tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-34024692024-02-28T09:11:42.966-05:00betseeee knits!(Well, not so much knitting these days, but she raises her twins, tries to clean up, works occasionally, takes photos, blogs, and thinks about knitting again.)Betseeeehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/04306554975923573840noreply@blogger.comBlogger498125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3402469.post-87817306959443413712010-08-09T12:48:00.001-04:002010-08-09T12:48:45.780-04:008/8/10 On the lam<div style="text-align: left; padding: 3px;"><a href="http://www.flickr.com/photos/betseeee/4876190570/" title="photo sharing"><img src="http://farm5.static.flickr.com/4077/4876190570_1055ae453f.jpg" style="border: solid 2px #000000;" alt="" /></a><br /><span style="font-size: 0.8em; margin-top: 0px;"><a href="http://www.flickr.com/photos/betseeee/4876190570/">8/8/10 On the lam</a>, originally uploaded by <a href="http://www.flickr.com/people/betseeee/">betseeee</a>.</span></div><p>Went on a wine-tasting tour of the North Fork of LI. The group was a bunch of girls who are friends with my best friend. I knew them in varying degrees. We had a stretch Escalade, which was pretty funny for a bunch of suburban mamas. This guy worked at Pelligrini Vineyards, where we had a great time. I have no idea how these crazy girls convinced him to get in the car, but it was some good hiliarity for sure.</p>Betseeeehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/04306554975923573840noreply@blogger.com6tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3402469.post-8969153211770198392010-08-07T22:27:00.001-04:002010-08-07T22:27:05.217-04:008/7/10 Time marches on (219 of 365)<div style="text-align: left; padding: 3px;"><a href="http://www.flickr.com/photos/betseeee/4870584046/" title="photo sharing"><img src="http://farm5.static.flickr.com/4073/4870584046_751299026f.jpg" style="border: solid 2px #000000;" alt="" /></a><br /><span style="font-size: 0.8em; margin-top: 0px;"><a href="http://www.flickr.com/photos/betseeee/4870584046/">8/7/10 Time marches on (219 of 365)</a>, originally uploaded by <a href="http://www.flickr.com/people/betseeee/">betseeee</a>.</span></div><p>Another beautiful day ends at one of my favorite beaches. What's most interesting to me about this shot, though, is comparing it to July 4th's sunset. Just one month later and look how the position of the sun has changed. Over the water in early summer, over land (Asharoken) in midsummer. <br /><br />Still plenty of summer left, though.</p>Betseeeehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/04306554975923573840noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3402469.post-81087349735826981192010-08-06T21:45:00.003-04:002010-08-06T21:45:25.154-04:008/6/10 Blown schmown<div style="text-align: left; padding: 3px;"><a href="http://www.flickr.com/photos/betseeee/4867039289/" title="photo sharing"><img src="http://farm5.static.flickr.com/4082/4867039289_9b1c5b6a1b.jpg" style="border: solid 2px #000000;" alt="" /></a><br /><span style="font-size: 0.8em; margin-top: 0px;"><a href="http://www.flickr.com/photos/betseeee/4867039289/">8/6/10 Blown schmown</a>, originally uploaded by <a href="http://www.flickr.com/people/betseeee/">betseeee</a>.</span></div><p>Yeah, there's that giant thermonuclear blown area on Lilly's dress and a slightly smaller one on her face. A small price to pay for the look of utter devotion. <3</p>Betseeeehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/04306554975923573840noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3402469.post-66743118202063127282010-08-06T21:45:00.001-04:002010-08-06T21:45:07.125-04:008/5/10 Lilly cooperates<div style="text-align: left; padding: 3px;"><a href="http://www.flickr.com/photos/betseeee/4864835328/" title="photo sharing"><img src="http://farm5.static.flickr.com/4141/4864835328_504f6b1f9f.jpg" style="border: solid 2px #000000;" alt="" /></a><br /><span style="font-size: 0.8em; margin-top: 0px;"><a href="http://www.flickr.com/photos/betseeee/4864835328/">8/5/10 Lilly cooperates</a>, originally uploaded by <a href="http://www.flickr.com/people/betseeee/">betseeee</a>.</span></div><p>Seriously, write down the date! Though really, she's more likely to do so than her sister. <br /><br />I've been playing around with back-button focusing and shooting wide open. Her posing is a little cheesy--maybe she's going to work at Kiddie Kandids someday. But in the end, she's my beautiful girl and I like the shot because of that.</p>Betseeeehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/04306554975923573840noreply@blogger.com19tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3402469.post-22887889615320274272010-08-06T21:44:00.005-04:002010-08-06T21:44:50.443-04:008/41/0 Bacon, it's what's for dinner<div style="text-align: left; padding: 3px;"><a href="http://www.flickr.com/photos/betseeee/4862137356/" title="photo sharing"><img src="http://farm5.static.flickr.com/4075/4862137356_c8054115b6.jpg" style="border: solid 2px #000000;" alt="" /></a><br /><span style="font-size: 0.8em; margin-top: 0px;"><a href="http://www.flickr.com/photos/betseeee/4862137356/">8/41/0 Bacon, it's what's for dinner</a>, originally uploaded by <a href="http://www.flickr.com/people/betseeee/">betseeee</a>.