LaLaGirl – Twinfinite Chaos! Parenting Multiples and Dealing with Autism

I can’t believe how hard it was for me to say goodbye to my quad stroller. We had a big garage sale this weekend, and I sold it. I got a good price for it, considering I practically ran the wheels right off of it for almost three years straight. And it went to a mom who really needed it – a mom of toddler-age triplets and a brand new baby. And Paul is REALLY glad to have that extra space in the garage, because face it – as compactly as it folded up, it was still a big space hog. So why was I almost in tears as I watched someone else loading it into the back of their SUV?

Back in 2005, when we had two brand new little babies and two rambunctious little toddlers, I was having a really rough time. Like you’d expect, I suppose, adjusting to the reality of having two sets of twins under age two. What made it worse was that I was completely trapped in my home. The “big” twins were only a year and a half old – certainly not old enough to just walk around parking lots and stores while I lugged around the “little” twins in their heavy infant carseats. While poking around online one day, I discovered this amazing quad stroller – brand new, not even available yet – and I quickly put my name on their waiting list to order one. Unfortunately, the $500 price tag kept it completely out of reach for us. Fortunately for me, there are lots of wonderfully generous folks out there who read my blog, and who wouldn’t hear of leaving me trapped at home. Someone set up a Paypal fund, and within a few days, I had MORE than enough money to buy that stroller.

Once it finally arrived, it truly DID change my life! Finally, I could go anywhere I wanted. I could strap my kids in and get sunshine and fresh air, or groceries, or walk around the mall with my mommy friends, or whatever. It really changed everything for me. And I used to bitch plenty about being such a spectacle wherever we went, pushing that huge stroller with one hand and pulling a grocery cart behind me, but I’m SO thankful I was able to do that. I don’t know what I would have done without that stroller! I hope the lady who bought it ends up getting as much use out of it as I did. And honestly, if I didn’t have any physical limitations, I might have hung on to it longer. I’ve gotten to where I couldn’t lift it in and out of my vehicle anymore (the thing weighs 80 pounds!) and I really couldn’t push my big ol’ kids in it, either! The last time we used it was at Disneyland last year, and it was a lifesaver then, but Paul had to push it everywhere!

So with that, I’d like to offer my gratitude once again to all the generous ladies out there who reached out to a mommy in need. I was, and continue to be, honored and humbled by your kindness. Huge thanks to Donna, Ami, Lisa, Shawn, DonnaLeigh, Cat, Aimee, Laura, Tracie, Amy, Denise, Colleen, Megan, Maggie, MS, Darla, Sindy, Annette, Janelle, Jammie, Cindy, Amanda, Jeanne, Audra, Bev, Allison, Jessica, Andrea, and Christine. I always thought I should engrave your names on a little plaque and hang it on the stroller!

Popularity: 5% [?]

Moving is a drag, kind of. I appreciate the fresh start, and really, what better time for that whole clean slate thing than at the first of the new year? It’s just that the GETTING THERE takes so damned long! We’ve been in our house for two weeks now, and we still have a ridiculous amount of unpacking and setting up to do.

However, we’ve all but finished up business at the old house, which concluded with a huge estate sale yesterday. Paul collected all the furniture and toys and housewares and stuff we couldn’t bring here for whatever reason and we blasted the hell out of Craigslist all week long to really get the word out. I stayed home with sick kiddos while Paul and his brother ran the sale. Our garage, basement, living room, and family room were FULL of stuff! And it was a huge success. Had I been running it, it would have been a huge clusterfuck. Paul and his brother are such hustlers, though, especially when they work as a team, that they had no trouble selling off almost everything. Today, we went back and boxed up what remained so Goodwill can come pick it up.

Back home, the kids tore through boxes of toys in their yet-to-be-unpacked-or-organized playroom. While they made a mess of that, I set up my china and antiques in the dining room, assembled and set up our living room lamps, moved about ten thousand empty boxes to the curb for trash day, and tried to get a few loads of laundry done in between. I need to mention something about the TOYS, while I’m thinking about it. I may have mentioned here that in the months prior to our move, I cleared out a LOT of the kids’ toys. My sister and I spent an entire night going through old stuff, boxing things up to get rid of, organizing the toys they actually play with, and getting their playthings down to a manageable total. All of that has apparently been in vain, though. On moving day, I kept seeing box after box after box after fucking BOX marked “toys” entering our house. Apparently, for a couple of YEARS I would box up old toys the kids were done with, and Paul just stowed them away in the basement! Here I thought he’d been getting RID of the toys I wanted gone, but he was just storing them for some absolutely unknown reason. So we have several boxes of BABY TOYS I now need to get rid of, but in the mean time, they’re strewn throughout the playroom and basement here at the new house. Also, he had several LARGE boxes of toys from his oldest little brother (he’s around 20 now) that he’d been saving for our kids. Some really cool stuff, and some total freakin’ JUNK, too, which I’m going to toss as soon as his back is turned. It’s just daunting, really. I thought the toy part of the move was going to go so smoothly, and it’s now this huge new issue to deal with. Tomorrow, I’m planning to seriously dive into it and see what I can get done.

And, have I mentioned that I haven’t been away from my children for more than an hour since New Year’s Eve? And even then, I was only away from them for about…an hour? And the only alone time I’ve had since before we moved has involved really speedy trips to the grocery store? My hair is ridiculously grown out. I had acrylic nails for a minute (really, I have no idea why, they’re so not me) but I gave up on them when they grew halfway out, and I’ve been snapping them off one by one over the past few days. I haven’t had my brows done since before Thanksgiving. I haven’t had a pedicure since SUMMER. My kids have been out of school for what feels like YEARS! This has been their longest “off track” break so far. They’ve been out since December 19th, and they go back on January 27th (for 12 weeks, I believe, which will be their longest “track on” since school started.) I’m going a little stir crazy up in here.

But! I’m actually LEAVING TOWN in a few days. Paul and I are taking a super duper quick fast trip to California to pick up a vehicle we bought from his aunt. I’m sure I mentioned that the transmission died in Paul’s van right after Halloween, right? He’s been borrowing his dad’s spare vehicle since then, but we’ve been kind of shopping around for something between gall bladder surgery and buying a house and moving and all that. This deal came at us at the right time. Paul’s aunt wanted to downsize to a smaller vehicle since HER twins have up and left for college, so she’s giving us a stellar deal. We’re flying out this weekend to pick it up and quick-quick-quick driving back home before my sister has to go back to school on Tuesday. So, new year, new house, new car. Paul’s taking MY van, since it gets good gas mileage and he does lots of driving. And I’ll be making my many Costco/elementary school/Super Target trips in a big ol’ Chevy Tahoe! Whee!

Honestly, I’m more excited about spending a couple of days without the kids than anything else. Isn’t that awful of me? I’m just so burned out being the mommy in these times of chaos and madness and disarray! Maybe this time I’ll be able to meet up with Julie for a minute when we stop in Vegas! Nighty night.

Popularity: 11% [?]