Ahh, a day in the life.....

Ok, our life is absolutely crazy. Nuts I tell you, just nuts. I keep telling myself that we are inspiring two young scientists to be curious and test theories of gravity, etc., etc., etc...let me paint you the picture of a typical week for us.

Day 1: Cache sticks two peas up his nose and thinks it is so funny. "Mama, I pea in nose!" he says with pride. Come to find out, Asher has three stuck up his nose too; two in the left nostril and one in the right. (We have had two ER visits, two doctor visits, and one very frantic visit to Daddy's office to extract food from the boys' tiny nostrils.)

Day 2: We are in the middle of potty training so clothes right now are optional at our house. Asher streaks the front yard to "Pee on tree, Mama. I pee on tree!" without my consent. I know our neighbors get a nice laugh out of me running and screaming, "Asher, get back here! Put your clothes on!" All the while, Asher is running and laughing with pure delight.

Day 3: Can it get worse it is only Wednesday?? NEVER ask that question, because yes, it can always get worse. Cache is on nap strike and paints with poop. Yep, this happens at least once a week. Going pee-pee in the potty has been mastered by the boys, but going poop has not.

Day 4: It is so hot outside we stay inside all day. Soooo, Cache falls off the bed and knocks himself out. We visit the ER. Luckily, his head is the hardest part!

Day 5: Bye Bye Garbage truck!! Yes, Asher and Cache flushed their favorite garbage truck down the toilet. They loved it! They thought it was so funny.

Do I need to go on? Yes, this is a typical week.

Cache - the ornery and fast monkey

We put the boys to bed like usual, kissed them good night, and said our "I love yous" and sat back to relax. Then we heard rustling in the boys' room like scampering mice. Casey opened the door and almost fell over at what he saw. Cache used the drawers on their dresser as stairs and climbed up to try to get to the air filter. All of this happened within a matter of minutes.



Here's Asher during all the ruckus....

No more diapers - Elmo, Choo-Choo, Mickey, and Mater pants!!!!!!

Yep, you read that right. We are no longer in diapers. After months of fickle interest in the potty, they declared three weeks ago, they were not going to wear diapers. It has been more challenging than I expected (but everything with these guys has been) because we have been shuttling parents around and running all over the state, but they are doing great! It just takes us a little longer because we need to make a few stops to the potty.



Asher still checks Cache for poop! Ask me sometime about Asher checking a random lady for poop - I still have nightmares about it!

Hold you Bubba!!

There are days that I wonder if the kids even like each other, much less love each other. Yesterday they couldn't get enough snuggle time!



So stinking cute! Seriously, does it get any cuter??

Fruits, or vegetables, of our labor

It has been a great but crazy summer. I can't believe it is almost gone! We have lots of irons in fire with family and work so the summer has gone on with out us. Our garden has definately been a labor of love and sweat. I always enjoyed gardening with my daddy when I was a kid, and it turns out that Asher and Cache love it too! They get a little aggressive when pulling weeds, so I have to keep one eye on them when they are close to the garden.







I love that the boys get so excited to eat what they pull out of the garden; spinach, lettuce, carrots. Most everyone knows that I am all about natural, healthy foods and the garden has been a lot of fun.

It's way too quite!!

It's true, when it gets quite it is time to worry. Quite means the boys are usually doing something sort of dangerous, something they are not supposed to be doing, or about to do both. I could hear Cache telling Asher, "Bubba, motorcycle on bed! Jump! Jump!" (They call their four-wheelers motorcycles.) Cache had the brilliant idea to put their motorcycles on their beds and jump while riding them. I had visions of an ambulance ride and massive amounts of blood gushing from their heads. Luckily, that didn't happen.



People keep telling me life with boys is rough and tumble, full of bruises with no manners for the first 5 years. --I am starting to believe what I keep hearing.

Singing the Blues

I can hear a harmonica playing faintly in the background. After looking around for the source of the music, I discover Asher was singing the blues during time out. He looked like a character out of Elvis' Jail House Rock movie playing the harmonica while serving hard time.

Finally, time to update!

Many apologies for being tardy with updating our blog. We know that you hang on our every word, so this time without us must have been miserable! Life happens and at the end of the day, I have been too exhausted to be creative. Summer so far has flown by! Where has all the time gone?

Update on OFTODNT: Operation a success and complete (crossing fingers and knocking on wood). The root of our problem is it was it was time to go to big boy beds. While I was blissfully living in denial that A&C are growing up, they were exercising control over the situation by taking their clothes off. Why they chose to take of their clothes, I have no idea. Anywho, we converted their beds and only had a couple of rough nights.



So stinking cute!!!

Update on OFTODNT

The jury is still out if Operation Freezing Tushies Off During Nap Time (OFTODNT) is working. I had to separate the boys because Cache can climb out of his bed and into Asher's. That is fun for a few minutes until someone gets mad then all hell breaks loose. Cache now naps in the extra room and is doing great. He leaves his clothes on and doesn't climb out of the pack-n-play. Asher is another story. Three days this week he has stripped and napped naked. I tried duct tape, but the kid can get that off too! Houdini I am telling you, Houdini should have been his name.

