An exhausting week and it's not even over yet....

We were very fortunate that Hurricane Ike took a northern turn earlier than expected, so we only received a little wind and rain here at Cub Central. It has devastated many of our coastal areas, including Galveston and Houston. It's almost unbelievable when I see the news stories on TV.

On Monday I took the cubs to Gymboree. I thought I would give it another chance since they are walking now. I think it will be another long while before we go again. The cubs have a five second attention span and they were both taking off in different directions. This is definitely an activity that takes an extra set of hands. I was exhausted by the time it was over. Emily even embarrassed me with her first public temper-tantrum as I tried to get her to go to the next station with the rest of the group. It will be a long while before we try that again.

On Tuesday I had a million errands to run. What would normally be a quick in-and-out trip becomes quite an ordeal when you take the cubs. In and out of car seats and strollers made for another exhausting day. Tuesday evening was my monthly LCMOM meeting. A speech pathologist was the guest speaker. Twins are notorious for being delayed when it comes to speech, most likely because they don't get the one-on-one 100% attention that a singleton gets. It was very interesting but right now I'm more interested in getting them to LISTEN to me. They can talk to me later.

On Wednesday I had one of my monthly girls' night out. We went to a quaint little Italian restaurant (Piola's) that I had never been to before. I love going to new places and this is the only time I get to do that since Steve prefers going to places he is familiar with.

Wednesday night (or should I say Thursday morning) was not very pleasant here at Cub Central. Emily woke up screaming at 1:30 AM. We tried everything to calm her. We fed her, gave her some milk, changed her diaper, gave her Tylenol. She was fine as long as someone held her, but the minute you put her down, she would start screaming again. UGH.

Zach is still having his usual issues. He's still pretty cute though. Somehow he managed to sleep through Emily's episode last night. He was the only one. I'm really jealous!

Couch climbing is still a favorite activity although it is not allowed. They are stubborn little monkeys. They just keep trying. They have now moved on to the love seat and the recliner. Again, very exhausting.

The house issue is still a big topic here. Now we are considering building a home. We have selected a floor plan, and as usual, the only lot Steve and I both agreed on was TAKEN! I tell you the Housing Gods are against us. Now that the financial sector is in the pits with AIG, WAMU, and Lehman Brothers all having trouble, we are too afraid to do anything. What a hopeless feeling.

It is now Thursday evening and we are desperately trying to get Emily to go to sleep. So far we are starting off with a repeat of last night, so this isn't looking good. It must be a full moon!

I live for weekends....

I usually live for weekends, but today feels more like a Monday than a Saturday. Dad's at work and the cubs are "down" for their nap, even though I hear them playing over the monitor. They are probably wound up from their class this morning. Today started out ok. The cubs woke up early, which was good...we had a big morning planned. Today was Gymboree! After breakfast, I loaded up the cubs and headed out an hour before our class. I made every effort to get there early. Instead, I was late. I'm always late, no matter how hard I try. So frustrating. I made a wrong turn and got lost. I was on the verge of tears by the time I found a street name I recognized. So long story short, I was late. We get there, join the class already in session, and then I notice it. An unpleasant odor coming from one of the cubs. Just great. UGH!! Did I mention that I'm alone?? And the cubs still aren't walking, so they have to be carried. I am either brave or stupid, I haven't decided which. God Bless our class instructor. She took care of Emily while I took Zach to the restroom. The class lasted 45 minutes and the cubs seemed to have a great time. Emily was a little timid, but Zach took off right away. Our little man has no fear. He was trying to climb all over everything. There were rocking toys to help with balance, and bubbles and parachutes, gigantic balls, music and toys. There were two other sets of twins there as well. So while the cubs had a great time, Mom -- not so much. It was really hard trying to tend to both of them by myself. The instructor was really helpful, but I can't expect her to "play parent" for us every time. Dad's weekend schedule is so erratic that it makes it impossible for me to plan activities. So I doubt that we'll be able to do this again until the cubs are a little bigger.

Yesterday was Zach's nutrition appointment. I look forward to these only so I can find out if Zach gained any weight. And it is convenient enough, because she actually comes to our house. But not this time. The Nutritionist was a no-show. ***SIGH*** I give up. Thankfully, Zach has really been doing well. He hasn't been eating as much solid food, but he's picked up some on his formula intake, so I'm okay with that. He also seems to like the Pediasure, so we'll stick with giving him one of those per day.

This week I attempted to cook another new dish...Parmesan and herb baked flounder, served with white rice. I think I did pretty good for my first attempt at fish. Steve even said he'd eat it again. Wow! Another success.

The cubs are still awake. I guess a nap is not going to happen today. So later this afternoon, we'll probably all be miserable. I can't wait for Dad to get home. I need to start this (Mon)day over.

Friends and food

Beth Ann and Matt came over last night. We cooked out on the grill and played with the cubs. It has been a month since they were here last, so it's always fun for me to hear how much they think the cubs have changed.

I gave Zach his first bottle of Pediasure yesterday. I figured I had better get that done before his next Nutritionist appt (on Friday) because I know she'll be asking whether he liked it or not. And much to my surprise, I think he liked it. It's 30 cal/oz, and he drank 6.5 oz. Not too shabby for our little man. And even more surprising...he kept it down! So far so good! We're keeping our fingers crossed!

I am going to look into a Gymboree program for the Cubs. I was hoping Steve could attend a free class with us, but with his schedule I think it's going to be impossible. Gymboree offers two classes that I think might interest the cubs:

Family Gymboree: This is a class for families with more than one child. Here, siblings can experience and enjoy the fun and the challenge of the Gymboree environment together--slides, ramps, bridges, tunnels, songs, movement games and our legendary parachute. This mixed-age class supports physical, language and social skills for both of your children.

and

Gymboree: Designed by child development experts, each of our seven levels focus on and support the specific developmental milestone your child is working on at his/her age--from sensory explorations for young babies to cause and effect, two-way communication, "motor planning", imaginary play, to early listening and language skills. Each program level incorporates fundamental, engaging activities that help to build your child's cognitive, social and physical skills.

I think it's important for the cubs to have social interaction with other children, while learning and having fun at the same time. Very cool!