A preview of this mornings jam session
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Friday, March 4, 2011
Thursday, March 3, 2011
Brotherly love
Today the boys were playing outside in the sandpit. Ben threw sand for the 3rd time, so came inside for a time out. Ethan waited for him near the door, once he was allowed outside Ethan was so happy "Benny! Benny! Benny is outside!!" and gave him a hug as they both ran back to the sandpit.
It was a cute moment of brotherly love.
(once again Ben seems to be only wearing underpants!)
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It was a cute moment of brotherly love.
(once again Ben seems to be only wearing underpants!)
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Play-doh for sick boys.
Today, Thursday, mouth ulcers are still troubling the boys and they are still off their food.
We are doing all we can to keep them hydrated, but with Ethan it is a constant battle. :(
Last weekend nana gave the boys some play-doh, something they had not played with in over a year, so it was essentially a new experience! To take their mind off their sore mouths, we bought them some play-doh toys and they (especially Ben) have had a great time with the play-doh!
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We are doing all we can to keep them hydrated, but with Ethan it is a constant battle. :(
Last weekend nana gave the boys some play-doh, something they had not played with in over a year, so it was essentially a new experience! To take their mind off their sore mouths, we bought them some play-doh toys and they (especially Ben) have had a great time with the play-doh!
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Wednesday, March 2, 2011
Awful virus
Both Ben and Ethan have come down with an awful virus. It started on Sunday when Ben was a bit grumpy in the morning and had a runny nose. By Sunday afternoon both boys had a little temp (38.1) and were pretty tired.
About 4am Monday morning they both woke with higher temps (39ish) and were miserable most of Monday. Monday evening both boys had quite high temps 39.1- 39.8 (102-103F). Monday evening Ethan didn't eat much dinner, and told us his food was too spicy (not spicy at all)
Again at 4am Tuesday, we had two crying hot, miserable boys.
Tuesday both boys were off their food and told me they had a sore mouth. Upon inspection they both had 5-10 painful looking ulcers in their mouth. Mostly on the soft palette and the tongue.
Poor little boys have been in a lot of pain with their mouth ulcers. Tuesday evening was bad for Ethan. He cried at dinner time as the purée hurt his mouth, he cried when we tried to very gently clean his teeth, he cried in bed. He fell asleep around 7, and woke up crying again at 8ish, 9ish and 10ish. Finally after the 10pm wake up he was due more medicine again. This time we gave him pain-stop ( panadol and codeine - stronger pain killer) with good results. He slept till 5:30am when he woke while Tracie showered. He had more pain-stop, water and did a wee before going back to bed till 9:30am! A sleep he desperately needed.
Today (Wednesday) they are still suffering. They are not eating much. Ethan seems to have it worse than Ben. Ethan has only eaten one small container of yogurt, one glass of milk, half a glass of supplement drink and one glass of water... All day!
I have been trying to encourage him to eat and drink all day but he says "no mum, my mouth is too sore". He has had Panadol (Tylenol) and nurofen (Motrin) all day, as soon as it's due every 4-6 hours he gets it again.
He hasn't been weeing as much as usual either. The nurse in me is measuring his fluids in and out to make sure he stays hydrated enough. Kids need to have 0.5mls per kilo per hour. Based on this he needs 174mls in 24 hours. Today he did 220mls. Enough, but no where near normal. I am measuring bens too, but he is doing better and did about 360mls today. I am glad they are happy to use a potty and are pretty much toilet trained, makes things easier!
The boys went to the doctor today, just incase.... Like we expected, she checked them out and said they had a viral infection. Said it should run it's course and they should pick up soon. The virus sounds very similar to hand, foot and mouth disease, (HFMD) but the boys do not currently have any hand or foot rash. They do have every other symptom, and one parenting forum I read mentioned that you can have HFMD without the body rash, or it can appear a few days later. The doctor said it may be HFMD, or a similar virus, but either way, the treatment is the same. Fluids, rest, pain killers and keep them away from other kids as it is contagious.
