I think its high time to do a 'week in review' post. This is my first but I'm thinking that it might make a regular appearance, who knows. The purpose is to record a few of the um . . . interesting things. .I mean, how am I going to remember what a typical week was like during this phase of my life if I don't write it down?

Monday: I used a sitter so that I could go to a couple of appointments.  I hate spending $ on a babysitter for appointments--I want to use a babysitter so that she can be 'mom' for a couple of hours while I take a time out at starbucks to preserve my sanity (coincidentally that is what I am doing currently, thanks Maggie!). So, it was especially disappointing to use a sitter for a periodontist appointment (translation: a dentist that specializes in torture involving the gums) AND an OB/Gyn appointment. I'll spare you the gory details of both but neither was pretty.

The twins had their first swimming lesson (I had to wait until they were past the mommy and me swim class age since it's 2 vs 1 with twins AND there was no way I was squeezing into a suit and singing nursery rhymes in cold water while trying to get them to put their faces in the water, that is what baths are for in the Battles house) which was adorable to watch. Kudos to all of those parents out there that have been doing swimming classes since infancy--it is a lot of preparation and clean up for 30 minutes of splashing (I now wear my knee high rainboots for the occasion--looks silly but all the other moms are totally jealous of my ingenuity as they get soaked trying to shower their little swimmers) but hey, they loved it so I'm happy to do it.

Tuesday: Not much notable other than the routine of our new life which at this point involves a uniform of workout pants (not for working out these days, more like a 'dressy' version of sweat pants), nursing tank tops and a zip up fleece (easy access and the 'dressy' version of a sweatshirt).  I can't remember exactly what the kids and I did during the day but we had good friends over for dinner so it felt like a small return to normalcy.

Wednesday: Ben got a haircut in the morning which is entertaining because he cried for most of it since he is scared of the clippers. He doesn't struggle, just sits there and cries as if his heart is breaking--it is super cute. He perked up with a hair covered sucker though so we're all good.

A routine tune up for our furnace revealed a cracked heat exchanger which apparently means that carbon monoxide has been leaking into our house (we only moved in about 4 months ago).  So the furnace inspection lady said to me 'Ma'am, this is not safe for anyone, especially young babies', as I am holding Ben who communicates in curious george speak at this point even though he is nearly two (I think because he is stubborn and not related aforementioned carbon monoxide). She then proceeds to shut off my furnace!!  This inspection took place right before nap (they gave me a window from like 8a-8p of course of when they might be here) and delayed the kids nap--so as she is trying to show me a video of the cracked heat exchanger (I'll take your word for it lady) they were already melting down. I tried to get a hold of Ryan to convey the tragedy and he was unreachable for a bit--and then I found out that he was having lunch at one of our favorite restaurants while I was in the foxhole of parenting with shrapnel exploding all around. So my jealousy, frustration and a generous sprinkling of sleep deprivation caused my voice to waver when Ryan finally called back. I think my exact words were: I've had no sleep, the kids are mutiny-ing, our furnace is leaking carbon monoxide and this lady just shut our heat off!!!'  He showed up at home an hour later.

Thursday: Due to the furnace debacle and the fact that we have a home warranty we had to have a second furnace inspection and a second evaluation for what kind of furnace we needed. So, again with the window of time (what the heck is with that?) and trying to juggle the kids while listening to the prognosis of our furnace from yet another person.

I went to my first hot yoga class. Thankfully it is a dark studio otherwise I may have been told that the prenatal yoga class is on another day and shouldn't I be at that one? It was pretty packed and the yogis on my left and right were pretty darn lucky that I didn't fall on them because I came close a few times. It was oddly therapeutic and truly soothed my psyche (my psyche apparently thrives on working out and organization--I have an odd psyche).

Friday; Lydia started the day with a meltdown over not waking up early enough to watch 'Martha Speaks' on PBS. She screamed so much that she was not allowed to watch any other pre-preschool TV.  She was sitting and snuffling in Ben's room and Grace, who could have already gone downstairs for her meeting with curious george, was trying to soothe Lydia by saying "I will always be here for  you, I won't leave you". Lydia was moaning "It's all my fault" and Grace's reply was "I will not leave you--it is your fault though that you can't watch TV--but I won't leave you". Adorable.  However, she did watch TV even though Lydia could not so her promise was short lived.


I was late to pickup the girls at preschool and Lydia was of course in tears by the time I arrived. I was late because I picked the worst line at Costco (seriously, who still writes CHECKS in a store?)Ben had a well timed stinky diaper and then the crowning blow was when the guy in front of me at the light was sitting about 10 feet behind the white line and wasn't tripping the light.  I was patient for THREE light cycles before I finally got out of my car, ran up to his window, rapped on it and with as much kindness as I could muster (OK, I wasn't kind but I didn't use any degrading names like I wanted to) asked him if he could move forward to trip the light. He said with great irritation "OK, I'll give it a whirl" and finally it worked--shocking mister.

Also, the twins were put on a mandatory 24 hour ban from opening doors due to persistent fights/tantrums/screaming over opening or closing doors (as I said in my last post and I will keep saying--kids, they are just DOORS!!!!).  Sounds like a weird punishment I know but was oddly effective.

Saturday: Did our usual Saturday morning routine of breakfast out as a family and then we hand out our old iOS devices to the children so mom and dad can actually converse over our second cup of coffee (judge away, but adult conversation is vital to our very survival).

Ryan's sister, her husband and their 4 amazing kids came to visit us for the afternoon. Ben decided this was a good time to do a little mischief under the radar. He dumped cups and cups of dog food into Bocce's crate where she had been quarantined during the chaos. Johnny, his 3 year old cousin, did not participate but supervised the project. When I finally found them Bocce was no longer eating but was laying on a pile of dog food. Ben however was still shoving fistfuls of dogfood in his mouth with sheer delight. Bocce's stomach was huge and tight as a drum. She could barely walk and was sentenced to the backyard for the remainder of the evening. She was too full to even bark.  In the morning Ryan found her in her crate surrounded by piles of undigested dog food and she moved slowly for a good 24 hours. Ben also had quite a few dirty diapers the following day but was otherwise no worse for the wear.

Sunday:  Ah, the Lord's day. Ryan wasn't feeling great so I took the kids to church (minus Jack who stayed home) to church. When I picked up Lydia and Grace from their class I was told that they got into a fight (over plastic play food) and Lydia ended up biting Grace and drawing blood!  Usually when Lydia does something extreme like that it is because Grace did something equally as extreme first that was not witnessed by the nearby supervising adult. Needless to say that was a little embarrassing.

And so wraps up a highlights of a typical week in the Battles household.





This was from the summer but depicts Benson's love for dog food.