Potty Training Day 1

The day started out fine. Alex and Trevor each threw away a diaper signifing "NO MORE Diapers!" And Alex was getting little dribbles of pee in the potty but Trevor was completely opposed to it. However, Alex was wetting himself a little before he would tell me that he needed to go so he went through quite a few pairs of underwear today. While Trevor stayed dry.

Right after their nap Alex woke up wet and Trevor was dry. We put them both on the potty and Trevor peed on the potty, a lot too, not just dribbles. Alex just dribbled. Then went and played and got wet again and came to me crying and dribbled some more. During dinner they both said they needed to potty so we went potty again and again Trevor had a really good one and Alex just dribbled.

Then after dinner Alex kept acting like he needed to poop. But every time we sat him on the potty he couldn't/wouldn't poop. He still hadn't pooped by bed time. So we'll see how tonight goes. At bed time again Trevor had a really good pee and Alex just dribbled.

I'm thinking that Trevor is getting this, which is weird based on the morning. But the rest of their milestones have all been Trevor starting out really well and Alex perfecting it and passing up Trevor. So hopefully, we'll have 2 potty trained toddlers in a few days. If Alex continues like today though we may have to abort his mission and try again later. Meanwhile, I have said, "pee", "poop" and "potty" more times today than the entire rest of my life.

Happy New Year!!! Come back tomorrow for more updates.

Christmas Time

I know it has been so long but it's just crazy that's all I can say. We have had a very busy Christmas holiday season. We are pretty much celebrating Christmas 6 times this year. First on Christmas Eve with my family, then Christmas Day with Kris' mom and the next day with Kris' dad. Then miscellaneous get togethers with friends and my cousin's family. Plus we plan to start potty training next week. Anyway, Christmas morning was a blast. We think that the boys actually understood the concept of Santa this year. We didn't take them to see Santa because they still are not talking and I assumed that they would just scream anyway. But they definitely know who Santa is and whenever they see him they say, "HO, HO, HO" It's cute. So Christmas morning Santa got them an indoor trampoline (small don't worry) and Legos and a toy vacuum. Kris and I got them some books, Mr. Potato Heads and a big cardboard playhouse that they can color themselves.

Alex and his Legos and Mr. Potato Heads.

Trevor and the vacuum

My kids are actually deathly afraid of the vacuum right now. So Santa got them this toy hoping that they would see that there is nothing to be afraid of. (Santa is a smart man.) When they opened it Alex knew right way that it was a vacuum and was starting to get upset. So I turned it on and made it make silly noises. And he got used to it and likes to vacuum the whole house now. They are still afraid of the real vacuum though. But hopefully we've made a start.

The boys also got some good stuff in their stockings. It took them a while to get everything out of them but they finally dumped them all out.

Alex cleaning up with his shovel, Trevor playing with his Magnadoodle.

Christmas Eve was spent at my sister's house with my family. The boys made out pretty well. They each got a Magnadoodle, and they got a V-Tech laptop, a LeapFrog word builder for the fridge, a shovel, and an exercise bike. The boys had a blast. And I got Kyle and Brennan a big cardboard playhouse too so we set that up and the boys were having a great time in there. It was actually big enough for all 4 boys to play comfortably.

Aunt Lacey and Alex

Trevor, and Alex and Mommy Goofy smile

We're still getting presents trickling in and the boys are having a great time. They also got a V-Tech Motion video game system (they don't quite understand this yet, but we should be able to get the full age range of use out of it), and an art table and a folding table with little folding chairs. Mommy got a Wishblade (she still needs to figure it out) and Daddy got a PS3. So everyone is having fun with their new toys.

Merry Christmas and Happy New Year. I will blog my potty training experience for those who are interested.

Halloween

I know its been a while. But things are crazy and I can't do this at work anymore... (hmm, hope no one from Jacobs reads this... but then again...) Anyway, October was a pretty hecktic month. We took our annual trip to Blake's Orchard and have passed on the tradition of taking a bite out of the apples before you pick them to make sure they are good. So after Kris showed them this they decided they could pick any apples off the trees and just take a bite...I hope they didn't get any worms. Yuck!






We also pick our pumpkins while we were there. The boys were allowed to pick their own pumpkins. They were so proud of their pumpkins that they insisted on carrying them themselves to the stroller which then took them to the truck. Trevor's face was just so determined to get to the stroller without falling or breaking the pumpkin.




