Holiday Pics

My happy Christmas girl! Ready for Santa!!

Gotta love self portraits!
My little man getting ready for a nerf battle

My man...or is it little boy...playing with the new nerf gun

Huge is all I have to say...I'm almost 28 weeks here(taken today)....Aughhhhhhh!!!

My brothers...they look a bit alike here! :)

Me and my step sis Nancy :)


Zach, Me, and (the newly engaged!!!) Charles

We had a fabulous relaxing day, hope you all did too!

27.5 weeks

I mean to post the other day and totally forgot.

First things first...On this not so cold Christmas eve....Merry Christmas!!!

We are moving along. We had a dr.'s appointment last Thursday and everything is still looking good. No bedrest so far!! Knock on wood!!! I only gained .8 lbs (heartburn slowed my eating down a bit, but zantac has now saved the day) in the last 2 weeks but my growth is still good. I'm measuring at about 33 weeks. I think I'm going to start measuring where my waist used to be just to see the difference. once again, its the only time in my life I actually want to see how big around my waist is!! :) And I have the lovely ability of being able to eat whatever I want this holiday!!! I know you're all jealous!!

This holiday season has really worn me out, and we didn't even shop much! I am ready for a nice long break. We got all of our orders out at work (I hope!) and now Jen, Mindy and I are all on our well deserved break. I have to say we really rocked it this year!!! Now I just need to make my appointment for the awesome prenatal spa day Jen got me for Christmas!!

The kids are super pumped for tonight!! We just made some fudge for Brandon to take to work tonight and that was a lot of fun. We are letting them open one present tonight (actually this afternoon, before B goes to work). They are super excited about what they might get. Then tomorrow my parents are coming over to have a little celebration with the kids before they go to their dad's house for the next two weeks. (and we'll get a nice little break of of our own)

B's family all came over yesterday to have our side of the celebration. It was really nice, but we did miss his dad who was home sick with a cold. But I am thankful that he didn't want to come and share his germs with this preggo woman here!! :)The nephews and the kids all played together really well. It was nice, they were all out of our hair and the adults got to visit. I'll post some pics later.

B and I will be going over to my parents house for Christmas evening to have another little family reunion with my side of the family. I'm looking forward to seeing everyone.

The plans for the rest of our little break...sleeping in...

25 weeks

wow we are now to the every 2 week appointments. babies are sounding good. both have good heartbeats. we actually talked about when we are going to schedule the c-section. a little strange knowing that its coming up pretty soon. we are looking the the 3rd week of feb. do you realize how soon that really is? we have just 19 days until christmas!!

we started to do our holiday shopping today. i know a little late but luckily the kids just want simple things. we even picked up some stockings for the dogs. have to say i love the target $1 sections. great stocking stuffers!!

11 weeks left until the babies are here!! AUGHHHHHHH!!!!!

Weekend Madness and Shower Fun!!

Wow, is all I can say about this weekend. It was a fun filled blast with all of my fave girlfriends in one place. So needless to say this pregnant girl is tired after all of the weekend festivities.

The weekend started out by one of my good friends, Heather , from Austin coming up on Friday night. we stayed up and chatted and caught up on life all with out little ones around to interrupt us. It was nice!!



Then up early the next morning to get ready to go to the baby shower. We show up at a beautifully decorated house with scrumptious food filled with people I loved!! And I had a blast!!! It was really nice seeing everyone that I haven't seen in months. I got some super fabulous gifts but best of all I got to start to catch up with everyone I hadn't seen in all of my morning sickness induced hiatus from life.

Kaci, Me, Liana, and cutie pie Gavin

Linda (Brandon's mom) and me

Malinda, Erinn, and Charles (my little bro, making an appearance)

Myself and Julia

Megan and Jen

Tracey and Amy

Jenny and I being normal and silly! :)

The preggo pair
she is technically due at the same time as me, but only having one opposed to my two! :)

Me, Jenny, Jenny's "Mom-mom" and Sharon (Jenny's mom)

Me and Cheryl

And then when the shower ended, Heather and I headed back to my place for a little down time to rest up for the evening. I also had to go home to see my sweet hubby and give him a kiss before he headed off to work and forgot what his wife looked like!! (He saw me a total of about 5 minutes all weekend!! I owe him some quality time big time!!) Then we headed back off to Jen's house for a sleep over of grand proportions.

We had great hopes and expectations for our night of fun. And overall we did have a blast, but the fun was interrupted by the lady who was "supposed" to be the life of the party. So our night started back at Jen's eating leftovers from the party and letting the pregnant girl become a bartender. The only problem with letting me bartend, is that I couldn't taste the drinks to figure out if they were tasting right. So I made a the girls take a lots of sips to let me know if I was on the right track. Well even though they told me they tasted good apparently I didn't put enough alcohol in them to even give anyone a proper buzz or hangover. That was their fault though for letting me bartend!!!So then the "toy party" lady showed up. Now for those of you that don't know, in my past I used to do these types of parties and had a blast doing them. So I had great expectations of what we were in for for the night. Now I did email this woman (who ended up being older than my grandmother) and told her the exact type of party I would like to have. I even went as far as telling her what products to show, I know a little high maintenance on my end but I knew what would be fun to see. Well I don't think she chose to go by my "short" version of the party. I told her I wanted it to be an hour max (including ordering) because we had other things going on and wanted to have a fun night. But she proceeded to do the slowest presentation on god's green earth. And instead of it being fun and light hearted it was a 3 hour lecture that had us all yawning and trying to plan different ways to stick forks in our our eye sockets because it sounded like more fun that what we were listening to. Needless to say we sort of booted her out int the end and I will be complaining to my old company about the poor representation they sent out when I asked for someone good.


