New Blog

I have started a study blog so I no longer will post here but welcome you to subscribe and participate in my other one.

http://striving4proverbs31.wordpress.com/

Other ones I encourage you to keep up with are:
http://cindycolley.blogspot.com/
http://comefillyourcup.wordpress.com/

So behind...

That seems to be my title for life lately ha.  I have not been good about blogging but here I sit at home at 9:40 p.m., both boys asleep and my brain is going 90 to nothing.  I have a few big cases coming up that I have a lot to do in preparation for at work and today I was running around and yesterday it felt like I was running around, which is fine.  I have those days and I actually work better like that.
So I have finished my book.  I am looking into publishing companies right now.  Well I say I finished it, I think its a good draft.  I think once I release this book (which I am not sure when I will be emotionally ready to) a weight will be lifted from my shoulders. 
I have also come to a decision that I have been thinking about for a while.  I would like to start speaking.  Not just to anyone, at ladies days.  I have organized the Ladies Days for 2010 and on for the Fort Payne church of Christ congregation and when I get our speaker, I am slightly obsessed with them lol.  I am always inspired after attending a ladies day and I have had it in the back of my head that I would like to do that.  I said outloud the beginning of this year and Nick really encouraged me to pursue this. So I kind of have been thinking about it more and talked to my Uncle Norman and Aunty Joyce about it and said maybe around 35 I will be ready and my Uncle Norman dismissed that idea and said Melissa you can do that now!  So I have started studying and preparing my own lessons.  I have had a couple of titles that came to me immediately.  I think I can share a lot by what I have gone through in my life and I absolutely love people.  As far as presenting I have done that since College and have to do it quite frequently now.  I am excited about this and I hope to start writing some women's study books as well.  Anyway, that is just a bit of news on my personal side.
Football season has started and so has my work schedule!  I have been doing better about keeping up with life.  Since having the boys I have really figured out what is important to me in life.
Tripp is walking now....well more like running.  Major is doing excellent after his eye surgery.  He has not ventured into walking but bless his heart he can just now see one floor!  The "testing" stage has started and I am a bit nervous to tell you the truth.  Of course, when I wasn't a parent I thought I had all the answers but now I know its just not that easy (wish someone had hit me before!).  I know that we will have to work hard on directing Tripp's energy towards a productive direction.  I see a lot of myself in Tripp and that scares me.  And Im not joking around, I remember my thought process when I was younger.  If we can encourage him to get excited about good positive things he will far in life with the drive and we will definitely do a lot of praying.  Major will be the laid back guy who doesn't have to study and will soar through life not even trying and be just fine. 
There is not a whole lot more news.  Nick and I got to attend 2011 Star Night which Kenny Rogers was the celebrity who hosted it.  Never really listened to Kenny Rogers but I am a new fan.  He seems so down to earth.  He then started talking about what really mattered in life ...his wife and his 6 year old twins and dedicated a song while a slideshow played...and I got pretty emotional through it.  Just thinking of the boys and how much they mean to me.  So the next song...we both needed our kisses from them and we left.
That is all for now :-)

Thankful Thursday

I am copying AS on her blog because I need to refocus.  Past couple of weeks have just taken a toll on me and I am in rare form and need to remember the important things:

1.So thankful that I am a Christian and have hope!
2.Thankful for my Christian husband who bless his heart puts up with a lot.  I look around and see how many qualities Nick has that a lot of husbands lack, and number 1. would be putting me and the boys first.  We are number one in his life.
3. My twins. My sweet sweet children that make me humble to be a child of God.
4. My family.  We have our own issues like all families do but at the end of the day we all love each other and that is most important.
5. My job, is a straight blessing and answered prayer.
6. My "nanny". Not many people have this luxury and I appreciate what she does more than what she will ever understand.
7. church family for being there always and praising God.
8. My life - God has saved me from many scary circumstances.

I have been letting stuf get to me waaaayyy too easy lately especially.  I have been reading some Gary Smalley books and it has helped my perception and I need to switch gears on my thinking. All I strive to be in life is 1.Christian/Wife/Mom and I stress myself out in the process!

Thanks Ash, I needed that post today to refocus.

3 Days and Counting!

Can we just talk about where my family will be in 3 days...

Ahhhhh yes........very very long overdue!

Please keep Major in your prayers.  His cough is getting much better so its looking more and more like he will be having surgery Friday.  And now I also have to deal with Tripp sleeping the night with Granny for the first time.  I know I know get over it but all this happening at once is a bit overwhelming and I am starting to feel very nervous about the surgery and then as a Twin Mom you have this amount of guilt because you feel like by being there for one child you are neglecting the other....and this is a daily thing.

Anyway, Lord please just be with both of my children and help Major go through the surgery fine.

Birthday Part II

I woke up to Daddy with arms full of big boys! And immediately broke out in song! Both of them were giggling and were in great moods. Then we spent the next 10 minutes begging Daddy to get back up so we could open presents.

I sat down on the floor and grabbed the closest child, which happened to be Major. I opened the card up and started reading...and got about halfway (I didn't write but maybe 4 sentences...if that) and started crying. My main prayer to God with Major was that He let me try be a mother to him before God took him away from me. For those of you that don't know or don't remember, the doctors were not giving me a whole lot of hope with Major in the very first part of my pregnancy and my life would definitely not be the same. So as I sat there with him on my lap I just treasured that moment and thanked God for just giving me the chance to know this special sweet little boy.

So I got Tripp up next and did the same thing lol. I was trying to keep it together and thought Okay if you cry in front of everybody at their party that will be embarrassing. So then we opened gifts. The cards, the paper big hits! The wheelbarrow that the mega blocks came in...big hit, the movies and the blocks couldn't care less at this point. I got a piece of wrapping paper from Major's mouth and you would have thought I just took his gift away!

So Nick actually had to work at school so he left as I started hurrying around, feeding breakfast and getting the cakes and icing out. Mom bought me a huge cupcake mold for their big cakes and then I made small cupcakes. I made peanut butter cupcakes and they were pretty stinkin good! I filled them with chocolate creme filling. Mom got there to help and we hurried around trying to get things done. Boys went down at exactly 9 and slept for 1.5hrs ...perfect!

Mom made them little jumpers with the material I bought and they looked too cute. Not very manly but hey I won't get to do this very often so I grabbed the oppportunity.

Nick came home and gave him the list of stuff to get and then he got back, we packed up the car and off we headed for the part. Family had beat us there already! I was scrambling around to get stuff set up. We did, got the chicken on the grill and were ready to do the cakes. We did that first so the icing wouldn't melt and we could get some pics.

We tried lighthing their candles and the wind was not cooperating so we did that at home later. I put the cupcakes in front and said Okay go ahead. Nope didn't want anything to do with it, in fact they got annoyed with I put icing on their nose. They were just staring at everyone lol.

