Biscuits and Gravy

Doctors and stuff

2012-02-10T09:49:00.002-06:00

It's snowing.

Big, puffy flakes. Slowly falling down.

It's kinda pretty.

I can say that because it's almost the middle of February, which means we are now closer to the end of Winter than the beginning. Joy!

My hands have been bothering me a lot lately, lots of swelling and pain, so I went to the doctor. After some tests and bloodwork, she thinks I have Carpal Tunnel. I'm to wear these wrist stabilizers on both hands and go back in 6 weeks.

I look like an idiot with these things on.

Actually, I'm hoping I just feel like I look like an idiot and don't truly look like one. Don't tell me if I'm wrong.

Maybe someone will think I'm some kinda athlete that got injured during a game. (On both wrists?) Maybe. Sadly, the truth is I'm a Stay At Home Mom who is rarely on the computer, doesn't have any hobbies like painting or carpentry and somehow got Carpal Tunnel in BOTH wrists.

What the frack.

Doc said my sleeping position could have something to do with it. Since my nose surgery was (extremely!!) unsuccessful, I do have to position my hands to help open my airway when I lay in bed. Otherwise, I have to sleep with my mouth open and I hate that feeling. Mouth breathing. Ugh.

I wouldn't be surprised if the Carpal Tunnel is a result of the shitty surgery. So many other things have bothered me since then, emotionally and physically. I truly regret going to that surgeon and trusting him to actually do his job and do it well.

I cannot breathe any better than before. Honestly, it is worse. And I really don't like the way it looks. Makes me sick just thinking about the whole thing. I feel like an idiot for picking that doctor and going thru with it.

I need to find another plastic surgeon that will fix my problems. I'm going to start making appointments and hopefully will find one that will do a good job.

Fingers crossed.

Feel the love

2012-02-01T09:10:00.004-06:00

At school, the kids have file folders that they use to store completed pictures they've drawn, pieces of an art project they're working on but didn't have time to finish, etc. The teachers use the folders as a way to send misc paperwork home. They get sent home with the kids at least once a week, depending on what's in them. Sometimes they come home packed. Sometimes with just one piece of paper. It all depends on what the child wants to work on that week.

All of the students have access to the files at all times. So, occasionally, they make little notes, cards or pictures for each other and place them in the person's file. It's really cute.

Here are some of the pictures and cards I found in Connor & Sasha's files yesterday:

"Me and Sasha" by Connor
I LOVE that my kids have so much love in their hearts that they feel the need to sit down and draw a picture like this. It makes me so happy and all warm and fuzzy inside.
And if you look carefully, you can see Connor even drew his glasses.

My Easter card from Connor:
Front: "Mom. Happy Easter."
I've been told this is a picture of me carrying an Easter basket.

Inside: "eggs will come soon."
Eggs will come soon?? BAHAHAHAHA!! This is pure AWESOME! It put a huge smile on my face. Totally not what I expected to see. I mean, who else but a 5 year old would put something like this inside a card?

It's perfect. I LOVE IT!

This was in Connor's file, from Sasha:
"I love you Connor. From Sasha"

First off, I have to say how adorable I think it is that she writes her Y's backwards. I know I should probably correct her, but I think it's too damn cute. She'll get it eventually.

The fact that she sat down and wrote this for her brother is so cool. A little love note.

This was on the back:
"You love me"
Ummm...ok, Sasha. I know she's just stating a fact here, but....um. Not really what you put on a love note. "You love me" hahaha. And, knowing Sasha, it sounds like more of a command than a statement.

I just hope she doesn't do this with her future boyfriends.

Memory Lane

2012-01-30T15:51:00.005-06:00

Connor's room is finished. Walls painted, furniture and toys moved back in, curtains and closet doors up. Done. Pictures to come.

I sorted thru his closet to get rid of some clutter. In it, I found a hat box crammed with pictures, tiny booties, tiny onesies, ultrasound pictures, and all sorts of baby stuff.

Just what I wanted to see after getting all sentimental about painting over the baby stuff and giving my son a more grown-up looking room!

Sigh.

Here are some of the things I found. I hope you find them as sweet as I do.

Connor & Sasha were born on 9/2/06. Six weeks before their due date. They spent 11 days in the hospital (or "hostibal", if you're Sasha) after they were born. They needed to figure out how to suck/eat and regulate their own temperature before they could come home.

Here are my little twins, just a couple days old.

Connor already looks like an old wise man. This only progressed as he got older. I'll never forget how long his fingers were!

Here is one of Sasha's preemie-sized onesies:

I put it up to the light switch to put the size into perspective. (And, you can see the new color of Connor's room!) The kids were so small, Preemie clothes were HUGE on them.

I knew they were tiny back then, but I didn't realize just HOW small they were. Looking at these Preemie clothes always amazes me. Especially now that they're both in size 6 and are in 90-95% in height and weight.

Then I found these:

OH. MY. GOD!! Look at those eyes!! Those pigtails!! Isn't she the sweetest thing EVER??!!

This was at their first trip to the dentist. They were about 19 months old.

I miss my little Moose man. He was so squishy and cuddly, like a little koala bear. He still loves to wear hats. He's got one on right now, actually. Thankfully, he still loves to cuddle, too.

It's amazing how you really don't appreciate the simple things until they are gone. The chubby cheeks. The wobbly little walks they had before they really got their balance.

I know that 4 years from now, when my kids are NINE!!, I will look at pictures of them now and miss these days.

Like days when Sasha wears these glow-in-the-dark glasses. All. Day. Long. Even in the grocery store. I love how quirky this child is.

And when Connor comes up to me with whatever his Creation du Jour is. Because now he truly cares about my opinion and wants to share EVERYTHING with me.

Five is a great age. But, really, they're all great ages. Sure, each one has their challenges. Everyone has their little catch phrases for them: Terrible Three's, Fucking Four's, etc. But, that misery (and, yes, it IS misery at times!!) is short-lived. The good is what you remember most.

Well, that was unexpected!

2012-01-25T12:41:00.003-06:00

Yesterday, I began getting Connor's room ready to be painted. Gone will be the yellow & blue walls, the fish & the beachy wallpaper border we used to cover up my lame attempt at painting waves. Boy, was that a hilarious disaster.

Taking out the toys, furniture and dust bunnies was fairly easy. I got the outlet covers and switch plates off. I took down the curtains. Luckily, his room is big enough that I can leave his full-size bed in the middle of the room and work around it.

It was all simple and quick. No biggie.

That is, until I started taking down the fish.

You see, the top half of the walls is painted yellow, the bottom is blue, with the beachy border in the middle. On the blue part, we put Wallies that looked like fish. If you're unfamiliar with Wallies, they're pretty much like wallpaper cutouts. You can find them in any shape or size. They are easy to put up and take down.

When I started taking them down, I started to get really sad. I looked around at the room we worked so hard on, getting ready for the two little babies that were about to make their arrival. Those babies are gone now. They're 5 year olds, attending Kindergarten. Coming home with maps of Europe and books they've created showing all the layers of the Earth.

I'm not one to get all sentimental about things like this. I remember when they turned one, everyone kept saying, "Can you believe a whole year has gone past? They're ONE!! So sad! No more babies!"

And all I could think was:
Yes. I CAN believe they're one. It FEELS like more than a year has passed!

And, since I'm such a task-oriented person, getting rid of the bottles, going thru potty training, moving them from cribs to beds, etc. were all things I had to cross off my list. Stuff that needed to be done as my kids grew up. I never really got all sappy and sad about them being gone. I looked forward to what was ahead.

So, this is why I surprised myself yesterday, looking at the room. All the toys and furniture were out. It seemed so quiet. It brought me back to when they were babies. And, tomorrow, when I paint over that yellow and blue, with a more "mature" color, it will all be gone. Permanently.

Sniff.

Running

2012-01-14T20:08:00.003-06:00

I love running.

When I started a couple years ago, I had no idea how much I would enjoy it. I always saw "those people" running on the side of the road, sweating, panting, etc. and feel twinges of jealousy. I wanted to be a Runner, but I loathed exercise. Growing up, you would see me with a sketchbook in my hand instead of participating in sports.

I began running to lose weight and tone up that "marshmallow" look I had begun getting. Thru a friend's recommendation, I started the C25K program. I was amazed at how quickly my body started changing. I didn't have much weight to lose, but I was losing it! And I had calf muscles! That were visible!! It was awesome!

Not only that, but I found myself actually enjoying running. I started looking forward to lacing up my shoes and hitting the pavement. I was amazed.

Me? Enjoying running? But, isn't this....exercise??

The thing is, at a some point, it stopped being exercise and turned into a lifestyle. I was logging miles I never thought possible. I ran a few races. I subscribed to Runners World magazine. I talked about it all the time. I loved running. I was a Runner.

And then, for some reason, I stopped running.

The last time I ran was April 2011. April. Almost an entire year has passed since I felt that rush from completing a run. Since I pushed myself so hard I nearly threw up. Since I cleared my head and felt peaceful.

April. Ugh.

I'm not sure why so much time has passed. I do know I thought about running all the time. But, thoughts aren't actions.

So, this week, I started the C25K program again. During my runs (well, mostly "walks" right now), I've cramped up, had trouble breathing, and forced myself to hop on the treadmill (a.k.a. dreadmill) when all I wanted to do was sit on the couch in my pj's. But, after each of those runs, I've felt awesome. Happier. My head a bit clearer.

This Christmas, a friend gave me this beautiful bracelet:

I LOVE it.

It reminds me where I used to be when I was a Runner. "Run. Eat. Sleep. Repeat."

Brilliant.

That is exactly the mindset I had before I stopped running. I want to get there again. I WILL get there. It's gonna suck, but I am determined. I'm going to keep wearing my bracelet and keep running.

Vroom! Vroom!

2012-01-13T20:01:00.004-06:00

Boy, have the past few days been busy! Let's see...

Kim and I made the decision to definitely get rid of the van & buy a car. So, Monday he went to CarMax to see what they'd give us for the van as opposed to trading it in when we bought the car from the other dealership. As it turned out, selling it to them would put $3,500 in our pockets.

Yahooie!!

There's no way we would've gotten that much if we had traded it in, so we agreed to go with CarMax's offer, which was only good for seven days.

No problem.

We decided to go back to CarMax Thursday (yesterday), get rid of the van, and go car shopping Friday morning while the kids were in school. Easy peasy.

Well, that is until we saw the weather forecast for Thursday.

They were predicting 8" of snow Thursday into Friday, with up to 35mph winds. Good times. Being the snow veterans that we are, we knew that the roads would be a disaster. This is our first significant snowfall this winter and the first snowfall is normally the worst when it comes to driving. Even with 3", people would be driving like morons.

So, this put us in a bit of a situation. We had two choices:
1. Go Wednesday. Kim was working from home & could take the rest of the day off. The kids could stay at his folks house while we bought the new car. But, this meant Sasha would have to miss ballet. I knew she would be devastated to miss dance.

2. Wait until Saturday. We couldn't go on Friday because the lot & all the cars would be covered with snow. Test driving would be less than fantastic because of the snowy roads. But, we weren't even sure if everything would be cleaned up by Saturday. And, they were closed on Sunday. And, we only had until Monday for the offer on the van from CarMax. And, what if it snowed again by then????? And what would the new offer from CarMax be if we waited a week or so??? AND.....

I'm kidding. There are no more "and's".

I made the decision that Sasha would have to miss ballet and we needed to do all of this Wednesday afternoon/night. I felt awful about her missing dance, but I didn't think there was another option.

So, Kim went to CarMax and did the van thing while I picked the kids up from school. Sasha cried her eyes out when I told her about ballet. I felt like the worst parent ever.

Anyway, The plan was: go get Kim from CarMax, sign some papers, drop kids off at the inlaws, go get the new car, be home at a reasonable time.

It all went to plan. Well, except for being home at a reasonable time. We were at the dealership for over SIX HOURS.

I'm sorry, let me rephrase that:
over six FUCKING hours!!!

Sorry for the F Bomb, but holy moly. I'm not even going to get into the whole thing. At least not right now. Let's just say, I hate that place and am never going there again.

The good news is that I DID buy a car that I loooooove! And we got a good deal on it. Our monthly payments are much lower than before and I can't wait to see what kind of gas mileage I get.

So, here it is:
Isn't she purdy? I snapped this picture when they brought it into the service area so we could look at it in the light and out of the cold. It's a 2012 Hyundai Sonata SE Turbo.

I'm glad we went on Wednesday instead of waiting for the weekend. We got it done and over with before the snow arrived.

I do a happy dance in my brain whenever I look at this picture. Or get in my car. Or think about it. Happy happy!

Winter & Cars

2012-01-08T10:37:00.003-06:00

Last night, Kim decided to start a fire. It's our first one of the season and the kids were soooo excited about it. They enthusiastically helped bring in some logs and Connor said,

Can we make some hot cocoa and sit in front of the fire??!!

We skipped the hot cocoa since it was literally right before bedtime and pumping my children full of sugar minutes before expecting them to fall asleep isn't something I tend to do. So, they took a blanket and laid down next to each other, enjoying the fire.

It's amazing that it is January 8 and this is our first fire this winter. We've really lucked out with the weather this year. Today, it's going to be 40*! 50* on Tuesday!

In January!

In CHICAGO!!

Fingers crossed it stays like this. But, having lived in Chicago for nearly 35 years I'm not holding my breath. I know better.

More on the car...
Yesterday, we took the car seats out of the van and put them in Kim's car. It wasn't nearly as squished as I had thought it would be. After running some errands, it appears the main issue is getting the kids used to opening and closing the doors. Connor & Sasha are used to automatic doors. Push a button and get out/in. Simple.

Having to open heavy doors without bashing them into cars next to us in the parking lot and closing them completely is going to take some practice.

Kim and I weighed the pros and cons and I'm pretty sure we've decided to get rid of the van. Now that we've made that decision, I'm itching to go car shopping!

New wheels

2012-01-07T10:22:00.003-06:00

I am seriously considering getting rid of my van and downsizing to a car. I do love our van and the roominess of it, but I wonder if it's almost too big for us now.

We owned a small SUV (a Hyundai Santa Fe) before we got the van. Aaaaah...we loved that SUV. We were virtually in tears when we traded it in. No joke. It was like saying goodbye to a good friend. But, once the kids grew out of their infant carriers and went to their convertible car seats, there was no longer room in the back for Dustyn. He literally had to sit in the trunk whenever we went anywhere.

So, after much discussion and persuasion on my part, and a minor fender-bender while Dustyn was IN the trunk, we agreed to get a van (a Hyundai Entourage).

Can you tell we like Hyundai? Kim drives an Azera.

Anyway, Dustyn doesn't live here anymore. So, there is no longer a need for an extra seat. Sure, he comes to visit. My aunt and uncle visit, too. But, there's no reason we couldn't drive two cars if we all needed to go somewhere. The other 330+ days of the year, those extra seats in the van are sitting unused.

I'll tell you what IS being used: GAS. The van sucks up gas like crazy. Obviously a smaller vehicle would be much better on my wallet.

And, when it comes down to it, I'm sick of driving such a big vehicle. I want something smaller and new. I enjoy driving Kim's car.

The main thing I worry about is going from a huge van, where the kids can stand and put their coats on, to a car. I wonder if it's going to be a tight squeeze. Too tight.

I talked to some friends, who each have three children, and they said, "Go for it!" I figure, if anyone would know if it's a dumb idea, it would be someone with children. Especially ones that drive a lot. Plus, these friends wouldn't steer me wrong. They tell me like it is.

Love it when you have a friend that is comfortable telling you the truth and knows you'll still love them no matter what they say.

So, my plan right now is to put the car seats in Kim's car and drive that for a bit. His Azera is about the same size as the Sonata I'm itching to buy. I figure, after a few days (or minutes?) I'll know if it's an insane idea or not.

Stay tuned!

Hi there

2012-01-06T11:58:00.002-06:00

I haven't forgotten about you guys! I'm just trying to get back into the swing of things after the holidays.

It's funny how everything is so rush rush rush up until Christmas and then it comes to a screeching halt. Well, at least that's how it went with us. After Christmas Eve at our house with my family, we pretty much just sat around and did nothing until this past Wednesday.

Sure, we ran errands. Kim took the kids to a couple movies. We met up with some friends. But, the rest of the time we just hung out at the house. It was kinda like we were on slo-mo on the life DVR. (Obviously, the life DVR doesn't rewind or even exist, actually, but you catch my drift. ... Stick with me, people.)

So when life starts up again, zipping all around you, but your body and brain are still on slo-mo, it makes it really hard to catch up. Going back to school, work, chores, etc. are a bit more challenging than they typically are. Or should be.

I feel like I need a V8 or something. Or maybe one of those 5 hour energy drinks. Something to kick me in the butt and get this Christmas stuff put away!!

Alllll that work just to put it away a month later.

sigh

Did you have a good holiday? New Years?

Do you make resolutions?

I don't really make resolutions, just goals. Another To Do list, if you will.
So far, I have:

1. Go running after dropping off the kids at school.
I need to run again. I love it. I miss it. It's such a great stress relief and I feel amazing when I'm done.
Plus, completing a half marathon has been a goal of mine for a long time. I'd love to accomplish it this year.

2. Get the house ready to go back on the market.
The first step to this is to put the Christmas decorations away. So, yeah...
Also in this category: get carpets cleaned, organize basement & closets (it's amazing how one family can accumulate so much stuff.), spot paint any nicks in the walls.
I'm sure there's more.

3. Redecorate Connor's room.
This kinda stems off of #2. Besides, he really wants his room redone and I can't blame him. It's the same yellow and blue with fish that we put in when they were born. I'm not going all out since we are planning on moving. But, since we ARE planning on moving and want to sell sooner rather than later, it would be nice to have it more neutral anyway.

4. Plan a trip to Disneyland.
Yeah, that's right. I said DisneyLAND. Whenever I say we're going there instead of the biggie: Disney WORLD, everyone questions it.

"Wait. DisneyLAND?? Not Florida?"

Yes. We aren't going to Disney World. For many reasons. The main one being is that it's in California, very close to Dustyn, and we can see him when we go out there. Can't do that in Florida.

I just read my list and it's already starting to overwhelm me. Holy smokes. That's a lot of stuff. And, it's all gotta be done well before April, when Spring Break starts.

I've also been toying around with the idea of getting rid of the van and buying a car instead. So, there's that, too.

Ugh.

I guess I better press Play on the life DVR and get out of slo-mo.

Pronto.

One more thing for my To Do list.

2011-12-21T11:52:00.002-06:00

Life.

It's so crazy with work, bills, household chores, family issues, parties, things to do, people to see, blah, blah, blah. Then add two large dogs, a husband, a 23yo step son and 5yo twins and things get reeeally crazy.

Now, put all that craziness into the holidays and you've got a great reason to crack open a bottle. Or at least pop a Xanax.

Or both. (yes, Angela. I said it!)

Yesterday, I had to take the kids to their eye doctor appointments, pick out and order (and pay for!!) new glasses for Connor, hit the post office to mail a package, find time to feed my offspring, cook dinner, clean the house, etc. Needless to say, by the time the kids were in bed, I had no energy to wrap any gifts.

I will wrap tonight! After Sasha's ballet class, dinner & kids' bedtime, that is.

I've decided this year we are going to send Happy New Year cards. Maybe. There just isn't enough time to get cards made and mailed before Christmas. I tried to take pictures, but they didn't turn out too swell. Remember, my camera is dead.

Well, it WAS dead until Kim decided to buy a new battery for it! So, as of today it works! Yea!

Anyway, if you've been waiting for our holiday card, you should stop. Don't worry that you haven't received one. We didn't forget you or leave you off the mailing list. I just haven't mailed any. And, honestly, I'm not sure if I will. Especially since we just decided that after the holidays the house is going back on the market. There will be lots to do to prepare for that. So, stay tuned about the cards.

Ugh. Busy, busy.

Good-busy, but still busy. And, sometimes it's difficult to stop and breathe and focus on the little things that matter. The things that really make you smile and laugh.

Thankfully, I have my children to remind me. I ran into this when I walked into the bathroom yesterday:
Connor thought the snowmen would "look funny wearing marshmallow hats".

I love that kid. He has such a sense of humor and is a little prankster. And, since he's so quiet, he's a really sneaky prankster.

I saw this and burst out laughing. It was a great reminder that I need to add "laughter" to my To Do list.

Make sure you add it, too.

Getting things done.

2011-12-19T13:35:00.002-06:00

Grocery shopping? Check!

The grocery was no busier than normal and I got everything needed for the next week. Easy. Simple. DONE!

