... and babies make four: Our life with twins. : It's raining, it's pouring... for days

So, I have owed you an update for awhile now, but life happens. I am working 3-4 nights a week and doing homework the nights that I am not at work – so not a whole lot of time to write a blog or do much else. I struggle to find time to read for pleasure – my Microbiology book is less than entertaining – so I am pretty limited on my “outlets” right now. I have been making a better attempt at working out and getting back on track with healthier eating. I am so ready for the weather to be warmer and less wet – this pattern of raining several days a week is dreary! The fence for the backyard should be coming soon and we have been offered a free playset for the kiddos – it is in need of some work, but us spending a few hundred to fix it up is way better than spending 1000 to buy a new one! Once the weather is nice I plan to spend most of my day in the backyard enjoying some sun and hopefully a book or two!

The kids are doing great! They love the new house and having all the room to run and play. For the first few days, they didn’t want to leave and wanted to come straight back home to play. They have done very well with their new big beds and having their own rooms, but they still manage to sneak into our room at night a few nights a week. Luckily with the new King size bed it is much easier to share the bed. Last week, I took the kids to a preschool to tour and the kids liked it so much they cried when we had to leave. Needless to say, they will be starting preschool after Spring Break instead of waiting until Fall. I am pretty excited for them to begin this adventure (and I would be lying if I didn’t admit the few hours I will get for myself each morning will be nice). The kids have also started soccer and they LOVE their coaches – Coach Erica and Coach Patrick (aka Coach Mommy and Coach Daddy). Their first official game is in a few weeks and I am pretty sure it is just going to be me yelling “Kick the ball” and “Go that way” and “No, that way” over and over again. The most important thing is for them to have fun though and based on the smiles of their faces each practice I am succeeding there.

Tonight when I was putting them to bed, Riley asked if she could sleep with “buddy” and he said “yes, you know I love her.” I then melted into the floor. They ask for hugs and kisses over and over again at bedtime. Landon won’t let me kiss or hug him during the way, he said those are for night time only. They really do play well together. It is amazing to watch them interact together and create these imaginative games and worlds with their toys. They have started to want to spend more time playing alone so having their own rooms has allowed them that space.

Riley is a bit dramatic – okay a lot dramatic. She fell today and ended up with a split lip and a scraped chin. I was not near her at the time she fell and she ran to the other mom’s of the group. If you are unaware of her dramatics, it can be pretty intense – add in some blood and she can be downright frightening. She screams, like a blood curdling scary scream, repeatedly, while crying when she is “hurt.” I promise you that 99% of the time she is fine and the reaction is more to being scared. I must look like the most apathetic mother on the face of the Earth while this is happening because I am usually just talking quietly and reminding her to breath and letting her know she needs to bring it down a notch because other children are crying out of fear. I dread the day she gets “hurt” at school. While she can be intense, she is still my daily cuddler. Every morning she grabs a blanket and waits for me to make coffee so we can “snuggle” on the couch. She is comforted by soft things and will usually have a stuffed animal with us as well. She has become so much more patient at putting puzzles together and has accomplished a few of them on her own. She is also getting better at staying in the lines while coloring. She loves to draw and her favorite things to draw are animals – and honestly they are starting to look a lot more like animals. She loves to help me in the kitchen and be able to do things on her own. I bought them a stool to use and she will drag that all around the kitchen to reach items and do things on her own. I put all of their dishes and snacks in lower drawers and they love having the independence to choose. While I do love them doing things on their own, Riley makes some very interesting outfit combinations on a daily basis forcing me to just ignore my own embarrassment and let her go out in public wearing whatever she puts on in the morning.

Landon is becoming increasingly independent as well. He has started picking out his own clothes and will come down the stairs dressed in the morning. His outfits are also a little rough, but he is more willing to change his clothes upon request. We got them both bikes after things settled in the house. It was difficult to get him off the bike the first few days. He insisted that we park our cars outside of the garage so that he could ride laps on the course he set up. He loves being able to go outside and play and as soon as the fence and play set are complete I am sure he will live out there this summer. He loves having his own room and having a place to keep “his” things. He does look super tiny in his Queen sized be though as he sleeps in a ball in the middle of the bed, with a pillow over his head. He has become a difficult eater recently and does not want to eat most nights. He has mastered the ability to spend 2 hours eating one hot dog. The hubby has the patience to sit there and wait for him to be done wheras I just give in and let him eat whatever he wants. I prefer that he not vomit (or waba as he calls it) all over me in the morning. (He tends to only vomit in the morning when he doesn’t eat well the day before – so I figure it is a result of stomach acid. ) So there is a lot of peanut butter and jelly served in this house. Landon has a very inquisitive mind and asks questions about everything. He explains everything to me and most of the time it is difficult to argue with his logic of how things work. He also likes to have things explained to him. There are multiple videos of me on his Leapfrog attempting to explain how helicopters work. He likes to play games and read stories. One of his current favorite games is Uno Attack – we don’t play properly, we just let the cards fly out at us. He is doing okay with soccer. I think he would rather be the coach as he is always telling the others how to play and he stands in front of me and calls himself Coach Landon. (Maybe I should buy him the Gordon Bombay loafer? – anyone?)

So we have been busy. We closed on the house on February 13^th and began moving in the following day with multiple deliveries of furniture and appliances. Everything was in the house by the following Saturday, including some surprise visitors that came from Illinois to help us unpack and bring us some things my parents had bought for us. (My parents were not able to make the journey as my grandmother had the flu, but she is thankfully much better and they will be coming soon!) Luckily we had all of this extra space – and pillows – as there was someone in every bed and on every couch. I loved it! I have taken the kids to several story time events, the aquarium, Easter events, soccer practice, parks and playgrounds. I am still learning my way around Mount Holly so we have done some general exploring as well. We try and stay busy and things will get even busier when they start preschool in a few weeks – so stay tuned for the next update. (I have apparently been a horrible picture taker since last update- I will have to do better!)