Beautiful Madhouse

CLICK HERE FOR AIDAN’S STORY

RIP Aidan ‎7/21/04 – 4/29/12  My heart goes out to his family and friends.  I can’t even begin to understand the depth of their loss.  My heart is heavy with this news.  I am hugging my babies a bit tighter today.  Life is precious and we need to cherish all of the moments we are given as parents.  Nothing is worse than outliving your babies.  All the bullshit and drama in life is nothing as long as my kids are healthy.  If you are having a bad day and the kids are driving you crazy  just thank your lucky stars that they are around to annoy you.

Check out Aidan’s FB page to learn more about his story and how you can support his cause.  His life helped to bring awareness to childhood ALD.  Thank you for sharing your fight sweet boy. RIP.

Okay I know I’m thin but it still sucks when none of your pre-pregnancy clothes fit you 10 months post partum.  I carry all my extra baggage in my fluffy muffin top and thighs.  As the mother to a half-dozen kids I barely have time to work out or take a yoga class.  I see it in my near future but definitely not now. Especially since I cut my nanny back to 1 day a week.  That’s a whole other post.  For now I decided to take action in my eating habits.  I still eat like a horse but I eat really good.  I cut out red meat, dairy, and wheat.  Now you may ask what the hell do I eat???  Lots of green vegetables, spelt bread, brown rice, almonds, chicken, fish, hummus, fruits, oatmeal, and coconut milk.  I indulge in some dark chocolate and red wine occasionally instead of every single night.  I admit that the hardest time for me is after the kids are all in bed.  I feel like I survived the chaos of the day and I deserve a reward.  A heaping bowl of ice cream and a few glasses of wine were the norm. Hello sugar high.  Now I grab a cup of tea and try to hit the hay earlier.  The extra sleep is really doing wonders.  So has this healthy eating helped?  I started this eating healthy journey for my skin issues (psoriasis & psoriatic arthritis) and the weight loss was an added bonus.  I lost 7 pounds of muffin top in 3 short weeks of eating better.  I am still nursing twins so I consume a lot of food but no more junk.  It’s kind of a simple approach.  Eat healthy and you will lose excess weight.  I was eavesdropping the other day on some new moms bitching about their muffin tops while they were eating bagels and sipping on Venti frappuccinos with whip cream.  Uh duh. Don’t eat junk and your muffin top will melt away.  F you muffin top.  I won’t miss you a bit. xo

Oh Birdie! I came across an article today in the New York Times blog about broken legs and going down the slide with a toddler on your lap.  Well this genius mom thought it would be a good idea to put 13 month old twins on her lap and go down the slide. Duh.  I was trying to prevent an injury and caused one instead.  This photo is right after our ER visit with Birdie (twin A) before they put on the shorter pink cast and gave her a little blue walking bootie.  I have to say it never once slowed her down.  The most traumatic part for her was holding her still for the x-rays. Birdie has no memory of her injury. I however learned a valuable lesson. Don’t go down the slide with a kid on your lap.  Definitely DO NOT go down the slide with twins on your lap.  Lesson learned the hard way.

