The Marriage Ref

Last year I would watch this show called The Marriage Ref. The show helped couples solve issues. Three comedians would listen to the issue at hand (each couple told their side), make funny comments and then rule with one couple or the other. It was very funny and I really hope it comes back.


The one show I remember was where the husband wanted to write numbers/letters on his socks so that he could keep the pairs together. His point was that he felt they should stay together and the wife refused to assist him in keeping pairs together. Why do I remember this one? I personally thought it was a great idea. So I put initials on the twin’s socks so I could keep them with the right child.

Sometimes I feel like we need a stint on the show to settle some of the disagreements we have in our house. One just happened recently.

The other day my husband got to go to lunch with some of the Oriole players. He purchased some baseballs so that he could get signatures. The destination for the signed balls is in the entertainment center in the “man cave”. Great idea.

But then he pulled out this box of bobble heads, like 8 of them. Honestly, I don’t remember the team, maybe the Capitals. His plan was to put these in his “man cave”. I had to break the news that NO bobble heads would end up on the shelves in the entertainment center.

I won this one and the bobble head have ended up in the boys’ rooms. They are banned from the basement. I wonder how the comedians would vote on this one.

I guess I better get a move on doing something with the many shelves in the entertainment center.

Easter 2012

I have such good memories of the twins when they were young.  My multiples group always held an Easter party with a spectacular egg hunt for the kids.  They always had such a great time.

Unfortunately, due to the older boys' schedule, Tee has not been to an egg hunt.  So this year I decided I would take him to the egg hunt at our church. 



He has such a good time.  He saw many of his friends there.  When I tucked him into bed that night, he said, Mom I had such a good time at the Easter egg hunt.  I was so glad to hear that.

 The bunny worked her magic and left these awesome baskets.  They worked hard getting eggs ready for the hunt.

The first call in the night came from Tee's room calling my name.  It was about 4:30 am.  I quickly told him it was not time and to go back to sleep.  Next call at 4:45.  Then it was the dog that needed to go out.  Tee ended up coming into our room around 6:30 and then shortly after we got the big boys.

Our normal on the step picture.

Looking at the treats!

E showing his book!

The Easter Bunny even brought something for the dog.



The egg hunt in the basement.



It happened that the Orioles suite was open today.  Attending a baseball game is not something that we would typically do on Easter, but decided it would be a good change.  

It was a fun time.

We ended up eating a big lunch so we decided to have our Easter dinner tomorrow evening. 

Spring Break 2012

It is spring break week!  It is nice to have a little break.  Although Tee has preschool through Thursday, it is nice to have a break in the morning routine.  Tee is taking a break from his lunch bunch this week.  So no rush to get lunches made in the morning.  I am taking this opportunity to do a little spring cleaning.  This house definitely needs it. 

I started with my closet this morning.  I was able to get rid of a bag full of clothes.  I am still not done.  I have the need to do a big clean out.  I spent some time this weekend cleaning out the pantry.  It is amazing how I think I may have just purchased something but it has an expiration of 2009.  Yuk!

The last two weekends, the boys have played in baseball tournaments.  The first tournament went ok.  They tied their first game, won the second and lost the third.   This past weekend the boys played so well.  They made it to the championship game.  I know I won't get the specifics right, but the team was just about to be "mercied" out of the game, but they managed to score 8 runs in one inning.  But in the end they weren't able to pull it off.  They lost 14-10.  It was a lot of baseball this weekend.  Unfortunately, I only made it to the last game.  The tournament was about 1 hour from home.  I think the boys are a bit exhausted.

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I sometimes feel that Tee gets the shaft because of our busy schedule.  When the twins were young, we went to an Easter party hosted by the Multiples Club I was in.  It was such a fun time for them.  It was lunch, pictures with the Easter bunny (always a good bunny) and an egg hunt.  They loved it.  How many times has Tee been to an egg hunt?  I am embarrassed to really even put this in writing.  I decided I was going to take him to the hunt at our church.  I am so glad I did.  He has the best time.  He told me that night that the Easter egg hunt was so much fun.  I really do need to make sure I find time to do these little things with Tee. 

Well, I am hoping to be able to re-group this week.  I feel a bit out of control as my house is unorganized.  Then back to focusing on the auction. 

I am sure we will have a few fun excursions this week....not sure what yet.

Our non-winter

Family birthdays are done until the end of the year.  We made it through.  Now we just get to attend birthday parties.  We have a few on the calendar.

We have had lots going on in the last few weeks.  The husband invited himself on a friend's ski trip.  They went out west.  He was out there for 3 days of skiing and had a great time.  The boys missed a ski trip this year.  Next year we will make more of an effort to take them.

This winter has been such a non-winter.  It has been a really mild winter.  I am in no way complaining.  The weather can go from being really cold one day to 60 and sunny the next.  I do have to say that I am a little disappointed that we didn't have one big snow.  Maybe next winter.

