It's a JuNgLe out there! Sunday - July 13, 2008

One of my good friends, Kathleen, talked me into running the Los Gatos Jungle Run half-marathon (13.1 miles) this year. It was this morning.

I hadn’t planned on running it, as I seem to be on the night-owl schedule lately. Not to mention... the longest distance I've ran since getting pregnant back in May 2007 was under 6 miles. And, the last big race I ran was back in October 2001 - the Lake Tahoe half marathon.

I finally decided to just do it. Why not, right? So, I signed up for the run yesterday.

Getting up at 5:30am after a late night with the rowdy neighborhood clan wasn’t easy. And, it certainly wasn’t easy leaving the fun early. But, it was worth it. The weather couldn’t have been better. And, we did well. Actually, for having just had twins 6 months ago… I think I did pretty great. I kept up with Kathleen until about mile 9, and then I told her to just run hard because I was lagging behind. She finished almost 4 minutes ahead of me. I finished in 2:03.58, #44 in the 30-39 age category.

Here’s a few photos from this morning with the girls after finishing (Kathleen & Livy, Me & Gabby). You'll have to excuse Gabby's hair. Clearly a bit of bed-head going on. But, it was amazing that Dan actually made it out of the house with all 3 kids before 9 o'clock. And, I say amazing because if you could have only seen him last night... errhhhhmmmm... pre-children, he'd probably have spent the entire day in bed. Someone had a little too much fun last night.

Minnesota whirlwind... almost vacation-like. Friday - July 11, 2008

So, we ended up caving in and planning a quick trip to Minnesota over the 4th of July.

When I say "we ended up caving in", I mean that we caved in financially and logistically. After having just completed the big remodel and addition on our home, and then adding two members to our family… dropping a bundle on 4 tickets to Minnesota wasn't exactly part of our plan for 2008. Not to mention, the question of "can we actually do this with 3 under 3?" was a bit daunting. Ok… I'll be honest. It was flat out overwhelming.

But, yes - we did it. The boys were fantastic on both flights. They made the trip easy on us. And outside of Gabby having a temper-tantrum while going through security because a *random TSA* touched her shoes… she was great too.

Our schedule while in MN was extremely busy and somewhat exhausting. Something was on the calendar every single day. But, we were able to spend a lot of time with my mom and dad, all 3 of my brothers and their families, great grandma's Leona and Helen, and my uncle Bill, aunt Kay and cousin Haleigh who were in town from CT.

My family getting together is no small feat. Mark, Patty, Alexa and Callie, were in town from Shanghai, China. Jon, Jazzmin and baby Ellie were in town from Alaska. We were actually hoping to meet baby Ellie… but she decided to wait and not make her appearance while her extended family was together. We were so bummed… and will have to settle for photos. And then Dave, Joanne, Madeline & Emily, live in MN. So we were very lucky they also were able to spend time with us.

Minnesota highlights:
* Gabby getting to constantly play with cousins! Play time was spent on the beach, swimming, and boating. And, lots of time playing inside. Also known as operation destroy the inside of Gammy and Papa's house. As in… did a tornado go through your home or was that just a result of 7 grandchildren enjoying each other for 7 days?
* Attending cousin Maddy's 5th birthday party. Gabby was in party/sugar heaven. FUN!
* Attending a surprise birthday party dinner for my mom… more FUN!
* Spending a few hours visiting with three girlfriends from high school.
* Meeting two girlfriends from college for lunch.
* A fabulous 4th of July BBQ at my parent’s home with my entire family, and several of my cousins and their families. And that night we all went out on the boat to watch fireworks. Even the twins! I hesitated, thinking the loud bangs would scare them, but they both watched in awe and weren't bothered by the noise.
* Dan was able play 18 holes of golf.
* Gabby and I saw the movie "WALL-E" with her cousins. She happily sat and watched the movie, ate half a bag of popcorn, laughed louder than anyone else in the theatre and eventually face-planted on the movie theatre floor after attempting to climb the seat in front of us. Always the lady.
* Two baptisms… with a few surprises! See baptism post below.
* Poor little cousin Callie getting the 24-hour stomach flu… and not one of my children catching it! Amazing.
* I was able to get out on four runs. Four long, lovely sanity runs that didn't involve pushing babies. Wow… what a difference that makes.
* Dan and I celebrated our 6th wedding anniversary. We went boating, and then to dinner with Gabby, while my mom, dad and sister-in-law, Jazz, babysat the twins.
* 5 sleepless nights for Dan and I. Apparently, the boys weren't too thrilled about their new beds. And, they were thrown by the different daylight hours. They decided to gang up on us and switch off waking up every hour of the night for several nights. Two sleepless babies = two very tired parents.
* One set of car keys thrown in the garbage by yours truly. And, as usual, my mom rallied to save the day and retrieve the missing keys.

