BOOK REVIEW: Three Bears Halloween

In The Three Bears Halloween by Kathy Duval and illustrated by Paul Meisel, The Three Bears embark on a Trick-Or-Treating adventure. They come up to an old looking house. When the little bear says "trick or treat" the door creaks open up. After the door opens up, they hear a laugh and see a witch behind the tree. So, naturally they enter the house and start eating popcorn! After they hear more laughing from the witch they get chased around the house and turns out to Goldilocks in somewhat of a silly revenge tale to scare the Three Bears.

It's a pretty cute story. It's short. It's simple. But as I was thinking about this... should we teaching our kids to be running into some random person's house if they're being chased? I would think the first response would be run into the street and try to find other people. I guess if you were being chased and you do go into some random person's house, maybe you should get to the phone. Anyway, maybe I'm missing the point of this short children's story.

The story was okay. I don't know why but for some reason it bugged me that the little bear said "boo boo boo" instead of "trick or treat" in the beginning of the story. I don't think this a book I would purchase or get it out from library again but it was a nice read.

RECORD REVIEW- Cowboys and Clowns

There is nothing like a good old scratchy record to make a wonderful music experience. I recently got a spiffy new record player that has a USB connection on it to easily rip vinyl for CD or IPod. That's right! Most people love buying music from Itunes or ripping CDs. I now rip vinyl. Why? I love the sound. Even my vinyl rips even though downgraded to MP3 sound better than some CDs rips.

Anyway, after I got my spiffy new record player it was time to hit the thrift stores for old used records. The hunt can be overwhelming, shifting through old polka and I don't know how many Barry Manilow records. I mean, seriously. I have never gone to a thrift store and not seen a handful of Barry Manilow records. It made my mom happy once, there was one record that she loved but was hard to find on CD. So I found it at the thrift and burned her a copy, but that was a long time ago.

This time hunting records was somewhat of a different experience. It had been awhile since I went record shopping. So not only was I looking for sweet rock-type records for myself and Christmas records for Joy. Now, I added Children's records to list. And boy did I find a rare gem! Ladies and Gentlemen:

Cowboys & Clown by Mr. Mountain Dew

The record is scratchy as hell and I gotta say it adds so much to the atmosphere of the record. The record is narrated by Mr. Mountain Dew. Never heard of him? Neither have I and there's not much information on the web about it. The guy sounds like the guy who narrates the Big Lebowski. He tells the stories of the songs inbetween. The songs include: Home on the Range, Mama Don't Let Your Babies Grow up to Cowboys, King of the Road, Daniel Boone, Billy the Kid among others.

If you ever come across this record it's a must buy! As far as I know this record was never released on CD. In fact, I looked up the record label, Peter Pan, and could not find any information on it. This is a record I have already ripped into the computer and ready for the Ipod.

The boys seemed to enjoy the record. I put on the record as one was in a walker and the other was in my lap. I sang along with Home on the Range and Davy Crocket. They were in a bit fussy because of their teething however singing to them really helped.

I am gonna go as far as to say this record would be great if you want to make a really weird mix tape for someone. Heck, I think I would even listen to this record on my own. I will say that One Top of Old Smokey is a track I would cut though. It is the only one that doesn't really fit in.

Four-month vaccines complete!

The boys have got their four-month vaccine shots. They were in good spirits while we waited for the doctor and then the nurse. I sat on the doctor's stool and moved back and forth with Jacob was in my lap. Jasper was in Joy's lap.

I think for one of the first times the boys really noticed each other. They were looking at each other and smiling big.

Jacob eventually fell asleep on my shoulder while we waited for the nurse to give shots. Since Jacob was sleeping on me, Jasper went first. The first shot he did great. Not a peep. Then the nurse informed us that the second shot burns. Sure enough, the second shot went in and Jasper screamed. Joy quickly took Jasper held him till he calmed down.

