As Ella was laying in bed with me this morning, watching Disney Channel, it made me think back to before I had kids and I swore that I would never let my kids jump in bed with me. It made me think about all those things I told myself I would never do, and about all those other moms I would see and judge.

Watch TV: When I grew up we really didn’t have tv. I mean, we had a set but it only got one channel that was clear. I remember the only time I was really allowed to watch it was on Saturday mornings back when they had Saturday morning cartoons. Now we seem to have Disney Channel and Nick Jr. on all the time. If it’s not kids’ tv shows, then we have it on the kids’ radio station.

Eat junk food: I always swore that my kids would always eat healthy, wholesome meals and snacks. I always try and cook a nice healthy dinner for Pat and I, and I told myself that my kids would eat what we eat. Well, now my freezer seems to be filled with Mickey Mouse shaped chicken nuggets and hot dogs and my pantry is filled with mac n cheese, pop tarts, and chewy fruit snacks. Yes, I still try and get them to eat what I make for dinner, but sometimes it’s just not worth the struggle.

Let my kids have tantrums in public: It used to be when I was out shopping and I would see a kid acting out, I would totally scoff at them. Now I can’t seem to make it out of the store without one of mine throwing themselves on the floor in a tantrum because I won’t let them pull stuff off the shelves. Shopping trips are always an adventure for me.

Leave the house looking like shit: Before I had kids I used to take my time doing my hair and makeup almost every morning. I made sure I always matched and looked my best when I left the house. Now I’m lucky if I can even get a shower everyday. My hair always goes back because with 2 two year olds to watch, I just can’t spend 30 minutes making it look perfect. Sure, I will still put on makeup sometimes, but it is a pain in the ass. Since I need to have eyes on the kids, that means doing it at the kitchen table and having the kids try and get into everything or them getting upset because I wont let Jack wear eyeliner. Now a days, I end up just throwing on whatever has the fewest stains.

Have my living room look like a day care: before I had kids and watched Disney Channel all day, I would watch some of those home makeover shows. Most of the time they made over the living rooms and they were full of toys. It looked more like a daycare or playroom, than a nice living room. I always told myself that my kids would keep all their toys in their room and only play with them in there. Well, now my living room has turned into the playroom. At first I was pretty good at making sure all the toys fit in the HUGE toy box we have, but then as they got older, their toys got bigger and now sit next to the toy box. I even have two drawers in our entertainment center just for toys and books. Hopefully I’ll get my living room back someday.

Take my kids to McDonalds: I always knew that if I had kids I would end up taking the to McDs on the very rare occation and I was OK with that. That rare occation turned into whenever we traveled and that then turned into whenever I needed a quick meal for them. I’m not as totally against it now that they are putting apples in the happy meals, but still.

I’m sure there are more, but these are just a few of the things that I think of regularly. Now I have to go clean up the chocolate milk and pop tart mess that is left over from breakfast.

Here are some recent pictures of the kids at the park.

OK, this is pretty much a catch-up type post.  Everyone is doing pretty well at the Lorigan house and the kiddos are growing up way too fast!  Since Christmas, they are much more sure of their footing and are even starting to run.  We got a couple new gates to block off the kitchen, so the kiddos now have full access to the rest of the house.  They love running up and down the hallway yelling.  I think they just like hearing the echo.  on Wednesday the kiddos went in for their 16 month checkup and everything looked good, well, Ella has a little bit of athlete’s foot, but other than that, it’s all good.  Ella now weighs 22lbs and is 30 3/4 inches tall.  Jack weighs 21.14 and is 30 3/4 inches tall.  They are both on the smaller side, but they are nice and healthy, so it’s OK.

While the rest of the country is dealing with horrible snow storms, San Diego was nice and sunny today.  We decided to take the kids and Lunchbox out for a little stroll around the neighborhood.  Since the kids are much more secure on their feet we let them out of the stroller to explore.  One of my favorite things about our neighborhood is the median that runs through the main street.  For the most part is covered in sidewalk and has trees and grass lining the sides.  It is very wide, so we don’t really have to worry about the kids running out into the street yet.  Even if they did wander into the street, very few cars ever drive by.  Anyway, we let the kiddos out to explore and they had a great time.  Of course I brought my camera so there are some pictures at the bottom.  Ella decided she wanted to push the stroller and Jack decided he wanted pick up rocks and sticks and stuff like that.  Overall, it was a beautiful, and great day for a walk.