I guess 50% success is better than none?

Operation freezing tushes off during nap time has commenced!

We have a problem keeping clothes on around the Pollan household. Asher and Cache can strip faster than you can imagine; seriously in seconds. I am amazed at how fast they can disrobe. All of this stripping creates a lot of work for me when they pee in the bed and on the floor. Recently the boys became attached to their stuffed animals and blankets. Their bed looks like a pile of animals and blankets. When they pee on the bed, they usually get their sleeping friends too. So, off to the washer everything goes.

I have tried to outsmart them by putting their pjs on backwards. That lasted about a week. Then I tried putting onsies on top of their pjs (which are still on backward). That lasted a couple of days.



Out of desperation, and willing to try anything (what I am doing is not working) I reached out to a friend who suggested to let them freeze their tushes off during nap if they take off their clothes. I am always cold in our house because we keep the temp at 68 degrees, I know they have to be freezing. Hope this works, or this could really backfire and all sleeping will be naked and I will be constantly cleaning up pee.

Firetrucks Mama, I drive Firetrucks!

It is great to be back among good friends after a month of being quarantined. On our first outing after being paroled by Dr. Digoy, we trekked to a fire station! The boys are obsessed with school buses and firetrucks, so what better way to celebrate our regained freedom than going with our best twin buddies George and Abigail to the fire station?

The four did great! Georgie was the biggest fan. Asher and Abigail watched and observed. Asher was a little overwhelmed by the size of the equipment, but liked driving the firetruck. Cache, what did he like? The John Deere lawnmower. Cache drove the firetruck, but the John Deere green stole his heart.





It was a fantastic day all day after we got home the boys talked about driving firetrucks and their friends. Casey and I ask them as we are getting them ready for bed what they want to dream about, last night it was all firetrucks.

The little disciplinarian

I am amazed at how much the boys absorb from their surroundings. A couple days ago, Cache got in trouble for hitting his brother. Casey was bending down with his hands on his knees telling him to apologize to for hitting and explaining that he hurt his brother. Asher bent down with his hands on his knees just like Casey, pointed his finger at Cache and told him, "No hit, time out." I almost peed my pants when I saw what happening! Asher was very serious in doling out the discipline to Cache. His little eyebrows were scrunched up and he was mimicking Casey's every move.

The dogs have to watch out around here because Asher is not afraid to put them in time out either!

Cutest things on the Planet!

Green Thumbs

It's springtime and we have started on our garden! Cool season veggies are in the ground, and we are anxiously awaiting their arrival. A&C had a fun time "helping" with the planting. They were so excited and would look at us and say, "I helping Mama, Daddy."

C was obsessed with his shoes. He did not like the grass and dirt on his feet or on his Bubba's. A was Daddy's little helper.

My little school boys

The boys are in Mothers Day Out two days a week. We call it "school." The love it. In the morning when I tell them they are going to school today they get so excited. It is nice because they are a lot more cooperative and keep their clothes and shoes on (we have a slight problem with removing clothing items and shoes removed as soon as I get them on).

They have a routine getting into school. They hold hands and walk to the front door and take turns pushing the handicap door buttons. Asher holds the lunch box and Cache carries the keys. They walk in like they own the place. They don't even get sad when I leave, sniff sniff. They give me a hug, kiss and say WOVE YOU and go play.

On Wednesday when I picked them up, one of their teachers commented on how much they eat. She said they eat a lot more than the other kids and they have to watch them at snack time because they steal crackers from the other kids. I almost died. How embarrassing! I guess this is the beginning of a long line of embarrassing moments. Crackers and bananas are their ABSOLUTE favorite foods. They will eat an entire box of Saltines if you let them; not a sleeve, the whole box. They are just good eaters, right?

Other than stealing food their teachers tell me they are very sweet and loving children that mind well. Let me tell you, you can never tell a mother that too many times!

No more babies at our house

My babies are growing up! It doesn't seem possible. It seems like yesterday we saw them for the first time and they were so tiny!

They are turning into little boys every day. Their language skills have exploded over the past month. They can count to 10 and sing the alphabet. Yes, I know, they are brilliant. Watching them play together is absolutely hysterical. They wrestle and play tag. So darn cute! They can make each other laugh harder than anyone else.

While I am sad they are growing up, this really has been the most fun age. They are still so sweet and loving; and they are the funniest creatures on the planet. Right now their obession is their daddy's boots. They love to help pull them off and try to walk in them. The boots are almost as big as they are.

Long hard day

Beggs and Harley had a long, hard day. Keeping up with the boys is exhausting.

Is he YOUR child??

Last week ventured to the library with the Janks. C was not having a great day. He spent most of the trip on the floor throwing a fit. I have written about Love and Logic parenting before and the amazing help it provided us. L&L techniques in the past worked like a charm for us; I keep my wits, we all stay calm, cool, and collected and they do what I wanted them to do with a smile on their faces. NOT SO MUCH this time.

