How is your state being helped?

I usually use this site to post updates just on the kids but I think it should be more because Life with the Pedersens, while very much consumed with the kids, is not just that. Tomorrow is the 100th day of office for President Obama. I, for one, am encouraged by his work. This link, Foundation for Change, details how some of the actions taken by his administration are effecting people in your state. In particular I am excited about the health care coverage now being extended to children who were previously uninsured! Take a moment to see the number of people in your state being aided by his actions as our President.

Warm Weather + Happy Kids = A Great Afternoon

With all of us feeling better we ventured to the front yard to play today. I am not brave enough to go too far from home with the effects of the medicine still taking their toll on Skylar! Nothing like trying to change an awful diaper in a public bathroom or worse having to wait the whole drive home to do it. No thank you! It was just enough time outside for them both to go down easily for their nap after playing ever so quietly in the upstairs playroom while I cleaned. If only every day could be this easy (I hope I didn't just jinx myself!!)


Heading for the sidewalk...


Now what do I do? And oh, his head isn't as big as it looks (he has grown into it!). But this hat is too small and was just resting on his head after he started moving around. Skylar played on the sidewalk for a bit, but quickly moved back into the yard cause that is where the dirt is. He was having a blast digging and throwing it around. So I let him get as dirty as he wanted....who even cares?!? That is what baths are for!


Just taking a stroll up the street...


She also loves the outdoors....sticks, gumballs, dandelions. But she stays looking good while she plays. That is until she opened the cap on the bubbles and starting drinking it...probably to wash down the sticks and gumballs she had just taste tested!

A house of kleenex

This past week has been challenging. Elaina got sick first last week, then Skylar, and as soon as I said I never get sick from them, I got it. And when Mom is sick it is NOT fun!! I am lucky that Jon is probably one of the most hands on dads. With him working nights, I have had him here to help during the day but still it is not fun to be sick with kids.

"I am sick:("

Elaina is probably the most easy going sick child...she just runs around smiling with snot running out of her nose. Seriously, I want whatever happy pill that child is on because she is always laughing and smiling! Skylar seemed to have a worse time with it and we had to take him to the doctor, put him on antibiotics that has been causing the nastiest blowouts and on top of that the poor boy is cutting his final teeth. But the good news is that yesterday, we all were doing better! Enough that I felt up to a walk in the beautiful weather. Enough that Skylar didn't need Motrin for his teeth. Enough that Daddy got a much needed nap and to sleep in for a change.

Here are just a few pictures from before we were sick...


The dirtier I get, the more fun bath time is!!


Pudding!


Sky has a bit of an obsession with wheels...


Playing in the bushes.


Bringing mama a dandelion she picked.

Can't get this off my mind...

I don't know the family in this blog The Spohrs Are Multiplying but their story has caused my heart to hurt today. I only heard of them through another blog I read and I have found myself going back a few times already today to read more about their darling daughter who left this earth at only 16 months old. Perhaps it is because she was born just before my babies were. Maybe it is because she was a NICU baby (though her stay was much longer and more intense than for mine). Perhaps it is because today BOTH my kids are sick with coughs, colds, and a fever and after Skylar's ER trip a few weeks ago, I am still freaked out. Whatever the reason, I feel a tremendous amount of sadness for this couple and their family and friends. They will be in my thoughts and prayers and I will hold my babies extra tight.

Easter

I uploaded these pictures in the wrong order. So you see the end of the day to the beginning. You might want to start at the bottom!! We had a nice Easter starting with breakfast and baskets for the kids. They each got one small present from us as well. We didn't try to go to church because it is impossible to keep them contained these days! If we only had one active toddler, I think we could handle it but with two, there would be no worshipping going on, that's for sure! We had lunch at MoMo's and the kids hunted for eggs in the backyard. Elaina got into it right away. Skylar had to first explore the yard and pull grass! Both seemed to think the eggs were pretty cool once they found the animal cookie inside. There isn't much you can put in an egg that is not a choking hazard you know!



I love to climb!!


Olivia was a bit overwhelmed by these two!


Trying to get a picture of the three cousins. Skylar wanted t love on Olivia it seems:)


Last year they were in this chair and looking so little. Not anymore!


She gets prettier each day it seems!!


Getting the hang of it but putting the eggs in his sister's basket:)


It is so fun to be outside!


He was putting grass in the basket!


She discovered the cookies inside!




Easter egg hunting with MoMo


Finding the rubber duck in the basket. She LOVES ducks!


Always banging things...


Well what is this?!?


