Twice As Nice

It gets better...

2011-11-18T08:02:00.001-06:00

I have been wanting to write this one for awhile now. It has just been so close to my mind lately. I had to get it down.

When I was pregnant with the girls and parents of twins found out it was twins, we would get a variety of reactions.

"Twins? Well, you are in for it."

"Ohhhh, good luck with that."

"Hahahahahahah....HAHAHAHAHA!"

All negative, no positive, even from friends with twins.

After I had them, I kinda got it. It was hard!! When we were out and about, we would sometimes run into parents of twins. We would chat about all sorts of info, but the one question I asked every single one was, "Does it get better/easier?" The answer I heard more than any other was, "It just changes." or "It gets different". NOT the answer this completely overwhelmed, sleep deprived, hormonal, weepy mama needed to hear.

So here we are 3 years into the roller coaster of twinhood and I must say...

It Gets Better!

I no longer want to throat punch people who tell me they have always wanted twins. I no longer say, "Umm, no you don't. No, for the love of all things holy, you DO NOT!"

Yes, there are days when they are off the wall hyper and run me ragged. There are days when they are soooo 3 years old. There are days when the 3-going-on-13 attitude is at it's highest. There are days when if I hear "STOP!" one more time, I may just lock myself in the bathroom. Speaking of the bathroom, I can go without a scream fest going on in my absence because they think I have abandoned them. I can take 2 steps away from them with no crying!

I can say, "Wait a minute." and they DO!
I can say, "Go get your dishes for me." and they WILL!
I can say, "What's wrong?" and they KNOW!
I can say, "Go play" and they GO!

And what about sleep, you ask, since that has always been a huge struggle. 5 nights out of 7, I am getting 8 hrs of sleep. Yes, you hear than right. My non-sleeping ever children are finally sleeping through the night. Olivia sleeps in her bed all night. Abby comes and gets in our bed around 1:00. She snuggles herself in between us and goes right back to sleep. Let's not mention the fact that this has just occurred in the last month...ahem, moving on.

Can you say, "Halleluiah!" I sure can and do every single day.

So...

If you are new to this twin thing and you think you may not survive, it does get better, so much better.

Ah, hi

2011-11-16T15:57:00.000-06:00

What took me so long to update?

Wow, since April. I didn't think I would ever step so far away from this blog. It was great for so so long, but several things have happened this year.

1. I realized that anyone could read what I wrote. Yes I realize this should have been a given. About a year ago, I went to a birthday party that happen to fall after an especially heart wrenching post I wrote about how hard I was struggling. I met a complete stranger there that was a friend of a friend and she found my blog through our mutual friend. Anyway, she had read it and commented to me about it. It wasn't a bad comment, but it bothered me. I felt raw and vulnerable and as I was there struggling with the girls, I felt like I was a complete failure. I felt like someone had gone through my personal journal and waved it around for all to see. Never mind that person was indeed myself. I mean, hello, public blog here.

2. In the span of a 12 hour period, my father-in-law passed away and my mom had a heart attack. She recovered and is doing well, but to say we were shaken is a huge understatement. Our lives changed in an instant and I was thrown into adulthood. I'm going to quote Forest here and say, "That's all I'm gonna say about that." At least for the moment.

3. Then, a short time later, my on-line support group of MOMs (Moms of Multiples) split right down the middle. I'm not going to go into the nitty gritty, but so many things were said and done it was staggering to go through. I've since taken a step back from it. The internet became a scary place for a little bit. I was hesitant to open myself up to those who could still read about my life and that included the blog.

Now, not all my reasons are negative because...

4. I started a cake decorating business. I started making cakes for family and friends and friends of friends in January. Since it is now legal in Texas to be a home baker, I have started opening it up to the public. Serendipity Cakes was born and it took off like crazy. As of today, I have had 29 orders for cakes, cupcakes, cupcake toppers, or Fondant figures. Plus, I made all 3 of the kids' cakes, too. It has truly been an amazing experience.

Here are some of my favorites:

It has truly brought me out of my funky depression more than anything has so far. So, it has also been taking up some of my extra time. My Facebook page is here Serendipity Cakes on Facebook. I would love for you to keep up with me! I am in the process of choosing a logo, a painfully slow process. I am also working on a website. I will post that as soon as it is up.

5. Sheesh, the kids. They are huge and fast and busy! Looking through pictures to post, I am embarrassed at the lack of them to choose from.

This one is from August!

This child is now 4 inches shorter than me.

They started Mother's Day Out in September

Saved my sanity, let me tell you!

Halloween Pictures

So now you are a little caught up with us.

I'm not really sure about the blog. I felt like blogging today, so I did. I want to get back into it, but...see above reasons.

Happy Birthday to my Zachary

2011-04-26T17:42:00.000-05:00

Here he is!!

No wait

That's not right.

HERE he is!

No that's not quite right either

For real
Here he is!

My huge big kid!

He is 9 years old today.

When did this happen? I am too young to have a 9 year old?? (Not really, but dang, it sure feels that way sometimes). He is tall, so very tall! 4'10" to be exact. He no longer fits under my arm or comes up to my shoulder. I can't even rest my chin on his head anymore.

See how long he is??

This is from his jump party birthday this past weekend

And he is a BOY! So much a boy. He does gross boy things like burp on command, laugh about bodily functions, and sweat (eww!) I may or may not laugh with him. He is into boy things like; Nerf Guns,Legos, video games like Halo, and he's very into camping and Cub Scout things.

His hat is always just a little crooked :-)

He is no longer my baby.
Age 3 days old

Look at this sweet smile!
Age 2.5

My little love
(We've both changed a little)
Age 1

He loved to read books

Age 21 months (?)

Happy Birthday sweet ~~boy~~ kid!

Picnic Time!

2011-04-18T00:47:00.000-05:00

We have had some seriously beautiful weather lately. During Spring Break my family went to the Botanical Gardens to have a picnic. I have been going to this garden since I was a kid. This is one of the first places Gary and I took Zachary after he met him. It's a great place.

I love how I caught them doing the same thing here.

Tasty crumbs

Abby with 2 of her favs

Grana and strawberries

My sweet boy

I love how Zachary is looking at Abby here.

Abby running after a ball

that they told us to put away

"because this is a garden not a park"

RESPECT THE GARDEN!

Olivia is respecting the garden by singing and dancing
Is that allowed, Mr Stuffy Pants??

Can you tell I'm a little annoyed by the whole
"respect the garden by not playing in it" crap?
Whatever

They had a nature walk where we pushed buttons for bird calls.

They also had these "telephones" you could talk to
each other from the next area.

Funny story break. We were standing at one of the phones and a girl up ahead was trying to figure out what was up with it. She leaned in and I said hi through my end. She jerked back and looked around and tentatively came back for another listen. I told her I liked her green shirt. She whipped around and headed straight for her mom, all the while looking around. Bwhahahahahah!! I crack up every time I think about it. It was truly hilarious. ::giggle:: I caught up to her to explain to her and her mom that she was not being stalked by some alien. ::snort::

::Ahem::
Moving right along to the flower garden section of our Nature Walk.

There was a girl next to them getting her picture taken, too.

They could not keep their eyes off of her.

This is my nephew Cameron, oh so carefully helping Abby.

He is expecting a baby sister in May and

he will be a fabulous big brother!

Daddy's turn to help Olivia

Ah, my diva

Olivia checking out a fountain

This is a little blurry, but it's probably my favorite of the day.

Abby is doing her new stern face

and Zachary is loving it

Spoiled?

2011-03-26T23:54:00.000-05:00

Daddy treated the girls to pink and purple sand

Spoiled??

Nahhhhh!

Of course, after day 1 the sand is now pinkle or purpilk. Quite mixed up, but pretty :-)

Snow Days

2011-02-03T15:52:00.001-06:00

We had snow this week!!

Well, it was more like ice pellets/sleet, but it was white and that is all that mattered. What was different is the wind chill was 0 degrees. Yes, in Texas. It was fah-reezing outside!

All bundled up and ready to go

Of course, Zachary was in heaven!

Olivia loved it as well

and stomped around to her heart's content

Oh, Abby

She was pretty miserable, but she hung in there.

She said over and over that she was ok and wanted to stay out.

They stayed out for about 30 mins and they were ready to come back in.

They snuggled in front of the fireplace

with plenty of static in their hair (hee hee)

What have we been up to?

2011-02-01T21:51:00.000-06:00

That was a long blog break, huh?

So many things contributed to it, but one the biggest reasons is that the girls are actually playing on their own more and I am getting to do things throughout the day. Yay!

So let's see what we have been up to?

The girls are out of cribs and into big girls beds!

Abby's not excited or anything, is she?

Are they sleeping better? Nope
Are we still sitting in their room with them for sometimes up to an hour so they can go to sleep at night? Yep

Ahh, good times

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Moving right along

Christmas came and went and I might go back and pick that up, but maybe not.

What I do need to let you know is of up-most importance.

The Christmas Card
You know you want to know how it went, right?
If you want to see the disaster that was last year go here, then here. I can laugh at it now....kinda...

I have good news! We got exactly what we needed! In a surprisingly short amount of time.

It was almost anti-climactic. They stood there and did it. They did it in about 15 mins. Little ~~stinkers~~ angels. They are the best age for it. The cards came out really cute.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

The girls are so so into makeup now. Their favorite model is Grana and she willingly lets them slather on lip gloss and eye shadow.

Check out the one blue eye (hee hee)

Aunt Hollie is also ready for her make-over

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Zachary had lots of Cub Scout activities.

Back in November, he did the Raingutter Regatta

His boat won 2nd place in his den

A couple of weeks ago he did the Pinewood Derby Race

He got 2nd in his den and 9th overall. Whoo-hoo!

I am looking at these two pictures and seeing the

difference in him just since November.

Man...

So, now we are caught up a little bit. Hopefully the break is over. :-)

Insert clever title here

2011-01-27T00:19:00.000-06:00

Here are a few iPhone pics to catch you up on how BIG my kids have gotten.

Fall Festivities

2010-11-23T09:32:00.000-06:00

This is another catch-up post :-)

Back in October, we headed to a local pumpkin patch with some great friends.

They loved these little pumpkins

Is anyone else a little freaked out about the rat
that appears to be attacking my children?

But time stood still when they saw Dora, Diego and Boots

Yes, that is Olivia stroking Dora's face

True Love

Do you think they could have drawn Dora a little smaller?

I mean, look at that massive head! It is 3 times the size of Diego's.

And what's with Boots. He appears freaked out by something.

Maybe...Dora's head? Heh? Heh??