We got to open all the cool gifts and got very excited with all of them. My sister and Uncle Harry got them the farm animal fridge magnets, oh my goodness what a life saver! The boys are always under my feet when I am cooking but if they want me then they can be in there so now they sit over by the fridge and play! Its awesome. Mimi and Poppi got them tricycles which Tripp was on within seconds tiptoeing around, it was so cute. Major's feet cannot reach the bottom so we have to help him. Then Granny and Oupa got them all neat little Fisher Price educational toys, my favorite (which I picked out) is a computer. Its Major's favorite too. As soon as you open it, it starts playing music and then Major starts shaking his bootie with a huge grin on his face! It is too precious for words. Nanny Ashley got them their buckets, shovels and towels with their names on it....you want to know why? Yes sireee we leave this Saturday for the beach for a week! Our family desperately needs a vacation away from reality and some good quality time to do absolutely nothing! We got some sunglasses for the boys too which they love so we are set for the beach!

While everyone started eating Aunt Nat, Aunt Bev, Aunt Amanda, Aubs, Addi and the boys went to go swing! We lotioned them up and went to check the swings out. After about 15 minutes I thought it was time to get them fed and whew they were not impressed that we took them out of their swings.

After the party we packed everything up and went home to play with all our neat toys. They were both beyond tired. When they got up from their naps we carried on playing with all our toys and then blew out our candles. I separated their toys out and got all their "baby" toys put up and then separated their toys into 3 buckets. I got this idea from my mom because my sis in law Amanda does this. I will rotate the 3 buckets out each day so that ALL the toys are not out at once and they get new toys to play with each day. We have plenty of stuff where there were 3 full buckets plus its easier for me to clean up at the end of the night when they just tip over one bucket!

Such a good weekend!

Anyway, it went so well. I can't believe my babies are 1.

Birthday Part I

Thank goodness for my mother is all I have to say! It just so happened that Nick's jamboree game landed on the night I needed to prepare for the boys birthday party. Mom came over and we played and laughed and baked baked baked!

So in preparation for my children eating junk for the first time, I dipped the very tip of my finger in the blue cream cheese icing I made and let them taste....they hated it. But I just figured it was because it was just plain and they would do better on their birthday. I made red velvet cake with blue cream cheese icing. You might think, Okay that is odd choice... no its not we had a "Thing 1 Thing 2" theme. I figured this was the only birthday I would get to pick it and have fun so I thought this would be perfect. I ordered their invites from someone online.

The boys cooperated more than I had hoped for. At 8 p.m. both laid down easily for bed and I got to finish up and wrap their gifts. I bought them the old timey Disney movies. Its a bit early but I got a good deal. I'll put them up in anticipation for Friday Movie Night that we will all get to enjoy. I also found them a Mega Blocks set which I was completely pumped about. I had it in the corner of the dining room and Tripp and Major have found it a couple of times and fiddled with it but for the most part it was out of sight but I knew they would love them...and me too :-)

I also happened to find Dr. Seuss First Birthday cards so there I sat and I wrote in both of their cards...I was so excited for their first birthday.

American Idol & Heroes

Can I just quickly say how happy I am about the results of last night's show? Lauren is absolutely wonderful and I am rooting behind her all the way! Of course when they showed her coming home and her looking at the tornado damage and her getting upset, I cried along with her. This damage is still effecting a lot of families as most of us have gotten back to our normal lives, they are still hurting over losses. Lauren was talking to this little boy that found his baby brother under the rubble and saved him. As she was talking to him, she was getting very upset and was looking at him in awe that such a little boy can be so very brave.

I read an article in Chatt Times Free Press yesterday and this is what life is all about, it was an EMS worker who had to transport a 5 year old to a hospital as he was very very hurt from the storms. This lady, who is a very hard natured person and dealt with a lot, sang Twinkle Twinkle little Star as they rode in the "bambulance". This lady deserves some sort of honor, I think all medical/officer personnel deserve this when they go beyond their job! Thank you for all that you do.

Final note, tonight and tomorrow morning will be the last preparations for my babies First Birthday! Bitter sweet, it makes me so sad :-( Anyway, I will post their small intimate family party later. Pray my cakes turn out the way I want them.....I have backup coming in just in case they look like poop...aka "My Mom" ;-)

Croup Strep Allergies....oh my!

Well it started with Preston having strep, then poor little Trevor ended up getting croup and well why in the world would my boys not want to catch what is going around! It started Sunday for Tripp when we saw the runny nose..... Ugh and he really has been needy, more than usual (I'm not saying Ugh towards him being needy I am saying that towards the start of croup...I am a firm believer if my child needs me he will always have me!) Anyhoo so when we were on our way back from doctor yesterday and stopped to grab dinner at Old Tymers and I heard "the cough" from the backseat and looked at Nick, he has it! So why fight the enevitable (sp?) lol when looking for a pediatrician being there when I needed them was my first on my list. My pediatrician "Highland Pediatrics" could possibly be the best doctor's office EVER! I have seen pretty much every doctor and they are all awesome! They explain everything in laymen's terms and just are so good with the babies. Anyhoo, they have a walkin clinic from 8-8:30 eastern time. Which if I had thought ahead I would have packed the diaper bag set up the car had bottles made etc. but we can't always be ahead of the game so I called Nick at 6:40 eastern time (5:40 a.m. Nick/Babies time) and said you need to get there when the doors open I will meet you there! So Nick, being the most awesome father he is got the boys in the car, bottles made, breakfast packed, diaper bag check and everyone there by 8:08 a.m.! I am so lucky to have such an involved father. Anyhoo so when one gets it in my household the other is close behind. So they checked both of the boys and sure enough croup. Loved the new doctor that joined our group Dr. Good. He is from Children's Hospital and I think he is probably early 40s maybe. He was awesome. Anyhoo, we got them fixed up. But let me rewind real quick, I signed the boys in bf Nick got there and I was standing behind a mother and her daughter...maybe 4 was laying her head down on her shoulder. She had blond hair and just was absolutely perfect. She was holding onto her little stuffed lamb (which the boys actually have a blue one like it) and I heard her mom say "Yeah I think its strep again" and the little girl had one little tear on her cheek. I don't know if it comes with being a mother, or my hormones are out of whack or if this is me starting my mental breakdown but I had to look away as a couple of tears fell free from my eyes. It absolutely tore at my heart bc that little girl looked like she just felt awful.

Anyway, so maybe we can get rid of this by SAturday......drum roll please my babies first birthday. I am starting to get anxy about getting pregnant and I seriously think its because the boys are about to be one and where have my babies gone! Time is flying by way too quickly and I don't like it. I see pics of them just around Christmas and I just want to hold on to time!