Connor's Bear has been missing for a few days. We have searched high and low for this guy and have come up with nothing. Luckily, Connor has a back-up buddy to cuddle with at bedtime, but I know he misses Bear terribly. I really hope we find him soon.

In their search for Bear, Connor & Sasha ran across my stash of presents in Kim's closet. They NEVER go into Kim's closet, so I thought this was a safe place. Thankfully, all of their presents are still in the shipping boxes and the only ones they saw were for their cousins. Phew!

So, one more perk of buying things online, other than being able to avoid the crazy holiday crowd: It comes in something that hides the gift. You don't get that when you shop at the store.

Next on the To Do list: Wrapping!

Are you getting things crossed off your To Do list?

Crunch time

2011-12-18T19:55:00.002-06:00

I've just been floating through December this year. On Auto Pilot.

I'm nearly finished shopping, but I've yet to wrap a single gift. (Normally I'm done around Thanksgiving.) I haven't made a single cookie. I've no idea what I'm cooking for Christmas Eve dinner. It's amazing I even put those reindeer bags together.

Not sure what my deal is, but I need a swift Christmas kick in the ass. Because, surprisingly, despite all I have to do, I don't feel pressured at all. I'm still just floating.

It'll get done when it gets done and everyone will be happy. No worries. No stress.

Well, kinda.

Shit still needs to get done. And, now that it's 6 days until Christmas, I'm realizing that I need to start making To Do lists and crank some of these things out.

Tomorrow's task: Grocery shopping.

Teacher gifts

2011-12-16T15:56:00.005-06:00

The gifts for the kids' teachers turned out soooo cute, I just have to share them.

I ran across this idea a while back and totally fell in love with it. I think it's an adorable way to give a little gift. I bought all of the supplies at Walmart and it was very easy to do.

Thankfully, Kim was willing to help, so it made it even easier!

We gave each teacher a gift card and some homemade cranberry-pistachio toffee. (The toffee is absolutely delish. Let me know if you want me to post the recipe.)

Yeah, I threw caution to the wind and gave something with nuts. These days, everything needs to be nut-free, dairy-free, wheat-free, flavor-free, pre-packaged, blah, blah, blah. But, they looked too dang tasty to not make. And it's not like I gave them to the class.

I wrapped the toffee chunks in Saran Wrap and put the bundle in a cupcake box. I had some extra boxes from Connor & Sasha's birthday cupcakes.
These boxes rock. Each reindeer bag had fuzzy pipe cleaner antlers that Kim made himself. He is an antler expert now. I think he's going to put it on his resume under: Hobbies.

I cut out circles for the gift tags and labeled the back of each bag.
Thankfully, for the noses, we found red foam sheets that were pre-glittered and peel-and-stick. No messy glitter and glue!

Here's the gang, all loaded up and ready to go:
Aren't they the sweetest things?!

Deep thoughts.

2011-12-14T09:08:00.003-06:00

Since Sasha has had a history of car sickness, the kids have never been allowed to read, play games, watch movies, etc. in the car. (With the exception of long car rides where I can be there to hand her a bag, if needed.) As I've mentioned before, it is a 25 minute drive to their school. With no tv, books or games, this gives a lot of time for a 5yo to have some pretty deep thoughts.

Sasha is normally the one speaking those thoughts. And, true to Sasha's energetic personality, she just fires them off as they pop in her brain. Most of the time, Sasha is a "leap before you look" kid. She has her reservations and fears, but definitely doesn't dip one toe in the water. She bellyflops in. Especially when it comes to what she's thinking.

Most of my mornings consist of Sasha saying random things to me every five minutes or so, depending on how tired she is.

Mama? That sign said 'green'.

Mama? Today is Wednesday. I have ballet.

Mama? The sun is behind the clouds.

Mama? My shirt has sparkles on it.

And one of this morning's:
Mama? If someone is upside down and you're not, and they look at you, you will look upside down to them!

Connor and I agreed. Then the kids laughed about being upside down.

Upside down is funny.

Then, there's Connor. My really deep thinker. My old soul.
This boy was born thinking of how things work and ways to improve them.

Connor doesn't just blurt out whatever thought crosses his head at that moment. He really thinks about it for a while. And, if he can't figure out an answer, he will ask. It's amazing he doesn't turn to his sister and just yell, "Will you just stop talking for one minute???!!!"

He just sits there and listens. Or maybe he doesn't listen. Maybe he has figured out how to tune her out. Anyway...

This morning, he says to me:
Mom? How do people make other people?

"How do people make other people?"?

SUCH a Connor question! Not, "Where do babies come from?" or "How do babies get in the Mommy's tummy?" But, "How do people make other people?".

I know he's been thinking about this for a day or so. We briefly talked about it the other day. And, I know he can't figure it out. I'm pretty sure it's driving him crazy.

I've never lied to them or made up stories about anything because I felt they were too young to hear the truth. Ask a legitimate question, get a legitimate answer. It's only fair to them.

Fortunately for me, we were just pulling into the parking lot when he asked me. So, it buys me some time to figure out how I'm going to explain this so my 5yo's can understand it.

Oy. These kids! I swear, they keep me on my toes.

Santa

2011-12-13T20:17:00.002-06:00

The other day, the kids and I were driving home from school and Connor said:

Soon, we get to go to the mall and see Santa and tell him what we want for Christmas!

There was a bit of a pause and Sasha responded:

Why do we need to go tell him what we want when we've already sent him a letter?

Ummmm....

Well.

As my brain processed a hundred different possible answers, all I could do was laugh. She was right. I told Sasha she had a good point.

Why do we have them write letters and THEN go see the fat man in red?

And, now that I think of it, we tell them Santa won't come deliver their presents Christmas Eve until they are asleep because he doesn't want to be seen, yet we will take them to SEE him before Christmas.

Kinda backwards, isn't it?

I told Sasha that the visit to the mall was mainly to see Santa, not tell him what you want. But, I'm not sure she was buying it. Makes me wonder how many more years my overthinkers are going to believe in Santa.

Eh. Whatever.

I'm gonna play it up for as long as they let me!

Ho! Ho! Ho!

Getting better. Slowly.

2011-12-11T13:56:00.002-06:00

Well, the sandwich tasted ok, but didn't sit well. My stomach felt like I had swallowed a bunch of hot nails. I couldn't finish it. I was doubled over in pain.

I'm not sure if it's because I'm still sick or because I haven't eaten anything, or maybe both, but when I eat and drink, it hurts. A lot.

The good news is that my energy level is somewhat back to normal. Granted, I have been sleeping like crazy, but still. At least I don't have to stay in bed all. day. long. Like I did Thursday and Friday.

The kids go back to school tomorrow and I have to get better soon. Lunches need to be made. The house needs a (serious) cleaning. Presents need to be wrapped and a few still need to be purchased. I have to start planning the meal for Christmas Eve. I HAVE to work on the contract for my Mom's Weekend next year. I've been voluntold to coordinate the trip. Oy.

So much to do. So little time. Sooooo, don't need to be sick right now.

I know things could be worse. I could be in hospital battling a life-threatening disease. Or have a child in hospital. The flu is nothing compared to what some people are dealing with.

I just have to keep reminding myself to look at the big picture. All the things I have to worry about are good things, actually.

Planning the Christmas Eve meal? Some people don't even get a meal on a Tuesday, let alone Christmas Eve.

Clean the house? There are tons of people living on the streets that would love to have a home to clean.

Plan a weekend away with my friends? Yeah. That too.

I think I'm starting to feel better now.

Blerg

2011-12-10T16:18:00.002-06:00

I've got the flu.

Blerg.

It hit me like a ton of bricks Thursday morning. At first, I thought my symptoms were from the previous night's dinner not sitting well with me, but as the day went on and my fever went up to 103*, including chills, body aches and major fatigue, I decided it was, in fact, the flu.

Crap.

I stayed in bed ALLLL Thursday. Well. That is, when I wasn't in the bathroom throwing up. Or lying on the bathroom floor in pain.

Ugh. I felt like I was dying. I could barely stand. I was so dehydrated. I still am, actually, but not nearly as bad as before. I'm getting there.

Since Wednesday night, I've only eaten:
4 bites of buttered noodles
1/2 small baked potato
A few more bites of mac & cheese
1/2 a bagel...well, maybe 1/2-ish.

I haven't thrown up since 4am Friday morning, so I'm going to guess the worse has passed. My fever was gone when I checked this morning. The only thing I want to eat is Jimmy John's, for some reason. So, Kim is going to get us some for dinner. (An Unwich for me)

I've no idea if it'll sit well with me or even stay down, but it's the only thing I have a taste for. (Of all things!)

Fingers crossed.

Oh, and fingers AND toes crossed that nobody else in my circus get this!!

Hype

2011-12-03T19:01:00.009-06:00

Yesterday, Kim had the day off work. We went shopping at Target while the kids were in school. He had to get some gifts for the childrens' hospital toy drive his department holds every year and I had to get a birthday present for Connor & Sasha's friend.

As I mind-numbingly stared at a toy I thought would maybe be a good gift, I noticed an unusual number of adults doing the same thing I was: Wandering the toy department in a completely clueless haze. We were lost. All of us.

I ended up striking a conversation with some other moms and we all agreed that most of the toys out there are plain ol' junk. Crap that our kids will play with for a week and then forget about. Huge wastes of money.

So, as we shopped, we looked at each item thinking:

1. This is HOW much??

2. There's no way this is going to last longer than Winter Break.

3. Why on earth are they asking for THIS?!

Take these for example:
They are called Squinkies.

I had no idea what they were and neither did Connor & Sasha, but I've a lot of friends that have bought their kids these little things. So, I looked at them for at least 20 minutes, deciding if they were really worth purchasing.

The other moms at Target said their kids, "looooooove them, but I've no idea why!".

I had no idea either. It's like a glorified gumball machine. You put these little toys into tiny plastic balls and put them in a dispenser. Each dispenser comes with tokens, which you use to get your Squinkie. Then you play with it.

I guess.

Ugh.

All I saw were tiny little pieces of junk that would get lost. And I imagine most, if not all, other parents see the same thing. Which is why we were all walking around in a fog. It's all junk.

But, you know what? I bought a set for this little girl's birthday. I've succumbed to the hype. This is so not like me. I have major hype aversion. I avoid things like this.

After I bought the damn Squinkies, I started thinking of all the toys that were hyped when I was a kid. Some of them were fine, like Cabbage Patch Kids.

Some of them were, um, questionable. Like Garbage Pail Kids.

Who could forget Mugged Marcus?

Fryin' Brian? Nothing says "childhood" like an electric chair.

And, who wouldn't want their 8 yr old to have Boozin' Bruce?

I just want to know what's with the blue bunny, pink elephant and green snake. I've been overserved one too many times and have never ever seen a little pink elephant. I'm thinkin' Boozin' Bruce should've been called: Droppin' Acid Al.

We collected and traded these cards. We LOVED them.

What on earth were our parents thinking?! They let us have these things?? What?

They LET us have these things!!

I feel so much better for buying the damn Squinkies now.

It's exhausting

2011-11-29T19:22:00.002-06:00

I know a lot of you want to see more pictures, especially of the Shnizzles. But, I've a little challenge with that.

I don't have a functional camera.

For at least a year, most (all?) of the pictures I've taken have been with my cell phone. The point-and-shoot camera I bought right before the kids were born has gone kaput. Maybe it needs a new battery, cause the current one doesn't charge. Maybe I dropped it one too many times. Maybe it's just a P.O.S.

I dunno.

Whatever the reason is, it doesn't work. So, there is a long stretch of time - say, the past two years or so - that my children will be virtually photograph-less. Yeah, there is a part of me that feels bad about this. Guilty. Like I should be "that mom" that has my crap together, all my pictures organized, backed up on a zillion extra drives, able to pull one up in the blink of an eye. But I'm not.

My pictures are disorganized. I tried to organize them by month, then year, for a while. But, I think I stopped in 2008ish.

What I need is a program that will automatically take all my pics and organize them for me. With the push of a button. Is there anything out there like that?

Anyway...back to my camera.

Or lack of one.

In order to get pictures on here, I've been emailing them to myself from my cell. Then, I download them from my email onto the computer. Finally, posting them on the blog. Phew. It's a lot of steps and a bit of a pain in the ass. Especially when my brain isn't functioning at 100% Lauren these days.

So, a lot of my posts are going to be without pictures. At least until I get a camera. Which won't be anytime soon. Partially because of the cost of a camera. But, mainly because I don't have a reliable computer to keep them on. (My hunk-o-junk laptop doesn't count. This is my 3rd hard drive. Hate this thing.) AND because I don't have anyone that has time to sit with me and get my butt organized enough so I DO have something reliable.

So, that's that.

I'm in the home stretch of Christmas Decorating 2011. I busted my butt today and got a ton done. Decorations put out. Boxes brought back downstairs. Floors cleaned. Dusted.
I am completely exhausted. But, the house feels somewhat normal now. And this is a very good thing.

Because if it had stayed in that condition much longer, you would've found me hunched in a corner, rocking back and forth, surrounded by dust, dog hair and fake pine needles.

It would've been ugly, I tell ya.

Too much stuff

2011-11-28T20:01:00.003-06:00

Now that Thanksgiving is over, Christmas has taken its annual dump on (in?) the house. Seriously, this place looks like Christmas just threw up all over it. There's so much stuff everywhere, my head is spinning.

Each year, I go through the bins & boxes, taking out what I want to display: Snowmen, knick knacks, lights (which less and less of work each year), garland for the mantle, garland for the banisters, candles, wooden sleigh, zillion of holiday stuffed animals to go in said sleigh, outside lights, etc. etc. etc. And, each year, I put out less and less. AND, each year, I think, "Why on earth am I keeping all this stuff??" If it's not going out on display, why am I storing it and sorting through it?

So, I've decided to purge the Christmas decorations. If it doesn't come out of the bin this year, it will be leaving the house in 2012 when I clean up Christmas 2011. Like the two Christmas trees that are sitting in the basement now that we've a new one. Those are outta here come January.

Our new 7' tree was put together tonight and is waiting for us (me) to put all the lights & ornaments on it. The kids look at this thing like it is the most amazing thing in the entire Christmas world. They are so in love with it and are DYING to put the ornaments on. I know they mean well and are excited and just want to help, but doing any of the Christmas decorations with two five year old's is exhausting.

Now I understand why my mother used to decorate the trees while we were at school. I would come home, all excited to help, just to find she had already done it. It upset me year after year, but now I get it. It's just easier without kids. And it doesn't take any of that "Christmas magic" away by doing it solo. What it does is saves Mom's sanity & lowers the booze bill at the grocery store.

Cheers, my friends!
The holidays are here.

Need a smile?

2011-11-19T15:26:00.002-06:00

I ran across this picture of these two adorable pooches online and I just had to post it. With Thanksgiving right around the corner, how could I not?

I love these dogs. Love. Them.

Their whiskery faces.
Their soft fur.
Their shnuggly long ears.
Their dark eyes, staring into your soul. Saying, "Love me. Pet me. Feed me. Play with me. Take this stupid hat off my head. Please. Do you see how pathetic we look?"

How could you not smile when looking at these two?

My To Do list, in no particular order.

2011-11-16T09:07:00.004-06:00

1. Start Christmas shopping. I've two five year old's that are very super extremely excited for Christmas. The pressure is really on Santa this year. The man in red needs to bring it.

2. Dance & sing more often. Both do good things to the soul.

3. Laundry. Doesn't do much for the soul, but still needs to get done.

4. Don't forget to have a sense of humor. Especially about #3.
5. Start working on holiday cards.

6. Cut Payton's talons, um...claws.

7. Smile more. Smiling is important.
8. Clean the fridge. Leftovers can only last for so long. And, why do we have three heads of lettuce in there?

9. Work on my sketchbook!!

10. Start running again.

11. Remember: It may be challenging, but life is good. Especially when you get to do photoshoots with your crazy children.

Hangovers

2011-11-14T11:11:00.002-06:00

The four of us have hangovers from the weekend. Not from booze, but from fun. We were shuffling around here this morning like we were auditioning for the Walking Dead (a show about zombies, for those that don't know).

The game was awesome! Bears won by a landslide! The weather was beautiful, even with the crazy winds. We had a great time tailgating, as always. But, this week we had an unexpected visitor.

Connie Payton!
That's me in the front. I was laughing because everyone was giving John (the camera man) a hard time for taking so long to take the picture. That's why my cousin, Ryan, & Uncle (to the right of Connie) have their mouths open. They're yelling at John. Kim is in the other #6 jersey, to the left of Connie. The three other guys are family friends.

Connie was walking thru the parking lot, talking to fans, taking pictures, and collecting money for their charity. What a great idea to have her walk around. Nobody is gonna say no to her! (She was Walter Payton's wife, for those that have no clue who she is.)

Anyway, after the game, we went to get the kids & didn't get home w/them until near 9pm. They were exhausted. We were exhausted. I really wish today could've been an day off for all of us. I felt horrible having to go in at 7:15a to wake them for school. They were both completely sound asleep. Who knows what time they would've slept to. And these are children who will wake up at 6:45a, no matter what time they go to bed. So, I know they were beat.

I have a feeling tonight will bring a quick dinner and early bedtime for the Shnizzles. They need to catch up on their sleep or it's gonna be one hellova long week!

Our weekend

2011-11-13T09:55:00.003-06:00

Last night, the kids had their first sleep-over at a friend's house. We had it planned for a while, but I didn't tell them until yesterday at lunchtime. If I had told them any earlier, it would've been ALL they had talked about. Every hour. Every day.

We dropped them off at 5. The excitement and energy levels were so high between the three of them that if we had left without saying goodbye they probably wouldn't have even noticed or cared. It was crazy. If we could have bottled all that energy up, it would've powered whole towns for weeks.

After we left, we went to Kim's favorite restaurant for sushi. He looooves sushi. I'm still trying to figure out what I like. I'm willing to try new things, tho. So, we ordered a couple new things and a couple ones we already know we enjoy. (Squid? Like. Salmon? Bleh.) I love these asparagus beef rolls. OMG. Freakin' heaven. Yeah, they aren't sushi, but they are absolutely delish. I like them so much, I ate an entire order by myself. ::drool::

The best thing about this restaurant is that they are completely aware about preparing things gluten free. They will modify recipes so I can eat it. Like yesterday, instead of putting tempura shrimp in the roll, they put plain shrimp. They have gluten free soy sauce & teriyaki. So, those asparagus beef rolls are made with gluten free teriyaki instead of regular. I don't know if all sushi restaurants are this accommodating, but it makes me so happy to know that I have options. It makes my sushi experience so much more enjoyable.

Today, the kids are staying at their friend's house while Kim and I go to the Bears game. This will be my second game of the year, with one more to go when my friend & her husband come in for the game against the Seahawks in December. Food, booze & football...the best way to end a nice & relaxing weekend. Fingers crossed that they win!

Go Bears!

Thanks Mother Nature

2011-11-10T09:17:00.003-06:00

This morning, I was enjoying my coffee when Sasha suddenly announced:

It's snowing!!

I looked out the window and, sure enough, she was right. Snow. Crap.

I really don't like snow. Yeah, it's pretty blah, blah, blah. But, it's a pain. It's cold. It makes driving difficult. Shoveling sucks. Having to allow an extra 30+ minutes in the morning to brush off the van is something I'd rather avoid. And, when you get 30" like we did one snow storm last February, it literally takes all day to clear the driveway. So, when I take all that into consideration, it's not as pretty anymore. Love it if you want, but in my life, snow only belongs in the mountains or on holiday cards.

I want to visit it, not have it visit me.

Unfortunately, that's not an option when you live in Chicago. And we're not moving out of state any time soon.

I've heard predictions that this is going to be a snowy winter. I really hope they're wrong. Not necessarily because of the reasons I've already mentioned, but because I drive the kids to/from school 50+ miles each day. I hate driving in the snow and it'll make an already too long drive even longer. 25 minutes each way is enough. Add snow to that and we may be looking at an hour.

One way.

To Kindergarten.

Just for me to drop them off and turn right back around and head home. Forget that noise.

I know we've made the right decision to send them to this school. The tuition, miles on the van, driving in the snow, etc. will be worth it. They love this school and are thriving. The things they are learning constantly amaze me. The decimal system? Where Chile is? How to speak French? These are things I would never expect my 5yr olds to learn, but they are. And they are soaking it up like little sponges. They love it, so I'm happy.

I still don't know what next year holds. Whether or not the public school system will accept them into 1st grade or make them retake Kindy because they miss the cut-off by one day. I need to start figuring out what we're going to do fairly soon.