Zachary demonstrates his strength

Abby tries to decide which one

Picking out a pumpkin is hard work!

The girls ended up choosing one from the Pumpkin House

Then it was time to carve them up for Halloween.

The girls demonstrate the face they want

I helped Olivia with hers

Zachary helped Abby

And I got this priceless shot

Zachary needed no help to get his started

Ta-da!

Scary faces!!

Hallowen

2010-11-21T23:26:00.000-06:00

I am going to do some catch-up over the next few weeks. Better late then never, right? :-)

Halloween was so much fun with the girls this year. Zachary was with his dad, so I don't have any pics of him. The discussion of costumes was a long and drawn-out one. We talked about cats, but they settle on butterflies. And when I say settled, I mean Olivia decided she wanted to "fly high in the sky" like a butterfly. So, a purple butterfly it is. Did I pick purple for her? Nope, she has taken over that choice. She loves her some purple. Abby was completely like "whatever" about the entire thing. So a pink butterfly it is for her.

My beautiful butterflies

My pink Abby butterfly

My purple Olivia butterfly

The Butterfly Wagon

::sigh::

I swear they were excited

The first Treat or Treat

With our sweet neaighbor

One thing I was really surprised about was that Abby was the one who ran ahead to every house and said "Treat or Treat" loud and clear. Abby is usually the clingy one who needs some warm up time, but not that night. Olivia held back a little, which is soo not like her. A little Halloween surprise to keep us on our toes.

More treat or treating

Ahh, the spoils of the night

Chocolate - Mmmm

Notice the makeup? Yeah, I created a monster with that.

Shifting Priorities

2010-11-03T21:53:00.000-05:00

Well, I certainly will not be following my yearly tradition of National Blog Posting Month with a post a day in November. You can go ahead and laugh right along with me on this one. Since it has been almost a month (yikes!) since my last post, I can safely say I would be setting myself up for failure.

I have been thinking a lot about this blog. Truthfully, I started it because it was the thing to do among my on-line friends, especially my multiple moms. Then, it became my sounding board, my creative outlet, and my therapy. It didn't hurt that I was recording details of my life that would never be remembered otherwise. But sometime this year, I lost my way. It stopped being fun and started becoming one more thing that needed my attention. One more responsibility. One more on top of the meeellion I already felt. It became a chore (gasp!) I know!

And let me just say - I detest the new way to upload photos. DE-test it! One night I decided to get all caught up by uploading pictures into posts to place later. What I didn't realize is that it doesn't hold those photos unless you actually put them into your post. Curses!

Then, THEN, I had the brilliant idea to tag each picture I wanted to put in a post as I pulled them from my camera. Brilliant, right? Yeah, until I realized that I couldn't choose a certain tag when uploading photos. Curses, again! Hours of work, wasted and who has hours in the first place, right?

But I digress...and continue to think about where I want this blog to go, pretty much on a daily basis. It used to be high on the priority list. It was one thing I had for me, by me. Priorities are shifting. In a perfect world, I could update everyday with a hilarious story of what goes on here and cute pictures. I just haven't found the umph I need. Meanwhile, birthdays, holidays, milestones, moments have passed without a single notation of them.

I hope I can find it, because just doing this has made me realize how much a have missed it. Who knows, maybe this will be my kick in the pants to get started again.

This Big Blank Page

2010-10-07T13:42:00.000-05:00

Here it is again. This big white space ready for me to fill it with updates and cute pictures and funny stories. Every time I sit down to type/write, I just stare at this empty space. Then I go on to something else. I just haven't had it in me this summer (and fall). Then as it got longer and longer between posts, it just seemed daunting. Know how many posts I have started and saved to be finished at a later date? 10. 10 posts are sitting in my list. Some need captions, some need photos, but all need something.

I have no idea if anyone still reads besides my family and close friends. I know my site numbers have gone WAY down.

So today is the day to fill the white space a little bit.

Here are my big kids just a few weeks ago.

Potty Training Marathon Day 6-7

2010-08-27T11:30:00.000-05:00

They have it. They really have it!! Now do they DO IT, every time? No, especially Abby. She had several accidents yesterday along with a really nasty poop one.

I have no doubt that in a few days we will be down in accidents. The only thing we are struggling with is night time. Olivia wakes up about 1:30 or 2:00. We put her on the potty and she goes but then she doesn't want to get back in her bed. She wants Mommy in Mommy's bed. She also wants Mommy's pillow and Mommy's space. She stays dry, though. Abby wakes up sometime in the night, either 2:00 or 3:30 or even 5:30 or 6:00, but she is wet. Sometimes she sleeps through an accident and sometimes she wakes up but she is always wet. Plus, she is upset because she is wet. She also doesn't want to go back to her bed. She wants to sit with Mommy in the recliner. So every morning it has been Mommy in the recliner with Abby, and Gary ends up with Olivia's feet in his back.

Are toddler beds our next step? That scares me more than potty training because then they will be LOOSE! But really, we are on the verge of it because they can get a foot over the rail and I am sure they could figure out how to get out if it occurred to them

We also had our first outing yesterday! We drove through Chick-Fil-A and brought it home. I even had to stop for gas. They did great. Then, last night we went to a Spaghetti Dinner benefiting the 3 day Breast Cancer Walk Gary is participating in. I was very nervous to take them out, but they did great! I had them go twice before they left. When we got there they tried to go, but didn't until we got home. They stayed dry!! Whoo-hoo!

Today, we started with an actual Potty Chart. Each time they go tee-tee in the potty, they get a sticker. If they poop in the potty, they get two. Then they get to pick a prize after 7 stickers. I had them both go to earn their first sticker. They don't "get it" but maybe it will help them to know they are working toward something. So far today, Olivia has told me she had to poop. Abby has told me twice she had to pee and she has had one accident. Again, she was so upset and said, "I tee-tee on the floor." over and over again. Poor baby.

We ran out of rewards so Gary went to the store to get some more along with...

Aww, yeah, BABY! Finally! I have been waiting for this one all year. I can't wait to dive into it.

Potty Training Marathon Day 5

2010-08-25T22:55:00.000-05:00

We have turned a corner. Olivia only had one accident today. It was really quite funny when Abby is yelling at me, "Shissy tee-tee! Shissy tee-tee! Shissy TEE-TEE!!!" After that she told me every time she had to go and even when she had to poop. Yay!!

Abby had a couple of accidents, one of which was poop. She gets really upset at herself when she has an accident. I know she gets it and it is just a matter of her making up her mind to do it! Over all she told me more times than not today. Double yay!

I can see the results. I know they are almost there. Tomorrow night we have to get out of the house for something and it will be a true test of how ready they truly are.

We did have a "Oh crap, what do we do now?" type moment tonight. We went for a walk and made sure that both girls went potty before we left. About halfway through our walk, a mile from home, Abby says she has to tee-tee. Gary and I look at each other blankly, because, seriously? What do we do? We tried to put her off but it was obvious she had to go. So we stopped beside an empty grass lot where there were no houses close and let her go in the grass. I mean, what do we do?? Next time, I will bring our travel potty with us. Luckily no one drove by or anything. Sheesh! Diapers are so much easier!

Thanks for hanging in there with me through all of these picture free posts. I know cute pictures are so much more fun to read about. Those are coming soon.

Potty Training Marathon Day 4

2010-08-24T23:45:00.000-05:00

So, today was better. It actually was.

Let me just take a break here and say how crappy it is that they are both getting molars and Abby now has a stuffy nose. Really? Really??

Olivia has been going through a fashionista stage. She wants to wear her swim suit. Every.day. All.day. With this 3 day program, they suggest wearing a t-shirt only. I could just see us trying to get a swim suit off in a hurry. She was...shall we say, adamant about wearing it, so I just said screw it! I told her in no uncertain terms that she needed to keep her swim suit dry, that if she got it wet, it was no more swim suit for her.

Well, that little bugger did not have one single accident all day long. Huh...how do you like that. Now several times I said things like that we needed to go before we sat down to eat or go outside. She would. Huh.

Now Abby on the other hand had 3 accidents, one of which was poop. The first one we have had yet. By the afternoon when she had accident #4, I started being a little firmer with her about keeping herself dry. Then, a light was flipped. The next time she had to go she ran up and told me excitedly she had to go and she made it! Then she told me "I no tee-tee on the floor, I tee-tee in the potty." Hallelujah!! She did have another accident but she was so upset about it, I know it is finally sinking in.

Tomorrow is another day of more training. As it goes now, I am sure we will be able to leave the house...in a few weeks.

Potty Training Marathon Day 3

2010-08-24T12:59:00.000-05:00

Sorry this is a little late. The first day of school was yesterday and it was craziness!

Oh wow, so much for every day getting better. We took a huge step back today. It was totally my fault and unknowingly set us up for it.

Long story short, I got an IUD placed in the morning and I was out of commission for the rest of the day in bed. This was a total shock because I expected to be perfectly fine to help do the potty thing. My mom stayed with the girls doing the procedure. Even though she followed the same procedures we did, I wonder if it made a difference that we weren't there in the morning, then I wasn't there until the evening.

Mom said they told her some of the time so they made it to the potty, then other times they would have an accident. Gary said in the afternoon he was able to catch them for the most part and get them to the potty in time.

The evening? Oh Lordy, the evening was accident after accident after accident. Not only would they not tell us at all, but they would just stand there and watch it get all over the floor. I think between them they had about 7-8 accidents, more than even the first day! They would happily proclaim, "I tee-teed on Dora (their panties)!" or "I tee-teed right there on the floor." They did not care in the least that they were wet. It was very frustrating. They have gone to maybe getting their panties a tiny bit wet but then holding it and telling us, to squatting and going on the floor. Ugh!

They are doing better with bed time. Neither had an accident before bed time and they didn't even ask to get out to go. Abby had an accident in the night, then needed to be taken to the potty around 4:00 but then stayed dry until morning and made it to the potty. Olivia got up to go sometime before 4:00 and then got up again at 4:00, then stayed dry and made it to the potty in time. Let me just say it was party time after that. We ended up back in our bed, but then they slept in until 8:30.

So today I am on my own still very tired, but keeping on with the program. I am just hoping that they get back on track real quick.

Potty Training Marathon Day 2

2010-08-22T23:14:00.000-05:00

I went back and forth whether or not to tell ALL the details, but I decided I would really like a record of exactly how each day went. If I don't record it here, it probably won't get recorded.

Abby: Woke up dry and made it to the potty in time
Olivia: Had 1 accident in the night, but woke up dry and made it to the potty in time.