Eye Doc

Nick and I went to Bham for Major's eye appt. Tripp went with us because he wasnt feeling good and needed his mommy....Major needed mommy too so we all packed up! We get there and of course get the he has Duane's Syndrome but what I loved about this doctor is he sat there for 20 plus minutes explaining what this was! I thrive off doing research and answers and figuring things out so I know my doctors are ready for plenty of questions when I walk in the door.

I liked this doctor but after testing.... same diagnosis. In fact, he said that Major is an unusual case. His correct eye is his lazy eye which most children with Duane's Syndrome uses this eye as their dominant eye. Anyway, last night we were pretty certain we wanted this doc to do the surgery and he said he would need to see Major one more time and before that he wanted him to pretty much wear his patch all but 2 hours a day, come back in a month and see if there is any improvement which surgery will have to happen. Nick and I have both noticed it has gotten worse. You cover his right eye he uses his left, you let him see out of his right eye he forgets he has a left eye. The thought that my child cannot see the world for its beauty breaks my heart so since surgery is in our future, we talked to Major's pediatricians partner and he said the surgery has great success and if he has to have it, do it now while there is no memory, and we agree. So I have left a message and we will be scheduling this surgery.

Please keep him in your prayers, I just want Major to catch a break for a little bit.

Warning: Vent

I am standing in line at the grocery store last Thursday minding my own business, thinking why can't I just come in the store get what I came in here for and leave...but no, I wanted fish for dinner so I grabbed some salmon and tilapia. I grab bananas and I go to the baby isle and stock up just as usual. I grab juice and 2 gallons of whole milk. And I am standing there thinking maybe its under $100 as I grab my debit card from my purse. In front of me, is a lady with 4 children....all under the age of 5! Bless her, I am thinking! Twins, in my unexperienced opinion, would be a whole lot easier than a variety of ages all within a year or two from each other. So I am not really paying attention to all her groceries but I am thinking "Wow I bet she goes through milk" as the cashier scans her milk, her juice, cheese and then the lady gets her total. And pulls out her WIC check.

Now I am all about helping people. A temporary help to get them back on their feet. What crosses my mind though is that MY tax dollars are paying for this lady to have 4 children, which she cannot afford. But hey, she gets WIC and she gets extra tax money back, why wouldn't she keep having children? The government and we as society enables this. But even all that, what I had a problem with was her other groceries, ribs and steaks. I mean $20 ribs and who knows how much the steaks were and she pulls her cash out of her purse! Seriously I am becoming so jaded towards this type of thing. Just the other day, a girl....YES GIRL was in front of me trying to get cash off of her ebt card so that she could buy cigarettes. This is one thing that I can get on my soap box with and just ride all night. Thank goodness you can absolutely not get cash off of an ebt card.

Why does this bother me you ask? Because I work. I am a working mother. I have to leave my children every day and go to work to help provide for my family. Its not to have "nice things" or compete with the Jones'. I have to get up at 3:30/4 a.m. after getting up with my children all night, and I have to drive an hour to work, work all day, come home and still do my wifely/motherly duties. This is a subject that I bite my tongue on A LOT but you know what, I am starting to think that is the problem, we...that work....bite our tongues and let people take advantage of the system. Its a good thing that I love my job, because guess what, I have to work! I am one of the few fortunate ones that has a career that I adore. But not more than my children. But that is life and that is part of it. I love it when people make comments about me leaving my children ....like I have a choice. And I love it when people on WIC lecture me about being a good mother and being there for my children. Let me let you in on a secret.....If it weren't for me getting up and going to work, you wouldn't have WIC. So in essence, I enable YOU to stay home with your children.

I could easily join Glen Beck, unfortunately I think his show was canceled. I'm not against food stamps, WIC, unemployment money, etc. I think its a great thing. But unfortunately the point of this was lost somewhere. In my opinion, if you get unemployment money, which unfortunately there are A LOT of people on it now because of our economy status, but I think there should be rules that go along with it. You should have to spend x amount of time during the week looking for a job. I think you should also spend x amount of time volunteering your time for the community. With WIC I think you should only be able to use it for one child. WIC is being used to let people just keep having children when they really can't afford them. I have seen mothers be in line at Walmart with the brand new DVD that just came out in Disney, limited edition and then use WIC. EBT cards should be regulated to only pay for certain foods. I think it should cover off brands. You think thats harsh? I buy off brands. I don't think it should cover junk food either. It should cover the basic food groups and needed staples for a family to be healthy.

I know this post is me just going off and it seems like I am bitter, but I'm not. I'm tired. I'm tired of time being taken away from my children so other people can live off of me. I'm tired of the morals and values of good work ethic and pride for oneself has gone out the door. And I am tired of "entitlement". You don't deserve anything. You work for it and you feel a sense of self worth when you earn something. High schools need to be training money management skills to the students. I hear about people having money issues ...and then going on two vacations.

Well the post is not going to change anything, maybe I should run for office and start changing things where it starts or maybe I will just continue doing what I am doing and smiling at those that are in front of me in the checkout lane. Yes, I think I will do that and bring my children up to know better.

Ahhh Sleep!

Last night was ....can I just say that I am writing this with a wonderful smile on my face lol. Some of you know that my children (specifically mini-me aka Trippster) really does not like to sleep that much. If you're sleeping you will miss something!

Last night the boys both went down before 7:30 (usually it is around 8:30) and the next time the both woke up was 4:30!!!! I almost just stayed up because well that is when I usually get up. They both went down again good and Tripp woke up giggling at 6:30 and Major got up just after 7. There is definitely nothing like a good nights rest!

Mom kept the boys yesterday because poor little Trevor has croup. He has done so good during the winter while the boys passed their germs around. Mom and I were playing with the boys when I got in and she got to see how Mr. Tripp has gotten quite a temper. She told me he totally freaked out on her when she wouldn't let him put her shoes in his mouth. Nick and I are definitely going to have our hands full with this one :-) So weird how the twins are so different. You tell Major "no no Major" or like NIck says "na uh Major" (he doesn't like using "no" bc he doesn't want the boys to say it to him bahahahahahahaha) anyway so Major will kind of look at you then maybe do it again and then kind of whine and crawl away. Tripp is a different story. He will look you straight in the face and slap whatever you just told him not to touch. You would think that I would be terrified of what the future holds but I am actually the opposite, I am very excited. I just pray that I can direct Tripp's personality in the right direction. Bc his personality is the same as mine, we have a very strong passion for life and success. That does not mean riches that does not mean power, it means that we love to work, we love to solve, we love to help and nothing intimidates us so having a strong willed child will be a challenge but we just have to help him with where he puts his energy.

I have been feeling like I need some major Jesus in my life. Since the boys got here my activity in church has been less than what it used to be and wwaaayyy less than what it should be. My mother told me there would be a period where I need to get adjusted and then the boys could just do everything with me that I was doing. So in the meantime my longest period of time that is peaceful is my drive to and from work. I bought some Gary Smalley audios on marriage, family and raising children. I would love to get a couple of Beth Moore audios but they are kind of pricey even on ebay! So maybe that will be a treat later.