I am working on a silent auction committee for my church.  I use the word committe loosely.  My neighbor who has run many a great auction was asked by someone that also attends my church to "help" her with an auction.  And then my neighbor roped me in.  It is really just her and I doing the work.  It is a lot of work, we will be very busy the next couple of months.

The basketball season ended this past weekend.  The last game is an all-star game.  Two players get picked from each team.  Jay was picked from our team along with another boy.  This boy ended up getting in trouble (at home) and he was not able to play.  So they put in E to take his place.  It is such a strange game.  The boys have never even practiced together.  There was no coaching going on for our team.  Our team was beat like 50-20 or something crazy like that.

Now it is time to focus on baseball.  The boys have two tournaments they are playing in this month.  Eight of the boys have come back from last year and they have added 3 other boys.  It will be very interesting to see them all play together. 

Wondering what the summer will be like this year given our non-winter.

The number 5

It is amazing how I can still remember this day 5 years ago.  I remember I had an awful night's sleep.  I woke up in the morning and didn't feel well at all.  I hesitated taking the twins to preschool that day because I felt so horrible.

And that is when it all started.  My contractions started and I lost the mucus plug.  But I was going no where until my legs were shaved.

I called my husband, who had taken his car to the dealership and was at work.  He got a ride to the dealership and came home to pick me up.  Luckily, my doctor's office was close to our home and the office was connected to the hospital. 

I had a scheduled c-section set for March 15th.  This was 4 weeks early.  Not how I planned for it to happen but he was coming ready or not.

That day our family became complete. 



We celebrated Tee's 5th birthday at Pump it Up.  He was so excited to have his party there.

 We invited his preschool class along with some other friends.  A good time had by all!

 He wanted a hot wheels cake.  I was disappointed when the place I went to didn't have the template.  So the next best thing was a race track and we put hot wheel cars on top.

 Cake time.  He had a hard time blowing out those candles.

A family photo!  Love those boys!

No, this is not trash but the presents Tee received.  That would be two bags.  

Momma and her boys.

Daddy and his boys.

Tee had a great time.  He is very blessed to have so many friends and family that joined him on his big day.

My Babies turned 10

It seems so hard for me to believe that my boys are 10 years old.  I can't believe how quickly the time has gone. 

As I mentioned, I finally got the boys to agree to a dodge ball party.  The party was held at an indoor place which also has batting cages.  The boys practice baseball at this place during the winter. 

The boys invited 12 kids and every single one of them was able to attend.  I was a little worried that they were going to get bored with the dodge ball after a while.  The boys played for 1 hour and then we took a break for pizza and cake.  Then the boys went right back to dodge ball.

The boys had a blast.  The refs were awesome.  They kept changing up the game.  So for one game you would maybe use your non-dominant hand and the next you would be on your knees. 

The boys!

I think this was Army style, if your leg gets hit you have to hop.

Jay spent a bit of time over on the sidelines.

I purchased 2 cakes just because I thought they needed to have store bought cakes.  I made dirt cake by request.  The dirt cakes was gone, these cakes were taken back home.

 E did not want to have to blow out his candles.  I did not give him any choice.

Jay's turn.  I always make sure I have 2 cakes.  We sing happy birthday to each one and always E first since he was born first.

Even though we had some issues prior to the party, I think the boys (all of them) had a fabulous night.

The boys each had one friend spend the night.  We rented a movie for them and then it was bedtime.  They slept in the basement and we had no issues. 

Switching gears to get ready for another birthday party......

Confused

The day started out pretty well but as the day progressed I started to get more and more annoyed. 

After I picked up Tee from preschool, I let him play on the playground for a while with one of his friends.  The Mom and I were talking about what we feel is missing from the preschool.  She said let's see what they brought home today.  There was a note in the folder talking about Valentine's Day.  Valentine's day falls on a Tuesday so when would you expect the kids would celebrate?  I would think on Tuesday, but the teacher wants to have the party on Friday the 17th.  What would be the point?  The issue is that the public school are off that day and more than likely Tee won't be in school.  I was so upset that I marched back into school and spoke to the director and asst director.  I explained the situation and asked them if they could remedy.  I certainly don't want to have him miss the party but why would you not celebrate on the day.

The boys have a birthday tomorrow.  We debated on how to celebrate because they did not want to do the same kind of party.  I am not ready to have two separate parties at this point.  Since I am the planner it does have to be convenient for me.  So we settled on a dodge ball party.  The boys were told that they could invite 5 friends.  They were having a hard time and we spent some time working on their list. 

E decided to not invite one of his good friends.  This friend tends not to do well with lots of boys.  We really didn't think that dodge ball would be his thing.  Well, the other day, E came home telling me he felt so bad that he didn't invite him.  There was a friend who was going around telling people he was invited to my kid's birthday party.  I felt bad for E.  We talked and I decided I would call his Mom and let her know the situation.  She was ok with it and her son has decided he will join us.