</span></div><p>Who can argue with a BLT, even if you have to put it on a hot dog roll?</p>Betseeeehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/04306554975923573840noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3402469.post-7359376813940406212010-08-06T21:44:00.003-04:002010-08-06T21:44:32.305-04:008/3/10 Ice poppin'<div style="text-align: left; padding: 3px;"><a href="http://www.flickr.com/photos/betseeee/4858540377/" title="photo sharing"><img src="http://farm5.static.flickr.com/4079/4858540377_5265694fd8.jpg" style="border: solid 2px #000000;" alt="" /></a><br /><span style="font-size: 0.8em; margin-top: 0px;"><a href="http://www.flickr.com/photos/betseeee/4858540377/">8/3/10 Ice poppin'</a>, originally uploaded by <a href="http://www.flickr.com/people/betseeee/">betseeee</a>.</span></div><p>I still had peach puree (no rum added!) left after making the daiquiris the other night, so I used it to lure them off the beach today. After baths and dinner (which you will note they didn't bother to dress for) we put it in the Zoku. I was pronounced "best mom ever" by Miss Lilly here. :)</p>Betseeeehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/04306554975923573840noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3402469.post-17610126471686000532010-08-06T21:44:00.001-04:002010-08-06T21:44:09.649-04:008/2/10 Swinging into the night<div style="text-align: left; padding: 3px;"><a href="http://www.flickr.com/photos/betseeee/4855298277/" title="photo sharing"><img src="http://farm5.static.flickr.com/4138/4855298277_3a3d40a1e2.jpg" style="border: solid 2px #000000;" alt="" /></a><br /><span style="font-size: 0.8em; margin-top: 0px;"><a href="http://www.flickr.com/photos/betseeee/4855298277/">8/2/10 Swinging into the night</a>, originally uploaded by <a href="http://www.flickr.com/people/betseeee/">betseeee</a>.</span></div><p>We spent most of the day at our friends' house, swimming. Then the kids watched a movie, and by the time it was over, it was almost 7pm. Got a text from my husband that he would be home by 8:30, so I decided to throw caution to the winds, and suggest to my friend that we go up to Crab Meadow (5 minutes from her house) and watch the sunset. Clouds on the horizon made that kind of a bust, so I decided to play with silhouettes. That was actually pretty tough, too, because of the low clouds. This was the best I could do, achieved by lying on my back, propped up by the backpack I was wearing, between Kate's (pictured) swing and Lilly's. I deserve hazard pay for this one, except I don't get paid for this. ;)</p>Betseeeehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/04306554975923573840noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3402469.post-88049203475012602402010-08-06T21:43:00.005-04:002010-08-06T21:43:44.161-04:007/31/10 Sophie<div style="text-align: left; padding: 3px;"><a href="http://www.flickr.com/photos/betseeee/4855914674/" title="photo sharing"><img src="http://farm5.static.flickr.com/4141/4855914674_c92f474429.jpg" style="border: solid 2px #000000;" alt="" /></a><br /><span style="font-size: 0.8em; margin-top: 0px;"><a href="http://www.flickr.com/photos/betseeee/4855914674/">7/31/10 Sophie</a>, originally uploaded by <a href="http://www.flickr.com/people/betseeee/">betseeee</a>.</span></div><p>I was so close to her that only one eye ended up perfectly sharp at 2.8. But she's no less gorgeous for it.</p>Betseeeehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/04306554975923573840noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3402469.post-80088349438769187662010-08-06T21:43:00.003-04:002010-08-06T21:43:23.464-04:008/1/10 Good use of CSA fruit<div style="text-align: left; padding: 3px;"><a href="http://www.flickr.com/photos/betseeee/4855915624/" title="photo sharing"><img src="http://farm5.static.flickr.com/4123/4855915624_eaa7ffe23a.jpg" style="border: solid 2px #000000;" alt="" /></a><br /><span style="font-size: 0.8em; margin-top: 0px;"><a href="http://www.flickr.com/photos/betseeee/4855915624/">8/1/10 Good use of CSA fruit</a>, originally uploaded by <a href="http://www.flickr.com/people/betseeee/">betseeee</a>.</span></div><p>We had a lot of wonderful organic peaches that were perfectly ripe and probably overripe by morning. I told Ryan I was going to puree them so we could make ice pops. He said he had been hoping I would say daiquiris. You don't have to ask me twice--threw some ice in, grabbed the last bit of rum we had in the house, and there ya go. Delicious!</p>Betseeeehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/04306554975923573840noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3402469.post-4211925897948305122010-08-06T21:43:00.001-04:002010-08-06T21:43:03.523-04:007/30/10 Not-so-dirty dancing<div style="text-align: left; padding: 3px;"><a href="http://www.flickr.com/photos/betseeee/4855283485/" title="photo sharing"><img src="http://farm5.static.flickr.com/4119/4855283485_e31f50d0bb.jpg" style="border: solid 2px #000000;" alt="" /></a><br /><span style="font-size: 0.8em; margin-top: 0px;"><a href="http://www.flickr.com/photos/betseeee/4855283485/">7/30/10 Not-so-dirty dancing</a>, originally uploaded by <a href="http://www.flickr.com/people/betseeee/">betseeee</a>.