How Easter Gave Me Twins

Nope, NOT pregnant - and I probably wouldn't have known it was twins by now :). Read on to know the reason for the title!


How was Easter for everyone? Ours was great, even though we didn't have anything planned for Easter Day until, um, Easter Day. But we made it to church (half an hour late) and Melissa looked absolutely adorable in a dress her grandma made her.

We did have some plans for the weekend, like taking Melissa to an Easter party and even stop by a Memorial for a friend's sister afterwards, but wouldn't you know, nothing worked out. It seems like lately there's always someone sick in our house, or all 3 of us. This time it was David, who every once in awhile gets a really, really bad migraine. Fun.

So we spent Easter weekend more indoors than out, but I think God had a plan in all this (doesn't He always). It kinda forced us to stop everything and just be still with each other as a family. At the end of Saturday David felt better and we had a nice dinner at IHOP. We love it there because, besides the awesome menu, it reminds us of our honeymoon, when we had breakfast in one every morning (across the street from Disneyland!). And it's also one of the only places where we can feed Melissa without anything upsetting her fragile stomach (my high maintenance legacy continues :). So even though we weren't "productive" at all and none of our plans worked, it turned out to be the best Easter I've ever had.

Oh and something cool happened when we were leaving church: my friend Mindy told me she needed someone to watch Daniel (her 2-year-old) this week while she works, because of his Spring Break. Now, I've never been babysitter extraordinaire, BUT I have been worried about Melissa not getting much of a chance to play with other kids. I even prayed about it last week, so this seemed God-sent! I told myself it'd be like having twins :), and felt surprisingly comfortable with that thought. I guess I was just excited Melissa would have a little friend.

So 3 days later, it's been awesome. Daniel is THE easiest kid in the world. He's as easy as mine, minus the emotional breakdowns haha (she's such a girl :). Already caught them holding hands twice, and both days I was able to put them down to sleep at the same time. I still can't believe it!! But they have so much fun playing together and then they crash wonderfully. I know two kids is supposed to be super hard, but I think God's spoiling me! Or tricking me into having another one ;).

Toddler Anger Management

<- You'd never guess.


I heard the terrible twos could start as soon as 18 months (Melissa's age in a week), and last as long as their 30th birthday haha. At the same time, I heard some kids are just good and don't have them at all.

Well, my daughter is fantastic. And that is why she's so efficient at letting her will be known. And this is absolutely adorable when she's happy - or at least not crappy. She smiles more, claps more, talks more, makes more expressions, is more affectionate and understands us WAY better. Sounds like a dream, right?

Um, not always. It becomes a problem since she now knows how to show us how much we frustrate her. At least that's how my guilt-induced mom brain sees it most of the time - I think hubby has a much healthier view of it (don't them all). He's the one who woke me up to the fact that she might not be in deep distress (despite the wails and the tears and the screams and the look of suffering); she may be just testing the limits.

What? My heart would wonder. My sweet, sweet little baby is throwing a tantrum just because?? Yep. I have realized that despite her innocent face and wonderful kissies and huggies when she's in the mood for it, sometimes my daughter has an agenda. And that agenda is to be entertained AND see how far she can go. What else she can get if she whines just a little bit more. Maybe mommy will pull a pony out of her butt.

Sorry for the crudeness, I'm just at my wit's end sometimes. Not exactly right now - she's being the compliant girl I remembered (thank you, Wiggles). But it's like a time bomb. I wonder if that's how it's like for people in abusive relationships.

Too Much Mom Tuesday: Spahhhh

<- This is how I want to be buried.

What better way to celebrate this non-mommy post than to talk about the happiest place on earth?

It seems almost mean that I would write about this when so many of us (like me) can't afford to get pampered very often, if at all. There used to be a time when getting a massage every couple of months was a must for me. It was also a time when I'd go to the movies every single weekend, and do my nails about every month.

Sigh. Those days are over.

Lately, while I'm going about my day, I seem to be having flashbacks of my teen/college years. Which is funny 'cause I would NEVER want to go back, but I think my body is trying to tell me something. Like, "you used to treat me better, and why oh why do you abuse me today." So I've been trying to find little ways to show myself some love, without having to break the bank. Here's what I got so far:

Doing My Own Nails
Speaking of that, you HAVE to check out this video (if you haven't already - it seems like everybody has):

If you didn't have the patience to watch, she's joking about how nice ladies at nail salons try to sell you more services. And you see, when you do your own nails, you do it on YOUR terms. Yeah, it's tricky to get the hang of it, but once you do (not that I'm there already, but improving as we speak), you start getting picky about how other people do your nails. It's very irritating when someone does it worse than you would've at home and charge you $20 for it. See, girls, there are advantages!

