Preschooler²

Girls' Weekend

2011-06-08T04:46:00.000-07:00

One thing I pray about at night, is that my children stay close to each other as they grow older, and they stay close to Brent and me as well. I know our years are coming when they won't want to have anything to do with us, but I pray that after that phase they will want to be with us again. One thing Brent and I are doing to try and encourage "closeness" with us is having a Girls' and Boys' weekend every year. We hope to continue this even during those teenage years when we are really uncool. We feel that by doing this, we could strengthen the bond between Father & Son and Mother& Daughter. Maybe I'm way off, but at least we will make some great memories in the meantime.

This year, the twins were finally old enough to seperate them for the first time. Brent took Luke up to Alabama and Georgia for the weekend to see an Alabama baseball game, spring football game and a Braves game in Atlanta. It was all about sports. I gave Brent my little camera and told him to take a TON of pictures. when he has a few minutes, he's going to blog about their trip. But for now, here's how our Girls' weekend went!

Late on Friday morning, we said our goodbyes and waved from the porch as Brent and Luke sped off to the airport.

Ashley and I came back inside and I asked her what she wanted to do, and no surprise, she picked coloring.... Go figure. If I let her pick, she'd just sit there for hours and color. We did that for a while, but I had other plans for the weekend up my sleeve. I told her to pick anywhere she wanted to go for lunch, because we were going out! Of course she picks McDonalds. So off we went to jumpstart our weekend! Sitting there at McDonalds was hilarious. She just talked and talked, about everything, and we both laughed a lot. It was so fun to have that one on one conversation about nothing.

We then came home, threw on our bathing suits and walked out to the sandbar.

Ashley invited her friend Emily over to join us. This was special for Ashley, because she never gets to have one on one time with her friends. They were so cute, just having fun, playing hopscotch and giggling.

Later that evening, we had a wine and cheese party. That is what girls like, right? Wine and Cheese! No, that is not wine in her glass, it's grape juice. She felt so special drinking out of a wine glass, that for the rest of the weekend, she requested it for everything, from milk to water. I have created a monster!

Saturday was our full-blown girls' girly day. We invited my sister and nieces to join us at a children's spa for hair, nails, and makeup. When I say, these girls were pampered, I mean THESE GIRLS WERE PAMPERED!! They all loved every second and had permanent smiles on their faces.

Now what would a girls weekend be without a tea party at a tea room? This was both really sweet and really scary at the same time. Scary in that EVERYTHING in that tea room was fragile and of course there was an extra long table cloth on our table that was almost yanked off many times. But the girls loved it. They each got their own tea pot with their lunch. We got many comments on how cute they were. We tried to teach them how to hold their pinkies up.

That evening our town had a little festival, that we went to. It would have been great, but I had to take Luke's place and do this.....

I only did it once, and Ashley kept going. Thank goodness she's independant, that slide hurt!

We ran into some good friends and got to hang out with them for awhile. Ashley and Aria loved the Water Tunnel.div>

This is is when I really started noticing Luke being gone. My heart stopped a couple times when I naturally went to look for him and he wasn't there. This is something that a mom of multiples would understand. I've always had 2 kids in my periferal vision at all times, and to only have 1 made me feel a little lopsided. I felt a little off, uncomfortable. I didn't like it one bit. I think Ashley started feeling it too. She started missing Luke at the festival, asking when he was coming home and telling me that she missed him. I missed him too.

Ashley slept with me that night.

The next morning we slept in and lounged around. We went to Harry and the Natives for Brunch. (Basically, we did a lot of eating over the weekend....)

We decided to go see the movie "Hop" since it was kind of rainy out. Right outside the theatre there was a photo booth. Of course we had to get in. I will forever cherish these special pictures. After all, there are not many pictures of me with the kids. I guess that's the price you pay when you're the photographer in the family.

And I will forever cherish our weekend together. I was happy to see Luke when he got home that afternoon, as was Ashley.

We all had a great time, but I am glad that my family is back together again.

I am thankful for these special moments that I get to have with my daughter. I just love her so much and hope that she will always know that. I am so very thankful to have her in my life. I love you baby girl!

Easter Weekend 2011

2011-05-05T17:24:00.001-07:00

I always seem to post about wonderful, happy times, but obviously our lives are not that perfect. So, to prove that we are very normal, well, maybe not.... Here's how our Easter weekend went.... ha!

Saturday morning, we got up EARLY to go to the Tequesta Easter Egg Hunt. Ashley wanted her hair in french braids which I love. I even braided in baby's breath. She and I were excited about her beautiful hair until Brent walked down the stairs and smelled the baby's breath in a vase and said, "Those flowers smell like Pee!" What?! Are you kidding me?! Of course, since Brent said that, Luke had to say it as well. And that started the downward spiral of the baby's breath. "Mom!! I don't want to smell like pee!!!"--"You, don't Asha, your Dad just likes to say things like that! You look beautiful!"--"Mom!! Take the flowers out!"--"I can't, Asha, they're already braided in. Trust me, they don't smell bad!" WHAAAAHHHHHH... And the crying began. The whole time, I'm giving Brent the evil eye and he tries to back pedal. Meanwhile, Luke is keeping it up. "Ashley smells like pee! Ashley smells like pee". Eventually we convinced her that she smelled wonderful and she loved her baby's breath and french braids again.
We finally got to the egg hunt and things were great. When it was time to hunt for eggs, Ashley just stood there and watched all the kids. Luke took off and found a golden egg (not "the" golden egg, but a golden one. We told him it was special) Ashley ended up getting ONE measly egg. After all the eggs were opened, and candy poured into their baskets, Brent and Ashley took everything back to the car while Luke and I stayed with his friends at the park. We got really distracted by all the Sponge Bob characters and Luke had to have his picture taken with each one. By the time we found Brent and Ashley over by the petting zoo, Brent was fuming. "where were you?! you were supposed to meet us here, 20 minutes ago!" Whoops...... We then went home and I took the kids over to our neighbor's house for Egg Hunt #2. In the mean time, Luke started having horrible diarrhea, which we thought was from all the candy he had at the park. (Lord help me, please do not go at the neighbors house.) We get over there and they are perfect angels. They fill their baskets with eggs. Luke decided that the snails were just as beautiful as the eggs, and when i went to sort through their baskets when we got home, this is what I found. Later that afternoon, we went to Egg Hunt #3. It was at Roger Dean Stadium (the local minor league baseball field). A helicopter dropped 25,000 eggs from the sky. Sounds great, right? no...... We ended up waiting about 2 hours in the heat, in a crowd, without water. Cranky, hot kids (one with diarrhea) and a sweaty, "I hate people" husband, did not make for a relaxing afternoon! I swear, Brent and I were on the verge of divorce!

This is a glimpse into the future, Ashley on the phone and Luke looking cool... After the Egg drop we stayed and watched the first inning of the baseball game which turned out to be fun. (maybe it was the beer that Brent got us?) Sunday morning, we got up early and searched for eggs and baskets. Everything went pretty smooth, (well minus the kids fighting over finding each other's eggs.-"That's mine! I painted that one!" ugh...) We then went to church and came home and spent the rest of the day in the pool.
Overall, it was a great weekend. It wasn't all bad. We actually had a great time. We had lots of laughs and made lots of great memories. Turns out, Luke and Brent were in the beginning stages of some sort of a bug they picked up on their boys' trip to Georgia and Alabama (posts from that weekend coming soon) And Ashley? She rarely gets mad, but when she does, WATCH OUT!! I feel so blessed to have the family that I have, even though there are times where we all are ready to kill each other! After all, that's what family is about, right?

Easter Cookies

2011-04-04T05:31:00.000-07:00

I am finally realizing that I am just never going to keep up this blog how I would like. I have so many pictures on my camera and stories to tell in my head, I just can't find the time to sit down long enough to get them on here! But this one is well worth the time. This is the neatest way to explain Easter to kids. This recipe would be best to make the night before Easter, but I thought I would share it a little early so those of you would have time to make them with your own kids, grand kids, nieces/nephews etc. It is a must and so much fun in the meantime.

Easter Cookies:
All you need is; Bible, 1c pecans, 1 tsp. vinegar, 3 egg whites, pinch of salt, 1c sugar, Ziploc bag, wooden spoons, tape.

Preheat the oven to 300 degrees, and line a cookie sheet with parchment or wax paper. Place the pecans in a Ziploc bag and have the kids beat and smash them into little pieces with the wooden spoons. (the smaller the better) Explain to them that this is what the Roman soldiers did to Jesus after he was arrested. While they are doing this, read John 19:1-3

Next, let each child smell the vinegar. Add it to a mixing bowl and explain that this is what Jesus was offered to drink when he was thirsty. Read John 19:28-30

Add egg whites to the vinegar. Eggs represent life. Explain that Jesus gave his life to give us life. Read John 10:10-11

Sprinkle a little salt in each child's hand. Let them taste it and brush the rest into the bowl. Explain that the salt represents the salty tears shed by Jesus' followers and the bitterness of our sins. Read Luke 23:27

Add one cup of sugar. Let them taste the sugar. Tell them this is the sweetest part of the story because Jesus died because He loves us. Read Psalm 34:8 and John 3:16

Beat with a mixer on high speed for 12-15 minutes, until stiff peaks are formed. When it turns white, explain that white represents the purity in God's eyes and those whose sins have been cleansed by Jesus. Read Isaiah 1:18 and John 3:1-3

Fold in the broken pecans, then drop mixture by spoonfuls onto paper. Explain that each mound represents the rocky tomb where Jesus' body was laid. Read Matthew 27:57-60

Place the cookie sheet in oven and turn the oven off. Give each child a piece of tape and seal the oven door. Explain that Jesus' tomb was sealed. Read Matthew 27:65-66

Go to bed. Explain that they may feel sad to leave the cookies in the oven overnight and that's how Jesus' followers felt when the tomb was sealed. Read John 16:20 and John 16:22

The next morning, open the oven and remove the cookies.

Take a bite, NOTICE- THE COOKIES ARE HOLLOW!!! On the first Easter, Jesus' followers were amazed to find the tomb open and empty. Read Matthew 29:1-9

This was such an amazing experience for me to see my children start to understand the true meaning of Easter. I know you'll have as much fun as we did. Definitely try this. You will be amazed at the questions your kids come up with. If you don't have a bible, you can still do this, there are several recipes online that include the verses. Even if you don't want to read the actual verse, you can just explain it in your own way. Have fun, and let me know how it goes!!

I am thankful for this Easter season, and thankful God gave me my children.

Proud American

2011-03-28T10:06:00.000-07:00

Finally got video of Ashley singing the National Anthem! She's been doing this for over a year!

"Baby Girl"

2011-02-16T05:42:00.000-08:00

Do you know that feeling, when you look at someone you love that is in pain, and you just hurt for them? It sits all the way down in your gut. You can't help but stare at them. You just wish you could do something. ANYTHING. There is no greater pain in the world than to see your child hurt.

It started out as a simple ear infection. Ashley has only had one before in her life, and this could have actually been the same one lingering on, since it was just a month prior. I took her into the Dr. to get an antibiotic. They prescribed Penicillin, actually it was Augmentin which is penicillin with an additive. Things were going smoothly until day 7 when Ashley woke up with hives covering her body. I was sitting on the deck reading the paper when she walked out of her bedroom. When I saw her, I immediately knew what it was, because I had the same reaction when I was little (only I was school aged and old enough to remember every detail). I quickly put both Luke and Ashley in the car and rushed to the doctor's office. They said to immediately stop the penicillin and put her on benadryl. I did that, but she still wasn't clearing up. It's like the benadryl did nothing for her. That evening she seemed to be feeling worse, so the doctor called in a prescription for a steroid. I had a neighbor come over (Brent was out of town) to sit with Luke and Ashley so I could run to the pharmacy, I am so grateful for wonderful neighbors. I gave her the steroid and she seemed to clear up a little, but not much. Having a 4 year old on a steroid is interesting to say the least.... I watched her sleep the whole night. The next day was about the same. However, the rash was shifting, where her skin was covered with hives before was now clear, and where it was clear, was now covered. Strange, but I thought OK, the penicillin was still in her system. It hadn't even been 48 hours since her last dose. The next morning she woke up and this is when I got scared. REALLY SCARED. I don't even know if scared is the correct word to use here. I was fearful for my baby girl. What if her throat closes up?! The hives had shifted again, only this time to her face. She was completely swollen. She couldn't open her eyes. Her lips were enormous and her scalp was covered. You couldn't even recognize her. I immediately called our doctor and he met us at his office. It was closed since it was a Sunday, Super Bowl Sunday. (what an awesome doctor right?) He told me she could be allergic to something other than the penicillin like peanuts or berries. So he said to stop those as well. He increased both her benadryl and steroid. By the afternoon, Ashley was back. Not 100% but back. The hives went down significantly, and she was no longer moaning in pain. She started looking like herself again. By the next day, she was completely clear, only bruises were left behind. Bruising? Seriously? I'm not a hypochondriac, I swear, but I called the Dr. yet again. He was concerned about the bruising as well and asked that I bring her back in. They ran a series of tests and everything came back negative. Which was good, that meant the hives were just so bad that they bruised her poor little body. Within 2 days, Ashley had no bruising and her beautiful skin was back.

This has been a stressful journey, and I am so glad that it is over. Ashley has had peanut butter already and no reaction, which is great. We will try berries soon. I've gone back and forth about whether or not I want to post the pictures I took for the doctor. I decided I would, after all, the point of this blog is for Luke and Ashley to look back on their childhood. Also, what if Ashley has a child one day who goes through this? I kept asking my mom questions about my reaction to penicillin and it was hard for her to remember. She probably blocked it out because it's pretty traumatic to see. I will try my hardest to block this out too.

Later that afternoon. This is how her eyes are supposed to look!

How she is supposed to act!

Now you don't think I would end a post with pictures like that do you?! Check out this porcelain skinned baby girl!

Ashley's taking tap and ballet!!!

She is so proud when she puts on her leotard. She struts around the house showing off. She says she likes ballet better right now, but tap is just so funny!

I am thankful to have the pediatrician we do. He worked really hard and close with me throughout this whole ordeal, answering all my questions and never once making me feel stupid. I tried really hard to stay calm, not only for Ashley, but for Luke. I didn't break down until last night and it was over a stupid commercial! Guess, I just kept it all in. I am thankful that Luke and Ashley didn't pick up on my fear. At one point, Luke said, "why is she making that face?" and that made me laugh. I love my children more than anything in the world, and I hate to see them in pain. I know this is just the beginning, and they will get sick again, I just wish I could put it on me.

Recipe: Homemade Marshmallows

2011-02-07T06:21:00.000-08:00

What a crazy winter it has been! Not only has it been cold by Florida standards, but the rest of the country, it has been blizzard after blizzard. I love the snow. I know those of you up north are hating me for saying that right now, but some of my favorite childhood memories involve the snow. For those of you who follow this blog that don't know me personally, I grew up right outside of Nashville, TN. It doesn't snow there often, but when it does, EVERYTHING shuts down. Especially the schools. There was this puppet on the news (y'all let me know if he's still around)his name was "Snow Bird" and he was the one who announced the school closings. We used to sit around the TV waiting for Snow Bird to appear. I remember hearing my mom say on a few occasions, "I want to rip Snow Bird's beak off!". hahahaha! As a kid, he was great, as a Mom now, I can see how she would feel that way! My siblings, cousins and I loved him, it meant NO SCHOOL! We would then spend the day outside sledding, skiing and ice skating. SO much fun! We would top off our day with bowls of soup and hot chocolate. Great memories. This is one memory I would like my children to have.