But, for the time being, I drive them. We're the only family at the school that lives in Illinois and most of the families live so close to the school (in Wisconsin), there's no option to carpool. I'm ok with it. As long as this winter is mild! Otherwise, I have a feeling we will have quite a few snow days.

Maybe Connor & Sasha can help me shovel.

Just a reminder...

2011-11-09T12:00:00.002-06:00

Where the road leads us.

2011-11-08T15:39:00.005-06:00

It rained all morning. It's been cloudy and gloomy all afternoon. And, thanks to the time change, it'll be dark by 4:30pm. Good times. I guess it could be worse. You know what I'm talking about.

The S word.

Ugh. It'll be here before we know it, people.

Ok, let's not go there. Let's talk about better things. Things that make us happy. Like baking. And eating. Mmmm....eating.

I love baking and cooking. A lot. Spending time in the kitchen, creating something for someone that they will (hopefully) enjoy makes me really happy. I cook about 90% of the meals we eat and the majority of those are from scratch. Connor & Sasha have been watching me cook & bake since they were infants. I would put their high chairs next to the island in the kitchen and sing or talk to them while I cooked. Now, they help chop celery, wash potatoes, add seasonings, stir. They've been helping me in the kitchen for as long as I can remember.

They love tasting all the herbs & spices I add in food. We smell and taste each one being used and talk about what it does in the dish. I explain why I do certain things (i.e. why I add bouillon cubes instead of using plain water.) They are very interested and love to help. Especially Connor.

So much that, if you ask him what he wants to be when he grows up, he will say:
A chef. I'm going to have my own restaurant called Chef Connor.

Some of you know I was really into Art when I was growing up. Somewhere along the line, I decided I wanted to pursue Graphic Design after high school. I still really enjoyed baking and one day, I came up with the crazy idea of going to culinary school. My parents were less than thrilled. They were so against the idea that they even had one of their friends call me and try to talk me out of it. To this day, I still don't know why they didn't support me.

Long story short: I didn't pursue my passion for food & stuck with Graphic Design. I didn't finish college and no longer have a desire to be a Graphic Designer. Yea me.

I've no idea where I'd be now if I hadn't listened to my parents and ditched Graphic Design. I do believe everything happens for a reason, so I don't dwell on it too much. It's just funny how things work out, isn't it?

I still love food, baking & cooking. New kitchen gadgets get me excited and happy. You should've seen me when I got my zester. It was like Christmas. No joke. And my food processor? Ok, it was Christmas and I got two of them (one big, one small), but I was just as excited as the zester.

I would love to have my own gluten-free bakery, with a little cafe/coffee shop. Hopefully that will happen one day. For now, though, I'm happy with teaching my children how to cook and why it's important to cook, especially for people you love. We're making memories in the kitchen. And, if Connor actually does become a chef, how cool would that be?

Self-sufficient

2011-11-07T19:43:00.006-06:00

The kids woke up early again today. They do this after every time change. I woke up at 6:30a to footsteps downstairs, but God only knows what time they actually got up. They're at the age where I can sleep in for a little bit and they will play until I head downstairs. If they're starving, they'll wake me. But, they normally wait.

This morning, I fell back asleep and woke at 7a with my alarm. When I got into the kitchen, Sasha asked if I could print off some new math worksheets for her. (That's a story for another post.) I told her I would after we had breakfast & gotten dressed.

She said:
We've already eaten breakfast.

Connor followed it up with:
I made breakfast for us. We had toast, yogurt and grapes. Sasha had butter on her toast, but I had jam.

Um. Ok then.

I looked around the kitchen. It was clean. The butter and jam were in the fridge. Dishes in the sink. Table and counter empty. The toaster was even put away. (We've kept our toaster under the counter ever since we put the house on the market to declutter the counters.)

He took out the toaster, plugged it in, used it, unplugged it and put it away.

He grabbed the butter and jam out of the fridge. Both are stored on the top shelf.

He completely cleaned up.

He's FIVE.

So, what does this all mean?
1. It means I need to have a talk about what to do/not to do with a toaster. Knives in a toaster? Not to do. Hands in a hot toaster? No. Connor & Sasha are rule-followers. I know we won't have an issue once I explain it to them.

2. It means I need to keep the toaster on the counter again. The house is off the market anyway, so who cares about the toaster? I also should probably move the jam and butter down to the bottom shelf of the refrigerator for easier access.

3. It also means we have reached another milestone. This is gonna be sweet on the weekends.

I've talked to a few of my friends about feeling guilty for not getting up when the kids do. I don't want to be "that mom" who lays in bed on a no-school day while my kids fend for themselves or watch tv. I feel like I should get up with them, make them breakfast, etc. Even if I slump on the couch, coffee in hand, after breakfast, at least I'm awake and there if they need me. It makes me feel less lazy.

When I told my friends (all 13 of them) this, they all looked at me and said I was absolutely crazy. Not one of them agreed with me. They said I should not feel guilty for staying in bed while the kids made their own breakfast and watched tv/played/etc.

Really?

Like, really really?

Am I crazy? What do you think?

This is gonna be tough. But, honestly, if the kids continue to do this I think I could get used to it. Especially if the kitchen is clean when I wake up!

Telling it like it is.

2011-11-06T08:53:00.014-06:00

Yesterday, I ran into an old friend at the mall. She was there with her husband and their beautiful, adorable three month old son. I asked her how things were going with the new baby. She responded with things like:

"Good!"
"He's sleeping well."
"He's a great baby."

She also said:

"The first six weeks were reeeally hard. Nobody told me how difficult it would be. I was ready to trade him in."

It's true. The first six+ weeks of a child's life are brutal on a parent. You don't sleep. You barely eat. You forget who you are and what you did five minutes ago. Showering is a luxury.

It's challenging. It sucks. And nobody tells you any of this ahead of time. It got me thinking that there's a lot of stuff nobody tells you when you become a parent. Here are a few truths I've learned:

Bribery = Sanity. Before becoming parents, most people swear they'll never bribe their little angel. Their child is going to listen to their every command. Nuclear meltdowns will not be thrown in the middle of a busy Target. Everyone will enjoy a nice, quiet meal in a restaurant. Blah, blah, blah.

These people are delusional. I like to call it "incentives" instead of bribery, but let's be honest. It is what it is and it's a necessary parenting tool at times.

Minivans rock. Pre-children, I swore up and down and left and right and even diagonally that I would neverevereverever have a minivan. Ever. I looooved our small SUV (a Hyundai Santa Fe) and the five of us fit in it perfectly. That is, until the kids went out of their infant carriers and into their convertible car seats. Then Dustyn, my step-son, had to sit in the trunk because there was no room for him in the back seat anymore.

I'm not kidding. He literally sat IN THE TRUNK. Poor kid. He was such a trooper.

After weighing our options, we reluctantly decided on *gulp* .... a minivan. We immediately felt our coolness levels plummet.

But, shortly after acquiring said van, we realized how wrong we were. This thing was awesome! There was room for all five of us, the dogs, our things, groceries, the kitchen sink. It makes life so much easier. And, let's be honest...when you become a parent you lose a few things: freedom, some money and what's considered cool/hip. (Do people even use the word "hip" anymore?) It becomes about survival and comfort instead of looking cool.

Time changes suck. When you set the clocks back an hour in the Fall, you no longer gain an hour of sleep. You gain an hour of children in your day. My kids were awake at 6am instead of 7am this morning. I remember when setting clocks back meant one more hour to party before having to be home by curfew. Now, I'm trying to convince my kids to go back to bed and hang out there for another hour.

When you set the clocks forward in the Spring, your kids lose an hour of sleep. Pre-parenting, you don't realize how important one hour of sleep can be to you and your child. But, it could mean the difference between a happy child and a smooth-sailing day and a grumpy child and a day ending with Mom guzzling a bottle of wine.

They also don't really tell you that, despite the rough newborn stage, lack of sleep, loss of coolness and pre-determined parenting expectations, it is all absolutely worth it. Just make sure you budget a little extra wine in your monthly expenses.

Brushing the dust off.

2011-11-04T18:33:00.002-05:00

Recently, I was talking to a family member about how I used to manage a blog and, once I joined Facebook a couple years ago, stopped blogging. What was the point? Everyone I was communicating to was on Facebook. I was busy and didn't need to post here and there. And, Facebook was new and flashy and more fun than the blog. Facebook won.

So, Biscuits and Gravy got boxed up and shoved in the closet. (For two years??! Time flies, my friends.)

A few months ago, I deactivated my Facebook account. I had no idea how much of an uproar my departure would cause. I was getting emails, private messages, texts, etc. asking why I left and when I'd be returning. I was amazed at how many people said they looked forward to what I posted on there.

Really?

On Facebook??

It's been nearly 3 months and I can say, with 98% certainty, that I am not going back to Facebook. Ever. It got too stressful for me. Unplugging from that site helped me clear my brain and focus on my life. I do not miss it at all.

However, I can see how certain friends and family members would like to hear what's the latest and greatest (or not so greatest) with me, my children, our lives, etc. And, after coming back on here, I remembered how much I enjoyed blogging. So, I decided to pull Biscuits and Gravy out of the closet, brush the dust off, and get this puppy fired up again.

Spread the word.

Biscuits and Gravy is back!

Goodbye sun

2009-10-16T18:25:00.003-05:00

Today, when I was picking the kids up from school, the skies opened up and dropped sleet all over everything. It began to collect and the ground turned white.

I cried a bit on the inside as I sat in my car hoping I wasn't seeing what I thought I was.

Snow? Sleet? Whatever you want to call it. It was ice falling from the sky. When I walked into the building, the ground crunched under my feet.

Bleh.

We were very fortunate with a beautiful Summer. The temperatures were reasonably mild, with the exception of a few scorching days. We barely had our air conditioning on. I think Mother Nature was playing tricks on us. She gave us a great Summer and, in turn, is giving us a crummy Fall.

It has been cold and rainy. And the lack of sun is very unmotivating. Is that even a word?

It's such a good thing Connor and Sasha have theatre class on Mondays, and preschool on Wednesdays and Fridays because if it weren't for those classes, we would be hibernating already.

Boo.

However, on a positive note, the weather is supposed to be fairly nice this weekend. At least it's not going to rain. We have a Halloween party through my Mom's group on Sunday. I can't wait to see the kids all dressed up in their costumes.

That is, if they survive tonight. Both of them have been up and out of their rooms once already. Sasha is crying again, saying, "I can't put my sheets on." It won't be long until she's out of her room again. And I'm up there...again.

I was going to try to get a run in tonight, but there's no way I can do it now. Not with them still being awake. But, that's ok. I'm getting exercise with all of the running up and down the stairs to tuck them back in.

I guess that's one way of looking at it.

My new goal

2009-10-13T20:56:00.002-05:00

While I was in England for my cousin's wedding, I decided enough was enough. I needed to do something to get myself back in shape. Or should I say, put myself back in better shape.

Because "marshmallow" is not a shape I want to be. And that's exactly how I was feeling.

My friend, Kelly, had told me about the success she had with the running program Couch to 5K.
http://www.c25k.com/

Basically, it is designed to get you from the couch to running 30 minutes straight (or a 5K) in 9 weeks, exercising 3 days a week. Obviously, depending on your physical condition, it could take a bit longer. Right now, I am on week 5 and loving it.

I have never been one to love exercising. Hell, I have never even liked exercising. But, funny enough, I've always wanted to be a runner.

I've passed runners on the road, all fit and zooming by, and have had a small twinge of jealousy. And every time I hear of people finishing a marathon or some kind of timed run, a part of me wishes I would have the motivation enough to be one of those runners. Completing a challenge. All fit and running and all that. I never thought I could be a runner. I mean, I couldn't even run up the stairs without getting winded.

But that has all changed.

This program gives me the mini-goals I need to be a runner. Or at least a jogger, which is still way more than I ever thought I could be. Each week, they increase the running time and decrease the walking time. So far, I have been able to keep up with the program. I can run for 5 minutes straight without stopping. Thursday, they increase it to 8 minutes straight. Then, this weekend, it jumps to 20 minutes w/out walking. Yikes!

My goal is to run a 5K, which is just over 3 miles. Straight. Without stopping to walk. Once I get to that point, I want to decrease the time it takes me to do it. Then, I want to register for a 5K run, hopefully raising some money for one of my favorite charities, and finish it.

And, as an added bonus to all of this, my shape has begun to change. I'm not where I want to be, but I'm no longer marshmallow-shaped!

Sweet!

Aaaaannnd, we're back.

2009-10-12T20:34:00.002-05:00

Remember all of the things I mentioned were happening in September?

And how I was completely stressed out because the entire month was going to be absolutely stressful and busy?

Well, September happened. That is why I haven't posted in over a month. September.

Phew.

And, I just realized that we're already halfway through October. I swear, where does the time go?

So, now we're busy with Fall things. Like upcoming Halloween parties, trick-or-treating and sugar rushes.

Connor and Sasha are at an amazing age right now. They understand so much more than they did in previous years. They "get" trick-or-treating and have picked out their own costumes. Connor is a clown. Sasha is Abby Cadabby (a Sesame Street character). I'm very surprised with her choice in costumes considering we don't watch Sesame Street anymore, and haven't in over a year, but whatever. It's her choice and she loves it.

Both of them find the leaves changing completely fascinating. As we drive, they point out all of the colors they see. They cannot wait to rake the leaves and jump in the pile. They mention it nearly every day.

I love how they see the world with fresh eyes. They're excited about everything. Most of us take the change in seasons for granted. In fact, I think a lot of us see Fall as the beginning of the end. For, no matter how beautiful it is, after Fall comes the cold, miserable Winter.

I am very grateful that I have them to slow me down a bit. To appreciate the color of the leaves. Really appreciate them. Sometimes it gets awfully hard to stop and get down on their level to do that. But I really try to do it.

After all, they're only three once. And before I know it, they'll be zipping by, not even paying attention to the color of the leaves.

I want to make the most of each day I get with them while they can still show me how to make the most of my days. Does that make sense?

I promise to post more. Things have begun to settle and I have the time now.
And I owe you some pictures, too.

In the meantime, enjoy the beautiful Fall view you get. It'll be gone before you know it.

Birthday pictures

2009-09-01T07:58:00.002-05:00

Sadly, I do not have many pictures from Connor and Sasha's birthday party. I'm normally too busy to take any pictures. When I finally gave it to my sister-in-law to take pictures, the battery died shortly after. Actually, they died right as I was lighting the candles on their cakes.

So, if you're reading this and were at the birthday party, I would really, really appreciate it if you could send me the pictures you took. Thanks.

Woo hoo! A Super WHY! game!

The birthday boy and girl checking out their presents.

Sasha got a bed for her babies.

Here I am in the middle of the chaos.

My friend knit the kids hats and mittens. Connor's favorite color is orange. His hat is so cool, because the way it's made the pattern resembles a bunch of owls. That's what those two buttons are for. Those are the eyes of an owl.
Tomorrow is their first day of preschool.

I'll be sure to have my camera charged and ready to take tons of pictures.

They are soooo excited to start school. I can't wait.

Blessed

2009-08-30T19:09:00.004-05:00

Today we celebrated the arrival of Connor and Sasha into the world. I don't think the day could have gone any better.

After 4 days of rain, the skies finally cleared. The sun was shining all day, without a cloud in sight. It was a bit chilly, about 64F, but for the end of August in Chicago I'm not complaining. No way. I have always assumed that their birthday parties would be hot and humid.

That's what I get for underestimating Mother Nature.

We had a house full of friends and family. They showered our children with hugs, kisses, love and many generous gifts.

After parties like this are over, the laughter has died down, things are getting cleaned up and everyone has gone home, I always get filled with many emotions.

I start thinking about how thankful I am to have the life I do. To have healthy children and a loving husband. To have a beautiful home with a beautiful yard on a quiet street. To have plenty of food to eat and a warm bed to sleep in.

To have family and friends that take time out of their day to come be with us while we celebrate our children's lives. They love us and it shows.

At dinner, I told Kim and I was so happy to see each person as they arrived. Whenever someone walked through the door, a huge smile came on my face. I was genuinely happy to see them. It meant a lot to me.

And I'm sure if I told them that they'd say, "It was no big deal. Of course we'd come!" But I never take things like these for granted. These people don't have to come. They want to come. And I do appreciate it.

I love having a house full of love and laughter. I want to raise Connor and Sasha in a loving home. Where laughter is the norm and tears are few and far between. Where they feel safe, loved, and happy. That is what we had today. And I love it.

Have you ever felt complete? Like things couldn't get much better? It brings tears to my eyes, just thinking about how blessed we are.

Life is wonderful.

More birthday party pics and stories to come this week.

September

2009-08-28T07:41:00.003-05:00

I'm having a hard time focusing on this weekend knowing that, when I flip the calendar over to September, we have a month full of things to do. Seriously, I can't remember the last time we had such a busy month.

Starting with the 1st, I have fantasy football draft #1.
The 2nd is Connor and Sasha's birthday. It's also the day they start school. They will be attending Wednesdays and Fridays from 9:00-11:30.

The first weekend of the month, Labor Day weekend, I have a hair appointment, my cousin's son's first birthday party, and fantasy football draft #2.

Two days after the draft, I leave for England. I will be gone from the 9th-14th.

The 14th is also the day the kids start their class at a children's theatre company. Their class is going on as I'm landing, so I'll have to take a car home since Kim won't be able to pick me up from the airport.

The 16th, I have a board meeting for the kids' school.

The 17th and 18th, Kim is most likely in Ohio for work.

The 20th is the Bears' first home game. For those of you that don't know, we are season ticket holders.

The 26th is game night with our neighbors at our house.

The 28th my aunt and uncle arrive from England. They're staying for a week.

And that brings us to October.
And now I'm exhausted from typing all of that.

The only Saturday we have free is the 19th. And I refuse to plan anything for that day. I'm sure we'll be busy enough doing things around the house that we haven't had time for.

My To-Do list is growing and I'm having a hard time keeping track of my priorities. I want to make a list of things to pack for England, but I feel like I should focus on stuff like what to do for the birthday party first. I mean, it is happening first. I'm going to have a house full of people looking for something to eat, but I'll have my packing list all done!

Tsk tsk. Not the way things should be.

I know that September will be here and gone before we know it. I mean, can you believe we're actually talking about September? Summer has flown by and fall is approaching quickly. Connor and Sasha have even picked out what they want to be for Halloween.

That's another thing on my To-Do list: Halloween costumes.

But I shouldn't even be thinking of Halloween costumes until I get back from England. Yet, this is what's on my mind. Like I said, I'm having issues with my priorities.

M.I.A.

2009-08-21T20:08:00.003-05:00

Sorry for being gone for so long. We've been really busy and I haven't made the time to post. Let's see if I can catch you up on everything.

Well, at least most of it.

Almost two weekends ago, Kim and I held our first garage sale. It was a lot of work, but totally worth it. If I had known we were sitting on a gold mine, we would have had one a lot sooner. But, then again, a lot of the things we sold were children's items. So, it probably wouldn't have had been as successful if we had done it years ago.

We made about $970. Hello!

It feels so good to get rid of all that stuff. And I mean All. That. Stuff!!
Most of it was stored (shoved) in our basement and it was really weighing us down. I seriously feel lighter. It's a great feeling.

Then, last weekend, Kim's friend Bryan came into town and stayed with us. So, we were busy with all of that stuff.

I joined the board of directors at the kids' preschool. I am the secretary. I fit really well in this role because I was a secretary for 8 years before I had the twins.

Speaking of preschool, Connor and Sasha's first day of school is on their birthday 9/2.

We are having their birthday party this Sunday. They are going to be three. I can go into this whole thing about how I can't believe my babies are three. Boy, does the time go by fast. Blah, blah, blah. But, in all honesty, I don't feel like that. They act like three year olds. I can believe they are three.

Yes, time goes by quickly. But, lemme tell ya, things are getting better and better with them. Sure, they throw major Toddler tantrums. Yes, it gets frustrating when they want to do what THEY want to do and nothing else. There are times when I want to start drinking alcohol before I even have breakfast.

But, overall, things are easier. Better. More fun. And I have no desire to hang on to their babyhood. (Is that even a word?)

It was tough when they were babies. We rarely went out. They had colic. The schedule was so tight, we didn't have much time to do much out of the house. We had to bring practically everything but the kitchen sink when going somewhere for the better part of the day. Two-four bottles, water, formula, baby food, spoons, bibs, extra clothes, blankets, lovies, diapers, wipes, changing pad, and many other things I'm sure I'm forgetting.
And lugging that double stroller with! Oy. That thing weighed a ton!