I then found some "Mr. Potato Head" type pieces the boys could use to decorate their pumpkins. They had a blast with them and a loved putting all the pieces in. So their pumpkins looked a little creepy but that's allowed for Halloween right?



The boys also had many occasions to put on their costumes. We had our Halloween party with my Moms of Multiples group where Kris and I dressed up also as Fred and Wilma Flintstone. Most of the kids don't remember that cartoon though because I don't think its on anymore. But Kris won for best adult costume. Yeah!

















Then the boys and Kris went to the Berkley Moms Group Halloween party. He didn't know at the time but they have voted him in to be included in the group. YEAH!!! (to see why I'm so excited see My SAHF Frustrations Continue).

Then that same night we went to the Zoo Boo with my sister and her kids and my parents and my friend Stephanie with her niece Briana. Check out Briana's hand she was getting very friendly with Alex. She kept trying to hug Alex all night. It was just so adorable. Here's our picture of them all, Briana, Alex, Trevor, Kyle and Brennan.

If you've never gone to the Zoo Boo it is a must for little kids. And at the end there is a show for the kids which was the same as last year but my kids didn't remember so it's okay. But the star Witchy-Boo-Boo actually took a picture with the boys after the show. All the kids were completely infatuated with the show basically because of the bright lights and colors but that's okay. They had a great time.

We also did Trick-or-Treating we walked all along our 3 block street. The boys were whipped afterwards but that's good too. That means they sleep well. :-) All and all it was a very successful Halloween season. We got to do everything we signed up for without getting any sicknesses. Yeah.

My SAHF Frustrations Continue

Why can’t stay at home mom’s except stay at home dad’s as equals?

I need to understand. I am a working mother while my husband stays at home with our 2 year old twins. He has been trying to find play groups in our area since the boys were about 8 months old (we didn’t go out that first winter because they were preemies and the risk of RSV.) However, every group my husband found either ignored his inquiries or decided that they needed to “vote” on whether he could join or not. Do these women understand that my children deserve just as much playgroup time as their children? Just because our situation is reversed in our household shouldn’t cause my children to suffer in their social skills development. Now since I am the only one working we can’t afford daycare, not to mention we wouldn’t want the medical bills to go with going to daycare. We also can’t afford Gymboree classes, or other structured playgroups that cost money. And the playgroups that we have paid for usually are not worth it because we miss so many of the sessions because the instructor gets sick, our boys get sick or we get sick or something else comes up.

Here is a direct example of a situation my husband just went through recently. It was a beautiful day so my husband decided to take the boys to a park. They were having a good old time and there were 3 other mothers and their kids there. The mothers were talking and one of their little girls came over and was playing with my boys. After about 20 – 30 minutes my boys came over to my husband and got a drink of water. That is when the mother of the little girl came over and picked up the girl and said, “You can’t play with them.” My husband asked her, “Why? They were have a good time.” She wouldn’t give an answer. The little girl proceeded to scream because she wanted to play with my boys and was having fun so the mother left instead. Why was it okay for that little girl to play with my kids before the mother knew they were there with their dad? Why are dads just bad guys when they are playing with their kids and taking care of their kids? Why does it have to be so “strange” when a father is out with his children? This should be becoming a more prominent issue given the economy and some many husbands are losing their jobs. I live in Michigan so I think we’re even seeing it more than the rest of the nation. Have any of these women seen “Mr. Mom”?

I’m only going to mention this not the full story. But we have a little girl that lives right next door who is 1 month older than my boys. They have never played together. For her first 2 years she was home most days just this school year she started preschool everyday. When I asked her mom when my husband could come over with my boys so the kids could play together, nothing. She had to back pedal and try to stir us towards groups at the library…WHATEVER, you live right next door and you can’t trust my husband?!

If anyone has the answer I’m open ears. All I know is that I’m EXTREMELY frustrated and wish that our roles were reversed so that my kids could get the social development that they need and deserve. Do you know how hard it is to go to work everyday knowing that your kids would have better chances of being social if I were the one at home? I shouldn’t have to have this stress added upon the stress of being the sole provider for my family. Especially in this economy when no one knows if their job is secure.