Pat has been traveling a lot for work so it is really nice to have home for a few weeks before he has to fly out again.  This last time really sucked.  Pat was supposed to be gone for a day and ended up getting snowed in and came home 3 days later.  During this time, my car decided to break down.  I had Pat’s car, but the stroller doesn’t fit in the trunk so I was stuck at home.  It made me realize how dependent on my car I am.  Well, I was stuck in a house without food, so I had to use the Vons grocery delivery service.  It was great!  I see myself using it a lot more.  It was so easy!  Well, I was glad when Pat finally made it home and was able to give me a break from the kids.

I guess that’s all I really have for now.

I’m not sure if it was having some extra room to move around or if they just got tired of crawling, but about 5 minutes after we got to King City the kiddos were walking all over the place.  They had been doing a little walking at home, but nothing like this.  After a couple of hours it was pretty clear we had full blown toddlers.  That’s right, Ella and Jack toddle.  They spent most of the trip walking and crawling around and getting into all kinds of stuff they shouldn’t.  This whole walking thing is going to be super.  I’m in a lazy mood, so rather than a full recap here’s some highlights.

• Our first night in KC, Ella and Jack put on quite a show.  Ella was crawling around screeching, and they took turns chasing each other around the living room.  It was great watching them play with each other and have so much fun.
• For this trip (and for our trip to Houston later this month), we got some small travel beds for the kids to use.  They are basically little baby tents that we can zip the babies in at night and for naps.  We were a little worried about whether or not the munchkins would be OK in their new beds, but after one night they did just fine.  The best part was the effect of the static electricity on their hair.  Ella’s stood straight up and Jack’s curls flattened out.

• Jack is really focused on figuring out how things work.  He spent about 45 minutes one night studying a magnetic door on one of my mom’s small cabinets.  Every 10 minutes or so he would run off, but then he would turn around and go study the latch for a while again.  He was also interested in how doors bounce off door stops.  He may end up being an engineer like his dad.  Of course, he also spent 20 minutes throwing Tupperware all over the kitchen so I guess he takes after his mom, too.

• Out in Lockwood, Jack and Ella had lots of fun swinging in their new swings.  They also had a great time playing in their wagon.  Ella started to get a little cocky and tried to ride the wagon with no hands, but after a few bumps she lost a little bit of her courage and went back to her death grip.
• Thanksgiving was great as always.  Jack ate a bit of everything, but Ella was only really interested in the cranberry sauce and sweet potatoes.  They both LOVED the pumpkin pie, especially the whipped cream.
• The twins got to meet a whole new set of cousins.  Jeff, Val, Lindsay, Jennifer, Josh, AJ, and Chris came down to King City a couple of days after Thanksgiving.  It was great to see them, and Ella and Jack had a lot of fun.

That’s about it for now.  We’ll try to be better about providing updates, but it’s still pretty crazy around here.

As many of you know, I love making things.  I would much rather try and make or build something, than go to a store and buy it.  The babies “Thank You” cards for their birthday are no exception.  It was a great way to introduce the kiddos to the concept of handmade.  This was a very easy project.

I started out with plain thank you cards because I didn’t really have time to cut and fold paper like I had planned.  Next came the fun part!  I gave each of the babies a piece of bubble wrap and put some globs of finger paints on it.  The first thing each baby had to do was stick it in their mouths to taste it.  Ella either thought it tasted good, or was really hungry because she kept eating the paint.  Jack took a couple tastes and that was it.  OK, so the next step was to have the kiddos smear the paints all around the bubble wrap.  Ella was really into it.  Her piece of bubble wrap was all gooey, and painty, and gorgeous!  Jack needed a little encouragement.  He wasn’t real sure about the paints.  After awhile, he did a little smearing.  After the paints was good and mixed, I took the cards and “stamped” them with the bubble wrap.  I think they turned out looking awesome!!!

This morning the babies and I went to the park to meet up with some friends.  They had a blast!  Ella had fun walking around “talking” to everyone and taking their toys.  Jack played with the girls and hid behind the stroller.  I wanted to take them down the slide, but it was too wet.  I think they were pretty happy just chillin on the blanket.  I take that back, they tromped around everywhere, but the blanket.  Ella found some ants to sit in and Jack found some sand to eat.  They both discovered how fun it is to rub their hands all over the sand and concrete.

I had a good time too.  It was nice seeing Michelle again.  She has twin girls that are 9 months old, so it is fun to compare notes.  Angie was there with her 1 year old son and almost 5 year old daughter.  Ella had fun playing with the 1 year old.  Maribel was also there with her son who is 2ish.  After spending so much time chasing the kiddos around all day, it is nice to have some adult interaction from time to time.