April Update

So April has clearly been a bad month for blog posts. I'm going to at least attempt a nice long blog post to make up for it. Here goes....

Exercise Update: I started a diet about two weeks ago. I still can't fit into some of my old jeans and it drives me nuts. I just figured that maybe if I dieted I'd at least know if I could possibly lose the weight or if it: a) my hips are just never going down, or b) this weight is just here to stay. The sad thing is that I don't feel that much bigger (how people gain weight I guess) but when I try to get in the old jeans I realize how much thinner I used to be. (Here I am in the jeans on my honeymoon).

Anyway, I went on the South Beach diet, a diet I went on before I got married. Well it lasted 5 days. Now of course I look at the picture and wish I could make it happen, but this time around I lack the willpower and the time to do it. That, and sugar substitute gives me a MAJOR headache. So, we're going to have to just try to show a little self control.

I have been going to Dailey Method, and this month I'm going to Bar Method for a month (though I don't think it is as hard). I tried to take d/c to the childcare there one day...total disaster. D basically screamed bloody murder until she got C to join in with her. Within 5 minutes of the class the babysitter was running upstairs to tell me that she'd "never seen anything like this." (yeah, right). Anyway, so taking c/d at this age may not be happening, but I'm still trying to fit it in one way or the other.

Walking: C is walking! Ok, so not all the time and not w/o falls, but she is definitely getting better at it. She uses a push toy like it is her walker...dragging it around with her so she can get from place to place without falling over. The only problem is we only have one of these push toys and so Dylan wants to use it too. The question of what to share and what to give each of them is starting to really become an issue... more on that in future posts I'm sure. D wants to walk even more than C--when she sees C walk she pushes herself up in a downward dog position because she can't stand herself up. But she is soooo wobbly...i think her head is just way too big for her body to support. I know it must be hard for her sometimes to have her sister do everything first. Here's a video of C walking...

Playing: C/D are playing a lot more together...but they are also biting each other a lot. First it was D biting C, now in the past week it has been the opposite. Sometimes they leave huge bite marks...I'm afraid that someone is going to see the marks on their arms and report me to Child Protective Services. I am worried about the biting, but they don't seem to know it is wrong, and they do it to be funny w/ me, so while i've gotten stern w/ them, I think it is too early to really punish--hard to teach them when they don't have the capacity yet to understand it is wrong. The only thing that helps is to point out that the other is crying...they do show empathy for each other and I figure that is a start.

They are into the 'put and take' of everything. Their favorite things are: crawling up the structure and sliding themselves down the slide (we taught them to slide on their stomach, feet first, so they get up to the slide and do a little 3 point turn to slide down), riding on their cars, trucks, buses, music of any kind, this Fisher Price door that they like to get on either side of, their PBK anytime chairs that they crawl all over, stacking blocks, and riding in their wagon.

We have had some new adventures...the other day I ran w/ them to Pier 39 and we rode the carousel for the first time and looked at the sea lions on the piers (there had to be 100 of them!) They were fascinated by the carousel, they were very serious throughout both rides (one on the horses, when in a carriage). Then we had cheese crepes and I ran home (and yes, it's things like this that make me LOVE living in SF right now).

Life: Andrew has been working A LOT. The last few weeks have been tough. He's been working a lot and that's been tough on both of us (and the girls too). This past week has been a little easier for me to deal with, I think because I'm getting used to him being gone a lot and because of the Rainbow Connection. I'm not kidding--we got a new cd w/ Sarah Mcclaughlin singing the Rainbow Connection. Every time I listen to it I almost cry, and for some reason it just reminds me that this is such a fleeting phase in life and that no matter how tired I am I should cherish it. I mean how long will they think that helping me unload the dishwasher is FUN? How long will they be SO excited to see me all the time?!

I think I have been struggling w/ finding a work balance as well... I am not working enough right now I don't think, but I want to find work/clients that I find more exciting. So I need to start focusing on that. Finding a work balance is going to be a forever question for me, so I've tried to start focusing on finding a balance "this week" and not "this year" or even "this month." I have tried to use Andrew being gone to be more efficient and it has helped. I can us the evenings to catch up on work or get some project done. I'd prefer Andrew be home, but I guess better to make orange juice so to speak...

Exercising more regularly has also helped... i've used some babysitting time to go to classes, and i'm running more w/ the girls (i go running w/ a friend who has 1 year old identical girls...people ALWAYS think they are quads!) Ok, and I'm not going to lie, I've shopped a little. I feel terribly guilty about this, but I have to admit that getting up and putting on something other than my jeans w/ holes in the knees, one of 7 long sleeve t-shirts I have, a Gap puffer vest, and flip flops or tennis shoes has actually helped my psyche a bit. (Don't get me wrong, I'm still in jeans, but no holes, and I bought a couple of non-puffer vests and a pair of ballet flats. and a jean dress that i wear w/ boots).

Carmel: Last weekend the Dodsons and the Dholakias decided to brave it down to Carmel for the weekend w/ the 3 girls in tow. Once we get to Carmel things are very easy for us, but it does suck driving the long drive down w/o Andrew. Luckily the girls slept most of the way down (but not back unfortunately). The best part was getting a big hit of the Dholakias...it is so great to have friends where you both love BOTH of them... and it was fun to get a big hang w/ Sonia. Carmel is great for the girls now...they love the beach (i bought a dump truck they LOVE...when we go down next time i'm going to have to get another...again, don't think they should have to share EVERYTHING), and we took them swimming on Sunday...the pool at Pebble is so freakin' warm it's like 10 degrees less than a hot tub. Here's a pic of D w/ sonia....she is so excited to find someone smaller than her (but sadly, not for long). Here's a pic of A w/ c and d at the pool (lone cypress in the back, unfortunately A hasn't seen it up close since the girls were born : ))

Finally, here's a pic of C on the car the girls fought over the entire weekend.

As an aside, one of the things I love about the girls right now is how unselfconscious they are...it is something I want to protect as long as possible. I actually felt terrible taking them into a store the other day because I really don't want them to get "into" clothes, shopping, etc. You laugh but I think kids are modelers, and if they see mom spending a lot of time on what she wears or how she looks it won't be long before they do too (luckily we don't have to worry about that much these days). I've even struggled a bit with the barrettes...Andrew LOVES them in them so I put them on, but I really don't want to encourage them to care about how they look. Luckily they only like them for a few minutes.