Morning
They did really well!
Abby - 3 accidents and 3 times when we "caught" her and rushed her to the potty in time, one of which was poop. Then she actually told us 4 times she needed to go and made it to the potty in time.
Olivia - 2 accidents and 4 times when we "caught" her. She told us 2 times she needed to go, one of which was poop.

Nap Time
Abby - 1 accident in her bed before she went to sleep, but she woke up dry. NO times did she ask to get out and go.
Olivia - No accidents and she woke up dry.

Afternoon/Evening
Abby - 2 accidents, 2 where we caught her and made it to the potty in time, and 3 times when she told us she had to go and made it to the potty!
Olivia - 0 accidents (!), 4 times when we caught her and made it to the potty in time, and 4 times when she told us she had to go and made it to the potty in time. One of these times was poop.

Bedtime
Sooo much better tonight
Abby had 0 accidents and only asked to be let out twice, one of which she actually went.
Olivia had 1 accident and only asked to be let out twice, but didn't go either time.

To say we are exhausted is an understatement. Man, this is rough, but so worth it because I can tell they are getting it.

Potty Training Marathon

2010-08-21T23:39:00.000-05:00

The girls have been more than ready for this step, but I have been putting it off. It was just plain laziness on my part. After both of them had stayed dry and asked to go potty while we were out shopping, I knew it was time. I had heard about the 3 day potty training method from some of my MOM buddies. It is seriously not for the faint of heart. It is an intense 3 day, balls-to-the-wall, take no prisoners process that after 3 days will leave your child wearing underwear 24/7. And yes, that means at night and nap time, God help us all.

So we checked our calendars and mapped out this weekend as the time. We stocked up on Dora panties, M&Ms, stickers, big kid wipes, salty snacks, and lots of juice. We have stacks of towels ready for accidents, because there will be accidents, oh the accidents. We put away our computers, iPhones, and every other distraction and focused 100% on them.

Before we even got started this morning, in was apparent that Zachary was not doing well. How do parents will 5 or 6 kids do this, I'll never know. It is tough to be what each of my kids need. The girls needed 100% of my focus, but here was Zachary needing me, too. He was short with us and the girls and ended up in his room. He was pretty upset about something, but couldn't put into words what he was feeling. I am sure the thought of the girls getting all the attention, prizes, candy, and all that jazz was a part of it. We had originally planned for him to be away this weekend but that didn't pan out. I put in an emergency call to my mom and my brother and between them, he is getting taken care of. It was such a load off my mind to know that he is playing and distracted at their house.

Here is the day's rundown:
Morning
Abby - 2 accidents and 3 times when we "caught" her and rushed to the potty in time for her to make it.
Olivia - 1 accident and 2 times when we "caught" her

Nap Time

I was seriously dreading this because my girls catch on pretty quick that asking to go potty = getting out of bed. I knew they would totally take advantage off this...and they did, they Soooooo did. I suggested we put off trying to keep them dry at nap time and bed time, but that would be "deviating from the plan" so...
Abby - 1 accident in bed - several times running to the potty with no results
Olivia - 4 (!) accidents in bed - a few getting out to run to the potty with no results.
The problem with Olivia was she would relax enough to go to sleep and then have an accident. That would wind her up and then she would have to settle back down, rinse and repeat and repeat and repeat.

I just about gave in at this point. I was almost in tears and have not been this stressed about them since they were babies. After over an hour, they finally fell asleep and I napped with them. We had a great success here though because both woke up dry and made it to the potty in time. Yay!

Afternoon/Evening
Abby - 2 accidents, one of which she got really upset about and 4 times when we caught her in time to run to the potty
Olivia - 0 accidents and 3 times when we caught her

Bed Time
Oh Groan! Once again, this was a nightmare. We started bed time a little later since they didn't wake up until 4:45 or so. It took them 2 hours to finally go to sleep. 2.freaking.long.ass.hours with 70 bajillion requests to get out of bed to go potty with zero results. Plus, when one would say they needed to go, the other would jump right in with the same request. Patience was wearing thin, to say the least.
Abby - 0 accidents and 2 times actually doing something
Olivia - 2 accidents and 2 times actually doing something - one of these accidents was us saying "No, you just went potty." Yeah, so she had an accident. Ugh!

For the first day with zero diapers or pull-ups, I actually think they did pretty well with it. Tomorrow, I am hoping they start telling us or at least saying they need to go. The only time they actually asked to go or said they needed to go was in bed. The other times we were watching them so closely that we would recognize their little cues and rush them to the potty.

I will update tomorrow on how it goes.

And because it has been sooo long since I updated with pictures...

How I Made the Par-tay Cake and Cupcakes

2010-08-05T08:07:00.001-05:00

I have had so many people ask how I did the girls' cake and cupcakes I decided to do a blog post about it.

First of all, anyone can do this, really you can. Can you play with Play Dough? Can you roll it in a ball? Can you make a snake? Then you can do this, for realies. I usually look at something and say, "I can do that." But very rarely to I ever get the chance to actually follow through. I was looking into what exactly I was going to do for their birthday. I started looking at farm animal cupcakes and came across this:

Farm Animal Cupcakes
I was **this close** to doing this. If you can get past the perkiness...they also have other theme party ideas. I got the idea for the long horse face cupcake from the zebra in their zoo animal party video.

I looked around the web for several hours and found a ton of how to videos out there about fondant. So I had a test run with pink fondant from Walmart. It is in their cake decorating section.

After watching this:
How to make a fondant pig,

This little guy was my first attempt.

Why is he facing away? Because he is otherwise known as...

Pycho Piggy!!

Ahhhhh!!!! He wasn't always psycho looking. He started out with holes for eyes, then I tried to color the eyes with blue edible marker. Can you say disaster? Then I filled in the holes with black fondant and viola! Psycho Piggy was born.

Then I made this little piggy...

And I realized, not only could I do it, but it was dang fun! So I went out and got more fondant and gel food color and set to work. and worked. and worked. and worked into the night until 3:30 came around. It was wonderfully fun but time consuming. Plus, I kinda waited until 2 days before. Umm, yeah, I don't recommend that.

So here are the links I used to help me and some close-up pictures of the figures.

I got the idea for the above pig from these links:

Cupcake Tower of Farm Animals by Blue Cupcake and Barnyard Cupcake Tower
When I first saw these cakes I fell head over heels in love with them. Never mind that my sweet hubby sent me this very picture several months before the party and told me I could do something like it. I totally poo-pooed him off. No way could I do that! Look at those horses!! I ended up making some of my animals based on this cake.

like my sitting cow

and my horse

Oh, my horse! My loverly horsie! I'm pretty much in love with him. Is it the horseshoes? the side swiped hair? the sweet smile? I don't know but he is my new boyfriend. He still sits on my counter today waiting for me to get acrylic spray so I can preserve him foreva. **Happy happy sigh**

Farmyard Theme Fondant Cake
I got LOTS of my ideas from this one like my standing pig (above)

my standing cow

my standing duck

and my sheep

Where's his mouth?

Ahhh...there it is

Another view

I also found these videos helpful when making the sheep.

How to make a fondant sheep part1 and 2

And while I was at it, I made a horse based on these animals, too.

I also got the idea for the sides of the cake from the Farmyard Theme Cake

I used brown fondant for the fence and tip # 223

You can go to this Wilton page for grass icing tips

I used these videos

How to Make a Duck Part 1 and 2

to make this guy with his huge beak

I made several animal heads like the ones above and put them on the tops of the cupcakes. The ladybugs are from a cupcake kit that my friend Sara gave me.

I continued my search and found:
More Farm Cupcake Toppers - When I saw these, I knew I could do it.

So I did

In the end, at 3:30 a.m. I had the cake and all the animals and needed a set-up. I had bought bandanna tissue paper so I wrapped it around a round cake pan and that is what the green cake is sitting on. Then I needed a place for all the other animals to hang out so I covered another cake pan with a cow pattern bandanna. Had it not been 3:30 in the morning, I may have thought about doing all that with actual cake and fondant. Ack! Next time, maybe. I already have 1 request from a fellow MOM for her twin's 2nd birthday next year. I can't wait to get to make these cuties again!

So this post is already sooo long. I am going to put together another post about the tools I used and the techniques I found best. It won't take a month...hopefully.

Oh! I found these today (Where were they a month ago??) - This is a fabulous video about how to make figures. They make a panda bear but it an be used for anything really.

Making Fondant Figures Part 1
Making Fondant Figures Part 2

There are really a lot of links out there on step by step instructions.

"I do it!"

2010-08-02T23:24:00.000-05:00

Ahh, the independence of 2 year olds. All we have heard from Olivia lately is "I DO IT!!" Even about things she can't do by herself. I got this on video today and I am so glad I did. She wants her dress off but does not want help. It is a perfect "picture" of the struggle for independence and the need for help.

Croup Sucks!

2010-07-26T13:46:00.000-05:00

We woke up this past weekend to the barking of seals coming from the monitor. Ahh, yes...Croup. Sucky, Crappy Croup, you can just on your heel and walk right back out, Mister! Of course, he didn't listen.

Abby started with it first on Friday night. She spent to rest of the night wheezing along in our bed. We tried a hot steam shower but that didn't help. She got worse and worse throughout the day until we couldn't get her fever down with Motrin. So off to the Urgent Care we went. When we got there her oxygen level was scary enough that they kept her on the monitor for a little bit. It did come down but they wanted to check her for pneumonia. That means an X-Ray, which for Abby is prime freak out material. Lovely.

When we got in the room, she was already getting that frown on her face. I started talking about the "camera" getting a picture of her tummy. She said, "No wanna say sheese, Mommy." Ha ha ha!! The technician was wonderful though and commented on Abby's blue toes, which just lit her up. I was able to hold her on the edge of the table to get the pictures so she was fine.

Thankfully, there was no pneumonia and after getting Tylenol on top of the Motrin, her fever started to come down. With Abby, after she gets better she just goings crazy with happiness. She is bouncing and running and laughing and talking up a storm, so it is really obvious she wasn't feeling well.

Olivia started with her cough on Saturday night and has just laid around since then. She is just so pitiful! Her fever never really spiked up like Abby's did, but she has that barking cough. Poor ladies! Our nights have been spent with kids in bed with us or us in the recliner with one or both (!!) of them. Let me tell ya, you just haven't lived until you sleep in a recliner with two feverish little girls that wiggle, cough, and bother each other throughout the night.

And nope, there are no new pictures here. But I promise to get some up soon.

Winking

2010-07-21T21:52:00.002-05:00

Abby has discovered winking.

