Photo Contest

This is my photo entry for a contest at 5 minutes for mom. You could win $1000!

I love this picture, I love that he is sharing his cherished cotton candy with his sister. It totally melts my heart when my kids are sweet to each other, when they let their guard down and do something nice for the other. Sweeties!!

Haircutting is Better Left to the Professionals!

I must be crazy! I decided to cut the boys' hair. The bulldozer went first, it was not too bad, it went well. So I moved on to the next boy... oh the horror. I think I have ruined the poor kid. You see, I just wanted to trim up the sides and the back, someone thought one of them was a girl, I had to do something, I mean really, I was doing it for their own good, I was saving their little boy masculinity...right?

The munchkin was crying and moving and I had already done one boys' hair, I couldn't just leave his hair long. So I did my best to get him to stop moving, first time the clippers touched his head he moved and the clippers jumped up to a spot where hair SHOULD be...but, no longer is. I had to make it even, so the back is short, not like I shaved his head short, more like I SHOULD shave his head, short. I have pics, I am contemplating posting them. I am so embarrassed, and devastated just because I was:

1. Impatient



2. Cheap, I could NOT see spending $30 at Supercuts for a little trim, yes it is for two kids but really? Why pay someone for something you can do yourself.... Ha Ha Ha



3. Ridiculous, what in the world was I thinking? Did I really think that putting something that was buzzing, on their head was going to just be accepted by them?

Here is the pictures, I will share them, if you see us out in public you won't need to laugh at them because you already got the sneak preview.

Bulldozer before

and afterThis is the way it was supposed to turn out, lucky boy!"Help, my Mom is about to cut my hair!"The Munchkin before
And here is the poor dear, he still is cute though, from the front:)My Husband will be deciding in the morning if they need to have their heads shaved. Only the munchkin would NEED it shaved, but you can't just shave one of them so.....
I will keep you posted.

First Grade

I totally thought that Kindergarten was the cutest grade. I mean seriously, the kids don't know what to expect, they don't know what they are doing, where to go, finally by the end of the year they begin to "catch on" that this is school and we will be doing this for a while. Now that we are in First grade I am amazed at the learning that is taking place. All of a sudden the Prince can read chapter books, without my help. What? Where did that come from, it seems like just last week he was begging me not to read to him and for me to "drop him out of school". Then it just clicked, he raises his hand in class to read in front of the class, Wow, I am so impressed! And I cannot get over the gaping hole in his mouth. It is so stinkin' adorable, I can't take it! Sometimes he whistles when he talks, come on now, how cute can you be??? I love him to pieces, I tell him all the time, I kiss him when he tries to talk to me and I get a glimpse of that very empty mouth. It cracks me up when he takes a bite of his food and the food has definite evidence that he is missing teeth. He is my angel, he is caring and smart and told me one day that "I just want to play Mom!" That is what he wants out of life, to play, he will find a way, I know him! He completely adores his siblings and he has been caught many times reading to his sister. Such a good boy! He puts up with his siblings destroying his "heroes" and his homework. I am proud of him!! I wonder if second-graders are as cute? I will find out soon enough. This picture was the first night we had his new baseball uniform, he insisted that THIS is the way the socks go. I can't wait to show him this when he is older!

A Sweet Side of The Bulldozer

He is being really adorable lately. He has been using the remote as a phone, and he found this swell "tool" to carry his pacifier around in. It is so cute, he just wanders around putting it in the tool and then in his mouth. He sure is getting big. His wild side has calmed down-somewhat and he has actually been listening when we say "NO".

Yeah!!

The rest of Monday was, let's see, really, really hard! I won't bore you with the details so just trust me. However, I did get AMAZING news, my oldest son is Super Student!! We went today to the assembly that honors the super students. It was awesome. I am so proud of him, we have been waiting since kindergarten for this award. He started kinder at age 4, turning 5 at the end of November, so he is much younger than most of his peers. He has always been up to par intellectually, it was just getting him to focus that has been holding him back. Well he has done it. He completes his work now and he is just doing so very well. I am soooooo proud of him (oops, did I say that already?) It was a great morning. After the assembly I raced over to the church for our first day of Mom 2 Mom. We had a great morning. It was a pretty darn good day all in all! We ended the evening with four noisy kids in the bath together. They had so much fun because we don't normally do that. I tried to get a video of them but there were too many naked body parts for me to keep track of, I couldn't keep them out of the picture. They were all cracking up and there was water everywhere. The bathroom is still drying! Right before the Prince was getting in bed and I was saying his prayer with him, the Munchkin kept leaning in to kiss him and kiss him and kiss him. It was really sweet. He makes this sweet noise when he goes in to give kisses and the Prince was loving the sweet attention from his brother. It was a very lovey day, except the part where I had to put the coffee table outside because they kept standing on it. When my Husband got home he said "It feels so spacious in here, you moved the furniture, I like it like this... wait, where is the furniture?" And I said "Oh yeah, can you bring the coffee table back inside for me? It is on the back patio" I don't normally remove furniture but you know sometimes you just gotta do what keeps you from yelling. I am exhausted, I'm going to bed, another full day planned for tomorrow. We are still celebrating the Super Student, because we are so proud of him!!!

