What a week!

I forgot to mention a major incident during our trip to Boston. We were in a rush at the curbside check in and Daddy forgot to buckle in Arden. We didn't realize this until she fell out and her head bounced off the concrete sidewalk with a sickening thud. She and I were so upset about it at the time, but she recovered quickly and didn't even get a goose egg just a little yellow bruise.

And then yesterday I went in after their afternoon nap and picked up Cari right away. She was mad. So I changed her poopy diaper and then she and Arden play a happy game of peekaboo through the pack n play. It wasn't until I stood up to pick Arden up that I noticed that she and her pack n play were covered in poop! She had apparently exploded out the back of her diaper then rubbed it on her ear, her face, then rolled in it such that the back of her head was covered in dried poop. There was poop all over the bottom of the playard and her clothes. I ended up putting her in the tub. This NEVER happened with Alana. What are these girls eating?!!

Chris is back in San Diego to supervise the movers and close on our house. Looks like everything is set to go as planned. Poor guy. It's been a rough week of traveling hither and thither. Can't wait to settle in. We're so tired of it all.

This is the high chair

I wish I got this space saving "high chair" for the twins. I am told it is the bomb. Jas take note :-)

http://www.safety1st.com/usa/eng/Products/Child-Care/Booster-Seats/Details/2161-21052-Deluxe-Sit,-Snack-Go-5-Mode-Booster-Seat

Massachusetts

Well, we are now the Murphys of Massachusetts. Bleh. It's not cold as I predicted. In fact, I completely mispacked and the girls only have 5 short-sleeved shirts and 2 pairs of shorts between them and it's quite warm and humid. I thought I had it all under control. SonofaB. The new place is nice, huge compared to our San Diego digs, and only slightly closer to the neighbors (it's a duplex). We won't have furniture for a few weeks and that is not fun. We have nowhere to sit and only one TV to fight over. But at least we have wireless Internet!

Backtracking a bit, the girls all were great on the plane. I can't tell you how super the babies were. It was incredible. Our initial flight to LA was cancelled due to weather (!) and we did not find out about it until Chris had dropped off the rental van and we were standing at the ticket counter loaded up like overly fertile Sherpas. I guess they took pity on us because they got us onto a direct flight to San Diego. Getting on and off the shuttle bus then the plane was no mean feat but we did it only to wait another 1.5 hrs on the tarmac with an A/C issue. So about 6.5-7 hrs later we touched down in muggy Logan Airport. The rest of that day is a tale of woe and horror that need not be committed to print. Today was okay in the morning, but the afternoon's endless trip to Target was less so. All in all, the babies seem uncomfortable in the new environs and so are fussier and clingier.

Everyone's in bed now (Lani in her toddler bed and the twins in matching playards.) Chris and I are sleeping on a foam pad on the floor but at least tonight there will be pillows!

* * *

Cari eats anything that's not nailed down. Mostly, this means food (spinach quiche, spaghetti and meatballs, mac n cheese, scrambled eggs, meatloaf, Kimi balls) Inedible things that Cari has attempted to eat in the last few weeks: a chunk of a Nerf football, half of the plastic doohickey on a blinds cord, the red airline gate-check ticket on her carseat, the instructions to the tv, a plastic Target bag. I'm used to a much more sedentary if crabby baby. I noticed she has a chip in one of her front teeth. I have no idea how she did that!

A Miscellany of Videos

The Twins Bathing Together - They love it but it's a bit dicey since Arden tends to slip a lot.

Alana's birthday party was a smash, pun intended. They enjoyed Kidventures

in PB. They had fun smacking the bejesus out of a spongebob pinata. Lani picked

out the theme...I had pushed for Dora, Hello Kitty, Princess, anything else.

Karlene Beats up Spongebob

Lani Blows Out Her Spongebob Cake

Moving

Preparing to move our family to Massachusetts has been a miserable, depressing and lonely activity. Chris does what he can from Boston, but I'm on the hook for most of it.

Now that the house is "sold" (hurray!) I have begun focusing on leaving and I am heartbroken. I will miss being close to my mom, aunties, and cousins. I will miss spending time with my dear friend Laurie and her daughter and Alana's best friend, Karlene. I will miss Alana's awesome preschool and teachers and M'Lu, the director. I will miss the neighbors who have befriended us. I will miss being able to do outdoor activities year-round and being 10 minutes from the beach, bay, the zoo, Balboa Park, and Seaworld and not dealing with bumper-to-bumper traffic and parking headaches. I will miss the relative warmth of San Diego and wearing flip flops 9 months of the year.

Next Wednesday 9/23 is our last day here in beautiful sunny San Diego. I hope the girls don't resent us when they grow up and realize that, had things been different, they might not have spent 4 months of every year trapped inside, sporting pasty skin and saying things like "let's paaahk the caaah in haahvaahd yaahd." I don't want to go, girls. I will try to convince Daddy to move back some day, but Daddy says he is not a "San Diego" type of person. Sigh.

* * *

I've uploaded some recent pics of my sweet girls. They are my only happiness right now.

All three girls together. It's so hard to get a decent group shot!

Wow, here you can really get a sense of the twins' different head shapes.

Mom and the twins

Marily, the twins' former doula, with the girls. Marily drove down to take some family photos with all of us. We'll miss her too. She has been like a member of the family.

A Note to Jas

Hi Jas,

Congratulations! I hope you are feeling good...no morning sickness?!

I have some baby things that are going to charity this week unless you want it. I would love to help outfit you for the bambino-to-be. Babies are soooo expensive; saving money here and there is not really a bad idea. Just let me know ASAP if you want anything. Otherwise, it is going to charity on Friday.

Love, Jen

Exersaucer. This thing is in good condition, is about 2.5 yrs old, and the seat is washable. It looks exactly like this picture. http://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B0002PR43O

Baby toys. I'm not going to take all of the twins toys. There are a few fun but noisy Vtech toys and so forth that the babies have enjoyed but are now getting bored of.

Crib. Alana's moving to a big bed once we hit Mass, so we are going to give away one of the cribs. It is white and comes with a mattress (I would buy a new mattress). The crib cost about $200 brand new, so it is not a higher end crib but it is in good shape.

Clothes and misc. I have girl clothes, tons of receiving blankets, plush blankets, towels, etc.

Bouncer. This chair is in great condition and the seat is washed/washable. http://www.fisher-price.com/fp.aspx?st=2011&e=detail&selcat=bgb&pid=47990

Bottle warmers. I have 2 Avent bottle warmers that cost $50 each new. They are really quite useful if you think you might need them.

Chicco Keyfit 30 infant seat and base. This high-end carseat is virtually new and would work for a boy or a girl. I only used it about 10 times, and the rest of the time it sat in the house. It looks like this except it is charcoal and pumpkin colored. http://www.amazon.com/Chicco-Keyfit-Infant-Seat-Adventure/dp/B000MAER3Y/ref=sr_1_2?ie=UTF8&s=baby-products&qid=1252472533&sr=1-2