Happy Halloween

Had a great Halloween weekend with the family. The boys and I got up early Saturday morning (4am) for a viewing up Night of the Living Dead, which is my favorite horror movie. The boys both fell asleep on me while we sat on the rocking chair.

Later on, we dressed Jacob up as crab and Jasper as an octopus. Joy and I wanted to dress up somewhat related to the boys' costumes so we dressed up as pirates. We took tons of pictures in the front yard and in the house. We got dressed up for Trick-or-Treaters. However, it didn't look like anyone was going to come. So by 5:30 we all got into our regular clothes. I was changing Jasper at 10 to 7 when I heard the door bell rang. I was so excited we had ONE trick-or-treater. That is a 100% increase from last year. At 8 we all sat around watched Scared Shrekless and Aliens Vs. Monsters halloween specials.

Next year, we plan on taking the boys to "Boo at the Zoo." It will be really exciting when the boys kind of understand Halloween. I'm really looking forward to when I can take the Trick-or-Treating. However in our neighborhood, it doesn't seem like anyone does that.

Up all night, awake all day.

The boys have their sleep schedule totally mixed up. Last night I was joking that that I was going to stay up and watch Elvira, which was on at 5am. Although I didn't watch it, the boys stayed up till 8am.

At 4:30am, I decided to take them for a car ride in hopes that they would fall asleep. Jasper screamed until I started singing. Then he started laughing then back to screaming. Eventually I put the Gummy Bears Song on from YouTube and played it through car speakers. That did the trick. They fell sleep and I carefully moved them into their room. A few minutes later they woke up. Joy took over and I went to sleep.

Today we took them to the park and made them stay up as a long as we could. We gave them showers and they went to sleep afterwards.

Joy and I went to bed at 7pm. However, an hour later we both realized both of us couldn't sleep! I have the Gummy Bears song in my head.

Staying awake!

Getting sleep can be tough. Here are some tips I use stay awake through the day:

1. Coffee. I am a bit of coffee fiend. I drink about a pot a day and keep my coffee pot with me in the car. This is partly because I'm not a fan of the battery acid they serve at work.

Since I've become somewhat of an addict, I think I developed somewhat a tolerance.  So usually I'll take breaks. When the weekend hits,  I'll only drink if  a) I'm really sleepy or b) if someone else wants coffee. Either way, I limit my coffee on the weekend so come Monday I'll feel the effects more. 

2. Music. Luckily, I have a job that let's me listen to my iPod.  Now, you have to be careful with this. You would think loud and fast would be the way to go.  But I've noticed, if I start off loud and fast I get worn out as day goes on. So I suggest this; start off with something mellow but upbeat and work yourself into the loud and heavy music as the day goes on.

3. Get up and walk around.  If you find yourself dosing off, it's time to get up and get the blood pumping.  Sometimes I will get up and walk to the kitchen for a drink even if I'm not thirsty.

4. This is probably most important: Stay Busy! The minute you start slowing down, the sleepies will catch up to you!

Some thoughts on vaccinating

I believe it is important to get your children vaccinated. I personally don't buy the theory that vaccines are linked to autism. Many studies have been done to prove that there is no link. With that evidence, I would not risk either of my children's health.

I found an interesting article on CNN regarding the studies and some history of the Wakefield studies:

http://www.cnn.com/2010/HEALTH/09/07/p.autism.vaccine.debate/index.html

Getting vaccines are no fun. It is really hard watching your child getting pricked with needles. A nurse at our last appointment informed us that one of the shot burns. I do wish there was a easy way for vaccines to be given. You would think that they could come up with some painless way to give vaccines. Luckily for us, the pains and crying only seemed to last about a day. I know some babies get fevers. We've been lucky so far, knock on wood! But still would never risk my children getting sick with polio or any of the other countless diseases if it can be prevented.

That being said, I found another interested article/radio story from
NPR. It talks about the newer vaccines added for chicken pox and whooping cough.

I was really surprised when Joy told me they have a vaccine for chicken pox. I remember hearing stories about parents sending their kids to play with other kids with chicken box in order to get it out of the way when they are young.

The article talks about how these new vaccines might not be as effective and even need booster shots:

http://m.npr.org/story/130433634

This article shows that the vaccines might not be flawless. I love the idea that my boys might not get chicken pox. Possibly more research needs to be done on this.

In the long run, I'm happy my boys are vaccinated. I'm happy they're safe.

The Power of Singing

I'm a very musical person, I've been playing in bands since I was 8 or so. It's odd for me to not have a song in my head. Even as I type this I'm listening to music. I'm really looking forward to the day I can show the boys how to play an instrument or beat on the drums. Even if it turns out to be something they're not interested in, I still think it's important to give them the opportunity to try it out.