</span></div><p>I looked at this photo and all I could think of was the scene where Johnny Castle tells Baby "This is my dance space. This is yours. You don't go into mine. I don't go into yours." <br /><br />That philosophy is completely alien to twins, by the way.</p>Betseeeehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/04306554975923573840noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3402469.post-65512294480324044632010-08-06T21:42:00.001-04:002010-08-06T21:42:23.239-04:007/29/10 Princess My Ride<div style="text-align: left; padding: 3px;"><a href="http://www.flickr.com/photos/betseeee/4842818918/" title="photo sharing"><img src="http://farm5.static.flickr.com/4149/4842818918_aa1e44bea7.jpg" style="border: solid 2px #000000;" alt="" /></a><br /><span style="font-size: 0.8em; margin-top: 0px;"><a href="http://www.flickr.com/photos/betseeee/4842818918/">7/29/10 Princess My Ride</a>, originally uploaded by <a href="http://www.flickr.com/people/betseeee/">betseeee</a>.</span></div><p>I swear my kids have never watched MTV and never seen a stretch SUV with a swimming pool. Apparently, it's a universal desire to be able to swim while driving. Belle, Aurora, and the twin Ariels sure seem happy about it.</p>Betseeeehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/04306554975923573840noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3402469.post-102468364327689792010-08-06T21:41:00.003-04:002010-08-06T21:41:59.586-04:007/28/10 Monkey bar redux (209 of 365)<div style="text-align: left; padding: 3px;"><a href="http://www.flickr.com/photos/betseeee/4839137289/" title="photo sharing"><img src="http://farm5.static.flickr.com/4146/4839137289_cc7a80b4de.jpg" style="border: solid 2px #000000;" alt="" /></a><br /><span style="font-size: 0.8em; margin-top: 0px;"><a href="http://www.flickr.com/photos/betseeee/4839137289/">7/28/10 Monkey bar redux (209 of 365)</a>, originally uploaded by <a href="http://www.flickr.com/people/betseeee/">betseeee</a>.</span></div><p>This is Kate tackling the same set of monkey bars as Lilly did on May 20th. Different twin, different vantage point. I like the less-cluttered background. I was also pretty happy with myself for managing to (I think) nail the exposure in full sun with the sun at her back. At the very least, nothing was blown out. Golf claps, please!</p>Betseeeehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/04306554975923573840noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3402469.post-33708079196709012382010-08-06T21:41:00.001-04:002010-08-06T21:41:26.385-04:007/27/10 BFFs (208 of 365)<div style="text-align: left; padding: 3px;"><a href="http://www.flickr.com/photos/betseeee/4836335770/" title="photo sharing"><img src="http://farm5.static.flickr.com/4149/4836335770_f79e15a53e.jpg" style="border: solid 2px #000000;" alt="" /></a><br /><span style="font-size: 0.8em; margin-top: 0px;"><a href="http://www.flickr.com/photos/betseeee/4836335770/">7/27/10 BFFs (208 of 365)</a>, originally uploaded by <a href="http://www.flickr.com/people/betseeee/">betseeee</a>.</span></div><p>We went for an impromptu nature walk at the Sweetbriar Nature Center today. On the way back, I lagged behind just to watch them. This was not posed. <3<3</p>Betseeeehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/04306554975923573840noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3402469.post-23759202019039210112010-07-26T20:29:00.001-04:002010-07-26T20:29:21.958-04:007/26/10 Asharoken gull<div style="text-align: left; padding: 3px;"><a href="http://www.flickr.com/photos/betseeee/4832455056/" title="photo sharing"><img src="http://farm5.static.flickr.com/4107/4832455056_0de4cae91b.jpg" style="border: solid 2px #000000;" alt="" /></a><br /><span style="font-size: 0.8em; margin-top: 0px;"><a href="http://www.flickr.com/photos/betseeee/4832455056/">7/26/10 Asharoken gull</a>, originally uploaded by <a href="http://www.flickr.com/people/betseeee/">betseeee</a>.</span></div><p>As far as I can tell, there are two good ways to get a nice shot of a flying seagull. One involves a long lens, image stabilization, and luck. The other involves a couple of four-year-olds and a bag of tortilla chips. Guess which I used?</p>Betseeeehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/04306554975923573840noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3402469.post-23937825993669928002010-07-25T22:24:00.001-04:002010-07-25T22:24:27.021-04:007/25/10 Straw wars<div style="text-align: left; padding: 3px;"><a href="http://www.flickr.com/photos/betseeee/4828481745/" title="photo sharing"><img src="http://farm5.static.flickr.com/4142/4828481745_3f84873c2a.jpg" style="border: solid 2px #000000;" alt="" /></a><br /><span style="font-size: 0.8em; margin-top: 0px;"><a href="http://www.flickr.com/photos/betseeee/4828481745/">7/25/10 Straw wars</a>, originally uploaded by <a href="http://www.flickr.com/people/betseeee/">betseeee</a>.