Just When You Think You Figured It Out...

Did anyone see the twin segment on GMA this morning? I wonder if the same interesting facts hold true for fraternal twins...either way those talking twins are so cute. So I know that "as soon as you think you have a baby figured out they change"...but ugg, it's annoying. The babies are waking up again around 4:30 (vs 5:30/45) to eat. I might try giving them more formula during the dream feed. I don't want to force feed them (but I sort of do because neither are on the growth chart yet) but maybe they want more than 4 oz now. And of course I haven't run all week and I'm feeling so gross. I have a 5:00 am rule: Anything before 5:00 am is still considered the middle of the night to me so I'll go back to sleep. After 5:00 and I'll stay up and run or do things around the house or have about 7 cups of coffee... Speaking of gross, Caroline had another massive poop yesterday and it was all over everything. I just stood their holding her with my arms out having no idea where to even begin. I threw out her onesie, towel and clothes that I used to clean her up (before the 2nd bath of the day I had to give her). In the very exciting news department, I'm going out tonight with some girlfriends! My first night out. Although my window is brief and alcohol consumption is limited, it's still a reason to put on makeup and heels. I can't wait for a mojito and good guac! Mrs. Scotty Pippin with the poofy hair drives me nuts. Miami RH sucked. Really, could they think of anything better than having dinner parties and going to fashion shows? It was all so forced and casted poorly. What was the point of Cristy? Crashing Lea's party for the sake of the show didn't cut it. They need a Camille! Andy Cohen! Where are you with this one?!? I had to DVR Teen Mom and still haven't watched it yet. I'm sure I'll have a lot to blog about for that one.

"Real" Housewives

This is amazing and sums it all up for me. Also, Miami finale is tonight? That was only like 5 episodes. Thank god though because they stink worse than Caroline's farts. Like DC, not sure if they are bringing sexy back for a season 2. Sorry Scotty Pippins wife with the hair that looks bad in humidity, your Cuban friend who brings nothing to the table and the old drunk lady with the scary face that made Soup's Clip of the Week.

Deep Thoughts....

Where did Oprah's friend, Gail, come from? I sort of feel like it's just in recent years that she has become such a fixure on the show and with Oprah. (I loved the camping trip - who knew Oprah cooked and Gail does nothing? Come to think of it, I love Gail in general.) I also think Ryan Seacrest made a pact with the devil. Here is how the conversation went: Devil - "Ryan, give me your soul and I'll give you whatever you want". Ryan - "If you give me all things E! and Kardashian, you have yourself a deal". Ryan got the better end of the bargain. Seacrest OUT.

Big Week

It was a big week in the Curtin house. What started off as a miserable Monday stuck inside due to cold rain and sleet turned out to be a lovely week ending in a nice visit to see my old coworkers.

Social Security numbers and vaccination shots were two very exciting (I'm joking) things to happen in our house. The twins turned 10 weeks yesterday and I still hadn't received their SS cards yet so I called SS and they told me numbers were issued but they couldn't tell me what happened to the cards yet I had to go into my nearest SS office to apply for a replacement. Yes, you heard me correctly: their mistake and I had to go in-person to fix it. Luckily it didn't take long and the SS regional office is walking distance from Charlestown. Everyone there was very nice to me but only because I was carting around twins.

Thursday was the big 2 month doctors appointment. I'm totally on the fence about their pedi but that's a whole other story. I trust her as a doctor and she is conveniently located down the street so you can't beat it which is why I'll stick with her. I just wish she did a better job of getting to know her patients on a personal level. Connor now weighs 8 lbs 13 oz and Caroline is at 6 lbs 10 oz. I can't believe it! Connor has little chubby rolls everywhere too. The vaccinations were very hard. I cried when Connor got his shots (he was first). Poor little guy was so upset. Apparently one of them really stings the baby, like a bee sting so it's more than just the needle that upsets them. I obviously didn't know how they would be affected but after they calmed down and ate they seemed okay. So we went to Target (first time with the babes!). On the way home they both started to get fussy and by the time they were out of their carriers, hell broke loose. They both sobbed for about 2 hours, I begged Matt to come home and help me. Thank god he was able to leave a little early and come home to us. I couldn't even take their temps because I couldn't put one down to tend to the other. I just sat on our bed with puke all over me (Caroline was so worked up she kept throwing up) holding them close. Eventually they feel asleep and when they woke up they were much better. And yesterday they were back to normal. It was so hard to see them in so much discomfort. But now we know how they will likely respond with their 4 month vacs so we'll be better prepared.