Recently I've noticed a postive reaction to singing to the boys. Singing to them can turn a grumpy mood or freak out to either calm and flat out cracking up laughter. Granted this might not completely work if they just got a shot but I think it helps in a small way.i

Right now the hits of the household are "Rockabye Baby," "This old man," and "Camp Town Races.

I'm not a lyrical person. Lyrics are the last thing I pay attention to when listening to a song. So when it comes to singing these songs I tend to either make up my own lyrics or sing the melody. I enjoy incorporating the boys into the song such as "This Old Man" can be be varied with "little man," "Jasper Man" or "Jacob Dude."

I can't recommend enough singing to your children. It doesn't matter how well you sing, so don't self conscious. Remember if you can talk, you can sing. Your children will love it, at least while they're babies!

Jam packed weekend!

Our goal was to reverse the boys schedule so that they would sleep more at night rather than the day and be up all night. Getting barely any sleep had been catching up to Joy and I. So we had a jam packed weekend to keep them awake during the day.

Saturday, we had a get-together at my parents' house. The boys got to meet their 87 year old great grandmother for the first time. She was thrilled. My one aunt who is normally really quiet was the most bubbly that I've seen her. She took the boys and introduced them to everyone.

The boys got their shot at being held by everyone. Joy and I got a chance to chill and be fed. Eventually the Jasper fell asleep in Joy's arms and Jasper in my mom's arms.

After we left, we took the boys to Sam's Club to do some grocery shopping. I grabbed a large bag of coffee and started to sing "Daddy loves coffee" to the tune of "I want candy" which gave Jasper some good belly laughs.

Sunday, we continued our grocery shopping. Jacob was really mellow and Jasper was a little fussy. Joy ended up holding Jasper, which did the trick.

We were at Wal Mart and they had a flu shot station, so Joy got hers while I was in line and I got my mine after we checked out.

We went home and then took the boys for a walk in the park. I totally miss being able to take them out for a walk every night. Now that it is getting dark earlier, I'm unable to do so. I've been thinking about taking them to the mall to do some walking but that hasn't happened yet.

Joy brought our dog Ace with us, who hasn't been on a walk since right after they were born. Ace got really protective over the boys when other dogs walked by. He barked, which he didn't normally do. I think trying to take him on a walk with us is going to be a lost cause. It was way too difficult to both watch the boys and hold ace while he was freaking at other dogs. Good thing both Joy and I were there.

So I think our plan worked. The boys seem to be sleeping a lot better at night! Jasper has almost been sleeping through the whole night. Jacob has been getting up every few hours. I think because he wants to be held or cuddled.

The boys also tried banana over the weekend! The first was homemade mixed with soy formula which they ate but weren't very fond of. We got some baby food from the store which they liked a lot better. Joy noticed they mixed the banana with water. I think we will try that in the future.

I'm awake!

Sleep has come in little doses this week. The boys schedules seem to be somewhat reversed. Either one is sleeping through the night and the other isn't or they're both up.

This weekend we intend to keep them busy during the day, except for nap times, in hopes to get them to sleep during the night.

Today we are visiting my family, where the boys will get to meet their great grandmother as well as family from my dads side. The will hopefully take care of them staying awake during the day.

Sunday, we may do some shopping with the boys and maybe a hike in the park. Also the weekend is a good shot at hopefully Joy and I catching up on some sleep.

BOOK REVIEW : Daddy Does The Cha Cha Cha

Dads are just dancing and dancing in this story by David Bedford and Bridget Strevens-Marzo. This would be a fun book to read and somewhat act out while reading. I think kids would definitely enjoy this. Heck, if you can dance go ahead and do so along with the book and why not have the kids do it as well.

So Dougie, whose daddy does the Cha Cha Cha, put together a party. The problem? Dougie said "no dancing dads!" I'm guessing the dad's dancing can be somewhat embarrassing. Instead the kids enjoy a good a dance. However, you can't stop the dads from dancing! Let me tell you that! Because one dad started doing the swing and then it caused a chain effect and the dads were dancing. But when Dougie's daddy got involved all hell broke loose and everything when CRRRAASSHHH! And then the mum comes out and makes everyone clean it up.

This book shows that dads can be goofy as well as responsibility for actions. I would read this book again to boys when they get older.

Brandywine Falls Water Fall - Cuyahoga Valley - Mother of Twins

This last weekend we took a 5 mile bike ride down the bike and hike trail in the Cuyahoga Valley. I had no idea that such a natural treasure was only 20 minutes away from my house! I definitely can not wait to take my little boys here next summer! Do you think next summer would be to young? They will be 1 year olds in may.