Since we now live down here in South Florida, there is NO chance of a snow day for Luke and Ashley. So I figured I would bring the fun memories to them! We loaded up in the car and went to the local ice skating rink. It's definitely not like iceskating on our frozen pool or the Pizza Hut parking lot, but it will do. Luke and Ashley were SO excited.

At first they hated it. The second they stepped onto the ice, they started slipping all over the place, their noses started running and they complained of being cold. ha! FLORIDA BABIES...... But after a few minutes, they caught on and took off. Of course there were some falls, but they got right back up and kept trying. They laughed a ton. I laughed at the old lady who was out there in a complete ice skaters outfit. I mean tights and a l.i.t.t.l.e. skirt (Something that should only be worn by an in shape young woman)she thought she was hot stuff so it made it even funnier. I personally was afraid she'd fall and break a hip. I feel the need to make fun of her, because she came awfully close to my kids, almost knocking them over doing her twirls. I should have gotten a picture of her, but decided just to take some of Luke and Ashley on my phone.

Ashley:
Luke: that's Phoenix behind him.Talk about being sore for a couple days. Maybe it was from all the triple axises I was doing. (is that what they're called?)

We've been eating a lot of soup this winter. Some days, I have to crank the air conditioning down low so it's bearable, but some evenings, it's really cold! With the cold comes Hot Chocolate and with Hot Chocolate comes MARSHMALLOWS! Most of you know how much Ashley loves marshmallows, so we decided on a cold day to stay inside and make them. Turned out to be easy and they were delicious. For my friends up north who are dealing with yet another snow storm and are stuck inside, this is a great activity to do with your kids.

Here is the recipe, I copied from Alton Brown.

Homemade Marshmallows:
- 3 packages unflavored gelatin
- 1 cup ice cold water, divided
- 12 oz. granulated sugar, (about 1 1/2 cups)
- 1 cup light corn syrup
- 1/4 t kosher salt
- 1 t vanilla extract
- 1/4 cup confectioners' sugar
- 1/4 cup cornstarch
- nonstick spray

Place the gelatin into a large mixing bowl along with 1/2 cup of water.

In a small saucepan combine the remaining 1/2 cup water, granulated sugar, corn syrup and salt. Place over medium high heat, cover and allow to cook for 3-4 minutes. Uncover, clip a candy thermometer onto the side of the pan and continue to cook until the mixture reaches 240 degrees F, 7- 8 minutes. Once it reaches this temp., immediately remove from the heat.

While waiting on syrup to heat, prepare a large 13 by 9- inch baking pan, by lightly spraying with non stick cooking spray (be sure to include the sides).
In a small bowl, combine the confectioners' sugar and cornstarch. Sprinkle the mixture onto the baking pan and move around to completely coat the bottom and sides of the pan. Return the remaining mixture to the bowl for later use.

Turn the mixer on low speed and, while running, slowly pour the sugar syrup down the side of the bowl into the gelatin mixture. Once you have added all the syrup, increase the speed to high. Continue to whip until the mixture becomes very thick and is lukewarm, approximately 12- 15 minutes. Add the vanilla during the last minute of whipping.

When ready, pour the mixture into the prepared pan and use a lightly oiled spatula for spreading evenly. dust the top with enough of the remaining sugar and cornstarch mixture to lightly cover. Reserve the rest for later. Be sure to eat the left over marshmallow whip!
Allow the marshmallows to sit uncovered for at least 4 hours and up to overnight.

Turn the marshmallows out onto a cutting board and cut into 1-inch squares using a pizza wheel dusted with the confectioners' sugar mixture. Once cut, lightly dust all sides of the each marshmallow with the remaining mixture. Store in an airtight container for up to 3 weeks.

I hope you enjoy these as much as we did! I'm not much of a marshmallow eater, but these were REALLY good. I bet they'd be even better roasted. Now I want to go camping. Hmmmm... maybe that will be our next adventure....

I am thankful to have had such a wonderful childhood with such special memories. I hope I am making special memories for my children as well.

How can it be?

2011-01-19T07:25:00.000-08:00

How can it be that my BABIES are 4?! It seems like I was just lying on the couch, huge as a house, pregnant. There is no way, they just turned 4! I must be having one of my scary dreams that I often had while on bedrest. I'm just dreaming, right???! I guess not.... I have pictures to prove it and I am oh so sad they are no longer babies. I know, I'm that psycho-crazy mom that cries at every milestone. I am just so grateful to have them. I try to cherish every second and take my time with them so I can savor every moment. I want this to last forever. I know I say this a lot, but I really wish life had a pause button, because I would pause it right here, right now. How can it be?

January 3, 2011

Singing to Luke:

Singing to Ashley:

She blew out the candles too quick for a picture...

Birthday party at preschool

Birthday party at Bounce U

And of course the Hurricane Machine before we went home:

We had a great time celebrating their birthday all week. I hope they felt special, because they are. I just love them so much.

I am thankful for Luke and Ashley.

I'm Baaaack....

2011-01-04T07:45:00.000-08:00

I know, it's January 13th (this originally said, January 4th!)and I haven't even posted about the twins 4th birthday, let alone Christmas!! Thank you to those of you who emailed, text messaged and called asking for a new entry. I never realized how many people followed and cared about this blog! I promise I will do my best to keep it up better now that Christmas is over. Since I am so far behind, I will cram the whole month of December into this one post. Feel free to turn away now, as this is going to be picture and information overload!

This by far was the best Christmas we have ever had. Luke and Ashley really understood what was going on this year and we had a blast! Stinky Winky came back to visit us when we arrived home from my parents house after Thanksgiving. (for those of you who do not have little ones and are asking yourself, "who is Stinky Winky"? He's an elf that magically appears around Thanksgiving time and watches over the kids every day until Christmas. While they are sleeping, he flies back to the North Pole to report to Santa Claus how they did that day. Before they wake up in the morning, he flies back into the house and hides. When they wake up, they have to find where he is, but they are not aloud to touch him, or he'll lose his magical powers. He gains his magical powers when he is given a name, hence: Stinky Winky.) The kids have so much fun with him, especially in the morning when they run around the house looking for him. One of the best places he hid was on our fan, he wanted to go for a ride I guess.....

We all met up with my sister's family at Disney World for Mickey's Christmas. We had a great time, even though it was FREEZING! We stayed out way passed our bedtime and by the time we got back to the resort, Ashley was sound asleep. And if you know baby girl, you know SHE CAN SLEEP! Brent had to carry her about a mile to our room!

Luke and Ashley had a Christmas program at school that was incredibly cute. They sang Christmas carols and provided punch and cookies for the parents. There were only a few kids that cried, Luke and Ashley loved it. This is what preschool's all about, right? The cute programs and projects they do? They really love Christmas carols. Ashley was even singing them this morning. I love them too, however, I told them that the "Chipmunks Christmas" CD had to be packed with all our decorations. There's only so much chipmunk voices I can take. Until next year, See ya Alvin!

This is Luke's very best friend, Phoenix. They are absolutely crazy together. Aren't they cute??

The next day at school we celebrated Phoenix's birthday. Notice in this picture, the whole class is in the background doing some sort of an activity, but Ashley preferred to eat ANOTHER cupcake. I thought it was funny and so typical of Ashley. Baby Girl LOVES her cupcakes!

We also went to a Christmas parade and decorated our tree. All our ornaments were on the bottom third of the tree, but Luke and Ashley were very proud, I thought it was perfect!

With Christmas getting closer and closer, the kids got more and more excited. Especially when the P.U.S. (UPS) man would drop off the package. They especially had fun with the Styrofoam peanuts. At first it was cute, until they started sticking to EVERYthing!

On Christmas Eve, we all got dressed up and went to church. In hindsight, we shouldn't have let Luke and Ashley open a gift before church, it was tough to get them to put it down... Oh well, live and learn.

Here's our horrible annual Christmas picture in front of the tree. I look like I'm disgusted about something. ha!

We then came home from church and opened our traditional Christmas Eve pajamas and got into them. This is one of my favorite Christmas traditions that my Mom started for us when we were little. She still buys all of us Christmas pajamas that we open on Christmas Eve and my brother, sister and I now do it for our own kids.

Christmas morning was the best! I think Brent and I were more excited then they were. We were up way before them, just waiting for them to get up! When they finally did, the house was destroyed with wrapping paper and boxes. I loved every second of it! They were so excited! I think I love Christmas more now, than I did as a kid. There's something about seeing the excitement in your children's eyes on Christmas morning.

After having Christmas breakfast (which included another tradition of sausage balls that Ashley made this year)

we all loaded up in the car (even Jackson) and began our drive to Thomasville to Brent's parents' house. We spent a few days there. Luke and Ashley actually got to see snow flurries for the first time. They weren't all that impressed though.

However, they were impressed with their new baby cousin, Hadley. I can not believe I don't have ONE picture of them!

We then came home and started planning their 4th birthday celebration! See what I mean? It's been a whirlwind month! I'll save all the birthday stuff for the next entry so you're not too too bored! If you've read this far, bless you! I'm sure you need a drink about now.... Can I interest you in some egg nog in a Christmas Vacation Moose Mug?

I will post more soon, plus a new fun recipe to try with your kids this winter!

I am thankful for a wonderful Christmas season and even more for my precious little family.

Here come the questions...

2010-11-22T05:47:00.000-08:00

Luke: "We don't have a chimney, Mama"
Me: "That's because it's too hot to build a fire down here in FL"
Luke: "Well, How will Santa get in the house?"
Me: "ummmmmm..... He's magic!"

Oh boy, here come the questions. Be back soon.

I am thankful Santa is still able to come to our house whether we have a chimney or not.

Halloween 2010

2010-11-01T06:21:00.000-07:00

Hope y'all had a great Halloween!!! I know we did. I love Halloween and everything that goes along with it. Luke and Ashley really got into it this year. They loved making caramel apples, picking out their costumes and decorating the house. I found these mice this year and absolutely love them!
How cool are they???

The witches cackle every time you make a loud noise. (OK, don't love these as much, and Brent really HATES them, especially when he's watching football)but the twins liked them.
The weekend started out with a Halloween party at preschool. It was really funny. The kids sang and danced. Luke got really shy the second I walked into the room and covered his face for the first few minutes. Ashley was having a great time. They did this song, where the kids act like they're sleeping on Halloween night and Ashley refused to lie down on the floor. She was the only one standing. Then in the song, they sing about how it's time to wake up. What does Ashley do? She starts nudging the kids with her foot to "wake them up". Ugh.... That girl. The parents of course laughed.

We then went to the pumpkin patch to pick out our pumpkins. Down here, you can't carve them until the day before Halloween because the heat and humidity make them rot. (see previous Halloween post)

On Halloween evening, we went to a friend's house for a party and trick or treating. Luke and Ashley dressed up as Luke Skywalker and Princess Leia, they were the hit of the neighborhood!
Ashley was tired and ready to go back to the party after about 15 minutes.

Luke didn't want to stop. He loved every second of it. But by the end of the night, he was pretty exhausted too.

Overall, they had lots of fun and got a ton of candy. Not sure what to do with all of it, anyone have a suggestion??

It's hard to believe another Halloween has come and gone. Now on to Thanksgiving and Christmas! I am so excited! This is such a fun time of year, and I love being a parent through it all. I am very thankful to have Luke and Ashley in my life.

Football in the South

2010-10-27T06:54:00.000-07:00

Exhausted, that's how I'm feeling. Several weekends of traveling to football games, tailgating with friends and not getting much sleep will wear you out, but I wouldn't change A THING!

Living down here in South Florida, Brent and I have to fly to get to our alma maters. (Auburn and Alabama). We get a lot of questions and statements from people down here who don't follow college football. "Why do you go to so many games?" "Why don't you just watch it on TV?" "I would never spend a weekend traveling just to go to a game" and my all time favorite is "Don't you cheer for each other's teams?" ummmm. Noooo........

Before we had the twins, Brent and I would fly into Birmingham on a Friday night. We would rent cars, he would go to Tuscaloosa and I would go to Auburn. We would meet back up at the Airport Sunday morning to fly home. Now this baffled people the most. "Why in the world, would you spend your weekends apart?" ummmmmm..... This is football in the South.

I am sure, because I've been to football games in places other than the south, that others love the game and tailgate too, it's just very different. So to explain this to our friends down here who have been asking us every year, "Why?" here is a list of a few samples.

In the South, RVs roll onto campus 3 days before the game and start up the smokers and grills.
In the South, there are incredible pregame shows with flying eagles, fireworks, and fighter jets flying above.
In the South, you start tailgating as soon as you open your eyes on Saturday morning, unless you got there Wednesday with the RV. In that case, tailgating started on Wednesday.
In the South, there are large flat screen TVs set up at all tailgates to watch other games while waiting on your own to start.
In the South, tailgating doesn't end after the game is over. Immediately after the game, more ribs, chicken and boston butts are thrown in the smoker.
In the South, YOU DO NOT CHEER FOR ANOTHER TEAM, unless you are betting on them.
In the South, you will hear a mother explaining the sport to her 5 year old son.
In the South, you do whatever it takes to get back to your alma mater to cheer for your team, even if that means flying and lack of sleep.

This past weekend Auburn played LSU, which is my favorite game to go to every year. (No it's not the Alabama game, mostly because my husband went there, and it brings on too much tension in the house....) We asked our friends, Andrew and Gina, who live down here to come with us this year. Brent was able to come as well, since Alabama was playing away. We had a great time. The trip started off a little rocky, but ended up perfect with an Auburn win 24-17 and landing us in 1st place in the BCS. Not too sure how I feel about that, 1st place seems to be cursed this year.....

Here are some pictures taken with my phone to document our trip:

Nothing like starting the trip out by cleaning up a half eaten fish a bird dropped on the roof. I thought for sure this was an omen and not to go to the game.

After arriving at the airport, we were told our flight was delayed 2 1/2 hours, and it got worse from there, more and more delays. Again.... another omen... After having a drink at the bar, Brent and Andrew decided to check a different airline to see if there were any open seats.

There were, but we had to change all plans and fly to Atlanta and not Birmingham. This would mean cancel all Birmingham reservations (car, hotel, dinner) and make new in Atlanta. We had to rush to go back out through security, print new boarding passes and get to the other gate before that plane took off. By the time we reached the gate, Brent and Andrew's seats were upgraded to first class. Being the gentlemen that they are, they went to the counter and got the new tickets and gave them to Gina and me. Woo hoo! Bring on the lobster and champagne! No more omens here!

Saturday morning, we arrived bright and early at the tailgate. Allen started the jambalaya in a vat....

He makes enough to feed an army, this is just the andouille and chicken!

The metal tigers went up on the tailgate

And the girls (and Joel) got our picture taken

I got those funny glasses Sherri and I are wearing from the Wine and Food Festival last year. Perfect for the game!

Time for the game, apply sunblock!

Game was awesome. Couldn't get a picture of the scoreboard though, but it did say, 24-17!

We had a great time, now heading back to the tailgate for more food and football.

Since Halloween is around the corner, Sherri and I had to put on our wigs. We couldn't get Brent to dress up as Mango or Matt as the Energizer Bunny again, they were too busy watching the Alabama game.....

Soon after, we left Auburn and headed back to Birmingham for our early flight home. We were all exhausted, but I think Andrew and Gina now see why Brent and I do this so often. If I could just bring everyone else with us to understand why we go through what we do to go to a game, I would. Anyone is welcome next year, as long as you don't wear a canary shirt..........

