Sunday, March 1, 2015
Sunday, February 22, 2015
Temporary format change
I've decided that for the foreseeable future this blog will consist solely of photos from our day to day lives - a slice of life graphic novel if you will. I'm sick of starting to write a post, finding that I have insurmountable writers block and (surprise) zero time to edit/be witty and then giving up. So photos it is. It will have to do for now.
Maybe I'll start a caption contest a la The New Yorker?
Sunday, February 8, 2015
Happy Birthday Hank!
Hard to believe that 5 years have passed since Hank entered the world! In some ways it feels like yesterday and in others it feels like we've lived many lifetimes since then. Hank arrived in dramatic style, in between the two biggest back to back snowstorms in DC's history and the drama hasn't stopped since! He has a big personality, an insatiable thirst for knowledge and the energy to go along with both.
This has been a big year for Hank and we've proudly watched him grow into an independent, well spoken and delightful 5 year old boy. He's proven to be an excellent big brother to Gus, who worships the ground he walks on, and to his new little sisters. Hank's favorite things at this moment include: winter (the best season of all, said like the true Canadian he is!), Wild Kratts, Legos, washing machines and Bryce. When he grows up, Hank is going to be a "garbage engineer". Gus is going to drive the garbage truck and Hank is going to ride on the back. He has expressed a desire to marry Mommy. When we explained that Mommy is already married to Daddy, he said that was okay, he would just marry Gus. He has an amazing imagination that gets put to regular use with his Lego creations, ranging from helicopters to prisons to air traffic control towers and gas stations. He got a badass SpiderMan Lego helicopter as a birthday gift and pretends that Spidey is hunting turkeys with it for dinner. Dontcha just love innocence!
For the past couple of years we kept the birthday parties simple and small, but this year we didn't hold back. Our gift to Hank was tickets to the Monster Jam two weeks ago. His school friend Matthew came along for the ride and they had a great time watching the trucks do their thing.
And then last weekend we threw a birthday party for Hank at a bowling alley and invited his class to celebrate with him. Auntie Alice and Uncle Brian were in town as well. The kids had a great time "bowling" (rolling the ball down a ramp towards the pins...most of the time they didn't quite make it) and Gus held his own with all the big kids. He was even chasing them around trying to give them kisses!
We can't wait to see what Hank has in store for us this year - he just keeps getting better and better! Happy Birthday Hank!
 |
| Hank moments after being born... |
 |
| "Snowmageddon" - our view from the hospital window |
For the past couple of years we kept the birthday parties simple and small, but this year we didn't hold back. Our gift to Hank was tickets to the Monster Jam two weeks ago. His school friend Matthew came along for the ride and they had a great time watching the trucks do their thing.
 |
| Guess what? Monster trucks are really loud. Not sure why Matt looks like that in the background... |
 |
| Getting psyched! |
 |
| Gravedigger in action. |
 |
| Alice, Brian, Hank, Gus and some of Hank's classmates at the lanes |
 |
| Hank making his weird photo face |
 |
| Delightful store bought cupcakes - who are we kidding? I'm not making them! |
 |
| Hank and Theodore goofing around |
 |
| Hmmm, chocolate |
We can't wait to see what Hank has in store for us this year - he just keeps getting better and better! Happy Birthday Hank!
Monday, February 2, 2015
Imagine you're drowning...and someone hands you a baby
My genius plan of never having to be alone with all 4 of my kids at once experienced an epic fail last week. Our much relied upon nanny Mona was out sick with a stomach virus Monday through Wednesday and then slipped and fell on ice Thursday evening, injuring her shoulder badly enough to be in an emergency room until 3am Friday morning getting treatment. The poor woman couldn't catch a break!
I have to say that I was surprised at how well I managed with the kids, even if I was counting down the minutes until Heidi showed up at 4pm to take two of them off my hands! The past 5 years of parenting have taught me a priceless lesson: it will all be okay if you keep your expectations low, very, very low. Once I let go of any hope of achieving anything beyond feeding and cleaning the children, everything was fine. Taking a bathroom break and choking down a granola bar between diaper changes and bottle cleanings were major victories.
Comedian Jim Gaffigan does a good job of summing it all up here: http://fascinately.com/funny/
Now I know that the world won't end if I'm on my own with the kiddies, but I also know that I can't wait for Mona to be back at 100% :)
I have to say that I was surprised at how well I managed with the kids, even if I was counting down the minutes until Heidi showed up at 4pm to take two of them off my hands! The past 5 years of parenting have taught me a priceless lesson: it will all be okay if you keep your expectations low, very, very low. Once I let go of any hope of achieving anything beyond feeding and cleaning the children, everything was fine. Taking a bathroom break and choking down a granola bar between diaper changes and bottle cleanings were major victories.
