Free DINNER!!!

Tonight we hit Taco Bell for 5 free tacos and then we went to Chipotle for 3 FREE burritos. Wow, was it a yummy day. We won't talk about the caloric intake.

And the Crazy Sleeping Gene Takes Hold on Yet Another

I've blogged about my crazy family and this weird sleeping gene that has evidently passed from my husband to Boy Wondertwin. See here.
Well, evidence suggests that Little Dude has also been overcome by the crazy sleeping gene.

We found Little Dude like this at about 10PM. I went into his room before I went to bed. I panicked a little because he wasn't in his bed, under his bed or anywhere on the floor. I then searched the house including all bedrooms. No Little Dude.
I returned to his bedroom and opened the closet. This is what I found.





Should I be fearing the future in this home? I may need to start deadbolting the doors at night...not so people don't break in but so that my family doesn't break out!

Krazy in Kindergarten

So there is this little thing going on in my twins' Kindergarten class and I don't like it. With 6 girls and 15 boys in the class, it appears that they are pairing off. My daughter comes home and tells me (over and over again) that her boyfriend is "so and so". She then goes on to name almost every girl in her class and who they are girlfriends' with. Here's the sad part.

On the way home the other day Boy Wondertwin (BWT) said, "Mom, I don't have a girlfriend."

I said, "That's okay. You're 5...you don't need a girlfriend."

BWT said, "But Mom, I don't really want a girlfriend but Kelly isn't my girlfriend".

Confused, I inquired, "Well, buddy, was Kelly ever your girlfriend? Did she tell you she was your girlfriend"

BWT answered, "Well, we painted together during free time so I thought we were "boyfriends" but now she likes Mike."

A sad little pang hit me but I was also torn because let's face it. These kids are 5and it's just too early for drama and broken hearts.

At the class Halloween party I discovered who might be responsible for promoting this silliness. A mom leaned down to greet her daughter and she said, "Now show me which one is Doug". After the little girl showed him which one he was the mom responded, "Oh, baby, he is sooooo CUTE!!!"

Innocent puppy love is cute and I too remember chasing boys on the playground as a Kindergartener but maybe it's going too far when a 5 year old boy is lamenting over NOT having a girlfriend or another 5 year old girl is heartbroken because a certain boy has dumped her. Really?

My question is this...is this a normal part of growing up and typical of a Kindergartener or are there parents behind this (like the one mentioned above) egging this on? Can't we just enjoy our little ones right where they are?

P.S. All names have been changed to protect the innocent...or not so innocent.

Trick or Treat

Tonight was Trick or Treat. Don't ask me why it's on the 29th. I really have no idea. Interesting evening. My husband invited a family from Korea over for dinner. This is their 2nd year in the United States and they really knew nothing about trick or treating. They have a 3 year old son and a 4 month old baby.
We let the 3 year old pick (out of our play clothes bin) whatever he would like to wear. He chose a fireman costume.

So off we went into the wild blue yonder to snag some chocolate. You would not believe this little Korean boy. You would think he had been trick or treating for years. He ran like a banshee from house to house yelling "Trieee o Trea" "Triee o Trea". If you said anything to him he would say, "yea!".

My husband asked him if Elephants eat Jiraffes and he said "yea". His "yea" sounds quite fluent. Come to find out after a few random questions (like the elephant question) that he doesn't understand much English. All he knows he has learned on Noggin.

Anyway, it was fun to be a part of this little boy's first American experiences. He had a blast and his parents thanked us over and over again for hosting them. They said our home was the first American home they had ever been in...and they've been here for 15 months. Goodness. We were blessed to share our American culture with this family.

Happy Trick or Treat to you and yours.

They Know Me

Have you ever watched a show or a movie and felt like someone was peeking in your window or had cameras in your house for episode ideas?

The moment my husband and I caught our first glimpse of EveryBody Loves Raymond, we were sure that someone had written a show about our lives.

We are currently 1000 plus miles from the extended family but all the same, they might as well be next door. I just watched the epidode (via DVR) where Robert and his new wife return from their honeymoon and Marie (Ray's mom) is pestering her that she has yet to write her thank you notes.

I promise you...we had yet to even open our wedding gifts and J's mom was already obsessed about the thank you notes. We didn't even know what to thank them for yet but somehow I was supposed to have these written.

Don't get me wrong. I love my in-laws and they are truly wonderful people but at the same time, I'd pretty convinced that someone was spying on us when this show was written. Scary.

