Where to start?

The last few days have been FULL. And while Tuesday was a grumpy day for me, here are the things I tried to focus on that I am thankful for:

Monday:

Craigslist. To date we have purchased $230 worth of baby items for $60. Our latest purchase (which is what I was running around and picking up on Monday) were JJ Cole Bundle Me's in excellent shape! Unfortunately, I had to buy them from 2 different people. Fortunately, niether were super far away, and I was able to work it out so that I could pick them up in one trip. Yay, for awesome Craigslist purchases!

Ryan helping Mama search for good deals on Craigslist

My Garmin. I went from my house to a place in Newton that I was not familiar with - to Cambridge (a place I was familiar with, but not coming from the direction I was going to be coming) back home. My Garmin got me there. There were several times that I had no clue where I was, but my trusty Garmin always led me safely to my destination.

The nice lady at the regional Poison Control Center who took my call after my little pick-pocket somehow got the hand sanitizer pump out of a side pocket in the diaper bag (while he was swinging by my side in his car seat) and sucked on it. And I know what you're thinking - surely sucking on a pump doesn't get anything out. I quickly tried it. You can get a fair amount out with minimal sucking...and the bottle says to "seek professional help immediately." Thankfully, I had the number posted in our apartment (I now have it saved to speed dial). Thankfully, it isn't too terrible of a problem (he probably had a tummy ache - although I watched him closely the rest of the day and he didn't act any differently). Thankfully, the lady reassured me that they get lots of calls about hand sanitizer (so at least I am not the only bad mommy). I will have to be more vigilant with my sticky-fingered little man in the future.

Our Amazon purchases arrived! For Halloween, Nana gave them books. Which they can enjoy far more than any candy at this point - and which they enjoy in much the same way since every book has to be tasted! Our books arrived - wonderful children's classics from our book wishlist (yes, we have a book wishlist - you can actually link to it from our blog and see the books we dream of having!). It was so exciting to get them in the mail, and my new favorite baby book is from the "Cozy Cuddlers" collection - the Zebra. It's a super soft book that doubles as a stuffed animal. The book is soft - perfect for cuddling or chewing. I can let the babies play and not worry about them knocking themselves (or a sibling that gets too close) in the head!

Allie kissing the zebra.

Tuesday:

Brownie Mix in the pantry. Because brownies make a grumpy day better (the Halloween candy was already gone)...although when my pants don't fit because of the brownies I will probably have another grumpy day, but I'll deal with that later!

My parents' safe trip. My parents are here! They got here Tuesday afternoon. It has already been a wonderful visit, and I'm loving having them here. The next week will go by so quickly, but right after they leave, we leave for Logan's wedding. So that will help make the goodbyes a little easier (I think).

My cousin's babies. My cousin had twins - girls. They've been in the NICU for a little over a month, but we got the good news of a fabulous progress report. Based on my experience, I would say they are in the final stretch of their NICU stay and quickly drawing near to their discharge. YAY!

Ryan eating a snack with Papa

Wednesday:

Allie sleeping until 6 am! Daylight savings is not fun with babies. Allie has been waking up at 4:45 am the last few mornings (because it feels like it is 5:45 to her, and we usually got up around 6...). This morning she didn't wake up until 5:54!!! I, however, woke up at 5:30 and panicked that something was wrong. It's amazing how quickly mama gets trained to wake up at a certain time!

Help. It is amazing how much easier it is to take care of 2 babies when there is someone else here. This morning I wanted to make it to 8:30 before taking a nap (we are slowly trying to get everything pushed back an hour so we're on the schedule we had before daylight savings - which I'm not especially thankful for this year!). If I had been on my own I would have given up much earlier and put them down for a nap, but my parents helped entertain and keep them up until about 8:20!

Allie & Gigi Playing

Allie saying "Mama." Ryan has been saying mama for a while now. It actually seems to be his universal word for "I want." He'll reach for a bottle "mama," a toy "mama," and me! Allie has been more interested in razzes and trills than word sounds. But Wednesday she started saying mama...a lot! And she seems to say it when she sees me, or wants me! I LOVE it. Of course, both babies reaching for me and crying, "mamaaaaaaa!" whenever I walk by is a little daunting (especially when they have Papa & Gigi to play with and I'm trying to get something done...), but I love the sound of their little voices saying my name nonetheless.