I have to admit, I get very embarrassed when they throw fits in public. It doesn't happen that often, so I don't deal with it well. I can just feel people's eyes staring at us and imagine what they are saying....I feel judged. In fact, most of the time I want to scream at the person staring at me while one of the boys are melting down and ask them:
1. Do you have kids?
2. Do you have twins?

Chances are if they have kids, they don't have twins, so they don't know how hard it is to manage two toddlers and herd them in the right direction without leaving a path of destruction.

Back to the library, C was not having a good day. It happens to us all. I know it happens to me. He wanted to be held and would not tell me what he needed. Disclaimer: my children do have the words to tell or or the ability to show me what they need/want. So, I let him throw a fit. It was a doozie. Not just one, but over and over he threw a fit.

We started packing up our stuff to head back to the car and he refused to walk and I refuse to be a baby taxi. The number one fight I have with him is walking into or out of places. He wants to be carried. So, I "left" him behind and kept on trucking with A and the Janks. He was never out of our sight and it was a safe place so don't think he was abandoned.

During all of this, this lady ran up to me and asked: "Is he YOUR child?" She didn't ask me with concern in her voice, she was basically telling me that I was doing a terrible job as a parent. I just smiled and said through my teeth, "yes he is my child and he can walk." I WANTED TO SMACK HER. Seriously.

C joined us and walked to the car.

Question: should I have picked him up to avoid the scene or stuck to my principles made him walk?

Feel Better...

The boys are not feeling their best right now. For most of Asher's life he has had to take breathing treatments to help his asthma. He calls the breathing machine is "feel better." It is amazing that he has made the connection that it helps him to feel better at such a young age.

Mr. Nosey, a.k.a. Cache, has to be involved in EVERYTHING and had to help Asher take his "feel better." Funny, funny, funny! Anytime Cache would touch the machine, Asher would say, "No, Bubba, No touch. My feel better." And yes, Cache had to have a treatment after Asher. And no, putting it on his face was not good enough. We had to turn it on (without the Rx of course but he didn't know!). When he was finished he looked at me and said, "Feel better Mama."



So stinking cute!!

Warning: Chuck E. Cheese Bites!

Did you know that Chuck E. Cheese bites? Not the real one (by real, I mean the person in the costume), the mechanical Chuck E. Cheese, he bites. At least that is what Cache will tell you.

We went to Emma's (a friend of cousin Brant's) birthday party at Chuck E. Cheese in Joplin, MO. He got 20 feet from the CEC and freaked out and told me that he bites. I asked him where did he bite you and he pointed to his hand. Chuck E. Cheese bites and apparently on the hand, so watch out.

Cache stayed firmly on Grandma Claudia's hip and Asher ran around like a Tasmanian devil. Eating during the party was tricky because Asher can't have pizza, and it happens to be his FAVORITE. Luckily, their quick thinking daddy came to rescue and got cheese bread sticks for us. Asher and Cache loved their "pizza" and birthday cake and we had a great time.

Cache was happy to go. It was all just too much for him, poor fella.

Our Christmas Adventure

In true fashion our Christmas was an adventure. We tried to make it to Texas to spend it with the Wall side. We left Christmas Eve and yes, we were idiots trying to drive the first blizzard in the history of Oklahoma. We made it to Chickasha after three hours of teeth-clenching driving. The ice wasn't so bad, but we couldn't see the front of the car!



Before the boys, Casey and I drove in conditions like that in New Mexico, Kansas and the Texas Panhandle without blinking an eye. Casey is very good driving in inclement weather. We usually had the radio blaring and rolling with Mother Nature. We had ski slopes to get to!! Not since our family expanded. We are Mr. and Mrs. Cautious.

So, we turned around at Chickasha and made the three hour trip back to Norman. Good thing we did because we got 14 inches of snow. Really, 14 inches!! Man, we were exhausted when we got home. The boys were great; which is very unusual. They are terrible car-riders. Could the reason be they were great is because they had lots of snacks? Maybe, or maybe the good Lord had mercy on us as we worked to get home safely.



We got to spend Christmas morning at our house. We have never done that before and it was really special to be able to with the boys. Casey and I made Paula Deen cinnamon rolls for Christmas morning. After we ate the yummy breakfast the boys opened their stockings and saw what Santa brought. Lots of trucks, Play Doh, crayons, and balls! All of their favorite things. Funny how Santa always knows! We got to play in the snow and have snow ice cream - a Wall family tradition. Nothing beats it.



We loaded the crew back into the car and headed southbound I-44 to God's Country, Texas. The reflection was so bright on the highway from the sun hitting the melting snow and ice it hurt your eyes. The boys screamed the whole trip "Ouchie, Ouchie", I rode with my eyes closed and Casey did the two-glasses trick utilizing the polarized glasses. He was a total nerd, but it worked. We made it safely and had a great Christmas with the Walls. We had our third Christmas over New Years with the Pollans. As luck would have it, got stuck in the snow/ice that hit northeastern Oklahoma, but we made it back safe. The boys must have been really good because they got lots of great loot from the holidays.