With Jasper crying and some nudging, Jacob woke up for his shots. He was not happy to receive either of them. I quickly grabbed him and tried to comfort. Jasper had calmed down so Joy put his clothes on and then gave me Jasper while she put on Jacob's clothes. Then I took him back to comfort.

While we were checking out, Jacob fell back asleep and Jasper fell asleep as well in our arms.

We asked the doctor about them teething and she said it was most likely they're not but they're just exploring. I'm not totally buying her story. For one she did not even check to see if they're teething. She did say we could introduce them to real food, see the previous post by Joy.

We had expected the day to be crazy because of screaming babies. We expected to go on a car ride for them to calm down, car rides usually help. However, we had two sleeping boys in the car. So Joy and I went on a car ride anyway to get ice cream.

We got home and were able to put boys in their cribs and Joy and I had a quiet afternoon.

Then Joy said she was hungry and wanted to go to bed after dinner. I started making spaghetti and by the time it was done Jasper woke up screaming. Joy came into the kitchen with him. Then I heard Jacob waking up. They were both not happy! Screaming!

We tried walking around, going outside. Eventually Joy and I had to divide and concur because I think they were both kind of enforcing each other to cry after we got one of them to calm down, like a sympathy cry. Eventually we got them both to calm down. They were both cuddly with us. Talking and singing to them helped calm them too.

The next day they slept must of the day.

Similac Recalled! Mother of Twins

GO TO http://abbott.vo.llnwd.net/o18/similac/recall/default.htm?utm_source=ppc FOR MORE INFORMATION

My boys were born a little early and a little small and initially had a hard time latching and eating. I was scared they were not getting enough to eat and exhausted with the mandatory two - three hour feeding schedule our pediatrician started us on. I made the decision to breast pump, which has worked out wonderfully; my husband gets to feed the boys, I get to sleep through a feeding or two and I don't feel bad about the failed breast feeding attempt. Hopefully, if a single birth baby is in our future breast feeding will go more smoothly, but since so much can go wrong its disheartening that a major brand of baby food has been recalled.

In the passed week or two I have been toying with the idea of making the transition to formula, the boys are 4 months old now and are surpassing the average size for a boy their age and I am tired of being tethered to a machine. However with the recent recall I will indefinitely (well until the boys hit 10-12 months) be sticking with breast milk. If nothing else I can thank similac for giving me the motivation necessary to continue with the plan of "breast feeding" my boys for the majority of their first year.

The Baby Food Dilemma - Mother of Twins

The doctor gave my little baby boys the go ahead to start semi-solid food this week. While being overly excited about this big step in their development, I am undecided about their first meal. I am not sure if they are really ready to start eating solids or if it is healthy for them to start at such a young age. Right now our twins rely solely on breast milk and vitamin D drops for their nutritional needs. While I am excited about there first bites of solid food I know this decision should be about my boys nutrition and not my excitement about this milestone.

Generally rice or oat cereal mixed with breast milk or formula is the first solid food. However, mashed bananas, sweet potatoes or avocados are just as safe and in many ways more nutritious. These fruits and vegetables are used exclusively in many cultures throughout the world. The idea that my boys would start eating fruit or vegetables first is so appealing. I have read a few articles that suggest cereals could be a leading cause of obesity in american babies/toddlers, but I am not sure I want to risk straying away from the American Association of Pediatrics suggestion that babies should start on cereal.

Any advice or suggestions would be greatly appreciated.

BOOK REVIEW: Aliens Are Coming!

Halloween is coming and it's my favorite holiday! So we're starting early with the Halloween books. Joy and I request way too many items from the library. It's been a habit to go to the library on Saturday and pick up tons of books, DVDs, and CDs that we ordered throughout the week. The first batch of Halloween books, which we started with haven't been all that great. I know the kids don't really understand what you're reading to them yet but it's good to start early. Plus what is cooler than a good Halloween book!

