It is blazin'

It is hot here.
Really hot.
Hotter than Phoenix hot.
However, the difference here is we don't have AC.
(Dad/landlord, I'm not complaining, just stating the facts.  It is not like you are in the AC line of work or anything.  I kid.  But really he is.)

Since it has been hot, we have been trying our best to keep cool.  Luckily I can go to my parent's house that does have AC.  And a pool!

Otherwise we have fans running, and are taking cold showers.  I gave the babies a cooler than normal bath yesterday because they woke up really sweaty from their nap.  I thought it might feel nice, however it did not go over well.  Finny didn't make much fuss, but he did have little goose-bumps on his legs as he splashed around.  Audrey cried like it was a bath filled with snow.  It was not.

We have a giant tube-like floor fan in our living room that Finny keeps eye-balling.  I think he thinks it is that giant back foam roller from my previous post that can oscillate on its own.  He's got one eye on that thing at all times.

Audrey has been pretty needy lately and wants to be on me.  Squirming around, sweaty, and bobbing her head.  It is hot, but she is cute.

The upside is that it is too hot to make dinner.  So I don't.
Nothing like hanging out in a diaper eating popsicles for dinner.

Our mother's day celebration at the beach.

Word on the Bedford street

So word on the Bedford street is:

All about Finn's hair:  His hair is crazy.  Completely out of control.  

He always had some crazy hair. . It was long and dark when he was born, then it grew into a "shark fin" then it became an "old man comb over", and now it is light, fuzzy, and all over the place. 

He had a bit of cradle cap so we have been washing his fuzzy locks with baby oil.  It seemed to be working, and then Wes forgot to wash it out and he had greasy, crunchy, wet looking hair for a day.   Not his best look.

All about sleep, or lack there of:  Audrey. won't. sleep. ever.  Okay, not ever.  Both kids were sleeping about 9 hours a night.  It was pretty nice for us.  They would wake at like 4:30 or 5, I'd nurse them, and then they'd sleep for another couple hours.  Now, Audrey wakes up.  A lot.  She wakes, and then wakes Finn up.  He goes back to sleep quickly, but Audrey thinks that there's a party at her crib at 2am.  She starts by singing high pitched as she rolls from side to side.  Then she starts chatting, "da da da da da" as she rolls to her tummy.  Then she doesn't want to be on her tummy so she cries.  And cries.  We've tried to not go in there, hoping she would just fall back asleep because as soon as she saw one of us she would cry more wanting us to pick her up.  So we let her cry it out.  For almost an hour.  I cried with her until her wimpering stopped and she fell asleep.  Meanwhile, Finny was straight sawing logs.

Finny doesn't always nap during the day though. .

Caught him creeping on me. 

All about the black roller: My parents got a foam roller for your back.  It is awesome, but Finny DOES NOT like it.  Every time he sees it he cries with his little bottom lip all pouty.  I love it, and want to bring it out all the time and "torture" him with it because I just love that little pouty lip #momfail.   One night he had a nightmare, and I'm sure he was having a dream about this black foam roller coming to get him.  There's a video below, but I'm pretty sure you have to use a computer (not iphone, or ipad) to watch it.  Also it's sideways because I can't figure out how to change it.  Remember walking zombie over here.

All about running: I'm trying to run 100 miles in May.  That is about 3.25 miles a day, which isn't a lot, it is just trying to find the time to run on my own.  Otherwise I have to pack the kids up in the double-jogger and take them with me.  Also it has been 100 degrees here. Also I'm making all kinds of excuses to not run.

All about Wes trying to fit in every sport in a week: Wes plays basketball every Tuesday night. (side note, I think he broke his nose.  It is definitely crooked.) He also plays soccer every Sat. in a small league, and now softball Sat. nights.  Calling all football teams.  Pretty much covers every sport.

All about crawling: The babies want to crawl so bad.  All they do is roll to their tummies, stick their butts in the air, and get up on their tippy toes.  They even get their knees under them as if they are going to start crawling, but then face plant with their booties in the air.  As soon as they figure out how to get their upper bodies up too, we are in big trouble.

That's about it. Crazy hair, sleep deprived, killer roller, well-rounded Wes, and mobility.

Off to bed because I'm sure I'll be up at 2am for the Audrey party at her crib.

Tears, it's what's for dinner

Oh dinnertime.  You used to be a great time.  A time when we could relax from our day and fill our bellies.  Now dinnertime is a time where hysteria replaces relaxation, and tears now fill our eyes.

The kids have either not gotten a long enough nap, or woke up for their nap cranky.
I'm cranky because I've gotten little sleep since the twins are liking to have a 3 or 4 am party these days.
Wes is stuck in traffic on his way home, so he's cranky.

