Teeth!

How did we not notice this? I casually stuck my fingers in A's mouth and discovered not one but two teeth! Bugs Bunny's big two bottom teeth are joined by medium top ones. The amount of teeth showing indicates that we missed this for a while. How can we live with her and not see her teeth? I guess it happens the same way that I noticed, just a couple of days ago, the little scrawny A is actually taller! than V. When does it all happen? On just over a week they will be ten months old and in two more blinks a year old. Whoa.

J The Hip Hopster

Today was J's last hip hop class and I got to watch the last ten minutes. While he was not wildly enthusiastic, he completed a whole routine and tried hard. My little hip hopster is growing up. M commented "they did a good job for their age." Oh so wise.

J the Pen Pal

This is the letter that he dictated to me for his friend who is on extended leave from school:

Dear C,
I wish you good luck at the country that you are in. I miss you C. I would like to know when we are going to have the sleepover. I hope the sleepover is soon. My birthday is between when you are coming back (Feb 28). I hope you make it to my birthday party. I think you missed out my hideout but I will show it to you when you come back. I have a present for you- here are the clues: it's something that is a toy and starts with "s" and it is very long and has a tail. I hope you come back soon. I wish you good luck. PS Try to guess what it is.
J

MoJo Lines

M to herself as she read- It would be a pleasure if they had page numbers.

M when I told her that we were going to the park- Finally, some free time with J!

J as we approached security at the museum- But I did not bring my gun.

J when I ignored his boo boo- People who do not care about children getting hurt are bad parents.

M when I told her we would not be having lunch with the friends that we went to the museum with- That is nonsense.

Quality Time

I got up very early and was no longer tired. I decided to come down and try to write in the baby journals and have some coffee. 1.5 minutes into my solo down time plan I heard A calling. I went up to get her out of the crib lest she wake another child. We cuddled, listened to music (she dances!), chatted (she babbles!) and had some am treats (coffee pour moi, cheerios and yogurt for her). One on one time is hard to come by in this household but always special. One hour into our project I hear another baby stirring. Off to get the chunkier monkey. Buona domenica!

MoJo's Letter to Santa

From J:

Dear Santa,

Can I have lots of wrestlers and remote control stuff with doors that open for my wrestlers and skate boards-for me and my wrestlers. Can you give me extra goodies like candy and toys that I like? Thank you. And I want to know if you are allergic to anything or if you have any pets and or can you go down the chimney with fire?

From M-

Dear Santa,

First of   all, I would like  it  if   you    stuffed       my     slippers    as     well     as     my       stockings. I   don’t   know   what   I   want   so   give     me   what     you      please.

The Sleepover Curse

J slept at abuela's house and is apparently sick with a fever. WTF? I had the good/bad idea of emptying a closet to see what I could throw away, recycle, donate. Now I am in chaos. F went to pick J up. M is giving herself a pedicure (she even separated her toes with toilet paper!) and after letting them cry for an hour, I took both babies out of the crib, sat on the floor, double nursed them (possibly for the last time ever) and was able to get up (no hands) put them in the crib and knock them out for a long awaited nap (go physical therapy- try to get up with no hands and two 18lbish babies hanging off of your chest). Off to clean/make more mess. Happy Saturday!
PS I watched A climb up the whole damn set of stairs from living room to upstairs- took under two minutes. V was crying on the bottom step, unable to go up even one step. This girl is fast! On Thursday she finally started "talking"- putting consonants and vowels together so as to avoid speech therapy!

Famiglia

We had Thanksgiving all  together today for the first time.  When I say all, I mean all. All of my siblings (the 7 of us had not been together since my wedding), parents and step-parents, my nucleus of six- tutti. The presentation of the meal was disorganized and lacked enough utensils etc but the food was good and we got many group shots in all sorts of permutations. The sorts of pictures where MoJo's kids will be looking at them in 30 years and ask "who was that again?" Kind of weird that every single man (spouse, sister's fiancé, both brothers, father, and stepfather) has a form of beard/moustache. Off to bed. Took the subway 9! times today, ate too much, saw a bad film (more on that later). Hasta mañana.
PS When counting the guests, M remarked that there were 16 of us (it was 18), 17 with the dog, and 18 with the turkey.