I am thankful to have gone to such a fabulous college. It is great to be an Auburn Tiger, and great to enjoy football in the south.

A lot of firsts.

2010-10-18T09:29:00.000-07:00

Sorry, I've been M.I.A! We've been really busy. I just haven't found the time to write on the blog. We are settling into our new routine of preschool. I thought I would have more "free" time, but it turns out, I hardly have any. I spend it running errands and going to appointments. There are days I don't get back home until after I pick them up in the afternoon. However, I must say, it is much easier to run simple errands without having to get two kids in and out of car seats. I'm noticing things in Publix that I never noticed before, because I now have the time to look. I'm not stressed out when the lady in front of me in line at the grocery store waits to hear her total BEFORE searching through her purse for her checkbook . (my soapbox: OK, I don't get stressed out because my kids aren't with me; therefore, I'm not worried they're about to have a meltdown while waiting, but this type of lady still really REALLY bugs me. Why can't she find her checkbook and start filling out the check while she's waiting on the total?) I need to do a post on just pet peeves. I have MANY.

This past weekend, we took Luke and Ashley on a little trip. We flew into Atlanta on Thursday night and took the twins to The Varsity for the first time. In case you have never heard of The Varsity, it is the world's largest "Drive In" restaurant. It has been a famous establishment in Atlanta since 1928. We thought this would be a fun place to take the kids for dinner. (That and it is very kid friendly.....) They had a great time and enjoyed their dinner too.

After that, we went back to our hotel. Only there was a "little" problem. We were supposed to have a room with 2 double beds. Instead, they gave us 1 king. The twins thought it was the coolest bed in the world, and immediately started jumping on it.
Yes, we are those people who stay in a nice hotel and our kids think it's OK to go crazy.
Even the next morning wearing her Varsity hat, jumping, jumping, jumping.
On Friday morning, we went to yet another famous establishment for the first time, WAFFLE HOUSE!!! Brent and I love Waffle House. I know a lot of people think we are crazy, but we have a lot of funny, funny FUNNY memories there. Usually with our friends at 2:00 in the morning, but we love it. We don't have any Waffle Houses near us down here, so the twins have never gone. Well they got their first taste! Ashley LOVED it! Her favorite was the hash browns, scattered, smothered, covered! That's my girl! Luke, well, he's not much of a breakfast eater. He ate about 3 bites of a waffle and about a lb. of bacon. (my kind of boy too :)

After Waffle House, we went to the Atlanta Aquarium. It was magnificent. I know, I know, leave South Florida to go to Atlanta to see fish, right? Well, let me just tell you, this aquarium is incredible. If you haven't been, you must. Luke and Ashley liked it, but were ready to leave after about an hour. Luckily they had a kids section with a huge slide. (I think that was their favorite part) That and when the Beluga Whale smiled at Luke....

I really love this picture. Don't know why, it would be a professional photographer's nightmare, but I love it.
Looking at a whale shark

And of course the slide...

Good thing he didn't get stuck in there.

We then drove over to Birmingham for the night. The next morning, I left early to meet up with one of my best friends, Sherri to go to the Auburn/Arkansas game. Brent's original plan was to take the twins and his parents to the Alabama homecoming game, but the game time was too late. So he just took them over to Tuscaloosa for the day to enjoy the homecoming festivities, like the parade and bounce houses. Which turns out good, now I can be with them for their first college football experience. They seemed to have a good time, however, I'm not sure I'll let them go over there with out me again. Luke came home saying, "go pigs", hmmmmm... Sherri and I had a blast too! It's so much fun to get out of "Mom mode" and hang out with a good friend. I'm looking forward to hanging out again next weekend, when Brent and I head back to Auburn for the LSU game.

When I arrived back at the hotel Saturday night, I was greeted by my daughter not feeling well. She woke up the next morning with a horrible cold and a fever. Luke now has it as well. What a great way to end a family vacation, right? (At least they didn't get sick until the end.) I am keeping them home from preschool for the first time today. Ashley is not happy about this. She loves school, but I want them to rest and get over this cold before my mom gets here to watch them this weekend, while Brent and I go to Auburn. We'll see....

So, basically, over the past several days, Luke and Ashley experienced a lot of firsts. Some good, some bad, but overall, we had a great time. I am thankful we are able to take trips like this with our children. Although my husband works hard and travels a ton, I am grateful.

Candy Sushi

2010-09-13T08:45:00.001-07:00

It must be great fun being a grandparent. They get to spoil their grandkids rotten, and not have to worry about it. It is up to me as a mother to teach my children that "yes" is not always the answer in life. Sometimes, it's a hard lesson, especially in the grocery store, going down the candy isle....

I don't know what it is, but whenever my mom takes the twins to the grocery store, Ashley always comes home with a bag of marshmallows. I guess she's a creature of habit. Well, both my kids are, but when it comes to picking out something sweet at the store, Luke gets something different every time. But with Ashley, it's marshmallows. And they take up A LOT of room. So I decided to use them up. I thought, well.... I could make Rice Krispie Treats. I could make s'mores. I could make fudge. I could make Candy Sushi!

Brent and I eat sushi a lot. Well, I do, Brent will only eat the cooked stuff, like California Rolls. Not sure if that's REALLY considered sushi, but the kids know what it is anyway. So when I told them we were making sushi, they got excited. Little did they know it was going to be candy sushi. Here's how we did it.

First, you have to make Rice Krispie Treats. We started out by counting the marshmallows. (I used 48)
And of course got to eat a few.

I followed the recipe on the box. I added a few extra marshmallows to the recipe to ensure that they wouldn't be crunchy (that and I had SO MANY!!!). After they cooled, I cut them into neat rectangles to make them easier to roll, and placed them on parchment paper.

Once cut, I arranged the candy (twizzlers and gummy worms) on the edge of the rectangle and rolled, tightly, one complete turn.

Cut off the excess. Be sure not to roll too much or it will be too thick.

Tighten the roll, then wrap with a fruit roll-up and squeeze. I couldn't find green fruit roll-ups, which would have looked better, so I used the multi-colored ones. Guess I could have made green, I just didn't have the time. They were still just as cute.

Cut into bite size sushi rolls. Use the extra pieces of Rice Krispie trimmings to make Nigiri style sushi. Here I used Swedish fish and strips of fruit roll-ups.
If you want your kids to REALLY get geeked up on sugar, melt a little chocolate to look like wasabi and soy sauce. ha!
Then eat and enjoy. I didn't try them, they looked WAY TOO SWEET for me. But Luke and Ashley loved them! They're already asking to make more.

I am thankful for teaching moments like these. I'd much rather teach them counting and cooking then "no".

Cousins

2010-09-08T11:12:00.000-07:00

Cousins, is there anything really like them? I have 25 first cousins. If you think of some of your best memories growing up, did they include your cousins? Mine did. There is just something special about them, they are your blood. I can not imagine my life without my cousins, I am very grateful to have them in my life.

This past weekend, we took Luke and Ashley up to my parents house in Nashville. They got to spend the entire weekend with their cousins, and I got to spend some time with my brother and sister. It was so fun to watch how they played together, laughing, running, hiding, laughing some more. It reminded me of the times we all played at my Grandparent's house. My ears were ringing by the time we left, but I would much rather hear the sound of children running, laughing and screaming over crying any day. 5 kids sure can make a lot of noise. (4 of which were under the age of 5). But, boy did they have fun. None of them wanted to leave, and there were even tears when they said their goodbyes. I remember that feeling of sadness saying goodbye to my cousins when we would leave to go back home to TN.

One of my favorite memories as a child was taking a bath with my cousins in my Aunt Mary's GINORMOUS bathtub. I swear they had a Jacuzzi in there bathroom. Well, the little kids got to do that this weekend. Although my parent's bathtub isn't as big as the one I remember in Aunt Mary's house, this one did just fine for the kids. The only problem was (well for the adults at least), I put in too much "no more tears" into a jetted tub. Whoops.....

NOT SURE WHO THIS IS.......
Next time, I'll only put in a drop...

Early in the morning, it was cold! So, Jacob would lead all the little kids in a morning warm up routine. The funniest part was the music. The CD my mom happened to have in the CD player was the "Mama Mia" soundtrack, from when She, Beth and I went to the play. So here are 5 kids dancing, screaming and running to songs by ABBA out on the deck. Hysterical. (Good thing the neighbors were out of town! It would not have been pleasant to wake up to "Mama Mia, here I go again, My My, how can I resist you?" Or "Dancing Queen".)

of course the workout included a little musical chairs...

And with Labor Day weekend, comes College Football!!!!! WAR EAGLE! We all got dressed in our Auburn clothes, well except for Luke, he's into that other school for the time being..... And went for a walk on the trails behind my parents house. It was so beautiful and peaceful out there.

We tried getting their picture, but it was just too hard to get all of them to look at the lens at the same time. We tried everything, even bribing them with lollipops. I think this was the quietest they were all weekend!

All in all, it was a great weekend. I enjoyed my time with my family. It stinks that we all live so far apart. I wish I could have spent some time with my cousins as well. Seeing my kids play with their's makes me really miss mine. Luckily, I got to hang out with my brother and sister.

I am thankful to have wonderful cousins and even more thankful that my kids get to experience the bond that cousins share.

Preschooler Squared

2010-08-31T16:58:00.000-07:00

Hmmm. Don't even know where to begin this post. How did we go from this,

to this???

It is so hard to explain how I feel today. I feel like my heart is sitting at a little church over the bridge here in Tequesta. My babies started preschool today. Although, so many mothers are excited, I am beyond words. I am not excited, I am heartbroken. I can not possibly explain. I went through so much to have these babies here with me on earth, why would I ever want to let them go? I understand (boy do I understand!!) the need for a break, getting away, and having some alone time. But this is just different. I'm not upset because I'm worried about them. I know they are going to have so much fun at school. It's more the "milestone". They are growing up way too fast!

It just seems like yesterday, that I had the scare of my life when I went into labor at 24 weeks. I never prayed so hard in my life. "God, I will do anything if you will just protect my babies. Please let the doctors stop this labor. I want them so bad and already love them so much. I will do everything in my power to be the best mother that I can be. Please save my babies". And he did. For that I will forever be grateful. Then the fabulous bedrest for 13 weeks. 1 five minute shower a week, no standing, no sitting, no watching scary or tense things on tv, just lie down, and stay calm. Looking back, I know the only reason I was able to do that was because of the love I already felt for my children. It was and is even more so today, overpowering. Having twins definitely has it's challenges, as do having singletons, I'm sure. I LOVE that I have twins, don't get me wrong. There is nothing better in the world. I get to experience all the love and kisses double! However, I am not loving one bit the double pain I feel today. I already miss my babies and can't wait to go pick them up.

I know I will soon enjoy this free time to get things done. It's just today, I can't concentrate. I am doing a load of laundry in our broken washing machine right now. For the first time, I am thankful we haven't replaced it yet. I welcome the loud noise it is making. The second I walked in the door without Luke and Ashley, I thought, "Whoa... It's WAY TOO QUIET HERE". So I started the laundry and sat down at the computer to write on the blog.

This blog has been very therapeutic in a way. I love writing on it and now I will have more time to do so. I already feel better after getting my feelings out on here. I was talking to Brent the other night about starting a whole new blog, since Luke and Ashley are preschoolers now and no longer "Toddler Squared". I'm trying to come up with a creative title for the new one, but I am just not that creative! So if anyone has a good one, let me know! The content will remain the same, Family, Food etc. (ha! actually, that might me kind of funny, "Family Food" Like Family Feud? no? ok.) But my entries will remain about Luke and Ashley and what is going on in our lives, as well as some good recipes and photography. After all the point of this blog is to keep our family and friends who live so far away up to date and for Luke and Ashley to one day look back and read it. I have been trying to change the settings so it is easier for you to leave comments. I tried to fix it so you don't have to have a google account to leave a comment anymore, but who knows. I am overwhelmed by the number of people who read the blog and send me emails in response. I wish all of you could read what I can. That's another reason I'm trying to get the comments section worked out. I may have to go to an entire new sight. For anyone who blogs, if you have a suggestion, let me know.

I will end this post with what I am thankful for. I try to end every post with this. Today, I am thankful for so much. My college roommate and close friend, Ashley, sent me these flowers yesterday. She has two great kids of her own and truly understands the feeling of letting your kids go. She knows me well, and knew how flowers would brighten my day today. Thank you Ash.
I am thankful for my wonderful friends and family who have listened to me cry over the twins starting school. Although some of you don't "get why I'm so upset" I think it is a common feeling among mothers, and that is something that is understood.
Most of all, I am thankful for my 2 beautiful, healthy children. And I thank God EVERY DAY, for putting them in my life. How did I get so lucky??

Taffy Time

2010-08-19T13:02:00.000-07:00

We were a little disappointed this morning, because we were supposed to meet up with friends and the plan fell through. So we quickly came up with Plan B.... Taffy Pulling!

If you want something fun to do in the kitchen with your kids, this is it. If you want something healthy, then read the blog entry about Fruit Roll ups on April 23rd. Be prepared, this is not healthy at all, so turn away now if you must!

We had lots of laughs making the taffy, however, I'm not sure I would actually give any of you what we made. It ended up on the floor more times than I can count, but it sure was fun. It took Luke a few minutes to get over the "slimy hands" but after I said, "lick it" he was fine. BOYS.... Then he asked, "how far can we stretch it?!" Turns out, Taffy can stretch F.A.R.! I know I'll be finding taffy in weird spots for days to come. Oh well, totally worth it! Here's the recipe.

We called it "Laughy" Taffy:
2 1/2C white sugar
3T cornstarch
1C light corn syrup
1 1/3C water
2T butter (plus lots extra to butter hands)
1t salt
1 small envelope of unsweetened, fruit-flavored drink mix (like Kool-Aid)
1/2t vanilla extract

Butter large cookie sheet well, including the sides.

In a medium saucepan, stir together the sugar and cornstarch. Add corn syrup, water, butter and salt. Stir well until butter is melted. Bring to a boil and stop stirring. Cook mixture until candy thermometer reads 250 degrees F (120 C). This takes a long time.

Once it approaches 250 degrees, watch very close because it cooks quickly at the end. Immediately remove from the heat. Carefully stir in vanilla and drink mix. Stir well, or you will get dark spots in the taffy. Pour mixture into the buttered cookie sheet. Allow to cool enough to handle, about 20 minutes.

Once taffy has cooled enough to handle, butter hands and begin pulling.

And pulling

And pulling

And pulling
After the taffy has been stretched long enough, it will become more opaque and lighten in color. Pull into long ropes and cut with buttered scissors.

Wrap in wax paper and twist the ends.

Enjoy! I know we did! What a great way to spend a day that started out so disappointing.

I am thankful to have the time to spend with my children cooking in the kitchen.

Idiosyncrasies

2010-08-10T05:53:00.000-07:00

Brent and I are about to go away for our long summer vacation. We are heading to the island of Anguilla in the Caribbean. We usually go to a different island every year and I am especially excited about this one. We are staying at the Cuisinart Resort. (Yes, Cuisinart as in the kitchen tools.) The resort even offers a Caribbean cooking class that I will be taking. I am so excited! I absolutely LOVE taking cooking classes, especially in different countries. I took one in the French Riviera several years ago and it was one of the best cooking experiences I have ever had. I often use a lot of the French techniques that I was taught and can not wait to see what the Caribbean chefs have to offer. I have NO idea what to expect! I will soon see!