Last night, I read to the boys (as well and Joy and Grandma W) "Aliens are Coming!" by Meghan McCarthy. Joy ordered this book. It is the story of the 1938 radio broadcast of War of the Worlds by the Mercury Theatre. I'm a big fan of this broadcast and Orson Welles. The story about this broadcast always fascinated me. An evil part of me would love to see if something like this could happen today. If you don't know much about this broadcast, you owe it yourself to look it up.

I would love to expose my boys to this story when they get older. However, I'm not sure if I'd want to tell them story about the broadcast first or let me actually hear the broadcast. I believe I heard the story about the broadcast first in school. I once bought a cassette of the original broadcast and listened to it on a road trip I took by myself. My favorite part of the broadcast is when the aliens start attacking the radio cuts to complete silence. So creepy!

Anyway about the book; I liked it. The actual story tells the main points surrounding the broadcast and tells some of War of the Worlds. While it was fun to read, I think I would have enjoyed if Meghan McCarthy wrote a kids-style version of the War of the Worlds based on the broadcast. However, being that I'm such a fan of story of the broadcast, I did enjoy it quite a bit. At the end of the book, the author goes more in depth about the story in the author's notes. This part is more lengthy than the actual story, I enjoyed this part the most. However the first part is definitely more geared for kids and easier to read.

All-in-all, this book is definitely worth checking out. For more information on the book, please check out: http://www.aliensarecoming.com/.

Beep beep

The boys are loving their jeep walkers. I called home on my lunch break and Joy told me that Jasper was looking in his rearview mirror, which is actually just a sticker, and was backing up. They both love beeping the horn and pressing buttons. They look so proud of themselves that they can stand up on their own in the walker.

Last night, I just put Jacob in the walker. Sometimes his head falls a bit forward, so Joy has been putting something between him and the steering wheel, so he doesn't bump his head. Last night I put a pillow in between. He started punching the pillow. He put his hand into a fist and started going at it. He would then look at me and smile.

Teething continues. Jacob is now pulling on his ears and rubbing his tongue along his gums. He's also been wanting more attention. Not so much sitting down attention but he wants you to stand up and walk around. Luckily Jasper has been really content with this at least with me.

We avoided going to a family birthday party last week to avoid sickness that's going around. However, Joy caught a bug anyway. I've been trying to let her sleep a bit more at night. Luckily, this weekend her mom will be over. Hopefully she can get all the rest she needs to feel better before Monday hits. So far the boys and I are in the clear!

Successfully sleeping in cribs.

Another week of more successful crib sleeping. This week, it was discovered that I can sleep through almost anything. So Joy was able to keep the boys in their cribs and come back to bed with me. It was nice. Some mornings I would wake up to everyone sleeping in bed.

I spent most of my time with the boys trying to get them to sleep in their cribs. I read them stories, lots of stories. We just got some Halloween books from library that I'm excited to read to them.

Today we took the boys for a walk in the metro park. It was a lot of fun. Both of them had smiles on their faces as looked at the trees and the less interesting road along the path. It ended up putting them to sleep.

Joy put their cribs next to each other in the babies' room. Now the boys can sleep in their own cribs and still be able to see other.

Firsts, walker, crib, sleeping

Last Thursday, the boys experienced a lot of firsts. First long car trip (1 hour to and back). First time to a church (for a funeral). First time being in a room with a lot of people. First time doing a full grocery shop. And the boys did great!! I think they enjoyed all the new experiences. We did not go prepared to go grocery shopping so we ended up holding them and pushing the cart. I am proud of my boys.

Today, they went took turns playing in their walker. They both can now reach one foot to the ground and move backwards. It went so good we had to order them another walker so both of them would have their own. We took a lot of pictures and video'd.

The boys are becoming crib sleeping champs. With some help from grandma, who is staying over this labor day weekend, we've got them to sleep in their cribs each night. Granted they wake up every hour or so, I think they've gotten used to the crib.

Last night, or rather this morning it was cold so Joy and I had them both in bed with us. Jasper slept down my chest and Jacob slept between Joy and I. We all slept for at least 3 hours. Jacob slept much longer.