We certainly hope they get better soon.
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About 4am Monday morning they both woke with higher temps (39ish) and were miserable most of Monday. Monday evening both boys had quite high temps 39.1- 39.8 (102-103F). Monday evening Ethan didn't eat much dinner, and told us his food was too spicy (not spicy at all)
Again at 4am Tuesday, we had two crying hot, miserable boys.
Tuesday both boys were off their food and told me they had a sore mouth. Upon inspection they both had 5-10 painful looking ulcers in their mouth. Mostly on the soft palette and the tongue.
Poor little boys have been in a lot of pain with their mouth ulcers. Tuesday evening was bad for Ethan. He cried at dinner time as the purée hurt his mouth, he cried when we tried to very gently clean his teeth, he cried in bed. He fell asleep around 7, and woke up crying again at 8ish, 9ish and 10ish. Finally after the 10pm wake up he was due more medicine again. This time we gave him pain-stop ( panadol and codeine - stronger pain killer) with good results. He slept till 5:30am when he woke while Tracie showered. He had more pain-stop, water and did a wee before going back to bed till 9:30am! A sleep he desperately needed.
Today (Wednesday) they are still suffering. They are not eating much. Ethan seems to have it worse than Ben. Ethan has only eaten one small container of yogurt, one glass of milk, half a glass of supplement drink and one glass of water... All day!
I have been trying to encourage him to eat and drink all day but he says "no mum, my mouth is too sore". He has had Panadol (Tylenol) and nurofen (Motrin) all day, as soon as it's due every 4-6 hours he gets it again.
He hasn't been weeing as much as usual either. The nurse in me is measuring his fluids in and out to make sure he stays hydrated enough. Kids need to have 0.5mls per kilo per hour. Based on this he needs 174mls in 24 hours. Today he did 220mls. Enough, but no where near normal. I am measuring bens too, but he is doing better and did about 360mls today. I am glad they are happy to use a potty and are pretty much toilet trained, makes things easier!
The boys went to the doctor today, just incase.... Like we expected, she checked them out and said they had a viral infection. Said it should run it's course and they should pick up soon. The virus sounds very similar to hand, foot and mouth disease, (HFMD) but the boys do not currently have any hand or foot rash. They do have every other symptom, and one parenting forum I read mentioned that you can have HFMD without the body rash, or it can appear a few days later. The doctor said it may be HFMD, or a similar virus, but either way, the treatment is the same. Fluids, rest, pain killers and keep them away from other kids as it is contagious.
We certainly hope they get better soon.
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Tissues
Ben decided he needed a tissue to wipe his runny nose during his (non) nap time today. He helped him self to the tissues, and this is what he did.
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Potty training update.
Potty training is going really well lately. We gave up pullups all together a few weeks ago and made them wear underwear all day (rather than t-shirt only and naked bum at home).
It has work really well, and we are now going days without accidents, rather than hours.
They are both now in underpants at night as well. Ben has been for 2-3 weeks and going great, we learnt the hard way that milk after dinner is no good for a little boy. Apart from one accident, he's been great.
Ethan has been in night underpants for about a week ( we accidentally ran out of night nappies) and also doing well. Only one accident so far.
Ethan is still stubborn about his weeing habits. He only goes on his schedule, and doesn't often wee on command. Ben is very good at weeing on command and can usually squeeze out even a few drops when asked! (like before going out or before bed)
So finally, 4-5 months after we started we are making some consistent progress. Yay!
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It has work really well, and we are now going days without accidents, rather than hours.
They are both now in underpants at night as well. Ben has been for 2-3 weeks and going great, we learnt the hard way that milk after dinner is no good for a little boy. Apart from one accident, he's been great.
Ethan has been in night underpants for about a week ( we accidentally ran out of night nappies) and also doing well. Only one accident so far.