So after the 3 hours of torture (and not in a good way) we decided to sit down and enjoy a cute chick flick. Which we had a blast watching and seeing who was going to fall asleep first.





When it was finally time for bed we all gathered in Jen's master bed room (minus Jen who was sleeping in the other room with the guinea pig) to sleep on the three different beds we had set up in there. And in typical sleepover fashion we ended up chatting into the night until we all fell asleep, that is until the snoring began. So Megan and I being awoken for the nice sweet snores coming from two of our lovely friends decided in our sleep deprived pregnant minds that it would be a good idea to throw the cat on the bed of one of the culprits to see if it would stop the noise. And it did... for about 10 minutes.

So the next morning we woke up a little more tired than expected but still remembering what a good time we all had. Thanks ladies for making it a day and night to remember for many years to come!!!

24 weeks

We are officially 24 weeks along today. We could actually have the babies right now and have some chance of them surviving. That is an exciting thought. Not that I want to have them now but they at least have a chance if something were to happen.

We are more than halfway through and really starting to anticipate their arrival! Our sweet (hopefully) boy and girl (that are still nameless) will be welcomed with so many loving arms. We are really lucky to have such a great group of supportive family and friends.

The holiday rush at work is almost over, and we are all breathing a huge sigh of relief. We are still waiting for something major to happen that we haven't thought of, but so far its been eerily smooth. Too smooth... ( i really don't want to jinx anything so I'll stop with that!!)

I'm so excited! We are having a baby shower this weekend and I'm getting to see all of the girls together. The Dallas Posse is ready to have some fun!! And we are super lucky because our tree hugging, honorary dallasite, soul sista, that completes our Posse, that lives Austin, is coming up for the occasion. As well as one of best friends, from Austin !! I am pumped!!! Girls...get ready for some fun this weekend!!! (as megan and I drink our virgin drinks and watch you all get sloshed on baby shower trash can punch!!) :) I can't wait...

23 weeks and counting

We are officially 23 weeks along and still going strong! We had a great Thanksgiving with friends and family. The babies seemed to love our non traditional meal of steak, mashed potatoes, asparagus, bacon wrapped green beans and some yummy rolls.

And guess who else actually enjoyed eating? The boy and girl! My previously super picky eaters are expanding their horizons. They both ate steak, tried the mashed potatoes, the boy loves the green beans and the girl loved the bacon wrapped around the green beans, and they both loved the rolls, of course. Every time they try something new I am amazed and proud. I think my patience and years of begging is finally paying off.

For those of you who keep on asking, yes I am definitely showing. If you check out our slideshow you will even see the bump sticking out there. The dr. says I need to focus on eating more small meals during the day. I'm trying my darndest but can't seem to eat enough. I believe I'm trying to reach 3500 calories a day! It is a different world carrying twins! If you don't gain enough you have a higher chance of early labor/births, and we don't want that. So to Braum's I go for more milk shakes to up the calorie content. (and of course some healthy things too!)

The babies are busy kicking and twisting and turning. Brandon and the kids have gotten to feel them move quite a bit. Its really fun (for now)! But I know when they get bigger I'll probably be wishing they weren't so active, but active means healthy!! And I'll take any discomfort if that means they are doing well. :)

We are almost to the end of our Thanksgiving week off of school. I am so ready for school to start again and to get back to work! I have enjoyed the time off with everyone immensely but we have now gotten to the whiny, bored, crying part of the vacation and I'm so over that! Why did they give the kids a FULL WEEK OFF for Thanksgiving?

Sugar-rific

We finally had our holiday photo session with Jen (it was a second take) and the boy actually cooperated! We had a lot of fun tooling around Deep Ellum checking out all of the sites and colored walls. Check out our awesome slideshow courtesy of Sugar Photography!

Happy Birthday to my Baby

My baby boy turned 6 today (well actually technically yesterday now that its 15 past midnight). I really don't know where the time has gone. He has gotten so old on me!

At school today they called him by his full name (Benjamin) to recognize his birthday, he only goes by Ben normally and he didn't realize they were calling him.

So now he has decided he will be Benjamin. He even learned how to spell his whole name today. It was pretty funny. He also told me that his teacher doesn't even know what his "real" name is. I had to reassure him that she did. He is ready to go for the full name change now. He even wants his teacher to change his name tag on his desk.

Six years ago, I had just finished with almost 40 hours of labor to get this stubborn kid out. He came out with a head full of blond hair that already looked like it needed a haircut. He was my little stubborn ray of light. He is a true Scorpio from the top of his head to the tip of his toes.

I am sure he will use that iron will to succeed and become whatever he chooses to be. As of right now that would be a potion maker, rock climber, or super hero. He is still up in the air as to which would be best. I absolutely love his vivid imagination and hope that nothing stops that brilliant little mind from being as individual as he wants to be. He is truly one of a kind and I can't imagine ever having such a wonderful life without him in it.

So in the end, I guess he was worth all that labor! ;)

I love you little man!