5pm is not the Bedford's best hour.

Dinnertime usually goes a little like this:

One, or both will get up from their nap, crying.  I have no idea why.  They are still tired? They are hungry? They had a bad dream?  I ask them all these questions and all I get is hysteria.

So I place them in their highchairs one at a time making sure to strap those little wiggle worms in.
I then put a bib on them: one, to try and keep their clothes clean, and two, to catch their puddle of tears.  I'm serious.

I get out their food, which is usually a veggie I made for them the night before.

I sing, I dance, I tickle.  Anything to get them to stop crying and actually eat.  Nope, not having it.

Then things get real fun.  They start to spit food back at me until I sing a song they start to like, or until a dog comes in and they get distracted.  At that point I shovel in as much food as possible.  Unless it is green beans.  Audrey hates green beans so much she spits it out.  Gags even.  Closes her eyes and shutters.

She hated pumpkin this day.  Gagging.
(side note, I ate a sour strawberry and noticed I make this same face)

Finn will get distracted too by a tiny little tag that is on the bottom of his bib.  He continues to grab it and put it in his mouth until all the food that fell out of his mouth onto his bib, is now back on his face.  His cheeks, his eye, his hair.  Green mash everywhere. (hey that rhymed)

Will find any tag, anywhere.  Guaranteed.

By the end of dinner they are completely exhausted and covered in pureed veggies.  At least they aren't crying anymore.  Off to the bath we go.

Ah yes, Wes calls just after the storm has passed.  Be home in 10.  Sweet relief.

Hoppy Belated Easter

In short, our Easter rocked.

It was a beautiful, sunny, California day.

We woke up, got dressed in our Sunday best, and headed to church.

We listened to the Easter program, napped, cried, ate, and played through church.

We got home, and what do you know?  The Easter bunny came!  He probably would've come earlier if we didn't have 9am church. . .

Finny loved the bow on his basket, however did not like sitting in the basket.

Audrey liked the egg in her basket, but didn't care for the stuffed bunny.
 Sigh

Easter was held at our house this year.  Since I live in the house I grew up in, having a holiday here just felt right.  So many holiday memories have been spent here, and our backyard is perfect for an Easter egg hunt.

So our perfect Easter celebration went like this:

Wes created an awesome egg hunt.  Everyone was allowed to participate.  There were fun prizes in the eggs, and bad surprises too.    (dish duty, and last to get dessert were a couple of the bad ones)

We ate ham, and my mom made probably the best angel food cake I've ever had.  (shout out mom, what what!!)

We then continued to play Portuguese horseshoes, which is a McIsaac family tradition.  We had a crazy intense tournament, and the winner got scratchers.

Finn met our turtle, and probably would've tried to put him in his mouth, which would have been the second time a member of our family (Midas, not Wes) tried to eat that poor turtle.

By the end of the day I had eaten my weight in ham and collapsed on the floor next to the twins as they kicked and rolled on top of me.

Best Easter ever. The End.

Yes, Finn is almost the same size as me. 

Work it mama

I try to work 6 hours a day.  Key word there is "try."  Some days it feels like all they do is cry, and some days, when all the stars align, things actually do get done.

I work from my mom's house 2 or 3 days a week, which is awesome.  It's so nice to have another set of arms to help feed, rock, and hold.  It is a lot of work though to head over there.  Packing everyone up, all their stuff to keep them entertained, and all their food is a lot of work.  Needless to say some days we forget to pack diapers, one is sockless, and one hasn't been changed since they woke up.

Not only is it nice to have someone to help me, but it's also nice to have someone who can talk back with me.  Ah yes, a real conversation that doesn't involve me having to talk super animated with an accompanying song and dance.

So to sum it up my mom = awesome.  I know she doesn't get as much work done when we are there because in her words, "her babies need her," but it sure is nice to have another person playing defense with me.  Two on two.

When I'm working at home, I'm out numbered.

They usually wake up and I feed them breakfast.
Then we head to my office, aka the living room.  I give them a few toys/teethers while I catch up on emails and bookings.  Then one will get bored and I move them to one of our little gadgets.  We have a "johnny jumper" that hangs in our living room, an exersaucer, a playmat that plays music, and a bumbo.  We play a little round of "tour the gadgets" until they get tired.  They usually take a little nap and I get some work done.  They then get up for lunch. Mmm avocado.
After a few tears and diaper changes we head back to the office.  They roll around and play on the floor until one gets hit, or rolls onto her tummy and cries, and then we take another "tour of the gadgets" until it is nap time again.  This time is for longer and I get the majority of my work done.
In the afternoon we take a walk/jog.  Words can not express the absolute need to get out of my house by this point.