And if that was not enough.  One of Jay's friends is a little upset he is not invited.  One of the boys invited doesn't like this other boy and keeps reminding him that he is not invited..  I feel terrible because I made him invite this not so nice boy.  He claims to be his friend and I just didn't understand how he could not invite him. 

I think parties may be a thing of the past.  I just can't stand all of this nonsense that goes on.

Hoping for a better day tomorrow!

Is it really February?

We have had such a mild winter so far.  As I was walking the dog today, I had to take my jacket off.  It felt like a spring day.  I had to come home and check the calendar to make sure we are in February and winter is not over yet.

I have to admit I am a little miffed that we have not had a good snow.  One where the kids could play, make a snowman and even go sledding.  I am hoping for one good snow and then off to spring.  Nothing but a little rain and mild temperatures for the next week.

We had a great weekend.  The Mother in law came in for a visit.  She was able to experience our chaotic days.  The boys had a great time visiting with her.  She was able to see them play basketball and practice baseball.  The visits always seem to go by so quickly. 

I was so touched on Monday, after school E says I wish Grandma was still here.  It does suck to live so far away from family. 

Well, I finally took my test and passed.  So I am officially food safety certified for the next 5 years.  How exciting.

Report cards were issued on Monday.  I am so incredibly proud of them, they both came home with straight A's.  Wow.  I was not expecting that.

I also had a conference with Tee's preschool teacher.  I just came out of the conference thinking it was a waste of time.  I know what he knows.  He knows all his letters but may get confused on a few.  He knows all his sounds.  He can count to 100.  But really that just doesn't mean that much to me.  I want him to have fun because after this it will be non-stop learning for the next 13 years.  I am not sure what I expected.  Maybe I wanted her to tell me that it was such a pleasure to have Tee in class.  Instead I got that he needs to be reminded to keep his hands to himself or doesn't share toys.....and it just goes on.  I feel like the other boys' preschool experience was so different.  I feel like Tee has missed out on something good.

This week has been non-stop so far and will just continue on through the weekend.  We have birthdays to celebrate and a scouting event. 

Time

I have come to the realization that it is just so hard to keep up with everything, including this blog.  So much has happened in the last few months.  So many cute stories to share.  But short on time.  I personally just want to get it down so that I don't forget it. 

I have always been a huge PTA supporter.  I join and have held a position for the last 4 years.  This year I am the 2nd Secretary and Website Administrator.  Someone created the website for me and she showed me how to update.  This year I have had a change of heart.  There was an issue that happened at the end of the year that caused the President (my neighbor) to resign.  So the 1st VP stepped up and found someone to replace him. When he took over, he made a few remarks about the website and how I was not an expert.  So the 1st VP decided he was going to create a new website.

Really???  Who does that?  I had the website and was updating it.  Don't you think that it would have been better to sit with me and let me know what you would like to see?  No, he decided that he was taking it over.

I decided at this point I was not going to spend any time updating something that was going to be changed.  So I stopped updating it.  He has created a new layout and is in the process of trying to transfer the domain name.

I will keep my Secretary role for now but will not be signing up for anything next year.  I am sure I can find another organization that will appreciate what I have to offer.  Yes, I am a bit bitter.

So, I get extra time on my hands and what do I do?  Volunteer for something else.  I have been studying to be certified in food safety.  Not sure why I agreed.  In order for the scouts to serve a hot meal at a banquet that is held in February, there must be someone who is food safety certified.  The person who is certified can't make the banquet.  Yes, I should be studying now.    

Sadie has been a handful.  She certainly understands that Dad is top dog.  But she fails to realize that she is not second in charge.  We have a trainer who comes to the house to help us train her and work through any issues I am having.  We have moved from a cloth chock collar to a metal choke collar.  This has helped me a lot.  She still wants to "play" with me.  "Playing" entails her attacking my ankles or biting my clothes.  The she sits back and starts jumping around and barking.  It doesn't take long with the choke collar to get her under control. 

Last week, Tee got a stomach bug.  A lot of kids at his preschool had it so it was just a matter of time.  So I wasn't shocked when Jay got sick on Sunday.  He started throwing up on his way home from baseball practice, in someone else's car.  I still feel terrible about it.  He threw up the entire afternoon.  I felt terrible for him also.  What really surprised me was when E got sick around 10:30.  Of course, he got sick in his bed, made a trail to the bathroom and then didn't hit the toilet much.  Even the dog got sick this am in her kennel.  I am done with the vomit.

It made us think.  E already had a stomach bug during our holiday.  So we feel like they got food poisoning from out dinner out on Saturday.  They both had eggs.  Of course, we will never know for sure.  But one thing is for sure....they will be back to school tomorrow.  They had the day off today for a teacher work day.  Me?  I spent the day (my birthday) striping beds, doing a ton of laundry and making beds back up.