Good Morning!

Oh yes it is! I woke up before everyone this morning to have coffee, blog, and have breakfast. Then I am going to get ready, and no one else is awake yet. This is wonderful. Why didn't I ever do this before? Oh yeah, I know, because I was completely sleep deprived and could barely wake up when the kids woke me up. I feel like today should turn out to be marvelous, well, we shall see!

Have a great day!

Garage Pics

I just wanted to write a quick post about the garage organization we did a few weekends ago. It was very successful and I actually can get the van in there, Yeah! Since we took the pictures we did hang bikes up in the corner which free up a lot of space. We never get to ride them, actually never have but one day....

Before:

After:

There is still some things on the left that need to be given to specific people, but it sure is A LOT better.

Also, because I changed my layout again, I have to find all the people I had on my blog roll before. I wrote everyone down but I need to search for them, so if you no longer see your blog on there, it will take me time, I definitely did not decide that I don't love you anymore.

Have a great day!

Bunco

We are going to play Bunco tonight. I am so excited. My Husband has no idea what it is and I am not telling. We were almost not going to be able to go because a nurse that was supposed to be for our family does NOT want to watch our kids. I was offended at first but now I feel that our kids are not for everyone, they are an acquired taste. Have a great night, I am sure we will :)

Oh and things I am planning on posting about:

• The finished garage
• Our night out together last Sunday

I have not forgotten about these things. I have been slacking on my household duties since I have started blogging and it is driving me crazy. I am starting to make a list of all the things I have to complete BEFORE I am allowed to blog. Last night I did not finish my list until 11pm so I was not allowed to blog. Hopefully I will be able to finish my "chores" quicker next time. LOL

Good News And Other News

Okay we went to Loma Linda today for our monthly BPD appointment. How did it go you ask? well here is a rundown of the day...

• I got lost getting there, as always. I think I got it this time though, next time it won't happen, I hope.
• Three children went with me, plus one very large blanket, a bottle of Clorox Anywhere spray, a small towel, a bag full of toys and one jam packed lunch box.
• I quickly had to spray down the entire floor in the doctors office while giving the kids portions of their lunch. Then I put the blanket down and when they were done eating, put tons of toys on the blanket. I wanted to bring the pak n' play but it wouldn't fit in the bottom of the stroller.
• The munchkin cooperated and stayed on the blanket, which is really all I needed, somewhere safe for him so I could tend to the bigger kids.
• All would have gone better if we hadn't had to be there for 3 hours.
• The Munchkin graduated from the BPD clinic today. They said he has no signs of his Chronic Lung Disease that he was diagnosed with at birth. We no longer have to go to the BPD clinic anymore. They said he may have allergies or asthma later but we won't know about that until that time comes.
• We do however, have to continue seeing the GI doctor, but we can see her at her office instead of her going to the BPD clinic on only Tuesdays. We can now schedule appointments for my Husbands day off and in the morning!
• The Munchkin has to have to procedures done this month, a PH probe to find out the degree of his acid reflux, which we have had before, and something else where he has to drink something to watch it go into his digestive tract. He is having these because in one month we are going to see if he is gaining weight steadily (he gained 2 ounces this month), if he is not she will already have the evaluation part of the g-tube process done so she can put it in without any delays. She doesn't want to waste any time. She is giving him a chance this month to gain but we need serious prayers that he can do it!

I wanted to post a little video of the Munchkin eating, he really is doing so well. He used to throw-up when anything thicker than liquid touched his tongue. I am so proud of him! He is quite the little ham when I pull out the camera:)

My Kitchen

I spend so much time in my kitchen, no actually at my sink that I think I am there more than anywhere else in the house. I am either washing high chair trays, dishes, filling the dishwasher or washing my hands after changing diaper. Then I could be preparing breakfast, lunch or dinner and then cleaning up after those. I should move my computer in there and I would never have to leave!

It is a good thing I have a nice kitchen and when I am in there I can be nosy and see what is going on with the neighbors:)

Just thought I would share a few pictures.I took this one at night after the kids went to bed, when it could stay clean for more than 5 seconds.

