Technology Deployment

I spent the morning at school helping with the technology deployment. We were distributing chromebooks to families that needed them for distance learning. We had over 100 families that had requested technology, but by noon less than half had actually come to pick them up. I’m not sure how the afternoon went.

The sky as I left to go to school 💕

When I got home a little after noon, Monkey Boy told me he was already done with all his class work, but Squirrel Girl hadn’t even finished her Reading/Writing assignments. I have to wonder if he ACTUALLY got everything done or if he skipped some of the directions. I didn’t bother checking.

After lunch was Specials time, and being a “Wellness Wednesday” I found a yoga video for them to do.

Back to work at 2:00 and by 2:30 SG wasn’t much farther along and she was in tears because it was taking so long. I hate that she compares herself to her brother. They approach work with very different attitudes. She is a perfectionist and he just does what he needs to do to move on to fun. Honestly, I don’t know what is taking her so long. According to the estimates of time it shows on the Learning Plan, they should only need to be working a total of 140 minutes. Yet after a supposed 3.5 hours of work she wasn’t even half done. I asked her if she was getting distracted, but she said she wasn’t. I’m not sure what to do to speed her up. At 2:30, I told her she needed to be done for the day because it was just too upsetting.

She asked me to read my favorite childhood book to her, but I had a virtual faculty meeting to attend. I could see her disappointment. It killed me. After the meeting, I walked away Friday my computer to spend time with family. The kids and I went outside while Nathan started getting things ready to grill fajitas.

Squirrel Girl decided to pull weeds while Monkey Boy and I tossed the basketball back and forth.

We also rescued a worm that SG must have dug up while weeding!

We got warm and moved back inside where I read the first 5 chapters of Julie Andrews Edward’s Mandy. It is one of the few books that I read over and over again as a kid and it still makes me cry as an adult. I’ve read the book to Squirrel Girl before, but she said she doesn’t remember the story, just that we read it while she was home sick several years ago.

Dinner was delicious and we followed that with fresh baked cookies and watching Masked Singer and LEGO Masters as a family.

Today my takeaway is that we need to find balance. SG can’t spend 8 hours of the day working on schoolwork. She needs to find a more efficient way of doing her assignments, but I’ve been too busy with my work to help her figure it out. I’m hoping to find at least a little time to work on that with her before next week.

By that same token, MB needs to realize he doesn’t get to spend 5 hours on video games or YouTube just because his work didn’t take all day. I think I need to make a list of things he has to do before he can ask for non-school electronics.

We are going to get through this. That much I know. And hopefully we will learn some valuable skills along the way. 🙏

Work Day

Today I had to leave my “class” in the hands of a “substitute” (Nathan) while I went up to the school to collect what I needed to bring home with me and help in any way I could. I spent from 9:00-3:30 at the school (no lunch break).

From what I understand, the kids were good for the sub and even got extra free time when they got ahead of the schedule. It’s good to know they will get their work done even if I’m not here to supervise.

On my end, I’ve prepared as best I can for hosting library time from home. I brought a few books home, but expect to utilize online resources, just like our students. I have been posting resources and instructions for teachers to get ready to launch their online teaching on Monday morning. We had an virtual staff meeting where we tried our best to answer questions and calm any fears.

Virtual staff meeting

I’ve let my colleagues know that I am here to help, but Nathan keeps reminding me that I don’t need to be available 24/7. It’s hard not to check in on everyone and help at all hours. I know we have teachers that are terrified of technology and feel lost in this new world. If I can help, I want to. But I have to take care of me too. I’ve gotten little sleep this last week.

Tomorrow we distribute materials to students. It will be an organized chaos, most likely. This is the hardest thing I’ve ever faced. But we will get through this. Together (but separate). My mantra this week has been “We’re all in this together.

Back to work!

I managed to get in a workout and shower before getting a phone call from my principal asking if I could come in to the school for a planning meeting today. Nathan was at a meeting for work, so I told her it would have to be later in the day.

In the meantime, I spent a lot of time learning how to use Zoom, so I would be able to create instructions for the teachers. Having started our routine (and posted it on the wall), the kids were pretty good about continuing to work on their scheduled tasks. I’m hopeful that this means I will be able to get work done the next few days and that they will be prepared for their online learning that starts Monday.

I wish I could share the great activities they did, but about the only one I was involved in was preparing lunch. It was Squirrel Girl’s turn and she got to learn the art of “Pantry Surprise.” She started to reach for her Disney cookbook, but I said she would have to just look to see what we have and come up with her own recipe. She found rice, bacon, olives, cream cheese, coconut aminos, and apples.

