Hi all,

Sorry for the radio silence treatment but we just got back from a week long trip to Disneyland.  The week before that, Joel and I were feverishly finishing prepping for the twin mom group bi-yearly super sale (the day before we left for D-land) and packing.  Needless to say, we needed every spare minute in order to accomplish both tasks and blogging fell to the wayside. We left on Sunday, 10/14 to a week of 90+ degree days and flew back home to the mid-40′s.  Talk about a huge difference in temperature.  And yes, Dexter did, once again, puke on the plane upon landing at the SeaTac airport.  Luckily, Joel had the barf bag ready and waiting, so no messy cleanup this time.  Three out of the four landing at SeaTac have ended in a stomach eruption.  He lands fine elsewhere though.

Anyway, tonight I might have enough time to select picture and stories to share with you all.  I’ve finished with the huge pile of laundry that vacationing left me with.  Our house is now stocked with food.  I’ve set up a “schedule” for the boys and we are on day two of implementation.  They are throwing tantrums left and right.  Dexter had a complete and utter meltdown at Bartell’s Drug Store before lunch which lasted a total of ~45 minutes.  I let him lie on the floor in the store crying for 5 minutes before picking him up and walking out with him.  Thank God Nicholas noticed that his brother had lost it and behaved exceptionally well during Dexter’s tantrum.  I then let Dex cry it out in the back of Kanga (our minivan) until I deemed he would not be able to get himself calmed down.  Nicky and I attempted to make him laugh which finally worked.  I sometimes wonder if kids can be bipolar the way Dexter bounces.

Oh, how do you help a kid on the edge?  I thought they were suppose to do this kind of thing when they were two or three, not four.  If anyone has any good ways to teach kids how to recognize being close to a meltdown and then cope and figure out how to self sooth, I’d love to hear them.  We had one or two of these at Disneyland too.  One morning, all 4 of us melted down.  Maybe Joel and I need to practice self soothing too.  Right now, I’m just giving the boys space and letting them entertain themselves with Legos.  It seems to be going well so far…… (I know – I’ve jinxed it and this is probably the calm before the storm.)   They are creating some nice stories so far.

Just wanted to give you all a heads up that all is well and I will get pictures on the blog soon.  Being a stay-at-home mom is a busy one. – Katie