Someone recently pointed out to me that this blog is a bit Harlowe heavy and a little Chase light. (By the way, doesn’t a “Chase Light” sound like an icy cold, refreshing beverage?)

But I really don’t think I favor one twin over the other. It’s not like I’m out partying like a rock star with one of them.

Oh. Well, that is a cell phone snapshot of me and Harlowe out at a girls’ dinner. I’m sure Chase just had other plans. It’s not like that happens very often.

Oh snap. That’s me and my girl out to dinner again.

I actually bring along Harlowe because she has a very pleasant demeanor and it’s too cruel to leave Rick with both twins between the hours of 7 and 10 pm. That’s when they cry the most. So we divide and conquer.  Or rather, I divide and go out for dinner.

And that means I pick a lot of food off her head.

So no, I don’t have a favorite.

It’s just that Harlowe is like a sweet, calming angel.

And Chase is also an angel. Just one that grunts, groans, farts, spits-up, gets constipated, drools, farts again, has reflux, wakes up constantly between 4 and 6 am and overall is more of…..

a boy, I guess.

And he’s my sweet boy.

Not long ago my father-in-law took off this toupee.

And now 3 month-old Harlowe seems to be in the market for one…

As long as Dylan is willing to share some of her golden locks.

mama bird notes:

I am lucky enough to be included in the new anthology, “From the Heart: A Collection of Stories and Poems from the Front Lines of Parenting.” All proceeds from the sale of the book will be donated to children’s charities.  This money will help children get the medical care that they need and help find cures for devastating diseases.

I was recently a featured author. You can purchase the book by clicking over to the Write for Charity site.

On another note, thank you to By Word of Mouth for the blog award. I’m so honored!

I have this big plastic cup by my bed that I refill with water constantly because I get super thirsty when I nurse the twins every 15 minutes. Or every two hours depending on how you calculate the passage of time.

So Dylan and Summer were recently playing upstairs and shouted down to me, “Can we use the cup by your bed because Summer has the hiccups?”

I immediately envisioned her trying to drink backwards out of the cup and spilling the water everywhere. Since I was holding a twin and trying to eat a bowl of cereal at the time, I decided I could handle any potential water damage.

“Yes, you can use it. But please don’t spill water all over the place,” I yelled back up to them.

I never thought about Summer’s hiccups again.

Or the cup.

Until that evening when I was putting them to bed.

“We filled your cup with water from the toilet,” proclaimed Dylan.

“What?” I said. “You put water from the toilet bowl in my cup!!!?! That’s disgusting. You NEVER NEVER NEVER NEVER NEVER take water from the toilet bowl. You could get very sick. Oh my gosh -  I drank from that cup all day.”

“Well, I washed it,” Dylan explained.

Somehow I didn’t feel better.

“I appreciate that but it just doesn’t matter. You can’t do that. I’m so grossed out. And wait – does this mean Summer drank from the toilet to get rid of her hiccups?”

“Yes. But it was Dylan’s idea,” Summer explained. I think Summer would be an excellent candidate for “Project Runway” with her ability to sacrifice team unity Gretchen-style in an effort to save herself.

“Oh Summer. Please don’t ever do that again. You could get so sick. Girls – I can’t talk about this anymore. I’m nauseous just thinking about this.”

Lesson learned way too late: Important to clarify to children that toilet bowl water is not suitable for drinking. I’m telling my 3 month-old twins right now so there is no confusion.

So I never did abandon my four children and go to Paris.

I heard it’s terribly hot there in August anyway.

And who needs a fresh croissant oozing with melted chocolate? Never mind.

Here in New York, I may be turning an ever so slight corner. No, the twins aren’t sleeping through the night. (By the way, “Are they sleeping through the night?” has won The Most Asked Question in the month of August – narrowly beating out “Are those babies twins?”) I still only get three or four or five hour stretches of sleep but there are little moments where everything clicks.

Like I actually figured out how to take a walk with all four of my kids. Well, Tracey thought of it and she, sensing my desperation, was nice enough to share.

I put one twin in the stroller, along with my walk phobic 3 year-old Summer. Then I put the other twin in the Bjorn and Dylan rides on her scooter.

Photo Courtesy of Dylan

It took about three hours to get out of the house that day but dammit, we took a walk.

I’ve also been making myself nuts with all this breast feeding because I literally nurse the twins, barely say hello to Dylan and Summer, maybe get a snack, pee if I’m lucky and it’s time to feed them again.

So a mother ever-so-gently suggested that maybe I substitute formula for one of my feedings. Wait – I don’t have to be chained to my Titanic size nursing pillow? It was liberating. So I’m now nursing just a tiny bit less and it’s making all the difference. It actually allows me to get out and do more things because I don’t have to be nursing ALL THE TIME.

And we found a new babysitter who seems fantastic. It’s only day four but she seems like the kind of gal you would totally leave your four kids with if you ever, you know, headed to Paris on an emergency croissant assignment.

I’ve started to feel a little calmer – like maybe this baby-go-round could be manageable. At some point.

So when the toilet completely overflows to the point where our entire bathroom floor is covered in toilet bowl water and I’m absolutely sure water is going to start seeping through the floor into the dining room and I’m trying to figure out how to get the plunger and resolve the situation without alerting Dylan and Summer that there is something crazy going on upstairs because their involvement will not make the situation better…

Or when almost 6 year-old Dylan has an epic size tantrum at a pizza place because she decides she wants to sit in a HIGH CHAIR for the first time in like four years and I won’t let her…

I don’t always completely lose my sanity.

And there are even moments when I can stop, breathe and truly appreciate this…

I have this relative who is absolutely lovely but not exactly fashion forward.

She has a penchant for wearing her shirt tucked in – with her skirt or pants or shorts hiked up a bit too high.

I’ve always been sensitive to the plights of the style challenged and I’ve reached out to help this relative.

But it’s never done much good.

Then the other day I asked this relative to dress Harlowe and well, you can imagine what happened.

Sorry baby.