Ethan is still stubborn about his weeing habits. He only goes on his schedule, and doesn't often wee on command. Ben is very good at weeing on command and can usually squeeze out even a few drops when asked! (like before going out or before bed)
So finally, 4-5 months after we started we are making some consistent progress. Yay!
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Changing grammar
In the last few days I have notice Ethan's grammar has changed a bit.
In the past, he would say
"I not like ......"
Now he says
"I do not like ......"
Both us mums would say "I don't like ...." so I am not sure where he has picked up the change in grammar. It reminds me of the book "I do not like green eggs and ham". I think he's only heard that book once or twice, so I don't think it's from there.
Im not sure if I would have even noticed the change, but he is a little sick at the moment and there are a lot of things he tells me "I do not like...." lately!
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In the past, he would say
"I not like ......"
Now he says
"I do not like ......"
Both us mums would say "I don't like ...." so I am not sure where he has picked up the change in grammar. It reminds me of the book "I do not like green eggs and ham". I think he's only heard that book once or twice, so I don't think it's from there.
Im not sure if I would have even noticed the change, but he is a little sick at the moment and there are a lot of things he tells me "I do not like...." lately!
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Little boys love construction.
My little boys love diggers, rollers, dump trucks and all things related to road works and construction.
In the past few weeks there has been a lot of this type of activity in the surrounding streets. They are digging up the grassy nature strip, laying electrical cable and then back filling the big hole.
Ben and Ethan have been very interested in the whole procedure.
This week, they are in our street, and it's very exciting to a little boy.
Ben and mumma watch the digger
They parked it right out side our house and left for an hour, so the boys had a good close look
Ben watches from the front door
Such excitement for a little boy. Ben asks to go outside and look several times a day. Ethan prefers to watch from inside as it's too loud out side.
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In the past few weeks there has been a lot of this type of activity in the surrounding streets. They are digging up the grassy nature strip, laying electrical cable and then back filling the big hole.
Ben and Ethan have been very interested in the whole procedure.
This week, they are in our street, and it's very exciting to a little boy.
Ben and mumma watch the digger
They parked it right out side our house and left for an hour, so the boys had a good close look
Ben watches from the front door
Such excitement for a little boy. Ben asks to go outside and look several times a day. Ethan prefers to watch from inside as it's too loud out side.
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Tuesday, February 22, 2011
Swimming lessons
I think I have recently blogged about swimming lessons, but since changing to the new swimming centre before Christmas, swimming lessons have gone from a dreaded Monday activity to my favourite day of the week. The boys have made such progress in the last 2 months, and their teacher is just amazing. We couldn't be happier!
There's an old saying "a picture speaks a thousand words" I wonder then, does a video speak a million words??
Now before you watch these, I know they are no where near actually swimming yet, but they used to cry before every lesson, not want to go in the water without us, not want to put their face under the water and not want to jump in. You will see below the difference. You'll also notice Ethan is hesitant to jump to the instructor.... Well, the moment you see, is the first time he jumped off the ledge and attempted to swim by him self. Previously, he would need to hold her hand to jump in. HUGE improvement!!
The lessons follows a similar structure each week..... a little something like this..
There's an old saying "a picture speaks a thousand words" I wonder then, does a video speak a million words??
Now before you watch these, I know they are no where near actually swimming yet, but they used to cry before every lesson, not want to go in the water without us, not want to put their face under the water and not want to jump in. You will see below the difference. You'll also notice Ethan is hesitant to jump to the instructor.... Well, the moment you see, is the first time he jumped off the ledge and attempted to swim by him self. Previously, he would need to hold her hand to jump in. HUGE improvement!!
The lessons follows a similar structure each week..... a little something like this..
Saturday, February 12, 2011
Messy House
I received a comment from one of my loyal blog readers last week, asking how found the time to paint...
Well, Jody.... My house is an absolute mess, and the weeds in the grass are so long we were playing a game of spot the bird in the grass last week! The photo doesn't do it justice, those weeds really are a foot high!