HUGE hugs and thanks to aunt Jazzmin, cousin Alexa, aunt Patty and Gammy and Papa for all the childcare help! And, thanks so much mom & dad for being such wonderful, kind and loving parents and hosts. Gabby has so many wonderful memories to keep her going until the next get-together!

Baptism... SURPRISE!

So, part of the reason we planned a quick trip to Minnesota this summer was not only to see and spend time with all 3 of my brothers and their families, but also to get the boys baptized and have their godparents be present. Rocco's godparents are Mark & Patty (they live in China). Matteo's godparents are Dave & Joanne (they live in Minnesota). Gabby's godparents are Trish and Todd who live near us in CA… so we never had the challenge of trying to schedule a baptism out-of-state, etc.

Everyone who knows us, also knows it wouldn't be right if we didn't add some sort of drama to an *official* sort-of-event. But, this time I thought we’d be in the clear. We were told over a month ago via email that the baptismal ceremony would take place after the service.

SURPRISE! Upon entering the church (admittedly, we were approx 10 minutes late) the priest said something that I didn't even really hear, as I was trying to slip in without making too much noise.
PATTY (SIL #1): "Jodi, you're supposed to go up there. He just called your name and mentioned the baptism."
ME: "WHAT?" (trying not to act shocked as I then realized, everyone is looking at us).
ME: "Dan, grab a twin, we're supposed to go up there."
DAN: "What?" And, he proceeds to walk out without a child in hand.

In my head, I'm thinking… Dear L.ord, Please don't make the baptism take place at this very moment… I'm still sweating from being late and dragging 3 children into an un-air-conditioned church on an uncomfortably hot & humid day. And, a quarter of the family who was planning to attend the baptismal ceremony is not present. Including, one of the godfathers. Try explaining that to your child someday… it would go something like "Sorry son… your godfather wasn't present at your ceremony because he didn't feel like attending church. But, yes, he's your godfather… and will help guide you with the Catholic faith… blah, blah, blah."

ME: "Dan, grab a kid." As, I'm struggling with the safety belt on Rocco's infant seat and trying to restrain myself from yelling "This was supposed to happen AFTER the service, people! Can't you see we have twins? I need to PLAN. My every hour revolves around planning. The year of surprises was supposed to have officially ended mid-June 2008!"

PRIEST: "Well, they have twins… so we'll come to them." (This is after patiently waiting for us to go to him for an uncomfortable 2-3 minutes.)

ME: Thinking… Thank God. Maybe this priest really is connected to God… clearly, God is giving him signals.

The priest then asks us to introduce ourselves and the twins. Dan is sweating. I am sweating. Babies are wiggling. The priest then asks us what brings us here today and points the microphone in my direction. All I could think was "Dude… I have NO clue. But, if you ask me why I'm in this situation right now I'd have to say that I must have done something wrong… bad karma. Seriously." The priest then whispers under his breath "say baptism". OH YEAH! Easy, right! So we proceed to say "Baptism". He then tells us and the parishioners the baptism will take place after the homily. All I could think is GREAT… now we'll have time to get Dave/godfather dressed and to church on time.