If I have more work to get done then I wait til Wes gets home, or after the kids go to bed.
Most days are easy, the babies are happy and everything is rainbows and sunshine.  Some days are filled with constant crying.  By me.

My home office on the floor containing two babies, and two dogs. The dogs are not earning their keep.  Step it up and soothe a baby!

I'll take some magic

There are a few things that I wish I had when it comes to these two lil babes.

1) Another set of arms.  Or another two sets of arms.  To hold, carry, rock, help nurse. .
2) Another set of boobs, going along with the above number 1
3) A time machine.
I would go back to pre-twin Kristen and tell her her life is easy.  Stop complaining.
I would travel to the future to check on my grown babies in order to put my mind at ease.  They are alive and thriving, stop worrying. 
4) A pause button.  I'd love to pause time every time my babies look at each other and smile, or hold hands.  I'd pause every time Wes is making Finn giggle because he is the only one who can make that boy laugh like that.  And I'd pause every time they look up at me and smile while I'm rocking them to sleep.

5) A nail trimming fairy.  I honestly trim their little razor finger nails every day.  I thought it'd be easy to trim using nail clippers until I snipped the tip of Finn's little finger.  And it bled.  And he cried.  Now I file 20 little constantly moving finger nails daily.  Otherwise I have claw marks all over my face, neck, and chest. 
6) A shot-free way to get immunizations.  I can not handle them getting shots.  I just can't.  Finn cries for a second, and then gets over it.  Audrey screams like you cut off her leg.  Hyperventilates even. 
7) A quick fix of my belly button.  I'm serious.  My belly button is forever changed.  Sometimes I look at old pictures of me in a bikini and throw a little pity party.  Goodbye perfect little innie belly button, hello perfect little babies.
8) A way to understand baby whining. For the most part I know what they need.  Feed.  Change.  Sleep. But sometimes (mostly Audrey) they cry.  A lot.  I've changed, fed, and they've napped, and still they cry.
           Side note on understanding babies-
 There are 3 things I don't understand about babies:
       1) When they are sleepy, why do they fight it?  You're tired, close your eyes. Easy as that.
       2) When they roll to their tummy from their back and then cry cause they hate being on their tummy.  Audrey does this ALL DAY long.  Rolls to her tummy and then cries. It's especially fun at 4 am when she does this in her crib.
       3) How they can be crying, screaming, at the top of their lungs, with one little tear rolling down their face, and as soon as dad  walks in they stop.  Smile even.  Not Fair. Boo.


I'm not asking for much here people, just a few small requests.
A time machine, a couple of extra appendages, and a fairy.  Magic.  Someone get me some magic.

All shook up

Our Friday night last night started like any other.  We put the kids down at 8, and folded laundry in the living room watching March Madness.  Riveting I know.

Then at 9,  the house creaked and began to shake.  Wes and I looked at each other knowing it was an earthquake and ran down the hall to the nursery to grab the kids.  We swooped them up and stood in a doorway (which you're technically not supposed to do)  After the shaking stopped, we walked outside in the backyard (which is the number one thing you shouldn't do.) Our neighbor yelled over the fence to make sure we were okay.

Not how we reacted to the earthquake, but definitely the song that came to mind as it was happening.

We put the kids back to bed making sure to take all pictures off the wall.  Even if the pictures weren't near their cribs. . who knows those things can fly.  Wes is also currently trying to come up with a lid-type device to place over the cribs.  I kid, but if they could now live in a bubble, I'd be down with that.

We then watched the news coverage.  5.1 earthquake, which is moderate in size.  We came up with a family plan in case "the big one" hits.

My plan:  to stay in the house.  We have food, water, and baby supplies, however my first instinct is to get the heck out of here.  I'm not sure where I'd go, but I just have the reaction of, "Get Out!"

If I'm at my mom's house, I stay there.  If I'm out and about, head to the closest house (my house or my mom's)

The only reason to ever leave my house is the Zombie Apocalypse.  That is it.

Wes' plan: to come home.  If he's unable to drive home he is fully prepared to "gear up," grab a riffle, and make the 30 mile hike home.  I picture Denzel Washington in Book of Eli.

If not Denzel, then he'd look like this for sure.  

After coming up with a plan, watching endless coverage of the earthquake, and checking on the kids 273947505 times, I thought about documenting babies' first earthquake.

 I am all about documenting babies' first _____
Babies' first road trip
Babies' first trip to the mall
Babies' first time wearing shorts (Yes, I am that mom that gets excited every time they can wear new outfits.  What can I say I'm a 10 year old girl who gets to dress up her American Girl dolls all day)

That being said, I would have been perfectly fine if the babies never experienced this first.  Ever.  Okay, they didn't know what was going on, but I did and it freaked me out.  Needless to say, we were all shook up over here.  Pun intended.