The week ended with a Friday morning visit to go see my old coworkers. I had been looking forward to seeing them for weeks and I was so happy to walk into the office. I miss them all and I miss my job. They were all so excited to meet the babies. We stayed for a while to catch up and gossip about new biz people and business. Oh, and of course Connor had an up-the-back poop but luckily his outfit was saved. On that note, they both had HUGE HUGE poops yesterday afternoon at the same time. Seriously, I heard Caroline and as soon as I turned to her to pick her up so poop didn't go on the couch, Connor had a blow out. How on earth did they manage to time that one?

Last night ended with the usual weekly Friday dinner out with the Purtells and the Walkers joined us. They are about to leave on a 10 day trip to Italy before Matt Walker (yes the third Matt in the group) starts business school. I can't wait until Matt and I can go on a nice vacation together again - just the two of us.

Great Bethenny episode this week! As we are preparing for the twins baptism in two weeks it was very timely. It's like she knows me and her show is just for me!!! She actually just sent me an email with some good recipies in it. The clown outfits were a little too much, glad they went with the Pandas.

Catching Up

I just wrote an entire blog entry and it somehow got deleted! Arg, let me try again.

March is an interesting month in Boston. Today it is about 40 degrees, Friday was 70. When the weather is like that, Bostonians take advantage. People leave work early, outside seating areas are full with people having a drink, joggers are out in full force and the smell of grilling is everywhere. Steph and I decided to take advantage of the beautiful day with a long walk along Storrow Dr to the Back Bay. We set off late morning with full diaper bags, sneakers and embarassingly, matching Lulu Lemon outfits, ready to walk. We were walking near Bunker Hill Comm College talking about Thursday night's 30 Rock episode (which, for Bravo reality tv watchers, it had hilarious references) when sudenly I heard her yell "Erin! Run!" It look me a second to see the large dark black smoke mass rising right in front of us on the Prison Point Bridge. Cars were racing in reverse and people were running down the hill from the T stop. I turned around and ran with Steph and the strollers into the nearby 99 Restuarant. I thought it was an accident with a car fire, Steph thought it was a terrorist attack (tangent: Steph thinks everything is a terrorist attack. If I were a terrorist, I wouldn't attack the PPB but then again, I'm not a terrorist). It was actually a diesel spill on the train tracks under the bridge and luckily no one was hurt. The point of this story is that it was at this moment when I felt my first motherly panic. I probably could have picked up a car if I had to. All I could think about was getting my little babies as far from that mess as I could.

After we calmed down, we walked in the other direction to the North End where we enjoyed a nice lunch at Joe's (first time bringing the babies somewhere in public without Matt and first time we used a changing table!) then we walked a litte more and met up with our friend Brooke and her son, Cameron. We went back to Brooke's fabulous waterfront apt and had a glass of champagne. Random maybe but not if you know Brooke. All and all, it was an excellent end to what started off as a tramatic day. It also got me so excited for the next few months. I love my babies and love taking care of them but this winter has been so hard being stuck inside most of the time.

The weekend was lovely. Grandpa Curtin and Cynthia came to visit us for the first time since the babies were born and we all had a great time. It was great to see them and even better to have two extra sets of hands!

Maggie and I made the four mile loop on Saturday morning! She was dragging ass, I guess she is in worse shape than I am but we did it. We took today off :)

Rainy Days....

Ah, Hoosiers. Like Braveheart, Godfather I, Godfather II and Goodfellas, it's hard to change it when it's on TV. I also feel the same way about The Cutting Edge. Did I just type that and not delete it?...

We did another successful car trip on Monday. Connor and Caroline were a hit at Matt's office and they liked seeing where dad works. They were extremely fussy all morning, Caroline had another big blowout right before we left so it was a little chaotic and I wondered how they were going to be around a bunch of people. But they were great. And I was able to get my new sneakers. This morning I felt like a woman with new hips and knees. I'm religious about staying on top of my running gear but since I hadn't run since November, I like things slide. I'm glad that I have been able to get in quick runs here and there with Maggie and I really hope I can continue to do so. The babies have been doing great about sleeping until 5:15-5:45 and going back to bed around 8 so as long as they keep this up, I can do it.

St. Stephanie is going down to 2 days a week. Because they aren't getting up anymore (regularly at 2:00 and 4:30 or so) in the middle of the night we have decided to cut back on the expense a little bit. I hope Matt is okay, he seems to have more trouble with sleep deprivation than I do and he sleeps more than I do!