The view from my kitchen

Busy, Busy, Busy

We seriously have been so busy. My Husband was off Thursday and Friday (new schedule AGAIN!) So we always try to cram as much family time, project completing and two-parent & alone time activities in that we can. I started a purse that I have been wanting to make, I got a haircut, I went to the bank, I went shopping at Old Navy, which was fun until I tried clothes on (Yuck). I am much jigglier(is that a word?) in a dressing room mirror than I thought. Then my Husband planted tomatoes, and worked on the yard, made a trip to the grocery store and cleaned up more of the garage.
Thursday night we went to the park, it was a beautiful day and we had a wonderful time.

Friday we were also busy can't remember what we did all day but we picked up the Prince from school and then went to get dinner at Carls' Jr. Then off to t-ball practice. It was so much easier to have help at practice. I told my Husband that I felt like I was on vacation having him there to help. It was a treat for him because he never gets to be a part of those things. After practice, a friend of the Prince came over so her parents could go out to a movie. The kids had a blast, we rented Alvin and the chipmunks so when it was too dark to play outside they watched that. She left kinda late,which was fine, just all the kids were exhausted. The two big kids didn't go to bed until 10.

Saturday morning we had to be out of the house by 8am for a t-ball game. And by we I mean 4 kids and me, no husband. It was umm, terrible. I barely got to watch the game because the boys were sad. So I walked and walked. After the game, there was no snack. Whichever parent was in charge of snack forgot. I know it wasn't our turn because we did it last week. anyway the Prince was sad, so I had to promise him a cookie when we got home. Our city doesn't allow drive-thrus so unless I wanted to drive to the next city, a cookie is all I could promise. The we cam home and cleaned, cleaned. cleaned. At 4 we had to be at The Princes' school for a "spring fling". It sort of a carnival. The Prince got to have his best friend from pre-school and his family join us. It was so much fun. We stayed until it was over at 7. Everyone was exhausted. After washing the filthy children and giving them a snack, they all gladly went to bed, AND they didn't wake up until 7:45! Yeah for everyone!


My Husband is off at work form 7-3:30 and then we are going out together, no kids. There is a worship night at a local church we are going to. They were at our church last week but we couldn't go. We are so excited, it is a much needed break for some grown-up conversation and worship. What could be better than that?
The new haircut I was on the phone with my best friend, JodyAt the park


The Cotton Candy was a big hit for our friends' son and the Princess

Already today...

• The Bulldozer strikes again! He woke up at 5 am, we have already watched Toy Story.



• The Munchkin woke up at 5:30 to eat 7oz. and he did not spit it all up, YEAH!



• The Bulldozer has also found a new trick, climbing into the oven. I was standing in the kitchen at the sink and I turned around and he was in the oven. It starled me and I screeched.



• It was a similar screech to the one I yelled into the phone yeaterday when a friend called to invite me to lunch at her house. The Bulldozer had gotten through the gate I have up protecting the rest of the house from his curiosity, and joined me in the bathroom while I was cleaning it. My friend called right at that same moment, she did not even get two words out when I turned around to see him dunking his bottle in the toilet. I screeched 3 times. Sorry Reichel!

He is exhausting me!

By 11 am I will have taken the Prince to school, switched cars and handed over the kids to my husband who has already been at work this morning. I will have gone shopping and gotten my hair cut. Also the Munchkin will have already been to physical and occupational therapy.

I am tired, where's my coffee?

We haven't gotten the bungee cords yet, I need them. Maybe I should use them for the kids and not the chairs..... just kidding.

I can't even send The bulldozer outside, he rips all the flowers off the plants.

He's out of control.

Have a good day!!!

He Sure is Busy Today...

Two seconds after I finished posting the last post, I turned around to catch this: (I Told you he was a bulldozer)

Pretzels Anyone?

I was totally trying to do multiple things at once, starting the laundry, cleaning the bathroom and folding laundry (while the cleaner was working in the bathroom, of course) when I hear the Prince say "Mom, Mom ummm the Bulldozer is on the table and he is doing something very bad". "Ahh I have cleaner on my hands, I'm coming..."
This is what I found...

However, the Bulldozer has been in a amazing mood today since his very long nap. The teething pain must have subsided, for now. We went to a playdate with Mom 2 Mom at the park today. He was so good, until he started getting tired and in three minutes picked up someones (cold) coffee and spilled it on himself, emptied someone else's bag, grabbed another persons' sock, and started to empty a different persons' bag. He terrorized 4 people in record breaking time. Then we left, I was done. He was too, he fell asleep in the car.

All about the bulldozer

I laughed the first time I read that a mother of twins would use bungee cords to keep the chairs tucked into the dinner table.