Skylar checking out the Easter basket


Snuggling before bed last week with MoMo

Things to not say to a twin mom (or dad)

Having twins causes us to be put on display much more than I thought it ever would. You would think, with twins being more common these days, that people would be used to seeing them. And I have to say, I think mine are pretty darn cute but it amazes me still how much attention you get. It seems more noticeable when I take just one out and can wander the aisles in Target without stares. I have heard all kinds of crazy comments. Luckily, now that they are older I haven't heard the "are they identical" question very much. I guess people don't know what to say but if you see a twin mom don't say things like "Double Trouble there!" or "You sure do have your hands full!" I mean what do you think I am going to say back to that...yes my hands are full so please hold one while I shop?! I love being a twin mommy! It is worth all the extra energy it takes to raise two same age kids just to hear them laugh together. I love everything about it so no it is not trouble and yes my hands are full but so is my heart. I am so lucky to have two beautiful children to love. And when they say you have your hands full I want to say I have TWINS not 10 kids! Speaking of which I am glad the novelty of the Octo-Mom has worn off because everywhere I went, it seemed people wanted to ask me what I thought of her. Well, probably the same thing you thought of her!! Again, I have TWINS and she has 14 kids!!! A little different!

Finally, I think some people are well meaning but for the most part I think this is just a way to sound like you are not nosy but of course you really are...in different variations I have gotten "So did you know you were having twins?". Well, no in fact I went to the hospital and poof out popped two! Or if they know we adopted they ask "did you know you were getting two babies when you went to Texas?" No our agency waited till we got there and yelled SURPISE!! When people ask if we knew if we were having twins, I think it is their way of asking did you do fertility treatments. Which is a personal question and one that a complete stranger has no business asking (however, I don't mind talking to people who are going through it too because that is what helped me so much). Yes, twins run in my family (my mom is a twin) and yes, I did fertility treatments. So yes, I did imagine that I would have twins someday. Just not in the wonderful, amazing way our children came into our lives.

April Updates and some photos

Elaina and Vaughn watching cartoons together


Elaina in her new sunglasses


Skylar going down the big slide with Daddy


"Open", "Close", we have been working on these words with him when he plays with this toy.


Coat still on and he already climbed into the box.


Another child in a box...


Someone enjoyed her bananas and chocolate pudding

After a few weeks of all of us being sick, I think we are pretty close to being sickness free! Following Skylar's trip to the ER he has been dealing with the cold part of it and wouldn't you know, Elaina caught it too. That makes me think that it wasn't allergies that led to his wheezing but who knows. All I know is that we have boxes of tissues now in almost every room and finally purchased a second humidifier because it is pretty much a given now that both need it at the same time. Jon got over his respiratory issues and I am back to normal after getting pink eye. Yes, pink eye. Never got it while teaching but somehow I caught it now. Oh and passed it onto my mom. No one is safe who enters our house!

Today Skylar and Elaina turned 16 months old. So hard to believe! Right now, Elaina is so full of herself! Proud of all she can do and wants an audience. She is happiest when she can run free and loves to bring along her "bunny". She loves to dance and has shown some pretty interesting moves lately. And she now is into Elmo. She tries to say his name which is cute. She babbles constantly and is saying more and more words each day.

Skylar is all boy and loves anything that involves wheels or figuring out how things move. He loves to play on the climber/slide we have in our basement and to chase the cat. He is so close to walking and crab walks a lot. He seems to be more cautious and unsure of walking alone though he can do it when he holds one of my hands. Skylar, as many of you know, has not been talking and we worried about him. Well, out of nowhere he just started babbling which is a big change from his grunts or cries. Elaina got very excited and started to mimic it back to him which caused him to do it again. They were "talking"! We actually had him evaluated by a speech therapist to see if he needed help and she said he is not too far behind his adjusted age (the age he would have been if born full term). She suggested doing sign language with him to help him express himself. We had briefly done this and Elaina picked up on a few but now we are really trying to work hard on it with both of them. We will see how it goes.

I have decided to return to teaching next year and am so lucky I get to return to my same school. My district allows for a leave of absence for child rearing under 2 and while I could have stayed home one more year and still returned to the district, Jon and I felt it was a good time for me to go back. I learned I will be teaching first grade which will provide me with new opportunities to grow. I am nervous and excited all at the same time to get back to teaching. I love it so much and have missed it. But I am worried about juggling the demands of working with being a mom. I think though I am the type of person who will be more organized and more productive when I am working. Just sending back my contract has caused me to get moving on those projects I have been meaning to do!