Perfecting Imperfection

Maybe I'll start planning a renewal of vows for our 25 Anniversary or something.  :)

I wish my cousin and her new hubby many, many years of joy and happiness!  I'm a little jealous because they are touring Europe for their honeymoon right now.  Think I can pull off a second honeymoon for my 25th, too?  hehehe

I love kids.  I love playing with kids and acting like a kid.  I work with kids and I have 4 kids of my own.  I am usually surrounded by kids.  I even like playing with the kids at big family functions.  When I started dating Jerry he had a niece and nephew (now we have 4 nephews and 3 nieces).  I LOVED playing with those kids...they are 17 and 14 (I think) now.  I LOVE playing with all of my nieces and nephews and my own kids and the kids at work.  I think that part of it is because I'm a BIG kid at heart...the rest of my body, however, is aging a little faster.

Yesterday, Jerry and I took the kids to Giggles and Smiles at the Pittsburgh Mills Mall.  The best part about that place is that the twins can kind of run free and not get into anything.  We have been to a few birthday parties there and I am usually the crazy adult running around with the kids up in the tubes and climbing the rope ladders and sliding down the slides.  I like hanging out in the ball pit with my kiddos and "burying" them so they can scare each other.

I was playing with all 4 of them in the ball pit yesterday while Jerry watched from outside.  Then I followed David as he climbed up to the top and decided that he wanted to go down the tube slide.  I couldn't let him do it himself.  He's too little and Jerry was chasing Dean, so there was no one there to catch him when he got to the bottom.  So, I'm a big kid, I went down with him.

BIG MISTAKE!

I swear, they have to wax those slides at night or something.  I've never gone down a slide that was so fast.  I was trying really hard to protect David as we shot out of the bottom.  In doing so I landed with my feet underneath me.  I twisted my ankle and then slammed my head backwards and whacked it off the bottom of the slide.  It was AWFUL!  I seriously thought I was going to pass out and that my ankle was going to swell up and I wouldn't be able to walk on it.

None of that happened, though.  I will admit that my head still hurts where I hit it...but my ankle is fine.  I have a nice little brush burn on my elbow from trying to slow down but all in all it could have been a lot worse.

I guess it's time for me to start being a little bit of a less adventurous BIG kid and start remembering that I am not as flexible as I use to be.  It won't stop me from playing just maybe going down sliding boards....

We have hit the terrible twos...no, they aren't technically two yet but it was the same with Nate and Danika, too.  I'm convinced that kids actually start the terrible twos somewhere around 18-22 months.

For us, the terrible twos have always been associated with a lot of screaming and crying and getting into things.  With my boys (these 2 and Nate), it also involves making my heart jump up into my throat at least twice a week by being overly adventurous and doing something that "could" have turned out way worse than it did.  For example, today Dean decided to help me unload the dishwasher when I ran into the living room to see why David was crying.  Of course, he wanted to put the knives away...I swear I'm just not on top of things enough some days.  Everyone was fine, though.  All fingers and toes accounted for and still attached.  I'm lucky that these little weekly heart stopping events have always (with the exception of the olive can incident) been without injury.  The screaming and crying, though, that is something that I just don't know how to deal with some days.

It isn't too hard to understand why they seem to scream and cry ALL the time.  The poor guys just can't communicate what they want and that is super frustrating!  Think about it. If you knew that you wanted something, couldn't get it yourself and had NO real way of telling someone, what would you do?  I'm working on paying more attention to what they are trying to tell me but they are both just inconsolable once they get started.  They also have VERY different ways of dealing with their disappointment and frustration.

Dean throws fits.  He actually banged his forehead off of a sidewalk once during one of his fits.  I don't think he will do it again . . . at least not on the sidewalk.  I always have to be extra careful to lay him down somewhere soft (like a carpeted area) when he is flailing around like a mad man.

David cries.  He cries this loud, long, heartbreaking cry.  The worst part about the cry is that it seems to last forever.  I'm convinced that he forgets why he is crying after about a minute and just cries because he feels like crying.

I know that we will get through this.  I know that these days won't last forever.  What I'm trying to focus on these days are the hugs and kisses.  Over the last 2 or 3 weeks, my boys have become little love bugs, too.  I get the biggest hugs and sloppiest kisses from them when they are happy about things.  I also get big smiles when I walk into their room in the morning.  Jerry has actually been getting a lot of  "Daddy, Daddy, Daddy" from Dean (which makes me a little jealous, I'll admit it).  :)

I'm hoping that, since the Terrible Two stage started early, this will only last another 6 months or so and that by Christmas (yes, Christmas is 6 months away!) we will be all good.  :)

So - since I hate posting blog posts that don't have pictures....here are some totally unrelated pictures of my new yard...just 2 actually.  A before and an after shot...




We are still waiting for some grass to grow...but we can't wait to use the yard and patio for the twins' REALLY turn 2! (There...didn't I tie it all together nice and neatly!  hehehe)

I doubt my brain is capable of writing a really detailed blog post about our vacation.  In fact, I doubt my brain is capable of doing anything detailed right now.  I can't think straight and I have a million things to do.  Unpacking is 1000 times worse than packing!  I'm planning on making a list and getting started after my hour online and cup of coffee.  :)  Now that Jerry is back to work, things can go back to normal around here.  (Don't get me wrong - I love my husband and I love having him home...but we don't have the same priorities or ideas about how to do things all the time.)

I do want to tell you about our vacation, though...so, I'll do a list.  That way I will "feel" like it's organized even though it's just a bunch of random snippets.

• The drive down was ok.  Not great because Danika got car sick twice before we stopped at a rest stop to get her Dramamine.  Then, we were about an hour early and the kids were VERY anxious and hard to contain.  Once we got in the house, though, things were better.
• The house was really nice.  About a 2 minute walk to the beach and enough bedrooms for everyone!  The dining area was the most disappointing because it was a little tight when we all tried sitting down.  So, we ended up eating in shifts a lot.
• The babies slept WONDERFULLY!  Naps didn't go to well the very first time we tried them but after that, no problems!
• The kids LOVED the ocean.  They LOVED the boardwalk.  They LOVED spending time with their grandparents and Aunt and cousin all week!
• Jerry and I got to go out on a "date" during vacation, too!  It was great!  We rode the most intense wooden roller coaster (yes, more intense than the Thunderbolt) I've ever been on at the boardwalk.  Then we headed to Cape May and shopped a little at the cutest little stores.  We finished the night with some appetizers and drinks at The Ugly Mug.
• All the trips to the beach were a ton of fun and tired the kids out!  
• Oh - btw, New Jersey drivers are CrAzY!!!
• The wedding picnic at the Cape May Lighthouse park was a lot of fun - the "big" kids even climbed the  steps of the lighthouse the whole way to the top with Jerry.
• The wedding was BEAUTIFUL!  It was the first beach wedding I'd ever been to and it was the perfect day with the perfect weather!  Danika and Angelina were flower girls and they were both so excited and absolutely adorable.  :)
• The ride home could have been worse - the hotel stay was okay but the babies were really antsy.  The pool at the hotel was REALLY cold but the food we ordered in was REALLY yummy!
• When we got home, we got to see our new yard (on the lot we bought next door)!  All we are waiting for now is some grass to grow!  :)