Anyhoo, I need to go play ball! Everyone have a great Saturday!

Silly Billies

He put the hat on his head, I still need to catch him with a dish cloth on his head.

My sweet angel

He kept flipping his hat up

I told you I have unique children :-)

When I was a youngster....(stolen from Emily)

I saw this on Emily's page and absolutely loved it! I love it when there are people my age that actually see something wrong with society now a days so I am going to personalize my own,

When I was a youngster....

There was no counting to 3 and if there was I never heard "1"

I ate what was given to me, even if I wasn't fond of it because next time I got to eat was the next mealtime.

I'm not sure what would have happened if I said "I don't like that"...in fact I get scared thinking of that...

To call an adult by the first name was just rude and unheard of...

I don't remember my mom ever laughing if I didn't do what she said....and if she did that really wasn't a good sign what was coming next....

I never bad mouthed my teachers and I knew that if I got in trouble in school there were going to be consequences at home...

I wasn't allowed running in the church building...

Love WAS getting the far beat out of me so I wouldn't be a brat...

I was taught that in order to be successful I had to work at it and earn it, not that I have the right to have stuff.

Mother's Day

My first Mother's Day (as I say "...with the twins OUT of me") I woke up to breakfast and a homemade card with the boys hand prints in it :-) I am the luckiest mother in the world to have my special twins.

Anyone who really knows me knows how close my mother and I are. I can look back and see how selfless my mother has always been. I can go on and on but words can never describe how much my mother and definitely best friend means to me. I don't know what I would do without her.

What a Wonderful Weekend

First of Saturday was great! Unfortunately, during the week I don't have time to do anything to my house so its kind of left to do on weekends. Nick and I ran around crazy to get stuff done so we could enjoy our children and this wonderful weather. Nick wanted to go to the river and I told him pllleeeaasseee lets go to the park!! So we did. We went to Jackson County Park which is quite a bit nicer than our park in town. Anyway, it was so good to get outside and the boys loved it! I would say that their favorite was the swing but the car was definitely a close second for Major.

If there is one thing that my children have are personality! I have always said I hope they get my silliness which in turn comes from my mother. My mother and I can sit there and cry we are giggling so hard over retarded things. And we don't share why we are laughing bc other people just don't get it. And I believe my children are going to be the same way!

My boys are so sweet :-) I hope you enjoy the pictures.

Major's Eyes - Prayer Request

As many of you know, Major has Duane's Syndrome. Essentially what this is is the muscles of the eye do not form properly during pregnancy. They believe this happens in the 6th week of pregnancy, which many of you also know this is when we got the report that Major was measuring 3 weeks behind and my body probably would absorb him. Now eye issue v. Major not being here....I will GLADLY take an eye issue !

There are different issues with each of his eyes, his right eye cannot move all the way to the right. The furtherest it goes is the middle. His left eye is lazy and he does not use this eye properly so most of the time it will end up going inward. What we had to start doing was patching his right eye so he is forced to use his left eye. He is also far sighted, that is where the glasses help. The problem with the muscles is that he cannot focus properly so he sees double unless he looks at you sideways. If you can see in these pictures he tends to turn his head when looking at you. I initially thought this was from him having torticollus (twins often get this, they just favor one side and tend to tilt their head that way. PT helped Major with this a lot).

But later found out it was because that is the only way he can see. The eye doc let Nick and I look through a prism and said "This is how your son sees the world" it hurt my eyes to look through it. Anyway, we will have to have surgery, we knew it was coming. At first the doc said bf Kindergarten but now they are saying before 2. A lot of the times if this is not caught in time and treated, he will lose his vision. So of course this is an important thing to kind of get on the ball with. They wanted to set up the surgery for this Friday but Nick and I decided before moving forward, just to be comfortable we wanted a second opinion. I don't expect a different answer, I know he will have to have surgery but it would not hurt to just be comfortable with the answers we are getting.

Unfortunately, the first available spot in B'Ham (Callahan Clinic) is May 17th so that is when we will go for a second opinion. We go on vacation end of May so I want the surgery asap when we return. I know he doesn't know any different, but knowing he can't see the world properly and how beautiful things are makes me think he is missing out and I don't want that prolonged.

So the prayer part, please keep him in your prayers. This is a common surgery and is performed a lot. This is actually quite popular. But he will have to be put under. Just pray that when this time comes everything will go smoothly and there will be no complications. Major has had to pretty much fight from literally Day 1. First he was 3 weeks behind and caught up like a champ, then his yolk sac was too big and they said he has a 30% chance of a genetic disorder, then during labor he didn't like the pit too well cause his heart rate kept dropping after a contraction so they had to take me off that, then he came out breach, then his left arm stayed by his side and would not work the first day (we are thinking because of the tugging during delivery), then he couldn't keep his temp up so he had to stay by Tripp the entire time, then he had torticollus, and now the eye. And bless his heart he has my sinuses and pretty much keeps a runny nose and congestion. But this is the happiest little boy :-) And God sure has taken care of him! He really has been a Mama's boy lately too which I am just eating up.

Please just keep little Major in your prayers.

Since when did eating healthy become a bad thing?

This has been on my mind a lot lately. I guess since the boys are getting older and eating table foods, I am seeing this more and more. I get the "Your such a bad parent" look when it comes up in conversation that I am not letting the boys have sweets or candy till after 2. Is that such an unheard of thing in this day and time? And I have also been getting the "Oh you just wait you will get them McDonalds everyday if that is all that they will eat" and that disturbs me!!! Now I am not pointing fingers at anyone lol my biggest thing since becoming a parent is realizing what works in one household may not work in another. So I never look down on anyone for their parenting techniques. In fact, I had to apologize to my brother not too long ago bc in the beginning when Aubree was a baby I thought Oh gosh she is going to be a brat because they never raised their voice at her, put her in time out, etc. Well boy did I eat my words and then some! My Miss Aubree is one of the most sensitive well behaved little girls and it is more than a pleasure to be in her company. She has such respect for Wayne and Amanda. She treats the twins and Rowen (aka Ro Ro) with just a maternal instinct. Wayne and Amanda are such great parents and have done an awesome job! So there is a perfect example of how I knew nothing!

Anyway, back to eating habits. I inherited my thinking from my mother, and then through Wayne and Amanda. Aubree loves veggies, really she prefers raw veggies. She is such a good eater. Now granted, I think some children are just better eaters than other....just my opinion don't know that for a fact but this little girl eats well. But she knows that if she doesn't eat her food no dessert. And dessert is a special thing, its not after every meal. And she doesn't get sweets everyday. I think this is important. Mainly, just for health reasons. But I really do get odd looks. Its like the thought of holding out on sweets and then monitoring them later is a thing of the past.