Joanne (SIL #2), proceeds to call Dave and leave a message on his cell and at my parents house. She can’t reach him. Mark eventually connects with Dave and tells him he has 10-15 minutes.

Gabby proceeds to get antsy, tired, and whiny. She starts asking loudly where baby Jesus is, where papa is, etc. She finally falls asleep on my shoulder.

Baptism time. Uh oh. No Dave in sight. Oh well.

We go up for the baptism. The priest walks over with his gear. And, like superman-godfather, Dave magically appears and rushes up to the front of church to stand by us just moments before the first of two baptisms actually takes place. He gives a calm, cool smile and all is well. Good timing. I'm happy for Matteo.

Baptismal highlights:
* Rocco was awake and Matteo slept for the entire ceremony.
* Gabby also slept through the ceremony... on my shoulder.
* Rocco LOVED having the water put on his head 3 times. He actually squealed with delight each time.
* Matteo was sleeping, so the water woke him up a bit. He cried a bit and then happily went right back to sleep.
* Matteo was awake and Rocco slept for the photos after.
* Both boys looked so handsome in their outfits. Both found their ties to be great teething devices.
* Gabby stuck her finger in the back of the cake during photos, and proceeded to stick one of the baptismal candles in the cake… cakes need candles, right?! Uh-huh...
* Rocco's foot ended up in the cake before it was cut.

Dare I say it... Tuesday - June 24, 2008

Dare I say it? All kids are fairly healthy and we've had 1 night in the past week where all 3 kids slept through the night and 2 nights where 2 kids slept through the night. Not that I'm superstitious or anything... but your nuts if you think I didn't just knock on wood.

The past week hasn't been without drama, of course. For instance... I woke up in the middle of the night last Tuesday and puked my guts out. For no apparent reason. And, in case you didn't already know - mom's aren't allowed to be sick. So when I still felt funny several days later Dan urged me to take a pregnancy test. No way. That would be impossible. Then... I decided to actually take a test because the past year hasn't been without the "impossible" kind of surprises. I'm happy to report that I'm not pregnant.

Then, today after Dan picked Gabby up from school he called me from the Safeway parking lot. Apparently, he had a car full of groceries, a hungry two year old and a Mercedes that wouldn't start. Damn that car. Total lemon. Anyway, he proceeds to call me (frustrated, of course) and requests that I just "run" over there with the babies and jumper cables. ME "I've got one baby sleeping. One eating. And, we don't have jumper cables." DAN: "Yes we do." ME: "Where?" DAN: "In the garage." Then, what I wanted to say was "Hello? Have you looked in our garage lately? I'd be surprised if G.od could find the jumper cables in OUR garage." But, I didn't. Instead, I suggested he call a neighbor (thanks, Gregg!). And then I told him what I had wanted to say later. Dan "Hmmm... good point."

Anyway - on to the kids drama... much more exciting:
* Rocco's really rolling. Put him down, he rolls and rolls and rolls. When he's on his belly it sometimes looks like he's swimming... the hands and legs don't stop moving. Ever. Honestly. This kid is gonna be busy.

* Rocco's new trick is pushing himself up onto his knees and elbows. He likes to practice this most when he wakes up from naps in his crib and is agitated that we're taking too long to get him.

* Rocco discovered that eating his feet can be more fun/tasty than his hands.

* Matteo's decided that he really DOES like solid food. Today, he proceeded to eat a 2.5oz package of sweet potatoes and a 6oz bottle - all within an hour for the babysitter. I couldn't help but think he might have a bellyache. But he happily slept for almost 3 hours. Such a good little guy!

* Matteo's new trick is screaming. When he's happy, you'll now hear more screams and loud squeaks. He continues to be such a happy, mellow little guy. He loves to laugh and gives big open mouth smiles. He observes the world around him calmly and curiously. You can almost see him thinking when he reaches for and grabs objects. Everything goes to the mouth. And, he really has a steady hand for a 5 month old. Maybe he'll be a surgeon some day? Hmmmm...