Now, they are potty trained. They can drink out of a cup w/out spilling all over the place (for the most part), so I don't have to bring their cups with us when we go out. They can eat with a regular sized fork, on "real" plates, not plastic, so I don't have to bring any of that with, either.

They don't need to be entertained every second of the day, so I don't have to lug toys with me (for the most part). Anything I need can be chucked in my purse and off we go.

So, yes, I can believe my kids are going to be three. I love it!!! And it's been a long road to get to this point. We're going to celebrate it!

More to come this week.

Different schedules

2009-08-10T20:26:00.005-05:00

Any parent of multiples will tell you that the old rule, "Never wake a sleeping baby" does not apply when there is more than one newborn in the house. I'm not sure we would have survived the first year had we stuck to that rule. When one got up to eat, we woke the other. In fact, everything was done at the same time.

When one needed a nap, the other went down.
When one was hungry, both were fed.
When one needed to be changed, two diapers were changed.

It was really hard to do in the beginning, especially when they were on feeding schedules. We needed to keep track of how much they ate at each feeding. After they ate, I wrote down how much was consumed on my little chart. My chart also showed when they went down for a nap, when they were changed last (and what the diaper contained), when they were fed, when they woke and went to bed.

Everything was scheduled and precise. It needed to be this way.
If I had fed Connor at 2am, 6am, 10am, 2pm, 6pm and 10pm; then fed Sasha at 4am, 8am, 12am...

Well, I'm sure you get the picture. We never would have slept. And, I wouldn't have remembered who was fed last, etc. No way.

Things ran this way for a while. I dropped the chart once we no longer had to keep track of how much they ate. We went into more of a rhythm than a "schedule". It was routine. Sure, some things stayed the same like meal times, nap and bed times. But as they got older, there was a lot more flexibility.

Right before we split the kids up in their own rooms, Sasha was going through what I thought was a two year old temper tantrum phase. Looking back, I think she was just really over tired.

I never truly noticed it until we split them up. I knew Connor woke Sasha up each morning and she wasn't too thrilled about it. But, I didn't realize she actually needed another hour or more of sleep. Since moving into her own room, she sleeps in later than Connor does. On an average day, he'll wake up at 6:30a and she'll get up at 7:30a. The number of fits she throws has become less and less now that she gets that extra hour of sleep.

And, come to think of it, I think Connor is a bit happier as well.
Sasha used to keep Connor awake at night when all he wanted to do was sleep. He is such a good sleeper, always has been. When he hits the bed, he is out. He didn't want to chat and sing with Sasha.

Don't get me wrong, they still throw temper tantrums. But the number of them has gone down. It's amazing how structured things were when they were first born. And now, it's apparant that they need their own schedules.

P.L.O.M.

2009-08-07T19:34:00.002-05:00

When I was a kid, I went to a summer camp in Michigan. It ran for two weeks and I think I attended for 4 or 5 summers. I loved it there. My memories of that place are definitely some of the best I have from my youth.

Like other typical summer camps, we had lots and lots of activities. Swimming, volleyball, canoeing, The Olympics, pie eating contest, horseback riding, trip to the beach, bonfire, etc, etc.

But, unlike typical summer camps, every day we had two things: chores and seminar. Our chores were assigned to us every morning. We did them after breakfast. Chores were many things including weeding, sweeping, and even cleaning out the stalls in the barn. Yes, that meant shoveling poop.

After chores were done, we headed over to seminar. For two hours. It was a looooong two hours, especially for a 13 year old that woke up at 5:30a, went running (everyone did), showered, ate breakfast and shoveled horse poop.

What is this "seminar" I speak of, you ask?

Well, the director of the camp is a motivational speaker. I say IS because the camp is still running. And our parents paid a chunk of change for us to, not only have fun but, get educated by this man.

Ok, ok, it kinda sounds like a cult.

It's not.

This man is a well-known author and motivational speaker. He taught us how to set goals, think positively, not wallow in self pity, focus on our priorities and make friends that will influence our life positively. Each of us was given a notebook and pencil, to take notes and use as a reference guide after we returned home.

Do you know any 11, 13, even 16 year old's that have done that?

Not many.

And, lemme tell ya, those summers seminars (two hours every, single day), as torturous as they may have been that moment, really molded me into the person I am today. I am forever grateful to my parents for sending me there. I frequently mentally refer back to those seminars and remind myself of the person I'd like to be.

One of the things he taught us was P.L.O.M.

Or, Poor Little Ol' Me.

In other words, a pity party.

Pity parties are counterproductive. They get you nowhere.

Tonight, the kids and Kim wanted pizza for dinner. Since I cannot eat "regular" pizza, I put one of my gluten-free pizzas in the oven and ordered them a large veggie lover's. I'd never eaten this type of GF pizza, but the last one I had was great.

This one....was NOT. No way. No how. Bleh.

I couldn't even choke it down. I threw it away, along with the $7 spent for the 6" P.O.S. and started having a major pity party. P.L.O.M.

Right now, we don't have much food for me to eat. I pulled out 1/4 of a cucumber, sliced it up and ate it. That would have been ok, but the kids kept snagging slices. Leaving me with, well, not much. (As if 1/4 of a cucumber is much.)

I became super crabby. There wasn't anything for me to eat! I didn't want to cook anything like pasta. I was hungry NOW. And my pizza tasted like garbage. So much that it was IN the garbage!

This sucks.

Grumble, grumble, grrrrr.

I sucked it up and threw a potato in the nuker.

Poor little Lauren. Can't have pizza. Booo hooo. It's amazing how quickly my mood turned from happy to pissy. Over dinner! And it was spilling over onto the children and Kim. And the dogs.

After dinner, we put the kids to bed. I came down here to post an entry. I had no idea what to write until I realized I was having a complete pity party!

And I needed to adjust my attitude. Focus on the positive. Live the way I want to live. Every moment.

Yes, I had a potato for dinner and my pizza was junky.
But, I don't feel sick! I had the willpower and knowledge to NOT eat the "good" pizza, knowing it would make me feel awful. This is why I went through all of those tests, right?

I can't live my life with a black cloud over my head. With a "woe is me" attitude.
Life is too precious.

Don't you think?

Just so they know...

2009-08-05T20:09:00.002-05:00

In three weeks, I will be walking my nearly three year old twins through the doors at the preschool for the very first time. They're very excited. We've been talking about it a lot.

I've noticed that Connor and Sasha do fairly well in new situations as long as they are educated about it. If they have some sort of prep beforehand, they're cool. But, if I forget to give them (or, more specifically, Connor) a heads up, the result could be catastrophic. Kinda like when we arrived at the reunion.

The reunion was held at a community center. There was a big building with tables and chairs all set up. When we walked in, the first people we saw were Kim's uncles. They were standing around, welcoming everyone and handing out raffle tickets. When Connor saw them standing there, he freaked. FREAKED!

He didn't want to go near anyone, not even his Paw Paw. He kept saying, "I'm scared!!! I'm scared!!!" It was not a pretty picture. Once he got his bearings, he was fine. But we had to take him out of the building, calm him down and let him play on the playground before bringing him back in. The second time around, he was fine. I think partly because he knew what to expect.

When we travel, or go somewhere new, I tell them what to expect. And what I expect from them. So when we arrive at Wherever The Place May Be, all's good.

We went to the library today. I finally got a library card! We normally go to another, newer library in the town south of us. But, we're not in their district so I couldn't get a card through them. I had to go to the (much) older library in the town north of us. We're in their district. I can use the card at both libraries.

Oh, and yes, my town is too small to have their own library. We don't have our own high school, either. We have a Taco Bell and Burger King, though! Oh, wait. I think the Burger King is technically in the town south of us.

Ok, so we have a Taco Bell. Who needs a public school/library when you have Taco Bell?

Anyway, while the kids were playing in the library, I was looking for books on starting school. I found a great one named: "D.W.'s Guide to Preschool." by Marc Brown.

Sasha had me read it to her four times in a row. She loves it! Connor loves it, too. And I think it's really helping them picture this whole school thing, especially the part where Mommy drops us off and leaves.

But, wait! She comes back, too!!

This is probably one of the main things I've been discussing with them. The fact that school is for kids, not parents. Mommies and Daddies (and others) drop children off at school and come back for them when it's over.

My hopes are that by talking about it with them they will know what to expect and it won't be as scary for them. Because they've never been left alone anywhere like this. With strangers. In a strange building.

And, man, I don't want a repeat of the reunion. So I sure hope this works!

Taking stock

2009-08-03T20:06:00.003-05:00

It was one week ago today that Deana passed away.

I remember laying in my bed that night, thinking about things. Mainly about our friends and family. The ones we love and don't see nearly as often as we'd like.

There are many of them that we'd love to live closer to and probably eventually will. But, many of them we aren't able to live closer to, like my family in England.

Long story short, my mother was born in England, came over here at a fairly young age, met my dad, dated for a long time, got married, had me, and then my brother. There are many, many, many more details that I won't bore you with. To sum it up, she never moved back to England, although I don't doubt she thought of it nearly every day.

So, half of my family lives halfway across the world. Growing up, I didn't realize how sucky that was. We spent a bunch of time with my dad's side of the family and would occasionally travel to England to see the other half. It was what it was.

As I got older and especially after my mom died, I wanted to visit with the family I rarely saw growing up. I took Kim out there. We took Dustyn out there. We even took Connor and Sasha out there. That last trip was the best.

They were 14 months old. I desperately wanted my grandparents to meet their great grandchildren. So, Kim, Dustyn and I packed up everything but the kitchen sink and headed over. The travelling was a nightmare. They were severely jet lagged and cranky. They didn't eat. They didn't sleep well. They screamed...and I mean SCREAMED...on the flights, annoying most, if not all, of the passengers.

But you know what? It was worth every. single. moment.

Hands down.

To get the pictures and video of our little miracles with their great grandparents made every stress disappear. To see the smiles on my grandparents' faces as they watched Connor and Sasha playing...

We all knew it was a special trip.

5 months later, my grandfather passed away.

I know that if we hadn't gone with the kids that November, brushing it off because the trip would be too difficult with twin toddlers, I would have regretted it for the rest of my life.

I thought about this that night. And that's when I decided to go over there in September.

My cousin is getting married and I wasn't sure if I was going to go. I really wanted to, but kept coming up with reasons not to, mainly money and time.

I lay in bed, thinking about Deana. How her husband has always told us to hug our loved ones tightly. I knew I needed to go to England to not only see my cousin get married, but to give my grandmother a big hug. I have to go over there while I can. No excuses.

Because, like I've said before, tomorrow is never a promise. I learned this when my mom died 10 years ago and Deana's death was a reminder. If I don't go out there to see my family, especially my grandmother, I know I'll regret it.

So, I booked my tickets today and I'm going. To be quite honest, I'm absolutely nervous to fly by myself. I hate flying. The thought of it gives me mild panic attacks. And going alone, without Kim and the kids, freaks me out even more.

But I know it will all be worth it in the end.

To finally hug those I love. Tightly.

Squints

2009-08-03T08:57:00.002-05:00

On Saturday, the four of us went to the eye doctor. This was the kids' first eye exam.
I'm sure most people don't take their children to an eye doctor until much later in life, but I wanted to be proactive instead of reactive with the whole thing. Practically everyone in our family wears glasses and my mother had a long list of eye troubles.

In my opinion, getting your eyes checked on a regular basis is just as important as going to the dentist.

Plus, lately I've noticed Connor squinting a lot. I wasn't sure if it was just a crazy habit or if he was actually trying to see better. I assumed the latter and off we went.

Turns out, my gut was right. Connor does need glasses. In fact, his eyesight is just a smidge worse than mine. Now, my eyesight isn't that bad. But, I'm 32. He's not even three.

Part of me is really happy we found this out now, especially before school starts. He'll be able to see so much better and, I'm assuming, will be thrilled about it. Who wouldn't? But, a small bit of me is pretty sad about the whole thing. I mean, he's three! I can only guess what his eyesight will be when he is older.

I know, I know...it's not that I think my kid is "tarnished" or not perfect anymore (not that I thought he was perfect before, but you know what I mean.) It just stinks that he ended up with the crappy eyesight gene and needs glasses for the rest of his life.

It's no fun having glasses!

Well, unless you're wearing ones like these:

Then it's a freakin' riot.

The reunion

2009-08-01T18:38:00.006-05:00

Finally, a week after the event, I am posting the pictures from the reunion.

This is such a cheese-o smile. This is what Connor does when I make him smile for the camera. Normally he's in the middle of something important. This time it was eating with Grandma.

I think my red-eye reduction on the camera made this picture a bit creepier than it should be. I mean, look at her eyes!

Now, this is a real Connor smile. Here he is with my Mother-in-law, Rachel.

Sasha loves her Paw Paw. This is my Father-in-law, Bob.

Doesn't she look like she's up to no good? Sneaky little Beans.

Poor Kim was trying to catch up with some cousins while Sasha pulled his arm.
Come pllaaaaaay with me, Daddy!!

Here is Bob with his brothers and sister. Bob is on the far right.

And now with the spouses.

Alright kiddos! Everyone line up for the pinata!
Can you spot my children? Or, more specifically, Connor?

Yes, that's right. He's the one and only child that decided to use his candy bag as a party hat.

Here's Sasha showing off her goods. Including a watch! And a Swatch watch, at that!
She has been talking about getting a watch for months. I was very happy to see she got one in her loot, even though it's about 20 years old and doesn't have a battery.

Whatever. It still cool when you're two.

After all the eating, playing and bashing of the pinata, it was time to go swimming!

Connor and Sasha had never been in a pool before. And I was pretty nervous about the whole thing. But, I knew it had to be done. I think they're the only children I know that haven't been in a "big pool" yet.

My friend blogged about these Stearn's Puddle Jumpers she bought for her triplets. She loved them much better than the typical life vests or floaties. Then, another friend bought them for her triplets and she raved about them, too.

I figured two friends with six toddlers between them (all under three years old) must know what they're talking about, so I bought them. I shopped around and ended up getting them at WalMart for $15 each.

Here the kids are showing them off.

And, yes, my friends were right. The Puddle Jumpers are great. Thanks Laney and Jessica!

We had a great day at the reunion and it was a lot of fun to swim with the kids. Once they got over the initial chill of the water, they quickly became little fish.

They LOVED it!

Well, until we had to go, that is. Then Sasha had the ultimate meltdown. Day Two of no nap was getting to her. She didn't want to leave the pool and she was letting me know it.

In typical Toddler fashion.

Gotta love it.

Coming down

2009-07-30T14:00:00.002-05:00

The initial shock of Deana's death has passed. And while I'm still taking it pretty hard emotionally, there comes a time after everyone's passing that life begins again. "Normal" has to come back.

So, I'm ready to start posting some fun stuff again.

On to the road trip story...

I won't bore you with all the details about our 6 hour car rides. But, let's just say that planning for this trip was very difficult since Sasha tends to get very car sick.

Our children never read books, play with toys, watch DVD's, color, etc. in the car to prevent her from getting car sick. Normally this is ok, even with a 90 minute drive. But being in the car for much longer proved challenging.

I did stuff like, have Sasha count how many clouds she saw in the sky.

And Connor did goofy stuff like this with Bear:

And when there's nothing else to do, just take pictures of the driver. This is what I saw for 6 hours. Give or take a couple million cornfields, as well.
Still bored? Take a picture of yourself!
*Side Note: My hair is much redder now. Got it done yesterday. Love it!

We ended up letting the kids watch some DVD's during the car ride. They were just so bored out of their skulls and not tired enough to nap. I was very nervous, but Sasha did fine with it.
Phew.

We stayed at this awesome bed and breakfast. Along with Sasha's car sickness, my other main concern was the sleeping situation. Since our two go to bed around 7:30, and we're pretty much sticklers with their schedule, there was no way we'd be able to sleep and live in the same hotel room. No way.

We looked for a hotel that had a suite available, with the bed(s) in a separate room. But, (and I'm not kidding here) we literally were in the middle of Nowhere, Illinois, surrounded by corn. Most of the hotels out there don't have suites. And the one we found was in Iowa and only had one queen-size bed. So, we would have had to bring their mattresses and put them on the floor so we didn't have to rent cots or anything.

Then I found the bed and breakfast. The owner was very sweet and completely surpassed every expectation we had. Our room was on the first floor, just 20 or so paces away from the main eating/tv/family room. We had one bedroom with a queen-size bed, a bathroom, and an adjoining bedroom/sitting room with a twin and trundle. There were even pocket doors between the two rooms to buffer out the noise.

So, we tucked the kids in bed, grabbed the bottle of wine we brought, and headed into the tv room to chill out until we went to bed. The owner even had a baby monitor we could use so we could hear the kids.

Breakfast was awesome. Delicious strata, fruit, bacon, etc. and always a full cup of coffee.

She even accommodated my gluten free diet. Everything she cooked was gluten free! Plus, I had my own jar of peanut butter cookies. Gluten free, of course! It was sooo nice to not have to worry about food.

Outside, she had a small fenced in yard with a swing set for the kids. Kim and I sat on the front porch and drank our coffee while the kids played.

We couldn't have asked for a better place to stay. And if we go to the reunion in the years to come, we will definitely be staying there again.

More pictures and stories to come soon!

Speechless

2009-07-28T22:08:00.005-05:00

I had every intention of posting something yesterday. Continuing the story of our road trip and family reunion. But, I received some very sad news that my friend Deana had passed away. She leaves behind two beautiful, little boys and a loving husband.

Less than a year ago, Deana was diagnosed with a rare form of cancer called Burkitt Lymphoma.

The chances she was given were 70% for cure and 90% chance that she can live with the cancer in remission.

This woman fought with every cell in her body to stay alive. To LIVE for her children, husband, family, friends. She was caring, selfless, funny, and kind. She had so much life left in her.

And yet, this damn disease has taken it away. Gone. Forever.

I can't help but think about these little boys.

They have lost their mommy. She won't be there to tuck them in at night. To wipe their tears. To sing songs or read books to them. To tickle them and hug them and cover them with kisses.

And I think about Jack, her husband. The weight of the world must be on his shoulders right now. To have lost the love of your life, mother of your children, after SO MUCH FIGHTING. How do you even begin again? How do you tell these beautiful boys that Mommy isn't coming back home?

*sigh*

I get choked up just thinking about it.

So, needless to say, I haven't really been up to posting much these past couple days. All I think about is Deana and her family. I know life must go on. And it will.

And I'll eventually post pics and stories from our trip. Maybe later this week. We'll see.

In the meantime, please go hug someone you love. Hug them tightly.
Because tomorrow is never a promise.

Home again, home again.

2009-07-26T20:49:00.003-05:00

We're back home from the family reunion.

Phew. It was a great trip. The kids...

What? What's that? You didn't know we were going away for the weekend?
Yeah, I'm sorry, I don't think I ever mentioned it.

Well, we went down-state for a family reunion. On Kim's side of the family. My family is either in the Chicago area or in England. Kim's the one with the hillbillies.

We left Friday morning, drove 5-6 hours, stayed for two nights, then headed back home today. After three days of no naps, poor nighttime sleeping and two long car rides, the kids are beat. And cranky, emotional, temperamental and (I hate to admit it) a bit irritating. I look forward to getting my children back when they aren't sleep deprived. They were in bed at 6:20pm tonight and asleep within 10 minutes.

I'll post pictures and write more about our trip during the week. But, for now, I have to share this story before I forget it.

On our way home, we stopped at Arby's for lunch. We rarely eat at Arby's. In fact, I think the last time I had Arby's was when I was pregnant. I will never forget that day.

We were coming back from crib shopping and stopped for lunch. I had two beef and cheddar's. Two. And fries. And I could have easily eaten more. Oh, those beef and cheddar's tasted soooo good.

I'm sure that had nothing to do with the 90lbs I gained during my pregnancy.

Anyway, back to my story...
We were sitting in a booth and Connor was next to me. He was kicking his legs against the bottom of the booth and it was rather annoying. I asked him to stop.

Connor, please stop kicking your legs.

But, I'm not kicking my legs.

Yes you are. And stop it, please.

But, I'm not kicking. It's just that my legs are dancing.

I sooooo love Toddler mentality sometimes!

A B&G PSA

2009-07-22T08:43:00.004-05:00

This morning Connor tipped over a lamp and the light bulb inside broke. It was one of those fancy CFL's (compact florescent light) that, while save tons of energy, are filled with mercury and potentially dangerous. I had no idea how to dispose of the pieces or how to clean it up. I did what I thought was best, which is not even close to what they suggest, then researched the proper way of handling a broken CFL.