Most of the time she blinks blinks blinks for a bit first...

Then she does it!

Love it!!

Birthday Par-tay

2010-07-12T09:34:00.000-05:00

Prepare yourself...

Because this is going to be loooong...

We went for a farm theme this year because Abby loves her some cows and Olivia loves her some ducks. I tried to find Little Bear supplies but I refused to pay $12 for 8 plates and $70 for cake toppers. Oh no, I am not even kidding.

I just happen to have these dresses left from last summer and they fit perfectly!

My birthday girls

The spread

The cake
I made the cake (the green one, the cow one is actually a bandanna) and all the animals myself.
I am pretty please with how it turned out for my first time.
I plan on doing a separate post about the links and pages I used to make it.

Cupcakes

A close-up of the animals on top of the cake.
See that little horse? I fell in lurve with him.
He may or may not still be on my counter today.

Me being silly while getting ready

Then, I got serious

The only way I can figure out how to be fair is to sing to each girl
and take turns who goes first.

Olivia got to go first this year.

Abby was pleased, but embarrassed

Olivia wasted no time diving right into her cupcake.

Abby sat like this for quite some time

Abby has some stranger anxiety and what I mean by that is ANYONE, including her family. She was not sure about everyone who was around her.

But, dang it, it was chocolate and she muddled through somehow.

While Olivia thoroughly enjoyed hers.

The entire time I was working on the animals, both girls had to come watch and even beg a bite or two of the fondant. The animals were off limits to eat but, oh how they wanted them.

So...at the party I let them choose their animals to eat.

Not surprisingly, Abby chose the cow
(or as she would call it, "moo-moo")
and chose to eat him from the bottom up.
Notice the icing free cupcake.

and Olivia chose the duck.

And then it was present time!! They were a lot of fun this year, very into it. Although, again, Abby played a little shy.

These are from Zachary - little Dora Houses.
See Abby's tiny smile?

Olivia got really into handing her trash off to Grandma behind her.
Abby loves her bling!

Abby shows off her baby diapers!
I love the aprons they have on.

After this we had hot dogs, with Good Water. Yummy! Everyone got to head outside for water play in the small pool we have plus a huge blow up water slide we borrowed from our awesome neighbors.

Here are the pictures...

Oh yeah, that's right. Once again, exactly like last year, I got zero pictures of the outside festivities. Le sigh...

We did manage to get this picture of us with our girls.
Zachary was super busy being wet outside to bother with pictures.

They're 2.

2

2!

I can't get over it.

New Layout

2010-07-11T23:24:00.001-05:00

I finally have a new layout I can live with. New posts coming up.

Yes, I am quite aware it has been over a month.

Yep, summer is here again robbing me of my creativity.
, but I have loads to posts about so...

Snuggle Bugs

2010-06-16T09:37:00.005-05:00

I totally feel like the The Great and Powerful Wizard of OZ.

Why? Because I am saying...

"Pay no attention to that
blue background in my header!"

**sigh**

I tried the new Blogger template design, which has great intentions. Of course, I like the one where it is next to impossible to change the background to my cutey cute one. I am about to break down and pay someone for a makeover.

Speaking of cutey cute...

We've had some major snuggling going on here

Thanks to Little Bear

Blog changes

2010-06-12T23:48:00.001-05:00

I am tweaking the blog this weekend. Excuse the construction.

Earth Day

2010-06-01T22:05:00.003-05:00

Yes, I am well aware that Earth Day was...well, it's over...But let's not let that stop a good post, eh? We planted 2 trees. We got them at our neighborhood Spring Fling. The kids jumped right in to help.

Such a big kid with his big job

But not so big that he can't have a little fun :-)

Olivia wanted to get in on it

Abby sooo did not.
This is her after getting splattered with muddy water.
Ewww! She did not like it at all.

So the Little Mama left her siblings to itBy the way, that is my doll from my childhood.
Her name is Amanda. Abby wrote on her face.
Amanda is now "night-night" in Mommy's room.

Olivia stayed in there and
enjoyed herself immensely

Happy Sunday

2010-05-30T11:56:00.001-05:00

Yep, we are here and well. Just so so busy with live and living. I have some super cute things to share in the next few days, but right now Zachary is waiting for me to play Lego: Batman with him so off I go...

Sick Times

2010-05-16T22:14:00.002-05:00

We have had a rough few weeks around here. Three days after they finished up their 20 day (20!) round of anti-biotics , Abby tested positive again for Strep.

::sigh::

Yeah, so after a shot of anti-biotics to jump-start her, she started another round of them. Around day 5, she started with the whole throwing up, diarrhea, fever, clingy-ness stuff then 2 days later she was covered with hives. Supposedly it was from the new anti-biotic. There were 2 different things going on; the allergic reaction plus the virus...at the same time.

It was awful, people. She whimpered, cried, and fussed for days upon days. She would get the hives on one part of her and they would fade, then a few hours later they would pop up somewhere else. And when they faded, they would leave what looked liked bruises. It actually looked a lot like the hives I used to get the last few years I taught. Is she stressed?? :-(

We had canceled our appointment with the specialist, of course...Of course we did!! But we were able to get in to see him this past Friday. Abby had been without anti-biotics for 6 days so we were pretty sure she would still test positive for Strep. We were also prepared to discuss, heck, even schedule her tonsils to be removed. The specialist said her throat looked fine (really??), but went ahead and tested them both for Strep, and sucked a bean shell out of Abby's nose. It was probably from her throwing up. Ummm...eww!!!

We should get those results in a few days. If it's positive, we schedule. If it's negative, we will try to make it until their second birthday. How can it not be positive? I really don't get it. I mean, why else would she be throwing fits, yelling, hitting, pouting if she didn't get her way. Why indeed? I am sure you can guess why. Two words - Todd.ler.

And in the midst of all of this, Zachary got the virus and I got the virus. I have not felt that bad in a very long time. I was out of commission for 2 whole days. And that is a long time in Mommy world. One of those days I slept 15 out of the 24 hours of the day. I was sorry to get sick, but not sorry to get to sleep. Gary stepped in and handled everything. My hero!

I am sorry about the lack of photos. Hopefully I can get to those this week. I also hope to catch up on some blog reading!

The Pioneer Woman Visits

2010-05-07T11:38:00.002-05:00

OMG OMG OMG!!

Do you see who visited me? Right there?? Skip down a little to the Blog Frog...

3 days ago...

The Pioneer Woman - Ree - My bestfriendthatjustdoesn'tknowityet

::faints::

::picks self off floor::

::faints again::

If this is not a kick in the pants to get back to blogging I don't know what is!

My Little Helper

2010-04-29T10:11:00.000-05:00

Olivia is going through a stage where she wants to help me. She puts dishes in the sink, things in the trash, she even helps bring groceries in from the car. The bread may or may not have resembled a limp dishrag, but that's ok. She helping!

She loves our new washer,
but does not like that she can't climb inside.

Abby has no interest in doing laundry,
none at all...

Little Business Woman

2010-04-28T08:15:00.000-05:00

Abby loves loves to draw, write, color, anything with a pen. She is beyond eating the crayons or pens. She wants me to draw things for her and trace her hand all the time.

She was a bit too quiet in the dining room the other day and I went to investigate.

She was busy with the bills

Lots of bills...

"Can I help you with something?"

Olivia is more interested in the candy...

New posts

2010-04-27T23:11:00.001-05:00

I am working on a few new posts. I know...finally!!

Back to our regularly scheduled programing

2010-04-21T15:30:00.003-05:00

We are all well (knocking on wood). It was a rough 2 weeks there. Everyone is feeling much better. Gary finally had to go get an allergy shot to feel better.

Abby, by far, was the worst hit and took the longest to be herself. I have never seen her so sick.

She did a lot of sitting around looking pale.

She fell asleep anywhere and everywhere
in the middle of the morning most days.

In my arms, in the car,
in her chair...

while climbing onto the couch...

No kidding, I came into the living room
to check on her and this is how she was.

And what was Olivia doing? She was feeling better and full of mischief, wanting so much to wake up her sister!

Oh MY, she was full of it.

Abby is still not 100% better. She is still coughing some and still clingy, clingy, clingy! She is going through a huge stranger danger phase. She cries big scared tears whenever a stranger comes around, and by stranger I mean ANYONE who does not live in this house. This includes by friend Farrell, her Uncle Jonathan, our friend Sarah; she even takes time to warm up to her Grana whenever she comes every Tuesday and Thursday.

She also wants me to do everything for her. When Gary tries to get her out of her chair or wipe her face or change her diaper or push her in the swing, or anything, she immediately says, "NO! Mommy!!!" Then she babbles and shakes her head saying, "No, no, blah blah blah, Daddy!" with her forehead creased in a frown. Oh my! Please tell me this is a phase, a very short one.

Olivia, on the other hand, is talking and repeating everything. I can't even keep a list anymore because she says several new words a day. Today she busted out with, "Where my nack? My NACK????" and "I go pooop!" The way she says poop is just the funniest thing! I hope I can get it on video.

My babies...are not so much babies anymore...Thank Gawd!!

Sickness Abounds

2010-04-14T08:28:00.000-05:00

Quickly...

We took the girls to the Dr. yesterday.

Olivia has bronchitis, Strep throat, and the beginning of pink eye. She is in a spunky mischievous mood this week. Holy toddler behavior, people!

Abby has pink eye in both eyes, bronchitis, Strep throat, and a double ear infection. Poor girl. She feels horrible. She tries to smile and play, but mostly she is just limp in our arms. She is not impressed with Olivia's behavior since it is pointed at her most of the time!

Strep throat!! Again! We had a good run. We have an appointment at the end of the month with the specialist. Their first opening was the 30th (!!) I am really not sure where we go from here. They are on 3 different prescriptions and the antibiotic is for 20 days. Plus, they got steroid shots to help with the wheezing. They did test negative for RSV, thank God!

Zachary is much much better. Gary is over the flu but not his allergies. I am coughing and loosing my voice. We are both exhausted beyond belief. The girls are not sleeping and Abby is literally clinging to one of us all the time. Olivia was having no one but me tonight.

We just need me not to get sick and for Gary to get better so we can take care of the sick ones.

Please...please...

Potty Time!

2010-04-13T07:43:00.001-05:00

Well, well, well, lookee here!

Yep, it's that time. Actually we got these about 2 months ago. We thought Abby, especially, was ready. She was showing signs of knowing when she was going and staying dry. She would tell me before she went. So we thought we should go ahead and strike while the iron was hot, you know?

