UTI

I know, two posts in one day.

Mimi is sick. When she pee's it hurts her and she is peeing massive amounts. We took her to the doctors and they did the pee test and nothing came back - no white blood count elevation etc.

They prescribed a sits bath twice a day and making sure she is as dry as possible.

Please tell me anything about this if it has happened to your little ones - I hate seeing her in pain and I am, of course, worried mindless.

On your marks...

My new job is very keen ... aggressively recruiting ... telling me that I have to start NOW!!! What ever happened to that pre-job vacation that everyone always seems to go on.  I've never been to the Caribbean ( the islands were the height of sophistication to us UK folks) and I was really hoping we could get to Bermuda for three nights. NOPE.

Ah well. It was really expensive anyway.


Today is a little panicky, what with trying to close out all the existing contracts, sign the new contract and move things around and yada yada.  I've resorted to sitting on my bed with two phones, two computers and a whole lot of chocolate.

And right on cue, Mimi has a UTI. At least I think she has a UTI. She keeps grabbing at her crotch. I am working on the floor, outside their bedroom even tho we have super nanny here (who is a trained PA remember). Guilt. That's what it is. Guilt I will be going back to work very soon. Guilt.  For the next two months, just because of two worlds clashing together,  I shall be working 24/7. Guilt.
When she wakes we will go to the doctors where they will do that baggie thing which SHE HATES. How do kids get UTI's anyway???? What is the treatment?

Send me calming vibes please. I think I may explode if I don't calm down.

Rainy days and new jobs

 Of course its pissing it down everyday I have the kids to myself! We are bouncing off the walls! I'm also not good on the anxiety front if I stay in too much so the obsessions over the new job are setting in. 

Luckily tomorrow we booked a breakfast with the fake grandparents which, rain permitting, may be an opportunity to get the kids in the pool. Having a pool is the height of glamour for me. I don't know anyone in the UK with a pool!

It's utterly exhausting having two nearly two year olds inside for this much time.  I have ground my teeth so much that I've got toothache!  However thanks to our concentrated time together in close quarters I can state that Mimi is literate. Sort of. She can read certain words and count to ten. Not sure about Pip coz no-one can understand him (ironic since Mimi is the binky queen). He can run faster than Bolt and tonight, we played cat and mouse around our apartment before I wrangled him into bed. I couldn't help but laugh which just encouraged him all the more.  My mum calls him Pipfullpelt.

Man am I going to miss my little ones when I got back to work. Good job my new office is just a short walk away :-)

Changes are ahead

I had a surprise meeting with the potential boss at the new job and she basically told me ... I got the job.

They are putting an offer together which has to go through the various legal teams, recruiters and HR folks etc. but it feels good to get this good even if for some reason they change their minds. Which they had better not!!!!


Holy crap. I guess I should wait to panic until I sign the contract but why put off tomorrow what I can do today.

I'm spending as much time as possible with the kids just in case. And of course we have their birthday coming up which is a two day funstastic time. Sunday is family and Monday is everyone. We are having a Dora themed day. When they go to bed we shall fill the house with Dora balloons and birthday curly things. When the kids wake up it'll be Dora all day.

Should be a total blast.

Now if you excuse me I have to go back to panicking

Waiting

I went to Washington again yesterday to meet with my last interviewer for the big new job. I think it went well but who can tell, right? So I am waiting. And if I don't get this position I have another one close to closing but in an agency that I really don't want to work in. I just don't agree with what they do.
I've also got two outstanding contracts so right now I feel like one of those guys spinning plates at the circus.

Amazing arrived home around 740pm and heard little giggles and whispers. DH looked fed up

"They won't go to sleep"

I was DELIGHTED!!!

I rushed in there and scooped them up kissing every inch of their cute, clean haired heads. They just wanted  a little attention. So I changed their nappies  (kissing the belly of course) and gave each on a longer than normal pre-bed cuddle (little head on shoulder, arms wrapped tightly around my neck). Once they were back in bed we did our blanket ritual (they lay on their front and I fan a blanket over them from tip to toe,  five times) and they settled down nicely.

Giggling in a really cute tired way they turned to look for me, so I sat on eye level with them loving how they were clutching teddy's (or rabbits) and books, and we all just waited for Mr Snore to come along.

Massive amounts of comfort through just being together.

Add to this domestic bliss that DH bought me some Jamaican Blue coffee as a surprise and I was in family heaven!

The pull and push of motherhood

I am in glorious San Francisco. I love coming here but always underestimate the jet lag. It's a killer.

My meeting is not until 3pm and its on a project that I probably won't do because it isn't financially viable (yes, yes, I actually speak like that) and so my work mojo is zero.

Add to that the kids are both speaking to me on the phone now but they are saying things like
"where ARE you NOW mamma" and 'I really want a cuddle" except it sounds like "wally cluddie want want".  I love work. I love my kids. I love travel. I love home. So I am pulled and pushed whatever I do. I realized on this trip that I will never be completely happy and that's ok. I must try to enjoy what I am doing when I am doing it to avoid going insane.

If I won the ... yes, we are her again ... if I won the lottery I would take my kids everywhere with me (plus the nanny) just like Brad & Angie.  Any excuse to snuggle with toddlers is a great thing.

I see them tomorrow. Red eyeing home so I can go to music class with them in the morning and collapse in the afternoon!

PS our friend 'http://withoutaroadmap.wordpress.com/' is expecting twins, again. Pop over and give the women some love!!

