"Running Errands"

So, I feel I have gotten to the point that running errands with the kids is a do-able activity, if I am up for the time and effort involved. True, there are still places I cannot take all three, and this never involves shopping for pleasure or fun, just the essential stuff. I have already mastered Sam's Club, mostly because the carts are big enough that I can leave the babies in their car seats and squeeze all three kids into one, and Wal-Mart, as long as Parker is wearing his "monkey backpack" (a.k.a. child leash). Obviously, I try to make the trip as short as possible, which is easy in that I really have barely any room in the cart for any items because it is already full of kids.
Today I tackled the post office. Parker has been with me many times, so as long as I psych him up that it is a FUN place to go ("Parker, guess where we get to go? THE POST OFFICE! Isn't that fun?! Aren't you excited?! What are you going to see at the post office?!") he survives it pretty well. With the babies in tow, I was not sure what to expect, we had just been at the gym, and it was almost naptime, so a breakdown would not be unusual. Fortuantely, there were no meltdowns! My biggest complaint was only that in the 20 minutes I spent there, 15 of those minutes were spent in the parking lot loading and unloading the kids from car to stroller and keeping Parker out of the path of moving vehicles. My "favorite" part about it all was the looks and comments I got from other people. Some smile, some stare, one lady shook her head and goes, "Whoa!" I am getting pretty used to this kind of stuff. Lots of people ask if they are twins, how old are they, and-my personal favorite-if they are identical.
But today at the post office was my personal favorite so far. The guy behind me in line started chatting, with something like, "Looks like you've got your hands full today!" (Parker was doing "sweet moves" on the slippery tile floor of the post office.) I said something like, "Yes, I have my hands full every day, but they are great kids!" Then he asked how old the twins and Parker were, and when I told him he goes, "Wow, were you TRYING to have more, or was it an accident?" Uh....well, "yes, we did want to have more..." I got a little worried at the direction this was going. Then he goes, " Are they fraternal or MATERNAL?" What?! I was not sure how to respond. Maternal? Does Brynley count as being maternal? I could give him half credit for trying, but Wyatt was definitely NOT maternal. So, I said, "Do you mean fraternal or identical? They are fraternal." Then, to top off the converstation, he goes, "Yeah, that's what I meant. They must be fraternal because they look different. My cousin has identical twins that I wouldn't be able to tell apart if they weren't a boy and a girl!" Hmmm...at this point I thought it best to not correct him again. Thank goodness it was my turn in line!

Hall Family Blog, Take two.....

Okay, so at this point, I think it would be too hard for me to go back and try to cover what has been going on since my last blog post. From the threatening e-mails I have gotten from irritated family and friends that I haven't posted anything since March - especially pictures of the kids - I figured our family was safer if I just jumped back into it and tried blogging again. It is harder than you might think to find time to sit down at the computer uninterrupted, but I figured if I have time to sell things on e-bay, I have time to blog. Just as a warning, posts may be short, especially since when I sit down at the computer, Parker automatically starts yelling, "Mommy, I need your help...out HERE! "(meaning not in our room where the computer is, but out in the front room where his toys are.) His other favorite thing to do is drive his hot wheels over the keyboard while I am typing, so that may account for lots of typos in my blog posts. BUt I guess something is better than nothing. Here goes:

Here is a pretty recent pictures of the kids playing in bed. Yes, Wyatt is a little squshed, but he is uesd to that with the size of his sister. SHe outweighs him but at leats 3-4 pounds. Parker likes to get in their cribs with them and jump. Safe? probably not. Fun? Of course!

Another cute one of the babies.

This is a picture of Wyatt in the hospital over the summer. He has been back to Children's Mercy twice for laser surgery on his throat. When he had RSV back in February, he was on a high-frequency ventilator for 3 weeks, which did a number on his thoat. He has accumulated scar tissue that gets in the way of his eating and breathing. It is not permanent, but may take a while to heal properly. The laser surgery "cleans out" the scar tissue and hopefully helps the healing process. He is a trooper, and has done well with it all. As you can tell from the picture, he also likes to flirt with the nurses!

Below is a cute video of Parker singing "Popcorn Popping". This is his favorite song to sing before saying a prayer at bed time. Josh and I watch this over and over and laugh every time. The quality isn't great (doesn't really look like Parker), but we recorded it with Josh's phone, and not the video camera. Here it is below for your viewing enjoyment. Listen for the key change....

Here is one more bonus video for you. Sorry, low quality again (these are all video's from Josh's phone). Parker loves to play in the back yard and he's loved watching the Olympics. He say's, "I want to watch Michael! I want to watch Michael"! Meaning Michael Phelps. He also loves watching re-run's of the X games. Anything that involves bikes, skateboards, rally cars (especially the rally cars), and lots of flips, twists, and crashes. Gone are the days of Dora and Diego, Wonder pets and the Backyardagains. Now it's only the Olympics and the X games. Here is the video, doing his own "sweet moves" and going for the "gold medal"...

As a side note, Josh took this video while I was out, and I had Wyatt with me, he was not drowning somewhere in the pool. Hopefully you noticed that Josh was holding onto Brynley while she was in the pool (with one hand on her, one on his phone taking video?!! I did not approve this). Josh says I should try taking all three kids to the pool by myself during the day when we need something to do, and that "it wouldn't be THAT hard." I respond by pretending he didn't just say that. Does he mean that, like him, I could hold onto each baby with one hand and cheer Parker for jumping into the pool alone?! I think not. :)

More to come, this time I promise...