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Well, Jody.... My house is an absolute mess, and the weeds in the grass are so long we were playing a game of spot the bird in the grass last week! The photo doesn't do it justice, those weeds really are a foot high!
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Thursday, February 10, 2011
Sauce shapes
The other night, I (sal) made the boys some dinner, just like normal.... This time I thought I'd make it a bit interesting and put the tomato sauce (ketchup) on the plate in front of them. (for some reason they like seeing it come out of the bottle)
So, I started with Ethan and asked him what shape sauce he would like. I expected him to say star or square or circle or something - well, you can imagine my surprise when he asked for elephant shaped sauce!!! I though this was hilarious, so here is my attempt at elephant shaped sauce (sorry i can't make it the right way)
Ethan seemed very happy with his elephant sauce, So then I go to Ben. I think by this stage he has thought about what shape he'd like, because when I asked, he said he wanted a camel!!!
I have no idea where camel came from.... But I tried to oblige and make him a camel...
(sorry again it's the wrong way)
Unfortunately Ben stuck his food right into the camel before I could snap my picture, so its first hump is a little smeared.
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So, I started with Ethan and asked him what shape sauce he would like. I expected him to say star or square or circle or something - well, you can imagine my surprise when he asked for elephant shaped sauce!!! I though this was hilarious, so here is my attempt at elephant shaped sauce (sorry i can't make it the right way)
Ethan seemed very happy with his elephant sauce, So then I go to Ben. I think by this stage he has thought about what shape he'd like, because when I asked, he said he wanted a camel!!!
I have no idea where camel came from.... But I tried to oblige and make him a camel...
(sorry again it's the wrong way)
Unfortunately Ben stuck his food right into the camel before I could snap my picture, so its first hump is a little smeared.
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Different playgroup
Twice a month, I (Sal) take the boys to the local multiple birth club morning tea (Aka playgroup). While I sit and chat with the other mums, the boys play. It's a great morning out. I think I have mentioned before that I am the treasurer for our local multiples club, and I have enjoyed this job and meeting some new friends.
Well, the other day I took the boys to another multiples playgroup. It's run by a different club (adjoining area) but essentially under the same banner. The boys had a great morning playing with some different toys, and have now labeled this "different playgroup"
Different playgroup is extra specially fun as it had a ride on digger..... Heaven for my little boys!
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Well, the other day I took the boys to another multiples playgroup. It's run by a different club (adjoining area) but essentially under the same banner. The boys had a great morning playing with some different toys, and have now labeled this "different playgroup"
Different playgroup is extra specially fun as it had a ride on digger..... Heaven for my little boys!
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Wednesday, February 9, 2011
Broken laptop
Well, the laptop computer finally died. It really was only a matter of time, with the abuse it got from the boys!! Unfortunately this means my ability to upload posts and photos from there is gone. I will have to get the desktop happening, but in the mean time, my poor readers, you will have to survive with posts and pictures from my iPhone.
Life around our house continues to be busy, we are still painting our bedrooms and bathrooms. It is a very slow process, and we are beginning to lose momentum in the project..... I hope we get it finished soon.
The weather has been awful this last week. We had 7 days in a row with temps well above 30c, and two of them got above 40c (that's about 90-106 F for my American readers) thankfully a cool change blew in, and we have been more relaxed in the high 20's for this week.( 75-80F)
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Life around our house continues to be busy, we are still painting our bedrooms and bathrooms. It is a very slow process, and we are beginning to lose momentum in the project..... I hope we get it finished soon.
The weather has been awful this last week. We had 7 days in a row with temps well above 30c, and two of them got above 40c (that's about 90-106 F for my American readers) thankfully a cool change blew in, and we have been more relaxed in the high 20's for this week.( 75-80F)
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Wednesday, February 2, 2011
Breakfast and naps
This morning the boys came into wake me(Sal) up just after 7am. Tracie was already at work.