Comedian Jim Gaffigan does a good job of summing it all up here: http://fascinately.com/funny/
Now I know that the world won't end if I'm on my own with the kiddies, but I also know that I can't wait for Mona to be back at 100% :)
Wednesday, January 28, 2015
Aaaand we're back...
Oooh la la! What a difference a month makes! First, accept my apologies for the total lack of blog updating and Facebooking. It is a tragedy that just at the time that everyone wants photos of the wee babes, their mother is too overwhelmed and busy to post a single one.
Well, I'm back and will do my best moving forward to be more regular with my postings. I just needed a minute there to catch my breath, accept that I have 4 children 4 and under, celebrate Christmas, host 5 branches of our families at different times and deal with various other demanding issues like the power going out for 3 days in the middle of a cold snap. More on that later.
So first things first, as you all heard from Matt's triumphant announcement email, the girls have arrived, safely, soundly, and did minimal damage to their mother in the process, hallelujah! In all seriousness, I feel like I got away with murder. We are so grateful to have had an issue-free twin pregnancy, a natural delivery and two healthy babies born with no time needed in the NICU. I'm not sure how we won this lottery but wow are we lucky?!
And the prize? Two delicious little baby girls. June and Dylan are so scrumptious I can't even tell you. They've gone pretty easy on us so far - crying rarely and usually only for a moment or two. They are sleeping well and eating well, gaining weight steadily. I spend approximately 6 hours just feeding them everyday, and that's if the feeding goes smoothly. Throw in the time it takes to change their diapers, change their outfits and get them back down to sleep and you can probably add an hour or two to that tally. You can see why 'round the clock assistance is in order. And thank the lord that we have that! There is basically a nanny on duty from 8am-8pm every day, and a night nurse that cares for the babies overnight. So actually I have no idea if they are sleeping well or not. But I am!
This last helper is the key to it all my friends. Without her I would not be functioning right now. No no no. I would have been checked in to an insane asylum a few weeks ago. I know this because I have lived one night without her aid since the babies came home and learned very quickly that I have no idea how to care for them at night. They were up essentially all night long, with the exception of a few hours when they slept in bed with Matt and I because that was the only way they would stop screaming. Never again, never!
So, with this magical nighttime helper in place, I am sleeping 7 hours a night! This is a miracle! I would do anything for this woman. If she ever tries to leave she will have to pry my desperate fingers from her ankle as she tries to walk through the door. She could basically demand anything at this point and I would willingly hand it over. Deed to the house? Done. Keys to the car? Sure, who needs it?!
So we've had everyone from my side of the family visit so far and we are now on to Matt's. It's been great seeing everyone and the boys have especially enjoyed spending time with their aunts, uncles and cousins. Speaking of the boys, they have been impressive big brothers to the girls. We can't get over how well they've accepted the new additions and how sweet they are to their sisters. They are always bringing them toys and giving them lots of kisses. Gus can get quite aggressive with his baby kissing moves, but they come from the heart.
We had a wonderful Christmas, the best part of which was not being in the hospital! Nana and Papa were visiting for the week and the boys had a great time opening their gifts. This was the first year I saw them get really excited when they got gifts they really wanted and the Santa belief was in full force. We had Whitney and Ryan in town for New Years and we all went out for dinner with a group of our friends who were visiting from New York (it was our anniversary after all). Chanel and Grant were up next for a visit with Hayes in tow. Hank and Gus were thrilled to have him here to play with and they showed him what DC had to offer on the playground and museum fronts. Katie and Maggie were with us last weekend and the boys were officially Maggie's fan club. They played for hours and Gus even insisted on looking at pictures of Maggie on Katie's phone when she "slept in" one morning (you know, past 6:30am).