My two oldest girls are the best big sisters in the world.  It took a little time, extra love, and attention for them to want to be big sisters but here they are now amazing me with their big sister skills.  I met my sixteen year old step-daughter Bella when she was 8 years old.  She loved being an only child and was a huge daddy’s girl.  She was a super sweet and smart little kid that was wise beyond her years.  I am extremely lucky and grateful that she introduced me to being a step-parent before I gave birth to Mia.  When Bella was 10 years old we told her she was going to have a little sister. She seemed thrilled at the idea of a sibling. I know the transition from being an only child for 10 years was going to be difficult one.  I commend her for her ability to show her new baby sister Mia such love and affection despite her own difficulty with sharing the spotlight.  A few short years later we planned another baby and it turned out to be twin girls.  At the same time Bella had a new sister from her Mother and step-father.  Now instead of one new sister she had 4!!!  It was an adjustment for all of us.  Miss Mia had some difficulty as well because she wasn’t the baby anymore and had to share EVERYTHING with her new sisters.  The second set of twins shocked us all beyond words.  There are times that I look in my living room amazed at what I’ve created.  So my step-daughter Bella has 5 siblings at our house and 2 at her Mom’s house.  From an only child to 1 of 8.  That’s a lot of baby having in those few years that I’ve known Bella.  The 3-year-old twins Bird & Haze and Mia worship the ground Bella walks on and can’t wait for her to come home.  Bird especially nags me wondering where Bella is.  I know the girls annoy her at times but she can’t hide the fact that she adores them right back.  We will all be so sad when Bella turns 18 and wants to fly the coup. Mia has also stepped up her role as the big sister when the new babies were born.  She gets me diapers and picks out outfits for them.  She carries them around the house which scares the crap out of me.  But it sure is sweet.  I’m so lucky to have Bella and Mia as big sisters and role models to all the little ones.  Big sisters definitely rule.

I am so grateful that the weather is nice enough now and I can leave my house.  It’s a bit strange being inside for so many months after the twin boys were born.  I’m just gaining the confidence to get out and do things no matter how daunting it may seem to wrangle two sets of twins in public.  The twin girls love getting smoothies and then romping around in the dirt.  The baby twin boys seem to like cruising around in their stroller.  I wasn’t really prepared for all the questions I would get from strangers while venturing out in public.  ”Do they run in your family?”  If I had a dime every time someone asked this question I’d be filthy rich.  I don’t mind when friends or friends of friends ask but when a random dog walker asks it catches me off guard.  I’m not sure how to answer. Should my response be, “I hyper-ovulate” Google it.  Or just a plain and simple “Yes they do.”  I find myself explaining how fraternal twins can be inherited through the maternal line blah blah blah and people really don’t give a shit even though they asked the damn question in the first place.  Sometimes the attention is really nice and very well intended and sometimes people gawk at you like a circus sideshow.  It’s strange because in older generations lots of kids were the norm.  I stumbled across a photo of my husbands’ Italian great-grandmother and her 7 kids.  Totally normal back then. My husbands’ father was one of 10 kids I believe. Both of my grandmothers had 5 kids each.  Why are my 6 kids considered crazy side-show material in NYC?  Oh well people will have to deal with it because we are venturing out in public much more on these beautiful spring days.  So watch out and move over because my big ass quad stroller is coming through.Hah!

AHH look at Rocky’s chicken legs!  I’ve been very nostalgic after Mia’s tooth fell out the other day and can’t help but think about how damn big my twin boys are already.  9 months just flew by. They were such little nuggets and now they are crawling all over the place and trying to walk. SLOW  DOWN. They are growing out of their clothes and starting to breastfeed less.  I love the freedom that it gives me but it’s sad at the same time.  They will be my last babies. I’d love to have more babies but I must use my brain and not my hormonal heart to make that decision.  When I hit the jackpot playing the lotto I’ll have another set of twins. So back to reality…the last babies that I nurse.  My boobs sure will celebrate when they get a well deserved break after nourishing 5 babies.  I’m scared to see the after math but I’m proud that I stuck with it.  Now see the fruits of my labor with some more recent shots of the boys.

Mia lost her first tooth this morning and I’m mixed with emotions.  I was excited because Mia was beyond thrilled and super happy that she was such a big girl.  She knows that her little sisters and brothers are way too little for a visit from the tooth fairy.  I was also really sad because she’s not my little baby anymore.  I remember that same exact tooth that fell out today growing in 6 years ago. It’s bittersweet.  I know it’s only a damn tooth.  But to me it’s so much more. I got to hold a newborn baby this week and it made me realize how fast it really goes.  I was staring at this beautiful little creature that was only a few hours old and tearing up thinking about how grown up my babies are already.  I held back from sniffing that sweet little newborn head so I didn’t freak out her Momma. Hah.  I’m sure she would have asked me ,”the baby junkie” to leave if I had.  It was bad enough that my milk let down as soon as I held her.  I feel like I treasure every moment, even the god awful ones but it still goes by so fast.  I can’t even begin to think about when the time comes for my birdies to leave the nest.  Thank goodness I have 6 kids because one of them  is bound to live at home forever. A mother can dream.  I’m one of those sick freaks that actually loves and enjoys my kids.  For now I’m wondering if I can get her little chicklet of a tooth dipped in 14K gold so I can rock it on a necklace.  Who knew a tooth could stir up this much emotion.

