Fast and Crazy

Right before the boy's first birthday, Chicken found out she had to go to Miami for business. She asked if we wanted to tag-a-long, but I declined because:

1. Miami in January could be chilly, there's no guarantee the weather will be nice.
2. The main things to do in Miami are based around water (pools and beaches). I cannot handle to crawddlers anywhere near water on my own.
3. The hotel was far away from anything remotely interesting
4. Chicken would be working for 3 days. What the hell am I going to do with them?

So, I decided to tackle the time alone here in NYC. It was a challenge and we all survived just fine, but looking back...I think just the warmer weather should've been enough. We could've driven around and found parks, etc to play in and been just fine. Lesson Learned.

Last week when the boys were vomiting and pooping everywhere Chicken found out she had to go to San Francisco for business (she is traveling a bit more again....). She asked me if I wanted to go. Oh Hellz NO! At that chaotic moment it sounded like a nightmare.

But a few days later when they started feeling better...I started thinking about it again. I had to make a decision fast.

I put out a poll on FB and asked a couple of question on my twins mom forum.

I waffled. I weighed. I checked weather reports. I looked for suitable hotels. I researched things we (I) could do.

And then we booked it.

Of course now Chicken's schedule for work has changed and the weather doesn't look quite as nice and we are carrying them both as lap babies on a 6+ hr flight, but it's going to be just fine.

Originally the answers I got were regarding the flight and how they wouldn't do it because this age is so hard for sitting still. True, true. The flight would suck and they would wait. True, true.

Then, I got a random email from a twin mom I've been corresponding with. She and her husband are big travelers like us and they just came back from *Thailand with their (almost) 2 year old twins. She said a lot of really encouraging things about the trip but what stuck with me was this:

"I'm all for traveling with children! My husband and I say that we've seen our kids develop so much when we travel, as they are exposed to new things. Plus children who travel like mine are used to it and easier to travel with. I have friends who never travel with their kids because they tried once and it was a disaster. It takes "training" but kids learn quickly and I think it is worth it in the end."

That gave me great pause. The flight will be really hard. But you know what? Long flights are going to be hard for a long time. Long flights are hard on ME. They are never easy or that fun! But, I tolerate them much better having done them over and over and over.

I am a good traveler because of practice and "training" (and packing appropriately!).

We started these babies traveling at an early age. They've already been on 7 airplanes! We can't really stop now just because it's going to be difficult. It's always going to be a challenge traveling with kids. But it's going to get easier. And the flight....it has a beginning and an end. We know what to expect because we've done it before. They are used to sleeping in their Ergos on us, so hopefully they will nap a bit.

It's funny....while most people are freaked out about the flight, you know what I'm freaked out about? Driving!!!

I have NEVER had to load my big stroller in and out of a car, pack the kids up, drive around with them by myself. We've done road trips, but there were always 2 of us and we've never taken the monster stroller with us. That thing alone weighs 40 lbs! Ha! We've rented a minivan that we'll pick up at the airport. I feel like I've arrived at motherhood! I've been to SF a number of times, but never driving...let alone a minivan!!

Many challenges ahead. Lots of packing and organizing and laundry to do this weekend.

We leave Monday morning.

We're going to have a great time in SF because it's a wonderful city!

PS. I'm hoping to meet a Baby Genius, possibly a Sam and eat at a Libby Resto while we're there....email me!

*Thanks to this email, Chicken is now considering a trip to Thailand for the holidays this year. She's getting Thai fever and is itching to go back. Now that she knows it can by done and can be fun...her brain is buzzing.

Then, the other day I was shopping for a new pair of jeans and after finally finding a pair that fit I vowed I would not go shopping again until we went back to South East Asia. The girl who checked me out was Thai. Totally weird. I'm taking it as a sign. I'm so ready to go back!

This is How We Roll

Of course, Grunter was happy pushing Whoop Whoop the first go around, but as soon as we brought out the camera...drama!

My boys are back and feeling fine. We are having a blast. I missed them.

Life is great.

Benefits

The only benefit of a sick baby are the cuddles.


We've been battling icky sicky for over a week now. There are vomit stains in my carpet. I've experienced a baby throwing up in my mouth (I was holding him). There have been many horrific poopy explosions where it's easiest to put the baby straight in the tub.

On top of everything--they do not want to nap. They want to be held constantly and nurse constantly and I am only one person. My arms hurt and my back aches and we are all exhausted with 4am wakings.
Chicken has been in the studio for work and blessedly HN was free for more hours this week.

Yesterday was too cold for a stroller nap and putting them in their cribs resulted in the most anguished cries ever.
I never saw my life as it is but there we were: 2 women dancing to Bob Marley in a darkened living room while a baby swayed in the Ergo. W2 soon fell asleep humming to himself but from 1:20 I tried tour de boob, dancing, walking, pacing the hallways, taking a tour of the elevator, climbing the back stairs and finally another tour de boob which did the trick at 3:44.
Of course....W2 woke up at 3:45 and was pissed seeing Grunter on my boob. The tears.