Knife skills need work.

It’s not a combo I would have put together, but it was surprising good!

😋

After lunch they used Quaver to do a music lesson, then watched more Mo Willams for art!

I really don’t know what they did after that, because I left for my meeting. Very strange to be met at the door by my principal with hand sanitizer and a thermometer!

When I got home I was pleased to see they got their chores done and SG was working on a STEAM project she’d chosen. I did yet more work all the way up to dinner time.

I had to place my phone in the other room for dinner because the announcement of the move to online learning went out and my phone started buzzing like crazy with teachers asking questions. The problem is, I don’t have all the information!

It was already difficult to sleep because I couldn’t turn off my brain. Now I’m pretty sure it will be impossible! The next few weeks are going to be crazy!

Still Alive

Wow, really? I haven’t posted since October?! I’ve done a ton of stuff with the kids that I totally intended to post, but apparently starting subbing has severely limited my online time. Or time in general. I kept up the home school stuff until just before Thanksgiving. Even the kids are asking me when we’ll do home school again. Guess I need to get back on the horse!

So. Since it’s New Year’s Eve, I’ll play the ol’ resolutions game. Here are my goals/plans for 2014:

For the kids:
1. Stay consistent with Home School for the kids.
2. Enroll the kids in TK for next school year (which includes deciding where they will be going).
3. Find an activity for Lucas to do on his own (Kyla has ballet and I want something that is just for him).
4. Enroll the kids in ice skating lessons.
5. Enjoy my last months of being home with my babies.

For Me:

6. Apply for any library positions in the local school district.
7. Complete another Whole30.
8. Figure out where these headaches are coming from and get rid of them!
9. Be more consistent about exercise.
10. Be good about blogging again (I know, this one goes in fits and starts).
11. Spend more time with my husband.

There are probably more, but those are the ones I’ve got off the top of my head.

2014 is going to be full of a lot of change for our family, since the kids will be 5. We don’t plan to put them in regular kindergarten yet, since they have summer birthdays, but we do plan to put them into a transitional kindergarten program at one of two churches. We just have to decide which one. And along with that is the probability that I will be working full time again (assuming there is a job to be had and that I get it). It’s already been an adjustment with my substituting. While I’m looking forward to bing in a library again, I’m not looking forward to being apart from my kids every day. 😦 But that won’t be until August, so for now I’m going to try to remember to cherish this time I’ve got.

Happy New Year, everyone!

Week 7: Soccer

Well, this was a crazy week! We went to my mom’s for the weekend and didn’t return until Monday, so no homeschool on Monday. And Thursday and Friday were my first days to work as a substitute teacher, so no homeschool those days either. So we really only had Tuesday and Wednesday. I tried to get at least a few things in.

Tuesday–
We had speech first thing in the morning, so I found some soccer books while they were busy. I found Dinosoccer by Lisa Wheeler, Froggy Plays Soccer by Jonathan London, and Franklin Plays the Game by Paulette Bourgeois. I was actually familiar with all three of these books from my library days.

When we came home we read a few of the books before heading off to Dance class, then lunch with friends (I’m telling you, Tuesdays are busy!). When we came home we sat down to do some soccer math.

First we played a game of “I have, who has?” created by Jill Gillen. This is the first time we’ve really worked with the written numbers higher than 10 (this set went to 25). I did a quick lesson on the numbers 1-30, showing them how they looked and the pattern they make. I realized I really need to print out a chart for them that makes it easier to see the pattern. We then played the game by putting the cards face up in front of us so that I could help them “read” the cards. They caught on pretty well, and I’ve heard them trying to count higher lately. Even if they do say “Twenty-ten” (which I think is super adorable), at least I know they are catching on to the way numbers work! (N said he played this game again with them on Friday and he was surprised at how well they did, though the “teens” were definitely their weakest part.)

Next, I found a Roll and Cover Game from a math and literacy set that went with the Froggy book, created by Karen Swihart. The kids rolled two dice and counted up the dots and found the number on the soccer balls. Rather than print out the frog covers, I just had them use dot markers. Kyla got frustrated because she kept getting the same number over and over, so she started just turning the dice to get the numbers she wanted. I was actually okay with this, since she still had to figure out what numbers each die had to be on in order to make the numbers she was missing.

Roll & Cover

That was really all we had time for before I had to get dinner together and then off to soccer practice (Hey! That works for the theme, right?! 😉 ).

