To Be Fair, Part 2

Megan has waited very patiently for her time in the sun on this blog. I dedicated a post to Bridget a little while ago, with the intent to do the same for Megan right away, but I'll plead the four under four excuse. So, fresh from her parent/teacher conference today, I'm here to brag about our "golden child" -- Miss Tiffany's words, not mine :)

I wasn't sure what to expect from this evaluation today, considering Megan is only in class two days a week for a few hours each day. I didn't expect a ton of insight, but I was impressed with the typed out, two page progress report we were given, full of glowing remarks, of course!

While Megan played in the next room, Miss Tiffany told Matt and I that Megan is the "golden child" in the classroom, that she can't believe Megan is the youngest in the class. She shows the most maturity of any child in the classroom, has excellent manners, is attentive and very inquisitive, can write her name, holds her pencil correctly, and shows social skills well beyond her age. Miss Tiffany thinks that she shows more empathy for her classmates than she's ever seen, and is a little caregiver for her friends. She helps put on sweaters and backpacks for the other kids, and resolves conflicts in the classroom without going to any teacher for help. Tiffany's analysis is that she's learned the social skills of a child much older because she has three little sisters at home. She said that some of the kids in the class don't even know the teachers' names, and that Megan is the only kid who knows every child and calls them by their name. Her friends are boys and girls, and she is the most outgoing in the classroom (!). It's really heartwarming to know that we haven't done her too much of an injustice (so far!) by making her the big sister of three already. I feel guilty that we don't have as much time to spend with her one-on-one as we would if she was an only child, but it's feedback like this that makes me think she'll probably survive this oldest kid gig, and maybe be better off because of it.

I know -- blah, blah, blah. We were obviously eating this up. I walked out of the room with the biggest smile on my face. I know she's extra special, but she's our kid. It's nice to hear such good things from someone else, and to know that her teachers think she's such a fun, sweet kid, too!

On to some of the latest and greatest from Megan ---

On her (over)active imagination:

This is a typical game for Megan. Here, she's gathered up every doll in the house to sit them on the steps to pretend that they're all in a choir. Her trusty sidekick Bridget goes along with whatever plan she hatches.

Other made-up games include:

• doll hospital, where they line up all of the dolls on the floor in their room and set to fixing all of their injuries;
• simply, "boat," where they pile as much stuff and dolls from their room as possible on to one of their bunk beds, and set off on a journey to fight off pirates, etc, etc. This is a really fun one to clean up after :)
• The Cheerios game, where Megan pretends to be a sneaky princess that wants to steal the Cheerios box or placemats from the dining room table. She crawls around under the table and sneaks her hand up to steal something. Bridget and I have to pretend that we don't know who she is, and act horrified that someone stole the Cheerios. It's as ridiculous as it sounds - you have to be 3 to get it, I guess. Or 2, since it elicits crazy laughter from Bridget every time!

On sensitivity:

A few months ago, while feeding the babies some solid food in their high chairs, Tessa started choking a little bit. Megan was calling me from the other room, and I yelled back, probably a little hysterically, "Megan, I can't come right now. Tessa's choking!!"

I pulled Tessa out of her chair, and was racking my brain for the correct way to perform the Heimlich on her (side note: I really need to update my lifesaving skills beyond what I can recall from my years lifeguarding as a teenager!), when Megan rushed to Annie's side. She immediately started talking to Annie, and said, "Don't worry, Mommy! I'll take care of Annie while Tessa chokes."

Of course, everything was fine with Tessa as soon as I pulled her out of the chair, and by that time Megan had assessed the situation. "Mommy, that was scary for Annie. Tessa's her best friend and her sister, and she didn't want her to choke."

Kind of a big deal for a three year old to piece together that kind of compassion for her baby sister.

On Boys:

Megan: "Mommy, do you always call Daddy 'Matt'?"

Me: "Yep. Usually."

Megan: "But why don't you call him Daddy?"

Me: "He's not my daddy - he's my husband."

Megan: "But, I want to marry Daddy."

Me: "You can't marry your daddy - that's just a rule."

Megan: "Okay, I'll marry (cousin) Joey."

Me: "Great!"

Better to go with the idea of a cousin marriage than encourage Megan to pursue another option for a husband in her preschool class. I figure we'll have enough boy drama for four households eventually, but we'll stave it off as long as possible!!

On husbands:

We always call them on our little toy phones when we're about ready to have a baby.

Playing "hospital" is another favorite game of Megan's. She and Bridget lie on opposite ends of the extra bed in their room, all tucked in - a la the grandparents in Charlie and the Chocolate Factory - and they pretend that their babies are coming very soon. I'm the doctor and I come to check up on them and deliver their babies. Honestly, I did not have anything to do with creating this game, other than birthing two babies myself somewhat recently. I feel a little Duggar-ish every time they want to play this game.