Hopefully, there are some mothers out there that read this and maybe I can swing their opinions a little and they will allow the next father who asks to join their group to join. I understand there are concerns of sexual abuse and whatnot but guess what, background checks are easy enough and you can check the sex registry for free. And another bit of information, there are a lot of women on that registry as well as men. Do new moms have to jump through the same hoops to join your moms’ group?

Or maybe there is a stay at home father out there in the South-East Oakland County, MI area. Please contact this paper and ask to start a group with my husband so that all of our kids can get the social playgroup time that they deserve.

Or maybe you are a working mother in the same situation and you can just let me know that I’m not alone. I can’t believe the stress and frustration this has caused me. I’m actually hoping that my children will still have issues speaking next year so that they can get into the free preschool for early development next year. At least then they can play with other kids.

My husband has also set up a Yahoo group, a Google Group and a Meetup group so you can search for stay-at-home-dads in Oakland County, MI on those 3 groups webpages and you should be able to find him. All three of these groups haven’t had a single hit, so I’m curious to know if dads just aren’t looking of if truly there are no stay at home dads in our area.

Thanks for listening.

The whole house is sick

Well September has been a crazy month for the Partlan household. I decided to quit my job of 9 and 1/2 years for a better opportunity for advancement. I hope. However, I have had plenty of sleepless nights over it. I am currently working through a contract house for General Dynamics Land Systems. It is an excellent job and I'm actually doing engineering work again, yeah but that doesn't mean that I'm not freakin' out. While I'm contract I don't get ANY vacation time and I can't take any sick time. Which leads me into my next crazy September story.

Since I'm at a new job there is the whole I'm prone to getting sick for about 3 months. For me it took 2 weeks. My boys have also started speech therapy so they have been in a school twice a week which carries its own germs. So this weekend my entire family is sick. Meaning on my Friday off yesterday I slept ALL DAY and my poor husband who is also sick and takes longer to recover than the rest of us was trying to take care of the kids all day who were crabby because they are sick as well. They just have a bad cold though. I have a sinus infection or bronchitis or something but luckily I was able to get antibiotics without going into the doctor. One lucky thing about my sickness hitting me hard and quickly was that I'm still on my old insurance which is better insurance, as of Wednesday almost everything is out of pocket...

So one more crazy September is almost over. And I still think I'm crazy being a new mom and not being able to take any time off... Luckily I get every other Friday off so that will help. This is a better opportunity though I just have many concerns and I'm really nervous and this was just me venting. So if you read it thanks. And I'll be okay. Hopefully, my head will be less phlegmy tomorrow. And I can let Kris have a good restful day before Monday. And I hope the kids are good to me so that I can handle Monday too.

Torch Lake 2008

Our vacation was last week. We went back up to the cottage at Torch Lake. The boys had a good time and we had a lot more fun with them this time. They were able to do more so it made it more fun for us. One very exciting thing about a vacation is that I get to see Kris with the boys all day not just at night so I get to experience how he plays with them during the day. I took this video of some of the things he’s teaching my children throughout the day.

Wrestling is just such a good quality for boys. We also started teaching them to clap for the really good burps. Kris had a really spectacular burp and I had to clap for it so the boys caught on pretty quickly.

We also played by the “beach”. The beach of our cabin is all rocks. Though it didn’t matter all the boys wanted to do was fill their buckets with rocks and water, dump and repeat. They really weren’t interested in going out into the water. I did get them to come out once a little past the man made reef but I think the waves were too big so they were getting a little scared. Trevor also got a mouth full of water trying to drink when a wave came up.

The sleeping arrangements were similar to my (camping trips). There were beds but we brought our travel beds and the boys slept on the floor. Trevor was freakin’ out the first night. We’re not sure why but he was acting like something spooked him and we couldn’t do anything to calm him down. So we finally just held the door closed and let him cry for a little bit. After some time had pasted (since the crying stopped) we checked on them and this is how they were sleeping.

We were so proud of Alex comforting his “little” brother. It was just the cutest thing. Course them sleeping on the floor also caused other issues. For instance, on Tuesday morning Trevor was under one of the beds and stuck. He was completely under the bed and just a foot was sticking out. I had to ask Alex where he was and Alex pointed to the bed. It was freakin’ hilarious. It’s hard not to laugh sometimes.

