Pardon the interruption....

It's pretty incredible that this will be the first post for 2012!! YIKES..if I could insert a shocked smiley face I would. But seriously every time I sit down in front of a computer I hear "MOMMY" sometimes in stereo and sometimes in surround sound (especially since Camila started saying mami). So I've decided not to sit at a computer to blog anymore. Apparently if the peanuts can see me trying to do something they immediately need SOMETHING-like juice because they're literally dying of thirst- or need to TELL me something imporant- like Teeka and Pooka (they are the imaginary people who play with the twins) are not listening- or just feel the need to say "MOMMY!!" because it sounds nice. NOT. I decided to become a mobile-blogger! And finally Blogger decided to get-an-app-for-that. Thanks guys better late than never ;O) So here you go now I can blog from my phone or tablet or iPad. I have no excuses now right?! Well that's probably not true but bare (or is it bear?) with me while I just blog on the run. There's lots of things brewing for me lately so free time is such a rare commodity these days!! Ok so what have my peanuts been up to since the start of 2012???...Well I did say BIG things would be happening this year and I haven't been wrong so far.
 

We had a great start to 2012 and rung in the year with some fun friends and the kiddos celebrated their very first New Year's Eve actually AWAKE. I should also add I was awake too. J & I usually pass out around 11ish. I'm hoping ringing in 2013 will be much of the same.

And then of course we're always busy with school projects or events or something I've committed to doing because I'm a class parent and feel the need to overdo all of their school events. But SECRETLY I jump at every opportuntiy that I can to do some kind of crafting since I really have no time to seriously pursue "hobbies." So here was our Valentine's Day crafts with the girls :)

 

Winter finally ended and spring arrived. Which means...

-Nice days
-Flowers
-Itchy Sneezing and Watery Eyes

But aside from all of the above, to me it always means New Life....Precious Precious Life! All of my girls were born in the Spring. Therefore for me it will forever remind me of bringing little lives into the world. It will remind me to be thankful for my little peanuts because each one of them is a blessing and nothing short of a miracle. They were the answer to many many months of praying to be a mom and to have the privilege of holding a baby of my very own in my arms.

Camila turned 1...wow I still can't believe it and we did it up pretty BIG (again another opportunity for some crafting). Why? Because first birthdays are just that a FIRST so it's huge! I also like to celebrate the fact that I survived the very first year of my little one's life. That first year is such a doozy & a blurr that you're lucky to get out alive with all of your senses in tact. Well maybe not ALL of your sense..your memory definitely starts tanking & your hearing definitely takes a nose dive. Between not hearting things I should and hearing things I shouldn't, there are days when I totally feel like I am certifiably nuts. I walk around paranoid looking to see if men in white suits will come and take me away in some unmarked vehicle.

It's been interesting how the twins have adjusted to a new baby in the house. I worried, of course. Would they welcome their little sister into their twin-circle-of trust? Would they acknowledge her or ignore her?  The twins have always had each other and there's no denying the special bond they have with each other sometimes to a fault. So I wondered if they would know how to bond with someone else like they do each other?

When Camila was born I could tell the twins were in a bit of shock. Cati, being the curious and adventurous greeted the baby head on. She stared and tried to touch her and asked her expected questions and she was good. Valentina being a little more reserved and observant from afar decided she wasn't ready for an up close and personal meeting yet. By the time we got home the twins understood that THIS was the baby inside my belly that resembled a beach ball for what seemed like months & months on end. They also realized that the baby was moving in...there was some protest over how much space she takes up.

A year later, they have fully adjusted to their role as big sisters. From the beginning they try to help in many ways and they are very protective of her and are quick to alert me each time that "CAMILA IS CRYING AGAIN!!!" or "CAMILA IS STUCK IN THE CHAIR!!" or "CAMILA IS CLIMBING THE TABLE AGAIN!!!" That now translates to hearing "MOMMMMMMY!' a few thousand times more a day because they need to report everything that Camila is doing or they're trying to talk to me while Camila is having a breakdown. And now that Camila is fully mobile we have entered a new phase, one that is nothing short of massive chaos.  Mornings have been especially interesting with 2 adults trying to manage 2 kids getting ready for school, a baby that needs to be fed, and 2 dogs that need to get walked and fed too! I'm not gonna lie the dogs usually get the short end of the stick...walks turn into 10 minute sprints. I know, the guilt is suffocating. The evenings are not much different.

I worried about Camila's big birthday party...the whole jealousy thing about her having her own party and the twins having to share a birthday. I was incredibly surprise how excited they were about Camila's party. They helped out with all the preparing and the goody bags was ALL them! They wanted to be in charge of that because that's pretty much the highlight of any party in case you didn't know. They did great & the party was fantastic! Camila held up the whole time without interruption like a rock star!!












Next on the list was another party...my twinkies turned 4!!! :insert shock smiley face: I feel like the wind gets knocked out of me when I see how much they've grown. They're 4 now and for all us it's been a big deal.








They know that 4 means they're not babies anymore and it also means they've advanced to PreK 4. My time with them has certainly changed. We actually do things together rather me just doing things for them. We "talk" to each other and have conversations (or insane irrational conversations but whatever) rather than just talking at them. We talk talk talk about everything and anything and it doesn't end until they close their eyes for bed.  I'm not kidding. Shopping with them has changed too. Gone are the days where I stick 'em in the shopping cart and throw snacks at them as I whiz through a store before a major meltdown happens with somebody. They actually have opinions about what shoes they want and what types of gifts we should get for other people and picking out fruits and veggies at the supermarket. EVERYTHING is now a collaborative process & detailed discussion of opininons on all choices. I have to admit all this jabber can be EXHAUSTING and can very well drive you crazy but then I remind myself to enjoy this right now because there will come a time when they won't want to talk to me anymore or go shopping with me because it's not cool or ask me a gazillion different questions on everything and anything because they will believe they know it all. I know one day mommy will always be wrong about EVERYTHING but right now mommy has all the answers & that makes me happy :)



So YES being the peanuts mom can make me well NUTTY...and yet still I can't imagine my life without the 3 of them....the extra child in the pic is not mine :) LOL.