Food Chain!

This is part of the bounty my school collected for our annual Thanksgiving Food Chain. One of my favorite days of the year. Each child in the school lines up in age order (nursery sitting by the altar, followed by JK etc up into the lobby, up the street and into the church, where the 8th graders are) and passes along the food that we gathered for the local pantry and soup kitchen. After I got a Fresh Direct order delivered to school for MoJo's contribution M asked "Can we bring more? If were the people getting the food we would want us to bring more." So we did. More later!

Sleep!!!!

After many nights of torture- being sick always messes up all routines and progress for babies- there was SLEEP. I have been exhausted since last week/weekend, a sort of cumulative pile of rocks slowly being removed from me. Anyway, all you need to know is that they both went down at 5:45pm and I went to bed  at 11pm. I went to my old spot, near the wall, that traps me in and prohibits me from getting up easily (ie F was on duty). He said V did not make a peep until 5am (when I nursed him) and A cried for a few minutes twice and got up at 6:30am. Can I have a WOO WOO WOO HOO. If only we could make this routine. Babies, F and J are currently listening to Queen (not my favorite) on the bed. The crazy part is that A is rocking out, she is literally using her abs, neck, face, to feel the music and keep a beat. V learned a new trick yesterday too (F denies all of these because he never witnesses them). When L asks "Quién tiene hambre?" he raises his hand and makes a "yo" -like sound. Off to the food chain.

Still Wiped

I cannot motivate to blog.. the topics will continue to accumulate until I can focus.

Wiped

I feel like a truck hit me after last weekend. Only 1.5 more days of school until Thanksgiving break. Will blog when I can think. Babies came home in rubber underpants, we are not out of the shit woods yet!

Recent Banter

J- When you die, I will cry.
--
M- When I am old my butt will not be wrinkly because I will use special creams.
__
M on our apt/hospital- It smells like a farm in here.
__
J while we discussed food donations for our annual food chain.
Me- We need healthy foods.
J- Like sausage? Coffee?
__
When I told J to not push ahead of people (as he did it) while we were getting on the bus:
You mean because she is old?
__
As I began to ask J about why his teacher said he had misbehaved:
Skip that.
___
M: You have known me for a long time and you should know that I hate your comments after everything I say.

Survival

We are back. F is weak and A has diarrhea but other than that, I think we are on our road to normalcy. Babies slept NADA yesterday, so I was not surprised when they went to bed at 5:40pm. I was surprised, however, that we were still dealing with babies and bedtime at 8:15pm. Not as surprised and thrilled as when they were up BUSTING MY CHOPS from 1:50am until 4:10 am when F took over. V was the culprit, dedicated 100% to waking A up when he was not eating or crying or kicking the crib. J coughed all night. Let's just say that I am not well rested and that last night was not the night's sleep I was hoping for after my day as head nurse/entertainer. I look forward to the park and Costco today as the possible highlights of the weekend. Sad, I know.

J The Artist

F drew him the cop and motorcycle and J made this (in my opinion incredible) camel around it.
Then he showed me the camel's "contita."
Me- contita?
J- conchicha (more confidently)
Me- Oh, conchicha (word is "conchita")
J- He's a girl.