Although I am very excited, I feel the need to warn our parents who will be taking care of Luke and Ashley while we're gone. I am not ONE BIT worried about the twins, it's more the grandparents! They watch Luke and Ashley every summer when we leave, but every summer it is different. When they were babies, they needed to be on a strict schedule. It was most important for the grandparents to follow the schedule to make it through the week with their sanity in tact. Now I'm not as obsessed with a schedule. As long as they eat Breakfast, Lunch and Dinner, take a bath and sleep at night, they will be fine. No, I'm not worried about the schedule. I'm worried about all their idiosyncrasies driving our parents crazy... and they WILL.....

-Like Luke: I can ask him 3 times what he wants for breakfast and he'll say "pancakes", so I'll make him pancakes. When I set them down in front of him at the table, he'll have a fit and say, "I don't WANT pancakes, I want cereal!"

-And Ashley: Whatever you do, do NOT give her a lot of juice at the beginning of breakfast. She will guzzle the whole thing, then ask for more and be too full to eat breakfast. Give it to her in small portions.

-My mom experienced this one when we went to Cumberland Island, DO NOT BREAK LUKE'S BANANA!

-Luke still prefers to urinate outdoors and not in the potty. BEWARE in public!

-They will both change clothes about 10 times a day.

-They will find band aides and cover their bodies with them.

-They like their sandwiches cut in quarters.

-If you turn your back for 1 minute, they WILL destroy the house.

-Their favorite thing to say is "poopy diaper", and this is NOT allowed at the dinner table nor in public. (Although, you will have to bite your tongue to keep from laughing.) Luke just says it out of the blue sometimes and Ashley laughs and laughs. I just don't get these two sometimes.

There are so many, I could never write them all down. To our parents, just know, if they make you feel like you're doing something "wrong", you're probably not. If you can figure out how to get them to stop being so obsessive about any of these things, I would be forever grateful! And as my grandmother told me when the twins were born, "don't worry about the mess, just play with your babies" Have a great time! We are so excited for our trip and know the twins will have a great time too.

OH! And one last thing. The frogs are extremely loud at night! Especially after it rains. Hopefully, they won't keep you up. If you get lucky, you may see one swimming in the pool in the morning.

Brent and I are thankful to have parents who are willing to watch our kids so we can go away and have some responsibility-free time. Thank you so much!

Summertime, summertime, sum. sum. summertime.

2010-08-04T10:46:00.000-07:00

I know I probably say this every summer, but doesn't it feel hotter than normal?? We can't get from our car to the door without breaking out in a sweat. Swimming is just about the only thing we can do outdoors these days. It's a good thing the twins can swim. They are little FISH!!

And when we're not outside swimming, we're getting creative inside. Like checking out yellow jackets from INSIDE the house....

We have been super heroes a lot lately. I know if my neighbors could see in our house, they would think we were crazy seeing the 3 of us running around with towels on our backs.

They think they can fly off the steps.

We have also been playing a lot of indoor football.

Ashley does NOT like it when Luke gets the ball.

But they still have so much fun.

And of course, cooking. Luke and Ashley love snapping green beans!

We have had such a wonderful summer, but I must admit I now have a little "Fall" fever. Bring on the cool weather, well "cool" for us at least......

I'm thankful we have a pool in our backyard!

You are now home.

2010-07-29T07:16:00.000-07:00

Luke, Ashley and I got to experience something truly amazing last weekend. Two Loggerhead Sea Turtles, Radley and Viking, were set free, and we were lucky enough to witness the release. They both arrived at the Turtle Hospital by my house this spring with severe injuries. I of course have a special place in my heart for Viking, because she only had 3 flippers due to a shark attack. I will always have a special place in my heart for animal amputees, because of Savannah. Radley on the other hand had a head injury. After months of rehabilitation, Radley and Viking went home. Hundreds of people showed up at the beach to watch the release.

Luke was so excited when he saw the turtles arrive at the beach.
Staff members carried the turtles the last few feet to the water

Go Viking Go!!!

Radley was equipped with a satellite transmitter that will track her travels for the next year. You can track her here http://www.marinelife.org/

After swimming a few feet, she lifted her head and looked back. I swear she was saying thank you.

I was a little surprised how emotional I felt when they entered the water. The crowd erupted in applause and I had tears in my eyes. I can only imagine how the staff felt that worked so hard to nurse these turtles back to life. It was bitter sweet. Luke and Ashley even thought it was exciting. They kept saying, "They're going home to their mamas!" Yes, Luke and Ashley, yes they are.

I am so thankful to have witnessed this amazing event. If you are ever on the coast near a turtle hospital, you MUST call the hospital and ask if they have an upcoming release. I promise, you will enjoy every second. Congratulations Radley and Viking! You are now home.

Early one summer morning.

2010-07-21T10:06:00.000-07:00

We walked down to the intracoastal early this morning with some good friends. The kids had so much fun. Too bad we didn't bring bathing suits. Oh well....

This is what summer's all about, walking on the beach.
And, running on the beach.
I wish I had their energy.
Ashley wrote her name in the sand.
Good thing I didn't try to keep their clothes dry.
Had a great time, but now it's time to go home all sticky and sandy.

I am thankful to have the opportunity to watch my children "be kids". I love random mornings like this.

10 Years

2010-07-06T14:17:00.000-07:00

I start this post happy, reminiscing the past 10 years. Brent and I just celebrated our 10 year anniversary. Yes, I said, 10 YEARS! I can't believe we've made it this far without injuring each other! Some days it feels like we've been married a short time, and other days it feels like forever! We have been through a lot over the past 10 years. We've both lost grandparents. We've watched people we care about fight terminal diseases. We moved to a city where we didn't know a sole, after living apart for nearly a year while Brent started his new job down here. We've had 4 different homes, one of which was a pepto-bismal pink duplex. It was supposed to be temporary, but we ended up living there for a year, until we found the house we are currently in. I can honestly say, we have some great memories in that pepto-bismal pink duplex. (minus the drug dealings going on in the house behind us. ha! Just kidding, well maybe not....) We've been through 3 hurricanes and many tropical storms. During one of the hurricanes, Brent left lobster tails in our freezer when we were without power for 10 days. The stench was so bad, we had to throw the whole refrigerator out. It's still a debate as to who's fault that one was, but I stand my ground, it was HIS! We lost sweet Savannah to cancer, and watched over crazy Jackson as he coped with her death. Jackson was a wedding present from me to Brent by the way. Both Jackson and Savannah have given us some really great and funny memories. But of course the best memory of the past 10 years, was the birth of our joy in life, Luke and Ashley. There is no better gift in the world than our children. We both feel really blessed.

To celebrate our 10 year anniversary, we took a mini vacation to Cumberland Island. It started out as a Griswold vacation. On our way to the island, we heard there was no TV, no phone, no Internet. We thought, "oh great! we're in trouble!" I quickly had envisions of sitting in a room staring at each other. When we got to the dock to take the ferry over to the island, it was POURING down rain. They had to delay our trip until the lightning passed. All we could do was laugh. TYPICAL....

Our 10 year anniversary trip: Lots of rain, no TV, no Internet, no phones... This is turning out just fabulous!

But it turned out to be just what we needed. We talked a lot and laughed a ton. If anyone needs a relaxing stress free place to go, The Greyfield Inn on Cumberland Island is it.

It is absolutely breathtaking there. The trees are so gorgeous, HUGE Oak trees covered in Moss.
Can you imagine this being your driveway????

And the beach.... It is unreal. Just getting to the beach is amazing. You have to ride bikes or walk down a tree covered path, climb over the sand dunes, then walk onto the beach. Both Brent and I couldn't get over how flat the beach is! We've been to many different beaches over the past 10 years, and this one is by far the flattest and widest we have ever seen.

The island is so calm and peaceful. Brent and I spent a lot of time just sitting on the front porch of the house sipping sweet tea or drinking afternoon cocktails.

We did a lot of this.
And this.
And ate a lot of this. (the food was really good by the way. All southern cooking)

When we first got to The Greyfield Inn, we didn't know what to expect (after all, it is a B&B). So very different from the type of place we typically choose. We usually go to a luxury resort. So, when we read this, you can imagine the laughs we got out of it.
(Wouldn't it stink if your family heirloom was a septic tank?! hehe...)

There are no bartenders there. You just help yourself to a drink. And after a few, this became very humorous to us as well. We tried to squeeze "Chit" into our conversation as often as possible.(OK, guess you had to be there... but it was really REALLY funny.)

The island is covered with wild horses. They are so beautiful. This year they counted 121 horses on the island. I am SO MAD AT MYSELF for not bringing my camera with me when we first went to the beach. 2 wild horses walked right up to us as we were walking along the shoreline and continued to walk next to us. They were probably only 4 feet away. Such an amazing experience. I tried to get Brent to jump on one of their backs, but he said no. So boring!! Here's a picture of one of the colts. Isn't he cute?

On the day of our anniversary, we took a tour of the island in the back of a pick up truck. We only got smacked in the face from low hanging branches about a half dozen times, but it was well worth it. We got to see lots of wildlife. From crabs on the beach to turtle tracks from the loggerheads coming ashore to nest. We toured the tiny chapel where JFK Jr. got married. I remember when he got married and seeing pictures of them walking down the steps and thought it was so beautiful. It really was, this picture doesn't do it justice.

Late that afternoon, it started raining again. So we, of course, sat in our usual spot on the swing, listened to the rain and had a glass of wine. Another man who was staying at Greyfield, brought his guitar and was playing softly in the background. He actually came over and sang us a song for our anniversary. I can't remember what the lyrics were, the only line that I remember was, "you don't look a day older". I'll take that! Seems kind of cheesy, but it was actually very sweet.

After that, we went downstairs for dinner in the dining room. We originally planned on sitting at a private table since it was our anniversary, but we decided that we truly enjoyed the company of the others staying in the Inn. It was probably the biggest surprise of all about the trip. We realized we enjoyed being at a Bed and Breakfast. We learned a lot about the people who were staying there, and where they were from and it was really interesting.

But the biggest thing I realized on this trip was how much I miss spending time alone with just Brent. I miss laughing really hard with him. Our lives have become so busy lately with him traveling and me taking care of the twins. Yet, I feel at peace knowing that it is OK, our relationship is better and stronger than it was 10 years ago. We have been through so much together, and I couldn't be happier to know that I am sharing this life journey with him. He truly is an amazing man. What a great feeling it is, to know we have been married 10 years and still have a great time together.

OK, enough of me being sappy. We are more of the "sarcastic, make fun of you" kind of couple, so I will end this post with that. However, I can't tell you what happened because Brent told me he'd kill me (maybe if you hound him, he'll let me tell you the story). I'm sure you won't understand this next picture, but Brent will. This is probably when I laughed THE hardest, and still do thinking about it.

This is what happened when Brent tried to be nice and drink hot tea with me in the morning. (guess he didn't know the gardener just watered plants washed the front steps.)bwahahahahaha! Sorry, Brent, I HAD to put this in here. (but at least I didn't tell what happened. )

I am thankful for my awesome husband. The past 10 years have been lots of fun to say the least. I love you, Brent!

4th of July

2010-07-05T12:46:00.000-07:00

Sorry, I haven't been able to post much in the past couple weeks. We've been busy, and Brent and I took a much needed mini vacation. I will post about that when I have a second this week, but in the meantime, a quick post on the 4th of July.

We had a great one. We spent the day, swimming, cooking and playing. Late in the afternoon, we went to our friends' annual 4th of July pig roast. The food was fabulous, and the company was even better. It is SOOOOO much easier now that the twins are older. We were talking about how difficult the past few years were, going to these types of parties with them. They used to cry and keep us busy. By the time we left the party (which was almost ALWAYS early) both Brent and I would be sweating, exhausted and wondering if we even sat down and ate! Now that they're 3 1/2, we feel comfortable setting them loose in the playroom without us. We actually got to sit down and enjoy dinner while having adult conversations. Completely different from last year!

The weather was horrible! Storming on and off, and a constant drizzle. However, we were able to watch fireworks. After a few minutes, we had to put our rain jackets on, but that's ok, at least we got to stay this year and watch them all the way through. (Another first.) The twins got to stay up way past their bedtime. Brent and I have been kind of feeling it today with all the crankiness in the house, but it was well worth it. There is not much better than spending time with family and friends. We are looking forward to the next party. I don't have many good pictures because of the weather, but here are a few.

I am so proud to call America my home, and very thankful to be able to raise my children here as well. God Bless America.

Father's Day and Preschool camp

2010-06-21T07:27:00.000-07:00

I think Brent had a pretty good Father's Day. It was relaxing and filled with LOTS of food, just like he likes! Luke and Ashley picked out father's day cards and signed them earlier in the week. They were SO EXCITED to show him, I had to hide them until Sunday. On Father's Day morning, they just sat; holding their cards, waiting patiently for Brent to wake up. When he did, Father's Day began.

Brent's parents were in town for the weekend, so we all went to our favorite breakfast spot, Harry and the Natives. (If you live down this way, and have never been, I highly recommend it) We then spent the rest of the day relaxing, going to the park and swimming in the pool. Then of course, more food, Paella. One of Brent's favorite dinners.

Cramming as many toys on their "fly boat" as possible.

Grandpa chasing Luke

Granna and Ashley

I love little feet.

I enjoy taking pictures to freeze a moment in time, but sometimes a sequence of pictures tells more of a story. Look at Ashley climbing on Grandpa here, but notice Grandpa's face. What a great time they had together!

Loving watermelon!

She was a sticky mess!

Father's Day Paella, for all you foodies...

After putting the twins to bed, I began preparing for their first day of Preschool Camp. I have decided to put them in camp this week to get them acclimated with the school and prepare them as much as possible for when they actually start school in the fall. I can already tell you I am going to be a basket case as I was this morning when I dropped them off. Luke looked at me with tears in his eyes, and that was the end for me. I just don't want them to be scared, and I don't want them to think I'm leaving them for good. What if one of them has an accident? What if they get hurt? Or worse yet, what if another kid hurts their feelings? I know I can't always be with them, but why not?! I wish life had a pause button and I could just freeze where we are now. They are growing up way too fast. I pray that they love school and know that I will NEVER leave them. I will always be here for them. No matter what.

Here's the only picture I got of them on our way to school. By the time we got there, it was so chaotic, that I thought it would be best not to attempt another picture. I'll let you know how the rest of the week goes!

I am thankful to have spent 3 1/2 years at home with my babies, however I am so sad to let them go, even if it's only 2 days a week.

Trip to the Movie Theatre.

2010-06-16T11:23:00.000-07:00

We went to our first movie in the theatre today. We met up with my good friend Dee Dee and her daughter Ava, who had never been before either. We ordered big bags of popcorn and found our seats. With only 2 bathroom breaks and falling through the seat about 150 times, it turned out to be a great experience. I can not wait to take them to more movies. We saw "Hotel for Dogs", which is not a cartoon, but kept the kids attention long enough. I am impressed with how much popcorn Ashley ate! She didn't stop eating until it was gone. Luke kept telling people in the theatre, "SHH! Be quiet!". I'm not sure what they enjoyed most. The movie, the popcorn, or the flip down seats!

I am thankful Cobb Theatres offer free summer movies for kids. We are going to have a fun movie filled summer!

Shrinky Dinks

2010-06-09T12:31:00.000-07:00

Y'all remember Shrinky Dinks??!! Our babysitter has never heard of them. Great, I'm old......

I'm thankful that the fun projects I did as a kid are still around for my children to enjoy.