Bzz Bzz Bzz

I'm still doing BzzAgent and wanted to let you in on an awesome shampoo! AVEENO NOURISH + Hair Care is a new line by AVEENO (Get your free sample here). I've always trusted this brand and had positive experiences. This shampoo/conditioner combination is excellent. I've been trying a lot of different brands recently including Pantene, Tresemme, Arbonne and others.

While I've always gone back to Pantene after a brief stint with others, I may stick with AVEENO for a while. It's that good. There are a few different verisions including moisturizing and volumizing. It's worth a trial.

If you haven't checked out BzzAgent yet, it's worth a trial. This Bzzcampaign provided free shampoo and conditioner (full sized bottles) as well as coupons and samples. Check it out!

Acne at 35?

Yep, I'm 35 and I've just encountered my first bout with acne. And yes, I'm bitter. I finally bit the bullet and made a dermatologist appointment yesterday. I was able to get in the same day for what I thought would be a little tlc and sympathy.

Nope.

Friends I have with a lot of derm experience tell me that dermatologists have the least bedside manner of any doctor. I thought I'd get a "Wow, acne at 35? That stinks. Let's see how we can take care of that."

Instead she had no answers and basically rushed me out of her office. Good news is that she gave me Retin A which will take care of those minor lines and wrinkles that I've recently developed. Since I received my prescription 48 hours ago, 2 friends have already tried to swipe my Retin A. I guess it's a valuable "street" drug. =)

A good friend seemed to think that the breakouts were a result of all the working out that I do. Unfortunately the Dermatologist had no answers for me nor did she want to even think about the cause. Drugs are the answer I guess. It's disturbing to me that doctors aren't concerned with causes...only making the problem go away.

So the teenage years are still raging here. I'll keep you posted on the results.

Out of Style?

Okay so I've never been labeled "best dressed" but I do try to stay with the times to a certain extent. I mean...I didn't fall for the UGGS trend and there is no way I'm hitting the skinny jeans but I try to brush my hair, put on light make-up and look presentable in public.

I get little comments from my kids once in a while, generally regarding my garb. Once in a while one of the boys will tell me I'm pretty. It always feels good to hear it from my sons. Hubby throws out compliments when he thinks of it or feels like he should but you know how it is after 12 years of marriage.

Often during the Winter I wear black ankle boots that have a nice heel. I've found that they are versatile and dress up a pair of jeans. I have a pair of brown ones too. These are my 2 favorite shoes and on any given day, chances are good that I'm rocking one of these two pairs. They are comfortable and bordering on stylish.

Yesterday we went on a field trip to a working historical farm. I chose not to wear the boots with heels due to our activities. We hiked through the whole farm, dodged horse manure and played in a barn. The shoes I chose are brown Eastlands that I've owned for a million years. I'm not proud of them but hey, we were going to a farm.
Girl Wondertwin looked down at my shoes and said, "Mommy, I didn't want to tell you this but those are really BAD shoes. They are just ugly. Maybe you shouldn't wear them anymore". Yep, she's 5.

I have to agree with her though, they aren't attractive but this day in age, can't anything be pragmatic? I was trying to follow the rule of no gym shoes with jeans and I get tagged (by a 5 year old!) with an unattractive shoe comment.

What really makes me nervous is that she's only 5. That and you should see the outfits she puts together. I wouldn't call her the next "Rachel Zoe" anytime soon.

My How Times Have Changed

So I was sitting in the dermatologist's office today and I overheard the following conversation between a mother and daughter. "Would you like laser hair removal for your graduation present?"

Okay, so I have heard of students receiving a computer or a printer but laser hair removal?

Interesting.

I'm looking for something to graduate from so I too can get laser hair removal as a graduation present. Hmm...

FREE Geotrax DVD

If your kids are Geotrax fans...or if you're just looking for a FREE Christmas present like me, sign up for THIS.
A few months back they were offering a free Barbie DVD that I have already received. I am looking forward to Geotrax. Gotta stuff another stocking!

Hack Hack Hack

It's hit. Whatever "it" is, it's here. Everyone is hacking here at our abode. What really stinks is that 2 of us caught a ridiculous cough in the middle of August. It lasted for almost a month for those 2 and passed onto 2 more. Just as Little Dude was getting over "the hack", his nose started running and he was sneezing like a bansch!

Now all 5 of us are feeling like crud and we sound like a really bad percussion band. I'm guessing it's not the pig flu since not one of us is down for the count. We're just "those people" who are getting shunned in public because of the hack.