5 Min

may be all I have and in between folding three load of laundry that I know I will never put away, I thought I would blog for sanity's sake. Had to pick up M from her sleepover, where she puked at 3 am and at 6am. She had been awake since 3 am and is currently in her bed asleep with a garbage can next to her. F is dying in our bed with a garbage can next to him. AleVit asleep after a 1 hour smack down to get them to nap. Poor J, ill with only a cold and cough, had his plans canceled because 1. I cannot in good faith see anyone without warning them of our situation 2. I could not take him/pick him up from his movie plan anyway- it already felt very wrong to leave one baby and one child with F to go get M with V (man is he heavy!). Grandparents are both away, tío D asleep. Nobody should come here anyway I guess. This might be the only "break" of the day. I think I will take the younger 3 to the park later for some air. On the upside I do not have to prepare many meals because nobody can eat. On the downside, M is missing two birthday parties, all of our weekend plans are shot. How wise nature is to have let me be sick first so I can thoroughly enjoy the weekend with everyone else sick. AAAAHHH. I guess I will blog MoJo banter and about the service day at a later date. Need to make progress with laundry.

Back From The Dead

I was in agony yesterday with stomach cramps, nausea. Horrible. You really do not appreciate feeling well until you do not. I stuck it out at school (napping in bt classes in the nurse's office) and almost collapsed when I got home. Fatigue is rough. Especially when kids will not collaborate. Babies are still sick. They have been taking breaks but basically have vomiting or diarrhea every 24-36 hours since Monday. Good system since all schools/day care tell you to be vomit free for 24 hours before coming back. They are, and then they are not. After a night of fever and lots of bad sleep I am 90% better. Hope this bug does not strike the rest of the family but I fear it will. Stay tuned for news on the day of service at my school (my favorite) and recent MoJo banter (they are going to jail soon). Wash your hands and stay clear of this bug!

J's Dream

I had a dream that I was in a cartoon and I was whacking bad guys. V was my little captain and A was a judge. M was the assistant.

The Cherry

Just got home after triple tutoring. I waited for the M1 for so long that I thought I would walk (despite the rain) to the next bus stop. As I walked and talked on the phone a car splashed a huge puddle onto me. Head to toe. Into my mouth. Had not ever experienced that joy. Needless to say I walked and waited for over 20 minutes as the rain came down harder and harder. No FUCKING bus came (M1,2,3, or 4 could have passed) until the dreaded "next bus please" and then by the time I looked like a certifiable drowned rat, the bus came. I got to my third tutee late and she was even later. F texted me that he was running late as I tutored. Took a cab home, put MoJo to bed, he is still not home (8:19pm) and that is how I roll this week. Non-stop bullshit action sprinkled with moments of joy and love. Need to go shower, I am literally covered in dirty NYC water. When I came home to drop items off in between tutoring sessions I found V sitting (yahoo!) and A lying down, legs crossed, drinking a bottle. Who knew she could hold one? Off to bathe and pump and eat so I can go to sleep rinse and repeat.

Vomit Vomit

V puked his guts out on Mon night (I wore a dry river of crusted vomit on my neck all evening before realizing that that was where the smell was coming from). I did a no no and sent him to daycare on Tuesday and guess what? He was fine. He ate, slept, came home and did more of the same. This morning, I had wide open due to a field trip and I planned to finally get to a crap load of items that have been on my to do list for so long that I might as well call it my I will never do list. I turned the stroller seats to face each other and bundled AleVit in. I wondered why V was fussing as we waited for the elevator until SPLAT- he puked a liquid green vomit all over his stroller sleeping bag, his sister's (how nice that they were facing each other right?) and somehow all over the actual stroller (that is under the sleeping bag- seeped through seat belt hole?). Well, I spent the rest of the morning trying to figure out how to get coverage so that I could come to work. I came up with many complicated plans but luckily, in the end L came over. My screaming booger babies (they were literally bonkers non stop until she came at 10:30 minus their 28 minute nap) became smiley happy ones upon her arrival. I felt like I was their hostage (very hard to pee, type or call while holding two big cry babies) all morning, they literally would not let me put them down. Well, I am pumping, on my way to a triple tutoring (private- Street Squash-private). Never a dull moment yo yo.

Recent Comments

M on her new huge make up kit- It is not open to the public.

M on something that I did not allow her to do- I did not know it was abandoned (she meant banned).

J- When the babies are fifteen, can they go skydiving? (Turns to baby) I am not going, are you V? You are? But that is scary.