We planned on them sitting on the little pottys before and after their bath. Good plan, right? Yeah, Abby refused refused re.fused to sit on the potty. Not even a little bit. Stubborn little thing. Meanwhile, Olivia sat right down and went potty. And she continued to want to. She doesn't want to wear regular diapers anymore. She wants a pull-up. She tells us when she needs to go and she has even pooped in the potty!! Abby has gotten into it now, but only recently. She is doing really well, too and has pooped in the potty as well!! Yay, girls!!

Of course, we are still a long way from success, but we are saving some serious cash because we actually have some totally dry days. Here are some cute pictures I got of them in their pull-ups.

Look at that proud look

Wow...I can't believe they are old enough to be ready for this.

Makes My Monday - Spring

2010-04-11T23:33:00.007-05:00

Before I get into the real reason for this post, I'll fill you in a little about the state of our household. We had a great, long run of no sickness. Well, no more. Zachary had the flu last week and then an ear infection over the weekend. Gary had the flu, too and is having a horrible time with allergies. The girls checked out fine with negative strep and flu tests (YAY!). Abby did have a fever today, so we are wondering if she has the flu now. Their allergies are also really bad, too. I have been fine besides allergies. Holy Moly, pollen is crazy bad! The normal count is 120 and we are at 5000! We are using our weight in kleenex right now.

But now, on to what makes my Monday.

Spring

That's what Makes my Monday. I can't remember the last time I enjoyed the coming Spring like this year. Last year was a fog and the year before that I was hugely pregnant and not getting out much at all. But this year, oh this year. We go for walks, we spend so much time outside and with the windows open. I am loving this Spring!

My flower bed out front is coming along nicely.

The roses are budding
All of these...

will turn into this...

All these...

will turn into this...

And so many others are in the process of coming back. I still need to go get a few new annuals to fill in. One of my favorite things is this little statue we got when we found out the girls were indeed girls and not 2 boys or a boy and a girl. I love that we found an older brother reading to his younger sisters.

Another favorite...

I bought it during a time when Peace was very important to me, about 5 years ago. It has moved from garden to garden and it makes me happy whenever I look at it.

But really,

what really and truly

makes my Monday

is...

...my little mama bird is back,

for the 4th year in a row.

You can read about last year here, and the year before here,

I cannot wait to watch the building of the nest and the babies!! This year you can see that I hung a birdhouse there beside the hanging basket. I thought maybe they would be more comfortable in a house, you know?? But, it looks like they will build in my hanging basket again. Yay! Because this way I can see the little baby heads poke up to be fed.

Yep, pretty much loving Spring.

Play along with Cheryl over at Twinfatuation

Easter

2010-04-06T22:17:00.006-05:00

Wow - the weather has been absolutely gorgeous here the past few weeks. We have been spending lots of time outside. The girls continue to ask to "go bye-bye in da caw" every day. They want to go see "moo-moos", "la-las"(goats), and ducks. Is it a sign we go out to eat too much if Olivia asks, "Eat?" whenever we get in the car??

Easter was lovely. A wonderful beautiful day. It started with our yearly tradition of following jellybeans down the stairs to find our Easter baskets.

As you can see by Zachary's pale face, we did have one downside to the day. He was running a fever, but we loaded him up on Motrin and Tylenol. At his insistence of feeling better we continued with our plans.

Olivia enjoying the books from her Easter basket

Books??
You know there are jellybeans in here, right?

We headed to Gary's parent's house.

There is a cool horse tire swing the girls LOVE love to ride.

Ready to hunt Easter eggs!

Abby jumped right in and began putting eggs in her basket.

Olivia got into to it, too.

Then it was the big kids turn to go.
And go Zachary did!

The girls, especially Olivia, wanted to abandon the hunt
in favor of the bounce house.

(Notice the cute sandals were soon replaced with comfy tennies)

So to the bounce house we went

Taking a break to play with cousin Lily
The girls were enamored with her!
They were all about touching and smiling and watching her!

Grandma got a pinata and all the kids got to take a turn.

And pretend there is a picture of Olivia here.
I didn't get any good ones of her.

So now I am busy trying to resist temptation. There is candy everywhere!

New Header

2010-04-06T11:07:00.001-05:00

If you are reading in a reader, pop on over and see my new Spring header...yes, finally.

Sweet Moments

2010-03-26T16:02:00.004-05:00

Sometimes the only time I can get a picture of both the girls is when they are in their high chairs or car seats. I happen to have my camera when I was sitting in line at the bank. So I snapped a few and captured this...

Such a sweet look
They love each other!!

AAaaaand...it's over
First Olivia wants to hold Abby's hand

Abby thinks not

Olivia gives up
so now Abby wants to hold Olivia's hand

No, no...you had your chance
*sigh*

Babies R Us One Day Pampers Event

2010-03-20T10:00:00.000-05:00

Babies R Us is having a great deal to promote the new Pampers Dry Max diapers. Today only you get a $20 gift card with the purchase of 2 value boxes of Pampers. This is in-store and online.

We buy all our diapers at Babies R Us. Many times they offer a gift card deal with a purchase and I always have at least a dollar off coupon for each box. We buy two boxes at a time anyway, so this is a sweet deal for us.

If you plan on taking advantage of this, go now. Right now. Because they don't do rain checks. We are already there. We were there when the doors opened, along with 50 bajillion other shoppers.

Six Word Saturday

2010-03-20T07:42:00.000-05:00

Sometimes the problem is the user

...

which means I'll be back soon

...

because, you know, I'm the user

...

Laptop Woes and more talking

2010-03-17T22:16:00.003-05:00

Well, if I wasn't all ready to jump back into blogging when my laptop decided to take a break. Hmph! I have been putting up with a few PC jokes around here, but really I think it was just the closeness of a certain Mac that had it sputtering. All my recent pictures are on it. Since it is not the hard dive, but a power issue, I am not really worried. Except the fact that I have no new pictures to share.

I can report that vocabulary has jumped once again overnight.

~Abby now calls Olivia "Shissy" even though we have never once called them this. We always call them by their names with an occasional "sister" thrown in. I am forever hearing "Where Shissy?" then Abby will get up and walk around calling, "Shissy?" Olivia said "Abby" for the first time tonight.

~They say "Go bye bye? in da ca? I shoes? I hat?" every day. Every.day. And really do not want to hear no as the answer.

~They call the swing and slide outside "the wee" because they say "wheee!" when going down it or when they are swinging. Olivia was actually saying it in her sleep the other night and pointing straight up at the ceiling. She loves to wee! And she must have her hat on to go outside. And she wants me to have one on as well.

~They get their purse on their arm, put a hat on their head and call "Buh-bye!" and head down the hall to go the store.

~Olivia wakes up and says, "I go night-night" then when she wants to head downstairs "I eat"

~When I give them any kind of snack, whether it should be in a bowl or not, Abby says "Bowl?" She even knows where to find one and gets it herself.

~When a cup or bowl is empty and need of a re-fill, Olivia says "Nee nee?" I have no idea where this came from. Maybe empty? But we say "all gone". Abby has just started saying it, too.

It is hilarious to listen in on conversations that may go something like this...

Abby: I blah blibbity bloo bleh ha?
Olivia: Nnnoo... Smecka wit blap blet?
Abby: No... Mommy haty wase blahity?
Olivia: Yeah!

And it goes on and on like they are talking. I guess they are! They still babble along with their gibberish, but they are getting to where we can actually understand what they are saying. It's really exiting!

I know this post was a bit all over the place. I was in a posting mood. I am sorry there are no new pictures. I will hopefully get the pictures off my computer soon.

Coincidence? I think not

2010-03-13T08:42:00.002-06:00

blogging funk=cleaner house

blogging funk=almost decorated playroom

blogging funk=things getting crossed off "the list"

blogging funk also=winter header in march

hmmm...

Way Back When-esday

2010-03-03T07:13:00.000-06:00

I am sharing my favorite picture of Zachary and I when he was a baby.
This picture shows everything that was in my heart
when I held him in my arms.

the love
the pride
the protectiveness
the responsibility
the pure happiness

I loved being his mommy.

Time line: June 7, 2002 - thank you camera date stamp

Age: 1 month 12 days

Follow along with Cheryl at Twinfatuation

And don't forget to click!

Life...

2010-03-01T10:46:00.004-06:00

...it's happening all around me.

~No one is sick in our house. (knocking on wood)

~The office is now a playroom! Pictures will follow soon. We chose beautiful colors for the walls and I found the perfect fabric! I can't wait to show it off for you.

~This means I have my loverly dining room back. Have I ever posted pictures of my loverly dining room?? It is gorg! One of my favorite things I have done to the house!

~The computers and bookcases filled with books have come to rest in our bedroom. It is by far the biggest room in the house. Everything fit without us moving one piece of furniture that was in there. Well, I am not counting the Ab machine that had turned into a clothesline, mmkay? That has found it's way into the garage.

~This also means all things office have found a home (or not) around the house. I am working hard to find a home for everything and it is HARD work, people! I am also learning that some things home is the trash **GASP** I know!!

~There a million and fifty-five little tiny things that need to be done. Both Gary and I have had our moments of looking around and wailing, "It will never get done, NEVER!" Ok, so I wailed. He did have his moment though.

~Simple Thursday will return - It keeps me on track. Especially with all this upheaval. Especially since I found stacks and stacks of things I love but do not use. Ugh! That will def be a post for another time.

~I am on my old computer without any new pictures so there is nothing new to show you. Sorry about that!

~ And last but not least...please click on the button below. The website has reset all their numbers so I want to get in there once again. As long as you land on the home page, your vote for me has been counted. You can click once a day. So please do so!

Make My Monday

2010-02-22T09:04:00.003-06:00

One year ago my friend Brook and her husband Jake lost their infant daughter, Carynne to SMA (Spinal Muscular Atrophy). A day later, they lost her identical twin sister, Sydney to the same disease. THis was just a short month after getting the diagnosis in the first place. As a parent, I can't imagine the heartbreak they felt, watching their daughters struggle with this disease. Brook and Jake have been active in trying to raise awareness and funds for research in finding a cure for this horrible disease. SMA is the #1 genetic killer of young children. Right now there is not a cure. However, doctors believe that if funding is received a cure or at least a viable treatment is possible within five years. No parent should ever have to watch their child suffer and die. Let alone a second child.

Want to "Make My Monday"?

There is a way you can make a difference. A way you can help honor the memory of Sydney and Carynne. Please sign the Petition to Cure SMA. It will only take 30 seconds. You won't be inundated with spam mail. Every signature counts. I have blogged about this petition in the past. If you have thought about signing it, but haven't had the time, or planned to do it later, please sign it now. And remember those two beautiful girls who left this world all too soon.

