Mama Mama Quite Contrary

Guess what I did this weekend?  I hiked these mountains: Now I know what you are thinking.   Mama Mama you are a homebody.  You pay someone to make you exercise.  You are not the type to go on a 9 mile hike in the snow and ice in mid-November.    'Tis true fair readers, 'tis true.  I ended up doing this because I had a plan and it backfired.  BIG TIME.  Let me explain. Back in August, my sister watched the Young Contrarians so my husband and I could have a night away from our children.  We went to this resort in Connecticut and had a wonderfully relaxing time.  We also spent most of the time planning how we could do this sort of thing again.  I knew then that another night away would be Mark's birthday gift.  When my husband's birthday arrived a few weeks ago, he was thrilled when I announced that we could go away again. I told him that we could do whatever he wanted which is when all this planning backfired on m...

We are back from California and settling into our permanent home again.  As our first vacation as a family of five, it was fairly successful.  There were some bumps and bugs and very little sleep but overall, I am not so completely traumatized by it that we will likely consider doing it again next year.  That's the best possible outcome, I think. Nonetheless, a few things became glaringly clear to me while we were on vacation in California. Want to hear my revelations?  Sure, you do. The first is that no matter how much space you have on a plane, there is never enough room. We were very lucky to have had three rows to ourselves in the back of the plane on our trip to San Francisco but the girls somehow managed to sprawl out all over the place.  My husband and I made it through with lots of legs in the lap and elbows in the face. The second is that if one plane trip is relatively painless, the other will not be.  Our return home on Tuesday was marked by o...

On Sunday, the terrific Turtle twosome turned two and we celebrated by taking a family trip to California! Good Morning Birthday Girls! I'll just borrow my big sister's shoes to get gussied up for my party.  I am two after all. Ellie's pretty impressed with this "birthday" pretzel. Being two means that you get bigger bibs and glass plates (because that's all Aunt Annie had!) Smile everyone and try not to look massively jet-lagged and sleep-deprived! I love that chubby little two-year-old hand that snuck into the picture. That was delicious! Time to open some birthday books that mommy smuggled in her suitcase. Thank goodness Mama forgot to clip my nails. Breakfast for Monday, Tuesday, and Wednesday. Off to have more California adventures!

Vivi and I had a great trip to North Carolina.  She was such a fantastic little traveler and I was at my mommy-best.  We had no arguments.  There were no lost-tempers and no real schedule.  Vivi thrived with all the attention and I was the most relaxed I have been in a very long time.  Oh, and I got my first full night's sleep in nearly two years.  It was on my sister's couch and it was wonderful. (Yeah, I know, couch and wonderful aren't usually used in the same sentence.) Unfortunately, things didn't go quite as smoothly on the home front.  The Turtles were okay for a day but once they realized I was gone, Daddy found himself with a lot of babies holding tight to his legs.  The nights were the hardest, particularly for Jude, who woke up yelling for me and could not be settled.  She tried searching the house for me in the middle of the night which left her distraught and Daddy more than a little exhausted.  That, of course, made...

It seems that I got a little sidetracked with the Thanksgiving holiday and sufficiently neglected this blog. Such is the life of this mama: a week late, several dollars short, and more kids than hands. I probably should be giving myself props for just making it to New Jersey and back with all of my children accounted for but being thankful for things is soooo November. It's December now and the rules are changing. Rule #1: No more public performances during naptime. Just because people tell you that your three year-old is very mature, it does not mean that she will hold it together for an entire production of The Nutcracker. It took a meltdown during intermission at Lincoln Center and a subsequent walking tantrum on 8th Avenue to get us to rethink things. Rule #2: Everyone is responsible for taking care of their own wedgies. Vivi came up with this one and I can't agree more. I will feed you and I will love you. On occasion, I may even wipe your tush but I draw the li...

I finally left my family. My exit was premeditated and executed with such precision that I may have a future as a CIA agent... or a wedding planner. While I normally fantasize about slipping out of the house under cover of darkness, I left town last Friday morning in broad daylight with the blessing of my husband. I didn't come home until Monday night and it was glorious. It's fair to say that I have been pretty burned out by my domestic duties. I love my family but, good god, I was turning into a Class A Crankypants. I was just tired and miserable and isolated in my mom of multiple babies identity.* I was getting bogged down in what I hated about my life instead of enjoying what I do. Six months of chronic sleep deprivation has a way of doing that to a person. So when the invitation came from my friend E. to visit her and some of our Peace Corps friends in San Diego, I jumped at the chance. E. is one of my dearest friends and we were practically inseparable during our ser...