Since many of you have young children, I thought I'd post this on here. I'm going to print it off and keep it in my kitchen for future reference.
I found all of this information at: http://www.epa.gov/mercury/spills/#fluorescent

Before Clean-up:
Air Out the Room
Have people and pets leave the room, and don't let anyone walk through the breakage area on their way out.
Open a window and leave the room for 15 minutes or more.
Shut off the central forced-air heating/air conditioning system, if you have one.

Clean-Up Steps for Hard Surfaces
Carefully scoop up glass pieces and powder using stiff paper or cardboard and place them in a glass jar with metal lid (such as a canning jar) or in a sealed plastic bag.
Use sticky tape, such as duct tape, to pick up any remaining small glass fragments and powder.
Wipe the area clean with damp paper towels or disposable wet wipes. Place towels in the glass jar or plastic bag.
Do not use a vacuum or broom to clean up the broken bulb on hard surfaces.

Clean-up Steps for Carpeting or Rug
Carefully pick up glass fragments and place them in a glass jar with metal lid (such as a canning jar) or in a sealed plastic bag.
Use sticky tape, such as duct tape, to pick up any remaining small glass fragments and powder.
If vacuuming is needed after all visible materials are removed, vacuum the area where the bulb was broken.
Remove the vacuum bag (or empty and wipe the canister), and put the bag or vacuum debris in a sealed plastic bag.

Clean-up Steps for Clothing, Bedding and Other Soft Materials
If clothing or bedding materials come in direct contact with broken glass or mercury-containing powder from inside the bulb that may stick to the fabric, the clothing or bedding should be thrown away. Do not wash such clothing or bedding because mercury fragments in the clothing may contaminate the machine and/or pollute sewage.
You can, however, wash clothing or other materials that have been exposed to the mercury vapor from a broken CFL, such as the clothing you are wearing when you cleaned up the broken CFL, as long as that clothing has not come into direct contact with the materials from the broken bulb.
If shoes come into direct contact with broken glass or mercury-containing powder from the bulb, wipe them off with damp paper towels or disposable wet wipes. Place the towels or wipes in a glass jar or plastic bag for disposal.

Disposal of Clean-up Materials
Immediately place all clean-up materials outdoors in a trash container or protected area for the next normal trash pickup.
Wash your hands after disposing of the jars or plastic bags containing clean-up materials.
Check with your local or state government about disposal requirements in your specific area. Some states do not allow such trash disposal. Instead, they require that broken and unbroken mercury-containing bulbs be taken to a local recycling center.

Future Cleaning of Carpeting or Rug
Air Out the Room During and After Vacuuming
The next several times you vacuum, shut off the central forced-air heating/air conditioning system and open a window before vacuuming.
Keep the central heating/air conditioning system shut off and the window open for at least 15 minutes after vacuuming is completed.

So, after I read how to clean up the broken glass and mercury, and finding out that I had done it improperly, I wanted to see if my family was in danger of mercury exposure.

Here is what I found: http://www.treehugger.com/files/2007/05/ask_treehugger_14.php

I hope this you find this information helpful, but never need to use it!

See saw

2009-07-21T20:23:00.002-05:00

Sometimes I feel like parenting is like a see saw (or teeter totter...whatever you call it.) Give and take. Up and down. Good and bad.

Last weekend, Sasha was battling a major cold. She wasn't sleeping well at night, but she was tired as a dog and actually wanted to lay in bed. Wanted to go to sleep.

One side up, one side down.

Now, she's beat the cold, feeling much better and doesn't want to go to sleep. She's so passionate about not wanting to go to bed, in fact, that she has begun throwing major fits before bedtime. (Connor has, too, but that's for a different post.)

Other side up, other side down.

Tonight she threw one of those fits. For an hour.

While Kim was golfing.

And it was bath night.

I am not kidding when I say I totally expected one of my neighbors to call the sheriff, suspecting child abuse. She was SCREAMING!!!

She didn't want to come in the house. Didn't want to go upstairs. Didn't want to get undressed. And didn't want to get in the tub.

When I put her in the tub, she acted like I had put her in a vat of acid. Of course, the windows in the bathroom were wide open.

When I attempted to wash her, she began hitting me. And Sasha never hits, so this shows you how out of control she was.

Out of the tub she went. And, of course, now she didn't want to get out. She wanted to stay in the tub.

*sigh*

I won't go into the rest of the evening. Let's just say it ended up with her not getting a bedtime story or her teeth brushed (she wouldn't let me do it).

I wish I understood Toddler.

The other day, I was thinking that mothers everywhere have been dealing with this for centuries. The temper tantrums. The fits. The screaming. And the thought of 'What in the world can I do to get through to this child?'.

Sure, technology and society has changed over the years. But I think when it comes down to it, toddlers are toddlers. They are their own being. I can pretty much bet that some mom in 1892 dealt with her nearly three year old not wanting to go to bed.

And you know what? I'm also going to guess that she survived it. And so have all the other mothers out there, year after year after year.

And so will I.

Daggummit

2009-07-19T17:19:00.002-05:00

I totally thought Sasha was better today. She was running around, playing like her old self. It was great. I was able to get some housework done. She was playing with Connor instead of sitting on the couch like a lump of boogers.

Then she took a nap.

And when she woke up, things got worse.

*sigh* Her fever is back and she is all mopey again. Last I checked, it was at 101.2. Yesterday it was at 103.2.

Freakin' cold.

I'm pretty sure I have to take her to the doctor tomorrow morning. Can I just tell you how MUCH I love going to sick call on Monday mornings? (can you feel the sarcasm in my words?)
Everyone takes their ill child in from whatever bug they got over the weekend. I swear I feel like I need to wear a mask and rubber gloves.

Ug.

Plus, the wait is longer than the men's restroom at a football game.

We are going out of town this weekend for a family reunion. It's a 6 hour drive. If she's not better, we won't be able to go. So, I pretty much have to take her in. If she needs medicine, she needs it now.

However, for the time being, I'm cracking open the Cabernet and having a glass...or two. It's been a crazy week with two very sick children.

Here's to parenting.
Cheers!

Tag. You're it!

2009-07-17T10:21:00.003-05:00

Connor is over his cold. It went away just as quickly as it came.

Last night, Sasha's nose started running when we tucked her in. She seemed a bit warm.

She went from this, last night:

To this, this morning:

Poor little thing is sick, sick, sick. She seems to have the same thing Connor had. High fever, runny nose, zero appetite. So, hopefully it'll run it's course w/in a day or so. Looks like a laid back weekend in our house!

In other news...
After I read them a book this morning, Connor went and took his letters and spelled out the title of it.
"The Cat Who Stamped His Feet".

He ran out of letters in one set and borrowed them from other sets. The way it looked reminded me of a ransom note.

He was very proud of his work.

And, here's more proof that he's feeling better. Salami eyes.

This kid cracks me up.
Hope you have a wonderful weekend!

Golfing with Daddy

2009-07-15T17:29:00.003-05:00

Monday night, Kim took Sasha golfing with him. He's in a golf league that plays every Tuesday. So, lately he's been trying to improve his scores by practicing a quick 9 on Mondays.

Connor stayed at home with me since he was still pretty sick. We snuggled on the couch and watched Blues Clues while they were gone. He had no desire to go golfing. He wanted to stay in his pajamas and veg.

Sasha sat on the bench while Kim was teeing off.

He also had her hold the flags. A job she took very seriously.

I'm guessing she's posing for the picture, here. She does that all the time.

Then Kim let her try putting. It cracks me up because the club is as big as she is.

They came home and she told me all about their golf adventure. She really enjoyed it! I think Connor will go next week. Stay tuned for pictures!

I'm back

2009-07-14T21:59:00.002-05:00

Sunday afternoon, I came home from my weekend away with my friend.

We had a great time. Lots of laughs. Lots of sleeping. Some shopping (I got a $45 shirt for $20 at Ann Taylor!). And, of course, eating and drinking.

This is me Saturday night, enjoying one of many margaritas I had that day. Cheers!
This is Kim. Not enjoying the only peach margarita she had that day. She's cracking up about it, actually.
Notice how the bottom is orange and the top is white? Well the orange was a peachy syrup and the white was a slushy foam. Not exactly what she was thinking of when she ordered it.
Anyway, these are pretty much the only two pictures I took the entire time. I did get a couple on my phone, but that's it. I guess we were too busy doing nothing to worry about pictures. Happens every year.

We had a blast and I can't wait until next year. I'm already starting to think of places we can go and how we can save the money for it. We'll see. Maybe next year I'll kick my gang out of the house and we'll stay here.

Who knows.

I DO know that on Sunday, Kim called me to say that Connor was really sick. His temp was 102.3 and he was whining for Mommy. So, I hightailed it out of her house and headed home as quickly as I could.

Well, as quickly as one can when the drive is almost 90 minutes long. Man, I wish we lived closer.

I came home to a very sick little boy. Connor was battling a runny nose and a high fever. He obviously felt miserable and just wanted to cuddle with me. I felt really bad for him. And for Kim.

His fever would go down after a dose of Motrin and then shoot straight up about 5 hours later. Connor would be pouring with sweat and achy. The highest it got was 103.

Last night, I was in his room every 30 minutes between 7:30p-10:30p. The last time I went in, he was soaked with sweat. His hair was drenched. I had to change his sheets, pajamas and underwear. I'm assuming his fever finally broke since he hasn't had one since.

Today, he felt much better. He was actually smiling and playing. He ate a bit more. We even went outside to play after their nap. I think we're over the worst of it.

I'm not sure what kind of bug he had, but I'm sure glad it's going away. And I really hope Sasha doesn't get it.

So now I'm back in the real world. Back in the swing of things. And things are really swingin', obviously! There's no rest for the mommy!

We interrupt this blog...

2009-07-09T22:33:00.004-05:00

I'll be gone over the weekend, spending time with my best friend. It's our annual kid-free, husband-free, responsibility-free (for the most part) weekend. The first two years, we spent in the city (that would be Chicago, for those of you that don't know), but this year is a budget weekend. So, her husband and daughters are staying at Grandma's house for the weekend.

We have a bunch of relaxing, eating, shopping, laughing, eating, drinking and sleeping planned. Oh, and did I say eating? And relaxing? I cannot wait.

However, I most likely won't be posting anything while I'm gone. So, I'll leave you with some pictures from our summer so far.

See you next week!

Happy Father's Day, Kim!
Dustyn and Kim had just returned from a day of golf. The kids and I had made a gluten-free chocolate cake for Father's Day. They decorated it. It was delish!

While Dustyn was in town, we went to our town's carnival/car show. Here, we're enjoying some lunch at a local bakery. Connor is chowing on a yummy cookie.
Dustyn and Sasha pose for a picture. She loves, loves, loves her big brother.
This year, we introduced Flavor Ice to the kids. It kills me to give them these because I only see them as frozen food coloring, artificial everything and preservatives, but don't tell anyone I said that. They all think I'm weird when I talk about that stuff.

Actually, this picture is from Spring, when we took the kids to the zoo. But, I thought it was too cute to not post.

Here are our beautiful twins all dressed up for their Father's Day picture for Kim. Dustyn bought them these outfits for Christmas last year. I love this picture.

Follow me!

2009-07-09T12:39:00.001-05:00

On the right of the page is a list of people that follow my blog. If you follow, but aren't on the list, go ahead and sign in! I love seeing who's visiting this place and keeping up with the craziness I post about!

Our 4th of July

2009-07-08T08:47:00.002-05:00

This year we had my friend Valerie, her husband and their two children over to celebrate the holiday. It was a small get together, but we all had a great time. Sometimes I think the smaller the crowd, the better it is.

You get to kick back and relax a bit more.

Here's Connor's fake smile. He does it when I force him to smile at the camera.

Before the day got long and the kids got cranky, we took the opportunity to take some group pictures of all four kids.

Connor was absolutely enamoured with Amarah. He got on the floor to play and crawl around with her. It was so cute to see.

Here we are at the fireworks event. Sasha and Addison are holding hands.

My friend and I agreed we should definitely make this an annual get together. This is my favorite holiday and I love spending it with friends, just as my family did when I was growing up.

The Wonder Pets Save the Baby Bird

2009-07-07T19:55:00.003-05:00

The Wonder Pets! is one of the kids' favorite shows. Each episode follows the adventures of three classroom pets--Linny the Guinea Pig, Ming-Ming Duckling, and Turtle Tuck--who travel around the globe helping to rescue animals who need their help.

Like real preschoolers, these three unlikely heroes don't have any actual super powers, but by working together they can conquer any obstacle: "What's gonna work? Teamwork!"

So, why am I talking about these goofy characters? Here's the story:

The kids and I were outside cleaning things up after spending almost the whole day out there. I heard some birds causing some serious commotion and glanced over to see what was going on. I saw Payton (our lab) biting something on the ground and birds swooping over his head.

I ran over and saw him biting at a baby bird. It must have fallen from the nest. After I got the dogs inside, I went to check it out. Luckily, I was able to stop Payton before he did any damage. The bird seemed shaken up, but fine.

We went in the house and watched the live Animal Planet out the window.

I expressed my concern for the baby bird. The mother was obviously stressed and didn't know what to do. She hopped left and right on the fence, chirping away.

That's when Connor said, "We need to call the Wonder Pets and give them the plan."

He went over to their play kitchen, grabbed the phone and told the Wonder Pets about the baby bird. He came back and told us they were on their way.

I asked him what the plan was.

Well, Tuck has to lift the baby bird.

Linny's gotta push the baby bird.
And Ming Ming has to hold the top of the bird.

They need to push the bird on to the big tree. Then climb up the fence and get the mommy back to the baby bird.

He had the whole thing planned and The Wonder Pets were going to take care of everything. Sasha agreed 100%.

Well, obviously The Wonder Pets haven't come to save the baby bird. I told the kids that they'd come when they went to bed. Hopefully that bird isn't still in the lawn in the morning. I'm pretty sure both of them will ask me about it when they wake up.

Luckily, I've seen the bird hop around. Plus, the mother bird has brought food to it. I think he's ok, he just can't fly.

As a mother, I can feel her pain and understand her concern. I want to help the little bird, but I don't think there's anything I can do but let nature take its course. It is still sitting in the yard as I type.

But, I love the mind and imagination of a preschooler. If only problems could be solved that easily!

Preschool

2009-07-05T13:55:00.000-05:00

We had a great holiday yesterday and are trying to recover today. I'll write all about it and post some pictures tomorrow, but for now I'll leave you with this...

I registered Connor and Sasha in preschool for the fall. They will be attending school two mornings a week from 9:00-11:30. Right now, the days they will be going are up in the air. I requested Monday & Wednesday, but apparently there is only one open slot on Mondays. So, the woman that called me said she would call some families to see if they'd be able/willing to move to the Friday class to open up another slot on Monday. If not, then the kids will be going to school on Wednesdays and Fridays.

Did you get all that?

I'm really interested to see how they react to being dropped off at school, especially Connor. I wouldn't call him shy, but more introverted. When he's unsure of someone or a situation, he likes to lay back and observe. He's always been a thinker. And he has absolutely no issues with playing by himself. He rarely clings to my legs and hides from people. He just stands there and checks them out.

Sasha is practically the opposite. Sometimes she is quiet, but for the most part she is social and has no problem saying, "Hello" to strangers. Most of the time, she'll give Connor a shove towards the person they're meeting.

But, surprisingly enough, Connor is the leader of the pair. When they're playing or hanging out she follows his lead most of the time. Connor is the instigator; the brains of the operation.

On their first day of school, parents are supposed to stay. The kids are very excited about school. And, honestly, I'm pretty excited for them. It will be so neat to see them make new friends, learn new things, get out on their own.

I know I'll be teary-eyed and a bit anxious to drop them off and leave them in the hands of complete strangers. Where I won't be able to keep an eye on them, make sure they mind their manners, play nicely and share, and aren't complete spazzes, running around like a bunch of monkeys. This will be a growing/learning process for all of us.

Our children are growing up. And, it's not the fact that they're no longer babies that makes me weep. It's that these are the moments I dreamed of before we had children. The first day of school. The dance recitals. The holiday music sung by a bunch of squeaky 5 & 6 year olds.

I am sooo looking forward to it.

Oh, that and the extra 2.5 hours of child-free time I'll have two days a week!

You know you have kids...

2009-07-02T21:16:00.003-05:00

When you find a sticker on the top of your sock and you have no idea how long it has been there or where on earth you could have picked it up from.

This was my sock last night.

It's been a long week.

How I'm feeling

2009-07-01T12:41:00.001-05:00

It's been about a month since I started a gluten-free lifestyle. I cannot tell you how much better I feel. The bloating, nausea, digestion issues, constant fatigue, etc. all GONE!!

I feel so much more balanced now. It's amazing how one thing like gluten can affect the body.

It hasn't been super-easy, but not as difficult as I expected either. Going out to eat is a challenge, though. I need to be more assertive when ordering my food and stressing the importance of my disease. I can really tell when I've eaten something with gluten in it. What used to be just a "normal way of feeling" now makes sense to me. It's not normal at all! People shouldn't feel sick after they eat. I never realized that because it was always how I felt. But, somewhere in the back of my mind I always felt something was wrong.

So far, we've had gluten free lasagna & penne pasta. They were delicious! Kim and Dustyn had seconds and thirds!

I have yet to travel down the gluten free bread route and I'm starting to miss it terribly. I love sandwiches. Right now, I take a lettuce leaf and roll it up with some meat and cheese for lunch. It works, but just isn't the same.

I have purchased some gluten free beer. And, while it's not the same as my old stand-by, it works. And, once again, it's nice to not feel bloated and ill after drinking one. I never realized what it was gluten that made me feel so miserable.

And the gluten free pretzels are much better than the regular ones!

Thinking about living this way for the rest of my life is a bit overwhelming. I'm just taking it one bit at a time. And so far it's worked well. I don't remember the last time I felt this good.

If you, or anyone you know, are having digestive issues or other symptoms that you think are odd, if you're living with symptoms that you know aren't normal, I suggest going to your doctor. Get tested for Celiac Disease or a gluten intolerance. It might be the best thing you've ever done.

Sasha's new room

2009-07-01T09:59:00.003-05:00

Sasha and Connor have been in their own rooms for a while now. I figure it's about time I post some pictures of the finished product.

Just a recap...
The room that is currently Sasha's used to be their toy room. We had planned on keeping it as a toy room, painting and organizing it. But, after we purchased the paint, we decided to move Sasha and make it her own.
I still don't think I would have purchased this color paint if I had known it was going to be her room, but you know what they say about hind sight.

Anyway, here are some before and after pictures.

Oh, I'd like to note that the "before" pictures were taken in the winter. So, the placement of the train table in front of the window was safe since the windows were closed and locked. It was only temporary and was to be moved away from the window in the remodel.

Before: The Pit
After: The big flowers are wallpaper (Wallies) and the little ones along the baseboard are stickers.Before: Here's the train table I mentioned above. To me, with the mini-blinds and train table in front of the window, this picture says Death Trap all over it.

After: See Kim's craftsmanship on the window frame? And the mini-blinds are gone.Before: Can you find Sasha under all that mess?

After: Nice and organized. Closet and trim are painted white.
Before: Ugh.

After: A beautiful room for a beautiful little girl.

What we learned today

2009-06-29T20:38:00.003-05:00

Today, out of nowhere, Connor asked me, "Mom, do bees have tongues?"

The way his mind works is so amazing to me. So, later on, I went online to find the answer.
And in case you were wondering, bees do have tongues.

Like they say, you learn something new every day.

Dustyn the Wonder Teen

2009-06-22T20:57:00.003-05:00

For years I called Dustyn, "Dustyn the Wonder Teen." Now that he's 20, turning 21 on Nov 30, I no longer call him that, but today the "wonder" part of it stands.

He had two wisdom teeth pulled this afternoon. Right now, he's sitting here playing golf on Wii with Kim. He came home, teeth in hand, and ate some leftover sweet and sour chicken from last night's dinner. With no problems. He's not even swollen!

He says he's not in much pain. He's smiling and laughing. I have yet to see him take an Advil.

Either I'm a big wimp or he's got the highest pain tolerance of anyone I know.

When I had my one and only wisdom tooth pulled, I was in so much pain I thought I was going to die. I remember pacing back and forth at the pharmacy, crying, waiting for them to fill my prescription of Vicoden.

Then, later that night, when my bleeding hadn't stopped or even slowed down, I had my Dr paged. He suggested I apply a wet tea bag on the site to stop the bleeding. Man was I miserable. I walked up and down the hallway in my parent's house, holding my cheek, crying.

Dustyn ate a full meal just hours after having TWO teeth pulled.

I have no idea how. But like I said, "wonder" definitely stands today.