BOOK REVIEW - Even Monsters Need Haircuts

When I was 17, I was lazy. In no way did I want to have a job. Yuck! I played in a band, that's what I wanted to do. I go to school and then work on my music when I'm not. It was great fun. Then one day it was decided that I needed a job. My dad woke up at 5am for work and there he was knocking my door, waking up me to look for a job. No fun. Luckily it was pretty easy for me to get a job. I turned in two applications and got a call and the job for the first one I put it. Lucky.

This is quite a different story in Even Monsters Need Haircuts by Matthew McElligott. The boy in this story has a job and his dad doesn't even know about it! He sneaks out of the house, against his parents' (I assume) wishes, once a month to take on the same career his father does. His father is a barber. The only difference, he cuts the hair of monsters!

This book is pretty fun. I'm not quite sure of the message/moral (if it has one) but it is a sure fun read. The story takes a twist when a human walks in for a haircut. All the monsters and stunned and the boy is nervous. However, the "human" just wants a little of the top. You'll have to check the picture out to see what he means.

I recommend this book and I have read it several times to the boys and I enjoy the pictures.

Mother of Twins - Jeep liberty walkers and our dog

Our dog has taken it onto himself to watch over our boys. The boys have two jeep liberty walkers that they love to play in. Currently they mainly move backwards and beep the horn, but they love every minute in there walkers. I can only imagine the chaos that is going to ensue when Jasper and Jacob start chasing our dog Ace or our Cat Tino around the living room.

Every milestone is so exciting, but with each milestone my days seem to get stretched a little thiner. I can't wait until the milestones start making life a little simpler; sleeping through the night, holding their on bottle, eating real food, and when they can tell me what is wrong rather than scream until I figure it out. I will miss the all night cuddle sessions, but I think a few sweet dreams may ease my pain.

What milestones made your life a little easier and when did your baby reach the milestone?

BOOK REVIEW - The Halloween Kid

If you haven't noticed I'm a big fan of Halloween. Last year, Joy and I bought a house and you'd have no idea how excited I was to hand out of candy to Trick-or-Treaters that year. I got all dressed up as a zombie, thanks to Joy. Joy was going through the beginnings of pregnancy, so she opted to hang out mostly on the couch that night. We got a ton of candy from Sams Club. We had just bought more that day because we weren't sure how many kids would be coming to house.

5pm came and everything was ready for trick-or-treaters! I was on the pouch, dressed up with bowl of candy. You wouldn't believe how many kids came! None! Not a one! I walked down the street to see if kids were trick-or-treating down the street. Nope.

What does this have to do with the Halloween Kid by Rhode Montijo? Well the Halloween Kid saves Halloween! He's a super hero! I could have used the Halloween Kid to encourage kids to go trick-or-treating and save Halloween! He saved Halloween for anyone who tried to ruin it and I feel the people in my neighbor ruined it for the kids and the neighborhood by either being to scared to go out (we live in a city), religious reasons, or just lame!

This book has a western feel to it, which makes it really fun. Allow me to quote some of the lines from the book:

"He wrassled pumpkin-suckin' vampires"

"Ye-ha-llowen!"

"...the Halloween kid loved him some Halloween...."

This book is great! The pictures look great too. When you read this book, though, you have to read it best southern accent you can do. If you can, put a cowboy hat on too. Why not? I think the boys will enjoy this book when they understand the words. I had a blast reading it and even though they didn't understand me they smiled at my enthusiasm.

Back to my story, my Halloween kid that night was putting a VHS of the Exorcist in and watching it with Joy.

Rice Cereal yum!

Last Saturday the boys had their first dose rice cereal. It seemed to go pretty well. Jacob seemed to get the hang of it pretty fast. I fed Jacob and Joy fed Jasper. Joy got the video camera out. I think we got some good shots of them eating. I got Joy holding Jasper and feeding and I put the camera on the highchair table when I fed Jacob.

Tuesday I got to spend some good play time with the boys after work. They were both awake. I put them in their jeeps and sat on the floor with them and our dog Ace. They have gotten really good at moving backwards. Jacob kept moving from the living room to down the hallway with the bedrooms. He was so excited. Jasper stood still playing with the buttons on the jeep. Eventually he started jumping and moving back. He kept running backwards into the dining room.

The next few nights, Jasper has been staying up late. Jacob has been doing really good about going to sleep around 10. Jasper has been staying up till about 3 or so.

I've tried to be more chill at night in hopes that he would get on s better sleep schedule. We'd hang out in the boys room, rock on the rocking chair, and watch movies.

31 days till Halloween!

31 days till Halloween! Let the fun begin! Feel free to share what your plans are this year. As for us, I'm not entirely sure. We do have one costume that we bought last year on clearance. That was before we found out we were having twins. Joy did order another one but they sent the wrong size in mail. We ended up having to return it and didn't bother replacing it because we noticed the quality of the costume wasn't that great.