Oh--and they are renovating the apartments next to and above us for the next 4-6 weeks. Demolition crews all day long. Its beyond loud As if napping weren't difficult enough!
Yesterday they turned our water off all day. You couldn't even flush the toilet. So gross but extremely embarrassing with HN there! A line was crossed.

Today Chicken took the morning off, let me rest a bit in the REAL bed (oh god how I miss my bed!) and then when HN arrived sent me out to get coffee and a massage. How awesome is she?
She told me not to come home until I was relaxed. I told her I'd be home next week.

The boys are feeling much better today. I miss their smiles and laughter and playing with them. Soon, this craziness will be a hazy memory and we will all be back to normal.

It's even colder today...I see another Ergo dance party this afternoon. That was the scene in my living room when I left. You do what you've got to do.

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We are NOT having a good day

This is pretty much classic WhoopWhoop on any given day!

All because I had to go to the bathroom....

The boy has a temper and ZERO patience. Even for pee breaks.

Make that the last 3 or 4 days actually....

We went to our neighborhood play space on Monday and by Wednesday, Grunter was Mr. Super Poopy Pants.

The next night he became Mr. Vomit in My Crib as well as Mr. Super Poopy Pants.

Whoop Whoop doesn't feel great, but he isn't sick like Grunter. Instead he is just Sir McFussAlot. There's a new stage of jealousy going on and when Grunter is practicing being a baby tree monkey on me (read: clingy) W2 wants some of that as well.

This usually leads to booby business, because really--what a better way to soothe and hold two baby tree monkeys at the same time? I am SO glad I have these powerful weapons to whip out. I don't even know how many nursing sessions we've had over the last couple of days. If they want them, they get them.

They don't have much of an appetite for real food, not even their new moo milk cups, so booby it is.

In addition, for the last month their naps have been super "wacky" (see, we're trying to be good role model parents and not drop the F bomb all the time. Normally, I would've said super "fucked UP" because that is indeed what they've been).

First of all, they won't go down at the same time. If I try that it's like "Party in the Crib!" There will be NO sleeping. It doesn't matter how tired they are. Grunter needs more sleep than W2 and falls asleep faster and without much protest. So, I put Grunter down first and around 15-20 minutes later go in and put down W2. The great thing is that Grunter sleeps through all of this. W2 will then talk to himself for 10-15 minutes and finally fall asleep and then they wake up about the same time. It really cuts into any "down" time for me, but you do what you gotta do.

Secondly, they want to drop a nap. Yup, already. The morning nap has been pushed back from 9:30 to 10:30 and they'll sleep for that--maybe an hour. But they refuse to sleep for the afternoon nap--UNLESS!--I pop them in the stroller. Then they conk out. So, they need the afternoon nap, but they won't do it in the crib.

One day, I got them to stay awake until noon, thinking we'd have that one magical long nap (2-3 hours) that everyone talks of when their baby consolidates naps. Nope. One hour. Out for a walk we went.

Now, I love a good walk. NYC is made for walking and navigating my hummer-sized stroller isn't that big of a deal in my neighborhood. But damn. It's been like, 15 degrees outside (ok, maybe a little bit warmer, but let's not forget the windchill). The boys are all bundled up with snowsuits and sheepskin buntings and a plastic wind cover but me--well, I'm fucking cold.

I walked around for an hour and a half the other day. Around and around and around I went. It sucked. But they slept and when they woke up they were happy which made the afternoon a whole lot happier for mommy, too.

But today it's raining and while not impossible...it's mighty uncomfortable to hold an umbrella with one hand and push a double stroller with the other. Rainy days suck.

Rainy days and winter sucks. Winter, mainly. Every winter, and I do mean every, Chicken and I talk of where to move. This always lead to the "is Florida really that bad for the gays and their families?" or "Northern or Southern California?" and this year..."International?" We're all over the map as you can see. Springtime will come and we'll fall in love with our city again until next winter when we'll love to hate it. Two More Months Two More Months Two More Months.

On a bright note, sleep--aside from naps and the latest stomach bug--continues to be, well....Awesome.

The boys go to bed at 6:30pm and sleep through the night without a peep. They wake up, play or hang out in their cribs and we go get them and start our day at 7am which I think is a great time. I would much rather have them waking earlier and going to bed earlier. We get the entire night "off" and it makes a big difference in what we can accomplish after the boys go to bed. Even if all we accomplish is eating dinner and watching back-to-back episodes of "Mad Men". I'll take it.

For us, well, the pull-out couch continues to be our bed and we are trying to stay in our one bedroom as long as possible. We'll see how long we last but for now...I'm looking into the best foam mattress topper. It's either that...or a new couch. Let's try the cheaper option first.