Early Assessment Program came to our house yesterday and testing the twins. In their cognative and gross motor skills they are at the two month mark. In the language and fine motor stills, they are closer to the one month mark. I was secretely hoping they would have told us that both babies are ahead of the curve in everything but the reality is that they were born over a month early and being at the one month mark for some and two month mark for others is technically ahead of the curve...

It's rainy today so we aren't going anywhere. I think I'll do some online shopping. Actually, I need to start to look for Easter outfits for the twins. The next two days look fantastic so we'll be ready to get back out on the town and play with some friends. Maybe even get some ice cream, or beer...decisions decisions...

Did anyone else catch the food blopper on Bethenny? Nick said he didn't eat red meat so he couldn't eat the pork empanada...isn't pork the other white meat?

Really? TV??

On Thursday, Connor, Caroline and I were invited to join a few other Charlestown moms for a rainy afternoon hangout. Some of the mothers I had met at a breakfast a few weeks before, others were new. This was a clearly established little circle of mothers who have babies that are a few weeks older than the twins but they were all very lovely. However, as they each continued to compare mothering stories (I was surprised they still were, I mean they get together every few days, what hadn't they covered?) I began to wonder if I needed to revise my mothering rules. For example, they were all talking about how their kids aren't allowed to watch TV or different CD/DVDs they play while their children are quietly sleeping in the swings. I didn't add too much to this conversation but should I feel bad that my kids 'watch' Sex and the City reruns with me all afternoon? I mean, they can't even watch TV! If they stare at it for 5 minutes, it's just the color and contrast they are interested in. I hardly think Samantha will have an influence on Caroline at this point. As for music, I'm all about Mumford and Sons right now and Connor seemed to like The Gypsy Kings as we did laundry last week. And we all listen to Beethoven during dinner. Must we play singing animals and puppets in their nursery? They aren't learning numbers or ABCs yet...I'm not sure if I'll get back together with this group or not. Maybe, but luckly I have a few other friends with young babies that play by similar rules to mine anyway.

Tomorrow we are going to visit Matt in the office so all of his coworkers can meet the babes. I'm also using this as an excuse to go to Niketown and get new sneakers. Mine are so stiff and old (I think I got them before my last half marathon...last May!). Maggie and I have been good about our 3x a week goal. I might even try a 4 miler next week. If I have the time...my window is so short and my speed is still on the same level as a amatur turtle.

I think it's very weird that Kourney and Kim Take New York's theme song is "I'm in Miami, Bitch". What?? How did Ryan Seacrest let that happen?

A Week of Firsts

Ah, I finally have the chance to sit down today. It was a go-go-go day today. The babies are either going to sleep great or be very cranky and cry all evening.

Yesterday, we went to our first Mommy and Baby class here in Charlestown and I was the only mom that showed up! The class in the slot time before my 'class' is full and apparently there are 3 other mothers that signed up for the same class I did but no one came. It was so weird and awkward! I stayed and talked to the instructor while the babies did about 4 minutes worth of tummy time. If no one comes next week, I'll be deciding if I want to join the other class or get my money back. Today we had to go to the mall for a quick errand. It was the first time that I packed up the kids, drove them in the car and took them to such a public place. The trip ended up to be a bust - however - I was able to go to Starbucks and I'm glad that I took them somewhere by myself. I feel much more confident to do it again. I decided that I really want to start to take them places one on one. Or even just spend time with them as individuals. I get worked up and stressed about trying to meet their immediate needs that sometimes I feel that I miss out on just enjoying them. As the babies evolve from premies to infant twins, they are much more lively, vocal and active. It's a completely different challenge that just 3 weeks ago. Connor is starting to smile (sporatically, not at me yet), both are starting to make their 'coo' noises. Bug is into looking around at everything. But when they want something, they let me know it and often it's at the same time. It's hard to listen to two screaming babies that both need me at the same exact moment.

Did anyone else notice how excited Bethenny got when she saw Nick the Foodie? I think that guy is hilarious. Just when I thought Jason might have surpassed Bethenny as my favorite person on the show, in comes Nick the Foodie. I also think the season of RHO OC is going to be juicy. I'm on Team Tamara. Gretchen is annoying. And Alexis is hot. She is, we can all admit it. (However, I don't have a girl crush on her like I have on Bethenny.) I also like Vicky, I always have but she really needs to stop complaining about everything and everyone. I miss Jeanna.