* Matteo & Rocco decided to sleep through the night, on the same night, one night over the past 3 nights. The other 2 nights Rocco did what he hasn't yet done and slept through the night, only to have Matteo wake up both nights in the 3 o'clock hour. Go figure. Get the non-full-night sleeper to sleep through the night and then the full-night sleeper wakes up.

* Gabby is obsessed with wearing big girl undies. However, here's a catch. They must go on over the diaper or pull-up. She's going potty in the potty chair almost every time. But, we've regressed with poos. Not sure why. But, she will no longer go poo on the big girl potty chair. Did she have a splasher? Is it not the right position? We can't figure it out. Why does potty-training have to be so draining on the parents?!

* Gabby is also thrilled that the kids on the block are done with school for the summer. They will come over and play with her quite frequently and are so great with her. Real nice kids. Sometimes they organize her toys for me which I, of course, LOVE! Honestly. Anyone who comes over and organizes or cleans is always welcome in my home. And, they also love coming over to see and hold the babies. Again. Anyone who wants to hold or love all over a baby is always welcome in my home.

Also, don't ever take a lengthy blog post like this for granted. If you think I wrote this in the past hour, you're crazy. This was in development for 2 days as I can't seem to find a half hour of uninterrupted time.

Wildfires Tuesday - June 24, 2008

Today was another "stay inside" day. I opened the front door and it smelled like a campfire was burning in my front yard. The air was hazy and when I looked to my left at the foothills, everything was gray... a big cloud of smoke. Sadly, this is the third time in 3 weeks we've had bad air quality due to the wildfires. And, it's expected to stay hazy and gray for a while. Apparently there are over 1,000 wildfires in CA right now.

Here’s a photo I took two weeks ago when the evening smoke made the sky turn crazy-pretty colors. Two of the recent fires have been just on the other side of the foothills in this photo.

Happy Father’s Day! Sunday – June 15, 2008

In our house, it was actually Father’s Day weekend.

Dan went out with his old high school pals on Friday night, and took our new neighbor from across the street with him. I ended up having a bit of unexpected fun myself, as I had two neighbors over for some wine… ok, a LOT of wine. Lots of fun! And, clearly the men had a LOT of fun too… as our car was left at the bar and Dan was glued to the sofa all day Saturday.

Today I gifted Dan with no tasks and time to take a LONG nap. And, we pretty much just hung out all day. Nothing too crazy. Well, Matteo did have a little bit of a crazy day as he decided to flip off the sofa onto some blankets. I won’t point any fingers, because it is Father’s Day and all… but, the little guy was fine, of course. I don’t think it even really scared him. We also did our very first dinner out with all the kids since adding the boys to the family. It actually went real smooth… but honestly, not something I’d do every week.

Dan helped feed the boys some solid foods today. Sadly, the little guys are still not really into the solid foods. It amazes me. Gabby was loving solids at about 4.5 months. And she loved sweet potatoes. The boys are 5 months old and when we try to feed them sweet potatoes, they act like they’re gagging. It’s getting a little better… but very slow progress.

Ode to Dan on Father’s Day:
We love our daddy – yes we do!
He does everything and more that a daddy should do.

Daddy cuddles and snuggles better than a bear.
And, he will always help wash food out of our hair.

He works real hard each and every day.
And, then comes home and wants to play.

He plays “chase” and “get you” better than anyone we know.
And even gives kisses to a smelly, stubbed kid’s toe.

Daddy loves going on trips to the park.

And he always protects us from monsters in the dark.

He hands out band-aids with lots of love.
And will always gladly put on a princess glove.

He makes us laugh when we are crying.
And always has the most fun finding us when we are hiding.

Daddy thinks it’s funny when we burp or pass gas.
And, he might just be the most popular daddy with all the kids in Gabby’s class.

He gives bedtime baths and helps prep bedtime “drinkies”.
He brushes teeth, changes diapers, and even helps put away a left out slinky.