</span></div><p>When I'm filling out my Mother of the Year (MOTY) award application, please remind me to include "Taught children how to blow the wrapper off the straw and into other peoples' faces" under my achievements.</p>Betseeeehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/04306554975923573840noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3402469.post-77711341814325450452010-07-24T21:24:00.001-04:002010-07-24T21:24:43.921-04:007/24/10 Bowler over<div style="text-align: left; padding: 3px;"><a href="http://www.flickr.com/photos/betseeee/4824942131/" title="photo sharing"><img src="http://farm5.static.flickr.com/4079/4824942131_d992919d4c.jpg" style="border: solid 2px #000000;" alt="" /></a><br /><span style="font-size: 0.8em; margin-top: 0px;"><a href="http://www.flickr.com/photos/betseeee/4824942131/">7/24/10 Bowler over</a>, originally uploaded by <a href="http://www.flickr.com/people/betseeee/">betseeee</a>.</span></div><p>You'd think with that much windup, Lilly would have gotten some decent momentum on the ball. But we still had to wait a good minute-and-a-half before it managed to get down to the pins.</p>Betseeeehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/04306554975923573840noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3402469.post-53287335972960526842010-07-24T09:18:00.001-04:002010-07-24T09:18:33.201-04:007/23/10 Lilly of the backyard<div style="text-align: left; padding: 3px;"><a href="http://www.flickr.com/photos/betseeee/4823210067/" title="photo sharing"><img src="http://farm5.static.flickr.com/4140/4823210067_0e4ed355d6.jpg" style="border: solid 2px #000000;" alt="" /></a><br /><span style="font-size: 0.8em; margin-top: 0px;"><a href="http://www.flickr.com/photos/betseeee/4823210067/">7/23/10 Lilly of the backyard</a>, originally uploaded by <a href="http://www.flickr.com/people/betseeee/">betseeee</a>.</span></div><p>I just rented the 85mm 1.8. I think I'm in love with it. So much sharper than my other lenses.</p>Betseeeehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/04306554975923573840noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3402469.post-58842013698693469942010-07-22T21:06:00.001-04:002010-07-22T21:06:40.944-04:007/22/10 Sunflowers (203 of 365)<div style="text-align: left; padding: 3px;"><a href="http://www.flickr.com/photos/betseeee/4819276791/" title="photo sharing"><img src="http://farm5.static.flickr.com/4136/4819276791_86b34a093a.jpg" style="border: solid 2px #000000;" alt="" /></a><br /><span style="font-size: 0.8em; margin-top: 0px;"><a href="http://www.flickr.com/photos/betseeee/4819276791/">7/22/10 Sunflowers (203 of 365)</a>, originally uploaded by <a href="http://www.flickr.com/people/betseeee/">betseeee</a>.</span></div><p>There's a small farm and farmstand not too far from my house. Every summer they have a beautiful field of sunflowers, and every summer I think to myself that I'd like to photograph it. Today, the girls were at my parents, so I decided to just do it. I walked into the farmstand, asked one of the women who works there (who I think is part of the family that owns the farm) if I could take some photos of their beautiful sunflowers. I don't know what cynical part of me was expecting her to say no, but I'm glad it was wrong.<br /><br />There were a ton of bees out there, and I started getting a little freaked out after a few shots. I wanted one with more sky, but the direction of the sun was wrong. That whole thing about sunflowers turning to face the sun? Not true for all sunflowers. These were squarely pointed east while the sun was working its way west. So, the only decent angle included the utility poles and also required a pretty good amount of work in ACR to look right.</p>Betseeeehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/04306554975923573840noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3402469.post-34515178316297716192010-07-22T16:32:00.002-04:002010-07-22T16:39:11.776-04:007/21/10 Worth the trip<div style="text-align: left; padding: 3px;"><a href="http://www.flickr.com/photos/betseeee/4817222130/" title="photo sharing"><img src="http://farm5.static.flickr.com/4076/4817222130_fccf7d3e56.jpg" style="border: solid 2px #000000;" alt="" /></a><br /><span style=" margin-top: 0px;font-size:0.8em;"><a href="http://www.flickr.com/photos/betseeee/4817222130/">7/21/10 Worth the trip</a>, originally uploaded by <a href="http://www.flickr.com/people/betseeee/">betseeee</a>.</span></div><p><a href="http://www.theunnaturalmother.com/">Deanna</a> has convinced me to start blogging my 365 photo project. I debated starting a new blog, but the more I thought about it, I rather like this one as a document of betseeeevolution. I started this photo project on January 1st, and have gotten a lot of satisfaction out of it. Since I usually write a pretty good story on flickr, I'm just going to cut-and-paste the same here. Hope you enjoy!