Brutal

Brutal is the only word that comes to mind when I think about the past few days.

On Monday Aidan began the day with a runny nose, fever and hacking cough. That lasted through Wednesday afternoon when he suddenly perked up and seemed back to normal.

Never fear....Ella picked up right where Aidan left off.

Wednesday afternoon Ella began running a fever while sporting a runny nose and a hacking cough.

Thursday morning brought about a lengthy visit to the pediatrician where we left with our diagnosis.....

....Two cases of bronchitis, one ear infection (Aidan's right ear), and one nebulizer treatment for Ella. We were even given a home nebulizer to use three times a day until the coughing begins to die down.

Needless to say, it has been a brutal week in the Parker household. Long sleepless nights, poor naps, lack of eating and lots of fighting over sitting in Mommy's lap.

The highlights of the week thus far?

LOTS of cuddle time and sleeping with a little one on my chest. Lots of extra "rest" time and movie watching to keep them calm and not stress out their little lungs.

And siblings that long to be together, resulting in scenes this:

Wordless Wednesday

Full Circle

Ella and Aidan were born in May of 2007. And as predicted, that first year with twins was both exhilarating and brutal. I chronicled conquering infertility, sleepless nights, 12-month-long-reflux and colic, balancing working part-time and a husband whose job takes him away from the family for days and nights on end.

I cheered on other Moms whose little ones were sleeping through the night. I was delighted in my children, but struggling with regular first-time mom stuff such as how to balance exercise, friendships and my marriage when everything I did was colored by pure exhaustion.

Outings were performed with military precision, complete with an escape route. Nights were long and bled into the days. Laundry was never ending, and I took solace in the fact that my work as a mother was legitimately much harder than that of a mom with only one newborn.

Life was just…so hard.

Months 12-24 were busy, busy, busy. Most of that time was spent trying to keep Ella and Aidan from prematurely ending their lives. Oh, they tried! Eating crumbling concrete, launching themselves off of high surfaces, careening around on play ground equipment and even a head injury resulting in a CT scan! Heck, there were even several smothering attempts!

And still, I reassured myself that the amount of stress I was experiencing on a daily basis was the direct result of having two same-aged children. I sometimes marveled at my mom-friends with only one child. I never begrudged their struggles, I just longed a little bit for the way they seemed to be so relaxed about mothering when I was trying to keep my head above water.

However, and I didn’t see it coming, and something amazing has happened.

All of those mom friends with one child? Well, they got pregnant again and have given or are soon giving birth to their second born. And here is the kicker: my life with 2 two-year olds? It is much, much easier and less difficult than having a toddler and a baby!

I can hardly believe how much fun I can have with my munchkins these days with minimal planning, packing and stressing. I honestly have a lot of compassion for my friends who are chasing after a non-napping toddler during the day and are nursing a baby through the night.

I wasn’t expecting it, but I think I have come full circle and believe that having two-same aged children actually seems easier than having two different aged singletons!

Hats off to all those Moms out there with toddlers and a newborn. You rock and are certainly more deserving of a nice glass of wine at the end of the day more than I ever was or ever will be!

Night Night, Sleep Tight!

Ella and Aidan LOVE their big kid beds....as you can see!

This was last night, the first night in their new beds. They were both very particular about which toys they wanted with them and exactly where they wanted all of the pillows.

The entire process of getting them to sleep really was not that much different than usual. From tucking them in to sound asleep took about 45 minutes - pretty good for their first night if you ask me!

Not once did either of them get out of the bed. Granted, they both cried out for us a few times, but other than that, they spent their 45 minutes of falling asleep marveling and talking to themselves about all of the "way cool" (as Aidan said) things in their rooms.

I think that it has been a HUGE help that we tend to travel quite a bit and that we ditched the pack-n-pays a long time ago. That said, since last October, they have been sleeping in big beds (with bed rails) whenever and wherever we travel.

At any rate, this was just the first night - we shall see what they have in store for us tonight!

(it's the flash that makes it look like they are sleeping in a brightly lit room)

Sneak Peak!

More to come soon....I don't want to showcase their rooms until they are complete. I am still missing the valances in each room and Ella's new cheval mirror.

Goodbye Cribs!

Today is the last day that Ella and Aidan will sleep in their cribs.

Tomorrow is a big day - we are transitioning their rooms to big kid beds!

While I am excited for their new rooms, my heart hurts to see Ella and Aidan grow up so fast, leaving the last faint hints of babyhood far behind.

Pigtail Cutie!

On Valentine's Day Ella and I were playing around with our hair and, after much cajoling, she decided to let me try to put hers in pigtails.

Anyone who knows Ella at all knows that she is definitely all girl - with the exception of any sort of hair related "decoration". She hates bows, headbands, etc - anything aside from a tiara is simply forbidden in her little mind.

I was shocked that she let me put her hair in pigtails, even more so when she allowed them to remain in place long enough for Mike to see them when he got home.

