Mama Mama Quite Contrary

Since we are buried under ridiculous amounts of snow and I am trying to keep my sanity with all the school cancellations, I have managed to commit the breadwinner of the family to let us join the Y. At first, my darling husband balked at the $72 a month price tag.  I admit that it was a bit pricier than I initially expected and my timing wasn't great.  (Note to self:  Next time don't request a pricey item right after husband has just shelled out $7000 in quarterly taxes.)  Once I explained that he would actually get a chance to work out and there was child care included in the price, however, he was sold.    And so, we've begun having a ton of fun at the YMCA.  Vivi is learning to swim.  I'm taking yoga classes with all my girls.  (Some more successfully than others.)  My husband is getting his workouts in and occasionally making use of the sauna. Most importantly, I have the opportunity seven days a week to jump on some sort of machin...

I'm not a big shopper.  I don't like crowds.  I don't like buying for the sake of owning more stuff.  I hate trying on things and feeling bad about myself afterwards.  All in all, shopping is just not a pleasant experience for me.  Add to that the three children I almost always have in tow and it is downright miserable. So when my husband gave me a big chunk of time to myself last weekend, I did what I usually do.  I puttered.  I folded some laundry.  I broke down about fifteen cardboard boxes that had accumulated on our back porch since Christmas. I swept the kitchen, cleaned off the papers on my desk, and generally enjoyed the sound of silence. It was time to myself that I spent doing chores but I didn't resent it because nothing thrills me more than feeling like I've accomplished something.  Once I got those things done, however, it occurred to me that leaving the house might actually be a good thing. That's when I went shopping.  ...

I can't tell you how many people walk into our house, see Jude and Ellie running gangbusters through the mess, and say, "Ok.  Don't tell me who is who.  Let me guess."  Sometimes, my friends get it right and sometimes they don't but I think it is funny that guessing who is who has become a little game for them. Jude and Ellie look a lot alike.  Physically, they were quite different when they were first born but as the months passed, they started to look more and more like each other.  I don't dress them the same for many reasons, not the least of which is it takes me just a little too long to differentiate them when they are in the same outfit.  With efficiency and simplicity as my goal, matching outfits would only add to the chaos. Now, as the mother, you would think that I have no problem telling my kids apart but if they are dressed alike and I'm not seeing their faces directly on, I confuse them.  A lot.  At their one year well-check, I was ...

A couple of posts ago, I talked about the challenge that Dolli-Mama issued at the beginning of the year.  The goal for anyone who agreed to the challenge is to take at least ten minutes each week to do something for herself.  Ten measly minutes and yet it is it so hard! Now, don't get me wrong, I've been trying to get twenty minutes of exercise a day while the babies nap.  I feel good afterwards but it is NOT what I want to do.  It is something I need to do and thus it is not a real treat.  A real treat would be getting out of the house or even better, getting the kids out of the house while I enjoy the quiet BY MYSELF. I think part of the reason I'm feeling extra prickly is because I have not had a break in close to two weeks.  My husband was gone all last weekend on a ski trip (something I totally agreed to) so I was braving the masses on my own.  He's around this weekend but is under the weather.  Next weekend, he is off at a conference. ...

So, what is a girl and her family to do when it is snowing like crazy? Well, the first thought was to get everyone dressed up and outside.  I mean, really, who doesn't love a toboggan ride in a snow storm? Well, apparently, Ellie doesn't. Because the thrill of the snow was lost on Ellie, we headed back inside.  That's when the girls discovered the joy of the recycling bin: And since the house was already torn apart and I was feeling crafty, I busted out my sewing machine.  I needed some color on this gray day so this what I came up with: A tote bag because I clearly do not have enough vessels for carrying my children's crap. Today is the day after the blizzard.  School has been canceled again and we are trying to entertain ourselves.  So do you want to wear a manilla envelope on your head and come over and dance? We'd love to have you!

I think it was about a year ago when I received an email from a nice young woman who had found my blog.  She had just discovered that she was having twins herself and was wondering how the heck she was going to do it all.  Like me, she has an older child and her twins were a surprise.   I wasn't sure I had much to offer her in my bleary-eyed state but I gave her some encouragement, a little advice, and hoped for the best.  As it turns out  this mama had a beautiful set of twin girls and is coping well with the demands of parenting three small children.   Right before New Year's, this young woman emailed me again.  This time it was a  challenge  to take a few minutes every week in 2011 and do something for myself.  It is a remarkably simple idea that we mothers often fail to do and so I decided to commit.  (Believe it or not, it's not the first time I've considered committing myself.)   So guess what I did bloggy friends?...

I am in the throes of despair.  No, it's not my waistline or the complete inability of my Turtles to sleep through the freaking night (although those certainly merit despair.)  I'm distraught because our babysitter is going away to college and next Wednesday is her last day.  "But Mama Mama," you say, "didn't you already say goodbye to the best babysitter in the whole world last summer?"  Yes, I did but because the universe seems to take mercy on my pathetic attempt at twin parenting, I found another gem of a helper several months ago. When I posted my ad on Craig's List last fall I was not optimistic.  We had just fired another babysitter who had as much energy as roadkill even though she came with rave reviews from a fellow parent at Vivi's nursery school.  When the replies to my ad came in,  I was certain I was destined to grieve the loss of our beloved Brown student forever.  Every single response contained bad grammar, ridiculous ...