<br /><br />The girls and I spent the day swimming at the home of some really wonderful friends. When we left, Lilly really wanted pizza, and asked so nicely and with such longing that I agreed. As we walked out of the pizza place, a girl next to us looked up at the sky and went "Whoa!" It looked like Armageddon up there! We hurried back to the car.<br /><br />And then, like a good mama, I asked my girls if they wanted to take a ride with me up to the beach to see if we could take some pretty pictures (with them safely inside the car) of the storm clouds. Like good photo-mama daughters, they agreed, and off we went.<br /><br />The serious rain and thunder never actually materialized where we were, but the sky was glorious. And when we got back to our house, 8 or so miles south, the puddles were a good hint as to where the rain had actually gone.</p>Betseeeehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/04306554975923573840noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3402469.post-30667172012755788362009-06-25T09:00:00.002-04:002009-06-25T09:06:02.704-04:00Potty PartyWe've been dancing around the potty subject for weeks. Maybe months. A couple of weeks ago I tried putting them in panties, and had mixed results. Mostly, they would hold it for a really really long time, and then if I didn't say anything in time, they'd pee or poop in their panties. It wasn't very fun. My sofa, livingroom rug, and dining room floor were victimized. Even as late as this past Monday, they were fine for hours and then had accidents.<br /><br />Yesterday, something clicked. They both spent the entire day at home, accident-free. And I didn't have to remind anyone to use the potty (a strategy that I found highly ineffective, by the way). Throughout the day, I heard "I have to use the potty!" and they'd run on in. Sometimes they asked for help, but mostly they just went on up there and did what they had to do, and I just helped clean up and turned the faucet on for them to wash up. They acted like they'd been doing it for years.<br /><br />I never thought I'd be so excited about this whole thing. I thought I'd feel a little sad, even, that they are growing up so much. But I'm just happy! There are plenty of times I lament that I don't have little babies anymore, but this sure is not one of them. Their little tushies are so cute in their panties, too. When I pick them up, I feel squishy tushie instead of crinkly diaper. Nice!Betseeeehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/04306554975923573840noreply@blogger.com3tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3402469.post-16940581156484486862009-04-29T23:48:00.004-04:002009-04-30T00:00:33.058-04:00The mouths of babesMy latest fear about the girls is that they are going to say something which will be taken terribly out of context and lead to a CPS call. OK, I'm kidding, mostly. But you do hear crazy stories about misunderstandings leading to interventions, and really, they say some pretty bizarre stuff.<br /><br />A few months ago, I was pretending to eat Katie's cheeks, which I have done for years already. She loves it (and so do I - she has the smooshiest cheeks ever). "Eat my cheeks" turned into "eat my belly," and "eat my toes," and ended up in the inevitable "eat my bagina!" To which I had to reply "baginas are not for eating." That's the not-yet-published title in <a href="http://www.amazon.com/Hands-Hitting-Ages-Best-Behavior/dp/1575420775">this series</a>, of course. (And yes, yes, all you with dirty minds, I know...shush.)<br /><br />Tonight, they were running around naked after a shower (a recent habit - the shower rather than the bath) and Katie jumped up on my bed with me to snuggle. Of course I kissed her smooshy cheeks, and out of a clear blue sky she said "Kiss my bagina!" I replied something like "No, people don't usually kiss other people's baginas." She persisted, "But I want you to kiss it!" and once again, I had to refer to the literature and tell her "baginas are not for kissing."<br /><br />Later on, Lilly got into the act. She's commented on the past about Daddy's "wiggly tushie," which she sees when he gets out of the shower or she barges in on him in the bathroom. It only took a day for him to realize his wiggly tushie isn't a tushie at all. So tonight, he comes home from work, and excuses himself to go pee. Lilly says to him, "Your penis is always wiggling all over the place!" Um, OK. We just sort of ignored that one and hope it doesn't come up in public.<br /><br />I can't even remember what prompted the last of these special comments, but a little later in the evening, Katie told Ryan he had a "big, giant tushie." Now, I'm pretty sure his big giant tushie is not the wiggly one. Because she said she had a little tushie and I had a medium one, and none of those wiggle either.