Wednesday–
While we were less scheduled, we didn’t seem to be any less busy on Wednesday. 😉 I worked with the kids on word families using this

Score a Word game created by KidSparkz. I didn’t have them write down the words, we just sounded them out together. Lucas really started hearing how the individual sounds came together into a word. Kyla was completely lost. She didn’t hear the word until I had said the actual word. I know we’re still a ways off from learning to really read, so I’m not concerned in the least. Exposing them to it is my main objective.

Sounding out CVC words

We went to the library for story time and managed to find two Franklin DVDS that had episodes about soccer! One was even the exact same as the book we got from the school library. So while I worked on making lunch when we got home, they watched that episode. Which of course meant we had to watch all the other episodes on the DVD after lunch! Daddy let them watch the other DVD on Friday while I was at work.

Oddly enough, I’m not even sure what we did with the rest of our day, but I know we got some reading in (those kids are fiends for reading!). We had a nice quiet evening, since I knew I’d be going in to work for the first time in over 4 years the next day! Saturday they played in their 3rd Soccer game. Such cuties!

Lucas pretending he knows what he’s doing while Kyla waits on the bench.

While we weren’t able to do as much as I might have liked, I’m glad I was able to fit in a few things. Future weeks will probably be slimmed down some, depending on what days I am working. I’m seriously considering leaving sub plans for N to follow when I’m gone! Next week I’ve only got 2 days that anything will be likely to get done as well. But I certainly don’t want to give up on our homeschooling, as the kids enjoy it so much.

Few updates

Since I woke up early and haven’t updated in awhile I thought I’d try to squeeze one in while the babies are still s****ing (can’t type the word or they’ll stop. 😉 ).

Update 1-
I was supposed to start my new job this past Monday. I did not. Last week the manager called to talk to me about my training schedule. 3 of the 6 days N was scheduled to work. I had no babysitter. She said to just come in on Monday and we’d talk about it. But then I started getting worried about future schedules too. So I called and asked what they were hoping I would work. They wanted every Tuesday and Thursday, every other weekend, and every other Friday. Well, that every other Friday would not work for us. N works 3 week days a week and that means he’s only home 2 days. Plus, working every Thursday would mean I’d never be able to go to Mothers of Multiples because they meet on Thursdays. On the way home from what I thought would be my last meeting I bawled the whole way. That night N and I talked and the next morning he said to me “You know, if I work just one extra shift I would make as much as you would in almost two weeks. You don’t have to do it.” (well, those weren’t the exact words, but the gist) After working up my courage, I called both the manager and HR and left messages saying I thought it would be best if I not take the job after all. I didn’t hear back from either of them. I assume they got the messages, since no one called me on Monday asking me where I was. I do feel terrible, but I figure I’m saving them time, money, and effort training someone who won’t be able to work the schedule they want.

I do still want to contribute in some way to our finances, so I have decided to work on selling some of my crafts. Our MOM group is hosting a vendor night (Merry Multiples) in October and I’ve signed up to have a booth where I can sell hooded towels, bibs/burp cloths, quilts, etc. I went and bought materials yesterday and have started cutting. Hopefully I can build up some momentum and crank out a good supply before Oct. 21. If things go well I am also thinking of setting up a “shop” at Etsy.com. *fingers crossed*

Update 2-
The twins and I took a road trip this past weekend! We went to visit LD. 😀 We stayed at her house (poor B &T were kicked out of their room) and had a great time. Her daughters, K & S, had fun playing with the babies. And Kyla loved chasing their 4 dogs! LOL We didn’t do a lot, mostly just hung out at the house, but it was good to spend time together. The twins had changed so much since they last saw them (LD saw them at their birthday party, but the kids hadn’t seen them since December!). Oh, and the twins got to play on their first trampoline. Lucas loved it, of course. Kyla was a bit more hesitant, but also seemed to enjoy it.

Saturday we met up with a group of TOSS ladies. They didn’t know I was coming and all three of them were pleasantly surprised. It was the first time two of them had gotten to see the twins in person (I’d met all three of them previously at some point in my 5 or so years in the group. Unfortunately, the babies got really fussy and we had to leave right after we ate (at least they let us eat!). The other girls said they stayed for another hour talking. *sigh* Wish we could have stayed.

There was one incident that was not so fun. As I was taking them to bed on Saturday night Kyla threw up ALL over me. All I could do was stand there looking dumbfounded. Lucas wanted me to hold him, but I was covered in puke. I handed him off to K & S, stripped Kyla and gave her to LD (who wiped her down with a wet paper towel), then went and changed my own clothes while Kyla and Lucas both screamed. Once I was dressed I took both of them while LD cleaned up the floor (I feel SO bad about that!). After it was cleaned up I found something else for Kyla to wear and got them in bed.