And, some factoids, like I did for Bridget:

Favorite Book: Currently, anything she knows all of the words to, and can "read" on her own.

Favorite Movie: any princess movie, although Matt occasionally tries to jockey Princess Bride into the first position.

Favorite Cartoon: Dora or Max and Ruby

Favorite Song: "Papa's Song," just like Bridget

Bedtime Routine: She sleeps with the same doll she's had since she could hold on to anything in her crib, and she loves to read books and hear princess/pirate stories before she dozes off. She falls asleep with a silly smile on her face from a happily ever after ending.

Favorite Food: She eats a lot of different foods now, and is much more adventurous than Bridget, but favorite stand-bys are definitely chicken nuggets, fruit, cheese, broccoli, rice, noodles, waffles cut up into fun shapes and french fries!

The three letter F word

The Flu.

Lest you think things are ever dull around here --- we just came through a stomach virus in our house that lasted exactly 24 hours and affected everyone. Not fun! I have said before, and I reiterate now, that being sick and having to take care of sick kids is the worst!!! I've never felt so outnumbered before.

The highlights from 8pm Monday - 8pm Tuesday:

• After a lovely dinner out with Sara and Tim, I suddenly very sick. I made a mad dash to our van, with two of our kids in tow, and barely got in before I had to throw up in a plastic grocery bag.
• Matt fell vitim about three hours later.
• Bridget followed, and proceeded to throw up on about 6 different blankets, her sheets, her mattress cover, her pillows, and four different sets of pajamas throughout Monday night.
• The washer and dryer were running all day long Tuesday to get through the mountain of Bridget mess.
• The babies were cranky and sorely neglected all day long. I heard "Momma" for the first time from Annie, and Tessa said "Dadda" a few times. They were truly reaching out for us all day, and we couldn't do much more than the bare minimum to take care of them. As if I wasn't completely drained and dehydrated already, I had to nurse them, and this literally sucked every last drop of energy I had in me. The babies were sick today, with really bad diapers, but so far, no vomit.
• Megan wasn't really sick, although her "tummy hurt" the day before, which we hadn't paid much attention to. So, by the time Matt, Bridget and I were all sick, Megan was all better and raring to go. She was a bundle of energy, wanting to go to the park, running all over the house from one activity to another, all in stark contrast to the three of us lying on the couch unable to move.
• Oh, and Bridget threw up all over Matt's work laptop. The tech guys at SI had fun dealing with that today.

A day like that makes every other day around here feel so much more manageable. Thankfully, we're all better now, our laundry is caught up, bathrooms are clean, kids are clean and blogging has resumed :)

Who Needs a Pool...

when you have a hot tub?

Especially since we live in the fog 99% of the time!

The girls love our hot tub. They look forward to getting their suits and "swimmies" on and practicing their "laps" when Matt's home to jump in with them. It's definitely a father/daughter activity. Even though I'm the one who pushed for getting a hot tub, I haven't been in half as many times as the girls have! I use the time to do other fun things like dishes and laundry :)

Back when we had money to burn (obviously, before kids!!), and time on our hands (again, before kids!!), we decided to fence in and level out our backyard. And, Matt laid a stone patio and walkway leading out the hot tub that we sunk into the back corner of our backyard. Lots of backbreaking work for Matt. Of course, by the time we had an electrician finally set up the hot tub to use, I was pregnant!! For those not in the know, pregnancy and hot tubs don't really mix well. And, since I've been pregnant for the better part of the last 5 years, I haven't used it much!

Thankfully, the girls appreciate their personal country club. Maybe they'll realize when they're older that not every city kid grows up with a hot tub in their backyard!

Swimming is at the top of the list of favorite outdoor activities. Here they are perfecting their strokes this morning:

Put Yourself in My Shoes

I took the kids to the "inside park" today, which is basically our Daly City gymnasium filled with toddler toys. It's contained, safe, and they also have a little bounce house. What more could two little toddlers ask for on a rainy day? A ride in, mom!

Here's my view. I took a moment to get a picture before I heaved the stroller through the parking lot and into the gym.

Of course, Megan wanted to take some pictures, so these are her shots:


Bridget's mean face, protecting her babies:

and then her nice smile.

The babies had fun crawling around between the slides, and the girls were more than happy for change of scenery.

Here's Tessa plotting her next move:

and Annie taking the opportunity to stand up next to the slide the girls were speeding down,

and then monitoring all activity on that slide.