Thank you Mother Nature.

2009-06-20T20:31:00.002-05:00

We had some really crazy storms last night. It started around 6pm with these strange looking clouds. Dustyn, Kim and I watched as the clouds above our house begun to spin and create a circle in the sky. Then we saw what looked like an eye in the sky.

It was creepy.

Then the tornado sirens went off.

Kim rushed the kids and their pizza dinner downstairs in the basement. I stayed on the deck with Dustyn. For some reason I didn't feel scared. Normally I'm the one rushing everyone into the basement with flashlights and a radio in hand.

Luckily, the tornado warning passed, the sirens stopped and the clouds began looking normal again. Except this time, it got really, really dark. Like, black as night dark. And then the rain came.

Boy did it ever! It absolutely came down in sheets. Fast and hard.

Before we knew it, our back yard was flooding. Then our front yard. This is fairly normal, however the speed it was happening was very unusual. Our sub pump was running constantly. It was having a very hard time keeping up with the water.

We put the kids to bed and headed down to the basement to get everything up off the floor. While we were doing that, our next door neighbor came by and told us his basement had started flooding. And the house next to him had begun flooding, too.

We were just about finished piling things on tables and shelves when we noticed our window wells were leaking. Then water started coming in through the foundation.

Six years we've lived here and never before has this happened. Like I mentioned before, we have some drainage issues so some minor flooding in our yard is normal, but this was crazy. And scary. And there was not much we could do to prevent it.

By the end of the night, we had 1.5" in our basement. Our next door neighbors had 7". The house next to them had 4' in their basement.

FOUR FEET OF WATER!!

They lost pretty much everything. Kim went over there and said he saw boxes floating around in the water. So sad. I guess the water rushed up and into their window wells in their basement. The pressure from the water caused three windows to break and that's where most of the water came in.

We had a river in our backyard that had buried the new garden I planted. The water was about 5' away from the walk leading to our house. Our driveway was covered with muddy water. And we couldn't drive down the road because it was flooded so badly.

Dustyn was supposed to go to the city for his friend's birthday party, but we couldn't even get out of the driveway to take him to the train station.

This morning, all that was left was a soggy, muddy yard and a bunch of caked mud on our driveway and street. As of 10am, my neighbors still had one foot of water in their basement. They spent the entire day going through everything.

I can't help but think about how fast it all happened. Just within a couple hours! You never know what tomorrow will bring. Or even what the next ten minutes might bring.

It's amazing how a phone call, a knock at the door, a car ride or even a storm can change your life so dramatically.

I'm just happy and relieved that nobody was hurt. That storm could have been worse. Those clouds could have kept spinning and formed a tornado. Can you imagine how much different this post would be if that had happened?

Busy, busy.

2009-06-12T14:12:00.004-05:00

Shoot. We have been busy!

In the past week we've had two birthday parties, Dustyn came into town, a family get together for my cousin's 30th birthday (that had us away from the house from 6am-10:30pm), met Kim at his work for lunch (which is also my previous place of employment, so we saw a ton of my old friends/coworkers), and some really nice weather.

Phew.
That was a long sentence.

I've been taking advantage of the nice weather by doing a ton of yard work. This is stuff I've been meaning to do for almost 6 years. I've dug up the grass around 2/3 of the deck and planted a bunch of things. I also have started digging up around the foundation of the house and planting hostas and stuff around there. It really makes a difference in the way the yard looks. I love it.

Hopefully I'll post pictures, but don't hold your breath.

Like I mentioned above, Dustyn is in town. The kids are soooo happy to see him and spend time with him. It is obvious they miss him when he's in California. Sasha doesn't want to go anywhere without him and she makes sure we don't leave until he's in the van with us. It is so sweet.

It's great to have him back home. It's a shame he leaves in a week.

Kim and I have casually been looking at houses further south of us. I'm pretty sure we won't be moving anytime soon, but it's nice to see what's out there and dream. We love our house and yard. We just don't love the location. We feel too far away from my side of the family and friends. We live no further than 15 minutes from both of his brothers and parents, yet we rarely see them. But my family/friends are no less than 1 hour away.

We originally moved here to stay closer to Dustyn. At the time, he was living with his mother. Little did we know that less than one year later he'd be living with us and switching high schools. So, I guess we could have moved anywhere we wanted if we had known that. But you know what they say about hind sight. And now that he lives in California, our options are pretty endless.

But the market is so bad right now, I'm not sure we'd get what we want for our house. And we never finished the project we started last year. We still have to finish the baseboards and trim around the windows. Then, we have to do all of the trim and windows upstairs. A BIG part of the project. I guess moving would really motivate us to finish.

Tomorrow Kim is taking the day off work so we can spend the day with the kids. All three of them. Although now that Dustyn is 20, almost 21, can we still call him a "kid"?

We need to figure out what to do.

In the meantime, I must get back to my super-exciting pile of laundry.
I can hear it calling my name.

Dustyn's First Line

2009-06-08T11:16:00.003-05:00

Check out Dustyn's first on-screen line!!

It comes quickly around 14:40 into the show. The woman says something to him and he yells,

"Yeah!!"

So neat!! :)

http://abc.go.com/player/index?pn=index&show=93528&season=139804&episode=211612&timestamp=868

It's Episode 11 on Pushing Daisies, by the way.
Bear with the commercials. It's a pain, but worth it.

Because of this line, Dustyn gets paid $750. And, he becomes a member of SAG.
Very cool!! I couldn't think of a better thing to post for my 100th post!!

Yea Dustyn!

Stickers and baseball

2009-06-08T09:15:00.002-05:00

Last night, Sasha went to sleep and stayed asleep. She did not get out of bed. She did not put up a fight. We tucked her in and that was that.

Can I get a HALLELUJAH?!!

The sticker chart is working very well and it's only been two nights. I already have a happier little girl. I'm wondering if part of her fits were due to being overtired. We were stuck in a crazy circle and the answer was a sticker. Who woulda thunk it?

Awesome.

Tonight Kim and I are going to the White Sox game with some friends. I am very, very excited about a night out. Sure, I get to go out for the monthly Bunco game with my Mom's group. And I get together with some friends from high school about once a month. But it's very rare that Kim and I get to go out together. And if we do, we normally leave after the kids have gone to bed and come back a couple hours later.

Today, we are leaving at 3p for a 7p game. We probably won't get home until 11:30p. Now, THAT'S a date night.

It'll be interesting to see if there's anything gluten free that I can eat at the stadium. I'm bringing some munchies just in case.

Connor and Sasha are really excited that their babysitter, Stacy, is coming over to play with them. They love Stacy. It took me such a long time to find someone I felt would do a good job taking care of them. Someone that wasn't family or a close friend.

She is one of Dustyn's good friends. They've known each other for years. I've always felt she was a very good egg. Very grounded. Her sense of humor is priceless. She's reliable. And, most importantly, the kids love her and she loves being with them.

Tonight is the first time she'll be giving them dinner and putting them to bed. I have faith that things will go smoothly. Connor and Sasha are at the age where they can pretty much tell her their routine and what they want. Much easier than when they were infants. Oy.

We had some crazy storms last night and it's supposed to rain today. I just hope the rain passes and it's clear enough for the game. Fingers crossed!

The latest

2009-06-06T21:09:00.002-05:00

My colonoscopy went well. Now we're waiting for the biopsy results to see if there's anything else going on. I should hear something next week.

In the meantime, I am to follow a gluten free diet for a month. If I feel better, then that's most likely the solution to my problems. My doctor said that even though my blood test was negative for Celiac, the biopsy was positive. His opinion is that the blood test is worthless. Why he made me get one in the first place makes no sense to me.

Whatever.

So I guess I have Celiac Disease. Kinda.

In other news...
Tonight we are starting something new with Miss Sasha's bedtime routine.

Lately she has been using every excuse in the book to delay bedtime and naptime. And when we don't comply with her requests/demands, she throws a major fit.

Major.

Which makes it really hard to stand our ground and not give in. Especially when she pulls this stuff at 12:30a or earlier.

Or would that be later? I dunno. Either way, it's annoying and frustrating.

Last night, we put them to bed at 7:30p and she didn't fall asleep until 9:45p. Then she woke at 12:30a demanding a glass of milk.

*sigh*

So, tonight I created a sticker chart for her. I figured the sticker-thing worked well for potty training. Might as well give it a try for this, too.

Before we tuck her into bed, she picks out a sticker and places it on the chart. If she stays in bed and goes to sleep she gets to keep the sticker. This means, she cannot call for us, throw a fit, knock on the door, etc, etc. If she does, the sticker gets taken away.

If she gets five stickers, she gets to go pick out a toy. She's decided that an Iron Man temporary tattoo will be just as good.

Five minutes after I tucked her in and reminded her, once again, of the new "rules" she was knocking on the door. As usual, she didn't want anything. She just looked at me with a blank stare. I started peeling off her sticker and she threw a major fit.

I tucked her back in bed and reminded her, once again, of the new "rules". She's been quiet ever since.

Man, I hope this sticker thing works! Fingers crossed, everyone!

Grrrrrrroooooowwwwwwllllggrrrrooooogggggg

2009-06-04T12:30:00.003-05:00

Did you hear that?

It's the sound of my stomach growling. It's 12:31 and I haven't eaten anything since last night.

Grrrrrrroooowwwwwlllllllgrrrrrrggggg

*excuse me*

Yesterday my blood tests came in. Turns out I do not have Celiac Disease. I am seriously shocked by this news. Honestly, I have about 90% of the symptoms Celiac's have. Look it up. It ain't pretty. Or fun.

While I should be happy to have negative test results, I'm a bit annoyed and frustrated. It sucks to not know what's wrong.

So, back to the doctor I go for more tests. Tomorrow is a colonoscopy. Which is why I can't eat today.

Gotta clean out the ol' pipes for them to get a good look-see.

Gurrrrggggglegrrrroowwwlllgreeeeeeggg

In all seriousness, the eating thing isn't really bothering me. I'm making a bigger deal out of it than I need to. Makes for better blogging, I guess.

I am hungry, but I sip my Gatorade and keep busy. I will definitely be napping today to pass the time. And you can bet I'll be going to bed earlier.

Luckily my appointment is at 6:30a.

I'll keep you posted.

UPDATE: It's 3:36p and I'm ready to chew my arm off.

Quiet moments

2009-06-02T16:07:00.003-05:00

Some of my favorite moments with Connor are when I haven't seen him in a while, whether it be from running errands solo or because he's just woken up from a nap. He gets so happy to see me, runs to me, slamming his body into mine, and gives me the biggest hug.

Then, he just cuddles with me. He doesn't say a word. He just holds me. Like all is well now that he's getting some Mama lovin'.

Our world stops.

I take a couple deep breaths and come back down to earth. Because I'm normally running around or stressing about something.

I love these quiet moments with him. I'm going to miss the heck out of them when he grows up. So, I'm completely savoring each of them as much as I can.

It's 3:14pm

2009-06-01T15:14:00.002-05:00

And Connor and Sasha have yet to take a nap. As I sit here typing, Sasha is rubbing her eyes. I gave up trying to get them to sleep. There comes a time in every Mom's day/week/month/life when the best thing to do is just wave the white flag and say, "You win."

I'm not sure why neither of them would sleep. They've both been cranky all day. Neither one woke up at an absurd hour in the morning. But, Sasha's first fit started the moment I opened her bedroom door when she woke up.

Makes a Mama want to put Bailey's in her coffee...

They both went with me to the clinic to get my blood drawn for yet another test to find out what's making me sick. Right now, the doctors are guessing Celiac Disease. The esophagus biopsy showed signs of it.

Ever heard of Celiac's? It's a gluten, wheat, barley intolerance. If I do have this condition, it will answer why I have a lot of my ailments.

There is no cure for Celiac's. No medications to take. Just a major adjustment to your diet. Forever.

We'll see. I'll hear from my doctor with the test results in a few days.

In the meantime, I need to figure out how to entertain two cranky toddlers who haven't napped and are stuck indoors because it's raining outside.

A beautiful day

2009-05-29T20:46:00.002-05:00

Today I woke up to the beautiful sun shining outside. It was so refreshing. It put me in a great mood despite the fact I only got about four hours of sleep last night and Connor was screaming, "I WANT ENGLISH MUFFINS!!!!" over and over from practically the moment he stepped foot downstairs.

What a wonderful way to wake up.

No, I'm not talking about the sun now.

Now that the kids have the "power" to make their own decisions and they understand that there are more options than what's been handed to them, they are really showing their opinions.

Sasha has begun screaming bloody murder when things don't go her way. It's the kind of scream that movie producers pay money for. I should probably record it and make some extra cash. It's that good.

The Scream comes after a conversation like this:

I want strawberries Mommy.

We don't have any strawberries, honey. How about an apple?

I. WANT. STRAWBERRIES!!

Sasha, we don't have any strawberries. We have to go buy some when we go shopping. Do you want an apple or banana?

IIIIII. WAAAAAAANT. STRAWWWWWWWWWWWBERRRRRRIESSSS!!!!!

Then she makes this nasty noise that's not really a cry or a whine. It's...well, it's indescribable. But, it's really annoying and whenever she does it, I make her go to her room to chill out.

So, that's pretty much where the rest of this conversation goes. With me telling her to go to her room if she's going to throw a fit over strawberries.

Then The Scream begins. Oy.

Anyway, back to Connor's english muffin....
He reeeally wanted an english muffin. The bagel I had served up just wasn't cutting it. Sasha, however, was more than happy to eat half of it for him while he was throwing his fit, which made him even angrier.

Oh well, dude. Eat it while you can or it's a gonner.

After that, he decided the bagel would do just fine. That and FOUR other slices of toast.

FOUR.

He was obviously starving, which is probably the main reason he had thrown such a huge fit. When his blood sugar drops even the slightest bit, watch out. He's such a typical guy. Keep him fed and he's a happy camper.

After breakfast I had my sweet Connor back and all was good in the world.

We headed to the park to meet some friends. Went to Wendy's for lunch. Played outside some more.

All in all, it was a beautiful day. Even with The Scream and The Beast.

After a week of rain, it's amazing what a day of sunshine can do to lift your spirits!

Good things

2009-05-28T09:19:00.002-05:00

Kim's car is finally out of the shop. He's been driving the van to work, leaving us without wheels all week. Not that the kids and I are out and about every day, but it's nice to know we can go somewhere if we want to.

Now we can. Yea!

On the way back from dropping him off at the garage, the kids and I stopped for breakfast. Dunkin' Donuts coffee and a bagel for me. Bagel for Sasha. Muffin for Connor.
Yum. Nothin's better than Dunkin's coffee first thing in the morning.

The kids both slept through the night last night. Without a single wake up yell. Nobody lost their bear. Nobody wanted to be tucked back in because their covers fell off. All four of us slept ALL NIGHT LONG.

Just like Lionel Richie. Although he wasn't sleeping, was he?

I seriously cannot remember the last time this happened. It was getting extremely frustrating and exhausting. This is such a good thing.

A couple days ago, we finished Sasha's room and moved her and her belongings in there. At first, she was really freaked out once she realized that she really was sleeping in there. Funny thing is, I had been so focused on Connor and how he'd feel about the whole thing, it never dawned on me that Sasha would be the upset one. I just assumed she'd be excited to have a new room and he'd feel like he was getting the shaft. Once again, they prove me wrong. They've been doing this before they were born.

Connor was so happy to have a new comforter with an alphabet on it. That's all he needed. I think Sasha felt like she was getting kicked out of her room. She understood that she had a new room and new comforter and stuff, she loves her room, but I don't think she wanted to be away from Connor.

Once we got her calmed down, she was fine. We haven't had any issues with it since.

And, bedtime has been much better. Once we tuck them in, they pretty much go to sleep. No more partying or goofing off. Such a good thing!

This move was very hard on me. I'm still trying to get used to it. The two of them have always been a pair, a team, inseparable. It was sad when I was cleaning out the closet, moving her things to her new room and packing up their baby stuff.

This change has been more difficult on me than any other change they've gone through.

But, all in all, I'd say it's a good thing, too.

Hope you have some good things in your life today.

The fun never ends

2009-05-25T08:56:00.002-05:00

Last Thursday, Kim was coming home from work when his car started overheating. It was about 83F and he was stuck in major rush-hour traffic. He had to shut the engine off at each red light he hit. He decided to take it to the local garage right away. They are very familiar with us and this car. I think we've spent at least $2,000 on repairs in the past year and a half.

In the middle of these repairs, Kim and I had talked about buying another car. We had put a cap on the amount we were willing to pay to fix a 10 year old car. We have now completely surpassed that cap.

Buying a new car is always easier said than done, especially when you're used to not having a car payment. We certainly don't have an extra $300-400 lying around that we don't know what to do with.

Hey! I know! Let's buy a new car! What else are we going to do with all this money?

But there comes a time in when enough is enough. Putting more money into repairs than a car is actually worth makes absolutely no sense. So we have begun looking for a new car for Kim.

Since our last two car purchases were Hyundai's (a Santa Fe and Entourage), I suggested we go see what Hyundai has. We love(d) our Hyundai's. We were very sad to get rid of the Santa Fe, but had no choice. We needed more room for our new family of five.

Hyundai's Sonata is roomy, affordable, and has great safety ratings. We just need to go check it out. Which means getting someone to watch the kids.

Anyone out there have any suggestions on other cars we can look at?

Because of this recent change in events, I'm pretty sure we've decided to wait on enrolling the kids in preschool until next year. We can take the money we were going to spend on preschool tuition and put it towards a car payment.

I am really bummed about this, but it's the best thing to do.
You can't have it all, can you?

It's here!

2009-05-20T14:15:00.002-05:00

Good weather is finally here!!

Today, it's almost 80F with blue skies and not a cloud to be seen. Aaaahhhhh! Heaven!!

The kids and I got dressed and went outside right after breakfast. I can't remember the last time we were outside playing at 8am. I was able to sit in the morning sun and drink my first cup of coffee in a week.

Lovely.

I need to look into places I can take them during the week. Something that isn't far, isn't expensive, and is age-appropriate. It would be a huge plus if it were outside, too. I love hanging around the house but they get bored playing with the same toys all the time. I want them to get out of their bubble and play with other kids, experience other things, etc.

Kim and I are still going back and forth about them going to preschool in the fall. I know they'd like it, but we could put the tuition towards paying off bills or helping Dustyn out. But, on the other hand, it is a guarantee that they'll be out of the house two days a week during the cold months. (School runs Sept-May.) We could all use a break from the day-to-day that is this house in the winter. Ugh.

Work on Sasha's room has kinda stopped. I came down with some crazy stomach issue last week and we've been dealing with that. I get some tests run on Friday to see what's up. They think it might be an ulcer and colitis or Crohn's disease. Who knows. Either way, it ain't pretty, I'll tell ya that.

I am feeling better than I have in a while, though. So, I've got nothing to complain about! :)

However, Kim did buy the carpet for her room. It is sitting in our dining room right now, waiting to be installed. The trim is painted and the doors need one more coat. Poor girl, she's being so patient about this whole thing. She has no idea why it's taking so long.

Well, I'm off to do dishes. Yippee!
Just wanted to pop in and post something since Dustyn told me I needed to do it more often.

Thanks Dusty! :)

The decision

2009-05-11T12:57:00.003-05:00

We have decided to turn the toy room into Sasha's bedroom. We gave both of the kids the option of keeping it the toy room or moving her "next door" and they both agreed to move her. I keep explaining how it will be after she moves out and they seem to understand completely and are 100% on board with the move.

I wish I had known we were going to move her before we bought the paint. I had picked out a bright tangerine color (technically it's called Mandarin Orange) and some posters to match. I thought the bright orange would look nice against the white storage units we just bought.

If I had known she was going to move, I would have picked a different color. Something a lot easier to match with decorations for a girl's room. Yellow would have been nice, just maybe not as bright. I mean, this color is so bright, I swear my retinas were burning after I finished painting.

Sasha loves it, though, so I guess that's all that matters.

Have I posted about all of this before? I can't remember. This is what I get when I:
- Don't post as often as I should.
- Post when I'm trying to watch the kids and prevent them from trashing anything, like they did this weekend with my potted plant that dumped on their bin of wooden train tracks and dress up clothes.
- Post when I'm tired.

If I've mentioned this stuff about the toy room and paint color before, I apologize.

Anyway....

So, with the Mandarin Orange to work with, I bought her some new toddler bedding. It has red gingham, lady bugs and flowers on it. Very cute. Very girly.

I also bought Connor some new bedding. I didn't want him to feel like he was getting the raw end of the deal. I found some alphabet bedding that I know he'll love. I was worried it was too babyish, but my friend reassured me that he'll eventually move into a bigger bed and out of the toddler ABC bedding before I know it.