Play along with Makes My Monday with Cheryl

You know you have a toddler..

2010-02-19T07:56:00.000-06:00

...when there is a huge puddle in front of the fridge with no reason for it to be there, no melted ice, no spilled cups...just 2 girls who have discovered they are tall enough for a lot of new things.

Notice how Abby takes her big sister role quite seriously here.

The solution?
Thank God for a little button called "lock"

Otherwise know as "the fun spoiler"

Heh heh heh

Way Back When-esday

2010-02-17T09:04:00.006-06:00

Timeline: August 2009
Ages: 1 year 2 months
7 years old

I am using the Way Backness of this When-esday to post some of my favorite pictures from last summer. The summer heat and laziness robbed me of creativity. And so many things went unposted!

Like this...

This has to be one of my very favorite pictures of the girls. They were just beginning to interact and I love the way that Olivia is checking on Abby to make sure she is as delighted by the water as she was.

She wasn't

Olivia wasted no time and got right into the fountains

Zachary loved being in the "water jail"

The fountains would go off and on randomly
resulting in this...
Which Olivia didn't mind
but Abby did

So while Olivia stayed and enjoyed the water

Abby had her first pizza
while sitting with Daddy!

Olivia had her first pizza too.
She just wanted to take it back in the water with her

Play along with Cheryl!

Blizzard of 2010

2010-02-14T21:42:00.007-06:00

I may or may not have turned this whole house upside down looking for my camera cord. I may have found it. Or I may have gone and bought something else I could download through with my memory card. Whatever!

So if you don't know, the DFW area got over 12 inches of snow this past week. We set all kinds of records with this amount of snowfall!

We actually got about 11 inches here at our house.
That's a ruler right there, by the way.

It has been gorgeous! A true Winter Wonderland.

We, of course, could not wait to get out in it. So we bundled up and out we went. Neither girls liked walking in the snow, but Abby??

This is exactly how she felt about it

She sat like this 95% of the time we were outside.
She was content to nibble off her snowball.

Olivia was better about walking around
She found herself a snowball to eat, too.
Zachary worked on making the "perfect" snowball

Zachary making a snowman
Our snowman!

A mini sled run

I love this picture of Olivia

Some of the neighborhood kids got together
and made a Texas size snowman in our park.
Gary and I took turns taking Zachary sledding
This also shows a great view of the Frisbee golf course.
Please ignore the dog.
Poor thing, we were right behind his house
and he was trying so hard to protect his family and run us all off.
He barked the entire time we were there. The.whole.time.

Abby was more than ready to head inside
which was quite different from the last time it snowed.

Playing in the snow makes for tired, tired zombies
who watch Little Bear for a solid 30 minutes without moving.

I actually got to enjoy a whole cup of coffee with no interruptions.

And that, my friends...

Makes my Monday!!

Play along with Cheryl

iPhone

2010-02-11T15:52:00.000-06:00

So Gary finally convinced me that I needed an iPhone. Olivia killed my little phone, my cute wonderful little phone that I loved more than I think I should have.

So little...so tiny...so cute! I called it my cigarette lighter phone. It had this cool little trill when I opened it. ::sniff sniff:: Ok moving on...barely...

So I needed another phone and it was just logical to get an iPhone. With all the apps that are available, Gary and I can communicate grocery lists, shopping lists, calendars, pictures, and a ton of other things I am not thinking of right now.

The thing is...I'm a PC.

Gary is a Mac...a die hard fan, all the way, would have married any product of Apple if he could, the world should only be run by Apple kinda guy. But really, is there any other type of Mac?

And can I just bird walk here a little bit? Here is where the differences between Macs and PCs really are. PCs, we can accept the fact that everyone is different, that some people want a Mac and some people prefer a PC, and that's ok. Macs refuse to budge from their Macs-are-better seat. It is almost...weird. Almost. Gary and his best friend are both Macs. I tried to discuss this with them one time. I asked them why couldn't they just say that both have things that are good and people can choose what they want. Scott replied that if that was true then they would say it. ::groan:: I give up!

But I have to hand it to Apple's ad campaigns. They are freakin' hilarious!!

OK, back on track here...Umm...where was I?

OH! I was going to ask what apps are the best. If you have an iPhone what apps are must have?

Nothin'

2010-02-04T16:22:00.002-06:00

My camera cord is missing. I have a ton of pictures just waiting to be loaded from the camera. Hopefully I will find it soon and be back to posting.

Domestic Divas

2010-02-01T21:19:00.005-06:00

Abby used to be terrified of the vacuum. She would run away, but then cry and come back in the room. It was like she had to keep tabs on where that monster was!

But this past week, she wanted to be like Daddy.

That's what I am talkin' 'bout!!

Soon cleaning was abandoned
(along with their pants)

I love that they love to read!

Abby may be into her vacuum
but Olivia is into the BLING!

We are still battling the flu here. How long is it supposed to last again??

If I could find my camera cord, I could show you a picture of them lounging with blankets and being pitiful. Oh my the snot, the whinyness (Is that a word?? Spell check doesn't think so. If it's not, it needs to be!)

Privacy Shmivacy

2010-01-29T22:22:00.003-06:00

Yes, that would be Olivia...

outside the bathroom door...

giggling and calling to whoever is inside...

Sometimes you can see her little fingers under the door

Simple Thursday

2010-01-28T08:13:00.003-06:00

The girls have the flu. So sleep has not been going so well this week. But let me tell you, give me the flu any day over Strep! They are clingy and needy, but still feel like playing and going about life as usual. The biggest change we have seen is their energy level. They go, go, go then they come and collapse on us to rest for a little bit then they are off again. So I made this simple tip pretty short since we are doing lots of cuddling here today. I would love to hear how other Moms and women have made life more simple!

My simple tip today is pretty simple in itself. When the girls were younger they HATED to have their faces wiped after a meal. I was tired of fighting them every day so we started a new trend. We would carry them (away from us so we would not get dirty as well) to the sink. I would get a handful of water and rub around on their faces. They LOVED it, especially if a tapped on their mouths for a bit and let them make the "Bwahbwah" sound. Then I would rinse off their hands and dry them off. It was a perfect solution for us and it made our lives so much easier there for awhile. They don't mind their mouths getting wiped these days, but oh! How they would fight us when they were younger!

I have so many ideas about simplifying life I want to share. I have found them all over! I would love to hear how other Moms and women make their lives a little more simple. It can be anything at all! I know my previous 2 how focused on my kids, but if you have a great tip about cleaning out your car (I have one of these too!) or how not to let the mail clutter the counter up, share away!

Wanna share?? Link it up, baby! Grab the code below for the button. Paste the code in the Edit Html tab on the post. After you write your post about simplifying your life and publish it, click on the title of the post in your blog. This should open a new page where that post is in the address. This is the link you copy and paste below. This way people can click on the link and it will take them directly to the info they are looking for.

AT&T

2010-01-26T09:26:00.000-06:00

As in...always talking and talking.

Zachary certainly got his motor mouth from me, according to my mom. I have been waiting to see if the girl's follow in our voice steps.

And by the way...do anyone else's toddlers speak Japanese? I swear that is what it sounds like they are speaking. We do a lot of "Oh yeah?" "Oh, that is great!" "Really?" as they babble to us. Olivia babbles a whole lot. Abby says more actual words. They both can get their point across by pointing and babbling. I can usually figure out what they want even if they aren't saying actual words.

Well, besides here...

Abby says, "Hush!" when Olivia is messing with her toy. Hee hee!

They have the cutest way of saying yes. Abby says, "aHem". It started out as a little laugh that evolved into this. I actually got it on video along with her saying "OOoo" at the end.

Yeah, thanks for starting her on Jelly Bellys, Daddy. She has SUCH a sweet tooth.

Olivia says, "Hum" for yes.

You can hear her say it towards the end of this video of
Gary reading to them both

And sometimes she says "Yeah."

Which she says really quickly right at the first in this one,

but I couldn't get her to say it again.

Lately their little words have blown up!

Abby says:
Mama
Dada
Zach
Grana
Grandad
No (she has this one down to a Science!)
duck
dog
Elmo
snack
cheese
shoes
"I did it"
that
book
"What's that?"
shoo-whee (like stinky)
eye
nose
mouth
hot
Night night
outside
hush

Animal Sounds:
duck
cow
elephant
cat
wolf
lion
tiger
horse
monkey
owl
car sounds

Olivia
Mama, Mommy, Mamoo, Mawmawmmy
(in other words, Mama said a thousand different ways)
Dada
Zach
Grana
Grandad
that
No (but hers more like Nah)
yeah
duck
dog
Barney
Blanket (bah)
book
shoes
socks
car
bow
shoo-whee (like stinky)
nose
hot
night night
eat

Animal Sounds:
duck
elephant
cat
wolf
lion
tiger
owl
monkey
car sounds

I am pretty sure it will always be pretty chatty at our house.

New video

2010-01-23T16:00:00.001-06:00

Here are some new cute video.

The girls get down to Michael Jackson. In the last few seconds Abby does a really funny turn right to the music.

Answering Your Questions - 2

2010-01-22T07:33:00.000-06:00

When I asked people to de-lurk last week, I got a great response! Thank you so much! Part 1 Q&A can be found here.

#4 from real life friend and former teaching co-worker, Rachel of The Bug's Life.
~Do you miss teaching?
I miss teaching; the kids, the creative lesson planning, the poster and big book making, the songs, the dances, calendar time, the connections, Writer's Workshop, Reader's Workshop, reading groups, handing out Cowboy Cash, making butter, green eggs and ham, center time, reading books, Name of the Day...I miss all aspects of the teaching process. I miss being part of a group of adults, being part of a team.
What I don't miss are the forms, the tests, the TPRI, the DRA, the IEPs, the stress, the silly co-worker fights, the pee smell, the being stuck in one room for 8+ hours a day without the option of using the bathroom at any point. I do not miss my bosses, but I miss my co-workers more than I can ever say. :-)

#5 from Lisa at Sophie and Hannah's Big Adventure. I swear our girls are exactly alike. Sophie is SO much like Abby and Hannah has a lot of Olivia's qualities. I find myself nodding along to most of her posts, thinking "Yes! Mine do that too!"
~Do you take your girls to story time or group activities?
Oh, I am so bad. I don't. I know I should. This is one of my goals this year. We need to get out of the house more. Honestly, I am a little terrified at the idea of me handling them on my own in public, especially when they are not contained in a stroller or basket. BUT, like I said, I will be working on this. I would like to do more playgroups and other things like this.