And the beat goes on.

I went to Washington for my big interview which I think went well. Well enough to get invited back at least. I got to stay the night in a hotel. A quiet room with a bed and time to sleep! Big, soft, made up bed. All. To. Myself!!! Didn't want to spend $59 on a burger (whaaaaaaa????) so I went out, got a slice and headed back!!

Of course, I am not abandoning my consulting gigs just in case. Going to San Fransisco on Sunday to meet with clients. Taking the redeye back to save on the hotel which they can't cover due to regulations!!  Moi, cheap! I used miles to upgrade ... swanky!!!

When I was away I called home and Pip said "where ARE you mamma?" which made us all fall about laughing. They don't really seem too bothered but then they do have a wonderful and caring nanny. Supernanny came in the other day and she had hand sown the kids summer pj's!

How're YOU all? There are some lovely posts from Will and Mo about their pregnancy hitting the happy place. There's great photo's from Suzanne of the kids waiting for grandma.  There's even our military friend pregnant with twins. Again. Wonderful. Glorious. Amazing. 

Bliss

For mothers day this year the old fella got me a gift card for a massage at a bit of a swanky spa in Soho. Well, more swanky than the $10 'hole in the wall' places I go to in Chinatown anyway.

Today was the day I finally got to use it and oh. my. god. The masseuse was a genius. I fell asleep at one point. When I was sans kids I used to go for massages all the time and think nothing of it. The great pleasure of the money sucking toddlers is that they have brought 'relative pleasure' back in my life. No pun intended.  I make choices and therefore am more conscious of the pleasures I do receive.

It also gave my brain some much needed time off. I am prepping for the interview on Wednesday with (and I quote) "one of the worlds most influential" chick. Crapping it does not being to describe how I feel right now.  The meeting is in Washington and even tho it is a 90 min flight I am going the night before and paying for a hotel JUST IN CASE.

The big adventure (or why I love NYC)

I just got in from a three hour jaunt around NYC. We popped in to see some friends then walked through the farmers market at Union Square (THE most unfriendly people) then down through the village to University and then on to Soho to see "daddy!!!!!" for lunch.

We got a cab back!

I am so frikkin' exhausted!!

I used to walk around this city for days at a time. It's not the exercise as much as the stress of toddling twins. Somehow Mimi has developed personality from hell. She is demanding, mean, selfish. She is also totally sweet, cuddly, funny and smart. I have whip lash from her mood swings.
Pip is a riot but don't whatever you do get in between his mum and him!

We went out all groomed and looking sharp. Mimi had on a cute H&M outfit as did I. Pip had clothes from his grandma. We got back looking like we had somehow become homeless and shiftless!! Mimi has no pants on. I was covered in food. Pip is pristine except for a little wet patch on his pants but that's Pip for you.

I wiped them off and threw then into bed.

I'm joining them.

Over and out. 

Do your kids look tired?

Since we came back from the holiday both kids but especially Pip look really tired all the time. He has dark shadows under his eyes.

They both nap for a few hours a day and then down at 6.30pm for 11 hours.

I'm being neurotic. Right? 

Curiosity created kids

It's amazing how just being in the same room as some parents makes you want to pull your hair out. Every weekend and most weekdays we have a house full of other peoples kids. We are kid central over here. We are lucky enough to have a largish sitting room (by city standards) and I have no problem with nannies and mum/dads hanging out here, which is not the case in lots of NY'rs homes. 

However ...

If I get one more piece of assvice about raising  and specifically educating my kids I'm going to scream.  I'm happy with how my kids are growing. They are happy, polite, energetic and curious. I do not care that they are not speaking French, Mandarin or Spanish. They share and love easily. I have no intention of hiring a 'K-tutor' to get them into some $40K pre-K school! 

Call me a hippy but kids need to learn how to be curious first then educated. Otherwise you have a dependant and reactive thinker. I prize critical thinking above all. I want them to know why something is correct and not just recite the correct answer. Curiosity is not taught, it's encouraged. I bet there's a correlation between curiosity and empathy (or compassion). 

I hope the guys grow up to follow their passion whatever it may be. And have lots of grand kids :)

Vacation glow

We had our first vacation in ... well, I actually can't remember, to be honest. Three nights in a lovely home two hours north of NYC and it could have been a world away. Idyllic. Fireflies! An outdoor living room.  Kids got to sleep with us which is a real treat and we all loved it. Funny how it effects their behavior in the day tho. Lots of naughty, not listening sort of thing.

Hot? Hell, yes. But the A/C worked and the next door neighbour's  (grandparents of people we rented from) had a pool which they invited us to.

Which means I swam. In public. Big deal. Totally worth it. Why? Coz Mimi is a water baby!! Who knew! When I was a kid I would spend every moment of our holiday either in the camp ground pool or sea. My daughter takes after me which if you think about our situation is such a wonderful surprise :-) We really bonded over in the water. I was so proud of her. She was delighted by the whole experience. We decided to join the local YMCA for their little kid swim lessons.

The break also gave me time to reflect on the whole job situation. I'm going to go for it. It's an industry I want to be in. It's a great way in if the gamble works and if it sucks ... I'll go back to consulting. I love working hard. It gives me great satisfaction to put my shoulder to the wheel. This job will give me many opportunities to do that but the big thing is I will be contributing to an industry that I can be proud to be part of.

So, great vacation.
Job process going well
Tanned and looking healthy

How was your 4th?