Lollipops and Rainbows

2010-06-05T05:08:00.000-07:00

With summer comes afternoon showers and with afternoon showers come indoor activities. Good thing Luke and Ashley like to cook! With rain on the radar, we decided to make lollipops. Well, I made them, they helped measure and pour the ingredients into the pot. And of course, they ate them. I will put the recipe on here for those of you who asked me. The recipe serves 16, but I thought it would be more fun to make gigantic ones.

Yaaay!!! We're making lollipops!
They think that's hilarious.
Eventually it turns into a sticky mess, but easy to clean.
First taste.
Then they tasted each others.
After a day of rain, a rainbow appeared. Ashley LOVED it!
Luke had no interest.... He's all boy.
If you want something healthy and fun to make with your kids, read the homemade fruit roll ups post on April 23rd. If you want something sugary and unhealthy, here's the recipe! Enjoy!

Lollipops
1. Evenly space 16 Popsicle sticks on a buttered cookie sheet.
2. In sauce pan heat: 1/4 c butter, 3/4 cup sugar, 1/2 cup light corn syrup. (add any flavor you like here cinnamon, mint etc. or leave it plain). Cook over medium-high heat, and stir until it boils. Reduce heat to medium, and cook until mixture reaches 270 degrees. Stirring often.
3.. Add food coloring
4. Drop the mixture by tablespoon onto the end of each Popsicle stick. Cool
5. When they are cool, take them off cookie sheet and wrap them in plastic wrap.

I am thankful to have the opportunity to spend afternoons in the kitchen with my children.

A Day in the Life of Dada.

2010-05-20T18:35:00.000-07:00

My husband is a great dad. He would do anything in the world for Luke and Ashley. It's a wonderful feeling to know that my children will grow up feeling loved and protected by Brent. They have such a great time with him and get so excited when he comes home from a long trip or a day at his office. Now if you know my husband, you know you can not give him a compliment. So we'll see how this goes... And if you know Brent, you'll also know what he was probably screaming in this post... There are days when he doesn't keep his cool, and this was one of them. At least this is my version. I don't think it helped that I couldn't stop laughing. So, this is a Day in the life of Dada.

It was a beautiful spring day........

"Let's go to the sandbar!" We pulled the twins out in their favorite raft. We searched for shells, jumped over the waves and built sand castles. We touched a sea urchin. Saw snails, clams and crabs. What a perfect day. Right???? WRONG.

The tide was coming in so we (Brent and I) decided to move our chairs, raft and bag to a dry spot. I had the raft tied onto my chair. I said to Brent "I'M ABOUT TO MOVE MY CHAIR, WATCH THE RAFT." he's like "sure. whatever". So I move my chair to a dry spot and start walking back to get the raft.

The next thing we know, the raft is blowing away(and I mean BLOWING!! Tossing and turning over the water in the wind). Of course I get yelled at to go get it. Even though he was closer since he was standing next to it when it started to blow away. But whatever, I will go. So I take off running. I can not possibly catch up to the raft. So I gently and politely call back to Brent, " Sweet husband, please go get the raft, because you are strong and fast..." and he loses his temper and throws his water socks, (I call them water socks because I think it's funny, they really ARE girls' shoes) In the meantime, there is a boat traveling by who sees his antics and stops to ask if he needs help. You'll have to ask Brent what he says here, because he still hasn't' told me. Knowing my husband, it wasn't pretty...anyway, at this point, the raft is gone and both kids are crying. So in his manly style in his girl shoes, he starts wading over to the raft. It finally stopped blowing and got trapped under a dock. He screams back to me "keep Jackson with you!!" I said, "I will!!"
(seriously, I tried..... but that dog has a mind of his own) Next thing I know, Jackson's gone and the twins are cheering, "Go Dada!!! Get the raft"

About 15 minutes later, he arose from the water with Jackson gasping on one side and the raft on the other. Our hero. What an awesome dad, right? You don't want to hear his version, it involves a lot of cussing...... Here are some pictures I took with my phone.

The raft blew almost to the condos. It's so far you can't see it.

Here come Brent and Jackson with the raft.

Luke and Ashley are cheering.

Brent said Jackson was so tired, he was afraid he would have to put him in the raft or carry him back. Can you imagine that sight? ha!! Poor Jackson, he just wanted to help.

Luke and Ashley patiently waiting. (however they said, to me, "Dada is slow.")

Brent made us leave the sandbar after that. I am thankful Luke and Ashley have such a wonderful Dad.

Happy Birthday, Jackson!!!

2010-05-19T12:39:00.000-07:00

Today is Jackson's 10th birthday! The twins threw him a great birthday party. We made Red Velvet cupcakes and wrapped bones and toys for him. Jackson was so surprised! What a fun party he had. The only thing missing was Savannah.

Sticky Tape

Wrapping with Scooby Doo paper

Guess what's in Luke's?

Singing Happy Birthday, Jackson likes it.

However, Jackson doesn't like his hat, but is wearing it for Luke and Ashley

Portrait time.

This is one happy dog.

Loving his new bone. (he ate the whole thing in 5 minutes- great....)

Although I miss Savannah everyday, I am thankful to have Jackson with us. He is so loving, and we all love him so much. Happy 10th Birthday, Jackson!!!

Feels like Summer!

2010-05-16T05:34:00.001-07:00

I know we still have a month to go until it is officially summer, but it already feels like it down here. IT IS HOT! I'm not complaining, because that summer feeling makes me happy. As a kid, I always loved summer. The excitement of being out of school and spending my days outside swimming and playing was great. There are also the lazy days in the heat that make me feel content and relaxed. I also love the food that is made in summer (I know surprise, I love food). Goodbye roasts, gumbos, heavy sauces, and soups; hello pesto, fresh vegetables, fried green tomatoes and homemade banana ice cream! My dad always made his famous banana ice cream in the summer, and it would be devoured. I've decided to make it a tradition for my family as well, and make my dad's recipe when it starts to warm up outside. Luke and Ashley helped me cut up the bananas and measure the ingredients. Then, like tradition, it was devoured!

As for the fried green tomatoes,I've also already made these. My Papa grows the best tomatoes. He gave me a bag full to fry. (the twins did not help me with this one, but when they are older, I will teach them how) They were so delicious! Makes me think of Steel Magnolias, and really miss the south. A friend asked me how I make them, so I will post the recipe here. I like them with a little bit of a kick so I add cayenne to the batter, and serve with hot sauce on the side.

First you need firm green tomatoes. The ones that are turning orange are fine too, I just prefer the really green ones like this.

Slice the tomatoes about 1/2" thick

Dip in buttermilk, then batter and fry. Definitely use a cast iron skillet if you have one.

Papa's Fried Green Tomatoes:

vegetable oil
1 cup stone-ground corn meal
1 cup flour
1 T. garlic powder
cayenne pepper
1 1/2 cup buttermilk
salt
black pepper

Place a large cast iron skillet over medium heat and coat with vegetable oil.
In a bowl, mix cornmeal, flour, garlic powder and a few dashes of cayenne (to taste)
In a separate bowl, mix buttermilk with salt and black pepper.
Dip tomatoes in buttermilk then dredge in dry mixture, coating both sides. Shake off excess
Pan fry the tomatoes in hot oil until golden brown and crispy on both sides.
drain on paper towels and serve with your favorite hot sauce and lemon.

I hope you enjoy these as much as we do! Let me know how they turn out!

I am thankful Summer comes early down here. I'm excited to pass on some of my summer traditions to my kids. It's going to be a great one!

Sleepless nights.

2010-05-12T15:07:00.000-07:00

So.... Luke has been having a hard time sleeping lately. Brent will quickly say, he gets that from me. I spend many nights, in the dark, pondering and stressing about things that I can not control. But from what I hear, that's part of being a mom. I just pray that Luke will learn how to ease himself back to sleep sooner than later! Getting up at 2:00. 3:00. 4:00 to put ice in his water or find a toy that I haven't seen in months is getting old. Especially since I can not get back to sleep after doing this. I just wish I was more like Brent where I could probably run a marathon in the middle of the night and go straight back to sleep. Doesn't happen. When I'm woken up, I'm UP. I can not go back to sleep, so with my mind racing one night, I thought, what can I do to help Luke go back to sleep or at least teach him to be quiet in the middle of the night....
THE DOLLAR STORE!
So.... Here we are, the workers here know us well. Does it work? I'm still not sure, he got up last night. But at least I know he's trying. Poor thing, he's gotten blessed with my sleep disorder.

Not many will get this, but I am so thankful, that I have my sweet children to "worry" about in the middle of the night. I would much rather worry about them, than worry about having them at all. I am so blessed.

Pictures

2010-05-11T09:44:00.000-07:00

I spent some time outside with the twins and my camera today. Here are a few pictures.

I am thankful they stood still long enough to take a picture with me in it! I had to use the timer and 10 seconds can seem like an eternity!

Trip to Georgia

2010-05-10T04:22:00.000-07:00

You'll have to excuse my pictures lately, as I am working with a new lens that is all manual. I am so excited to have it, but it's pretty complicated! You'll notice a lot of them are blurry and the lighting is off, but at least I have something to remember a moment by. After having the twins, I found a new passion for photography. It is my latest hobby (an expensive hobby. Who knew once I started I would need more and more equipment?). I took several classes this past year, and am trying to take more, but between Brent's travel schedule and our babysitter taking a full time job, I can not find the time. So, using the new lens is going to be trial and error until I can get back into the classroom. So bare with me, it will be worth it when I figure it all out!

Before going to Disney World, Brent and I took the twins up to Adel, GA to see Brent's Grandmama. Can you believe that I don't have ONE picture of them with her from this trip? Funny thing is, once we got there, they ran around her house like it was a maze, and they were hardly even around her. After having dinner, we went back to Brent's parents to spend the night in Thomasville. We went to a park, ate ice cream, clipped daisies and fed squirrels. Although getting them to sleep outside of their own home was a little challenging, all in all they had a great time.

I am thankful to have children who love nature and being outside.

Our First Trip to Disney World!

2010-05-07T11:07:00.000-07:00

We just got back from our first family trip to Disney World. We had a wonderful time and the twins were really good. I learned that Disney World teaches patience to children with all the lines we had to stand in, but also teaches patience to the parents for dealing with annoying people! Ashley's favorite ride was the tea cups, and Luke's was the race cars. They both LOVED Goofy's Roller coaster. I think we rode that about 10 times in a row. They also thought sleeping in bunk beds was "the best". We will definitely buy one for Luke when he moves into his own room. They laughed the whole time even though it was 95 degrees out. At dinner one night, Ashley had a laughing fit because she kept giving me wet willies on my arm. Everyone in the restaurant was laughing with her. Her giggle is so contagious, I even recorded it for my ring tone on my phone. It was a quick 3 day trip, but long enough for two 3 year olds. We were ready to get home. Looking forward to next time though! Here are some pictures.

Waiting on the bus to take us to Disney World!

Our first bus ride!
Ready to ride some rides! So excited!!

The teacup, Ashley's favorite.
Goofy's Roller Coaster
Carousel
Carousel
Safari
Petting zoo
Tired of waiting in lines.

I am thankful my children had the opportunity to experience Disney World. So many people, have never gone.

Children's Museum

2010-04-26T07:16:00.001-07:00

How much fun is the children's museum??! They have a kids' sized grocery store, veterinarian's office, body shop, construction sight complete with an architect's room, and an old antique fire station plus many more rooms. Lot's of fun. I cracked up watching Luke and Ashley grocery shop. Luke ran around like he was on a shopping spree throwing as much in his cart as fast as he could. At one point he was running around the store with a rotisserie chicken under his arm like a football. Ashley just kind of hung out by the produce checking it out and watching other kids. Hilarious. She jumped right in at the veterinarians office though. taking a cat's temperature and even got in the pet cage! Luke liked the x-rays. I encourage anyone with small children to find a children's museum near you and check it out. The only "bad" part about it, is the parent's have to clean up the mess before you leave. I never knew Luke liked lamb chops so much..... He had way too many in his grocery cart, and I couldn't figure out where he found them to put them back!!

I am thankful to have such fun places to go nearby.

Homemade Fruit Roll-ups

2010-04-23T07:28:00.000-07:00

I happened to post a picture of us making fruit roll-ups on facebook and got such a huge response for the recipe, that I thought I would share it here. It is a very easy recipe. However, they take a LONG time to bake. Luke and Ashley love to cook with me and this is a fun one because we use a blender! They only tried to start it one time with the lid off. Can you imagine the mess if I didn't stop them in time? OH! and beware of sticky little hands!

STRAWBERRY FRUIT ROLL-UPS:

4lbs. strawberries

2 cups unsweetened applesauce

Juice of 1/2 lemon

3/4 cup of sugar (optional)

Blend strawberries in blender until smooth. Add to a heavy saucepan and add sugar
if desired. Bring to a boil while stirring constantly. Reduce heat and skim
foam from top with a spoon. Simmer over low/medium heat for 30 to 45 minutes,
stirring frequently; continue simmering/stirring until mixture has properly reduced to
the consistency of thick applesauce (running a rubber spatula across the bottom of the
pan the mixture should stay separated/pan should still be visible once you reach the
other side). ----This is the most important step, make sure you reduce it enough, it may take longer than 45 minutes.---- Pour mixture onto a parchment on a cookie sheet, spread evenly and bake at 145 for 8 to 10 hours. Can take longer depending on how much you reduced the strawberries. Cut into strips and roll up with parchment paper…

Here are some more pictures of the twins making the fruit roll-ups. They had a blast!

I am thankful my children love healthy foods! (and junk too....)

Running... Running... Running...

2010-04-20T10:07:00.000-07:00

Climbing...
Running...
Running...
Learning how to stand still and observe a bumble bee...
Running back to the car in the rain...

We had so much fun this morning at Jonathan Dickinson State Park. We drove by an observation deck that looks out over the park and the water. The twins said they wanted to go up there, so we did. They just enjoyed the beautiful weather by running all the way up to the deck. It wasn't easy. The deck was kind of far and there were lots of stairs, but it was a blast, until it started raining on us and we had to run back to the car! The only embarrassing part was Ashley asking me, "What did that man just say?" talking about the female park ranger. haha! Oh well.

I am thankful to live where I do. The weather is almost always nice out which gives us the opportunity to spend a lot of time outside. Running.....

Easter Weekend 2010 (hit play below on the blogger bar for a video)

2010-04-05T12:04:00.000-07:00

I am so thankful for all the sweet children in my family.

Griswald Family Christmas

2010-01-31T05:52:00.001-08:00

WOW! Don't even know where to begin. I just don't have the time nor the space to be on the computer enough to write on this blog! So much has been going on since my last post, that I think the pictures will tell the stories best.

