Not today

Hi friends and family,

I do my best to present the good, bad, and ugly of life with twins and in keeping with my openness and honesty policy I have to admit today sucked. Even though I tend to speak positively and try to present the silver linings of the clouds, not today... some days are just plain difficult.

Kendra and I are both experiencing back problems and have for the past week. Since the two of us do a good job of picking the slack for the other person when they are out of commission, it really throws a wrench in our symbiotic relationship when both of us are in pain.

The additional stress of my cyclical work schedule riding at "high tide" means I am pressed for time to help out as much as I should. Although I'm not complaining about this problem as loudly because I'm grateful to have my job.

The twins have hit a fever pitch with testing our boundaries and acting out in different ways. hitting, biting, pinching, yelling, crying, and worst of all: not eating what Kendra prepared for dinner. By the way I loved it. :) There are very few ways to get under Kendra's skin and demeaning her cooking whether it is verbally or simply body language while eating her food indicating anything less than satisfaction is one of them.

Easton and Layla developed opinions. that is both good and bad for obvious reasons. They also developed a way to express through words how they feel. Today Layla said, "Layla is sad". Unfortunately they haven't figured out how to answer with a reason so when I ask, "why does Layla feel sad?" she just stared at me blankly. Why... why in deed.

Between all of the business of life and work and obligations Kendra and I had very little time to talk or connect. Unless by "connect" I mean passing a toddler between the two of us for bath time. Without the chance to spend even a few minutes together during the day we lose the ability to recharge each others batteries. I believe there is an energy source deep within us as spouses where even though the two of us are both drained and tired, when we are together we recharge each other ex nihilo.

And to top off the night, the 4 Webbs were in our master bedroom and Layla was jumping on the bed as Kendra lay resting. Layla took a bad hop and sprung off the bed with her head hitting the sharp corner of our oak night stand. I couldn't believe what just happened because we were both right there next to her! We weren't even playing directly with her or antagonizing her, but none the less we were just out of arms length. She has a huge whelp on the middle of her forehead, but other than that she appears to be doing just fine. After a little crying she was back to reading books while sitting on the couch with me. She's a brave, sturdy, fearless little girl.

So anyway, that's the tough part of the day. Even in the midst of the difficulties, there are still many good parts are so let me run through the highlights of my day. Kendra and I both saw the chiropractor and I'm feeling much better already. Both of us have missed exercise completely for the past week and that has its own impact on well-being.

Easton and Layla are using the potty almost daily now. I found some more space shuttle and princess stickers at the hobby store and that seems to be doing the trick. Along with reluctantly singing the "potty song" every time one of the twins uses it. Thank God that will never be digitally recorded or aired on The Learning Channel.

I rode my bike and pulled the twins in the Chariot to the park before dinner. Both were safe and had a ball interacting with all the neighbors and kids. The near-perfect weather resulted in more than 15 people wondering around our little neighborhood park. Easton loves climbing the rock wall and Layla is a big fan of the jungle gym ladder with dangerously spaced steps.

The only picture I have from the day is a special edition and worthy of being used as the computer monitor background or wallpaper. It is similar to the previous post, but the difference is Layla doesn't have her pacifier blocking her sweet smile and the infamous backward pajamas are in full effect.


The pajama debacle raises a serious question for me. If so many people have the same issue with their kids or know someone who does, why is there no product created to meet this need? Every other ridiculous thing imaginable is available at Babies R' Us, why not this? Did you know they sell a small bag of cheerios and label it as "targets" for your son to aim at when peeing in the big boy toilet? That blew me away. Very creative, but I had no idea the marketing and product development went so far.

Maybe this is my million dollar idea. If it is, then no one steal it or I will sue for royalties. :)

Good night and good morning, see you soon!