Those were the ups. The downs have included a stomach bug that I came down with when the girls were one week old (oh joy!) and the real kicker was that time the power went out for 3 days when the babies were 3 weeks old. We have never lost power in this house in the 7 years we have lived here. But of course, at the time we can least afford to have a major house issues, the power goes out one morning at 6:45am. I thought, hmmm, okay, I'm sure it will come back on in a few hours. And the power company's website said as much. Apparently an underground transporter had blown up a few blocks from our house and blew out power to most people in our neighborhood. As luck would have it, we were in the midst of a cold snap that had the temps in the 20's. Our ancient home leaks heat like a sieve and within a few hours the temperature inside had dropped into the 60's. Still checking the website which promises power restoration within hours...mid-afternoon and the temperature is in the 50s. The babies and I have taken to cuddling in bed under the covers to stay warm. By the time I got home from picking up Hank at school, the power was still out and the sun the was going down. In a total panic and racing against the last light of the day, we packed up all 4 kids and all their stuff and headed to a hotel up the road. Long story short, the damn power was not on the next day so we had a second night in the hotel (and spent the day trying to make sure our pipes didn't freeze). Finally at the end of day 3 we got heat and electricity back. What a royal pain the ass.
At any rate, we are all happily back at our house with the heat on. It's been a whirlwind of a month that has really flown by. We've really been enjoying our time together as a family. It still feels surreal when all 6 of us go somewhere together (yes, we have managed to do this a handful of times) but we wouldn't change it for anything in the world. Stay tuned...
PS - I wrote this two weeks ago and it has taken me this long to get it posted. Lord have mercy taking care of these kids takes up a lot time!
Well, I'm back and will do my best moving forward to be more regular with my postings. I just needed a minute there to catch my breath, accept that I have 4 children 4 and under, celebrate Christmas, host 5 branches of our families at different times and deal with various other demanding issues like the power going out for 3 days in the middle of a cold snap. More on that later.
So first things first, as you all heard from Matt's triumphant announcement email, the girls have arrived, safely, soundly, and did minimal damage to their mother in the process, hallelujah! In all seriousness, I feel like I got away with murder. We are so grateful to have had an issue-free twin pregnancy, a natural delivery and two healthy babies born with no time needed in the NICU. I'm not sure how we won this lottery but wow are we lucky?!
And the prize? Two delicious little baby girls. June and Dylan are so scrumptious I can't even tell you. They've gone pretty easy on us so far - crying rarely and usually only for a moment or two. They are sleeping well and eating well, gaining weight steadily. I spend approximately 6 hours just feeding them everyday, and that's if the feeding goes smoothly. Throw in the time it takes to change their diapers, change their outfits and get them back down to sleep and you can probably add an hour or two to that tally. You can see why 'round the clock assistance is in order. And thank the lord that we have that! There is basically a nanny on duty from 8am-8pm every day, and a night nurse that cares for the babies overnight. So actually I have no idea if they are sleeping well or not. But I am!
 |
| June at 1 week |
 |
| Dylan at 1 week |
 |
| What is better than little baby girl feet in little baby girl socks? Nothing I tell you, nothing. |
 |
| Hank trying to calm a screaming twin... |
 |
| Gus moving in on June for a kiss |
We had a wonderful Christmas, the best part of which was not being in the hospital! Nana and Papa were visiting for the week and the boys had a great time opening their gifts. This was the first year I saw them get really excited when they got gifts they really wanted and the Santa belief was in full force. We had Whitney and Ryan in town for New Years and we all went out for dinner with a group of our friends who were visiting from New York (it was our anniversary after all). Chanel and Grant were up next for a visit with Hayes in tow. Hank and Gus were thrilled to have him here to play with and they showed him what DC had to offer on the playground and museum fronts. Katie and Maggie were with us last weekend and the boys were officially Maggie's fan club. They played for hours and Gus even insisted on looking at pictures of Maggie on Katie's phone when she "slept in" one morning (you know, past 6:30am).
 |
| Hayes, Hank and Gus do lunch over the holidays |
 |
| Aunt Whitney doing what she does best, caring for wee babes. |
Those were the ups. The downs have included a stomach bug that I came down with when the girls were one week old (oh joy!) and the real kicker was that time the power went out for 3 days when the babies were 3 weeks old. We have never lost power in this house in the 7 years we have lived here. But of course, at the time we can least afford to have a major house issues, the power goes out one morning at 6:45am. I thought, hmmm, okay, I'm sure it will come back on in a few hours. And the power company's website said as much. Apparently an underground transporter had blown up a few blocks from our house and blew out power to most people in our neighborhood. As luck would have it, we were in the midst of a cold snap that had the temps in the 20's. Our ancient home leaks heat like a sieve and within a few hours the temperature inside had dropped into the 60's. Still checking the website which promises power restoration within hours...mid-afternoon and the temperature is in the 50s. The babies and I have taken to cuddling in bed under the covers to stay warm. By the time I got home from picking up Hank at school, the power was still out and the sun the was going down. In a total panic and racing against the last light of the day, we packed up all 4 kids and all their stuff and headed to a hotel up the road. Long story short, the damn power was not on the next day so we had a second night in the hotel (and spent the day trying to make sure our pipes didn't freeze). Finally at the end of day 3 we got heat and electricity back. What a royal pain the ass.
 |
| The ladies in their first hotel room |
PS - I wrote this two weeks ago and it has taken me this long to get it posted. Lord have mercy taking care of these kids takes up a lot time!