We had Thanksgiving in Thomasville, then Christmas with Brent's family here, then Christmas with my family.... Wait.... We didn't have Christmas with my family this year. Poor Bailey, she kept getting sick and we kept having to cancel our plans. We were supposed to go to Beth's house for a prime rib and lobster dinner, and we got a call at 9:00 Christmas morning saying, don't come, Bailey's been sick all morning. So we said, "not a problem we'll get together in a couple days since everyone's off work." The lobster tails were already thawed out and had to be eaten... So Beth sent back with Mom and Dad (who were already at her house) lobster tails. Mom and Dad stopped by here and dropped them off. Too bad all the stores were closed since it was Christmas and I had absolutely nothing in the refrigerator but brussels sprouts (Brent's new favorite vegetable) so Brent and I had lobster tails and brussels sprouts for our Christmas dinner that night. Nice huh? So, a few days later, all was clear to go back to Beth's again. We got dressed, gifts packed, appetizers that I made in the car and we set off. When we were pulling out of the neighborhood, my phone rang. Uh-oh.... "Bailey's sick again, turn around" But we have all these gourmet appetizers in the car! What are we going to do with them??? So, we met Mom and Dad in the Walmart parking lot and had appetizers. Yep, that's how we spent our Christmas with my family this year. Typical Griswald, right??? (Mom and Dad did get all of us the Moose Mugs this year too. funny)

Then it was the twins birthday! Luckily, Bailey got over her flu and was able to attend. We had it at an indoor play area/coffee house. I think all the kids had a great time. I know Luke and Ashley did. Food was good and Cakes were, well, custom. I had to go to a specialty bake shop to have Luke's "Hulk" cake made. He has been obsessed with the Hulk since October. He has his favorite Hulk shirt, and favorite Hulk underwear (which he wears backwards so he can "see" the Hulk). I have to wash his underwear and shirt by hand while he's sleeping or taking a bath. He has now worn the same outfit, including his "navy blue shorts" 92 days in a row. I am NOT making this up. Just recently, I have been able to bribe him, sometimes, into wearing a different shirt or shorts while we go out of the house, but the second we step back inside, he strips down and puts his favorite outfit back on. He's really funny about it. One day, he got so excited because there was blue toilet bowl cleaner in the toilet, and when he peed, he said, "Mama!!!!!! Look!!!!!! I peed GREEN like the Huuullk". He is one funny little man...

Ashley is still obsessed with her green dress. I only allow her to wear that in the house though, because it's a size 12 months and has holes in it. She also loves all the girly things, make up, jewelry and nail polish. She got her first mani./pedi. for her birthday! She is also very into the Disney princesses, especially Princess Belle, because she has beautiful brown hair like Ashley.

Oh! and I never did a post on potty training. I did this months ago. Let me just start by saying that potty training a boy and girl at the same time, is interesting. Ashley wanted to stand up and Luke wanted to sit down. Luke wanted to wear Ashley's panties and Ashley wanted to wear Luke's underwear. But in the end, it was simple. Took Luke one day, Ashley a little longer the only thing that worked for her was painting her nails. (Isn't the boy supposed to be harder?)

Speaking of potty training, on our way up to Brent's parents house, we had to take the turnpike which means no bathrooms for miles at a time. Brent was so proud to teach Luke how to pee in the grass on the side of the road. Luke was proud too. So proud, that he still sometimes refuses to use our indoor plumbing! Just the other day, I caught him peeing in our neighbors yard. And it's impossible to ride tricycles around the block without him having to stop and pee in the drain. UGH... So embarrassing. Why does my husband think this is really cool??

I know I am leaving something out. They do something funny every day. I will try and post quick blurbs here and there. In the meantime, here are some pictures taken November through January.

I am thankful for the health of my children over the past 3 years. Preschool is starting next fall, we'll see how often they get colds then!

Raindrops Keep Falling On My Head

2009-11-04T10:45:00.000-08:00

Halloween 2009

2009-11-01T07:31:00.001-08:00

Snow White's Shoe

2009-09-25T18:06:00.000-07:00

Yep. It's a two blog entry week. Been a crazy one. Just wanted to leave you with a picture of what I had to pull out of Luke's nose with tweezers today. It was so far up there, I had to use a flashlight to see it. If you're wondering what it is, it's Snow White's shoe.

M

I'm thankful he put the shoe in his nose toe first, that way I could grab the heel with the tweezers??? (I know, I'm grasping here....)

"A Man Came Over"

2009-09-25T05:20:00.000-07:00

Don't even know where to start with this story. I guess at the beginning.

As I sit here typing this, I can't help but laugh. I've told you in past entries that I've been having a really difficult time getting the twins down for a nap. I really think it would be so much easier if they didn't share a room, but I just don't have the type of house where I could separate them, and besides, they would HATE it! They can't stand being separated, even for a few minutes.

Well, the other day, I told them it was nap time and I put them in their room and closed the door. I heard them in there singing Happy Birthday at the top of their lungs. (What can I say? We've gone to A LOT of birthday parties this summer) Soon, they were laughing and I would hear a few things crashing on the floor (probably books that were on the bed since everything else has been CLEARED out of the room). Then I heard Luke playing with the door, opening it, then quietly closing it, he must have thought he was being sneaky. I so desperately wanted a little "space" that I just ignored it.

After about 30 minutes, it got really quiet, so I figured they were sleeping. I gave them a few more minutes to fall asleep "hard" before going to check on them, only when I went to open the door, it wouldn't open. Then I hear Luke, "Mama! open the door!" I tried again. Nothing. Somehow he locked the door. I have no idea how he did it. It's a french door handle with a twist lock that is really hard to turn! At first I started laughing because they were both on the other side of the door at this point asking me to unlock it. I didn't have the little tool to unlock it from the outside, so I tried to teach them how, "twist the little piece that looks like a coin". Then I hear Luke in his 2 year old little voice, "No!"--- "Come on Luke, I can't open it from out here, please twist the coin." ----"No!, Let me out!" After a few minutes of this, and trying to open the door with a coat hanger, I realized, I needed the tool.

I called one of my neighbors who said she didn't have one. So, I ran across the street to my other neighbor's house, then another, then another. Nobody had one! I ran into the house and called a contractor who works on several houses in the neighborhood thinking he was around and I knew he would have the tool. Then I looked out the front door and saw a couple neighbors walking up my driveway with their tool boxes. Oh, boy, embarrassment is starting to set in at this point. Why is it that the house is always the messiest it can possibly be when things like this happen??? I know my neighbors were thinking "how do these people live like this?!". But in my defense, I do have 2 two year olds with about a million different toys (2 of everything) everywhere!

After trying several different tools, my neighbor, Jon, opened the door. Luke and Ashley just looked at him like, "who are you?!" Then they got scared. After a couple minutes they calmed down, and I walked my neighbors out. The twins wouldn't stop talking about it. They were so excited to tell their dad when he got home from work. And everyone else who would listen. I thought it was bad enough that they locked themselves in the room until, the next day when Luke was telling perfect strangers, "Dada went to work. Mama locked me in my room and a man came over".

M

I am thankful my children got out of their room safely and am glad it was their bedroom and not another. After all, that room is probably the safest room in the house since I have completely stripped it! Also..... I guess I got a little "space".

Enough Said

2009-08-06T05:59:00.000-07:00

Ummmm.. I'm thankful that I just bought 5 gallons of Clorox from Costco??

Lazy summer days

2009-07-13T11:28:00.000-07:00

There's nothing like a lazy summer day eating a popsicle on the front porch. And that's what we've been doing a lot lately. It has been SO HOT!

I know, I know, it's not just the hot summer making me lazy with keeping up the blog. But I have an excuse! I haven't been able to get on the computer for awhile during the twins' nap time because we switched them over to big beds and they DON'T sleep! All they want to do is run around their room and be destructive. Just this weekend, Brent had to put locks on their dresser drawers and I had to remove all shelves and pictures from the walls. When I say destructive, I mean DESTRUCTIVE. Take a look at what they did with a few diapers that were neatly packed.

Oh, and they like wipes too.

And books.....

And clothes.....

And toys, and blankets, and sheets and pillows and pictures and anything else they can reach.

They also put toys in the toilet and marker on the walls, not to mention the whole "bologna sticks to the wall, Mama!" stage. (oh, and have you ever stepped on a piece of bologna barefoot before?!) I have....

The first half of the summer has been filled with lots of fun. Birthday parties, picnics, slip and slides, snow (yes, snow), the beach, popsicles, watermelon, swimming and much more. This summer is whizzing by!

It's hard to explain how much they have changed since they turned two. The best way is to say, they turned TWO. They fight, they laugh, they talk, they run, they jump, they climb, they fall, they have temper tantrums, they joke, they hug. They tell me they love me. And my heart melts. I am so in love with them. One second, I'm ready to put them on ebay and the next, they're cuddling in my lap. But I wouldn't trade a minute of the rough times, the good times are just too good. They're just awesome. I am so thankful that I am able to stay home with them during the day and experience all of this.

Here are some pictures from the first half of summer.

Until next time....

Easter 2009

2009-04-19T10:41:00.000-07:00

I guess from the looks of this picture, I'm out of the running for "Mom of the Year" huh? Seriously, they were only on the Easter Bunny's lap for about 5 seconds. I told the photographer I wasn't looking for the "perfect" picture, just to take it as soon as I sat them down. Ashley immediately punched the Bunny in his glasses (notice how crooked they are??) then quickly squirmed her way out of his arms onto the floor. The photographer took 3 quick pictures and this was the only one where Thomas the Train was not in Luke's face. That was it, 5 seconds max. Oh also, in case any of you noticed and were wondering, No, I did not match Luke's shirt with electric blue shoes. Those are his Thomas the Train water socks that he wears out to the sand bar that he INSISTED on wearing. Not only are they T.A.C.K.Y. but they're about 2 sizes to small. I'm not one bit surprised they reacted this way. At least they got rid of the Easter Rodent and we now have a real Easter Bunny!

The week started out with an Easter Brunch at a friends house where all the kids painted eggs. Talk about a MESS! They had so much fun. Even though Luke's hand was green for about 2 days. He's definitely a boy. He was actually the only boy at the party. All the girls would dip their eggs in the cups and wait. Luke would dip one egg in about 3 different colors until it turned out to be some sort of a weird brownish green color. He didn't care. It was just fun!

On Saturday we went to an Easter Egg hunt. There were 11,000 stuffed plastic eggs! They ran around picking them up. Again, Luke was all boy. Ashley picked up one at a time and looked around. Luke would pick up as many as he could at once and run to get more. They got and ate a lot of candy. (although Luke did NOT like the black jelly bean!) At the Easter Egg festival, they had bounce houses, so of course Luke and Ashley wanted to get in one. However, I was the only parent out of the hundreds of parents there, that had to actually climb into the the bounce house to get my child out. Ashley refused to let anyone else have a turn. Brent just stood there laughing! I could have killed him! A little help would have been nice!

Easter Sunday was really laid-back. Which is a first around here! Usually when we get together with my family, something crazy happens, but this year, we just went out to brunch and all the kids did really well. We had a great time. I'm looking forward to heading up to the Disney Resort to have brunch with the characters. Hopefully we'll be able to all get together soon to do that.

I am thankful that I live close enough to my sister so our kids can get together and play. They have so much fun!

Jackson, or as we like to call him, Jackass

2009-03-23T12:33:00.000-07:00

I've written about Savannah and how wonderful she is. She's doing really well, actually, she's doing too well! After today I was ready to kill her and Jackson, or as we jokingly like to call him, Jackass. It's hard to tell who the instigator is sometimes, but it's usually Jackson. The two of them have always gotten themselves into sticky situations. LITERALLY. There have been many times, where we have had to give them baths to clean an unknown sticky substance off their fur. We should have known the day we brought Jackson home, he was going to be Trouble. One of my friends just told me that he puts "Marly" (from Marly and Me) to shame. He really does, I should write a book about him.

As a wedding gift to Brent, I bought him a tiny little Alabama dog collar and told him to pick out his puppy (since I already had Savannah). He always wanted a chocolate lab, but we heard from many people that chocolate labs tend to be more "hyper". hmph..... So he decided to get a more gentle, calm, trainable, BLACK LAB. Riiiiight...... So enter Jackson. Luckily, we were living in an apartment at the time.....

When we were trying to housebreak him, we would take him between the apartment buildings and teach him to go there, only one night he ran into a neighbors apartment and pooped behind their couch. We had been searching for him for a pretty long time, because he was so little and black, he was hard to find in the dark. Then we heard someone scream. Brent and I looked at each other, like "oh no...." This girl, whom we had never met, came running out of her apartment screaming, "there's a puppy behind my couch pooping!!" This was only the start. Within the first month, he pooped in the bathtub, pooped on the wall, swam in the toilet, pulled a thick packing blanket through a tiny whole in his crate and climbed (YES CLIMBED) over a baby gate and tore up the the apartment. I have no idea how he did it. We used to have to put our garbage can on the counter, so he couldn't get to it, but that didn't always work, he's like Houdini! I'm telling you the dog is CRAZY! He had probably done all this and he wasn't even 3 months old yet. We finally moved into our house in Atlanta and he would sled down the hill in a baby pool, eat through the wiring in the wall of the unfinished basement so we wouldn't have air conditioning upstairs, and could somehow move Brent's extra-heavy pull out couch across the basement floor and block off the doggie door so Savannah was stuck outside in the rain all day. (See why we call him Jackass?) He doesn't do any of this to be mean, he's really a sweet dog, he's just, well..... Jackson. He had to have surgery twice on his shoulders and both times, the surgeon called us early and asked us to pick him up. Guess he didn't like being there in a kennel? My mom and sister had to pick him up once, still sedated! Brent and I planted beautiful azaleas in our backyard, and Jackson ate them, we were pretty ticked, but it was kind of funny, because he lost all the hair around his eyes after he did it. He looked like he was wearing goggles, but was just bald. I guess he was allergic to them.

He has a way of "introducing us to new neighbors". Like when we moved into our current house in West Palm. After our first night here, I woke up early, because I couldn't sleep well (being in a new place). I went downstairs and heard a loud SPLASH! I didn't think much of it, until I heard the neighbor (whisper yelling??). I guess she was trying to be quiet, because it was around 6:00 in the morning, but was trying to be loud enough for her husband to hear her, who was inside her house. I hear, "come outside.... come outside!" Then I hear another SPLASH! Then I hear Savannah barking. She has a specific bark when she's tattling on Jackson. OH NO!!! I ran to my window and what did I see??? Jackson in the neighbor's pool swimming with the NEIGHBOR! She swims laps in the morning and Jackson, being a lab, can not stand for anyone to swim without him. He decided to climb through our fence and jump right in and make himself at home. I started screaming upstairs to Brent, "Brent!! Jackson's in the neighbors' pool! come help me!" So I immediately run over to the neighbor's house, IN MY PAJAMAS, and grab him. I apologize a million times and drag him out of the pool. Then! He has the nerve to POOP in their front yard! I swear, I'm not making this up. Again, see why we call him Jackass? He did it one more time after that, so Brent built something to block off the gap between our houses.

Jackson and Savannah truly are escape artists. They have gotten out of the backyard several times. And they always go somewhere exciting. Publix, the Italian Restaurant, the nice Resort down the street. I guess they swam up the intracoastal got out on the resort beach, swam in their pool and walked through the lobby, that's when the manager called me. UGH. Well, today, the guy who cleans our pool let them out again. We live close to a busy road, so I always get really nervous. I was especially nervous, because this is the first time Savannah's gotten out without me since her surgery. We haven't introduced her to the water yet, because the water's been too cold for us to get in, so I was scared to death. I stopped everyone I saw while I was out looking for them. Even the mail lady. After about an hour and a half of searching for them, I drove back to my house, just as the mail lady was pulling in. She flagged me down. I jumped out of my car, and have you ever been around a horse in his trailer? You know the sound they make when the kick the metal door? Well, that's what I was hearing. I thought, what in the world is that? Then I realized... Jackson..... (Savannah was fine, she was on someone's front porch drinking water and the mail lady didn't see her) So, the mail lady backed into my driveway, and raised the huge heavy door to her truck, and who did I see?, Jackson. He's just standing there smiling and wagging his tail as he's crammed between crates (that used to be organized, until Jackass decided to go for a ride... See? Understand the name now?) Can you imagine getting your mail today with hair, salt water and slobber all over it? Ick.. She showed me where she found him, which wasn't far at all. Savannah doesn't move that fast and they always stick together. I guess she didn't see Savannah because she was on someone's front porch and Jackson was in the yard. But they are both home safe. Sleeping, but safe.