<br /><br />Shall we take bets on how long I have until one of these gems slips out in public? We'll be at Gymboree in the morning...Betseeeehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/04306554975923573840noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3402469.post-14989269247548253692009-04-12T11:35:00.004-04:002009-04-12T11:42:48.292-04:00This, too, shall passSometimes the thought comforts me. Mostly in the middle of a tantrum, or when I have to lie in their bed for 45 minutes (starving because I decided not to eat dinner with them and wait for Ryan because I thought they'd go to bed easily and early) to get them to go to sleep. Or when they freak out about brushing their teeth, or I have a night where they wake me up 4 times between midnight and 7am.<br /><br />But the rest of the time, it makes me ache. Because along with all those trials, some of my favorite things will pass. The feeling of a plump, bouncy little cheek smooshed up against mine. Getting 15 kisses, on the mouth, when I ask for one. Waking up in the morning (even after the 4 times) and having two little bodies wiggling around and snuggling with me.<br /><br />It drives me crazy when I am trying to unload the dishwasher, or cook a meal, or just get a little computer time, and they won't leave me alone. A hundred requests for this and that. All I want is a break!<br /><br />But someday that break is going to come, and when it does, that will be it. There's no other baby waiting in the wings for me to snuggle--they're a one-shot-deal. And in a few years, they're going to be young women, with their own lives, their own interests, and no smooshy cheeks for me. How am I supposed to reconcile with that?Betseeeehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/04306554975923573840noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3402469.post-81832174019379728832009-03-27T13:12:00.004-04:002009-03-27T13:27:06.324-04:00EDDThree years ago today was technically my EDD (Estimated Due Date). In some ways, it's silly to even consider it as a date at all--who gives birth on their due date, especially with twins? But it's yet another milestone and one I can never forget. My girls were 11 weeks old on their EDD. Instead of newborn pictures on that day, I have this sweet scene.<br /><br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhpcYbpl64qWYfcaXWbtIVVEs-xTfyMmcwmiIU5jcU7dfha76NfsBmXiHHigptIwFg0_2oC4FAwgqwrIqDjvfChRS4voHLJfKQJAMRHqGAFcxL0J4bGw0wMewhhWXR5qwkMMRfsCA/s1600-h/IMG_0008.JPG"><img style="cursor: pointer; width: 320px; height: 240px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhpcYbpl64qWYfcaXWbtIVVEs-xTfyMmcwmiIU5jcU7dfha76NfsBmXiHHigptIwFg0_2oC4FAwgqwrIqDjvfChRS4voHLJfKQJAMRHqGAFcxL0J4bGw0wMewhhWXR5qwkMMRfsCA/s320/IMG_0008.JPG" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5317917624976578850" border="0" /></a><br /><br />That's obviously Katie on the left with the nasal cannula.<br /><br />I seem to have a lot of pregnant friends right now. Not so many in "real" life, but a lot of good friends I know online, many of whom I have met in person, too. One announced her pregnancy today, via Facebook status, and I am thrilled for her. She has had an incredibly hard road following the birth of her first child, and there was a big question whether she'd even be able to have another. Her news put a huge smile on my face.<br /><br />And then it got me crying. Such is life. I think I've written here before that I don't really want to have any more children. My family is absolutely complete with my two incredible daughters. I feel like we are completely in balance and have no real desire to throw that off.<br /><br />But I still feel a little sad thinking about never being pregnant again. And somehow seeing so many people have second children brings that out more than those having their first. I really really loved being pregnant. I was sick for most of the first 15 weeks, and exhausted, but I really relished all those strange feelings. Part of that was probably because once we found out it was twins, I knew it was a one-shot deal. So I enjoyed my growing belly, the OB appointments, the ultrasounds, the planning--all of it. It was entirely novel and special and then it was cut short.<br /><br />If you're only going to be pregnant once, you should at least manage a full 9 months.Betseeeehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/04306554975923573840noreply@blogger.com37tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3402469.post-67682777637229025452009-03-25T15:11:00.002-04:002009-03-25T15:25:33.554-04:00Vacation and recoveryYou have to love it when someone says she's going to post more often, then takes another month-long hiatus. It probably wasn't so bright to say that 3 days before leaving for a 10-day Florida/Disney vacation extravaganza. We had a great time, though!<br /><br />Learned a few things about our kids. Lilly's petrified of fireworks and pretty much any dark ride, especially if it includes loud noises. That kid is really sensitive to noise. Even Mickey's "Philharmagic" 3D movie scared the crap out of her, as did "Winnie The Pooh's adventures," and pretty much every other indoor ride. Let's not even talk about "Pirates of the Caribbean." She did love "It's a Small World" enough that we rode it twice and if you ask, that's her favorite thing at Disney.<br /><br />We also learned that both of them love shrimp. That took some of the sting out of paying something like 13 bucks apiece at a buffet meal. They probably almost ate enough shrimp each to break even.