Baby Names

Now that we have found out what we are having we are being inundated with baby names from everyone. I really don't mind, because I really can't figure out what we are going to name them. SO I have been searching the internet for names, here are some of my top choices (of strange combos):

Samson and Delilah
Orion and Rosemary
Sincere and Tiara
Messiah and Scarlet
Omarion and Araceli

These are some real names I have found on the top 1000 baby names lists. Who would name their boy Sincere? Are you just trying to make him a master bull shitter when he grows up. I can only see trouble when I hear a "name" like that. Just like the whole slew of stripper names. We really don't want to throw our girls on the pole because we have tainted them with a stripper name and they have no other choice.

So I have decided on either Adam and Eve or Jane and John. Might as well stick with the early pairs and be safe right? ;)

It's a girl...and a boy!!!

It's official we are having both a boy and a girl!! We are so excited. Our little clairvoyant daughter had told us from the beginning we were having twins and they would be a boy and girl and she was right!

They were both eager to show us what they were within the first minute of the sonogram. That was quite a relief. I was so worried they wouldn't cooperate! The girl cooperated the rest of the appointment and the boy decided to wiggle and move and not let us see him much. I already know what we are in for! We got a cool 3-d picture of the girl but the boy would not cooperate. Go figure. MEN!

So now we are going to have to seriously think of names and themes! :)

Halloween

Just a few snap shots of the kids on Halloween! They had so much fun. We even took the dogs with us around the neighborhood. :)

 

 

 

 

Baby Update

I totally forgot I was going to update you all on the babies. We had a Dr.'s appointment this last Tuesday. We didn't get an ultrasound but we did get to hear the heartbeats. The both had strong healthy sounding heartbeats, and I'm hoping they keep on this track. The morning sickness is pretty much over, even though it did choose to rear its ugly head at me yesterday all day long, I think just to remind me of how much I don't miss it. I am measuring about 5 weeks ahead of where a singleton pregnancy would be, which is normal for a twin pregnancy. I am finally back to my starting weight, so I technically haven't gained any weight. But it sure looks like I had about 3 cakes for dinner.

Other than that, work is super busy and I'm loving it. I just wish my preggo brain would cooperate a little more.

Updates...boring

I really swore I was going to do better at keeping up on this whole posting business!! But my life is just so boring that nothing seems worth writing about. We are at 16 weeks as of today with the pregnancy. I have had almost no morning sickness for the last two weeks and I'm really hoping it is gone. But I guess we'll see. I am finally getting some energy back and have actually been contributing around the house again. I am sure Brandon is more than happy about that. He has been a saint. He has done all of the housework and laundry for the last 3 months without complaint. I have to say the house looks much better than when I was doing it!! We have a dr.'s appointment next week with Dr. E for our 16 week check up. Unfortunately we don't get an ultrasound this time. We are bummed about that. But we have gotten so spoiled its probably good to kick us back into reality!! So we won't get to find out the sexes until our November appointment! :( My little update I get from baby center says the babies are the size of an avocado right now. And about 4 1/2 inches long. The next three weeks they will go through a major growth spurt. I have really started to pop out this week since Monday. I know I need to post a picture but I don't like any that I have!!! Maybe I can get Jen to take one for me soon.

The boy keeps coming home and asking if the babies have come out yet. He is at the stage of asking really obvious questions and I really don't know what answer he is expecting to get. I think sometimes he talks just to hear his voice. He is loving Kindergarten and seems to be doing really well. He really likes his teacher and his classmates. Even though a few of the boys in class seem to not be the best influence on him. We have really had to correct some of his attitude and sayings at times. He is so impressionable. It is crazy how well peer pressure works. It is just the beginning to what we will face in the teenage years I am sure!! Our newest saying form the boy is," When I grow up I'm going to shave all the hair off my head so that I can be bald." When we asked why, he said he just wanted to feel what it was like not to have hair, and did we think people would laugh at him if he didn't have hair? I really wonder what goes through his head at times. All that I can say is that he takes after his grandpa (my dad) and that when he grows up he is going to be very smart and very creative.

The girl is flourishing as well in 3rd grade. We just got a progress report and she is making all a's. We are so proud of her! She is still really excited about the babies coming as well. She is making all sorts of plans. She is still my girl with her head in the clouds. I found her the other day in her bedroom painting when she was supposed to be doing homework. When I asked her why she wasn't doing homework, she just told me she got distracted what she saw her paints. And then today when I told her it was time for bed she said she didn't hear me because she was distracted by the book she was reading. She is so my child. I just have to remember to be patient and remember that I was just like that at her age. I love that girl.

My saddest news this month is that we traded our car in for a dreaded minivan. I knew I should of never said I would never own a minivan. But it was our only choice. I think I cried for about a week about it. It was not a good week. But it is a really nice one. We go a new honda odyssey. And when we were getting it I had low blood sugar and was feeling very hormonal. So the poor sales guy had no chance to talk us into anything. I think I shot down about everything he said. I really didn't want to get it. But in the end we got a killer deal and the van has some really nice features. I can only live with the fact that we are doing this for the twins and there is no way 4 kids in car seats would fit into my jetta.

If you have made it this far I am impressed. This is what happens when I don't post I do a post that is like war and peace. Hopefully this has helped get you ready for bed and you will sleep soundly...