I promise I am not a bad mean mom, I just want the boys to enjoy good food. And I want a Friday night to be a fun movie night with popcorn and them look forward to it and it not be an everyday occurrence. So I guess I am defending my thoughts in this post lol. There is a reason behind my madness and I hope it works as I want it to. I also want the boys to eat the food off their plate because they know mom and dad work very hard to bring this food to the table.

I end on this note, I ask you for your prayers daily for my parenting. I feel sometimes like I am going through a maze blindfolded trying to figure this whole thing out. Outside opinions and judgments really is the thing that makes parenting that much harder. I just pray in the end that I will raise good Christian men. That is my goal. And I pray that God helps me not mess these little boys up too badly :-) I was holding Major last night as he has become quite a mommy's boy and we were playing and I just looked into his face and thanked God right then. My main prayer when I was pregnant in my first trimester was that God lets me hold Major before He does. Many of you know I supposedly was not "supposed to" carry Major and he didn't get a good report from 6 weeks till about 8/10 weeks. But I trusted that God was bigger and I remember just crying on the way to work pretty much begging God to just give me a chance to raise Major. And He did. And I thank God for my two precious miracles everyday.

Well this was longer than I planned :-) I guess you can call these "Mothers Thoughts"

I needed this weekend...

Unfortunately, this season really makes for missing my hubby. He coaches baseball so there are few and far between Saturdays that we have together. He also entered into a fishing tournament that goes on for several Saturdays so if he is not coaching he is fishing 1/2 the day. So I got up Saturday morning beyond worn out from traveling to NY the week before. This consisted of getting up and leaving my house by 1:45a.m. to head to Nashville, then working till 9 p.m. then getting up for a 6a.m. flight back! I was done! So I got up Saturday and was trying to think of what me and the boys could do. I'm so tired of spending Saturdays doing laundry and catching up! I thought we are going to get out and enjoy this weather! An awesome surprise was when Nick got out of the shower and as I was feeding the boys breakfast he asked me what I wanted to do that day!!! So I was ecstatic to find out we had him all to ourselves. So I hurried and got me and boys ready and we went down to the lake! The boys first boat ride. They love water, they are definitely going to be river rats for sure. When we give them a bath we get soaked by all the splashing but I let them have at it. In fact, sometimes I wish I could do that :-)

We put their new life jackets on and well bless Major's heart he has no neck lol just like his daddy and so it was coming high up and he was not a happy camper. Then Tripp was crawling around the huse with it on and it toppled him over and he couldn't get up, he thought it was funny though.

We got in the boat and before we left the dock, this is what I had on my lap....

We are not the best in taking mommy and daddy pics and of course I was so excited we got the day together I left my stinkin camera so these are just cell pics. Here are the drivers of the boat:

Afterwards, we went to go eat at Top of the River where the boys ate fried pickles (without the fried stuff bc Mommy is anal) baked potatoe, chicken, cole slaw and corn bread. Then we went outside to let them crawl around in the grass. I live for days like this for sure!

My Savings this week!!!

So I am getting pretty good at figuring out this couponing thing. I didn't get to watch Extreme Couponing bc well it might as well be on at midnight for me because I go to bed between 8 and 9 because I get up around 3:30-4. This was my first, "aha" moment at Walgreens. I have figured out you have to know what you are getting before you go in the store with your coupons ready. Don't buy anything you didn't plan on just because its on sale because you will end up not thinking it through completely. For $30 I got: 4 - 32 load Purex (free n clear) 5 - colgate toothpastes 1 - Tampax 6 - Campbells Healthy Choice Soups 1 - Scotts Paper Towels 1 - Herbal Essence Shampoo 1 - Herbal Essence Conditioner 1 - Garnier Shampoo 6 - Dawn Dishwash 4- Boxes of Cereal I think that is all.....I also figured out, thanks to my wonderful friend Tanza Watkins, that Walmart will comp prices if other places have them on sale. They will then take any store coupon and then a manufacturer coupon. So that is the main thing to do when buying items is look for sale items, then look to see if any store has a coupon for it (Target..Walgreens) and then see if you have a manufacturer coupon to stack on top of that. Two items at Walmart I really lucked up on is Wishbone dressing. We don't eat a lot of salad in the house just because its hard to keep salad stuff fresh. So if we do I will go get it that night. But I love some Ranch dressing! So Walmart had this dressing on sale for $1.88. Then I had a Target coupon for buy 2 get $1.50 off THEN I had a manufacturer coupon for $1.00 off one. So I could use 3 coupons for 2 salad dressings. I got 4 Wishbone salad dressing for....drumroll please....$.13 cents a piece!!!! Now granted, that will last me probably 8 months or so, I will not have to buy any for a while but I was so excited. Then my other one was my dessert every night is Yoplait Chocolate Mousse Whipped Yogurt. Its 160 calories and feeds my chocolate craving. Its the best thing not to want anything unhealthy after dinner. There are always coupons for Yoplait. So I had a $.50cents off 6 Yoplait yogurts which is not the greatest amount of money off. They are .58cents at Walmart. Bi Lo had a sale this week for 20 Yoplaits for $8.00. This ends up being about .40cents per cup. Then I was allowed to use 1 of my coupons (not sure why I couldn't use 2 but I didn't argue) so they ended up being .37cents! And I am stocked up on Yoplait till end of May lol. Nick said it right the other night and I didn't realize it till he said it. I do love saving money, but the one thing about me is I love a challenge and I love figuring stuff out so this is really up my alley. I have also been ebaying a lot of stuff. Mainly because Lord willing we will be building our house on our land in about 5-6 years and I am starting to declutter now! I have been selling things right and left. It feels so good to throw away or sell or donate stuff! April C. did a yard sale last Saturday at this yard sale site next to Burger King in Rainsville. This couple has set up tables and its this looonnnnggg row of where people come and set up and pay $5. You make good money because there is such a crowd that comes there. So I have a ton of stuff, mainly baby items to sell. Mom has a bunch of wedding stuff so we set up at 5:30 a.m. Saturday morning (which by the way at least 10 sides were filled up already). My mother had sold over 1/2 of her stuff by 6:30! She was thrilled. She was also letting the stuff go for next to nothing but like she said, she just wants to get rid of it and why not make a few dollars! I was able to sell over 1/2 of my stuff too but I had more stuff so I think I will be setting up for the next few Saturdays while it is not so hot in the mornings. Plus I still have a bunch of stuff at home I need to get rid of. It was a very successful day! Plus I got to spend time with my mother. I stayed from 5:30 to about 10 a.m. Nick had a baseball game so my mother left at 8:30 to get the boys and bring them up to the yard sale but ended up leaving with them around 9:15. Alright well its sunny outside now and I have to get in the shower to get ready for church. I hope everyone has a safe and blessed week. Make it your goal to do something nice for someone and make a difference!

It's early and quiet and it's Sunday!