#6 from Monica at The Jonas Family - Life with twin boys.
~How did you do with the big list that you wanted to do in 2009? I think it was on the side of your blog for a while...did you get any of it accomplished and are you still working on it 2010?
I am still working on it this year. In fact, I only got 13 crossed off. Ugh! You can see which ones on the left there. I am re-writing those goals for this year and hope to get more than that crossed off. It did help me to have that list reminding me what needed to be done. I think 1-50 should have been survive.

#7 from my cousin, Brook at The Life of Little Lady England!
~When are you coming to OK for a visit?
Ha ha! Soon, I hope. I miss seeing you all very much. I wish we lived closer so that we could hang out more often. My question to you? When are YOU coming down for a visit?? ;-)

My last question came from Heather at 3 under 3.
~I am amazed by your ability to NOT be 100% crazy with all the strep issues. Did you have the appt with the ENT doctor yet?
I answered this a little when I talked about our sleep issues in the first Q&A post, but I update. We are still Strep free!! YAY! If we think they are getting it, we will go straight to the ENT for a more thorough culture. If it continues to be a problem, then we will be taking out tonsils. I am hoping we have knocked it out for good! Sleep is also going SO much better. Bless Gary's tough heart! Olivia is now sleeping through the night about 5 nights out of the week. Abby will sleep through about 3 nights a week, but she only wakes up once and just needs us to cover her back up and sit there with her a few minutes until she is back to sleep. Halleluiah! (Spell check went crazy with that word. Is that right?? It looks right??)

Also, thanks to the following people who either de-lurked or posted a sweet comment:
Cheryl of Twinfatuation
Sara, who reads at night
Kelly of Catching Up With Cooper, another real life friend and fellow teacher co-worker
Nikki, who I have known for about 20+ years
and to Anonymous, who just confused the crap out of me.

P.S.

My blog crush was one of the commenters.

Simplify Your Life

2010-01-21T08:00:00.001-06:00

A favorite blog of mine, Your Home Based Mom, does a word of the year. She did one last year and I thought about joining in. All I could think of was “survive”, so that was my secret word for myself last year. And survive I did. But this year I felt a lot of things come together to play along with her, openly with accountability. Her word last year was Joy. Lovely word…one of my favorites, but it was not to be mine.

My word has literally been popping up everywhere I go. There have been signs, literal wooden signs, with my word on them, ad campaigns, books, store windows, t-shirts, magazine articles, blog posts, the list goes on and on; each one with words of wisdom that center around my word. Last Fall I went to a craft fair with all kinds of merchants and vendors. There was a Vinyl Wall Decals vendor there and I stopped to talk, because you KNOW how much I love the wall words. After sifting through the sales items and the catalog, I knew I wouldn't be buying anything that night. She mentioned a free sample and I gladly accepted.

She handed me this small sample:

I almost laughed out loud. I knew then that Someone was trying to get my attention and get my attention He did. I mentally threw in the towel. I started this post that same night. I have worked on it on and off for months now. I knew it needed to be posted, to be shared. I think one of the very best things we can do for each other as women*, whether you are a mom or not, is to share what we have, what we know, our knowledge of how we can help each other. So with this in mind...

Simplify Your Life is born.

So here's what I am thinking. We all need a little simplicity in our lives. It looks different for everyone. To me, simplicity is a lack of chaos. One of my goals this year is to simplify things in my life and I need your help. I need ideas and I am sure I am not the only one out there. I figured Thursdays are the best day to do this since it is the least used day for a meme. It doesn't have a cute little rhyme to it, does it? But that's ok! Share away! It can be anything at all. Leave it in the comments or post it in your blog. Let's have fun with it! I even made this nifty little button for you to grab.

Ok, here's mine for this week. One of the ways I simplify my life is by sorting and rotating toys. We have a small toy store here in the house and for many months I picked up a ton of toys every day (or not, whatever). I knew something had to give.

We already had this storage shelf and the colored tubs.

I put anywhere from 5-6 toys in each tub. I made sure there was a stacking toy, a sorting toy, a musical toy, all different types of toys in each tub. I brought just that 1 tub down from the shelf every day. They get rotated each day so the toys are always moving. I also get one big toy down a day, like their ball popper or animal train. So, for the most part, I only have to pick up 1 tub of toys a day. Unless you count the 1000s of books they get out a day, but that is for another post. It has definitely made my life a little more simple.

Your turn! I am going to try to get a Mr Linky up with this post but if it's not there, you know I ran out of time.

*Dudes, if there are any of you reading, feel free to get in on this. It's not just for us girls.

Wish List Wednesday

2010-01-20T09:17:00.000-06:00

My fellow MOM and good friend hosts a fun post opportunity. I have been meaning to play along for awhile now so I am just going to jump right in.

On my wish list this Wednesday:

Uggs or other boots to keep my feet warm

Except I want them in Chocolate Brown, please.

Time

Time to blog
Time to exercise
Time to clean
Time to nap
Time to shop
Time to cook
Time to read

Time time time

And since I don't have much of it today, there is where my list ends. I will save more for next week...

Vacation

2010-01-15T22:37:00.002-06:00

I am in Tenn with my BFF, Farrell and her husband for the long weekend. I am hoping to get a little blog time in. Maybe so. All I know is I am going to sleep all night and eat food while it is still warm. I might even shower ever day. We are set up for massages. Ahhhh!

See you soon...

Answering your questions - 1

2010-01-13T22:38:00.000-06:00

Thank you SO much for everyone who de-lurked this week! Now on to the questions - Fun fun!

Question #1 from Jennifer from The Foster Family
Who is your blog crush?
Oh crap! Like I said in my comments I should have seen this coming from a mile away. And...how can I answer without hurting feelings? Because you know who you are, really you do. I know...you're thinking, me? Yes, you. I love your blog. I love your attitude and your sense of humor. Love love love love you!!

Question #2 from Soliloquy from She Just Had To Say It
What one thing could your husband do for you that would fully communicate his deep and undying affection for you? (I hope he's reading.) ((You're welcome.))
Ah yes, Gary does read and if he truly loved me, he would get contacts. For reals...
In all seriousness, (and turn away if you are squeamish) Gary shows me deep and undying affection in so many little ways everyday. There is not a day that goes by when I don't feel completely loved by him. He is the best thing that has ever come my way and I am blessed beyond measure. And Thank You...for reals...

Question #3 from Linda from Twice The Love
How are the girls sleeping these days???
Even though you caught up on some previous posts I am going to answer this. We have felt like we shouldn't let the girls cry a whole lot at nap or bed time because of their sore throats...since last March. They have been sick off and on since then. Their throat cultures came back negative on Friday (whoo-hoo!). The specialist said for us to come back there to get a thorough culture the next time we think they have it. If they continue to get it, we will go ahead with tonsil removal. I am really really hoping it is gone for good. I think the Penicillin shots they got last week knocked it out.

OK, on to the sleep issues. Gary got tough with them this week. With the last round of Strep came stuffy noses, coughing, and misery all around. In order for any of us to get any kind of rest we started getting them out of their cribs to sleep with us in our bed or sitting up sleeping in the recliner. They had started getting up 4-5 times a night again. This went on for weeks and we were exhausted! And I don't do well on no sleep. I cannot function. Things were heading South fast. Hence the getting tough on Gary's part. Starting this last Monday night we are not getting them out of their cribs at night anymore. We do go in and comfort them, but do not take them out. It has been a rough few nights, but we are staying strong. If they had their own rooms, it would be SO much easier because just when one is settling down the other will wake up, only to settle down just as the other gets a fresh wind. It has gone on for HOURS at night. We know it will get better, we know this. We know it will take time and we believe with all of our poor little hearts that sleep is in our near future. So keep us in your prayers. I would have already given in (I know!! BAD SARA!!) but Gary is tough as nails about this and I know he is right. (See? One more thing he does that shows his devotion to my and our family)

And I am going to stop here for now. I will answer the rest of the questions in the next post. If you have any more just leave them here or in the de-lurking post and I will answer them. Even if you don't have a Blogger account, you can comment as Anonymous and ask me anything. And you feel like it, you can actually put your own name so I know who is de-lurking.

De-Lurk Here

2010-01-11T16:44:00.003-06:00

Guess what?? It's that time again...

Last year I had several readers who came out and showed me some love. Some were new and some were regulars. Some have become regulars blogs that I read :-) Some of them, I am not even sure still read. And one of them? I have a secret blog crush on.

This year I have decided to combine this post with a answering question session. I have never done this before so I know you all have those burning questions you want to ask.

Like: How are you not completely insane? Heehee, how do you know I am not?

Anything is up for discussion. Weeell...you know, within the PG-13 rating at the most.

So come on! De-lurk! Say hi! Ask me anything! 'Cuz seriously...

Sickies

2010-01-06T22:54:00.002-06:00

Abby tested positive AGAIN for Strep on Christmas Eve (yeah, that's not a place you wanna be an a holiday) The pedi put them both on antibiotics just to be on the safe side. On Monday, two days after finishing a heavy duty antibiotic, Olivia is now testing positive and Abby is negative. Both girl's throats are fire engine red and they are miserable. They each got 2 shots of Penicillin, but are not on any antibiotics. On top of that they have coughs, yucky coughs that end in throwing up. We are so tired. This is the reason I have been absent. I hope they bounce back soon and I can get back into the swing of things.

We are going to an ENT dr on Friday to see what can be done for them. They have been fighting Strep on and off since last March. We are tired, so so very tired of it. And sleep?? Fo-getaboutit...only a few hours at a time then one or both of them are with one of us in bed and the other in the recliner. Infancy, anyone?? I took those 4-5 hours we were getting for granted that is for sure.

I just wanted to check in really quick. I will be back soon with some cutey pictures.

Oh, and terrible twos have hit Abby like a Mack truck. Holy Moly!!

Way Back When-esday

2009-12-30T12:09:00.004-06:00

This is for you, honey!

Christmas picture 2008

Christmas picture 2009

We only had time for 1 take this year because we were needing to get to my family's. Normally I take one until I am 100% satisfied, but this was good enough.

Is life easier? YES!

Calmer? Nope!

Play along with Cheryl at Twinfatuation

Holiday Traditions - North Park Mall

2009-12-29T22:13:00.011-06:00

My laptop is finally fixed!! Hooray!! Now, get ready for a mad dash of catching up on all things Christmas.

First up is one of my families holiday traditions. Every year we head to North Park Mall in Dallas. They go all out on decorations and exhibits. I think we have been going to this mall every year for about 10-11 years now. I remember going a few times during my childhood, but it was the start of a family tradition when grandchildren entered into it.