I'm not just getting them new bedding because I think it will help with the transition. I can't even tell you how many times the kids have woken up in the middle of the night, often more than once, asking us to cover them back up. Ugh. No matter how much we try, they just won't do it themselves.

They are currently using these quilted blankets our neighbor made for them when they were born. Man, have we gotten the use out of those! We used them as floor blankets when they were infants and now tuck them in with them. Thank you Cathi!

They are just big enough to tuck in between the bed and the wall, but I guess it's not enough to stay tucked for an entire night. I'm looking forward to (hopefully) having less wake up calls in the middle of the night. fingers crossed...

So, the room is done being painted. All that's left is to finish painting the trim and doors white and install the window frame. Then, I get to do all the fun decorating. I'm guessing it will all be done in about a month or so, the way Kim and I work.

I'm only kidding, of course.

Well, partially.

In other family news...
Yesterday was Mother's Day. I had a great day!
Saturday morning, the kids woke up at 7:40a. Considering Connor's been getting up at 5:55a lately, I pretty much counted that as part of my Mother's Day gift, even though it was on Saturday.

Sunday morning, Kim got up with the kids to make breakfast. I had put my menu request in the day before: Orange cinnamon rolls, fruit, bacon and orange juice. Yum.

Around 8:00, the kids came upstairs with my Mother's Day card and a bunch of hugs and kisses. Breakfast was ready.

The rest of the day was pretty relaxing. We went to TGIFriday's for lunch. Surprisingly, it was not busy at all.

When the kids were infants, we never went out for a meal. Ever. They were such a handful and had colic for almost 5 months. I don't think we started going out to eat with them, other than a rare occasion, until they were at least a year old.

Eating out with them is such a treat now, especially since they are potty trained. They order their own food, don't jump around in the booth, don't make (too much of) a mess, etc. We have conversations with them. They tell us when they have to go potty. It's awesome.

I completely enjoyed lunch with them. Such a shame Dustyn wasn't here. Although, he did call me to wish me a Mother's Day later on that night.

My "gift" was a necklace that I bought for myself last week. I'm not one that needs expensive gifts to show me how much my family appreciates and loves me. I know they do. I've always told Kim, "I'm a Subway girl. I don't need fancy restaurants."

All I want is a nice day with them. No chores. No stress. And the fact that Kim did the cooking and stuff is definitely a bonus! Just the fact that I get to celebrate Mother's Day as a Mother is a gift in itself. It truly is one of the best things anyone can experience.

My children may lead me to drink, nap or go crazy on any given day (sometimes all in the same day), but I love them to pieces and I know they love me back. I'm trying to appreciate each day as much as I can. Because tomorrow is never a promise.

I hope each of you enjoyed your Mother's Day as much as I did.

Changes...well, maybe

2009-05-01T09:32:00.003-05:00

Yesterday I started painting the toy room. Well, what we currently call the toy room, that is. Kim and I are on the fence about making it Sasha's bedroom.

I'm so torn about this whole thing.

On one hand, I truly believe that Connor and Sasha love being together. They've been sleeping in the same room forever. Since the beginning...literally, when they were in the womb. I think about how I feel when Kim is out of town, sleeping in my bed alone. It sucks. I wonder if the kids would feel the same way if they had separate bedrooms.

But then again, I think that they are waking each other up and aren't getting enough sleep as they could or should be. This morning was a good example of this:

Connor woke up at 5:55a. I brought him to the bathroom to pee and shuffled him back to bed, reminding him to stay quiet and not wake his sister. Sasha was still sound asleep. She had a rough night and woke a few times, so she was pretty tired.

Around 6:15a, I heard Connor yelling, "SURPRISE!! SURPRISE!!!" over and over, trying to wake up Sasha. I went in there and told him to be quiet.

Sasha had woken up and wasn't pleased about it. She obviously wanted to stay asleep.

He came into my room around 6:40a. Sasha was still sleeping. I kept him in my room and popped on the television for him, while I got a bit more sleep.

Sasha stayed in bed until 7:15a. She was so tired.

Bedtime and naptime aren't any better. Kim and I are often telling them to keep quiet or "you'll wake your brother/sister!" We wonder if separating them would improve their sleep habits. I know they're overtired.

So, we decided to give it a try. After we finish the painting and recarpeting, we'll move Sasha's bed in the room. Just to see how it goes. I don't want to go all gangbusters on the decorating and stuff just to find out that it was a bad mistake.

But....then again, shouldn't I make this special for her? Get her excited about "her own room"? Decorate it just for her? I dunno, I dunno.

I asked the kids if they wanted this room to be the toy room or Sasha's bedroom and they both said, "Sasha's bedroom." I explained to them that this meant they would be sleeping in separate bedrooms; that Sasha's bed would be in here and Connor's bed would be in there. They both understood.

Sasha keeps calling it "my bedroom" and is very excited to bring all of her friends (a.k.a. stuffed animals) in there. She is dying to sleep in there. Connor has no interest.

I mentioned before that I'm a very indecisive person. This is a perfect example of that. I have no idea what to do. What is the right thing to do? What will be best for them?

I guess only time will tell.

Running through my mind...

2009-04-28T19:24:00.002-05:00

I wonder if Ed can fix my laptop. It would be really nice to have a computer downstairs during the day. I'd definitely post on the blog more.

I hope those weeds in the yard magically disappear. Is there anything such as a Weed Fairy? I'm sure the neighbors are shaking their heads.

Why is Lexi throwing up again? We cannot afford another vet bill. I just took Payton there last week for a butt issue. That was lovely.

Kim is golfing in the cold. It's 43F. Brrrr... His weekly golf league starts today.

I wish the kids would go to sleep already. They've been in there for almost 30 minutes. This bedtime stuff is getting old. I'm seriously considering separating them. Well, at this moment, that is.

My tulips bring me such happiness in the morning when I open the curtains. I look forward to seeing them every day. I have never appreciated Spring so much as I do this year.

Our plans on Friday fell through and now we have nothing to do, with a babysitter coming for the evening. What should we do with our free night?! I shouldn't cancel the sitter. She takes off work to watch the kids.

I hope the carrot cake cookie recipe I'm submitting for the Eating Well Magazine Cookie Contest are winners!

Now that we've picked out the paint for the toy room, (it's called Mandarin Orange) I should really get to painting it.

I'm missing American Idol because I'm posting this. I can't believe I actually watch that show. Oy.

I want a snack, but my ass doesn't need it.

Uncle

2009-04-23T08:03:00.004-05:00

Remember when you were a kid and your friend, brother, sister, neighborhood bully, etc. would pin you down and torture you until you said, "Uncle!!"??

Where did that come from? Why "uncle"? Why not "macaroni" (my favorite word in the English language) or "snicklefritz" or "marshmallow"?

Wonder how the uncle-thing got started....

Deep thoughts by Lauren.

Anyway, I'm screaming UNCLE today.

I give.

I surrender.

They win.

Enough is enough.

6:00 is our new wake-up time. It is what it is. Any time after that is just gravy.

There is nothing I can do to keep them in bed and asleep until 7am. Well, there might be something out there, but I don't have the energy to figure it out.

I'm tired of fighting it. Tired of walking them back to bed. Tired of being the grumpy mommy who's first words to her children in the morning are, "You should be in bed."

Not that I want to go in there like Snow White, with cartoon animals around me, singing a song with a big smile on my face. That's not even realistic. Especially before coffee.

But, I do want to say, "Good morning, sunshine. It's nice to see you!" like I used to. It's just the nice thing to do.

I have a plaque in my kitchen that reads, "Because Nice Matters." I should move it next to my bed to remind me of this when the kids get up at the crack of dawn.

Because I truly believe that "nice" does matter. And, among many other things, I want to be a nice mom to my children. They deserve it.

Most of the time.

The things they say.

2009-04-21T09:10:00.002-05:00

Last week, Connor took a tumble off our driveway into the ditch in our front yard. Later that night, while they were taking a bath, I noticed he had some pretty major scratches on his back.

Wow, dude. You really did a number on your back!!

I have a number on my back?!

I'm not even trying.

2009-04-20T08:11:00.002-05:00

I have really been neglecting my blogger responsibilities, haven't I? 10 days since my last post?

Pathetic.

For those of you that check here for updates, I apologize. I have no excuse. I am just not making the time to post.

So, let's see....what's new with us?

Well, first off, the kids are finally potty trained. Wooo hooo! Sweet! Awesome! High five! Yippie kiyea! and all that stuff you say when you're happy about something.

Actually, I don't know anyone that says 'yippie kiyea', but whatever. You get my point.

I can confidently go out with them knowing that, odds are, they won't have an accident. I'm fully aware that accidents do happen, at least that's what Elmo says. (For those of you that have watched Elmo Potty Time as much as I have, you'll understand that reference.)

I'm going to take a couple seconds to pat myself on the back for potty training two 2 year olds in a week or so. I totally underestimated how the whole thing would go. It went better than I could have expected.

Pat. Pat. Pat.

Ok, I'm done. We're done. Next subject.

The weather has been awesome lately. High 60F-low 70F and sunny. The kids and I spent almost three whole days outside last week. It feels absolutely wonderful to get out and do things, without bundling up or trying to shield yourself from the chilly wind. It makes rainy, chilly days like today completely bearable.

Well, except for when your roof leaks. Like our's started doing last night. Ugh. This house is only seven years old and we already fixed one leak a couple months ago. Now there's another leak in our bathroom ceiling.

Oh shoot. That reminds me, I need to call the roofer. I must go do that now before things get busier and hairier around here. Connor and Sasha have been at each other's throats a ton lately. I'm seriously considering changing my name since I get called to play referee whenever they get into any kind of tiff.

Do they make yellow toddler flags for parents to throw when their children are fighting? Kinda like in football?

Oh man, that would be great. I could throw a yellow flag and call Unnecessary Roughness on the kids. Or Holding. Or Unsportsman-like Conduct. Or Off-Sides.

I could call it Parenting for Sports Fans.

I think I'm on to something, here.

But I have to call the roofer first.

Mom? Who's that?

2009-04-10T13:34:00.003-05:00

My mom was a Stay At Home Mom. She worked part-time at the local elementary school, but most of her day was spent with my brother and me. She did not drive, so she was pretty much stuck in the house. All. Day. Long.

I have no idea how she survived.

Sometimes, I'm not sure she did.

Anyway, when I was a kid and my mom was having one of "those days" that mom's tend to have, when it seemed like all she heard, all day long was:

Mom, what's for dinner?

Mom, where are my shoes?

Mom, did Rachel call for me?

Mom, can you come here a second?

Mom, did you wash my jeans?

Mom, can I go to So-and-So's house?

Mom, Mom, Mom, Mom, Mom???

MOM!!!

She would say to us,

I've changed my name. I'm no longer "Mom". And I'm not telling you what my new name is.

My brother and I would guess all of these random names, over and over, until we finally got sick of it and left her alone. Little did we know that she never really picked a name.

Her plan worked. All she wanted was some peace and quiet.

Mission accomplished.

I already have days like "that". Yesterday was a doozie.

The kids have been waking up at 6am. I'm not sure if it's their sleep schedule that's causing the early wake-up, their bladders waking them up, or the fact that it gets brighter a lot earlier now.

Who knows. But, whatever the reason, they wake up too freakin' early for me to start my day with two 2.5 year olds. Especially since we don't have to be anywhere at a certain time. It's just the three of us, hanging out at home.

It's still a bit too chilly to go out and play. And after the looooong winter we had, we're all itching to get out and burn some energy. Their actions yesterday made that apparent.

With the combination of waking early and having cabin fever, Connor and Sasha were at each other's throats. We were supposed to host a play date with my friends and their children. But, I ended up cancelling because the kids were so misbehaved. I didn't think they deserved to have their friends over.

They nagged at each other all day.

That's my sock! Don't look at it!

Don't touch my pants!

That's mine! Leave it alone!

I want to play with the Whatever-the-toy-of-the-moment-was.

MOM, MOM, MOM, MOM!!!!

I know that if my mom were still here she'd laugh, remembering all the times she heard the same thing.

Then, she'd tell me to change my name.

Some things never change

2009-03-31T15:14:00.003-05:00

Connor and Sasha play reasonably well together. Sure, they have their little fights here and there, but overall I can't complain. Occasionally, they will fight over a toy that they both want.

Some people would say that they do this because of their age, but I disagree.

Connor and Sasha have been fighting over toys since they were babies. Most parents don't know this is possible because they only have one child, at least one at a time. By the time Child #2 comes in the picture, Child #1 is about 2, 3, maybe 4 years old. Obviously s/he doesn't want the new sibling to take his/her toys. Sharing is a tough lesson to learn.

However, having multiples allows you to see things others don't.

I took these pictures when the kids were about 5 months old. I have a bunch of pictures like these. All taken when they were babies.

Here they are, hanging in their pack and play. Connor is playing with his beloved octopus. Sasha has a puppy. Connor loved this octopus. So much that when he stopped playing with it, I put it in his keepsake box.

You can see Sasha begin to eye up the octopus. Connor is minding his own business, just chomping away on his friend.

Hey, whatchya got?
Hmmmm...this thing looks interesting. I think I'll steal it.

Connor tugs back, trying to keep it in his mouth. You know, this puppy is pretty cool. I'll trade ya.

No thanks. I really like my octopus.

Yeah, but I just want to see it.

This time, she tries a different approach. She ditches the puppy and goes in for the octopus with both hands.

Um, no, really. I kinda want my octopus. Hey! Whatchya doin'?

I don't think so, sucker.MOMMY! She stole my octopus!

Poor guy.Mommy swoops in and saves the day by giving Connor the puppy to play with.

And all is well in the pack and play once more.

See? Some things never change. The only difference is that now they can talk!

This or that?

2009-03-30T14:41:00.002-05:00

I am a very indecisive person. It takes me ages to make up my mind.

- What color should I paint the toy room? Orange? Blue? Yellow? I need to just go look at paint chips.

- What should I post about on the blog? There's not much going on, but yet we're always so busy.

- Should I really color my hair auburn and cut it shorter? What if it doesn't look right?

- Which plants should I buy for the garden to get The Look I'm trying to create? What if I mess it up? That'll be a waste of time and money.

- Should I apply for the job at the Holiday Inn? Will it take me away from my family too much? Will it be worth it? We could really use the extra money, though.

I have these things running through my mind pretty much every day, for most of the day. This is one of the main reasons I waited so long to potty train the kids. I'm always second guessing myself.

And when I'm not sure of what to do, I talk about it with friends and family, over and over, trying to get their opinions. Trying to get some reassurance that what I really want to do is the right thing to do.

I never used to be like this. Not when I lived on my own. But, as soon as Mr. Right came along, "my" decisions became "our" decisions. Because I do value his opinion and I believe he should have a say in most of these things.

Please note: I said "most."

While I don't want to go back to work, I (we) do believe it is the best thing to do right now. I'll be tired. I won't see Kim or the kids as much as I want to. My social life, or whatever I have left of one, will go down a bit. But we do need the money, especially with the kids starting preschool in the fall. And they are hiring. And I'm qualified. And it's better than flipping burgers.

I have the application all filled out. Just need to attach my resume and submit it.
We'll see.

I have made an appointment for Saturday morning to get my hair cut and colored auburn. If it were up to Kim, my hair would be much, much longer. But I've really become used to having short hair. It's easy. It looks cute. And I'm not able to pull it back in a ponytail, like I would if it were long. Therefore, it forces me to actually do it.

(My hair is one of the "most" decisions I was referring to above.)

I'm nervous about coloring my hair so drastically, but I've been thinking about it for a long time. I need to just jump in with both feet and do it.

Same thing with the toy room. And the blog. And the job. And the plants. And pretty much everything else I keep mulling around in my head.

It's a wonder I sleep at night.

Wait a minute...I don't really do that much either.

Geez.

Catching up

2009-03-25T14:15:00.002-05:00

Not sure if you've noticed or not, but I haven't been posting pictures much. I've been procrastinating.

I can hear you gasping in disbelief.

I know, I know. ME? Procrastinate? Never!!

I never procrastinate. Just like I'm never sarcastic.

Anyway, the other day I finally got to downloading pics from my camera. All 450+ of them. And now I'm sharing some of them with you.

These were taken when Dustyn was home in December/January. We got about 46" of snow and needed to shovel. (In actuality, I think we got about 15".)

This was the first, and I think only, time the kids played in the snow this winter. I know, I'm a horrible mom. Sue me.
Dustyn was pushing the kids around on the shovel. They loved it!

Just a random picture of Moose Pants and me.

Sasha playing dress-up, like she always does. I love this pic of her.

Remember when she fell in the kitchen and got 5 stitches? Here's what they looked like:

Luckily, it has healed up nicely. You can barely see the scar anymore.

"Is there any food on my face?"

Connor loves his daddy!

Did I mention I was potty training Tigger, too?

Potty Training Update:
Both of the kids are doing really well. It's been two weeks since we started. They have woken up dry practically every morning (Connor has every morning). Naps are dry.

They've been clean and dry, no accidents, for 5 of 6 days now, I believe. Honestly, they're doing so well I've stopped counting. I think the last accident was Connor on Saturday morning.

The amount of money we're saving is amazing. It's so nice to not have to buy pull-ups anymore. Although, I have to admit, I did get a bit sad a couple days ago when it all sank in. My babies really ARE big kids now! *sniff*

Overdue pics from Arizona

2009-03-24T13:42:00.005-05:00

The toy room

2009-03-20T14:04:00.002-05:00

When Dustyn moved out, he pretty much took everything with him. What he didn't take he either threw out or stored in the basement. The only thing left in his bedroom was his bed. He took the spare twin bed we had in the basement.

So, it wasn't very difficult for Kim and me to transform his room into something else. Something we needed. It was valuable space & Dustyn understood.

The kids were outgrowing their cribs and were going to be put in their toddler beds shortly after they turned two. Their toys were taking over the first floor and their bedroom. I wanted to move the toys out of their bedroom when they went into toddler beds so they could focus on sleeping instead of playing.

It was clear that they needed a toy room. A play room. A black hole. Whatever you want to call it.

So, we turned Dustyn's old room into a guest room/office. This way, when Dustyn or any other guests spend time here, they'll have plenty of room to breathe, store their things, and either set up their laptops or use our computer privately.

Across the hall is the old office/guest room. We decided to make this the kids' toy room. Ideally, the toy room would be on the first floor, but we've discussed it over and over and there is no way around it.

This is to be the toy room until:
1. The kids go into twin beds and separate rooms.
2. The kids go into twin beds and share one room (the office).

We'll cross that bridge when we get to it.

So, for now, I'm trying to decorate and, most importantly, organize the toy room.

Originally, I thought I wanted a soft, calming color on the walls. Sky blue. Light yellow. Sage. But, I've been reading a lot about decorating play rooms and most of what I've read says to cater the paint & decorating to the child's personality.

And two 2 year olds are anything but "soft and calming." They are loud, vibrant and energetic.

I've asked the kids what color they think the walls should be and the answers I've been given are:
Yellow
Green
Blue
Red
Brown
White

Not so surprisingly, Sage wasn't mentioned.

On another note....
The potty training is going very well. Today is an awesome day. They have both kept their underwear clean and dry all day!! I can't tell you how happy this makes me.

Success! Well, kinda.

2009-03-16T20:34:00.002-05:00

This potty training thing is exhausting.

I feel like I'm following two puppies around my house. Except, whenever one of them begins to pee or poo, instead of rushing them outside, like I would with a puppy, we rush to the toilet.

Sometimes there is a puddle. Sometimes there isn't.

So, I've pretty much resigned my day to watching the kids' hiney's and the floor beneath them for the better part of my day. This means I don't get much....well, ok, I don't get any time to go online while they play.

Yeah, I could probably come on here and post something during their nap. But, honestly, I'm so exhausted from cleaning up potty messes all day that all I want to do is nap myself.

At night, Kim and I flop down on the couch and veg until we've had our share of mind-melting television. Then we go to bed.

My life is so very exciting these days.

Can you feel the sarcasm?

In all seriousness, the kids have both improved in the week we've been doing this. The puddles are few and far between. They definitely hold it longer. They tell me when they have to go, for the most part, at least. Now, if I can just get them to be patient enough to let themselves poop on the toilet, we'll be good to go.

Sunday, we met my cousin and his family for lunch. It was a beautiful day, definitely a sign that the weather is turning the corner around here. I think we actually survived the Winter from Hell!

