Taking Deep Breaths

Nothing but excitment for the big boy bed

Jake gearing up for what would be a three hour monkey show before falling asleep

Sweet Anderson James loved his new bed. He told me this morning he could "roll around" in it last night.

Guess what mom? In about one hour I'm going to take down the curtains and throw all my brother's stuffed animals on the dresser where he can't reach them.

I've been in this sort of panic attack mode since yesterday afternoon. It's like I'm functioning fairly well on the outside, but on the inside I'm a wreck. It's my own fault, as always it was my big idea and per usual Kevin executed it.

We (I) decided yesterday to take down the cribs and move the boys into their big boy beds. There were many factors at hand....the constant unintentional head banging during the middle of the night from sleeping in such a small space, the fact that bedtime has gone to hell in a handbasket anyways since they moved into the same room, and the looming reality that they aren't babies anymore. They aren't babies anymore (GULP). Well they are to us, but I understand that the rest of the world doesn't see them as that anymore.

So after dinner, Kevin began the process of taking down the cribs and setting up the beds. I pulled out all the new bedding and washed it. Within just a couple of hours, everything changed and there's no going back. Some reading this might find me melodramatic, but please keep in mind that our boys our twins and there are no future plans for another baby. That means we only got to do this baby thing one time and now it's finito for us. There are no do overs, there is no "we'll know better for the next one", there isn't the typical 5-7 years of the baby phase that most parents get to enjoy. Seemingly it's over before it even started. It was blissful and I cherish every precious moment.

Anderson draws his Daddy

Anderson's self portrait

Anderson draws Daddy

The boys have many common interests, but as they grow it becomes easier to identify their differences. Anderson enjoys being "taught". He is a good listener, follows directions and has the patience needed to learn a new skill. Today he and I practiced drawing faces. I guided his hand for about three or four attempts and then let him have at it. The above pictures were done completely on his own with no help whatsoever from me. It is the first time either of the boys drew something that actually resembled what it was intended to. I was thrilled with his results.

Jake sat down to do some drawing, but he quickly tired with the lesson and threw in the towel. He'd much prefer to figure things out for himself. Jake likes to investigate how things work, doesn't take to direction well and likes to work independently. His big accomplishment over the past week or two is learning to ride his tricycle. He has been peddling all around, steering himself and even peddling uphill.

It's a fine line to walk when you have two little guys the same age developing differently. Last week we gave Jake lots of praise for riding his trike and we noticed Anderson had lost the wind in his sails because he has not been coordinated enough to pedal on his own yet. Today was the opposite. Anderson excelled at something that his brother just isn't mature enough for yet, and Jake was moping around like the odd man out. Its so hard because as their mommy, I want to praise and encourage them but at the same time I feel like I'm deflating the other's self confidence.

It seems now that Jake is so good on the bike, Anderson doesn't even want to try and ride anymore and vice versa with the drawing. We talked a lot today about how different people are good at different things. Ugh, this is going to be tough.

No such thing as perfect

2288 Nickelby :)

Waiting to meet the "Easter Rabbit"

Anderson and Jake thought he was great!

Love this one!

I'm really in over my head with the school thing. It seems like I'm always doing homework, but yet feel like I'm not doing enough of it. This blog has suffered greatly because of it. I'm down to the final two weeks of the semester so I have to get this done.

Anderson and Jake are thriving. They are doing awesome with the potty training, when it comes to number one. Number two is a different story. They just have no interest no matter what the bribe. I guess we'll just wait it out and as it gets closer to fall we'll start to panic. Not only do they have to be potty trained for preschool but they also have to be able to manage the whole process without assistance. I cannot even fathom that at this point, but we've got some time.

Last week we dropped off some clothes at the dry cleaners. Anderson asked me where Kevin was going and I replied that he was taking the clothes to the dry cleaners. There was a long pause and then Anderson asked "Are they wet?". These little men are just too cute for words. Even when they are getting sassy, my first reaction is to kiss those little cheeks. Jake has told me on a couple occasions this past week that I was his girlfriend :).

This weekend we went on a wild goose chase to track down a new kitchen table. Shortly after moving, I put our kitchen table on Craigslist to kinda "feel out" the market. Our table wasn't going to match our new kitchen at all so I knew a new one was in our future. Surprisingly the table got lots of interest within just a couple of hours of me posting it and it was sold the very next day. We have been eating off a card table and folding chairs ever since. So for the past three months I've been scouring the stores and internet for the "perfect table". I found out the perfect table costs about 5,000.00. Uh no, not with two three year old boys.

So finding something within the budget that was good quality has been near impossible. On a whim, I called the Pottery Barn outlet that is about an hour and fifteen minutes away if they had the table that I liked there (not the 5,000 one, just a runner up). They did! I was thrilled, I confirmed with the employee that it was the one I was looking for and Kevin and I headed out to Birch Run. Did I mention it was less than half the price of the one they have in the regular store? When we arrive we find out they have the table, but the two leaves are missing!?!?!? SOB. The table isn't nearly big enough without the leaves. They had another table we liked, but the colors were just not right for our new house.

This morning I found a table I liked at World Market online. All the World Market stores in our area had closed a couple of years ago, but there was still one open in Ann Arbor. So for the second day in row, we drove over an hour to reach our destination in hopes we would like the table we saw online. It's a great table, solid wood, heavy, good quality and most importantly it got 105 reviews online and all of them were glowing. It's not my "perfect table" but it beats a card table.

Our basement was finally dug this past week. For a while there Kevin and I were beginning to think the builder ran away with our life savings. It would appear not. The basement has been dug and the phone number is still connected. Whew!

Wedding weekend

Rishi and Vinaya

Neal, Kevin, Rishi and Mehul

The head table

Cutting the cake...you can sorta see just how gorgeous the dress was

Kevin and I spent this past weekend in Raleigh, NC. A friend from college was getting married and it turned out to be an event to not be missed. Kevin's friend is a Hindu Indian as well as his wife, so this was a very traditional Indian wedding. Lots of culture, vegetarian food and gorgeous Saris.

On Friday we arrived around six in the evening. Friday night was the Mehendi, so we quickly changed out clothes and headed to the party. There was probably over a hundred people at the Mehendi, they served a full dinner, had entertainment and even a cold stone creamery type set up. I had my hand painted with a beautiful design covered in sparkles.

The next morning we were served breakfast at the hotel and headed out for the Barrat. The bar rat is the groom's procession to the actual wedding ceremony. They (the police) actually closed down some streets in downtown Raleigh for the groom's Barrat. The groom was in an adorned carriage being pulled by an equally adorned horse. There were traditional Indian dancers/drummers that led the procession through the streets. Once we arrived at the venue, the wedding ceremony began. It was a two hour ceremony and the bride didn't arrive until 40 minutes into the ceremony. It was acceptable to leave during the ceremony and have some hors devours that were set up right outside the ballroom. The ceremony was broadcast live over the internet for the families in India that couldn't make the wedding.

Later in the evening was the reception. Everything was beautifully decorated. The food was all vegetarian Indian dishes. The bride had on a beautiful pink and gold dress covered in beading. There was entertainment from two different groups and a picture slide show of the bride and groom with the families over time. It was by far the most extravagant event I have ever been to.