Thursday, December 11, 2014
Well, we're waiting...
We have reached 36 weeks. This is a triumph by all accounts and we consider ourselves very lucky to have had a such smooth sailing so far...
But we are ready. We've run out of things to do to prepare for both the babies and for Christmas. I'm not able to do much physically anymore so I spend most of my time sitting around hoping that the latest discomfort is the beginning of labor. I watch a lot of TV. I am beginning to lose my grip on my former busy and productive life...it seems like such a distant memory. Did I really get up, shower and dress before 8am? Did I work, take care of kids, go grocery shopping and go out for dinner at night? Did we go away every other weekend? This all seems crazy to me now.
Hank and Gus are eager for "Punch & Judy" to get here too. Hank gave the twins their nicknames after reading Cecily G and the 9 Monkeys. In the book, Curious George has 7 brothers and sisters and the twins are Punch and Judy. I swear the names are not related to the creepy puppets in Gone Girl. I call the twins "Heartburn and Anxiety" - a nickname that I think may stick well into their teens.
When I asked the boys what the twins would look like they told me that they would have orange hair and indigo skin and would be very calm when they were born. How creepy does that sound?!
Anyhoo - that's all I got for this week. Hopefully my next post will include photos of two little girls who have pink skin, blue eyes, and respectable names :)
But we are ready. We've run out of things to do to prepare for both the babies and for Christmas. I'm not able to do much physically anymore so I spend most of my time sitting around hoping that the latest discomfort is the beginning of labor. I watch a lot of TV. I am beginning to lose my grip on my former busy and productive life...it seems like such a distant memory. Did I really get up, shower and dress before 8am? Did I work, take care of kids, go grocery shopping and go out for dinner at night? Did we go away every other weekend? This all seems crazy to me now.
Hank and Gus are eager for "Punch & Judy" to get here too. Hank gave the twins their nicknames after reading Cecily G and the 9 Monkeys. In the book, Curious George has 7 brothers and sisters and the twins are Punch and Judy. I swear the names are not related to the creepy puppets in Gone Girl. I call the twins "Heartburn and Anxiety" - a nickname that I think may stick well into their teens.
When I asked the boys what the twins would look like they told me that they would have orange hair and indigo skin and would be very calm when they were born. How creepy does that sound?!
Anyhoo - that's all I got for this week. Hopefully my next post will include photos of two little girls who have pink skin, blue eyes, and respectable names :)
 |
| Gus' hair continues it's upward trajectory... |
 |
| Kim Kardashian isn't the only one who can break the internet... |
Wednesday, December 3, 2014
Let's Talk Numbers
The countdown is on people. We have entered the zone in which labor is an imminent daily threat and this family is ready to spring into action. Hospital bags are packed (have been for weeks actually). Emergency childcare is in place. The freezer is full of ready to heat meals. My body is screaming with discomfort from every pore, muscle, ligament and vein. I am 200% pregnant and starting to want the babies out more than I want them in.
I think.
With that, I present the Kelly-twins last weeks in the womb by the numbers:
0 - number of days we waited after Thanksgiving to put the tree up. It is Christmas time in the Kelly house. We would hate to be caught unprepared by the arrival of two newborns and miss the season!
1 - the number of times I leave the house on a given day, usually to pick up Hank from school. I am unable to stand for more than 10 minutes at a time without fatigue setting in and I seem to disturb many people when I go out in public. I have become familiar with what it feels like to get double takes in the grocery store, at the bank etc., and not the good kind. I am also trying to avoid having this conversation any more than I need to:
Stranger: "Whoa, looks like you are about to pop any day now!"
Me: "Actually, I have about a month to go. It's twins."
Stranger: "Twins? Wonderful! Is this your first pregnancy?"
Me: "No, my third."
Stranger: "Oh."
To be fair, if the stranger is not American (meaning from the developing world), the reaction is usually very positive - especially when they learn that I will have 2 boys and 2 girls. Then it's like I've won the lottery, which is how I'm trying to look at it too.