Here is a Santa and his reindeer made with
nuts, apples, marshmallows, and other edibles.

Under that is a turtle and duck pond thingy. The kids love to watch!

Last year, the girls did little more than exist.

Here the girls sit with my brother and my mom.
Oh my GOSH, what a difference a year makes...

This year the girls were old enough to enjoy the sights.

Window shopping
Hey, we start 'em early

Olivia with Grana

Abby getting plenty of attention from her brother and cousins

One of our favorite things to see is The Ronald Mc.Donald House toy train exhibit.

Abby pointed at everything

Olivia loved this little window where she could see the train come by.

They set up the trains among all kinds of settings, including...

Dallas

along with the Ronald Mc.Donald House there next to the hospital

An old western town complete with a native american village

The white house

New York

Mount Rushmore
Zachary with cousin Cameron
A circus

Check out this street scene
And you can't forget the Porsche dealership (HA!)

Another favorite is the Scrooge puppet show.

Ah Scrooge, I remember seeing him when I was 3 years old. He asked me how old I was and I said , "3!". He commented how I was the only child who said my age and didn't hold up fingers. So I then very delicately held up my 3 fingers at him while the crowd laughed.

He is crude and hilarious in his bah-humbugness. He insults a man's fashion sense. He squirts the kids with water. He berates people for watching him instead of working. He comments how one particular man was here last week with his other girl! Every year he closes his side shutter so the people on one side can't see him.

Last year both Collin, my nephew

and Zachary was teased about not being on Santa's good list. Zachary has been called out the past 3 years. He was a little bummed when he didn't get picked this year.

Just look at the pure enjoyment of it!

Well, except Abby over there. She lost sight of us for a bit.

We all laugh right along with him and groan at his bad jokes. And he tells the sames ones...every.year. And we really don't care!

The whole group!
Collin, Jordan, Cameron, Zachary, and the ladies
2 of my other nephews were not there

My brother taught Olivia a new trick
"Cheese!"

After all that excitement, Abby was done

What I didn't realize was...
as I took pictures of Olivia's "cheese" face
how close Abby was...

to falling completely asleep.

Poor baby

Coming up are more Christmas catching up posts!

~Merry Christmas~

2009-12-25T01:15:00.007-06:00

Merry Christmas

May your day be joyous as we remember...

No laptop = sucketh

2009-12-21T13:09:00.002-06:00

I have so.many. posts it is unreal built up in my mind. I have putting up the tree, Christmas decorations, Christmas traditions, "favorite things" gift-giving, blah blah this, and blah blah that. I have also not read hardly any blogs lately so I am going through blog withdrawal.

I need to download my pictures to my office computer, which I am on now, and get busy. However every time I step over the gate or even mess with the gate, Olivia runs full out toward me yelling, "Nonononononono!." The only reason I am on here now is that Olivia is still taking her nap. Abby is up but all she wants me to do is watch her jump on Zachary every little bit.

Some good things that have come out of my laptop being sick
~No longer on those stupid Facebook games. Anyone play them? Oh my gosh, can you say addictive?? I have not cooked in my cafe, harvested my crops, decorated my house, or fed my pet in over a week (!!) I know they are totally stupid games, but I enjoy them. I also know what a time suck they are.

Ok, I have had my post fix for today. I hope all is well with my internet family :-)

Hopefully I can jump on here tonight after the girls go to sleep and post like crazy!

P.S. and just in time since Olivia just woke up.

BlogHer

2009-12-16T20:15:00.002-06:00

So I got a check today...

from BlogHer...

You know, that thing over there ---------------------------------->

That button I know you all click...every time you visit me...

Right??

Well, it was for $27...for a year of service...

Worth it?

Should I drop it for the Amazon deal?

I am pretty sure I can't do both on this same site.

Open another site just for reviews and such??

Thoughts??

Oh, and my laptop is still out of commission. I am getting a small amount done around the house. Plus, I am using...ahem...Gary's Mac...BUT I am SO not happy about it.

And yes I know used a bajillion of these ... ... ... ...

I love using these ...

No Internet Connection = withdrawals

2009-12-13T16:16:00.002-06:00

My laptop suddenly decided it didn't want to connect to the internet. I do have another computer in the office but it has a baby gate on the door. Even as I type this I have had to break up a fight over a wipe and now Abby is crying at the gate. Hopefully I can get it back up and running soon.

Excuse me while I go pick up my overly dramatic daughter from the floor where she is now laying with her head down in the carpet.

First Piggies!

2009-12-09T07:38:00.000-06:00

Real piggies!

Christmas Picture continued

2009-12-08T10:04:00.008-06:00

OK, so the letters was a huge flop. I was determined to get a good picture because the offer of FREE Christmas Photo cards ended that night. Yeah, yeah, just call me Mrs. Procrastination .

We moved to the tree and I had another memory of my friend Casee's Christmas card where her kids were reading a book together. PERFECT! Weeeell...I think her two were a little older,.

But we set it up

Poor Zachary is trying so hard!
At least he is smiling

But that didn't last long

Ok, so they are all looking, but geesh, look at those expressions.
Except for little miss Abby over there looking sweet...for one picture.

Then I just started snapping for the fun of it

But then Abby was DONE...and so was Daddy.

This is the end result
Not perfect, but as good as can be expected from all that mess.

And good news...

Seehere.com has extended their free photo cards through the month, just enter the code newbaby when checking out. You will have to pay shipping this time, but hey, it is still a great deal. If you have already done your Christmas Cards, Gina at Moneywise Mom has a great idea for Thank You cards.

Will I be doing them?? Umm..no, not even a little bit.

Opposite of Bragging - Picture FAIL

2009-12-07T09:43:00.000-06:00

This was the inspiration

A good friend has 3 kids and she took individual shots of each child behind a letter. Brilliant!

So, do I head to the nearest Wal-mart to copy her? No way! I am El Cheapo! I get the idea to do my own letters at home.

Oookay!
I cut these out of heavy cardboard and then covered them with wrapping paper.
After the second cut from the knife I may or may not have said a few naughty words.

Let the failing begin

Note to self, 7 = perfect age to pose
1 year olds? Not so much

Seriously, what was I thinking? Did I really expect my two 1 year olds to POSE? The ones who don't even SMILE for pictures. Did I REALLY think they would just hold those letters, on the stairs, and smile at the camera??

BUT...then I got this

And I thought, maybe maybe we could salvage this
I only had to get Olivia with the "Y"

Taking a break from being a brat to be cute with Daddy.

OK! I have an idea.
Maybe Zachary could hold the letter and the girls could sit with him!
Perfect!

Except the 7 year old forgot what he was doing all of a sudden.
Seriously??

::sigh::

Snow!

2009-12-02T09:33:00.005-06:00

What?? I KNOW! Snow in Texas!

We are so excited! We woke up this morning to a Winter Wonderland...well, as close as we get here in Texas in December. For the past several years, if it snows, it snows in February or March. Zachary was so bummed that he had to go to school. I bundled up the girls and went outside, before we even had breakfast.

Mom, what IS this stuff?

They ventured out

I love this picture of them looking down at it trying to figure out what it is.
And yes, if you think they look strange in their coats you are right.
Olivia should have on the pink 18 month one.
And Abby should have the 24 month purple one.
But I am so used to "their" colors that I just put them on.
I mean, look at their pants.

I stepped out in the street to take this one and they did not like it!
They wanted me right there with them.
Especially Olivia who immediately followed me.
Abby was very curious.
"I wonder if it tastes like ice?"
Yep, pretty much.
Little red nose :-)
Olivia was curious, too.
But she was a little top heavy

And down she went

So she was ready to head inside.

Abby was not.

And by the way, it is now melted :-(. Ah well, it was fun while it lasted.

Can Count

2009-12-01T08:50:00.002-06:00

Wow! The grand total was 39 so I rounded it on up to 40. I guess I have some shopping to do.

We are headed to the doctor today. Olivia has this barking cough that kept her up a lot last night. She ended up in our bed and she slept better. Abby had this last week and I was prepared for it to be croup, but it was Strep...AGAIN! She has had Strep Throat every two months since April. I am sure this is what Olivia has now even though we took her in the same day to get swabbed.

I can't wait to share some holiday traditions with you! We got our tree up without too much hassle from the girls, which was a surprise. They were so excited! Those pictures are coming soon.

And it's over...

2009-11-30T19:49:00.002-06:00

And I only missed a few days.

Thanks for hanging out with me this month.

Santa Picture

2009-11-29T23:08:00.002-06:00

We had a plan! Olivia is the shy one so we would put her on Zachary's lap on Santa's lap. Maybe she wouldn't realize what was happening. Much to our surprise, Olivia was fine...not smiling, but just fine. Abby immediately started crying. We put her on Zach's other knee, so we could quickly get this picture. Abigail was crying a second before it and after it, but we caught it just right.

More pictures of our wonderful day to come.

Cheating

2009-11-29T00:50:00.001-06:00

...Completely...

Go here for a super cute video of the girls laughing

Thankful

2009-11-27T23:21:00.002-06:00

...For laughter

THIS is why the last year was so worth it.

Happy Thanksgiving

2009-11-25T16:01:00.005-06:00

May your pants be stretchy and your plate be full.
May laughter be plentiful and smiles wide.

AFOMFT Giveaway

2009-11-25T11:46:00.002-06:00

I would love to win this family necklace

Giveaway from one of my favorite blogs

Thankful

2009-11-24T21:03:00.000-06:00

I am thankful...

for THIS...

Oh MY! Yummy.

It has made my daily 2 cups of coffee even more tasty. More than once it has crossed my mind that I could actually drink it straight. But I refrained...barely.

Thankful

2009-11-23T11:35:00.000-06:00

I am thankful...

For early bedtimes which mean Zachary can
build his tent without worry of destruction.
Snacks are somehow better in a tent.

Much to our surprise, the girls just climbed
right in this morning without destroying it.

We then brought out the real tent
Abby was especially thankful for Zachary
The only picture that is even close to not blurry.
They were having way too much fun to pose for mom.

Thankful

2009-11-22T07:48:00.004-06:00

These are from our engagement pictures taken in 2006

I am thankful...

For this wonderful wonderful man...

Who I can lean on when needed...

Who I love to laugh with

Who I could love on every day for the rest of my life

Who I love love love

Who puts up with my silliness
(hee hee)

Thankful

2009-11-21T22:50:00.000-06:00

I am thankful...

For my role as these little peoples mommy...