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.