On the way back out to the car, they played in some puddles, and allowed some more pictures. As you can see, this was a day that the girls dressed themselves. Megan looks like a little bag lady here, but still cute :)

And, when we got home, I tried take 2 of some 10 month pictures, this time with clothes on ;) I think Tessa much prefers being photographed in a cute outfit!

Annie (left) and Tessa (right)

10 Months of This?!

How has time flown so fast??

In baby news, both Tessa and Annie have two bottom teeth, are excellent sleepers, and are such happy little girls! Annie is standing now, as you can see here.

Although, if you look closely down by her right foot in the next picture, you can see someone trying to sabotage her progress. Not mentioning any names...

Meanwhile, that "someone" is close to standing, but enjoys other things too much to put the same time in to practice. Annie really does seem to want to practice standing, all of the time, while Tessa just isn't into it. Something Tessa can really sink her teeth into? Ariel. Or any small item not intended for someone under the age of 3. You can tell she knows she's not supposed to be in Megan and Bridget's princess corner. She's just waiting for a big sister to discover what she's up to.

And, for the obligatory 10 month pictures, I tried to get some good shots of them tonight. What's almost as good as naked babies? Babies in diapers! They started out happy...

and then Tessa got a little upset. Doesn't this picture, and especially the second one, just make you want to reach out and pick her up?

I'm not really sure why I just kept snapping away. But, Annie was just as unsympathetic.

A Pain in the Butt

Literally.

Nearly a week after snowboarding, I'm left barely able to sit or lie down comfortably, thanks to one too many falls on my "tush," as we call it in this house. Just what I was afraid of. It's as difficult to get in and out of the car as it was when I was 9 months pregnant with the twins.

This little vacation injury should come as no surprise, since I have an awful history of returning from fabulous trips with some kind of ailment. Most notably, I somehow missed the memo to wear sunblock on day 2 of our Hawaiian honeymoon when we took a surfing lesson. The backs of my legs were so severely burnt that we spent the rest of our honeymoon ordering room service and pay-per-view in our hotel room. I couldn't even tolerate walking for the first few days.

And, before that, while backpacking through Europe after college, I was eaten alive by bedbugs. I'm not kidding. (Bedbugs do exist!) I had bites all over my body - too many to count. I did count 200 on one arm alone, and then I just stopped. It happened in a hostel in Florence, and I had to seek medical advice from a doctor who worked from his home in the middle of the Cinque Terra. Try explaining bed bugs when there is a huge language barrier.

So, I'll add bruised tailbone to my list of fun had on vacation. It's a good thing that trip to Tahoe was the last bit of travelling we'll be doing anytime soon. I shudder at the possibilities that await me!

Heavenly

I actually have some pictures without the kids, for a change. We had a great time in Tahoe this weekend, with two days of snowboarding. It was so nice to wake up late, not worry about the kids, and just relax.

Our view of the lake from the top of one of the runs:

I turned into an ever bigger scaredy-cat on day 2 of boarding, so this was the highlight of my day -- a drink at the top of the mountain:

Later, I read in the bar while Matt boarded some more. Very romantic, right?

Thanks Mop and Aunt Loretta for taking care of the kids!!!

Snowboard Mom

Definition: One who tries to snowboard way past her prime, with no clear recollection of how to carve, having not set foot on a ski slope since before her children were born. She also may be sporting snow gear from the 90's.

Can you use that in a sentence please? "Whoa! That snowboard mom should probably quit while she's ahead, with no broken limbs." Or, "That snowboard mom should probably head back to the lodge, grab her Kindle, set up camp in the infant daycare room, and pump for her babies."

Pretty accurate.

I did last a few hours before I had to pump. But, I have to admit, I was kind of glad for an excuse to take a break. Mother Nature has toned down my fearlessness since the last time I went snowboarding, over 5 years ago. In that time, I seem to have slipped from blue back to green in my ability level. That's okay, though. There's something about returning from Tahoe with a broken bone and attempting to care for the kids that's slightly unappealing.

So, when this snowboard mom tries again tomorrow, I'll stick to green for as long as I can, and then head back in when my Kindle and borrowed breast pump call my name.

Oh, did I mention we don't have any kids with us in Tahoe for three days? No matter what happens on the slopes, that's Heavenly!

Playtime

How could I not capture some pictures of these colorful babies playing together? It helped that the big girls were out seeing The Princess and the Frog with their Stecher cousins. While they enjoyed the movie, I enjoyed some quality time with the babies. I could actually take pictures of them without having to stop to pull Bridget off of a baby to get a shot, or step away to help anyone use the bathroom. I just had my happy babies to myself for a couple of hours.

Tessa's still working on pulling herself up, and this is how she comfortably "stood" next to the piano for a while. Those legs are pretty sturdy (I didn't say chunky!) so they do the job, even at such an angle :) And, you would never know from her happy grins in these pictures that she just cut (her first!!) two teeth this week, both on the same day.