I love my heading :-) Everyone is still sleeping, I can hear everyone snoring...best sound in the world. I got up at 5 to pump and the boys have been sleeping so good lately I am very well rested!

I love Sundays. It starts a new week, always new beginnings. I love going to church with my family. It has started being quite a challenge with the boys since they are getting older so I hope there is one person paying attention to the lession :-) Nick had taught Tripp and Major that if you talk in a cup, bucket etc. it echoes your voice. This is now Tripp's favorite thing to do and we think its the cutest thing ever....until he decided to do it in church to one of his toys!

I'll update on my boys first. How things are flying by. I love each and every stage we are going through but when I look back I think "What happened?!?!" I feel like they were just in my belly and I was freaking out because if they were out I could not protect them!

So here are some pictures. Major is getting very fast as scooting on the floor and Tripp should be walking soon lol and I fear for my well being at that point. Major tends to be about a month behind Tripp, as you remember when I first got my ultrasound he started out measuring 3 weeks behind, well Doctors say it has nothing to do with it....I beg to differ. They also said Major wouldn't make it...God and I seem to be proving them wrong on their predictions :-P

The boys, especially Tripp, have really gotten into table food. This is so much easier! The only thing I have to adjust now is their schedule bc I do not have dinner ready at 5p.m. So this one particular night Major wanted his babyfood so that is what we did with him....my little peanut, such a sweet boy

So Tripp loves loves loves table food.... I am definitely the mom that believes they should have at it and then I can strip them and put them in the bathtub! I tried to savor the trays on their highchairs and put the spaghetti on a plate thinking he would just eat it off of that WRONG. First thing he did was pick the plate up and toss to the side...spaghetti all over the floor lol it was funny.

We went to Barry's BBQ last night for dinner. Since my money saving kick, we are eating in way more and I have lost weight because of it. It got to the point that we were eating out Friday night, Saturday night and Sunday afternoon and that adds up! That is not normal for us normally it is just 1-2 times a week but now it has been 1-2 times a month. Thinking Major wouldn't be up for eating tablefood, I had brought some babyfood but he loved it!!!! Which made me so happy. I have been so paranoid my children are going to be the ones that say chicken fingers and fries, .....which they are probably still going to go through phases of likes and dislikes which is fine I just want them to appreciate Mommy and Daddy work very hard to put food on the table. Major loved baked beans! He ate cole slaw, baked beans, bbq, potatoe salad....I think that was it. Tripp of course eats everything. There was a gentleman sitting beside us and he said "I want to give them a spoonful of ice-cream to see what they will do". And Nick just laughed and I was thinking you try to give them ice-cream and Mommy is going to form tackle you over these chairs lol. He was just making conversation though.

Here are some funny pics, it makes me smile to look at these because well...it explains my children to a tee.

This was within a split second of each other lol.

They have their molars (sp?) coming in now so bless their hearts they have tried to be happy but very uncomfortable for them. It has to hurt :-(

Their first bday is about 5 weeks away. We are just having a small family get together in the park. Nick will grill and I will have cake. Thing 1 and Thing 2 theme ...I'm excited lol. I am excited about their bday gift too. We got them a collection of Disney movies. I want to have a Family Movie night on Friday nights where watching movies will be a treat. These will not be an everyday occurrence just bc well they need to play not watch tv all day. Then we got them mega blocks!!! I found the perfect set and I almost giggled outloud (yes I probably am more excited about them) they came with a little pull cart too. And I paid next to nothing for both of these bc I have been shopping around.

What a Day to be Thankful!

This Saturday has been beautiful and I feel like so muc has been accomplished! Cleaned kitchen and been doing laundry, washed everyone, fed everyone, played!!!! While the boys took a nap I did some hardcore Spring cleaning and got some more stuff packed for my upcoming yardsale. Then Tripp got up and I actually was able to post a bunch of things on Ebay. Finished folding a bunch of laundry and cleaning more. Tripp and I ate lunch. Then 3 hours later Major decided to get up! So I decided we all needed some fresh air so fed Major and got the boys ready and packed up and off we went to go walking!

If you are wondering why there is not an individual of Tripp, its because he was in the process of taking his hat off when I was taking the picture. We spent an hour walking and enjoying the beautiful day! Now Tripp is sleeping and Major and I decided to do this quick post and then we are going to play.

Hope everyone enjoys their weekend!

Subscribe & Save

Has anyone ever heard of this? Seriously the best thing known to man!!! To save money with the twins, we did cloth diapering for the first 6 months. This saved a ton of money but it got too much with the laundry and me traveling so we switched to disposables after that. I was able to sell all my cloth diapers for more than 90% of what I paid so I think it ended up costing me .....around $100 total for 6 months for twins. The detergent and water ended up not even being $5 more a month so I feel like it was well worth it. Well they don't go through as many diapers now but it is still an expense in our household. Luvs is my favorite! And pampers is my favorite wipe. Well Parents Choice is the cheapest and the diapers are not bad and well I hate the wipes lol. Anyhoo, in my recent addiction to cutting costs and saving money I was playing around with trying to find coupons so I can get the diapers and wipes I want. Truth of it is Parents Choice is so much cheaper you really can't....until I found Amazon's Subscribe & Save and Amazon Mom! Let me break it down, I spend .20c a diaper and .03c a wipe. Most diapers are over .25c and wipes are .05c. (It seems like just pennys but they add up with twins!) So with Amazon's S&S and AM, I get 30% off of diapers and wipes with free s&h. All you do is sign up, tell the quantity you want and how often you want it delivered and there you go! So right now, I signed up to get Luvs diapers and Pampers extra soft wipes. Do you want to hear my savings!!! Yes Savings, not only do I get the brands I want but I save money while doing so. I now am spending .16c per diaper and .02c per wipe! Is that not crazy!!! Through Amazon's S&S I also signed up for some household items. Everyone knows how expensive razors are. In fact, Walmart has started putting locks on their razors bc people are stealing them! I signed up to get Mach 3 razors through this AS&S and I am saving .50c PER RAZOR!!! Not packet, per razor so that is approximately $4. I was so giddy yesterday. I'm telling you this new life of watching for sales and couponing really has me on an all time high! Now onto to sale ads and couponing. I have been watching my coupons and Earthbest babyfood is the pricey kind. I have a $1.00 off when you buy 7. Well even with the coupon its the most expensive baby food. BUT Publix (my all time new favorite grocery store) has a sale till April 5 with a buy one get one, they take coupons on top of that and Publix doubles your coupons up to .50c so I will get 1/2 half, plub $1.50 off every 7 I get. Definitely going to Publix bf the 5th. Also, Bi Lo right now has their boneless chicken breast on sale for .99c a lb. Does anyone pay attention to what chicken normally costs? Its well over $2 a lb and when Walmart has it on sale for $1.78 a lb I stock up, so .99 c lb is CRAZY. So I am going to look like the krazy koupon lady at Bi Lo on my way home today bc I am going to stock up on chicken! Any neat deals you have seen lately? Happy couponing!