Just wanted to share some Jackson stories. As crazy as he makes us, he really is a great dog. Everyone kept telling us he would calm down when he got neutered, or when he turned 5 or when he turned 8, well, he's nine and still hasn't slowed down one bit. The only time and I mean the ONLY time he's calm and gentle is when Ashley's around. I don't know what it is, but he is like a different dog with her.

I am thankful I got my dogs back, even though one of them had to embarrass me by coming home in the back of a mail truck.....

"Bus!!"

2009-01-25T11:25:00.000-08:00

Wow! I feel like such a loser! My friends are able to keep up their blogs really well, and here I am struggling to get an entry in once every 6 weeks! It's impossible to sit down at the computer these days. Luke and Ashley demand A LOT of attention (I'm hoping it's just their age). Luckily, they have discovered "Mickey Mouse Clubhouse". Ashley's just like her dad in that she'll watch tv all day if I let her. Luke doesn't last that long. So, while they're watching Mickey Mouse, I'm able to go to the bathroom, or pick up the kitchen or run outside to get the mail. But that's about it. Then it's back to "Up Mama! Mama sit on floor! Mama, swing outside with JaJa and YaYa!" The only "real" break I get is during their nap. And that's when I start dinner, do the laundry and pick up more! We've also been going out a lot more. FINALLY!! I can take them out and do normal things with them by myself!! YAY! We go to MyGym a couple times a week, the library for reading hour, Pottery Barn Kids does a reading hour and the grocery store a ton! In a nutshell, we're busy around here, but having so much fun!

They keep me laughing all day long. I love listening to them talk. They still do their "twin speak" but can communicate with me as well now. Sometimes, if I can't understand what one of them is saying to me, I ask the other to translate, and they do! Luke's favorite word is "NO!" Half the time he doesn't even mean it, I think he just likes to say it! It's really fun to listen to them and watch as their minds develop. They talk NONSTOP! Ashley calls Luke "Gook" (yes, gook....) and Luke calls Ashley "Asha". Everything has a word now. The other day, we drove by a trailer park, and Luke got really excited, and pointed to one of the trailers and screamed "bus!!". Brent and I cracked up. We said, "that's not a bus!! That's someone's home!" (he's obsessed with anything that mechanically moves. Cars, trucks, buses, boats, trains, airplanes, etc.)

What's been going on since the last time I posted.....
They can both count to 20. They can sing the alphabet. Ashley loves to tell stories. If someone asks her what Santa brought her for Christmas, she will tell you, and I mean she will tell you EVERYTHING! (a horsey, an elmo kitchen, a doll, a dog, etc.) She also likes to tell people the story of how she "rode a horsey.. on a carousel... didn't want to get off.. and cried". It's hilarious. Luke also tells the story, but never admits that he cried for some reason... hmmm. They are as sweet as can be right now. I love it when they run to me with their arms spread out and let me catch them. They love to hug, me and each other. Luke is still my cuddler. I hope he stays like that for a long long time!

There are also the days, when I'm about to lose my mind. They are definitely TWO! And it's TWO times 2!! UGH. I was hoping they wouldn't give me a hard time, but they do. They test me constantly. At times, I wish I didn't teach them how to count, because if I warn one of them to stop doing something and start counting to 3, the other one usually finishes the counting. Example, me-"Luke, sit down! 1.....2....." Ashley-"3!" And they both laugh. But overall, they are good children and keep me laughing more than frustrated.

I still can't believe they are 2! The past couple months (and years!) have flown by. We went through Savannah completing her chemo and going into remission (yay!) Christmas, Luke's first haircut, Birthdays and a trip to the zoo! Here are some pictures taken since my last post!

I'm thankful for a healthy and fun 2008 with my babies! I am excited to see what 2009 will bring us. So far, each year has gotten better and better!

Thanksgiving 2008

2008-12-05T12:11:00.000-08:00

We had a lot of fun at my parents for Thanksgiving this year. Even though Luke tried to eat Bailey's play-doh, because she told him it was a cookie. In Bailey's eyes, it was! Gotta love holidays with 4 children ages 3 and under!

Luke and Ashley are probably too young to understand.. and may not understand for a very long time... but for the rest of our lives, each Thanksgiving, we will be giving thanks for the wonderful life we were given on January 3, 2007. I am so thankful for my children, HEALTHY children! I love them more than they will ever know. I just don't think it's possible to understand the love you feel for your babies until you have your own. Mom and Dad, I'm sorry if I put you through anything you didn't deserve!

As I was making cheese straws, I started to get frustrated, because I couldn't get anything done! I would just start to push the dough out of the cookie press and Luke would start tugging at my shirt, "up. up. up, mama, up" I would turn around and trip over a truck, or a doll, or a pot, or Ashley! It didn't matter, my kitchen was a wreck and in total chaos!! How do you cook with TWO TODDLERS in the house?! And the mess?! How can 2 babies make such a mess in such a short amount of time?! Then I stopped and thought, about the Trace Adkins song, "You're Gonna Miss This" and just smiled. (turn your speakers on if you don't have them on already) I am the luckiest person in the world to have this situation! Why would anyone wish it away? Here is the chorus that means so much to me.... Especially in times when I'm ready to pull my hair out!

You're gonna miss this...

You're gonna want this back...

You're gonna wish these days...

Hadn't gone by so fast...

These are some good times...

So take a good look around...

You may not know it now...

But you're gonna miss this...

Now, I'm on to planning Christmas dinner that's going to be at my house! Bring on the chaos!

I am so thankful for my family, immediate and extended.

Halloween 2008

2008-10-31T12:00:00.000-07:00

I love Halloween!! I loved it as a kid, and I love it even more now, watching Luke and Ashley run around acting crazy! It's hilarious. I had in my mind that I wanted them to be Raggedy Ann and Andy for a long time, then my brother said, "Luke will kill you one day for that!" So, I started coming up with other ideas, "Charlie Brown and Lucy" "Bamm Bamm and Pebbles", etc. I just couldn't decide. Then one day we were having a "refusing to poop" issue. To try and coerce them, I simply said, "EVERYbody poo poos! Elmo poo poos, Jackson poo poos, Savannah poo poos, even Mama poo poos". (I can't believe I'm writing this here, but whatever) So anyway, we head out to reading hour at the mall later that morning, when all of the sudden Luke starts telling everyone and ANYONE, "Mama poo poo! Mama poo poo!" The more I would tell him to stop, the more he would say it louder and louder. Until he was screaming "Mama poo poo!" as loud as he could, then he would laugh and laugh... So that's when I decided, That's it! he's going to be Raggedy Andy, whether he likes it or not! I can't get over how much they've changed since last Halloween! Check out the difference!

2007

2008

It's so crazy how different things are down here for the holidays. It's HOT on Christmas, and Halloween pumpkins? Well, they don't do well in the heat.....

Before:

After ONE night on the porch!

I am thankful, Brent got home in time from his trip to see the twins all dressed up.

Here are some more pictures from the month of October!

"Rusty!!!!!"

2008-09-08T06:27:00.000-07:00

OK, time to get back to some happy stories! Let me begin with, Savannah. She's doing really well. She is walking, running, playing and this morning, when we got up, where was she??? on the couch! She's not supposed to get on the couch, but oh well. She did it AND she jumped down on her own. The dog is crazy! Brent and I were talking last night. We haven't seen her act this well in a very long time. Looking back, she must have been in pain for awhile and we didn't now it. I am now 100% sure, I made the right decision.

I finally got a break (if you call going to a 3 year old's birthday party a break) on Saturday. Bailey had a rodeo party, complete with pony rides. Only when my dad, the twins and I were half way there, did we think, "we should have brought a can of Beef-A-Reeno". Do y'all remember the Seinfeld episode when Kramer fed his horse a whole can of this? "I'm terribly sorry, Mr. Ross, one never knows how the gastrointestinal workings of the equine are going to function". "Rusty, no! No, Rusty!!!" HILARIOUS! Why didn't we think of this earlier? Can you imagine the chaos at kids' birthday party with a gassy horse! haha! Well, we didn't laugh because the ponies were gassy, but we did do a lot of laughing. No surprise, Ashley LOVED the horses, and Luke, hated them. We managed to get Luke on for a quick picture, but he was not happy, so we took him off. Ashley loved every second and rode up and down the street. (Yes, I said street. This is South Florida- there aren't many fields around here)Here are some pictures and video clips from the past month and the party.

I am thankful for my niece, Bailey. She brings us lots of laughter! Happy 3rd Birthday Bailey!

Ashley's first pony ride

Luke taking a stroll with Grammy, contemplating whether or not to get on that mangy thing...

................ When twins want to ride on the same car at the same time (they did this on their own)

................ Just going for a walk

Luke in my brother's sailor suit, from when he was a kid.

Ashley Elizabeth

Watching the boats go by

Proud Baby Girl

Sitting in my chair, waiting for the game to start.

Watching the game!

................................ Ashley on pony

http://s262.photobucket.com/albums/ii118/mbfykes/?action=view&current=20080906164702.flv

Luke on pony

http://s262.photobucket.com/albums/ii118/mbfykes/?action=view&current=20080906165110.flv

Bailey on pony

http://s262.photobucket.com/albums/ii118/mbfykes/?action=view&current=20080906164415.flv

Caitlyn on pony

http://s262.photobucket.com/albums/ii118/mbfykes/?action=view&current=20080906164758.flv

"Inspiration"

2008-09-05T11:09:00.000-07:00

"You become. It takes a long time. That’s why it doesn’t happen often to people who break easily, or have sharp edges, or who have to be carefully kept. Generally by the time you are real, most of your hair has been loved off, and your eyes drop out and you get loose in the joints and very shabby. But these things don’t matter at all; because once you are real you can’t ever be ugly, except to people who don’t understand.” Velveteen Rabbit

Why am I starting with this quote? It's actually a really great quote and can mean so many different things to different people. To me, personally, it's about my dog, Savannah. It's really hard for me to express my emotions right now, because they are still so raw, but I feel like I should update those of you who know and love Savannah. Unfortunately, her cancer is back, only this time, it's in her bone. (First of all, I want to say, that I have great respect for my friends and family who have dealt with cancer and I don't want you for one second to feel that I think this is as big of a deal. I can not imagine going through what many of you have)

I wanted to post this here because I thought this would be easier than explaining it several different times. The past few weeks have been difficult for me because I had to make a tough decision. We decided to have Savannah's front leg amputated and start chemo in 2 weeks. I know this is probably a shock to some of you. Why would we choose this? Well, my initial reaction was, "no way!" But y'all know me, I did lots and lots of research and realized, this is the most humane way for Savannah. I did not do this to keep her around longer for me, trust me, I did this for Savannah. It's what's best. She had the surgery on Tuesday and came home to us Wednesday. I'm not going to lie, it's been difficult. I only slept for 30 minutes the first night she was home (part of that was on a dog bed!). But with the help of my mom, we got through that first night. I know one day, my mom and I will laugh about how we carried her outside (for the first time) on a sheet, in our pajamas at 2:00 in the morning. Neighbors were flipping on lights... ugh... oh well. She currently has on a morphine patch, so she is not in any pain. (even if she was, they say, the pain of the surgery doesn't even compare to the pain she would eventually feel from bone cancer) She's a little loopy, but other than that, ok. The good news is, SHE'S WALKING!! She started trying last night. We haven't let Jackson get too close to her yet. Not that he would hurt her, I just want to keep her as calm as possible. She's doing really well, but in "typical" Savannah style, she knows that I will do whatever she wants, and that means feed her whatever she wants. So, she turns her nose up at the dog food and manipulates me to give her real people food. Oh well, whatever Savannah wants, Savannah gets. I've always described her as beautiful, she's even more so now. This just shows her strength. She is such an inspiration to me, and I am so proud of all that she has overcome, especially in the past 24 hours. The twins were crying last night to go downstairs and see "JaJa" and "YaYa". We tried everything to distract them, even Elmo, but that didn't work. It's just too early. I know the next few weeks are going to be a challenge, but I know Savannah, and she will get through this like she has everything else. I will keep you posted, and hopefully get back to happy stories on this blog.

I am thankful Savannah will now be pain free. And I'm thankful, we caught the cancer before it moved to her lungs.

"Dooooody!!"

2008-08-01T16:25:00.000-07:00

It has been awhile since I have posted because I've been SO BUSY! The second we got home from Antigua, 3 weeks ago, the twins got sick and are still sick! Brent's been out of town a lot, so, I haven't had any time to post. Not much has been going on around here, just taking care of the babies, but here's a little story...

The other day, the twins needed a big time bath since they had bug spray on them, so I got the tub ready. (Brent was out of town, so I was on my own) Like a normal mom, you would undress your child and gently place them in the water, right? Wrong. I undressed Luke and he TOOK OFF! He thought it was the funniest thing ever! So, I turned to Ashley. Yea, I know, refocusing on Ashley and not looking at "the naked" Luke is genius right? I really thought, if I got her into the tub, Luke would see all the fun she was having and want to get in. Not so much. When I got her undressed, she took off! In the meantime, Luke has discovered that he can pee all over the floor only it would freak him out when the pee would touch his foot, so he would move to another spot and try again. Laughing the whole time. I'm thinking to myself, do I grab the camera? Do I start crying? I grabbed the camera. (Only after much thought, I decided, I really can't post the pictures, so sorry, maybe in 15 years when I need to....) Luke would kill me one day. But, oh I have pictures for blackmail. This baby boy better not mess with ME! After chasing them around the house in a full sweat, I get Luke in the tub. Ashley soon follows. After much play, and not much cleaning, it happened...."Doody!!" Only this was NOT a Baby Ruth! (For all you Caddy Shack lovers out there) AAAHHHHH!!! I'm talking out loud to myself at this point, " Oh my gosh, oh my gosh, oh my gosh!!!" "Grooooosssssssss!!!!"" Ick!!! "get them out, get them out, get them out!!!!" I grab Luke, put him on the floor and go for Ashley, meantime, I hear Luke cracking up as he pees on the floor and Ashley's screaming because she doesn't want out. I'm so grossed out, I'm pretty much gagging! Should I start crying now? I know that y'all are thinking that I'm making this up, but I'M NOT! This really happened! Somehow, I need to get a diaper on Luke QUICK! Seriously, how much urine does a baby bladder hold?! And PLEEEEEASE! Ashley! Stop screaming! You'll have another bath soon!! WITHOUT E. COLI!

After I got them both dressed and cleaned the bathtub, I sat down. This is when I started to laugh. I am SO thankful for my babies. I love laughing at them. I can't imagine not thinking something like this is funny. I love my life. And more than anything, I love being their mom.

Although, I can't post the pictures of my naked baby boy, I'll post some recent ones.
M

Beer, fish oil, and sour milk....