The boys also learned about some bugs during this trip. There was a caterpillar crawling across the sidewalk and I pointed it out to the boys. They giggled over it and Alex started doing his “voodoo” on it. I’m not quite sure where he picked it up or what he thinks he’s doing but he does it to the dogs too. He just flaps his hands over the object, this case the caterpillar, and starts talking gibberish. Course gibberish is all he says right now so I guess he may think he’s saying something meaningful… Unfortunately, I missed getting a picture of the caterpillar, it crawled super fast, but Alex continued doing voodoo after it was under the truck.

Speaking of gibberish we also had our first word from Alex then Trevor this weekend. They each said, “No”. We were so excited. They weren’t telling me no either so they weren’t talking back… So we’ve been trying really hard to get them to look at our lips while we teach them new words like, “Yes!”

Tigers Game 2008

On Aug. 10th I took my parents, Stephanie and the boys to the Tigers game (they were tickets from work so they were essentially free). They played against the Oakland As and won 6 - 1. It was actually a pretty dreay day and a little bit chilly. I had the boys in shorts and luckily when I stepped outside I decided to bring the boy's sweatshirts. They definitely needed them. It also rained a little bit too, which made it even colder. Not to mention we were in the upper deck and the common area up there was like a wind tunnel.

I wasn't sure how they boys were going to handle this because the game started at 1:05 and they usually take a nap at 2. But they did very well. We sat in our seats until the bottom of the 5th inning, which meant we got to witness a Tigers homerun that happened in the 5th inning. The boys did see the fountains go off. From our seats though I'm not sure they actually saw any of the the game.

You're looking the wrong way Alex.

After the 5th inning, we took the boys down to ride on the Carousel, they rode free since it was "Kids Day", some people had free tickets for adults too but not us. ..I'll need to look into that next time. As we were riding the carousel Trevor was hopping on his horse trying to go faster. Alex, on the other hand, was a little nervous and had a look on his face like, "Are you crazy, don't make it go faster!"

Trevor having a blast on the carousel. Grandpa is holding him.

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After the carousel we waited through the 8th innining then left and took some pictures with the Tiger out front. Here are the boys with Stephanie.

On the ride home both of the boys fell asleep, and Trevor took about a 2 hour nap. Alex, however, did not want to nap so he stayed downstairs and played with Mommy and Daddy and his new Tigers gear. Alex lost the jersey pretty quickly, he was getting warm in the house.

When Trevor got up he got to play with them too. So don't worry.

Mommy Separation Anxiety

Alex is finally over his mommy separation anxiety... for now. For awhile when ever I left Alex would cry and cry and cry even though Kris was still home with him. Sometimes he would cry until I got back 2 hours later. It was very frustrating. So this past weekend my mother-in-law, Sandy, was helping us with the kids while Kris and I set up the kids' new play thing in the back yard. So she was over all day Saturday and then on Sunday she came back. Well when she came in on Sunday, Alex brought me my shoes and put them on the floor in front of me, then he hugged and kissed me and waved bye-bye. So either Grandma is a lot more fun or he's finally comfortable with me leaving. Yeah!...but....

So what does Trevor do...he started his mommy separation anxiety this past weekend. When I left the boys with Sandy he would cry and cry and cry...So I'm sure when this passes they'll just flip-flop again...

Everything's OK

It was just one day of a fever and red thoart. We went to the doctor's today to make sure but everything is negative. He is feeling fine now, a little tired but he gets energy in spurts. But he hasn't had a fever since Saturday so YEAH!!! I just wanted to update anyone who reads this blog. :-)
Have a great week.

My baby's sick

Kris and I tried to get away this weekend, while my mother-in-law watched the boys. Well we had a great night. But Saturday morning while I was in the pool Kris got a phone call from Sandy, Trevor's sick, he didn't sleep all night and he threw up this morning. He has a fever and she was going to call the doctor. Well when I got back I took a shower and Kris and I just packed up and went home. Around 3:30 Trevor had just woken up from his nap, which was taken on me because he wasn't sleeping in his crib, and he was BURNING UP!!! We took his temperature and it was 102, then 103 so I took him to the Beaumont Medical Center. When we got there his temperature was 104. He did very well at the doctor's office. He let the doctor listen to his chest and he even did remarkably well with the thoart culture. His strep test came back negative though. So they gave us a dose of Motrin and sent us away. With the instructions to see the doctor on Monday. MONDAY!!! MY BABY IS BURNING UP NOW!!! But after about an hour or an hour and a half Trevor's fever was down and he was actually playing and running around. He's actually sleep now. Let's hope he sleeps long enough tonight to feel better and no ER visits tonight...