Baby news

We just went to the Dr. today for another check up and we got to see the babies on the sonogram again!! We are 12 weeks 5 days along and everything is looking right on track. We haven't had an complications so far....knock on wood!!! We saw two strong baby hearbeats. They were both sucking their thumbs. Baby B was doing flips and Baby a was sleeping. All of their measurements were right on. We are really happy that went so well.

Of course I was way worried before we went in and Brandon was a cool cucumber. And thank goodness I have him there to balance me out!!

I am going to my first "moms of multiples" meeting tonight. Luckily one of my friends just had twins about 5 months ago and will be able to meet me there and show me the ropes. I'll let you know how it all goes!

Cookies and more

I just have to tell you a story about the sweetest thing my daughter did and said. So when I came home from work yesterday I get bombarded at the door with an excited 8 year old. She is talking a mile a minute and I can barely understand what she is saying. So when I finally understand what she is trying to say I start welling up with tears (maybe due to these pregnancy hormones!!)

So she tells me, "we have a fundraiser at school to sell cookie dough. And if I sell 100 tubs I can win a portable dvd player or $100 cash." So I figure she is going to go for the cash and is going to buy lots of My little ponies or something like that. But she goes on to tell me,"So I really want to get the $100 so that I can give it to Aunt Jenny's organization Heroes for children." Of course I told her how nice that was and very thoughtful too. We then went on to call "Aunt Jenny" and tell her the girl's plan. Of course "Aunt Jenny" teared up as well. It just amazes me that she came up with this on her own with out any prompting or suggestions. It was all her own idea, and what a selfless act it is!! I am so proud of her!

So if you want to buy some frozen cookie dough ($13)please let me know!! I have already told her as well, that if she doesn't reach 100 we will give her a dollar per container to donate. And if you are interested in c=donating directly to the organization you can find them here.

Now that my energy is slowly returning I am trying to be better about blogging. Now if you asked my hubby he would say "energy returning?" and today he would be right. I just got up from a 4 1/2 hour nap. I know sucks to be me, right? Well other than today I have actually been an almost functioning member of the human race. I can make it through most days without a nap now as long as I have the time to chill a bit on the couch with my feet up. I don't know why but it makes all the difference in the world.

I think I jinxed myself last week. I actually had FIVE whole days without one sign of morning sickness, and I was dumb enough to say, gee i wonder if my morning sickness is gone. And as soon as the thought left my brain the morning sickness kicked back in. Now I must say it is not at full force anymore, but its still there. When will it end? I know compared to others I really have nothing to complain about but since its mine I will complain! Its my pregnancy and I'll cry if I want to, right?

Okay I'm sure you other mommies out there will remember what an emotional mess you were when you were preggo. My hubby, is finally starting to understand that crying at any moment is normal. At first he would tell me, "Crying won't make it better" and of course I would say back, but it does!!! and I 'm pregnant so I can cry!! So after 12 weeks of seeing it and reading a few books about the subject he is now much more understanding even if he does call me a crazy nut job at times. And granted I am, at times.

Now for the sappy part, I so have to give huge props to my very loving and patient husband. Can I tell you that for the last 8 weeks I have not had to lift a finger at home. No seriously, not a finger. And I get no slack about it either. I am the luckiest girl in the entire world! Even when I am coherent enough to think about it and feel really bad that he has shouldered all the chores and kid wrangling, and then I break down and cry that I am a failure and can't even help fold the laundry and he's doing everything and its not fair...you get the point.(if you are actually following what I am saying I am so amazed, my brain isn't stringing things together correctly anymore, bear with me) I really do feel bad that he is having to do it all, but I never even hear a peep out of him. It is truly the most amazing and loving thing that I think has ever been done for me. Why don't more guys do this? So when I am having my little guilt break down he kindly reminds me that it is my job to bake these two sweet babies right now and it is his job to take care of everything else. What did I do to deserve this? It is so nice to be in love, have a fabulous partner, and to be supported more than you ever thought you could be. I have to say I have a fabulous life.

If you guys haven't done it yet, please go and register for the Heroes for Children 5k that is taking place next Saturday the 15th. I actually got on the ball and did it ahead of time! Go me!! It is going to be a fabulously fun time while supporting a great cause. Please come and join us!!

School's back in session!!!

I don't know about you but I am excited!! School has started again! Kids are out of the house!!!! I think if we would of had one more week on summer they might have killed each other. But we survived. Our girl just started 3rd grade and the boy started kindergarten! Yea FREE SCHOOL!!! No more day care, well at least for a little while.

The girl fell right back into school like she never left. She loves school and she got a really nice teacher once again this year. We have been so lucky with teachers! She is excited that there are kids that she knows from last year in her class. And she is ready to learn again. She told me on the first day that she was going to be really good and the only time she would ever have to go to the principals office was to do morning announcements. I find it funny that she even gets worried about that. Those of you that know her know that something major would have to shift with her personality for her ever to get in any type of trouble. I just hope that doesn't happen in the teenage years!! Here she is the first day in her new pink outfit that she couldn't live with out!



The boy had a different start to school than his sis. In wonderful frisco isd they have a kindergarten orientation the first day of school that lasts a whole hour. So we dropped the girl off at 7:30 and then had to come back with the boy at 9 for orientation. And then we left with him at 10. It was stupid! We have gone to 3 other "kindergarten orientations" in the past few months. How many do they need?