He reads us stories and hugs us tight.
Then tucks us safely in our beds at night.

He loves our mommy like no man could.
And is always the first to make our mommy feel good.

We love our daddy – oh yes we do!
Now get ready, daddy, for the next few years of poo!

I love you, babe! Thanks for being such a wonderful daddy. Happy Father's Day!

And… Matteo’s rolling! Wednesday - June 11, 2008

Well, my friends… we now officially have two rollers! Matteo rolled today! Hooray for Matteo!

Very true to Matteo’s personality… he decided to be sneaky and do his first roll-over when nobody was looking. Dan actually discovered him, as he was quietly squawking away with irritation. Dan went to see what the fuss was all about and found him on his tummy. And for both boys – the official first roll was from back to tummy.

Matteo is such a quiet, gentle little guy… he likes to observe what’s going on around him. For some reason I think he’ll continue to reach life’s milestones at his own pace and not feeling the need to reach them before his brother. I see him doing things when HE decides it’s time. This presents a 50/50 chance of playing in my favor someday. Hmmmm…

The only time our little Matteo is loud is when he’s laughing – he LOVES to laugh hard. And, he is also quite loud when he’s super hungry or tired.

Matteo’s second roll over was for a very anxious mommy who wanted to see it for herself. And, he did it almost on queue. Exciting stuff!

Still seeking a dull moment... Saturday - June 7, 2008

People are going to start saying "Well... if you're looking for a little excitement or some comic relief, just visit the Martino's!"

Before you continue reading this post, please do me a favor and promise to tell me to knock on wood if you ever hear me say "We've had a crazy day/week - life can't possibly get more chaotic."

This week's highlights... so far:
4:35am, Sunday morning: I finally crawled into bed after picking Marcela (our au pair) up from SFO after a delayed flight from New York. I woke up at 9am and spent the day in a strange fog.

9am, Monday morning: Marcela officially started working for us, with me planning to be her sidekick throughout the day to train and help her with any unruly kiddos.

10:30am, Monday morning: Marcela starts to cry. She tells me she doesn't think she can handle taking care of twins. It is too hard. She can’t handle hearing two babies cry. All I can think is: Oh you haven't seen anything yet... just wait 'til the third one chimes in. Or, wait until the UPS guys is standing in your doorway waiting for you to sign off on his delivery while the baby you are holding has a massive poo-cano (aka poop explosion up the back and through the clothes), the other baby is screaming for food, the phone starts ringing, and Gabby decides it's the perfect time to fall into the toilet while attempting to situate herself on the big girl potty. She also starts screaming. And, if you think I dreamt up that example and that the above story didn’t really happen, I only have a few things to say to you:
1. You need to come spend a day with me. Who could make s*$% like this up? Honestly.
2. You have NO idea the daily drama that happens in this house.
3. You clearly haven't parented 3 children under 3.
4. Don't ever call me and tell me you're bored or don't know what to do with all of your free time.
Anyway, I digress. So, now I'm thinking "Lovely. Totally didn't need this to happen today."

11:15am, Tuesday morning: I take Rocco to the doctor. All the staff now knows my name and acknowledges me as if I’m part of the inner workings of their office. I probably show up more than some of their part time employees. Anyway, Rocco's diagnosed with bronchitis... AGAIN. For the second time in three weeks. Not good.

12:30pm, Tuesday: I get home from the doctor with a sleeping Rocco. Marcela is in the kitchen crying to Dan. I ask what's wrong and Marcela tells me it is impossible to take care of twins... impossible. She said it is very, very hard. I tell her I know. She tells me I'm so organized and am so fast. I tell her I have to be. She tells me she used to wish to someday to have twins... I tell her she might want to wish for only singletons. She tells me her arms are so sore from the babies. I give her Tylenol. I tell her her biceps will soon be toned. I ask her if she wants us to call the au pair agency and find a replacement host family for her. She says yes. I agree that would be best.