I thought it was an absurd idea, seriously, why would you need to do that?

Well...

The Bulldozer is out of control. He can climb onto chairs and then onto the dinner table, in three seconds flat.

Once up there he throws things off the table dumps out glasses and spins around in a circle.

This is a new trick so we are not used to pushing in all the chairs and removing all the items off the table.

We are buying bungee cords tomorrow!

On another note, I caught the little terror trying to blog today. It was so cute to see him at the computer, until he started pressing keys.

Just thought I would share.

Randomness

Teething twins is horrible. I didn't think I was going to make it through yesterday, and then bedtime came. It was not really bedtime or so the bulldozer thought. He really has a hard time when he is teething, well it hard for me too.

Before going to bed I was trying to get the Princess to put her tea party set away, she was not listening. So I had to threaten to smack her bottom ( I usually only get to this point when I can take no more, and that is where I was) So she looks at me and straight ignores me, okay so I started to move closer to show her I would smack her bottom. She understood and sweetly picked up her toys. After thanking her I hear the Prince calling me "Mom, Mom" "Yes, what do you need?" I said. "Well, the next time you are going to smack her, I could do it for you!" "um well thanks Babe, But I think I will take care of it."
I was cracking up, he totally found a way to smack his sister without getting in trouble. He was probably thinking that THIS was a brilliant plan. Too bad I ruined it for him by not giving him permission.

On another note we did finish the garage except for the huge pile of donation stuff in the middle.
I will post pictures after we get rid of that stuff, maybe later today.

I also wanted to tell everyone why we call the bulldozer, the Bulldozer. When he was a baby he would roll onto anything he LOVED. Toys, our feet and especially his brother. He would always roll over him, like a bulldozer would. The munchkin was not as strong so he would scream because his big heavy brother was on top of him. He has kept that name because he now barrels through rooms and destroys stuff. The way he walks around just searching for the next thing he can get into is so funny.

Have a great day!

I Love, I Wish

I LOVE...

• The way my family treats each other after we get home from church.
• Hearing someone totally praise their spouse. I also love seeing respect toward the spouse in action.
• That God gave my husband to me as a gift, and he is such a treasure to me.

I WISH...

• I could make that "church feeling" last all week.
• I could show respect for my husband by praising him to others and to him directly.
• I would realize the gift the Lord has given me more often.

There are so many times in a day where I can barely make it through the day much less think about extra things like brushing my hair, painting my toenails, respecting my husband, you know,things like that. My husband and I just get so used to making it through the day that some days by the end of the day I look at him and say "Have you been wearing that shirt all day?" We don't even have time to notice each other. Not on purpose, just as a survival method.

I AM...

• Going to make that "Church feeling" last all week, I will find a way.
• Going to devote more time to my husband, listening when he talks, trusting his judgement (without questioning him), and serving him (I want to bring him a glass of water when I think he may be thirsty...).
• Going to thank the Lord every day for my husband.
• Going to devote more time to reading the Bible. I usually save it for the end of the day because I have time then, but I am usually tired so I don't get to read as much as I would like. I am going to make it a priority, instead of a side note.

Today...

1. We have already attended a t-ball game. My husband is off on the weekends now so there is a lot less stress regarding said games.
2. We are organizing the garage today. It is ridiculous. DH(Dear Husband) is at Costco getting another shelf unit and Lowes purchasing wood for a long shelf.
3. Both Babies are napping right now, nice!
4. The princess is enjoying a juice box, they are only for special occasions, she is feeling very lucky.
5. The Prince is at his Dad's house this weekend, I miss him. I always want to call just to see what he is doing. I used to call all the time. I now refrain from doing so, it just annoys his Dad and him for that matter, He has better things to do than talk to his Mom on the phone. That's a six year-old for you.
6. At 4:30 we have to be at the church to serve in the two year-old room. I love being there with DH. I love watching how wonderful he is with the kids. He was so meant to be a father, good thing we have a lot of kids.
7. After church is always interesting, everyone is starving, all children must bathe (it's my rule, every night they have too get all the germs off of them from that day.), and then bedtime. It is always rushed but somehow it is still enjoyable.

That is the plan for the day, hopefully we will be able to finish the garage today so it doesn't have to take over tomorrow too.

Race For Hope Patient Reunion

WooHoo! My best friend in the whole world figured out a way to save this video to her computer AND post it on my blog. Thank you Jody!!!! I e-mailed the link to everyone thinking it would be deleted by Fox soon. Thank you for watching. This video sheds a positive light on TTTS, which was not the initial feelings I got when we found out we had it. With awareness comes hope!