So after his first anti-climatic sorta first day we had our second real first day. He came home saying her had a lot of fun in school. And the best part was that you could buy lunch at school ant there was a store there that you could buy drinks at. And he got a drink. They even had three types of milk. But he got the white milk. Now the only problem I saw with this was that we didn't give him any money to buy anything. So I asked him how he bought it, did he have some money with him? He does like to hoard money every now and then so it wouldn't surprise me. But he told me , No I didn't have to have money we had a little card we used and we got to buy milk with it.

So apparently the teacher handed out their hot lunch cards and let them use them. I guess she doesn't have to check and see if they have any money on them or not. But what is this teaching our kids? They are learning the power of a credit card at age 5!! :) I find it funny, but now we are going to have some serious lessons and rules about this magical card. So since we didn't want a delinquent account from the start I went online and put money on both kids lunch cards even though they never want anything. But I have a feeling this will change.Here is a shot of the boy in his new cool boy outfit.



Other updates:

On the twin front...I am slowly getting a little more energy and find I can even return a few emails every now and then. I actually took the dogs for a short walk the other night and survived. Its nice to have a little energy again. Morning sickness is still rearing its ugly head but I have now gained an appetite. So I am hoping it is nearing its end, cross your fingers, knock on wood! I think the twin shock has worn off. We are excited but now I have two babies to worry about something happening to. I can't wait for the next ultrasound! I will feel a lot better after we see them again and see that they are doing well. We go back in two weeks for this.

That's about all that's happening in our corner of the world.

SUGAR!!

Our new website is up!!! We have been working on it for a while and now we finally have it up! Go check it out and let me know what you think. I think its fabulous! High 5 Jen!

Twins it is

Well after a very good dr.'s appointment today, we have two babies that are looking very healthy. We are in a bit of shock but very excited. We didn't know we would get two for the price of one!!

Heroes for Children

Hi everyone!

I know a lot of you know my best friend Jenny runs a fabulous organization called Heroes for Children. And for those of you who haven't heard of it, please check it out!! I think this is one of the best charity organizations out there. They provide assistance to children and families battling cancer. They will help them pay their rent, electric bills, get laptops for the kids, and many other things.

Well, the annual 5k is coming up on September 15th, here in Plano TX. Here is a blurb from Jenny about what is happening:

Please join us at the 3rd Annual 5K Run/Walk on Saturday, September 15th. The event is our family friendly event raising funds for Heroes for Children. The event features a 1K family run and a 5K race (strollers welcome!) as well as lots of children’s entertainment—bounce houses, trackless train, face painting, ambulance and fire truck to explore, and a live concert from children’s entertainer Eddie Coker!

To register please click here http://www.heroesforchildren.org/5k.html

It is going to be so much fun!! we have gone every year they have had it and we will not miss it. We even have friends driving up from Austin to help the cause! So please join us or donate! It will make you feel better all the way around!

Also if you want to help out the cause and you can't make it feel free to donate time volunteering or some money. As little as $5 will make a difference! Check out their donation page.

Pregnant

Well I was going to wait to tell the world but it seems like everyone already knows, so I might as well post it myself!!

We're pregnant!!

We are just about 7 weeks along (today). And we may have twins. Yes you read that correctly, TWINS!!! But we are not positive yet. We had an ultrasound on Tuesday and we saw 2 babies but only one had a heartbeat. They told us that the heart starts beating this week so the other may not be there yet. They could have been fertilized on different days. Crazy, I know.

Or we could have a possibility of a disappearing twin. Sometimes you can drop two eggs and one just decides not to take and gets reabsorbed into the body. You don't show any signs when this happens. They think it happens a lot more than we know. We were lucky enough to have an early sonogram. But a lot of people don't get a sonogram until the 10-12th week. And by then the baby has disappeared.

So now we have a long wait until the end of August to see what happens. As the Dr said we can't do anything about it but wait and see. So we will keep you updated and let you know if we will have one baby R or two.

Other than that news, it has been a pretty normal pregnancy so far. Lots of lovely morning sickness while having a chest cold, lots of fatigue, and according to my hubby, I have been emotional. I told him I'm a lot better this time than I have been before. He just shakes his head. So I have been taking lots of vitamins and drinking my ginger tea. I've lost 5lbs in the last 2 weeks thanks to the morning sickness. I'm ready for this part to be over with!!

So needless to say i probably won't be posting too much in the next few weeks. This just takes too much energy and brain activity. But I will try and keep it all updated.

Colds Suck

I have had a cold now for the last 8 days and I am so over being sick!!! But the damn cough won't go away!!!! augghhhhhhhhhh Why do we get colds in the summer?????

Chores

My life has just been pretty boring lately. Not much to write about but I don't want to get in trouble from those blog people (you know who you are) so here is a short post.

Kids are gone for the month of July, so we thought we would organize and unclutter the house while we had the chance. And my major goal was to get the majority of it done by the end of the first week. We have almost succeeded!!! We have been crazy cleaners, but I do admit sometimes I have to watch those "clean house" shows to get myself motivated. When I see the people on TV and how messy they are it makes my mess seem much more manageable. I can think to myself, shoot I don't have that much crap and I don't want to get there. You know what I mean?

So we have gone through every room, closet and cabinet in the house. The only room we haven't hit is the boy's. But I declutter his room pretty regularly. He hoards random crap and if I don't get in there things start smelling funny.

