KingKong grew up with the parents. The father was away trucking. A fire started in the old house and the mom was only able to get out with the daughter. She attempted to go back in for the boys, but was met at the door with the fast-moving flames and smoke. Neighbors tried to get in as well, but no one could. The triplets died in the fire. It is believed that each of their remains was found in their favorite hiding spots in the house.

My childhood best friend's dad was fire chief at the time. He was down the road that day, at the fire pond, trying to free up the frozen water hydrant and had a massive heartattack.

It was a sad and tragic day for both families and the town. The grandparents and town have since raised the Triplet Park. One of the footpaths end there. MonkeyButt was born a year later, just a day shy of the one-year anniversary of the fire. The triplets mom was in the waiting area and left a guardian angel pin for us.

I told the big Monkeys about the Triplets that day, because they asked what the sign was for when we walked through and took a break there. I'm thinking as I type this that we're in need of a followup conversation, though, because the grandparents are our landlords and while we have reminisced about the triplets with them on a few occasions, I wouldn't want the boys to bring it up rudely.

Sorry for the downer. I wasn't expecting this post to go there.

I think I might finally be caught up with these picture posts. Almost. Just thought of another one. ;o)

MonkeyDo's First Haircut 4/14/08

Megan posted her Peanut's first haircut and I was reminded of these pics I took of MonkeyDo's first haircut at 8 months. He was getting pretty shaggy!

BEFORE

"If I could just. reach. those. clippers."

"Mommy, why are those things buzzing and coming at my head?"

AFTER

"Can't do much without this now, can ya?"

"Okay, I think we've all had enough pictures for one day. Hand over the camera, please."

"Seriously, Mom, this is getting a little out of hand. Put the camera down sloooowly. "

See, not everything with twins comes in pairs, MonkeySee is not going to be needing a haircut for a looooooooooong time...

"Spring" fun...4/6/08

More pics from the slacker mom who never posts them...

Spring golf in winter jackets on brown grass. These boys are hard core ;o)

This can't be good. Are they going after the same ball?

It wasn't freeeeeeezing cold in the 30's so we allowed SpiderMonkey to play, too. But, this is what he does .every.time. Heads right up the driveway for the road. 'Cause he wants to play with the lifesize big trucks, I guess he's naughty.

So, we scoop him up and pray some toys distract him try to redirect his attention.

But, he keeps going...

And going...

Until he finally finds a distraction...

And we can breathe a sigh of relief for a minute...

'Til he's off and running again!

I call this wishful thinking. It was the very next day...April 7th. Monkeys in shorts on the trampoline, on top of the brown grass, next to the snowbank.

Monster Jam 4/12/08 Montreal

Remember when MonkeyButt and CuriousGeorge went with MonkeyNana & MonkeyPapa to Montreal to see their MonkeyUncle & MonkeyAunt (my sis) at their Monster Jam show in Montreal? Well, I'm just now uploading pics. Lame, I'm aware. But here you go.

Left, MonkeyUncle signs autographs in front of the Monster Truck during the pit party before the show. My Monkeys have the orange earmuffs on.

Below, CuriousGeorge and MonkeyButt posed inside MonkeyUncle's truck and tires. They're that cool.

I think CuriousGeorge is as tall as the shocks!

And check out where they got their autographs...

...the drivers signed their earmuffs! Cool idea MonkeyAunt!!

Here's MonkeyUncle in action (sort of). I have some videos of the jumps, but I don't know if I'm that good yet...
And the fourwheelers who performed jumps during intermission...
The Monkeys had a fun weekend in Montreal. Thank you to my family for all the nonstop rehash and play-by-play of each truck and fourwheeler for weeks on end that keep me reaching for the earmuffs myself memories!

I've Got My Visa Card Ready...

I was sitting here and MonkeySee just went from the crawling (though he doesn't really crawl) position to sitting up. And now, he's still sitting up.

Sorry. This is big for us, and I just happened to be getting ready to read blogs. MonkeySee's always been the "lazy" one (much like me at that age, from what I hear...and probably now, too. Heh). Just content to lay around and smile his contagious smile. He looks like such a big boy! Now, I gotta go order new big boy carseats online. Any recommendations?

Normal. Phew.

Thank you to everyone for your kind words and well wishes for SpiderMonkey's ultrasound today. The Cardiologist said his heart is Normal. YAY!

The way he explained it is that a heart murmur is not a diagnosis, it's a symptom. Like a fever is a symptom, say of an earache perhaps. And it's his job to determine if SpiderMonkey's murmur is a symptom of a heart defect or not. And it's not. Woohoo!

There. No more doctor's appointments until the end of the month when the blue-eyed monkey formerly known as Twinkey B MonkeyDo* has his date with the Neurologist.

*I've decided to change the Twinkies to individual names. I'm going with MonkeySee and MonkeyDo. Good thing they weren't triplets or I'd have a MonkeyPeeAllOverYou. Heh.

KingKong is almost home and there's a couple Mojitos in the fridge calling to me. ;o)