Jake and Elise

Jake and Elise have been doing a lot of simultaneous nursing, lately. Also, we pulled the cushions off of the loveseat and moved them to the office for something the other day, and ever since then the now-deeper-and-springier loveseat is their trampoline. It's the perfect size and they laugh HYSTERICALLY.

Earlier today, I heard crinkling in the hallway and looked down there - they were hiding around the corner, being totally quiet, sharing candy that Jakey somehow stole off the counter.

I look at them sometimes, when say she is in the swiveling recliner and he's spinning it and they're both laughing, and I honestly cannot BELIEVE my good fortune to be watching this story unfold again.

Have I really been so blessed that I get to have a tiny twosome AGAIN? A SECOND girl-boy pair to grow up partners in crime, and everything else? It makes me feel like there isn't enough room in my chest for all this love.

It also makes me feel bad for Isaac. This is what I wanted him and Jakey to have together, and they are together sometimes - they jump on the trampoline just the two of them, and will be sharing a room soon. But over all, it's just very, very hard to get along with Isaac :/ I could never tandem nurse them at the same time, because Isaac would beat on and scratch and poke Jake the whole time. Anytime they play now, Isaac is either whining and crying about the way it's going or he's lashing out and hurting Jake. I think he is going to have to grow up as the ultimate middle child.

Gymboree

I very rarely buy my kids clothes, and then they're usually ultra cheap when I do. Like, on Clearance at Target or Old Navy. We had so much given to us for so long from baby showers, families and friends at birthdays and Christmas, hand me downs from cousins and neighbors - and from each other - I mean I think the first time I EVER realized we needed to actually purchase something for Ananda to wear ourselves, she was already 5?

The Target clothes fade, stain and rip FAST - way before they're outgrown - and I always feel guilty buying Old Navy because it's about the most unethical corporation out there.

So that time has come around again when Aaron's shirts all have tiny holes or slight staining, and every pair of pants have holes at the knees, and Annie doesn't have A SINGLE PAIR OF LONG PANTS that fit anymore, we've realized recently, and it's just always a pain in the butt to find anything clean for Isaac or Jake...so I went what is to me crazy. I know I was buying for four different kids, here, but...I spent $422 at Gymboree. ! This is one of those situations where even though it was stuff we needed (mostly, some is "Extra") and that is not THAT crazy by most peoples' standards, and we have it to spend, I am like fanning myself here.

( So what does $400+ buy you at Gymboree these days? )

All in all it's going to round out a lot of holes in their wardrobes, and I clearly remember my dad going and dropping $400 every Fall on JUST Laura and I's "school clothes" - and that was at discount places like TJMaxx, and in the late 80s/early 90s - but I am still very much NOT used to dropping over $400 at a time on clothes. Egads.

Now I have $175 in "GymBucks" which apparently means I can get that much free, if I spend that much, during the "redemption period". I think I might just offer them to someone else, though, because I'm really torn between "I should continue buying better quality, more ethical clothing, it's even cuter and as they offer slim or husky options it will fit everyone better" and "Damnitt I cannot get suckered into thinking my kids need this expensive stuff on a regular basis or we will have serious problems". I can't decide if I'm really missing out and only cheating myself, by not using them now that I've earned them, or if this is an obvious upsell technique and I'm being conned into spending more money. What is certain is that I am too suspicious :p

Large Family Rant | Adorable stuff for Elise

I am tired of the world being built only for families of 1-(MAYBE)3 children.

Something that irritates me to NO END is the ridiculous maximum occupancy laws this county has...for instance, did you know that we would not legally be allowed to move into a 3 bedroom apartment in Dade County, with 4 kids? A couple of years ago we looked into it. Five people is the maximum for a 3 bedroom apartment. That's not even two per bedroom, and it made no difference to them that I was talking about a bunch of tiny children. We've been living, all 7 of us, in two bedrooms here. We sleep with Jake and Elise, which would have been the case regardless of how much space we had, and then Ananda and Aaron are in bunk beds with Isaac in a toddler bed, in the other room. The idea that it might be ILLEGAL is beyond ridiculous to me. Especially when we have a big living room, an office, a kitchen, a big dining room, this computer area, front porch, back patio, yards, the bathroom, the laundry room is even big - I mean there is a ton of central living area here and I often spend a couple of minutes finding someone! I really think it's just that the world is no longer accustomed to what was common place a generation ago - really, I doubt our grandparents all had 8 bedroom houses for their six kids, you know?

Registration forms for a zoo membership or AWANA or birthdays at the ice cream parlor on your discount card or ANY-DAMN-THING, have 2-3 lines for kids' names. The family forms for nurseries at churches don't even have enough space. Dental insurance apps for Grant's jobs don't have enough room for "all of us".

You can buy tshirts with customized people on them - up to five, including parents!

You can buy new age wood carvings of families - with one or two kids in them.

Nobody at any of the dealerships we've been looking at knows anything about conversion vans, which after all have to be converted because nobody just MANUFACTURES passenger vans to seat 9 or more people.

Stores and companies routinely give away "Family Vacations" good for four people.

I am over it.

You know what I love? I love it when we're at BJ's shopping and they have double-wide carts that have attached bench seating, such that FOUR kids can be in it at once strapped in, being pushed along.

Also, www.litteearthangels.com - which is a Christian, hippie, natural living, attachment parenting website with great service - has shirts that say "I am one of many blessings" and it shows abstract figures - two big ones with their arms around a circle of five small ones.

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Oh oh - I told you about the Gymboree order. You must want to see pictures of everything I've ordered for Elise, right? I mean...baby girl clothes, come on, who can resist?
( look at this )