2:00pm, Tuesday: I go to W.algreens to pick up Rocco's prescription. Only half of it is in-stock, I'll have to go back tomorrow to pick up the remaining Rx. Annoying. I'm annoyed with W.algreens for the 3rd time in 2 weeks. Is that strange?

7:00pm, Tuesday: Our representative from the au pair agency comes over and explains the next steps to us. Marcela can continue to work for us if we'd like and is required to stay with us for the next two weeks. During that time, we will begin interviewing other replacement au pair candidates. At the same time, other U.S. host families will have the opportunity to interview Marcela over the next two weeks. If someone chooses her, great. If not - then she will be sent back to Brazil. We have no time limit on choosing another au pair. However, I need someone in here asap…

Wednesday: Dan decides to work from home since I have to go into the office... and well, it's very evident Marcela needs help. So, I go into the office for some much needed R&R. Trust me when I say meeting with a team of pediatric surgeons is relaxing compared to being at home right now. Not even comparable stress. I get home and Marcela tells me she thinks Matteo is getting very sick. Dang... I agree with her. He is.

4:00pm, Thursday: Matteo is diagnosed with bronchitis. Poor kid. Now he has to be on two medications at the same time.

5:45pm, Thursday: New neighbors begin moving into the house directly across the street from us. They come over and say Hi. They seem really nice... like people we'd hang out with. They've got a dog, and no kids. They meet Gabby and and the boys. She tells me she wants twins. I tell her to come spend a day with me—she might change her mind. And then I of course can't help but share this week's situation with the au pair who also wanted twins. And look what happened to her... she's now running for the hillls. Just a little example.

6:30pm, Thursday: Dan brings home Matteo's medication AND what I discover later... the remaining bottle of Rocco's Rx that they didn't have in stock the other day. I give Matteo his two medicines - one for his ear infection, and one for bronchitis.

7pm, Thursday: I make dinner. We all eat. Everyone scatters and/or assists with getting boys to bed.

8:30pm, Thursday: After cleaning up dinner, I begin tidying up the downstairs baby station. I am organizing the baby medications, because we've now got 4 bottles of it. None of the bottles have Rx labels on them, mind you… just the boxes that the bottles came it have the actual Rx labels. I suddently realize I gave Matteo Rocco's bronchitis medication instead of his own medication for bronchitis. F*&K! Matteo is on a different bronchitis medication, probably due to the fact that he's also taking a drug for his ear infection. CRAP! OMG! F*#K! My mind starts spinning. Page the doctor. Doctor says it's ok and if anything, it would just give him a tummy ache. Thank God.

Now I realize I am the idiot that T.arget is marketing to with their new Rx bottles which they claim to be essentially mix-up free. I recall seeing numerous advertisements about how they have these new Rx lables aimed to prevent Rx mix-ups in the home. I always thought "who on earth would mix-up an Rx or give the wrong person the wrong drug". Clearly a crazy, stressed out, mom with multiple kiddos on drugs like myself. Yup. I'm the target audience.

Friday: I get tons of work done in the morning hours. Hooray! Marcela is doing a good job with the babies while I pinch hit with Gabby and/or a baby when necessary. Gabby had one of those days that could make someone jump, screaming, from a second story window. She changed her dress 15+ times before 1pm and was whiny all day. I begin thinking we need one full-time au pair for Gabby alone. And, one full time au pair for the twins. Dream bubble pops... we can't afford two au pairs, and if we could we'd just get a nanny here in the U.S. and would not be in this au pair drama in the first place. Blech!

I talked with my neighbor who has had au pairs for the past 7 years and she tells me I need a ‘Helga’ or an ‘Olga’ or someone from Germany. She tells me the au pairs she has had from Germany have been the hardest workers.

At the end of the day, I ran out the door to meet my girlfriend, Kathleen, for cocktails and the "Sex and the City” movie. I’m sure I’ll be trying to coax her or someone else into doing that again soon.

Here's a few more photos of Rocco & Matteo, Gabby with the identical twin boys from across the street, and Marcela with the boys: