I know what you're doing this summer...

ok so,

Tomorrow is the last day of school for Augie and I. I have been counting down to this day for months now. It was difficult having to go back to work at 2 months of age for the girls and after my near death in the hospital after their birth. But, as one would expect with twins, money is always tight and we need two of everything. So, back to work I went reminding myself that it was for only 3 1/2 months until summer break and then I would spend the whole summer with my girls...

Well, not exactly. I, for the first time since I began teaching, was offered summer school...and at my alma mater, Van Nuys High School. I had to accept. But now, when I look into my girls' faces, they appear to know what's up. I have the strangest feeling that, though they barely know their names or eachother, they understand the value of a good guilt trip!

The antsy runs...

ok so...

The girls were doing pretty well with solids for about a week...but now they have the runs. I am not entirely sure that this is not normal since they were eating fruits and vegetables which tends to clear you out. The doctor didn't really say anything about diarrhea, so I am not sure if I should stop the solids or not. And, we were planning on changing them from their very expensive $10 a bottle Similac Alimentum formula to a much more reasonably priced and digestively advanced $5 a bottle Similac Advance. But, I guess that will have to wait for the time being.

Meanwhile, it has become increasingly more difficult to contain the girls throughout the day. Although all the more cute, they are much more demanding of stimuli. They used to sleep through most outings and be quite content in their stroller(s). But even Daddy's new jogging stroller isn't quite entertaining enough for more than 5 minutes at a time and Bella has found her voice. She has taken to screaming (mostly in public) as a form of casual conversation with just about anyone willing to listen (and not listen). Hearing Bella, Lily is starting to follow suit (although much more calmly). As a teacher, I very often leave the comment "Talks too much" on students' report cards. Will that be a comment I will come to read more often than I write in the coming years? Whatever shall we do?

Ode to Daddy...

Daddy's 1st Father's Day!

ok so...

yes, it is true: he doesn't always diaper the babies correctly...

and he doesn't always load the dishwasher when the baby bottles pile up...

and he sometimes forgets to put the formula back in the fridge...

and he forgets to take the baby bag with him on outings with the babies...

and he bribes the babies with $100 to say "Daddy"...

but he's a great daddy! He stays up with the babies at night...

and plays music for them, shows them turtles, takes them for walks in the park and...

is the only one brave enough to take them on outings by himself!

Picture perfect!

ok so,

I tried out the Canon Rebel XT today. I probably should have started by reading the manual, but, as usual, I started by clicking the shutter...and clicking and clicking...I shot 158 photos in the course of a few hours. But, when I finally uploaded them on my PC- I discovered an important thing about my photography skills: while my close-ups/head shots are decent, I suck at anything wide angle. Hmm, I wonder if this is a symbol of being closed-off...ok, maybe that's a little too much analysis. Anyway, here are two pretty little girls. Lily's blue eyes show up pretty nicely with the new Canon.

How to photograph twins...

ok so,

As the mother and sister of twins and former portrait studio photographer, I should probably have some tricks up my sleeve when in comes to photographing twins. However, trick bag or not, I have come to realize that the only way to succussfully capture the little dears is by luck. Just keep shooting the camera and hope that one picture will turn out ok. This method, however, cannot be achieved with a cell phone camera, which is what I have been using since the girls' birth.

My husband and I had every intention of getting a great camera for photographing our only children. In fact, before I went into labor, we had a discussion about the very topic. But then, I went into labor, the girls were born and sent off to the NICU for a month and I stayed in the hospital for 6 weeks due to complications of their birth. I was hardly in any condition to run out and buy a camera. In fact, before the delivery, we hadn't even finalized the purchase of a family car (both of us had sports cars when we got married) so my husband had to bring the car loan papers to the hospital for me to sign. A day later, in the middle of the night, my husband temporarily stole a wheelchair from the hospital lobby and wheeled me downstairs to the hospital parking lot to see my brand new, 2008, white, Honda CRV (then he wheeled me to the caffeteria where I ate junk food for the first time in 7 months).

So, this weekend, my husband and I fed, burped, bathed, dressed and packed the girls in the CRV and headed to our local Best Buy to buy a camera. Upon the recomendation of photographer Kelly Vasami, and after negetiations resembling an Arab trader's, we purchased an open box Canon Rebel XT for $200 (which retails for about $550 at Best Buy). What a deal! I just hope Kelly can help me use it! We have yet to try it- we are sort of afraid of it right now- kind of like we were when the twins were born.

These are a few of my favorite things...

ok so,

I obtained this from Kelly's blog. Answer the questions using pictures:

Age at my next birthday:










Place I want to visit:

My favorite thing(s):

My favorite place:

My favorite food:











My favorite color:











The city I live in:










Name of pet:















Nickname I've had:











College major:












First job:












Goals for next year:

The Queen of Excess...or, Nanna as she is known

ok so,

The girls are now almost 5 1/2 months old. And in such a short time, my husband and I have begun a moderate collection of assorted baby equipment. The house has very quickly begun to resemble a Baby's R Us show room. I have often commented that the livingroom looks like a baby exploded in there. And the explosion apparently extends to Grandma and Grandpa's house, too. As a matter of fact, Grandma has been the main culprit of our imprisonment in our baby jungle. Almost everywhere my mother goes, she purchases another addition to the tidal wave of baby apparati spread accross her house and mine. I find it interesting that the same woman who denied me almost any toy over $5, promptly takes out her check card at the site of anything with bright lights, baubles, rings, rattles, or stuffed toys. If it vibrates, swings, lights up, rotates, bounces or plays music, her grandchildren must have it. The former queen of "no" is now the queen of "I'll take two". If only the twins could ask Grandma for a bigger house!..or two...

Guess who sleeps in our bed?

ok so...

All that trouble for a twins crib! I toiled so long over sleep solutions for twins. I found the perfect cribs and their grandma worked long and hard to dress it...and in the end, guess who sleeps in our bed?

But really, how can I not kiss them 80 times a day?

oh, and guess who sleeps on the changing table....