I also FINALLY painted the girl's room. I told her a year ago I would paint it pink and I never have. So today after cleaning out her room for 4 hours and filling 4 trash bags with crap I decided I would paint. So since I was on a role I went out and got the paint and got busy. Only problem is that I had to do it myself since I couldn't wait for Brandon to come home. So in the end it took me about another 4 hours to finish. But it looks really good. I am trying to think up something cute to paint on the walls. Like puppies or flowers or something. But that will have to wait.

Finally, I start my new job tomorrow (officially)!! I've been in a couple of times to help her organize and stuff but tomorrow is my first "real" day. I am so excited! I love her photography and think this job is going to be a great fit. I'll fill you in on more later!

Five favorites

Okay, I'm finally getting to this! My friend Tracey tagged me for this. So here it goes:

Here are the rules:

1. Link to name of person that tagged you.
2. Include state and country you live in.
3. List top 5 favorite local restaurants.
4. Tag 5 other people and let them know they’ve been tagged.

I live in Plano TX (right outside of Dallas) and here are some of my favorite restaurants:

1. Fireside Pies: Fabulous handmade gourmet thin crust Pizza. They also have fabulous salads and a cheesecake that is to die for. The cook their pizzas in brick ovens which give those crusts just the right amount of crusty chewy-ness. Love it! My favorite salad there is the three cheese salad. Favorite pizza is the margarita pizza or the triple-roni. And if you are in the mood for a different margarita my favorite it the prickly pear margarita. Yummy food, great atmosphere, and great service!!

2. Gloria'sRestaurant: Fabulous Mexican and Salvadorian food. I love Mexican food. And this is one of our staple places to go. Love the fajitas and quesadillas. And they have great margaritas as well!! We love to sit out on the patio on a nice day and eat and drink.

3. Chuy's Restaurant: Now this one is mainly in Austin. I think we have one here but it still isn't as good as the Austin locations. But I love just about everything on their menu. Great Mexican food and drinks once again. And its very kid friendly as well.

4. The Parlour . Its a cafe and wine bar. They are normally only open for dinner but the do have a Sunday brunch. So now it is my new favorite brunch spot. I had a fabulous banana bread french toast. Let me tell you this was absolutely fabulous!!! It melted in your mouth. I have not had anything that decadent in a while. LOVED IT!! B had Biscuits and gravy. The biscuits are to die for. Loved everything we had there. We are going to have to go for dinner soon. The menu looks great. They have a great wine selection and great atmosphere.

5. Trudy's Mexican restaurant: Here is another Austin Mexican food restaurant. We love this place. Every time we go back to visit we have to eat there. They have a great brunch and dinner. You can't go wrong. Very fun family friendly atmosphere. Favorite cocktail: Mexican martini. It's a must have. Wish we had a Trudy's here!!

I tag (okay this is hard, I don't know many people who haven't already been tagged!!) Brandon, Summer, Liz, and I can't find anyone else I know that has a blog and would read mine to figure out they had been tagged!! So if you read this and want to join in the fun, please do and let me know!!

Conversation with the boy

This is a recent conversation my hubby had with our boy:

Where does Jelly come from?


Boy: "I don't like jelly."

Me: "Why?"

Boy: "Because it comes from jellyfish, and I don't like fish."

Me: *Laughing my ass off*

Boy: "And how do they not get stung when they get the jelly from the jellyfish?"

Me: I now have tears in my eyes and am having a hard time driving...


For some reason I think our boy is going to blow us all away with some important discovery one day. He is always coming up with random questions that you would normally never think of. And when he is famous we will remind him of these questions and he'll deny that he ever said it at all!

One of my favorites was about my hubby. Brandon is very allergic to cats. So the kids were talking one day and asked me,

"if Brandon was a cat would he be allergic to himself?"

Of course I laughed and couldn't really come up with an answer. They still ask me the same question to this day.

Another one of our favorites was a conversation we overheard happening in the backseat. It went a little like this:

Boy: I'm gonna shave it all off when I grow up.

Girl: Yeah thats probably a good idea

Me: What are you going to shave off? (thinking it was probably the hair on his head)

Boy: My back hair

Brandon: Your back hair? You don't have any back hair.

Me: laughing hysterically

Me: (after taking a few deep breaths) Why do you want to do that, especially since you don't have any back hair. (his dad has back hair and I'm guessing must shave it)

Boy: I will have it when I grow up and its gross

Brandon: you probably won't have to worry about that

boy: YES I WILL

Brandon & me: (can't stop laughing)

Boy: It's not funny!!!

Brandon & me: (stiflingly laughter)

Me: Oh honey we aren't laughing at you Brandon just told me a funny joke... (only a little white lie won't hurt, right?)

Still to this day if we hear anything about back hair we laugh, just can't help it.

Brandon has a friend at work that asks him for stories or questions from "the boy". She says its what will make her smile all day long. Now of course our boy would not find it amusing at all that we all find him hilarious because he is very very serious about his question and observations. Which of course makes it even funnier.

Okay, so obviously I am starting to miss my kids. They are gone to their dad's house for the whole month of July. Which is very nice for us, we love the break. But I do miss the daily interaction and the hugs and kisses. For some reason, I think I can hold out, its really nice to have a month off!! The month away from them makes me appreciate the time I have them even more.

Woooo Hoooooo!!!

I got a new job!!! It seems as if everything happens for a reason and then comes together when you least expect it.

So this last week I decided it was time to bite the bullet and give my two weeks notice to my faux job (well it was a real job not a faux one but faux painting...you know what I mean).