J to F- When you die will I be alive? (yes). Can I be buried next to you so we can stay together?

J to me- Can you be my math teacher and papi be my John Lemon teacher?

When I told J he needed a haircut- I do not want you to blazor my hair.

M to me- I do not want to bust your bonkers but...

(As we looked at art in a museum)

J- Was abuela S born in 1989?

Me- No.

J- Is papi from the 1600's?

J to F- I do not want you to clean my earwax. It helps the headphones stay in.

M when I turned off the taxi tv screen with the news ticker reading "grandma jailed after..."-
Now we will not be able to see her in the Big Apple Circus.

Me- We do not have tickets to that and it is not that grandma anyway.

M- Why do we need a ticket? Did we do something bad?

Trifecta

Well, what would you say if I told you that arriving to my own daughter's party late was not the worst thing that happened in the last 72 hours. I could be expansive and right you a short play about the last 72 hours, but I am currently gagging from the vomit I just cleaned up from the crib and poor V, who awoke 1.5 hours after bedtime covered in thick vomit. It looked like someone had splattered his baby food jar all over him. Well, Sunday was a real doozy. We planned to meet F's Italian relatives on the 2/3 platform at 34 St to go to the Brooklyn Museum. That would have been dandy if I had checked the damn MTA website. No 2/3 service on the weekend. After taking the same train that we took downtown UP and back, we proceeded to ride the colors of the rainbow to arrive, one hour and 40 minutes, yes the time that you can drive to another city in, to the exhibit. While it was lovely, you have to remember that each line change involves finding an elevator or hauling a humungous double stroller, babies in tow, up and down steps. Suffice it to say that we spent well over three hours on the train yesterday. This am, when I got to work I thought it strange to not have my daily love note on my desk, by where F leaves the pump. Guess what? I ran up to M's classroom thinking maybe he had left it there in a rush. At home? Nope, he took it to work! I spent another 1.5 hours on the train today to go retrieve this fucking artifact on 11th AVENUE and 25th St. No more mishaps. No more bullshit. BASTA. Off to watch a silly movie.

Star Hostess

Who is the hostess with the mostest? NOT me! I was convinced that M's party started at 12pm today. Beyond a reasonable doubt. Guess what? When I got there early, at 11:40am, I was actually dumb ass late because the party, both according to the bowling place and my evite, was at 11am. Some people ask me how I do it, keep up with all of the kids, schedules, activities. Well, here is your answer: like shit. I got to the party ready to cry, the alley full of mothers I do not care for, all of whom seemed happy to see me fuck up. I am thankful that C was there, the only one who was there, to help me with babies, kid and mother management. One mother told me she was scared to call me (ie thinks I am intimidating or a bitch) but also proceeded to tell me that she tried to start the party without me (or M). Isn't that sweet? Had she succeeded M would have missed half of her party and/or I would have been charged more for it. Guess I am not so intimidating. What a horrible mistake. What a long day. How does she do it some ask. Not very well, I say.

Happy Birthday M!

to my first baby love. 7 years ago today, you made me a proud mamma. who knew how big and beautiful you would be? 11/11/11 today. you got a dress down day and an all school 11 minute dance party at 11:11am. Rock on Mo-D!

Longer Fuller Day

Had school (weekly trip to nursing home included) plus filling in for a homeroom teacher at the end of the day. Took the bus with MoJo to the dr where M, and AleVit all had visits (L met me there with babies). Heard weird things from the dr (more on that later) and then met tía D who took MoJo to dinner while I went nearby to tutor (L brought babies home). Post tutoring we cabbed it home and I bathed them. Shortly thereafter F's cousin and aunt came over (fresh off the plane from Italia) and F came home to whip up a meal. Just finished baking brownies for M's class, putting up birthday signs, and wrapping gifts. It feels like only a few months ago that I was in this birthday crunch. Now M will be 7 (WTF?) and there is nothing I can do about it. I LOVE that girl. Her new nick name (coined by her teacher) is Mo-Dee.
PS V weighs 18 lbs 6 oz and A weighs 16lbs 10 oz. He has gained 11lbs and 5 oz since birth and she is catching up at a weight gain of 10lbs!