The drive there was okay. There was one point when they woke up and were hungry, but there were no restaurants along the highway for what felt like forever! Of course they started fussing right after I’d passed a big patch of civilization. 😉 We finally stopped at McDonnalds (not my first choice, but it was all that was available) and had some lunch before finishing the drive. On the drive back, though, they were so exhausted from playing all weekend that they slept the entire way home and I didn’t stop at all! We just ate lunch when we arrived at the house.

Update 3-
I don’t know if it was the weekend away from home, a phase, or what, but I swear the twins have decided to start the “terrible twos” early. Kyla has at least one tantrum (usually 3-4) a day and will answer “no” to any question you ask. Lucas is clingy beyond belief (I can’t even get up to move across the room without him flying into my arms) and whines constantly. It’s driving N and me crazy! We’re trying to be good about ignoring it so that we don’t encourage it, but they really are stubborn.

Of course, things aren’t all bad. They are happy a lot of the day, really. And they are picking up language so fast! Last week they learned the word “door” and yesterday Lucas and I spent time finding every “door” in the house! LOL Unfortunately, they also learned the sign for “outside” (what was I thinking?!). Now they sign it all the time and get mad at me if I don’t let them go outside. I keep telling them it’s too hot, but I don’t think they agree. What’s funny is that is the one sign they don’t make the same way (many of their signs don’t actually look like what I show them, but they tend to be the same as each other). It took me a while to figure out what Lucas was trying to say because it looked a lot like “help.” The two signs look nothing alike normally! I guess it’s time to actually do something about getting a swing set or something. Right now the only thing to “do” outside is use the pool or sprinkler and find rocks and other “fun” things to put in their mouths. 😉 It doesn’t really seem to bother them much, but I sure get bored! LOL

Well it seems the babies have woken up. Guess it’s time for the day to begin!

14 Months (Tomorrow)

Wow. It’s been almost a month since my last post. Oops. Sorry about that. Lots of stuff keeping us busy.

N started his new job on Monday. He’s just doing orientation so far and he’s SO ready to be on the floor. That won’t happen until Thursday of next week. Hopefully he can hold out until then.

I interviewed for a part time job at a local public library and was offered the job (did the drug screen yesterday and waiting on results). I have no idea yet when I will start and I’m nervous about how we’re going to work out our schedules, but I’m trying to leave it in God’s hands. I am keeping my online job as well, at least for the Fall semester. I figure this is one way I can whittle down some of our credit card debt. I just hope I don’t go crazy in the mean time!

The babies (toddlers?) just keep on learning new things!

Language

Lucas has finally caught on that signing will help him get what he wants, and he’s also pairing the signs with sounds that are VERY close to the words he wants to say. I think he’ll be talking before we know it. Right now he signs and/or says “mi” (for milk) “mo” (for more), “ba” (for bottle), “bow” (he says this when referring to the dogs), “wa” (for water), “bu” (for bye), “mama,” and “dada.” I think that’s all right now.

Kyla is getting more and more frustrated when she can’t get us to understand what she wants (or we refuse to accept whining as “asking”). This girl can put some teenagers to shame, I’m telling you! She is SO stubborn. I got some animal crackers the other day (big ol’ tub) and she’s now decided she wants them ALL DAY LONG. But she’ll stand in front of the cabinet where they sat (I’ve since moved them) and whine. So I ask her “What do you want? Use your words.” and she continues to scream. Then Lucas walks over, says/signs “more” and I hand one to him and she goes even more ballistic. It’s kinda cute if you don’t actually have to hear the scream. Though, she has also started asking for items by name (using sign). She’ll ask for cheese or fish (goldfish) specifically. I’m not sure if I should show her the sign for cookie or not… I have a feeling it would be signed constantly! LOL Oh! And she also says “do” (for dog) and is finally saying “mama” a bit (she’s said “dada” for a long time already). She really uses whining and sign to communicate more than trying to sound out words. Which is probably why she’s so frustrated that we don’t know what she wants! Hopefully something will click soon because “Mama” can’t handle much more of the current tactics. 😉

Mobility
Both of them are super walkers now. They still fall on occasion, but usually because they don’t watch where they are going and they trip over a toy or they get excited and get uncoordinated. They are both sort of running. A toddler run at any rate. It was funny. The other day Lucas stole a toy from Kyla, she screeched and went after him. He started “running” around the house and she chased after him. He thought it was great fun. She was not so thrilled. 😉

They love to dance. They’ve both figured out how to climb onto the coffee table to reach the stereo and turn it on. I’m trying to teach them the sign for “music” so they can ask me to turn it on, but so far no luck. They’re also climbing everywhere. Lucas already was, of course, but Kyla is joining in. I guess she doesn’t like being left out. I am having a battle of wills with her on standing on the chairs of their new table/chairs set from Grandma. Like I said, she’s stubborn.