I feel bad but seriously. You can't keep your kids in the house for 2 weeks while they recover from this nasty cold.

Speaking of cold, it is so freaking cold outside. We had a high of 55 degrees today. We average 67 for the middle of October. Generally we hit a week or two of Indian Summer as well. No such luck. It's just freaking cold. That could explain the hack. Dang Al Gore. What happened to Global Warming?

Oooohs and Ahhhs...

I guess I should be used to this by now but I'm not.

Today I went to a meeting for all the "Room Moms". The official title of the group of moms who are at the beckon call of the teacher at any given moment and who officially plans the holiday parties.

We were all sitting in a living room and introducing ourselves. You know the drill. Name, age of kids and teacher's name.

Halfway around the circle it was my turn. My name is KP and I have twins in Mrs. X's class. Before I could even finish my sentence I heard, "ooh, awe, ooh, twins ooh." It never ceases to amaze me. Given the number of twins in the world these days, it seems like a mom would need at least quads to produce that kind of reaction.

Yep, I'm super mom. Not.

SNL and The Nobel Peace Prize

The news from early this morning surprised even the president. It was announced that President Obama had won the prestigious honor and 1.4 million dollars.

The irony though is this...does Saturday Night Live understand something that the Nobel Peace Prize Committee does not?

HO HO HO!

I know I mentioned Christmas in October in an earlier post but Gheesh! I just saw a Santa commerical on CBS. Seriuosly? Christmas commercials already? I'm just not ready for this! I'm still in denial that FALL is here, much less Winter and Christmas. Anyone started their Christmas shopping yet? Guess it's time to make those lists and check them twice.

Advice to My "TO BE" Mom Friends

I probably have more advice on the tip of my tongue than any new or "to-be" mommy would every want. I'll spare you.

Here's my one piece of priceless advice. Enjoy your "alone" time in the bathroom now because once that baby comes you will never have more than 5 minutes in the bathroom again.

Take today for example. I was returning home from a workout and a workout spoiler (lunch at Chick Fila) and I REALLY had to go to the bathroom, if you know what I mean.

I had just sat down and started when I hear SCREAMS of AGONY coming from the garage. Little Dude had pinched his ENTIRE hand in the sliding door of the van! I hear, "I'm STUCK, Mommy, I'm STUCK".

What does a Mom do in this instance? It wasn't pretty but of course I got up and ran to the garage to rescue Little Dude from his agony. Amazingly he was very brave, and despite the bruises, he barely cried.

Isn't it crazy when they get REALLY hurt, they barely cry but when Big Brother taps them on the shoulder they scream like banschees?

Oh, I love being a mom.

Christmas Morning in October???

It might look like Christmas morning but it's really the morning after the twin sale. Every 6 months our twin club does a ginormous sale that does over 80,000 dollars worth of business in just 6 short hours. Friday night is open to multiple moms only and we have 2 hours to do some major damage.

I was able to find a lot of Polo, Hilfiger, Gymboree and other various brands for 1,2 and 3 dollars each. I also got a Little Tykes doll house FOR FREE!!! as well as a NICE booster seat, Ninja Turtles, Transformers, Lion figurines (12 of them to be exact) and all the Winter clothes the kids will be needing for under $200!

I love the twin sale. I just hope the kids understand that it is different than Christmas because it sure did look like Christmas morning!

So Much!

Tonight I am frantically tagging for the semi annual consignment sale. I'm a part of the mothers of twins club here in town and we have an amazing sale where over 80,000 dollars worth of STUFF is sold in about 6 hours. It's phenomenal what can be accomplished in a short period of time.

I'm busy tagging hundreds of items. So far my sale total will be $325 dollars worth (the club gets 10%) and I'm scouring the house, trying to find so much more. I just want to get this stuff out of my house. Primarily because I will be coming home tomorrow night with at least that much stuff.

Thankfully I'm selling some big stuff, including 2 tricycles, 4 bins full of clothes and another bin full of toys. As a minimalist, i love getting this stuff out of my house and it feels pretty good to get my kids' play clothes as well as some church clothes and severely discounted prices.

I'm using the sale while I can. I'm fully aware that my little ones will soon be big and won't be wearing consignment clothes for much longer. I already see my daughter's eyes lighting up when we pass Justice for Girls. I'm saving my pennies now so I can afford to dress them when their tastes are more expensive.