2008-06-24T10:27:00.000-07:00

Today turned out to be a great day. Especially after having such a crazy morning! Well, actually, it's been a crazy week! It started last week, when Savannah (my dog) had to have an emergency surgery to remove another cancerous tumor. As many of you know, she's been in remission for almost 3 years. A few weeks ago, I found a couple bumps that made me suspicious so I took her into her oncologist, Dr. Correa, to have them checked out. Turned out to be cancer again so we immediately scheduled a surgery with her regular vet, Dr. Grigsby. Problem was, Brent would be out of town for a few days, during which, I had to keep Savannah calm and locked inside, as well as the twins. The twins are "loving" the dogs right now and all they want to do is play with them. Ashley just about gave me a heart attack the other day, because, as I was changing Luke, she got a beer bottle out of a case that was blocking off the steps and tried to give it to Jackson (my other dog)who was behind a gate. Only thing was, she couldn't get it over the gate to Jackson and dropped it on the floor. I ran into the room (while leaving poor Luke with a poopy diaper half on, half off, and saw beer EVERYWHERE and Jackson drinking it.) UGH... Luckily, she didn't get hurt, she was just covered in beer and stunk for the rest of the day. I swear people were looking at me as we walked past them in the wagon, thinking I had been drinking all day. Looking back, maybe I should have started when that happened... Because the week only ended up getting crazier! So, that was the end of using a case of Samuel Adams and a case of Pellegrino to block off the stairs.

After a few days of taking care of Savannah and the twins, things seemed to get back to normal, and Brent came home from his business trip. Because he was gone for a few days, he had a ton of laundry and I was so busy carting the twins and Savannah back and forth to the vet, I was WAY behind on the rest of our laundry, so I decided to do one HUGE load. Only to find out that my genius husband, "who is not afraid to let you know that he was a member of MENSA" left freakin fish oil pills in the pocket of a pair of pants! Fish oil pills??? What? First of all, why in the heck were they in his pocket??!! Well..... my HUGE load of laundry? Stunk like fish. I'm talking rotten fish. We are the only people in the neighborhood (probably the whole state, that when you walk by our house when we're doing laundry, you don't smell the freshness of a fabric softener, you smell fish!) I re-washed the laundry, but just can't seem to get the smell out. I'm thinking because it's an oil?? Anyone have any suggestions for me? All we need is to replace the washer and dryer now. Good one Brent, kind of makes me think of the time you left lobster tails in our freezer when the hurricane hit. (ended up having to throw the whole refrigerator out...)

Speaking of refrigerator. We had a bad storm come through here last night, and lighting pretty much zapped out our phones and our fridge. Only thing is, I didn't notice the fridge was out until this morning when all the food I spent 2 1/2 hours making yesterday for the twins to have while we're out of town went bad. Our milk was sour and, yup, you guessed it. Brent and I had Mahi Mahi last night for dinner. Where were the leftovers? In the HOT fridge.

So, just when I'm about to lose it, I call and check my messages on our phone line (which is dead from the storm) and get the message from Savannah's vet. I am so happy to report, that Dr. Grigsby removed 100% of the tumor with clean margins. This means that she is CLEAR! We have an appointment on Thursday with her oncologist to check out a few more things, and then hopefully, I can say, Savannah is healthy. So, turns out, today was a great day. All this other stuff, doesn't mean anything. Besides, I'm going on vacation! I think......
M

I'm thankful for having one of the best veterinary oncologists in the country only 45 minutes away. I'm thankful for Dr. Correa caring so much about Savannah, and I'm thankful for Dr. Grigsby doing Savannah's surgery on such short notice. And most of all, I'm thankful for my girl, Savannah, she's been my best friend for 10 years, and hopefully, will be for many more.

Here's a picture of Savannah just taken this week to show you how well she's doing!

And of course, I can't leave Jackson out. He loves Ashley so much. Especially since she gives him beer.....

Swim-Float-Swim

2008-06-16T17:23:00.001-07:00

Well, our swimming lessons have concluded. I must say, that I'm a little relieved. It was every weekday for 6 weeks. Very time consuming. This wasn't like your everyday swimming lessons. They were taught to swim, float, swim and find their way out of whatever body of water they fall in. (it's really survival lessons) Their personalities REALLY came through at the lessons. Luke was all business, and would swim, swim swim, "get me out of this pool!!!" Where as Ashley would just float.... "Look at the sky and float". Don't think one is better than the other, but I know that if "god-forbid" they fell into the water, and nobody was around, they would survive. That's all I care about. One thing the program does, that I think is really great, is that they put them in full winter clothes. Blue jeans, sweatshirts, shoes and a real waterlogged diaper, (adding about 10 extra pounds) to make sure they can float this way. Because chances are, if they're going to fall in, they won't be in their bathing suits. We were going to video tape them at there graduation lesson, but of course being down here in South Florida, it got canceled due to weather, so all I have are a few old pictures. You can't really tell too much what's going on, but at least you can see them floating. I'll post a video when I get one..

M

I'm thankful for programs like ISR that teach my children to be safe.

You can't force it.

2008-05-27T11:56:00.000-07:00

Have you ever wondered what it would be like to have a twin? I have. When I was a little girl, I read the "Babysitter's Club" and "Sweet Valley High" books and I thought, "I wish I had a twin!" Why is that? Is it the constant companion? Is it having someone who loves you, knowing ALL your flaws? Is it having someone there, knowing, they will be there for you for life? I don't know, but I know that I used to wish I had a twin. Why are people so obsessed with twins??! I've posted in a past entry about how I get stopped whenever I'm out and asked the same questions over and over. I have to admit, I love it when a "twin" comes up to me and talks. They always tell me about the bond they have with the other, and how special they feel. And I always ask them, "how do I instill this in my babies?" They're answer is always the same, "you can't force it. you can't make them love one another.... They just will." SO... I'm trusting all those twins out there that have stopped me. My babies will love each other no matter what. They already do. Check out this video.

http://s262.photobucket.com/albums/ii118/mbfykes/?action=view&current=20080526175733.flv

I am thankful that I have twins. It's something I've always dreamed of.

Back bend like blue men.

2008-05-19T09:35:00.000-07:00

OK, nobody wants to confess to this, so I will..... we sometimes hide from our kids. I'm sure many of you have been in the situation during the day, when you're like, "Yes! Finally!!!" He/she (or in our case, he AND she) is playing happily with that book, but Oh My Gosh! I've never been so thirsty in my life! Problem is, you have to pass by them to get to the kitchen to get a bottle of water. What do you do? Well.. WE pretend we're in Vegas and silently back bend like blue men into the kitchen, but does it ever work? Heck no!! Why is it, that they don't hear you when you say, "It's time for bed." But when you're trying to sneak by them, they stop what they're doing, scream and follow you? Do they have eyes in the back of their heads? Do they just hear really REALLY well? Or do they have both? I was laughing at Brent the other morning because he hid between the pantry and the family room and ate his cereal. CEREAL!! come on! How hard is that? The twins won't let him eat! When did we get to the point where we had to sneak around? I remember being like, "OMG, they're so cute! I never want to be apart from them for a second!" WHAT??!! We're like, "QUICK! HERE THEY COME!! HIDE!!" Is that bad???

Of course there are times when we can't get enough of them! Here are a few recent pictures.

Luke and Ashley having a "twins' conversation". I wish I could understand what they're saying. Then again, they're probably making fun of me anyway...

Ashley Elizabeth

Luke Thomas

Ashley's hair after a nap

Luke, loving the wind blowing through his hair

Sharing Garlic Bread, their favorite

Hanging out on the step. Their latest trick.

I am thankful that we WANT to hide from our babies because that means they are active, and if they are active, they are healthy.

If this doesn't make you smile, then I don't know what will.

2008-05-07T17:15:00.001-07:00

My Aunt sent me a YouTube link that made me think of this video clip of Luke that I made a few months ago. Instead of sending this clip back to her through email, I decided to post it here on the blog. I can't help but laugh when I watch this. If this doesn't make you smile, then I don't know what will.
M

http://s262.photobucket.com/albums/ii118/mbfykes/?action=view&current=200803061707382.flv

I am thankful for having 2 hilarious children, who make me laugh every day.

"How do you do your shopping?"

2008-04-21T08:54:00.000-07:00

It's funny, the questions you're asked and the way people act towards you when babies are involved. It starts at pregnancy. I was just talking to one of my good friends the other day who is pregnant. (she's also a drug rep who calls on Psychiatrists) She was in an office and some lady who was clearly mentally sick, just walks up to her and rubs my friends' belly. I couldn't help but laugh, because the same thing happened to me, only it was the garbage man! What?! I turned around, walked back into my house and took a hot shower. Does he have a mental issue? Probably not, because this happens all the time. Not only do people rub a stranger's stomach, but they say and ask the rudest things too! I remember when I was about 6 months pregnant, I got into an elevator after one of my ultrasounds and a man got into the elevator with me. He looked at me like a deer in headlights and exclaimed, "WOW! You look like you're about to pop! you must be due any day!". I calmly looked at him and said, "No, actually I have about 3 more months to go." (he had no idea I was carrying twins) He continued to dig himself in a hole by talking about how big I already was and how big I'm going to be etc. etc. etc. I told Brent about this, and he just laughed and laughed. Laugh all you want Brent, I was the one to laugh in the end, because you ended up sleeping in the upper left corner of the bed with little covers in a frigid cold room with me taking up about 90% of the bed lying on top of the covers.

Now, it's a different story having babies. The questions and comments really start coming. Some are really sweet, others are rude, and others are just, well, kind of stupid. Here are some samples of questions I hear just about every time I go out with the twins.

Are they twins? Uh...No, they're 5 years apart, one just has stunted growth.
Oh, how lucky, you have a boy and a girl. Are they identical? Oh the places I could go with this answer
Do twins run in your family? Yes, but is that your polite way of asking if I took fertility meds?
Did you deliver them both naturally? Do you really want details? Because I can have my husband call you later to describe everything.
Did you nurse both of them? What the?!
Double trouble, You have your hands full... Brent always laughs at me because I hate this one and always respond. "No, double the pleasure."

A question that many of you who read this blog have been asking me lately is:
How do you do your shopping? It's kind of a funny thing to wonder, but it is a good question. How do I do my shopping? Most of the time it's just a blur. I do everything I can to get in and out of the grocery store as quickly as possible. However, this is very difficult when you're stopped every few feet so people can ask me these questions. Luke and Ashley are both going through that stranger anxiety stage and scream everytime someone gets close to them (example: Little old lady with a walker, "OH, look at the cute little boy!" Luke, "AAAAHHHHH!!!) and they love to take each other's socks off and throw them on the floor, so I'm constantly having to stop turn around, walk back and pick them up, meanwhile someone else walks up, and makes Ashley scream. I try to do most of my shopping on the weekend when Brent is home, that way, he can stay home and watch the babies, but when I do have to go during the week, I usually hang the grocery store basket on the stroller handle, fill it up, then stuff the rest of the groceries in the stroller. When I have to do more shopping or get heavy things, I push the stroller and pull the cart behind me. This is usually when I get the, "wow, you have your hands full" comment. ha! You think???

This is a picture that was taken when things went well. Notice neither one has socks on? Notice I'm smiling?? So, my friends, I hope I answered this question. This is how I do my shopping....

Oh, in case any of you are wondering, Why don't I use the cart that looks like a car, but is the size of a semi truck that's made for 2 children? They're parked inside Publix, which would mean I would have to leave the twins in the car, alone, in this heat with all the crazy people down here in South Florida. Not an option. When they walk well, (Or even when one walks well enough, we can do this, but until then.......)

If anyone has any good comebacks to any of the questions above, please let me know. One of these days, I'm going to get the nerve to respond....

M

I am thankful for having healthy twins. With out them, I would never have my stories,

Plastic bags and Tabasco Cheez-Its

2008-03-31T15:11:00.000-07:00

I am lucky enough to have a wonderful husband who actually "tells" me to leave and have some alone time. Otherwise, I would never leave my house nor my babies. This past weekend was great. Brent and I went to Target together, then, I went off to the mall by myself. It was just what I needed. I wanted something new to wear to a casino party we're going to in a few weeks. I had such a great time being "alone". It was weird to actually try on clothes! Heck! It was weird to walk around the mall without stuffing goldfish in some crazy baby's mouth!!! On my way home, I talked to Beth and she asked me, "Don't you get nervous when you leave the twins home alone with Brent?" Of course my immediate reaction was, "Heck, no!! I love any time I can have alone!!" Does that make me weird that I don't even think about it? I trust my husband, besides, if he screwed up, not only would he have to deal with whatever the consequences were for his mistake, but he'd have to deal with me! Not sure what's scarier for him. Anyway. I got home, all refreshed and ready for a week of handling the twins while he travels when he "PROUDLY" showed me this video. Although it is funny, he claims they were "PLAYING" with plastic bags and Tabasco cheez-its. Maybe Beth's right, I should worry!!!
* This is a disclaimer! Brent bought the tabasco cheez-its, not me!! Yuck!!
<http://s262.photobucket.com/albums/ii118/mbfykes/?action=view&current=ALlaughing.flv
I am thankful for my husband. I love him more than he knows.

Can I have a beer for the road?

2008-03-24T06:44:00.000-07:00

Well, Easter has come and gone. It all really started last week when we went to see the Easter Bunny, or as we like to call him, the Easter Rodent. If you have seen the Bunny at our mall, close up, you would understand why. He looks more like a squirrel than a bunny. Pretty scary. Especially for Luke. He absolutely refused to sit on his lap. I've never seen him so scared! He clung on to Brent for dear life. There was no getting that boy NEAR the Easter Rodent. So we have a great picture of Ashley on his lap this year. I have a feeling that picture is going to be pulled out by Ashley when she's about 16 years old to show all their friends. Poor Luke.

Shannon, Luke and Brent watching tv....

We had so much fun at my sister's house on Easter Sunday. We had 5 kids under the age of 3. The best way to describe it is LOUD! Luke and Ashley have really warmed up to Bailey (my niece) It was fun to watch them interact. Bailey loves them so much, she kept trying to hug and kiss them. There were a few scary moments when she would try to pick them up as well. Sweet little Caitlyn (my other niece) who's almost a month old, just slept the whole time. How she slept with all that noise is beyond me. Between, Luke following my sister Beth around, Ashley screaming if I left her sight, Bailey saying "yes sir" to my sister haha!, and my sister's friend's daughter getting her hair stuck in the tent zipper, it was an eventful day. Brent and I ate so fast, that we couldn't remember if we ate or not! I knew our heads were spinning when Brent jokingly said to Shannon, my brother-in-law, "Thanks for lunch, gotta go. Can I have a beer for the road?". Then again, maybe he wasn't joking.....

I am thankful for having family that makes me laugh, even though they don't know it.

Why don't you start a blog?

2008-03-22T10:51:00.000-07:00

I finally got to talk to an old friend the other day. It was so nice to catch up! It had been WAY TOO long since we had talked. She also has a toddler a few months older than Luke and Ashley, so we are both hard to get on the phone long enough to have a conversation. One of us usually has to hang up within 2 minutes! I told her the easiest way for me to communicate with people these days is by the Internet. That way, I can start a sentence, walk away from the computer when the twins need me and finish the sentence when I have time. She said, "Why don't you start a blog?". She's right. It's a great way for me to communicate with the "outside" world, on my own time. So, here I am, starting a blog.....
I told Brent I was going to do this and he laughed. First, because he thought, what in the world am I going to blog about, and second, when will I have time to do this. Well, it's only been 5 days, and I've typed this much! ha!
Hopefully, I'll be able to keep it up. I will try to post pictures of the twins and funny stories of what they're up to. If something funny happens to Brent, I'll be sure to post that too. Nothing really happens to me, I'm too busy to notice if it does. (Well, maybe, being pooped on by a bird and peed on by the neighbors dog all within a week......) Brent of course just laughed, then quickly walked away, he was to embarrassed to be seen with me!
M
I am thankful for my friends, new and old, without them, I would never survive.