Couponing

So I have decided that I am going to start couponing! Today was my first experience and let me tell you, it's not as easy as it looks. It took me 2 hrs to do my normal 45 minute! The thing I have to be careful of is I buy alot of off brands already so I have make sure if i buy a brand name with a coupon it needs to be cheaper than my off brand. Also, another thing I have to be careful of is buying stuff I don't usually buy because then that destroys the purpose of saving money.

I tried to prepare as much as possible so it would not take me long but obviously I didn't do it well enough. Anyway, I saved $20 my first grocery shopping trip! I was happy, I know that doesn't sound like a lot but $20 is diapers and wipes in this family! Hopefully, as time goes on, I will get the hang of it and get quicker and better. I just wish we had a Publix, Winn Dixie or Kroger on the mountain. They have the best sales! There is this great blog called the Krazy Koupon lady and it lists in alphabetical order all the coupons out there with links. That helps a lot. The thing that stinks is you do have to put your info in everywhere so they can track how many coupons are being printed so its a little time consuming but I think that is just the initial work and from that point you get notifications to your email what the sales are.

In this day and time, a lot of people are in financial woes. I am really trying to do a better job of saving and doing without because you never know what the future holds. I get so addicted to bargain shopping, I almost refuse to pay full price anymore. The boys clothes are bought at Consignment sales or off my americanpregnancy.com/forum from other ladies. You should see the stuff I get for next to nothing! Believe me when you have to buy for twins, you find ways to save money. Plus I have always had limits on stuff I buy. Namely because I know I can find it at that price and refuse to pay more. Here are some of my limits and please don't choke if you are drinking and eating lol and yes I am very strict about these and get it for these prices. Some items I get ebay. Some items I will not buy second hand but know where to get them at discounted prices:

Summer tops - $7
Winter tops - $10
Sweaters: $12-$15
Business suits - This used to be $40 but now since discovering ebay, I have hooked up with a few ex business women now stay at home moms and my limit is $10
Pants: $15
Shoes: $15 excluding sneakers I have had the same pair for 5 years now and still going strong.

This year I had to go through and weed out stuff that I had not worn in a long time that just sits in my closet. So I allowed myself to do some shopping online and this is what all I got for $40

1 suit
3 dress pants
1 capri pants
3 button up shirts
1 regular summer top
1 skirt
1 long sleeve shirt
6 tank tops

I think that was all....anyway, seriously how can you beat that?!?!

Alright, Tripp is tired of playing peek a boo with me on the couch so off to play! Hope everyone has a good book and a blanket with this rainy weather :-)

Nursing - the end is near

This is somewhat bitter sweet. This has been a great journey. If there was one thing that I had my mind stuck on was that I was going to nurse the twins. When I was pregnant, I seemed to get a lot of scoffs my way if this came up. Until I got pregnant, I didn't realize how many people looked down on nursing their babies, or other people nursing. This is so odd to me because its what was in God's plan. Just like women were made to have babies. It just seems like just a no brainer? Now, anyone woman who chooses to FF that is her choice. This post is really aimed to the ones that look down on bfing. Or lets choose a more positive audience, the ones that WANT to nurse and are not educated in this area.



There are so many misconceptions out there. "My milk never came in" "I never produced enough" "My baby never got full" and so on. There are medical reasons why some women have issues but a lot of the times, women just don't have the educated knowledge how to help their milk out. I want to share my journey because it was such a great and important one. Anyone who want to have the same journey I would love to help them achieve the same thing! Mine was not a simple easy going one either so hopefully it might help someone.



My twins were sent off to the NICU immediatly after birth. This causes an issue when it comes to bfing bc it is so important that as soon as your baby comes out, get them/him/her to latch on, skin to skin, very important. I already had a "Plan B" if this were to happen. I thought if I can't nurse, I will pump! As soon as I got to my room, I was asking for a pump and how to use it and within an hour of delivering I was pumping. Now Ladies, the first time you experience this, laugh! Don't get embarrassed, laugh! Bc it is the most odd feeling in the world that you are not used to and well you look like a cow doing it :-)



Don't get discouraged on amount you pump. At first it will be the colostrum aka Liquid Gold. Make sure you have a snack and water with you at all times!!!!



I got to nurse my twins for the first time 10 hrs after they were born. At this point I was pumping every 2 hours. And it hurts. Don't let anyone fool you, it is painful but just remember that its just painful in the beginning. Your body will get used to it. Take advantage of your Lactation Consultant at the hospital as well. Ours helped us!! So we go in this little room attached to the NICU. I was nervous I am not going to lie but I had it in my head that this was not going to be easy and I was just going to be patient! So after being groped by the LC I think Major was the first one that latched but bless their hearts, they had no clue what they were doing, I had no clue what I was doing. So what my plan was to try bf them fr 30 minutes then I would pump. I already had pumped so after I had "nursed them" I would bottle feed them so they would get calories in. I believe this is what helped them not be so angry through the process bc they got full so we would nurse first, then bottle feed. And this is what we did the whole time I was in the hospital. It was a lot of work and with 2 babies, it took NIck and I both to get them situated.

I got so excited when my milk came in! So this is how I continued after getting home, nursing, then feeding with a bottle then pumping. One thing to remember is that as your milk is coming in, its supply and demand. Yes,its easier to hand your husband a bottle and say "Im worn out" but that will affect your milk. You will feel like that baby of yours never leaves your chest but in the beginning it is so important to let them nurse when they want to.

Important things to remember: 1. Always eat plain ol regular oats. Not instant. This helped my milk SO MUCH. 2. You can drink Mothers Milk tea. 3. You can take More Milk Plus drops. 3. Drink drink drink and I don't mean sodas! Mostly water but juices, milk etc. 4. When you nurse, your water bottle and a fruit/snack needs to be by your side. 5. Food needs to be packed with good calories, veggies fruits proteins, nuts are great too. 6. There are huge growth spurt stages, 4 months and 9 months. You will feel like you are not producing enough, you are! Your body is adjusting to your baby. I believe it is around 6-8 weeks you will one day feel like you could feed quads then the next feel like your baby is hungry. This is the stage where your body is trying to figure out where the good point of supply is.

**During growth spurts DO NOT supplement!!!! Your baby will wake up every 2 hours maybe every hour, suck it up, get up and go feed your baby...think of it as "quality time" :-)**

Babies that have latching issues seem to have the mothers that their milk does not come all the way in. Try pumping. If your baby is not latching good, pump after you nurse. This will help stimulate and get your milk flowing.

Don't get frustrated. It hurts. Its time consuming. You have no clue what you are doing. But it always works out, just be patient and pray for sanity! Its such a special gift that God gave women. Don't think that God punished us. We GET to have the babies, we GET to feed our babies. We have such a special bond that cannot be replaced.