Do Your Own Aromatherapy
I think one of things that addicted me to spas was their wonderful smell (the good ones, at least). But you see, you can BUY these things (for a couple dollars at Target/Bath&Body Works). After I started using a wonderfully scented body wash, my spa cravings have drastically reduced. I highly recommend smelling like a cupcake.

Don't Skip The Moisturizer
After an exhausting day, it was very tempting to just go straight to bed after a shower. Because remember, my big hair = a long and tiring detangling process. But as I got more disciplined about not skipping the body lotion routine, it gave me a nice auto-massage. It's amazing how much just a bit of pressure as you apply the lotion can help your achy muscles. It also helps if it smells like cupcakes (but might make you hungry at night, so maybe not).

When All Fails, Just Go To a Spa Already
I have a groupon on hold, waiting to be used on my next breakdown. It's been over a month, so I guess I should be proud of myself. Or I could reward myself with a good massage.

The Cleaning Fairy

<- Don't you love this? Though mine just might be over...

When I was younger, my mom used to joke with us that there was a cleaning fairy (her) that made our clothes magically appear clean in our closets. I told hubby about it and now when I tell him to pick up his socks or something he goes, "but the fairy is going to come!" Haha. Not so funny when the fairy is ME.

Well, considering he's usually the one who cooks, I guess I can't complain much. But my frustration was more towards myself - I wished I could be neater. But taking care of a toddler seemed so overwhelming that there seemed to be no opportunity (or strength or disposition) left for the toys around the carpet the end of the day. I'd think, "I'm soooo exhausted, and what's the point, it'll look the same way tomorrow morning".

So when my dear friend Kim told me about the Fly Lady (a website that encourages women to clean), I was kinda skeptical. Not of the website per se, but of my ability to commit to it. But just for the heck of it, I signed up.

Their premise is that your house did not become chaotic in a day, so you're not gonna clean it in a day. What you'll do is take baby steps - establish one good habit at a time, until keeping it clean doesn't become a huge effort. Genius, no?

I just started this, so don't quote me on anything - and haven't even successfuly accomplished the first habit, which is "make your sink shine before going to bed". Mine doesn't, but the dishwasher does get filled more often than not. And as predicted on the website, this puts you in a decluttering mood - since a clean sink needs clean counters. Then I'd look at the living room's carpet, full of Melissa's toys, and felt like doing something about it. At almost midnight! This is unheard of.

The thing is, I used to tell myself that if I cleaned I'd get even more exhausted, to the point of not being able to function enough to take care of Melissa, but that is not true. I can't function regardless :). J/k (sort of), but what I mean is that it just feels like I've been working out - you know, that kind of exhaustion that makes you feel proud of yourself. I used to feel tired all the time before anyway, so why did I think this would be the end of the world?

Now, our place is NOT yet spotless. Remember, baby steps, people. Please do not show up unannounced. But if you do, I might not die of embarrassment as much as before. And you might not have to witness the remains of Melissa's breakfast.

The Attack of the Mom-Jeans

<- Taken the weekend she ruined all of my non-mom-jeans - and still got a hug afterwards.

If you've seen this post, you know how elated I was with my first non-pregnancy jeans purchase after Melissa. Those were the best pants I'd ever had. Or at least it felt like it at the moment.

I still have them, but can't wear them anymore because of one itsy bitsy problem - the pounds I gained after stopping breastfeeding. It didn't happen overnight, so there wasn't one traumatic blow up, just me one day trying on stuff that used to feel baggy on me before and freaking out when they wouldn't close. And I know I'm not the healthiest eater, but I am NOT eating as much as I used to. Plus, I'm moving around much more too, chasing Melissa. So uuuuuurgh!

But *deep breath* okay, I guess it's part of life - so there I go, buying bigger jeans. I managed to still find my favorite style/brand, so it's all good. UNTIL dear little Melissa decided to puke (this little word doesn't even define the amount of damage she did) on not one, but TWO of my favorite pants. And when I say "favorite", I mean "only wearable ones".

Oh, panic, despair, and another trip to the mall (you might guess hubby's loving this saga). To my desperation, Spring has come and apparently it's against the law to have too many jeans on sale at this season. After all, everyone must only wear skirts, right? Um, what about toddler moms, who don't feel like showing their heiny on a windy park??

I do end up finding one pair that works - which happens to be skinny. I love it, but even though it's surprisingly comfortable, it's still skinny jeans, and in a very, very dark wash (an almost black navy blue). Which means my legs are overheated by noon.

Tired of spending money on pants at the mall, I go to Target and find this gem: Mom-Jeans Extraordinaire! In all its glory with just the right amount of bagginess to make chores comfortable and the high waist to hide the post-baby belly (I know, still). I am not proud of this. And when I go out, I still try to wear the skinny jeans. But if you stop by, you might call Stacy & Clinton (from What Not To Wear) on me. Hey, that wouldn't be such a bad idea!