The next Bobby Flay?

This past Saturday I was cooking breakfast for the boys. They were being extra whiney so I decided to let them "help" me. So first I let Alex put the bread in the toaster and push the button down. That worked well though Trevor was screaming in the background. So next I let Trevor pour the egg beaters into the pan. While Alex was screaming in the background...

Next I let them sprinkle cheese on the egg beaters. Unfortunately I don't have a step stool so I had to pick each one up to do this. (I probably should've thought through this better but nothing happened so we're okay for now.) I know my next purchase. Trevor grabbed a hand full of cheese and just dumped it in the eggs. Alex on the other hand grabbed a hand full of cheese and actually sprinkled it around the eggs evenly. I thought it was so cute. And cool... I don't think he's ever been able to see what we are doing when we're cooking since I don't have the aforementioned foot stool yet. So it was just cool to see that he naturally knew to sprinkle the cheese around the eggs. On the other hand this could have been a fluke and he was just trying to get the most out of his cooking time.

FIREWORKS!!!

Last week was a very busy week for the boys and me. On Tuesday we went up to the Rochester Hills Fireworks. We have a friend that lives near the park so we go there for dinner and walk over to the spot that he put the sleeping bags down on the night before. This place is crazy for the fireworks. They are at Borden Park at John R and Hamlin. They have food vendors and a stage with a live band and they have music through the fireworks. They are one of my favorite displays in the area.

The last time I went was while I was pregnant with a big ole belly. So this year I decided to take the boys up to see. them. I had no idea how they were going to react since the fireworks don't start until after their bed time and I didn't know how they'd react to the noise once they did start. But I thought I'd try anyway.

First while we were eating dinner the boys kept looking at the neighbor's house because they had a lot of kids over and they were all playing. Their back yards are all connected. So when I figured they weren't going to eat anymore I said, "OK! Go play!" And they did. Trevor ran over there without hesitation and Alex ran over there when Grandma Sandy walked over there to make sure it was okay. I never thought they would just run over there so I was in shock and I was still eating. Paul is GREAT on the BBQ! There were actually 2 sets of twins over there one set was older than the boys and the other looked to be about the same age. The boys had a blast until Trevor got hit by a swing. But he calmed down fast.

Next we walked over to the park. The boys had it easy since they were in the stroller. We got to our spot and just chilled out. Trevor sat in Grandma's lap and looked like he was going to fall asleep but he never did. Alex just acted crazy and I think he was trying to make sure he stayed awake.

And once the fireworks started they were in awe for about 10 minutes. They just stared at the sky. They actually reached out for each other's hands too and held hands for a portion of the show. But after about 10 minutes they started playing until the Grand Finale when they watched again. There was no screaming and no fussing. The other couple that was with us told me I had the most well behaved kids. He couldn't believe that almost 2 year olds were able to sit through that and not cause a fuss.

Here they are watching the show.

Camping 4th of July

To take advantage of my super long weekend over the 4th of July I decided to go camping with my parents and bring the boys. We camped up by my uncle's place near Tawas and Oscoda Michigan in Old Orchard Campground. The boys had a blast though they really enjoyed their freedom sleeping in a big bed instead of their cribs. So we didn't get much sleep but they had a lot of naps during the day and had fun during the day so that's all that matters right?