My 3-year-old “twin A” Miss Birdie, isn’t really into Barbies.  She prefers to play with my birthing Aztec goddess.  Figures she’s a weirdo like her momma.  I love it!

Oh the name game.  I loved skimming through name books and searching online to spark some ideas for naming my babies.  Some people know what they are naming their little bundle way before they even get pregnant.  For me I never thought I’d have 1 kid to name let alone 5!!!  The one thing that shocked me during this process was that people were so quick to give you their negative opinions.  Of course if I ask you your opinion I would hope that it was honest.  Most of the time I wasn’t asking for opinions but answering the question that gets asked again and again while pregnant,”What are you naming the baby?”  With my first baby I got nothing but positive responses from friends and family.  I can’t help but wonder if this was only because of the popularity of the name Mia.  My second pregnancy I was left with the overwhelming task of naming not just 1 but 2 baby girls.  Everyone had something to say about my choices and most were negative.  Honestly I don’t really care what other people say so it didn’t sway me when I picked the names Birdie and Hazel for my twin girls.  The thing that pissed me off was when friends/family would flat-out say “I don’t like that.” Wow really because that’s what I’m naming them so deal with it.  Then you hear the list of reasons why the name sounds like an old lady name or why they will be made fun of their entire school age years. We told everyone while pregnant with the second set of twins they would be Herbie and Basil. Hah. That went over well. The thing about uncommon or different names is that in Brooklyn/NYC is that uncommon is the norm.  I actually know another little girl with the name Birdie.  In that same neighborhood my daughter went to school with 2 kids named Bowie and played with a handful of Blues and Wolfies.  My one piece of advice for expecting parents is to ignore what anyone says in regards to naming your babies.  It will only get you angry and make you question what you know in your heart is the right choice.  My advice for family/friends that don’t like someone’s name choices for their new bundle is to keep it to yourself unless your opinion is asked for.  Shit I don’t care if you name your kid Ebenezer.  Now I will end this on a positive baby naming note and list some fun baby names of friends and ideas for my next set of twins. Kidding.

GIRLS – Pearl, Cora (Coraline), Eloise, Skye, Penelope, Tallulah, Nova, Poppy, Pepper, Vivienne, Cordelia, Flora, Bunny, Ivy, Valentine, Maggie (Margaret), Winnie (Winifred), Josephine, Marilyn, Sparrow, Marcela, Beatrice. Imogen, and Tilly.

BOYS – Chet, Alden, Leroy, Sonny, Rene, River, True, Ike, James, Louis, Floyd, Moss, Monty, Walter, Mateo, Phoenix, Tanner, Leo, Vinny, Bear, Nash, Theo, Carmine and Benny.

Man I just love when I get that crazy warm happy feeling while nursing my babies.  These feelings are augmented by the release of hormones such as prolactin, which produces a peaceful, nurturing sensation that allows you to relax and focus on your child, and oxytocin, which promotes a strong sense of love and attachment between the two of you.  These love hormones are no joke!  This post in no way implies that breastfeeding is the only way these hormones are released.  Regular skin to skin contact with a formula fed baby will help to release oxytocin and promote bonding as well.  So go and get your hug on with your wee one.  Partners can increase their oxytocin levels as well by stimulatory parenting. Helping baby sit up or tickling and laughing with baby are good examples.  Increased oxytocin levels can reduce stress and anxiety.  Hell I’ll cheers to that.