Long, Full Day

Woke up early with bebés as usual. Got the 4 kids ready for 7:30 (which always ends up being 7:40) departure. Walked to BT. Ran to 96 St subway, but not before stopping at Dunkin' Donuts for some am grub. Ran down subway steps just as number 1 was pulling out and number 2 in. I knew I had to get tot he end of that platform (ie 94 St) fast so as to catch F who had my lunchbox with baby milk (forgotten at school and picked up by him when he took MoJo to school). In a split second I spotted his disappointed expression, sure that I had made him miss his train. Grabbed milk and gave him breakfast. Back to BT. Nursed A, left milk, went to work. Taught 5 classes, went to tutor on the UWS, rushed into toy store to buy M a bday gift. Took train home, dropped off items, made some food for kids, ran to Street Squash Short session is better than one right? Helped kids get polynomial division and multiplication as I re-grasped these old skills. Hopped on train to Chelsea to attend (for 10 minutes)a Moleskine event with F. Met T&M there, came back up for yummy dinner. Saw MoJo for dessert and bedtime, missed AleVit:( Never miss their bedtime. Ate too much. Pumping now, off to bed. Notte.

J's Recent Comments

As I pumped- The pump sounds like it is saying how do I look? How do I look? How do I look?

As we dressed for the marathon- You sure stink, Francesco!

Random- Only kids get diarrhea.

Looking longingly at a bottle- On a lucky day can I drink gatorade?

Looking grossed out at a baby bottle- Your milk looks like dirty sink water.

Showing his friends my marathon medal with engraved skyline- First she went to Brooklyn, then to Mexico...

Happy 9 Months!

9 in and now 9 out.
Where has the time gone?
Thank you V for sleeping last night (not the case pre or post marathon).
V is strong as an ox but still cannot sit or crawl properly (??) and A is going to be on the baby gymnastics team.
They both eat their weight in food every night and they both behaved perfectly in their stroller for HOURS on Sunday so their parents could marathon.
V says "bye bye" and waves, as well as hola, mama, dada and nene. A has nothing to say (yet).
I love you AleVit. Do not grow too fast please.

Marathon Report

I ambitiously thought I could write about it on Sunday, then Monday came and went, and here we are a full 2 days post marathon. It was amazing. Much better than I could have imagined. New Yorkers rule as marathon spectators. I literally interacted with hundreds of people who were cheering, dancing, holding up signs, and yelling my name (it is really clutch to write your name on your shirt to get the extra boost). My mother felt very ill but was wonderful and made it all 26.2 miles without ever having walked more than 14 before Sunday. Incredible. We got along wonderfully (not always the case on our training walks) and enjoyed all of the boroughs (Brooklyn especially). We had support in Bklyn, on first ave, and family thar came to the bronx to walk us back into Manhattan. More family in Harlem. As dark and cold set in at 5pm, we were lucky enough to have our spouses walk many miles with us before we turned into the park for the glorious finish line. The announcer, bleachers, and large screen were all still there, even 7 hours and 11 minutes after we started. The day was long (we met at 6 am and finished past 6pm) but indelible. Thank you to all of those who cared for my kids so I could do this. Congratulations to my brother (4 hours 5 minutes) and spouse (3 hours 49 minutes) who also rocked the marathon. I hope I can do it again. Everyone should do it at least once. Even if you walk it, for a charity. Incredible.

THANK YOU

to all of my family (from NYC, MIA, and PA) and to T&M, K&R (Brooklyn in the house!) as well as tías D and S who came out to show love. I am real real tired now and ate too much Indian and need to keep pumping milk but want to sleep. Will write more on the marathon extravaganza tomorrow. Glad that is done! Good job Mamá!

T'was The Night Before The Marathon...

