A Cecelia Story

I have so many things that I want to blog about, but there is just not enough time. Here's a quick Cecelia story though. She's not a baby any more!

Cece: Mommy, Tan (can) I watch a movie?

Me (pausing to think): Yeeess, you may.

Cece: Tan (can) I watch it on the big TV?

Me: No, you may not.

Cece: Why, Mommy?

Me: Because I don't want to watch, Sid (Sid the Science Kid), Honey. You can watch it in the guest bedroom.

Cece (leaves for a few minutes, returns with Sid DVD case in hand): Mommy, it says right here on the back that you hafta (have to) watch this movie on the big TV. You tan't (can't) watch it on the guest bed.

Me (laughing): I don't think it says that, Cecelia.

Cece: Yes, it do.

Needless to say, she did not watch it on the big TV.

Finally Keeping My Head Above Water

Whew. I feel like I'm finally keeping my head above water. While I have been posting regularly on facebook, I realized that I haven't blogged for awhile. Here is a little glimpse into our life recently.

When I was a teacher, I never used sticker charts. I had other ways of motivating students to read. It wasn't that I was necessarily opposed to them philosophically, but I just didn't need to use them. Then, I had my own child.

I began to notice that Cece wouldn't stay focused when "reading" by herself. She did great when I read to her, but in these last months I have wanted her to be able to sustain focus on an activity without me. Hence, a bribe. Yep.

I made her a reading chart. For every 15 minutes that she read (listened to audiobooks, used her Leapfrog Tag reader, or "read" her own books) she received a sticker. 5 stickers equaled an ice cream treat. I was thinking that she would be getting a treat every few days.

I was wrong.  The little stinker proved me very wrong; she can focus alright.  She read straight for an hour and fifteen minutes in one afternoon, so she could have an ice cream treat that day! 


We've been seeing a lot of this lately:


That's Alex laughing at Brian.

This picture really captures how cool it is to have twins.


During fall conference (more details in our update to come), we had the Hall family stay with us again.  Brian and Justin spent most of their time up at the conference, while Gretchen and I tried to keep our sanity with six kids in this house.  It rained most of the time they were here, but we made the most of it.  Cece loved her time with "her friends".


There were a few other JV moms here because of the conference, so we headed to the zoo like we did last year.  Here's the photo from this year.  From left to right (women in the back): Gretchen, serves in Albania; Kristin, serves here in Czech; Ashley, serves as the JV kids coordinator; me; Kristy, serves in Ukraine. 


Finally, here's dad and sons watching football (Alex on left; Gabe on right).


Now, that I finally have my head above water, I sure am enjoying these moments in life. Feels good.

"You Just Have to be Really Structured"

I was talking to my brother, Rollie, on the phone a few weeks ago, and something he said to me reminded me that "my way is not the highway". Nothing like a brother to bring my head out of the clouds. The conversation went something like this:

me: There's nothing really new here besides kids, kids, kids. We haven't really had consistent babysitting yet. That will change soon, but the twins were so much work at the beginning; who would we have left all the kids with?

Rollie: Not with me. I wouldn't know what to do with two babies. One baby, I can sit with and find interesting videos to show, but two?

me (laughing): Well, Rollie, what it takes it's a lot of consistency and really sticking to a schedule. With twins, you just have to be really structured.

Rollie: That's funny because I could imagine someone with a different personality saying, "with twins, you just have to be flexible".

My brother is right, and the more I watch my kids grow, the more I realize that some aspects of parenting are really about what works for your family. (Others, however, I think are super important no matter what, but that's for another post.)

When I was pregnant with the boys, I had this idea that I would blog all the time after they were born. Partly, because I have already forgotten so many details from when Cece was a baby. Also because when I was pregnant, I couldn't find any blogs that really shared what mothering twins was like. Now, I know why. Who the heck has time to blog when they are taking care of twins (and a toddler)?

So many things have happened since the boys were born that I'm really hoping to document at some point (for my sake more than anything), but I decided that I just need to write a few things now and then when I have a chance. The rest, hopefully, I'll remember.

Well, I agree with Rollie, and I could probably stand to be a bit more flexible in many areas of life; however, both boys are sleeping through the night--they go to bed at 8pm and most mornings, I wake them up at 8am. Gabe has been doing this for a few weeks, and Alex for about a week. (We were waking Alex up before we went to bed to get one more feeding in him--just because of his size. He probably would have slept all night, but we just want to give the poor guy a chance to catch up with his "big" brother.)

I feel like a different person. After all those weeks of interrupted sleep, to go to bed and not wake up until 7am or even 8am is oh so wonderful.

The boys are amazingly happy (that is when things are "on schedule"--hmmm . . . did I make them that way?). Really. Most days, the don't ever cry. They eat. They smile. They fall asleep while laying peacefully in their beds. Don't get me wrong; it's still a lot of work, but it's easier to get through the days when you have two of the cutest boys in the world smiling at you all the time (Gabe on left; Alex on right)!

The Twins-Four Months Old

The Twins-Four Months Old from Aleisha Stephens on Vimeo.