One night I took a shower and left my parents with the boys. Every time they thought they were sleeping they would hear another giggle. So my dad went in to check on them and Alex had escaped and was on the bench next to the bed. My dad said, "What-are-you-doing?" and FREAKED Alex out. My mom said it was the first time that either of my kids really cuddled with her. On the first 2 days we went to my uncle's cottage. His entire family was up this weekend. So it was a full house. They have a sand hill in the back of their property so I took the boys up there to play and they had a blast. They just kept filling their buckets and dumping them out. Then I taught them how to knock down the sand castles... Whenever Alex is playing in sand he gets this hysterical giggle/screech thing going. It is just too cute for words. But I haven't been able to tape it yet. Everyone also rode on their four wheelers. So I got the boys' out and they rode for a little bit but they were more interested in playing in the dirt. Alex was in front and Trevor started going and got caught behind Alex. Since Alex wasn't moving Trevor just spun his tires. Then gave up and got off. The last time I used these were in the winter in the house. I CANNOT believe how much they've grown...On Saturday we had a fun packed day. In the morning we hiked the Iargo Springs. Which has about 270 steps. Going down was a breeze and once we were down there we let the boys run around. They were on our backs for a lot of the hike. I had Alex and my dad had Trevor. Now my boys are probably around 35 lbs each. So you can imagine the extra resistance we had during this workout. The trip back up was a little rough. We took many breaks and my mom dropped her camera so we waited, but at that point I had the dogs too and they helped pull my momentum up a little bit so they actually helped me going up.

While I was walking with Alex and he was bouncing he was humming or moaning or making his cute little baby noises in my ear. It was cute, I thought he was going to put himself to sleep in the backpack.

Apparently that hike was a little too much for Trevor. This was minutes after we were on the road.

After their nap my mom and I went into Tawas and visited the lighthouse and the downtown. The boys had fun they actually wanted their picture taken here. I set them on the rocks but I had to pry Alex away when I was done. Then we went into town and I let them pick out some books at the bookstore. I also bought some books for me because I can't go up-north without looking for some cool "Michigan" books. I'm working my way through the "Legends of..." books.

Then what is camping without getting Ice Cream at the camp store. When I was going to Higgins Lake every year I would ALWAYS get Blue Moon Ice Cream. And this camp store actually had it too. I was chicken though so the boys just got French Vanilla. But they also had a new flavor called Black Cherry. It was awesome. So I didn't get my Blue Mooon this year, but their is still time this summer.After our ice cream my dad and I walked with the boys and the dogs down to the boat launch. We showed the boys the lake. I didn't let them out of the stroller though so I don't know what the temperature was like. This lake is actually part of the Au Sable River. It looked really clear but I don't think I saw a single fish while I was there. Makes me think it's so clear because it's infested with zebra muscles...

The One where they Look Like Twins

One day Kris got up and dressed the kids like he always does. And they went downstairs and ate their breakfast. Then while they were playing Kris realized that something just didn't seem right. We have never dressed our kids alike except when we went to the Tigers game and there was only one cute outfit for them to wear so they were matching.

But Kris figured it out. He had accidentally dress the boys alike for a day.

Luckily there socks were different. Though I'm sure their socks didn't stay on long...

Terrible 2's

Why is that they completely understand, "sit still for a minute you're in a time out, you shouldn't have done_____" well okay I only know for sure that they understand the sit still part.

And "OK you can get up now" man they jump up so fast you can feel a breeze. BUT they won't listen to the original "do not hit Mommy, or you're going to get a time out." It's going to be a fun year....

In the back yard

After the race luckily for me the boys were sleepy so we put them down for a nap and Kris and I took a nap too. I really needed it. But afterwards when the boys got up we had lunch and then played in the back yard. The boys were having a blast. They are really starting to understand and be able to climb up on their toys and enjoy sliding down their slides. Here are some pictures...

Playing nice at the slide.

Trevor is peaking in on Alex.

Trevor, right from the beginning always wants to go up the slide.

Alex going down the slide.

"Helping" Daddy with the lawn work.

Race for a Cure

Saturday May 31st: I participated in my first Race for a Cure 5 K walk this year. I've done chairty walks before just not this one specfically. It was a lot of fun and A LOT more people then I've ever walked with before. Sandy, my mother-in-law, walked with me and we walked with a team that Steph's co-workers created for her aunt who is a survivor of breast cancer. Our team name was BooBolicous. We also got on TV with Jay Towers on Fox 2 around 8:30 AM if you happen to be watching the news then. We had a great time the weather was great, it could've been a little cooler but it's Michigan I can't complain with what we got. At least it didn't rain while we were walking.

I just thought the Tiger looked really cute with his Red Wings Jersey on so I had to throw this picture in. GO WINGS!!! Beat Pittsburgh!!!

Steph, Sandy and me, sportin' our Ford Race for a Cure bandanas, and Boobolious visors.