Jitters have turned into "let's do it now!"- this used to happen to me before finals as well. I just want to get it over with at this point. Nice dinner with most of the family (my partner stayed home but we will have plenty of time together tomorrow!), all of our clothes laid out, instructions for the many children written, milk pumped. One of my only doubts is "what happens if I have too much milk?" When I ran in 2007 I was nursing J and he was about the same age but 1. I was only nursing one, 2. I ran it so my body was much more taxed and focused 3. I was out of the house for 4-5 hours less than I will be tomorrow. We are waking up at 5 (thank goodness for time change), leaving at 6 and catching a 6:12 subway to meet abuela at 96 St, shoot down to South Ferry and catch the 7:15am ferry. Too bad I will not start the actual race until 10:40am (maybe not even cross the start line until 11am?). One other potential downfall is having to finish in the dark. I mean, I am definitely finishing in the dark (sun sets at 4:42pm) but will there even be any cheerers around in the cold dark? Okay, no more doubts. Off to sleep, if I can, if the babies let me (A took almost 3 hours to fall asleep). I will have a report tomorrow night. If you want to track me, go to the ING NYC website- my bib is 66-762 (there are over 66,000 people lining up before me??). Here we come!

J Ce Soir

I wish my parents were blind so I could help them.

When I asked J why the hell there were carrot shreds all over the table and rug- I was banging it to get the bark off.

Marathon Countdown

in 48 hours I will be hauling ass in Brooklyn. I will have survived the night and morning leading up to the marathon (V woke up at 4:40 and A at 5:30- earlier and earlier) and I will be anxiously looking for familiar faces in the crowds. I do not know if I will walk/crawl the whole race with my mother or jog/walk on my own. I do not know if anybody will be at the finish line, at that point most people will be having dinner after all. I do know that I am lucky as hell to have a coveted spot in the race, to have raised almost 3K for Team For Kids (THANK YOU to all of you who donated any amount), to have full use of my body (4 babies and two back surgeries in 7 years could have taken its toll), and to have both the emotional and physical support of so many friends and family. I could not do it without you. NYC, here I come. I love you NYC Marathon. Let's do it!

PS Is it bad that my big toe is almost sticking out of my sneakers? WTF? I have the same problem with all of my socks.. big toe breaks out. Oh well, a little late to break a new pair in.

This Week

has included a night of Halloween, a baby revolution (they switched their bed time from 6:30pm tp 8:30pm), 5 in school celebrations of día de los muertos (me dragging my blender to school to make Mexican hot chocolate, running to bakery for special bread etc) hosted by moi, collecting several hundred Truck or Treat boxes for City Harvest (little paper piggy banks with which kids collect money while trick or treating), and oh yes, remembering that I have the marathon on Sunday. Went to the expo today with MoJo and felt sad that I am not running, that I am unsure how committed my partner is, that we did not train more. Well, at least once I finish that little 13 hour project (7:15am ferry to Staten Island Sun am for a 10:40 am start!) I can come home to babies who will be confused about the time, go to sleep, nurse, rinse repeat. Okay, I can do this. And if I can do this, then I can do almost anything (I think). Off to sleep. I hope.

Happy Birthday H!

Jew may be little but you ain't that little no more yo yo.
Happy Happy birthday.
Qué los cumplas feliz:)

Today's Banter

M to Me- I do not think there is such thing as babies misbehaving.

J as we "read" his Curious George dictionary: Fart and female start with F, (at a picture of a bus): busted bus

M about a Narnia (confirmation) class: You need to be Russian to be in that class.
Me- No, you need to be Catholic.
M- I know, my teacher told me you need to be Russian Catholic.

J to his teacher asking him to identify a 10: A one and a zero
Teacher: Good, do you know what that is called?
J (irritated): Yeah, a one and a zero, that is what it is called.

Some Lines From Today...

Me to J- Who?
J- The kid with the brown eyebrows.
Me- Who is that? Anything else you can tell me about him?
J- No.
__
M- I like traditional traditions like going to Vermont every year.
__

J on his next bday-  I want bolleyball guys on the cake