Yesterday I took them to the mall for a “play date” with other twin moms. Only one other twin mom was able to come, it turned out, but we took our four kids to the play area there. It wore us out! All four of them wanted to go in different directions; climbing, crawling, running, and sliding all over the place. It wouldn’t have been so bad except there were a lot of bigger kids there (that really shouldn’t have been) and we felt like our kids were going to get trampled. We were right there with our kids the whole time, but none of the other moms were. They sat and talked while their kids trampled ours. We ended up leaving, though the kids were very disappointed. We talked about seeing if we could work out a play date at a place that is more regulated so that the only other kids would be little like ours. Hopefully that will work out.

Eating
These two kids are definitely related to me! They love their Mexican food! We’ve been to a few Mexican restaurants the last couple of weeks and they pack away the rice and beans like it’s going out of style. They also enjoy chips and salsa. Oh! And they’ve discovered drinking out of a straw from a cup. We had gone out to eat with family and got them a kid’s meal to share. It came with a drink, so I ordered milk for them. It was in a cup with a lid and a straw. Kyla drank almost the whole cup of milk! Now, any time they see us drinking out of straws, they want some. It’s pretty funny.

Social
The clingy stage seems to be behind us (for now) and both of them love to see family and friends. Strangers quickly become friends as well. At the mall yesterday, Kyla waved at every person we passed. She looked so disappointed if they didn’t wave back! Thankfully, some did.

When we eat out they spend half their time pigging out (they do eat well!), and the other half checking out everyone around them. Inevitably one of the nearby tables will get to interact with one or both of them; smiling and waving. Everyone has nothing but compliments to give us about our kids, which really does make us feel good. 🙂

I am absolutely fascinated with how much they learn every day. They are at such a fun age and I enjoy (almost) every moment. We are so truly blessed that it amazes me!

Exciting News!!!

For awhile now, N has been unhappy at his job. He loves the people he works with, but management has not been treating their floor nicely for a long time. He comes home frequently stating he needs to find a new job. Well, he finally followed through on that statement and applied for a position at the local Heart Hospital. And he got the job!!!!! I’m so stinkin’ excited for him. Not just because it’s my favorite hospital that I’ve had the “pleasure” of staying in, either. 😉

No, I’m excited because it opens up so many more opportunities for him to grow in this profession. He got into nursing because he wanted to work with heart patients. When he took the job on the telemetry floor, he expected to be working with heart patients. But the hospital has turned the floor into a geriatric trauma and spillover floor instead.

Also, he’d like to eventually work as either a Nurse Practitioner for an Electrophysiologist, or become a pacemaker programmer. Both of these things will require more exposure to heart patients (which he’ll obviously get at the Heart Hospital) and experience in ICU and/or an EP lab. He hopes to eventually transfer to these parts of the Heart Hospital to gain the experience he needs.

I’ll also admit to being excited that his commute will be cut in half. He says that doesn’t matter to him, but I will rest much easier knowing he’s able to take all surface streets if need be when the roads are icy.

He turned in his resignation last Friday. Everyone at work said they were very sad to see him go, but understood completely. He’s made some good friends at work, and hopefully he will continue to see them socially. I know he’d be very sad if he didn’t. He starts orientation for his new job the first week of August. I know he’s both excited and nervous about this new adventure. I have confidence that he will make himself at home there, just like he has everywhere else he goes. 🙂

Long Overdue Update

It’s been way too long since I last updated, and I apologize. All I have to say is, caring for active and mobile twins is exhausting! Plus, I’ve taken on some new responsibilities the last couple of weeks that have been eating up any “free” time I have (I’ll explain below).

First of all, the babies are, well, getting close to not being babies anymore, I guess. 😦 In 9 days they will be one year old. I don’t understand how this could possibly be true. I swear it was just yesterday that we brought them home! Yet, when I look at them and all they can now do, I realize that they really have done a lot of growing and developing. I guess maybe they could be one. But I don’t want them to be!