They Slept, I Didn't

Busy weekend at the Curtins! The big news is that the babies slept from 11:30 - 5:45 last night. Yes, you read that right - 6 hours! I woke up around 3:30 when they usually wake up and thought they are still sleeping so I dozed off thinking they would be up in about 10 minutes. I woke up at 4:15 and realized they were still sleeping so I got nervous and went to the nursery to check on them and make sure they were still alive! They were.

I kept getting up every 30 minutes to check on them because I was in such shock. Connor and his pipes finally rose at 5:45. Now I'm not an idoit and think this will happen all the time. However, it happened and maybe someday it'll happen again. I had a little bit of wine (seriously, just a little bit, that isn't code for "a lot") could that have anything to do with it?

We went out to dinner with the Purtell's on Friday night. It was awesome, I was so happy that I was actually giddy about going out. It was the first time we brought the babies to a public place that is crowded. They slept the whole time but this outing continued to boost my confidence in taking the twins places. Yeah, it is hard and a huge hassle to get two infants out the door. But we won't let it keep us from doing things.

The weekend also included a 3-mile run with Maggie and a trip to the mall. I desperately need new everything right now. My closet is filled with only old clothes or maternity clothes. I also need new shoes. I'm sort of into ballet flats this spring but I'm still searching for the perfect pair. Like 90% of the time, I'll probably default to Zappos. Luckily for Matt, I only had a 2 hour window so I didn't do much damage.

I can't wait for the RHOOC tonight!

Long Day...

Is it really only 12:30??

Stephanie was here last night which means that Matt and I get a good night sleep (I have to get up only once at night) but that we get up early to see her off. When she leaves at 6:30 we get up for the day. When we are on our own, I might go back to sleep after their first early morning meal so I get up around 7:00 or 7:30 on those days. I digress...but today I got in my second run with Maggie. Same loop, not very far but it was easier than it was on Saturday! Plus, it was a good way to start the day and I feel like I had some time for myself.

We are in the process of getting Life Insurance. It's sort of overwhelming. Oh and today we found out that based on inflation and rising education costs, it's going to be approximately $1.5M to send the babies to college. Who can afford that? Seriously, even very wealthy people can't afford that.

Today was bath day, both the babies hate it. I'm trying different techniques and singing different songs. They do like The Itsy Bitsy Spider... I think they hate being naked more than wet and there is really no way around that. Suggestions?

Does DVR tape two shows at the same time? Somehow Teen Mom didn't get recorded (gasp!) but RHO Miami did...I think I might be bored of this cast. It's like DC, fake drama whipped up by Andy Cohen. Camille needs to move to Miami and get in on this action! Camille needs to be omnipresent on all reality TV. Think of her on Survivor, Jersey Shore, Cake Boss, oh- The Bachelorette! Just dwell on that for a while.

As soon as I have more than 15 minutes, I'm going to work on the appearance of this blog. More tips please, Liz!

Yay! It's March!

I'm back. I couldn't get the the computer yesterday because I spent the entire day either holding Connor or Caroline. I have no idea what got into either of them but 'fussy' hardly describes. Screaming and screeching is more like it. Today they are much better. Go figure but thank god we didn't have a repeat.

I had to go to a doctors appointment and in doing so, I had to walk through the Prudential Center. It dawned on me as I was riding the escalator that it was the first time in over six weeks that I was last there. I entered the Boylston street doors every day for six years and it was almost weird to be back. I miss it, I miss working, I miss adults, I miss routine. But I finally feel good and like I can move on with my life and now that the weather is going to get better and the babies are getting bigger I can start a new routine with them. They need me more than anyone right now and recently, they don't let me forget it!

I hope that everyone else thinks Charlie Sheen is a crazy person. I sort of can't get over it. It's the train wreck you can't stop staring at. What's up the the 'godessess'? There is only ONE Hugh Heffner so don't even go there, Chuck. You weirdo. I'm so happy that Bethenny is back. Sort of a sad episode; Jason's family is so nice and basically Bethenny told them they need to keep their distance and that she and Jason might move to California. That won't work for me. It would be like Carrie Bradshaw moving to Cali - she is a New Yorker and that's what works for Bethenny. (At least the Parisian attempt was sexy, LA is just sort of cheesy.) If she moves, she'll just be another RHO O.C/Bev Hills. I bet she would hand Camille her head on a plate! Oooooo, I would like to see that! Hazelton looks like PA's Utica counterpart. I just had to throw that in the end here....