They woke me up, then made their way down stairs and attempted to get them self some breakfast!
They managed to get the cereal out of the cupboard, and three bowls (one each and one for me)
Ethan poured him self some cereal (pictured above) and Ben had the milk out ready to pour. Luckily for me, he picked up a milk that wasn't yet opened, and couldn't manage to get it open with the tamper proof seal.
They were both so proud of their efforts!
My babies are growing up!!!
After breakfast we got ready and headed out to our twin play group. We had a great morning, the kids (10 in total) all played beautifully together. It was hot, so we offered water play too, which they loved.
Once home, the boys and I had a swim in our little pool. It was the perfect temperature, and heaps of fun.
Now it is rest time on the couch. Naps are almost a thing of the past, but after a busy morning, Ben fell asleep on the couch.
E is awake, watching TV and resting.
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They woke me up, then made their way down stairs and attempted to get them self some breakfast!
They managed to get the cereal out of the cupboard, and three bowls (one each and one for me)
Ethan poured him self some cereal (pictured above) and Ben had the milk out ready to pour. Luckily for me, he picked up a milk that wasn't yet opened, and couldn't manage to get it open with the tamper proof seal.
They were both so proud of their efforts!
My babies are growing up!!!
After breakfast we got ready and headed out to our twin play group. We had a great morning, the kids (10 in total) all played beautifully together. It was hot, so we offered water play too, which they loved.
Once home, the boys and I had a swim in our little pool. It was the perfect temperature, and heaps of fun.
Now it is rest time on the couch. Naps are almost a thing of the past, but after a busy morning, Ben fell asleep on the couch.
E is awake, watching TV and resting.
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Tuesday, February 1, 2011
Potty training update
Well, the wheels fell off the wagon a bit with potty training lately.
The boys got a bit sick, so regressed a bit..we have also been quite distracted with painting our house, so have not been as persistent with reminding them to go potty.
They became quite good at going to the potty if they didn't wear underpants, but as soon as they got pants or underpants on, they continually wet and pooped them selves. It went from 90% success naked, to about 10% success clothed, on the same day!
This week we have started again... With underpants ALL THE TIME!
We have renewed enthusiasm, new sticker charts, new potties, new underwear and no more pullups!
Sal took the boys shopping and let them choose their own potty. Unfortunately there wasn't much choice, but they seem very happy with their new potties. Another reason for new potties was that the existing potty stank of stale urine..... Defiantly time for a change! Yuk!
We bought new underpants in bigger sizes, as they seem to shrink in the dryer, and become too tight for the boys to pull up and down. We are hoping this will give them more independence.
We have also given up the pullups (disposable training pants) as we feel they were sending too many mixed messages. We only used them for outings and naps, but no more!
We are prepared to deal with more mess this way, but hope it leads to more longer term success.
Let's hope round two leads to success!
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The boys got a bit sick, so regressed a bit..we have also been quite distracted with painting our house, so have not been as persistent with reminding them to go potty.
They became quite good at going to the potty if they didn't wear underpants, but as soon as they got pants or underpants on, they continually wet and pooped them selves. It went from 90% success naked, to about 10% success clothed, on the same day!
This week we have started again... With underpants ALL THE TIME!
We have renewed enthusiasm, new sticker charts, new potties, new underwear and no more pullups!
Sal took the boys shopping and let them choose their own potty. Unfortunately there wasn't much choice, but they seem very happy with their new potties. Another reason for new potties was that the existing potty stank of stale urine..... Defiantly time for a change! Yuk!
We bought new underpants in bigger sizes, as they seem to shrink in the dryer, and become too tight for the boys to pull up and down. We are hoping this will give them more independence.
We have also given up the pullups (disposable training pants) as we feel they were sending too many mixed messages. We only used them for outings and naps, but no more!
We are prepared to deal with more mess this way, but hope it leads to more longer term success.
Let's hope round two leads to success!
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