We are going to start trying to get pregnant soon. My old job consisted of using oil based stains and such. So I decided to play it safe and get away from those lovely smells that can possibly harm me while I'm pregnant.

Well wouldn't ya know it, as soon as I tell my friend Jenny that I'm doing this she tells me that her photographer is looking to hire someone to help her out in the office. And guess what, I had plenty of experience running a photography studio. I had done that for about 3 years until I had my first child. And I loved it.

So I gave my two weeks (not knowing if I had any job to fall back on at all) and then emailed Jenny's photographer. And luckily within a few emails back and forth and a face to face meeting, I got the job!

Talk about a weight lifted off my back. And the job seems to be exactly what I needed. I did tell her we were planning on getting pregnant, didn't want to surprise her with this later. And being the awesome person and mom that she is, she had no problem with it.

She is such an awesome photographer and a wonderful person that I think this is going to be a great thing. Check out her website here. She has a wonderful style that I love. Can't wait to get started!!!

Picky eaters

I swore I would never do this. I'm actually catering to my dog. I thought I had it bad with the kids.

He won't eat his food unless I put yogurt on it.

He's a dog.

Shouldn't he be willing to eat anything?

When we got him he was almost starved, you could see all of his ribs. So I was worried about him getting enough food every day. Now we have gotten him up to an acceptable weight, but of course I still worry.

Now I seriously "have to" mix yogurt in with his food just to entice him to eat. I know I could just leave it alone and then he would get hungry enough and eat, but I never want to see him as skinny as he was again.

I must be the "sucker born every second". Maybe I will start letting him just wait until he eats.

How do I end up with all the picky eaters. Did I do something that caused the universe to give them all to me? I mean I was picky as kid but not this bad.

My kids are some of the pickiest eaters I have ever heard of. They eat about five things (well a few more actually but you get my point).

Chicken nuggets (tyson brand only and they prefer them frozen...i know its weird but safe, i checked),

peanut butter and honey sandwiches cut in shapes,

granola bars (quaker chewy only),

fruit snacks,

pizza,

bacon,

graham crackers

and goldfish.

Those are the staples.

Please keep in mind that my kids may be different than yours. This is meant as a humorous account of one time.

Now that they are getting older I've been able to introduce a few new foods. And when they like them I have to call everyone and throw a party. Here is how it goes when we try a new food:

Me(8am): Okay guys, tonight for dinner we are going to try a new food. We are going to try spaghetti. (you would think this would be kid friendly right? all kids love it.)

Girl: ummm what does it taste like? (i have to say it tastes like something they already eat or some type of candy for her to even think about trying it, but I can't think of anything that she likes that tastes like it.)

Me: Like spaghetti. All kids love it. (a little peer pressure never hurts right?)Don't you want to be like the rest of the kids? Wouldn't it be great to like the same foods other kids like, so that when you go over to their house you won't leave in tears because they invited you to eat lunch?

Girl: Yeah I guess

Boy: No...

Me (2pm): Okay guys don't forget we are trying a new food tonight. And its going to be great!!!(i'm really trying to be positive here)

Boy: No

Me (5pm): Okay who wants to help me make this yummy spaghetti? This is going to be so good!

Boy: I'm busy and I don't like it (you can't ask him to try anything, you just have to tell him)

Girl: Oh yea!!! I love to help.

Me: If you help you really have to try it. You have to eat 3 bites.

Girl: ummmm...okay

(At the table)

Me(5:15pm): Doesn't this look so good? I bet you are going to love it.

(we are sitting sitting sitting, staring at the noodles)

Me (5:20pm):Okay Its time to take a bite (note that the bites are about a 1/4 inch long)

Girl: ummmm... I think I may need my cd player with the picky eater song on it.(I have researched picky eating and one thing they said was that picky eaters chose to be that way, to be in charge the only way they knew how. Go figure. So I let her do her think hoping it will help her feel in charge.)

Boy: I don't like noodles.

Me: (to boy)You haven't tried how do you know you won't like it? You're not getting anything else for dinner tonight. You have to eat your noodles. And if you do you'll get desert. (dessert is the key to his eating)

Girl (5:30):.....(still looking for cd)
Boy: okay I'll eat them. mmmm I like noodles can I have some more please?

Me: See I told you you would like it. (I know I sound like a five year old but that's what I'm dealing with)

Girl (5:40): Okay I found my cd. (so now we play the song twice while she holds the noodle on her fork, I am being very patient)

Girl: I think I may need to listen to the song again. (takes deep breaths and looks as though she may throw up, still holding my tongue and being patient)

Me(6:00 pm): (I am starting to loose all patience I have ever had)Just put the noodle in your mouth and chew and then take a big drink of water. The faster you do it the sooner its done.

Girl(6:05 pm): I think I may throw up

Me: If you don't do it by the time I count to five I will put it in your mouth for you.

Girl: (after I get to 4 she puts it in her mouth, and acts like she is going to gag)

Me: If you throw that up you'll have to eat it again. (I've lost all patience now)

Girl: Ok....*sob*

Me: Now take two more bites (once again they are a 1/4 inch long, one spaghetti noodle)

Girl: I may need to listen to the song again.

Me: Eat the noodles or else

Finally the one noodle(all three bites of it) is eaten (20 minutes later)and she decides she hates it. I think she has texture issues. It took us almost an hour to eat 3/4 of an inch of noodle. I am worn out. But she at least ate it this time. There is a first time for everything.