Some other good tidbits to remember:
-Steer clear of negative comments. Its better to just not tell everyone what you plan to do bc you will get opinions, if you choose to say then close your ears after!
- God made breastmilk....need I say more?
- Read, go to classes, educate yourself!
- Its so much cheaper !
- You don't have to fix bottles to go out anywhere
- This is a privilege remember that.
- And for the theory that bfing changes the way your chest looks, so does having babies so just by not bfing does not mean you will look the same :-( Sorry to break it to ya!

Kudos to all the Bfing Moms out there!

Just a few updates

So you would think I would say Spring is in the air; however, I am inclined to say that Summer is! This weather is crazy!!!! And I am loving every minute of it. Gets me so excited for the beach in May. We are off to Hilton Head for a week. Can I just say that I have NEVER had a weeks vacation....in my whole life! So I am more than thrilled about this. Granted the bikini will not be pulled out...probably ever...so I have to go bathing suit shopping before we go. Thanks to Aunt Bevie the boys are set with their swimming trunks. I think we need to invest in one of those tent like deals. Otherwise we will only be staying out for 15-20 min at a time.

But before that, my boys will be turning 1. How crazy is that! Lets go back down Memory Lane for a bit.....

In Hospital:

June:

August:

October:

December:

Now:

My sweet boys are growing up too fast! I already have a theme planned out for the first birthday. Nick made sure I knew after that they get to decide what they want! Seriously?! Oh well I guess I will let them ;-)

Everyone's healthy!

This was so much of a better week because Peanut was feeling tons better! I hate it when either one of the boys are sick!

As you can see, he is full of smiles :-) Sweet boy. He is still sleeping..... Please pray for us as we go back to the eye doctor March 7th. Hopefully patching his eye and his glasses have made some difference so he does not have to have corrective surgery. I can tell a difference and other people that are around him a lot have said the same.

My mother took off Wednesday and Thursday of this past week to go to Florida with me but I ended up flying so of course we had to twist her arm for her to play with the boys a bit each day and give Nanny Ashley a break :-) I think she enjoys playing on the floor more than they do! They sure do love their Granny. Might be a dangerous relationship as they get older. I have watched her with Aubree and she goes to great lengths for her grandchildren. And while keeping them, she also cooked both nights which helps me out SO MUCH. Plus its Mom's cooking ;-)

I came home Friday from work and I was putting down my stuff in the kitchen and Tripp heard me talking and here he comes at a high speed around the corner. He still does the army crawl but I think he just likes that better because he has crawled before he can just move faster doing the army crawl. Its so sweet because he is half crying whining and laughing and just wanting me to get him. I don't think it will ever get old having them want me.

Not much more going on. I do need to get into high gear with our Fort Payne coc Ladies Day that I will post about probably beginning of April but I am so much better organized than last year. I love Ladies Days! And with babies church is so much different because you miss so much that I really need this!

Nick has a couple of baseball games today so mom is coming over and we are going to hit up Unclaimed Baggage today and then go grocery shopping. I always look forward to getting out and spending the day with my mother and of course she will do anything to get 5 minutes with the boys!

Hope everyone has a great day! I leave for Oklahoma Wednesday so please pray for safe travels!

Filtering Your Words

I am now getting Redbook in the mail. Not sure why??? Anyway, they had a 10 Things Never to Say to a Working Mom and 10 Things Never to Say to a Stay-at-Home Mom. I found both of these very very true. I have a lot of stay at home mommy friends and a close one of mine and I normally vent about silly things people say to us about our choices. Now I read these and find them amusing:

10 Things Never to Say to a Working Mother
1. It must be hard missing all those special moments every day.
2. I suppose its smart that youre working. You know, in case your husband leaves you some day.
3. I'm surprised you went back to work. Your husband seems so successful.
4. It's cute when they call your nanny "mama".
5. I just love my kids too much to leave them during the day.
6. Did you see Dateline? The one with the hidden camera in the daycare.
7. I could never let someone else raise my children. But thats just me!
8. I hated my mom because she was never home afgter school like everyone else's mom.
9. You must feel so guilty
10. I wish I were as laid-back as you and could just let the housework go.

I guess my only advice is focus on yourself and your family and don't worry about others. That is the best way to avoid trampeling on toes.

Weird Weekend

I thought by having an "in-home nanny" that my children would NEVER get sick. I finally told my husband last week he had to move out, to which he replied "I don't think so". As a school teacher he is passing EVERYTHING off to the boys! By the time they get to school, their immune systems should be awesome. I find myself getting a tad better in not second guessing everything I do but it is very hard knowing the right answer when they can't tell you what is hurting.

Major had a temp all week and I think it was a combination of a head cold and his other canine coming through that just made things rough on my poor peanut. Things were getting better and we (Tripp, Major and myself) went to Granny and Oupas house to see everyone. Major was still acting fussy but not a huge deal. Well we got home around 2:30 to see Daddy when he got home from baseball practice and poor Major was in a horrible mood. Last night we took turns staying up with him bc he just was not a happy camper.

After a warm bath and a breathing treatment, he finally let me lay him down.

Poor little guy :-(

And of course, Tripp has been wide open following me around the house and not appreciating it at all if he just gets in a room and I go back out. It shouldn't be too much longer for this little man to start pulling up on things. In fact, he tried Saturday morning and didn't make it too far before he hit his head on the hardwood. He also "tells" on things. At least that is what I call it. After you get him when he gets hurt he will be crying (minus tears) and start babbling and pointing :-) He has so much personality.

Friday night we got KFC and he crawled up to my plate (as he refused to eat his food like always) and I gave him some mash potatoes. And he took several bites and before I knew it just swiped a handful of biscuit and then proceeds to eat it out of his hand! It was so cute and funny. Needless to say, Daddy got the vacuum out after.

Please keep our family in your prayers. My first trip I leave for Tuesday. My mother is riding with me to FL. We are staying with my sister Tuesday night and then leaving early Wed morning to finish the trip and then after my work we will return home. Please pray for Nick and the boys and my safe travels. These are the hard parts of being a working mom.

Last Bit...

Nick and I are going on our Valentines dinner tonight with our church. We are going to DeSoto Falls and leaving the Twinsies with the Grandparents. I cannot stand leaving them but seeming as we have only had maybe one dinner that lasted 2 hours since I went back to work in August, it will be good to get out for a bit.

Also, I am pulling in help from everyone here. My travel is about to kick into full steam ahead and I need pointers! I have traveled but always with other people and I am a tad nervous about doing it solo. Not really sure why I guess its because of the unknown. I am just ready to get the first time over with! So far I have Texas, Florida, Hawaii, Michigan and New York in the making. By the time this year is over, hopefully I will be a pro. So Brooke I am expecting tons of advice from you Missy!

Love to all and have a wonderful Valentines Day!