<br /><br />All the conventional Disney wisdom says that the kids will be more intimidated by the animal characters, because they don't have a human face to look at, but we found the opposite. They were totally at ease with Tigger and Pooh, but got tongue-tied around their Princess idols. Well, not so tongue-tied that Lilly didn't ask Princess Ariel if she poops in the water. Yes, she did. She had asked about that a few days prior, so I said she could ask Ariel when she meets her. And then I reminded her about it that day, not thinking she'd have the temerity to do so. Apparently, I misjudged my daughter. Ariel was entirely flustered and I let her off the hook by suggesting that they have special mermaid toilets for that.<br /><br />Prior to Disney we spent several days in Fort Lauderdale and Miami visiting with Ryan's father and his sister's family. It was a blast to see the girls playing with their cousin Conner again, and they all had such a great time together. We're talking about getting together somewhere down South the first week in August, maybe renting a house on the beach somewhere within a reasonable drive of Atlanta, where my mother-in-law lives. We'll see what we manage.<br /><br />I took 600 pictures in Florida. It's really hard to just pick a representative few. But here they are, anyway.<br /><br />Kate in white, Lilly in pink (not to be confused with Piglet in pink)<br /><br /><a href="http://www.flickr.com/photos/betseeee/3345237407/" title="2009_march06_disney 254 by betseeee, on Flickr"><img src="http://farm4.static.flickr.com/3305/3345237407_a793163408.jpg" width="375" height="500" alt="2009_march06_disney 254" /></a><br /><br />Kate on Daddy's lap, Lilly on mine, on the Jungle Cruise<br /><br /><a href="http://www.flickr.com/photos/betseeee/3346071638/" title="2009_march06_disney 232 by betseeee, on Flickr"><img src="http://farm4.static.flickr.com/3636/3346071638_e945a8702c.jpg" width="500" height="375" alt="2009_march06_disney 232" /></a><br /><br />Kate's dressed as Sleeping Beauty (in pink), Lilly as Cinderella (blue). Belle's dressed as Belle.<br /><br /><a href="http://www.flickr.com/photos/betseeee/3345236209/" title="florida_march_2009 109 by betseeee, on Flickr"><img src="http://farm4.static.flickr.com/3637/3345236209_4e2d52996b.jpg" width="500" height="333" alt="florida_march_2009 109" /></a><br /><br />With Cinderella.<br /><br /><a href="http://www.flickr.com/photos/betseeee/3346070254/" title="florida_march_2009 102 by betseeee, on Flickr"><img src="http://farm4.static.flickr.com/3376/3346070254_34d462f0e5.jpg" width="333" height="500" alt="florida_march_2009 102" /></a><br /><br />Lilly on the beach.<br /><br /><a href="http://www.flickr.com/photos/betseeee/3345233767/" title="florida_march_2009 048 by betseeee, on Flickr"><img src="http://farm4.static.flickr.com/3655/3345233767_3275ffa4e8.jpg" width="500" height="333" alt="florida_march_2009 048" /></a><br /><br />Kate on the beach.<br /><br /><a href="http://www.flickr.com/photos/betseeee/3345233545/" title="florida_march_2009 037 by betseeee, on Flickr"><img src="http://farm4.static.flickr.com/3645/3345233545_a87a6817f3.jpg" width="333" height="500" alt="florida_march_2009 037" /></a>Betseeeehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/04306554975923573840noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3402469.post-58938120240027588392009-02-24T22:33:00.003-05:002009-02-24T23:10:12.398-05:00Random things I'm loving right nowI hope you're not expecting an explanation (excuse?) for my absence the past couple of months. There isn't one. I was just busy and distracted and feeling a little lazy about writing, I suppose. That's all. I thought I'd come back today and jot down a few things.<br /><br />I've spent the past several years on a few different message boards, all of which grew out of the wedding forums on theknot.com. I've gotten a lot out of those boards. Some aggravation for sure, but so much more in terms of friendship and knowledge. I've met a pretty good number of the women on my boards, in places as far apart as NYC, Kansas City, Ann Arbor, and Raleigh. Probably other places, if I really sit and think about it. We talked each other through getting married, getting pregnant, having babies, raising kids, and in some cases, ending those marriages. There are things I've told the ladies on the boards that I would never ever blog about, and probably wouldn't tell a lot of my real-life friends. When my babies were born so early, a large group (25 or so) of them get together and sent me a huge box, which contained the only "baby shower" I'll ever have. In return, I shared with them the horrifyingly embarrassing photos of my one-week postpartum miserably exhausted self opening the gifts. I think I got the better end of that deal.