I choose not to try any new foods for another month. It just takes too much out of me. I even make them make their own supper. They are 8 and 5 now they can do things like this. I decide if they are going to be picky let them figure out what to eat. (I do watch to make sure they aren't eating apple jacks for 3 meals a day though).

So now I try to find a new food that I know they will like once a month. I figure if I only give them foods they like, they'll be more willing to try more in the future.

I'm not asking for much, I just figured it would be nice if they ate like other kids. But once again I don't want to give them any food complexes so I basically let them eat their staples and get on with life. The pediatrician says they'll be ok.

Sometimes the fight just isn't worth it.

***Since the noodle experiment I have tried some new tactics. (I'm so afraid of them having food issues I hate to push anything on them and when I do I become a nazi). I make sure I tell her everything tastes like bacon. The next new food we tried was brisket (i told her it tastes like bacon, she loves bacon)and by golly she ate her entire plate of brisket and asked for seconds. I was dumbstruck. Now we have added a ham and cheese sandwich with mayo, grilled cheese, and quesadillas. She even tried cantaloupe and a cherry and is still making up her mind on those.Still no luck with any type of noodle, I even let her pick out all the cute noodle types we saw at the store, but no luck.

Antisocial

Have you ever felt antisocial? And enjoyed it? I know its not right to feel that way but sometimes its just nice.

And then I have times where I can't get enough of people. Go figure.

Luckily in the times when I get stuck in the antisocial rut, I have some good friends who keep pestering me until I get out of it. Love you guys!

My last two weeks of work have been crazy. I get home after commuting an hour and a half each way and I don't want to do anything but sit on the couch and not do a thing. So that may explain my energy level and enthusiasm about seeing people the last few weeks.

I really need to remember to keep on blogging. It makes me happy. I promise I will get back on a blog track with maybe even a few blogs with a little humor in them. Now I'm gonna go and sit and do nothing.

Supergirl

Wow I didn't know I was muscular and lean. I better hit the gym. :)

Your results:
You are Supergirl

Supergirl 82% Spider-Man 80% Superman 75% Catwoman 70% Wonder Woman 67% Robin 57% The Flash 50% Green Lantern 50% Iron Man 50% Batman 35% Hulk 25%

Lean, muscular and feminine. Honest and a defender of the innocent.

Click here to take the Superhero Personality Quiz

Quiet at last

Well I was thinking that I haven't really blogged in a while, and now the house is quiet and everyone is sleeping including the dogs, so here it goes...

My question: When at a park especially a splash water park (see pictures of what a splash water park is below) why can't people watch their children?

So here's the scenario, my best bud and I decide to take the kids out to the splash park. While watching our children play Jenny notices two kids collide and then watches one of the kids run smack dab into a pole. Now of course, the kid is gushing blood and screaming (he was around 4 years old, just a guess-timate)but are there any parents around rushing to help him or even claim him? No of course not. So here comes big brother (about 6 or 7yrs old) and he is trying to carry his little bro back to the parents, but of course he doesn't know where they are.

Jenny, being the nice person she is, steps in and helps the boy find his parents. Where were they? Why talking to their friends half way up the hill and not even facing the water area. They of course freak out and take care of their little boy, but could this of been prevented or even just a little less traumatic for the kid if his parents would of been right there?

I know we have all been guilty (if you're a parent or are around children often) of taking your eyes off your child and something happens. It literally takes seconds. And no one is really to blame. It was an accident. But most likely you were standing there and are able to comfort your child immediately. Your child doesn't have to walk around gushing blood AND thinking he might of been abandoned. You lessen that trauma by being within 10-15 feet of them. Isn't it just common sense?

This is the type of common sense I'm wondering about: if your child is around water, with 50 (maybe less than that, I tend to exaggerate a bit) screaming running children, and in an open area that would be a good child molester abduction site, why would you not be at least facing the way the kids are playing? I may be a little overprotective, but if you know me I'm usually really laid back about a lot of things.

This is my hot button issue.

I think about children drowning in just two inches of water, other kids picking on my kids, and of course the "nice" man with candy that lures your sweet innocents away. All those things either bother me or scare me to death.

All that I have to say about the incident at the park is, those people were very lucky there was a responsible adult around actually watching their kids and willing to help. But maybe that's what they count on.

my girl and jenny's having fun at the park



So other than that sad thing happening we actually had a fabulous time. The whole playground area of the park is all wheelchair assessable and very toddler friendly. The kids had a blast playing in the water and then getting to run around on the playground. It was a nice break for the two tired moms.

Here are some pics of the kids playing. They were so cute!!!

Summer Time

Well summer has officially hit our household. We are into week two of our three month summer!!!

The first week the kids were home all week long and we thought we might go crazy. But thankfully summer camp started this week and now they are gone from 9-2 three days a week. I love summer camp! And luckily for us the kids do to.

Its been pretty quiet on the home front. We have spent our days watching the rain that seemed like it would never end, then finally getting to go swimming, and hitting the park a bit before it gets too hot.

For some reason I feel like all of my creative juices have been zapped out of me! Here are some pics of the kids and I. They both actually took a few of the pics themselves. They are getting so big!

My sweet girl's new hair cut

Pirate face boy

Me and my little man (taken by our girl)

Me and my sweet soon to be 8 year old

Silly faces