Annie's a very happy baby right now, too. They're at such a fun age right now. I really think 9 months is the best! They're learning new things constantly, and their little personalities are blooming. They love watching the big girls play, eat, and even breathe :) They're so entertaining to them, which makes everything that much easier for me! Here's Annie playing:

A Busy Little Cup of Tea

That's what I was called the other day when I was walking down West Portal with all four girls, by an older woman with an Irish accent. I have no idea what it means, if she made it up or not, but it just made me smile. I much preferred it to the "Better you than me!" or "You have your hands full!" comments I usually get. Actually, someone even told me the other day: "Well, you. You look tired. You have four kids," after complimenting Sara on how pregnancy is agreeing with her.

Hey, I'm a busy little cup of tea! Of course I'm tired, but it doesn't need to be pointed out. Geez.

Christmas '09 - Better Late Than Never

After much procrastination, here goes:

Our second Santa sighting this year came at Megan's preschool party. Since nearly half of her classmates are little Irish kids (with little accents to go with their feckles), I shouldn't have been surprised that the Santa they rounded up had an accent himself. No questions so far from Megan as to why the Santa at school asked her, "And what would ya be likin' Santa Claus to bring you this year?" Maybe she didn't even notice since she was so focused on her answer - "Belle!!"

Our real Christmas celebrations began on the 23rd, and lasted until the 27th. Each one of those days, we schlepped everyone and all of the necessary stuff to different parties - you'd have thought we were leaving the house for a couple days each time, between pajamas, changes of clothes, food for the babies, diapers, etc. And, we had to make sure the girls were looking cute each day, too, of course! So, after coming home exhausted, past 10pm every night, we still had to wash a load of tights and appropriate Christmas outfits to get ready for the next day.

And, fitting naps in with all of the excitement was tricky, but a must, mostly for me and Matt! Thankfully, Matt was home on break, and we all had a great time! How do other moms do it when their husbands don't have the schedule of a high school student?? We're very lucky that he's home so much. But, I digress.


Christmas '09 began with the annual Stecher lunch downtown, this year at Capp's Corner in North Beach. Here are the girls before we left for lunch:

Tessa

Annie

After a wonderful lunch, we took the opportunity to get some shots of all 12 grandchildren.

After that, we tried to get a good picture of the six of us.

The girls were fascinated with the "castle" behind the park.

I guess Sts. Peter and Paul is a little more impressive looking than St. Stephen's. So, we aimed for some good shots of the girls in front of the "castle," carefully avoiding the homeless and their shopping carts in the background. Gotta love the "big city," which the girls were calling San Francisco all day. Yes, we live about 15 minutes away from North Beach, but how often do we go down there? Never. Any trip north of Megan's school qualifies as the exciting "big city." Sad, but true.

The following day, we celebrated Christmas Eve at Chris and Amy's, with not even one picture to show for it. We were too busy wrangling babies and limiting juice spills to whip the camera out. But, the girls went right to bed as soon as we got home, thanks to all of the running around with their cousins (or the threat of Santa not stopping at our house if kids were awake!).

And then came Christmas morning, which came in two shifts for us. If we're lucky, the babies will go back to sleep after their 6am feeding, and this is what happened on Christmas morning. So, they were still snoozing peacefully when Megan and Bridget raced downstairs. We had two very excited kids!! But, the most heartwarming moment? Not even halfway through opening Santa presents, Megan paused to collect her gift to Bridget from under the tree. So sweet, right? (Or, maybe she just really wanted Bridget to open that Ariel waterslide for the bathtub.) Regardless, it was cute to have them exchange presents this year, and something we'll do again next year!

Megan and Bridget loved their princess dolls (and too many other toys to detail!):

When the babies woke up, they had their own little moment:

Later, we headed over to Grandma and Grandpa's house for Christmas dinner, where this was just one of the kids' tables:

The next day, the fun continued when Mop and Pop came to town,

As for the kids' table that night, we had a slightly smaller crowd:

Of course, the highlight of the night was Uncle Kyle/monster/pirate. Here they are taking a break from running around to read (gasp!). As you can see, Uncle Kyle's not quite in his element when reading ;)

Pop with Annie (I think. Anyone prepared to argue that it's Tessa? Didn't think so.)

And, finally, on the 27th, we headed to the east bay to get together with the entire Field Family for our Christmas party. Having it after Christmas makes it possible for nearly everyone to be there. Lots of kids, grandkids, and great grandkids. And, Santa! The kids got the chance to thank him for all of their presents :)

Whew!

I hope everyone had a great holiday!! Thank you to everyone who hosted us and all of our kids and their gear this year!!!!