It was an hour drive to the restaurant. We were armed with:
- 3 extra pairs of pants for each child.
- 4 extra pairs of underwear for each child. (Actually, it's not a "pair" of underwear, is it? Why do we call it that?)
- 1 extra shirt for Sasha. A.K.A. Little Miss Carsick.
- 2 pull-ups for each child.
- Wipes
- Portable toilet seat to put on the public toilet to make it toddler-hiney-friendly.
- Portable toilet for the van. (More about this thing later.)

I felt like we were going to battle. But, I have learned from experience that it's better to be an over-prepared mom than an under-prepared one. I have had to do many things to get by until we make it home before. I didn't want to do that this time.

They stayed dry the entire ride there. Sasha peed when we arrived. Connor didn't.
Later in lunch, Kim took Connor to the toilet and he went.

They were awesome. Definitely surpassed all of my expectations. I was SO proud of them.

We left lunch two hours later, as two dry and happy kids with two very happy parents. There wasn't a single accident all afternoon. They even made it home without an issue.

Success!!

Potty Training

2009-03-11T15:25:00.002-05:00

Gulp.

I've talked and talked about this for months. Probably over a year, in fact. I've talked about it so much that I'm sick and tired of talking about it.

Without going on and on, let me first say that I know the kids are ready. They are. Just trust me on this one.

Right before the Cold from Hell began, I started focusing on potty training them. Then, on Day Two, we all got super-sick and everything fell apart. Then we got busy preparing for our vacation. Then we went on vacation. Yadda, yadda, yadda.

But, now we're back. No more excuses. These kids are ready and I, um, well I am, too.

At least that's what I keep telling myself.

Not sure what I'm scared of. It'll be great to not have to buy pull-ups anymore. It'll be nice to downsize my diaper bag. I guess I'm nervous of the actual training itself.

You see, I'm very much a black and white kinda person. There's not much grey. And, since potty training isn't "textbook", I'm having a hard time figuring out how to approach it. I've asked friends, read a couple books, done research online, you name it. But, since each child is different, there is no cut and dry way of doing this. Not like changing a diaper, that is. That's pretty cut and dry.

So yesterday I told the kids that they could start wearing underwear. Holy smokes were they excited!! They ripped off their pull-ups and immediately put on their undies. Then, they proceeded to bounce around the kitchen in happiness.

I keep telling them that they need to keep their undies 'clean and dry'. And, honestly, they're doing pretty well. I can already see a difference in their behavior. They have begun starting to pee a tiny bit and then stop so they can go to the bathroom and finish.

Yea!

So, here we go. Potty training the twins.

Should be interesting. Especially since we have lunch plans to meet my cousin & his family on Sunday. Do you think the kids will be pretty much ready for a lunch out with no pull-ups?

Or, more importantly...
Do you think Kim and I will be ready for it?

Stay tuned!
Yikes!

Sasha's new talents

2009-03-06T14:26:00.004-06:00

The other day, Sasha started writing her letters. It began with the letter "P".

First go down...then around!

I heard her say this a couple times before I paid any attention to it. When I looked down, I saw all of these letter "P's".

Look, Mommy! P!

I was so proud of her!!

So, since then, I've been working with her on writing her letters. She is really interested in learning and practicing. She has: P, R, B, E, F, O, Q down pretty well. Connor will help her, too. He's such a good coach.

She also has recently begun drawing very realistic pictures of people. Well, as realistic as a 2.5 year old can do, that is.

She starts with a head, then draws two eyes, two ears, a nose, a mouth, two cheeks, a chin and some hair. Everything is pretty much in the correct place, too. Then, she draws two arms and two legs off the head. She'll add hands, feet & knees and voila! Sasha has drawn a person!!

Sasha has always loved to color and paint. Give her a pen and she'll scribble forever. This is how I keep her busy in the grocery store. Connor wants to read the packaging; Sasha wants to draw.

It's very cool to see her excelling at something. While Connor probably has about 100 words that he can read, there's no way he can draw something that accurate.

Plus, with it being drawing, I begin to get a little...how do I say it? Not prouder...I'm not sure how to describe it. But, with me and my art background, it's really neat to see one of my children showing a talent in something I love. Granted, she is only 2.5, I'm sure things can and will change; but hopefully you know what I mean.

Still working on getting those pictures from the vacation posted.
It'll happen. Promise!

Mom

2009-03-05T11:19:00.005-06:00

Today is the 10th anniversary of my mom's passing.

I have started this post a couple times, not really knowing what to say. I don't want to get all mushy for fear I'll burst into tears all over the keyboard. So, I guess I'll keep it sweet and simple and not make this too much of a Dear Diary entry.

This picture was taken when I was born. You can tell it's me by the big nose.
Connor had the same nose when he was born.
Look at the joy in her face!

I love this picture. You can just feel the love she had for me.
Good to know my face grew into my nose, too.
There's not a day that passes that I don't think of my mom. I wish she were here to hold the kids the way she was holding me in the pictures above. She would have loved to have been a grandmother. Especially to twins!

I wish she could have walked me down the aisle with my dad. Or saw me buy my first house. I wish I could call her when I need to talk. Or take her to the movies every now and then.

My mom was a wonderful person who had a very hard life. She faced so many challenges, yet kept on smiling.

She was creative, intelligent, artistic, caring, a good listener, and probably the strongest person I've ever met, although I didn't know it when she was alive. That's the problem with youth. You don't always realize what's going on around you and you definitely don't appreciate the truly good things you have. At least I didn't.

I love you, Mom. Thank you for being my Mom.
Neener, neener on your knee.

We now return to our regularly scheduled life

2009-03-03T13:44:00.002-06:00

We're back from Tucson.

I had every intention of posting something while out there. I even started a post. But, somehow, it never got finished. Oh well.

Our trip was wonderful. Both of our flights were smooth. The kids travelled really well. I think Kim and I have this 'travelling with kids' thing down pat. What to do, what to pack, etc. After four trips with them in less than three years, it's almost second hand. And the older they get, the easier it is.

We didn't do too much on vacation. Partly because we're all trying to save money rather than spend it, but also because we've been out there every year for 5 or 6 years now. There's only so many times you can go to Old Tucson or the Tucson Zoo. Plus, with Sasha being as car-sick prone as she is, we try to limit our road trips. It kinda limits our destinations.

But, it's not really about what you do as much as who you do it with, right? We were there to visit my family. My Aunt and Uncle from England were there during our stay. It's always great to see them. Dustyn and his friend/roommate, Josh, came down to visit for a day or so. Connor and Sasha were soooooo happy to see him!

We did get a baseball game in. The White Sox played the Diamondbacks. It was 73F and sunny. An absolutely beautiful day, especially for a ballgame. (The Sox won 10-1, by the way.)

We did some shopping, sitting in the sun, taking the kids to the park, and a lot of eating and drinking. Oh, and more eating.

Ugh. I gained 7lbs in the past 10 days. 7lbs!! That's almost a pound a day. Geez. Talk about overdoing it!

So, now I'm on vacation detox. Less food. Less alcohol. And hopefully less weight. Because even though it is only 20F right now (88F in Tucson. Aaaaaahh!), warm weather is going to be here soon and those shorts are going to have to come out eventually. So, back on the wagon I go.

I have a handful of pictures to post. I'll try to get them downloaded sometime in the next couple days.

Leaving on a jet plane

2009-02-19T14:13:00.002-06:00

This song has been running through my head for the past couple days.

Today has been a busy day full of packing, sorting, laundry, dishes, charging ipods, checking lists, checking them again, and packing some more. All while keeping two year old twins entertained. What's a mom to do?

The answer my friends is: TV.

I hate to admit it, but it's the truth. Television has been babysitting my kids today.

I'm not one of those parents that really likes them watching tv. It totally bothers me, unless it's educational, that is. Lately, I've been able to keep them to one hour of tv a day.

Most of the stuff out there is complete garbage. And, while I do let them watch some of it, it irritates me that I do. But, on a day like today when I'm busier than normal and things have to be done today, the television is on for most of the day.

I kept the family room tv on, along with the one in our bedroom. At one point, Connor was laying on our bed watching something, while Sasha was downstairs watching the exact same thing.

Waste of energy? Yes.
Whatever. They were happy, out of danger, and I was able to be productive.

So, productive, in fact, that I don't have much to do now. That's why I'm able to write this post. The only things I have left to pack are last minute items: baby monitor, toiletries,....well, that's about it, actually. (Do I have this travelling with kids thing down or what?!)

Therefore, I think I'm going to take a lovely nap.

Oh, I have to vacuum and clean up the kids' game room. But that stuff needs to wait until later in the day or it's completely pointless. I'll pick it up just for them to trash it five minutes later.

I won't be posting anything all day tomorrow but, I'll try to get on a couple times during the trip and fill you in on how things are going.

Take care!

Oh, I just want to add that I don't judge anyone that allows their children to watch television. Not at all. It's just that I'd rather have my kids do something else other than that. For me, tv should be a treat, not the norm.

The mind of a toddler

2009-02-18T19:55:00.002-06:00

Here's a brief conversation between Kim and Sasha tonight, while brushing her teeth:

S: What's that, Daddy? (Pointing to the Neosporin tube on the counter)

D: That's for sores.

S: Dinosaurs?

Our little travelers

2009-02-18T11:00:00.003-06:00

Connor and Sasha aren't even three yet and they've already been on three vacations: two to Tucson and one to England. Kim and I travelled at least once a year before I got pregnant and we told ourselves that it wouldn't stop after the kids were born. So far, so good.

2007
The first time they went to Tucson, they were six months old. Well, technically, the first time they were out there it was 2006 and I was still pregnant with them. But, I'm not sure if that counts.
Later that year, in November, we took them to England to visit my family.

Here they are at one of our favorite local restaurants, Chuy's. It's so weird to see them in these car seats, especially with a pacifier in Connor's mouth. Two months after this trip, I ditched the pacifiers and we never looked back.

As you can see, we like to get 'em started early on the drinking.

Did this vacation really happen? It's so hard for me to remember them this little.

It's so cliche, but they really do grow up so fast.

2008
This was their second trip to Tucson. They were 1.5 years old.
Here they are in the limo ride to the airport.

We took them to their first White Sox game.

My Aunt and I hung out with them on the lawn while the guys sat in the stands. Luckily, we were able to find a bit of shade. They had a lot of fun playing in the grass and dirt.

This was the year Connor went through a "pointing at his mouth" phase whenever you asked him to smile. He was showing you his "cheese".

I can't believe how short Sasha's hair was!

They had a great time this trip. They went swimming, to the zoo, the park, the ballgame, a local carnival, and much more.

We definitely did a lot more last year than the year before. I have a feeling that each year will bring more opportunities to do more with them.

Can't wait to post the pictures from 2009's trip! We leave Friday morning!

Yea!

It's all gonna change

2009-02-16T13:58:00.003-06:00

This morning, at 6:30, I was laying in bed listening to the kids talk to each other, hoping they'd go back to sleep, but knowing it was never going to happen.

I love listening to them converse in their beds. They crack us up. It's almost like having your best friend sleep over every night. Well, until Connor irritates the tar (did I just write 'tar'?) out of Sasha and they get into a huge argument.

Normally, this involves Connor saying one word over and over, knowing Sasha is bothered by it. It would go something like this:
C: Mushrooms.

S: No mushrooms.

C: Mushrooms.

S: NO mushrooms!

C: Mushrooms.

S: NOOOOO MUSHROOMS!!

C: Mushrooms.

S: STOP CONNA!

C: Mushrooms.

S: STOOOOP!! NOOOO MUSHROOOMSS!!

...Brief pause...

C: Mushrooms (he just has to get that last dig in)

S: MOOOOOOOMMMMYYY!!

Granted, this doesn't happen every day, but at least a few times a week. The rest of the time, they crack each other up. We love listening to it.

So, anyway, back to my story...
I was in bed, listening to them, when I heard Connor knock on the door. I could tell it was Connor because Sasha has a softer knock.

Seriously.

Then, the door handle began to jiggle. Or shake. Or whatever. I guess a door handle doesn't exactly jiggle, does it?

Anyway, next thing I knew, MY bedroom door handle was jiggling! And, in a blink of an eye, both of the kids were walking into my bedroom.

Dang kid figured out how to open doors.

Needless to say, I dropped a few F-Bombs in my head. I was hoping they would leave this one for when they were, say, ten or so. No, seriously, I think we've been lucky that they didn't figure it out sooner. I mean, they are 2.5.

Kim is all ready to turn the doorknobs around so the lock is on the outside. We'll lock those suckers in! hee, hee, hee. (Did you hear my evil Mom laugh?)

But, I think we should wait and see what happens. It'll be interesting to see what Connor does now that he's got all of this knowledge and freedom.

I'll keep you updated.

Colorful

2009-02-15T16:45:00.004-06:00

While Kim and I were running our errands with the kids, the dogs had a little snack.

One of them jumped up on the counter and pulled down a huge box of crayons. I'm pretty sure there were at least 200 crayons in there.

And only 20 or so remained on the floor, along with a thousand crayon crumbs.

Everything was gone. Wrappers, wax, the whole shebang. I'm amazed they didn't eat the box, too.

I called the vet to see if they'd cause them any harm. Luckily, since crayons are non-toxic, they won't poison them or anything. But, he told me to watch for vomiting or "the runs" since the crayons might irritate their stomachs.

Sweet.

My carpet could have liquid, tie-die poop on it.

I'm tellin' ya. The fun never ends around here!

Happy Friday

2009-02-13T13:54:00.003-06:00

Yea! It's Friday!

Friday the 13th, that is.

While I am a superstitious person, any Friday that lands on the 13th of the month doesn't frighten me. It's just another day until someone proves me wrong.

We have a great weekend planned.

Tomorrow, we are meeting my cousins and their families for lunch. We haven't seen them since Christmas & were supposed to get together for the Super Bowl, but that's around when the Cold From Hell started. Part of me is nervous about going out. Like I mentioned before, I kinda want to keep everyone inside until we leave for the airport next Friday. But, not only is that unrealistic, but it's also pretty mean to keep the kids cooped up that long. They'd be animals on the flight.

So, tomorrow's lunch will include a lot more disinfecting of the restaurant table and hand cleaning than normal. Fingers crossed nobody gets sick!

Then, on Sunday I am taking Sasha for her third hair cut. I take her to my stylist. Which, believe it or not, ends up being cheaper than going to HairCrafters or whatever. All week, Sasha has been talking about getting her hair cut. She is very excited to see "Mowwy" (Molly)

"Me go wif Mommy to get my hair cut. You go wif Daddy to get you hair cut," she says to Connor.

Yes, Connor is getting his hair cut, too. Kim normally takes him. It's their "guy time".

Not long ago, Kim and I decided we'd try to split the kids up more often to give them some one-on-one time with us. Mainly, Sasha with me and Connor with Kim.

Normally, Connor is all about Mommy and, you guessed it, Sasha is all about Daddy. We think that splitting them up every now and then for things like hair cuts will give them some bonding time and show them that the other parent isn't actually half bad.

So far, it seems to be working. Neither one of them has thrown a fits for the "preferred parent" to brush his/her teeth or whatever. They went through a really bad phase for a while, especially Connor. I was the only one that could do anything for him. It was heartbreaking for Kim.

Every now and then, Connor will throw out a, "No, Mommy do it." But, luckily, they're getting fewer and further between.

Anyway, that's what we have planned for this weekend. Should be a nice and relaxing one.

Now I'm off to continue my To Do/To Pack list for the trip!
7 days left!

Tiny

2009-02-12T13:55:00.003-06:00

Last night, Kim and I had to print off some old pictures for his mom. Digging in my old picture files brought back a lot of memories of the kids.

Connor and Sasha were born 6 weeks prematurely on 9/2/06.

Connor was 4lb 13oz & 19 1/4" long.
Sasha was 4lb 7oz & 17 3/4" long.

They were teeny-tiny; preemie outfits were huge on them. But luckily neither one had any major issues. They could breathe on their own and just had to be able to regulate their temperatures and feed on their own before they could go home.

They spent 11 days in the hospital and came home together. We had to roll up receiving blankets to pad them into their carseats.

The next few months were tiring.

They both had colic for the first 4.5 months.

But we made it through. And it was all worth it.
And now I'm looking into preschools for them.

It's amazing how time flies.

Hangin' out

2009-02-11T13:59:00.002-06:00

Yesterday, it was 61 degrees. Aaaaaahhhhh. Very unusual for early February, but I'll take it!

It was so refreshing to get out of the house and laugh with the kids. It's been an extremely long winter for someone that doesn't like snow and cold. Mother Nature was not kind to us this year.

So, around 10:30a, the kids and I went outside to play. I figured it was time for me to finally take the Christmas decorations down from the front of the house. Yeah, yeah, I know what you're thinking...

"You STILL have your Christmas decorations up outside?!"

Don't say it. I've already been given a hard time by my loving cousins.

I have never kept our hatred towards cold and snow from you. You all know how much we hibernate in the winter. So, that stuff stays up until it's comfortably warm enough to take down. Luckily, yesterday was one of those days, or I might have had to put Valentine's Day hearts on the wreaths.

After cleaning the front yard and playing a bit, we went inside for a quick lunch. The kids were begging me to let them play in the backyard on their swingset. They've been staring at this thing for months. They were DYING to play on it.

"Pllleeeeeeaaaassseeee, Mommy!"

Not sure where they learned that, but it's kinda cute. For now.

I didn't want them to play back there. Not only is our backyard a mudpit from melting snow and occasional rain, but it has a ton of dog poop in it that has been buried under snow for 3 months.

With two big dogs that poop at least once, maybe twice, a day, thirty days in a month, three months of snow (at least)...you do the math. That's a lot of poop!

Luckily, the dogs don't "go" near the swingset. So, I gave in and let the kids run free, with the rule to stay by the swingset due to the landmines.

They were soooooo happy!! As I expected, the yard was muddy. Both of the kids were covered in it very quickly. And, when about 90 minutes was up, they looked hilarious. Each of them looked like a warrior with mud streaks down the nose and under the eye. I stripped them down on the deck & they went straight upstairs to take a bath.

It was so refreshing and relaxing to play outside, just pushing them on the swings & laughing with them as they went down the slide. I haven't seen them that happy for a while, especially since we're still recovering from the cold from Hell.

We leave for Tucson in 9 days. Yea! I'm nervous to take the kids anywhere out of fear they'll get sick again. I really don't want to travel with sick children. Wiping noses at home is rough enough.

So, for the time being, we're just hanging out at home. Today we made cranberry orange muffins. Delish! I love to bake and the kids are so interested in it. They can list everything that goes into a cookie or cake. So cute!

Oh, good news! Yesterday, I saw my tulips coming up in the garden! Yea!!
When I see that, I know we've made it through the rough part. Spring is near.

I showed the kids the tulips and asked them to look for more. After some investigation,
Sasha said, "Ooohhh! Look guys, more lips!"

Connor said, "Ooohhh! Look guys, five lips!"

I tried to explain to them that they are called TUlips not TWO lips, but they didn't understand. Gotta love the mind of a toddler.

A PSA from B&G

2009-02-05T13:17:00.003-06:00

Hello readers.

I would like to take a few minutes of your day to remind you of the importance of updating your information on your pet's tags. You never know when some punk, um....person, that is, might come by and open the gate to your yard, allowing your dogs to run free while you're feeding your children breakfast.

If their tags are updated, your neighbor can call you and tell you they found your dogs & that they've jumped on a school bus for a ride.

I know this, obviously, from personal experience as this happened to me yesterday morning. Luckily, we keep the dogs' tags updated with our home and cell numbers. We've found no need to put our address on there. Nobody is going to look up your address and bring your dog back to you. They're gonna call.

Anyway, I can only imagine what the parents, students and bus driver thought when two large dogs, one with a muzzle*, came barreling down the street and onto the bus.

So, what did I do, you might be asking?

Well, I did what I probably shouldn't have done. When I got the call, I hopped in the van and drove down the block to get the dogs. I left the kids in the kitchen with their cereal & told them to stay there and eat.

I know, I know...tsk, tsk. Shame on me for leaving my kids alone in the house for 2 minutes. What else was I supposed to do?

It would have taken me 10 minutes just to bundle up my extremely sick children, bring them out in single-degree temps, buckle them in their car seats and drive down the block. Seriously, I could have walked to get the dogs faster than it would have taken me to load up the troops & drive there.

I had to make a quick decision and that's the one I made.

When I came back with the dogs, Connor and Sasha were still sitting at the kitchen table, eating their cereal.

Then, I went outside and locked the gate. Grrrrrr....

*Lexi wears a muzzle to prevent her from eating rocks and other objects in the yard. Not because she's dangerous.