Or there was this bizarre encounter at the Air & Space Museum this weekend. A Frenchman (wearing 3 cameras, no less) approached me, proceeded to touch my belly and ask me if there were two babies inside. Lucky for him, I told him, yes, there are. He then confirmed that the two wild boys running around me were mine as well? Yes, they are. Could he take my picture? I was so taken aback that I said yes and then stood there being photographed like one of the large aircraft that surrounded us. I'm probably on his FB page with a caption like "Typical American breeding female, likely a religious zealot, touring her nation's capital on Thanksgiving Day."
3 - pairs of pants that still fit me. I have no shirts that actually cover my entire belly, in spite of having bought a bunch in the size up a while back. Another good reason not to leave the house.
4 - car seats installed in the mini van. Matt has embraced "Max" the van and seems to genuinely like it. I am unsold on it's charms...Max has some work to do in order to win me over.
5 - the number of pillows I sleep with each night in order to get a comfortable enough to fall asleep.
6 - the number of airline seats we will need to purchase to ever travel anywhere again.
7 - sorry, we'll need 7 seats. We will have to bring someone to help us with the kids for the next 5 years.
35 - weeks that is. 3 weeks left until our scheduled c-section.
150ish - christmas cards I have addressed, stamped and sent out in a mad rush this week.
212 - episodes of Property Brothers and Love It or List It I have watched from the couch in a sick addictive binge. Why don't I get tired of the Scott brothers? Why?!
There are 6 days until my next doctors appointment which includes an ultrasound - that should give us a better idea of whether the girls look like they will come early. In the meantime, I'll be watching HGTV. A few pics from the last week below...
I think.
With that, I present the Kelly-twins last weeks in the womb by the numbers:
0 - number of days we waited after Thanksgiving to put the tree up. It is Christmas time in the Kelly house. We would hate to be caught unprepared by the arrival of two newborns and miss the season!
1 - the number of times I leave the house on a given day, usually to pick up Hank from school. I am unable to stand for more than 10 minutes at a time without fatigue setting in and I seem to disturb many people when I go out in public. I have become familiar with what it feels like to get double takes in the grocery store, at the bank etc., and not the good kind. I am also trying to avoid having this conversation any more than I need to:
Stranger: "Whoa, looks like you are about to pop any day now!"
Me: "Actually, I have about a month to go. It's twins."
Stranger: "Twins? Wonderful! Is this your first pregnancy?"
Me: "No, my third."
Stranger: "Oh."
To be fair, if the stranger is not American (meaning from the developing world), the reaction is usually very positive - especially when they learn that I will have 2 boys and 2 girls. Then it's like I've won the lottery, which is how I'm trying to look at it too.
Or there was this bizarre encounter at the Air & Space Museum this weekend. A Frenchman (wearing 3 cameras, no less) approached me, proceeded to touch my belly and ask me if there were two babies inside. Lucky for him, I told him, yes, there are. He then confirmed that the two wild boys running around me were mine as well? Yes, they are. Could he take my picture? I was so taken aback that I said yes and then stood there being photographed like one of the large aircraft that surrounded us. I'm probably on his FB page with a caption like "Typical American breeding female, likely a religious zealot, touring her nation's capital on Thanksgiving Day."
3 - pairs of pants that still fit me. I have no shirts that actually cover my entire belly, in spite of having bought a bunch in the size up a while back. Another good reason not to leave the house.
4 - car seats installed in the mini van. Matt has embraced "Max" the van and seems to genuinely like it. I am unsold on it's charms...Max has some work to do in order to win me over.
5 - the number of pillows I sleep with each night in order to get a comfortable enough to fall asleep.
6 - the number of airline seats we will need to purchase to ever travel anywhere again.
7 - sorry, we'll need 7 seats. We will have to bring someone to help us with the kids for the next 5 years.
35 - weeks that is. 3 weeks left until our scheduled c-section.
150ish - christmas cards I have addressed, stamped and sent out in a mad rush this week.
212 - episodes of Property Brothers and Love It or List It I have watched from the couch in a sick addictive binge. Why don't I get tired of the Scott brothers? Why?!
There are 6 days until my next doctors appointment which includes an ultrasound - that should give us a better idea of whether the girls look like they will come early. In the meantime, I'll be watching HGTV. A few pics from the last week below...
 |
 |
| Thanksgiving morning with two turkeys on the Mall |
 |
| A lazy afternoon by the Christmas tree |
 |
| Two bros and their gingerbread house |
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)