I am certainly biased, but I think she looks absolutely adorable!

Wordy Wednesday

Welcome to the World!

Sullivan Howard Kilcoyne

"Sully"

arrived on Monday, February 8, 2010

at 11:11pm

8lbs, 7 oz and 19 1/2 inches

Sweet baby Sully -

May you always have lucky stars above you,

Sunshine on your way,

Many friends to love you,

Joy in work and play.

Laughter to outweigh each care,

In your heart a song,

And gladness waiting everywhere,

All your whole life long!

Our "Ballemtimes" Day - 2010

Happy Valentine's Day!

Happy Valentine's Day from our Two Little Cupids!

XOXOXOXOXO,

Ella and Aidan

Snow Day - Round II

The snow that fell yesterday evening and into the wee hours of this morning was perfection - close to 5 inches worth of pure white fluffiness!

We had a wonderful morning playing outside - Ella and Aidan loved making "train tracks" in the snow!

Snowy Evening

Well, for the first time that I can recall in my 37 years, we have gotten snow twice this winter season!

It started snowing tonight at around 5:30 and it is still snowing as I am getting ready to go up to bed. Ella and Aidan were so funny this evening that I just had to sneak in a post before I go to sleep.

The kids were so excited this evening and after they said goodnight to the falling snow, they decided to gang up on me and plead for a slumber party - in other words - they both wanted to go to sleep in Mommy & Daddy's bed.

I am a total sucker and decided to let them have a try. They really, really loved sleeping in the same room at Opa and Grandma Shushi's last weekend, so what the heck!

Much to my surprise, they sat up there singing songs from "Yo Gabba Gabba" for about 1 hour, and then fell asleep.

They were so sweet together that I just had to take a few pictures!

I put them in bed at around 7:20 PM, but kept heading back upstairs every so often because I was worried about one of them falling out of bed.

7:45 PM - Still Playing & Singing

8:45 PM - Finally asleep - now you can see why I worry - Aidan likes to sleep on the edge of the bed!

11 PM - How I found them when I went to bed. Be still my heart!

Needless to say, our little queen sized bed gets exceptionally small when you add in two toddlers! I wound up "sleeping" like a dog across the foot of the bed - not a good night's rest.

But, the kids had tried something new and had some fun and sibling bonding and that is all that really matters to me!

Wordless Wednesday

Aidan's "Coffee"

While we were in Atlanta, Aidan apparently developed a love for "coffee".

Grandma Shushi had found a few cans of soup that looked like fun for the kiddos - one was "Cars" and the other was "Dora". Aidan immediately took ownership of the "Cars" can, calling it his "coffee" and walking around taking pretend sips - even going so far as to set the can on coasters!

Sunday morning I watched him take his "coffee" and set it on a coaster next to the leather chair. He then walked over to the basket of magazines, chose something to read, and headed back to the chair.

He proceeded to get comfy (even crossing his little feet) and read. Every so often he would take a sip of "coffee", always careful to place it back onto the coaster.

Priceless! Not only was it pretty hilarious, but I LOVE that our little man already has the manners to use a coaster!

Trip to Atlanta

On Friday morning we headed out to spend a long weekend in Atlanta. The weather was terrible and it sleeted / rained / poured virtually the entire ride. Nonetheless, we made it there safely!

We arrived at the house before Grandma Sushi or Opa were home from work, and the kids were greeted with an immediate surprise....their very own table complete with placemats, cups (not pictured), gummy bears and new BIG bunnies!

That night brought about somewhat of a first for Ella and Aidan - they slept in the same room! You see, we separated their rooms when they were 9 months old and they have not slept "together" since. Well, it was one big party for roughly two hours. It was so darn funny to stand outside their room and listen to them singing and talking to one another. Never once did they get out of bed, which was a little surprising!

Saturday we made a visit to the Atlanta Children's Museum. We were all a bit disappointed as it was quite costly for what was actually inside the museum, but overall, the kids had fun "fishing", playing in the magic sand (which was so awesome that Grandma Shushi bought a 10 pound bucket for us to bring home!), and exploring the grocery store and John Deere tractor.

We topped off the morning with lunch at an Atlanta icon - the Varsity! Not only was it the first visit for Ella and Aidan, but also for Mike!

Aunt Kiki and Uncle Gary stopped by after dinner and brought the kiddos some ice cream - great fun was had by all!!

Sunday was kind of a lazy day spent around the house and eventually watching the Super Bowl. Aidan was well prepared and wore his "helmet" (i.e. colander) in preparation for the big game.

Before heading back on Monday morning, Kiki came by for one more visit and we all enjoyed playing outside for a bit of fresh air before the ride home. As it turns out, Aidan is really quite good at soccer - perhaps even a natural...who knows!

It was a wonderful weekend full of lollipops....

....bird watching....

....a little bit of pouting....

....vacuuming....

....and plenty of HUGS!