Lucas’s current nickname (from me) is Houdini Monkey. You see, he’s quite the climber and escape artist. He can climb on things you’d think there was no way he could climb! And not only that but he will climb from one piece of furniture to another. I actually caught footage of him climbing from a chair, to a box, to the couch, and almost to freedom (we have a coffee table on its side against the couch to block them from going into the kitchen/dining area). Much to his chagrin, I stopped him. But he has escaped a time or two when I wasn’t looking. He also has taken his first unassisted steps! He started with just one (or really half of one), which we got on video. Then on Friday he managed 4 steps in a row. And yesterday he did 12 steps! 😀 Unfortunately, today he seems to have forgotten and has not made it more than 2 steps. LOL N was here to witness the one step stage. He was at work on Friday, but I kept the kids up late so that he could see it when he got home. And he was here for the long series of steps, which made us both happy. Now if Kyla would just join in. 😉

Kyla isn’t interested in climbing or walking. But she is obsessed with shoes, phones, and kisses. Lord help me, I’m afraid she may turn into a girly girl no matter how hard I try to sway her the other direction! Her kisses now are super cute. She makes a fishy face and gives a big smack. 🙂 She’ll even kiss N and me on the lips, if she’s in the mood. It’s so cute!

Today my aunt and uncle got a real taste of what life is like with twins. They’re always going in opposite directions, and neither in the direction you want! My uncle was taking pics of the twins for me. He’s been thinking of taking up photography professionally (he’s been taking classes forever and is really good) and offered (well, my aunt offered, really) to take their one year pics for me. We went to a park and tried to get some good ones. I don’t know yet if we did, but I hope so! I know we’ve got lots of cute ones of them individually, but it was impossible to keep them close together (and looking the same direction) long enough to get much. There’s one shot in particular that I really hope was captured on film because it would be SO cute to put in a frame! Keep your fingers crossed. 🙂 He took over 1,000 pics, so surely we got at least one good one, right? 😉

This coming weekend will be my nephew’s third birthday (that’s hard to believe too!). The twins and I will be going down to Houston to attend his party while N stays home to work. We’ll come back on Monday so that the four of us can celebrate the babies actual birthday on Tuesday as a family, then their party (had to limit it to family because of the sheer numbers in that group alone) will be the following Saturday (June 12). I just hope we can get the house clean by then!

As for the other commitments I’ve made, well I’m still assistant teaching online and the last two weeks have been a Maymester, in which a whole semester’s worth of work is crammed into 2.5 weeks. It’s taking up a considerable amount of time, let me tell you. Fortunately, that will be over on Thursday of this week. My other commitment has been to my Mothers of Multiples group. I am now the newsletter editor and I’ve been working on putting together my first issue. It’s been slow going because I’ve had to learn the software (N suggested InDesign) and come up with a new layout (didn’t like the old one and also didn’t have the program it was done in anyway). I think it’s looking pretty good. I just hope everyone else likes it.

So that’s what’s been going on here. Just a whole lot of busy and enjoying every last minute of my babies’ first year. I think it’s been the fastest year of my life!

First day of school

Today was the first day of school for my former students. It feels kinda funny that I wasn’t there. But Kyla and Lucas kept me plenty distracted. 🙂 Yet, at the same time, they’ve slept quite a bit as well. And I’ll admit that some (okay a lot) of that sleeping has been on me. But that’s probably because I missed them so much the last two days.

Yesterday marked the first day of the online class I am working in as a TA. Saturday I had to go help set up, then yesterday was a face-to-face class. I actually had to give a lecture to 160+ graduate students! Talk about nervous! But somehow I managed, despite having to use a microphone, which I’ve always hated. I had a bit of down time when other people were giving their lectures, which I spent either preparing myself for my lecture, or looking through pictures of the twins on my computer. Here are my current favorite pics.

Kyla

Lucas

Aren’t they simply ADORABLE??? I can’t get over how beautiful my babies are. 😀

They are interacting with us more and more. Lucas babbles all the time, and usually “talks” to us before he gets all the way to crying. I wonder if he’s crying because he can’t get us to understand… Kyla continues to amaze me with how strong she is. You know, they always say that girls are more verbal and boys more physical, but I’m not so sure these two fit that mold. Could it be the broken arm putting Lucas a little behind his sister in the physical development? Guess we’ll never know.

Well, it’s bath time! I’m still waiting for the day we get through an entire bath without screaming. 😉 But they’re starting to smell a bit like sour milk, so there’s no getting out of it! LOL