<br /><br />Anyway, the boards lived on MSN Groups, and this past October MSN announced that they were shutting down the boards. There were various archiving schemes, and some of the boards did get archived on other sites. And we migrated to other hosting sites going forward, so it's not like we're not all still able to communicate. But not everything got archived. I went through all my posts on one of the baby-related boards and copied every post I started for the past 3.5 years - since I found out I was pregnant. I have a word doc hundreds of pages long. But I couldn't copy every reply I made in every post, and I know countless little bits of information have been lost. There were milestones and stories about the girls that I probably only posted there, and now I will never read them again. It makes me sad if I think about it too hard, and I am trying not to.<br /><br />So, I'm trying to keep up this blog going forward. I wish so much I had blogged during my pregnancy and first years with the girls. I wish I had done a handwritten journal, written in the form of letters to my babies. I bought one - the day I found out it was twins, I bought a beautiful journal at Barnes & Noble. But not too long after that, I had a scare and thought I might lose one or both babies, and I couldn't bear to start writing to babies that may or may not ever exist. And then they were OK but I started thinking how can I write one journal for 2 people - who will get to keep it when I die? Will they argue over it? (Yes, really, pregnant women <span style="font-style: italic;">are </span>crazy.) And then it was so late into my pregnancy that it seemed silly to start writing now - if you can't start at the beginning, why bother? I can think of a million reasons now. Not everything has to be perfect to be worthwhile. So, from here on in, I'll try and record more of this life here.<br /><br />To that end, here are just a few of my favorite things right now about Lilly and Kate.<br /><br />Lilly:<br /><ul><li>Says "Yes ma'am" and I have no idea where she picked that up.</li><li>If you ask her if she wants something, she replies with a jaunty "Sure!" just like her mama</li><li>Loves to ue the word "certainly" as in "I certainly like Cinderella."</li><li>Told me tonight that she liked the bourbon chicken I made for dinner because "It's nice and saucy."</li><li>Tells me "I like to sleep without you mom (she calls me "Mom" lately). And with you. But I like to sleep without you" and then proceeds to climb into my bed every. single. night. sometime in the wee hours.</li><li>Turned to me while eating eggs I had cooked in heart-shaped bread "frames" on Valentine's Day and said "Thank you for making this for me, Mom."<br /></li></ul>Kate<br /><ul><li>Has trouble saying "Fl" or "Fr" and "Thr" at the beginning of words, so she plays with her "shrineds," likes pretty "slowers," and loves to "sly" her fairies "shrough" the air. She's also very excited to go to "Slorida" on vacation at the end of this week. I love to try and get her to say any of these words, because she sounds so stinking cute when she says them. I'll be sad when she starts saying them correctly. Last summer she said "corn" with 2 syllables, so it sounded like "Cah-rin" and I miss it every time I hear her say "corn" now.<br /></li><li>Loves to tell me what her sister likes. If Lilly is eating something, it's "Mommy, Lilly loves macaroni and cheese!" Or "Lilly likes her Cinderella doll." It's hard to describe, but when she says it, she's so thrilled to make this report that it gives me the giggles.</li><li>Comes into our bed every night, usually a few hours prior to Lilly. I'm always frustrated at the interruption (she often times it 2 minutes before the end of a TV show we're watching on Tivo) but then when she lays down and I snuggle in close and put my cheek against her cheek...I melt.</li><li>Thinks (and well tell you) that anything on TV that isn't one of their familiar Noggin or Disney Channel shows is "inaccrocriate." Apparently she told Grandma this about a commercial the other day and made her turn it off.<br /></li></ul>Both of them have become so lovey with each other. They fight plenty, of course, but they will spontaneously run up to each other and hug and kiss or tell each other "I love you" several times a day. It makes my heart want to burst.<br /><br />They are exhausting. They don't stop talking from wakeup to bedtime, some days. They don't sleep through the night. They rarely nap more than one hour, and many days not at all lately. They take 30 minutes to get from the livingroom and down the steps into their carseats because they have to examine 20 things and ask me 20 questions on the way. They never seem to eat when I think they are hungry, and then when I think they're not, they ask for snacks all day long. They bite each other. They hit each other. They scream at me. They ignore at least 75 percent of what I say to them.<br /><br />None of that really matters when I sit down and have a moment to think about the wonders that live inside them. When it's quiet, and they're not climbing on me, I can ponder what an incredible gift these little girls are, and how lucky I am to be their mother. They take everything I ever imagined about having a daughter and magnify it x 1000.Betseeeehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/04306554975923573840noreply@blogger.com3