Resolutions.....

This year I made a resolution to not resolve. At least, not out loud. Too much pressure. Maybe this way will do the trick. I'll let you know next year.

Sunday Scribbling...then and now

Once, I only visited a handful of personal blogs.
Now, I'm checking out new blogs that will prompt me to write. And produce something. So, here's my contribution to Sunday Scribblings:

Once, I was a spoiled, spoiled little girl who basked in the love her parents showed her.
Soon, my world came crashing down around me and I was forced to confront a hideous crime.
Then, I was filled with incredible hatred.
Now I feel pity. And regret. And sadness.

Great Give-Away

Laura at Million Dollars Journey is hosting an incredible giveaway. She will be giving away three great prizes to the lucky winner! One prize is the 512MB mp3 player that she won from Blog About Your Blog, who won it from The Prize Blog. But that is not all! The winner will also get their 125 x 125 ad in her side bar for 1 month (currently valued at $10) PLUS a 200 word review written by her (currently valued at $15). Contest ends at 11:59 PM EST time December 31, 2007. Winner will be announced on 1/7/2008. To participate in this contest, visit her at her new domain.

Greatest Accomplishment?

A few weeks ago I entered a "write-away" contest that was judged by Kailani at An Island Life. I stopped by her blog today and loved her Friday Feature. It's called Aloha Friday and bloggers link together through her site and create a question for their blog in response to her prompt.

My question is:
What is your greatest accomplishment of 2007?

I honestly don't have an answer to this one. I have to think about it and then post later. Although perhaps not having a clear cut answer is my brains way of telling me that all the little things add up to something substantial, and that's my greatest accomplishment. Having a year of great moments. Of little day to day occurrences that define 2007 as a truly remarkable year in a very unremarkable way. I'd love to hear your answers, and if you'd like to play along, visit An Island Life to see this week's Aloha Friday posts.

Live: Nativity

One of my favorite childhood memories of Christmas Eve was re-enacting the Nativity with all of my cousins. (I never got to be Mary, and I'm still holding a grudge.) That's beside the point though. Anyway, we do a "live" nativity each year with our kids as well, and this year especially was great because most of the kids were old enough to participate without mishap. Getting together with family, singing carols and hymns, reading from the scriptures and eating cinnamon rolls and wassail isn't bad either.

Consumer lesson

As a child I remember making my Christmas list in....January. I started thinking about what I wanted and ways to get it. If it was something I could earn enough money to buy myself, I was right on it and was the best little work scrounger-upper around. I mowed lawns, ironed neighbors clothes, cleaned houses, cared for animals, watered plants, pulled weeds, babysat, you name it. This was in addition to my normal chores which I was not compensated for, I might add. My kids are too young to do many of these things, but even if they weren't, it's not the same. They don't have 'wants' in the same way that I did. I'm fully aware that I play a large roll in this, yet it still bothers me somewhat. I'm thankful that my children have everything they need, and most of their wants too, yet I think 'wanting' things and learning how to prioritize (or discard the idea) and make a plan of attack is good too.

So, yesterday I braved the mall with all the kids because I heard Gymboree was having a huge sale and the girls wanted to look around to see if there was anything to buy with approximately $20.00 of their Christmas money. Thanks to Gymboree, the girls had a great lesson in money management and decision making. They had to figure out what they could afford and pick out the pieces that they knew they'd wear (they are no dummies and only wanted to buy things they really, really liked). It was music to my ears when Grace picked up a bracelet she HAD to have, asked how much it cost and quickly decided it wasn't that great when it cost almost half of her budget.
Emma got $200 worth of clothes for $28.00 (she did exchange a dress though).

Grace snagged $92.00 worth of clothing for $18.00

My Christmas Miracle....

Experienced a truly beautiful day. Happy kids, good company, loads of gifts, but most importantly, thankful hearts.

Ding, Dong, Ditch

It's happened two days in a row and it's so clever. I have a feeling that by Christmas Eve we'll have a full nativity. We've received these pieces so far. How great is this?

The first night the bag said, "This is Mary so fair, and Joseph who guided the Donkey with care".

The second night read, "Angels' songs rang announcing their glorious story....."

The third, "These are the Shepherd's, Hast'ning to worship the Heavenly child...

Fourth, "These are the Wise men followed the Star Bringing fifts from afar"...

And lastly, "Fairest little Jesus Child, came to earth to show the way...Praise we sing on Christmas day.

I was feeling like a slacker...

so I decided to use some of your recipes and make up some holiday plates.

Gingerbread

Emma made the cutest darn gingerbread house, gingerbread story and gingerbread ornament ever at school. I'm the lucky recipient, and I couldn't be happier.

Favorite Christmas Conversation, EVER...

Garrett asks me out of the blue,
"Mom, do you get sticks and coal in your stocking if you tell lies?"
I answer, "yes".
He responds, "I'm going to get coal and sticks", almost crying here: "I lie all the time".

This is what I know about you.....

This was fun.......there's so much more I know about so many of you, it was difficult to just pick one or two things. So, here's the interesting things you told me, and a few more things that I happen to know about you. This twist, of course, was "borrowed" from Cecily's blog.

Stephanie over at The Callendar Zoo Review was married on an island in the Northwoods of WI. The guests at her wedding sat on log stumps covered with antique linens. She's the mommy of 3 and when she was in the hospital with her twins she wrote the kind of detailed posts that made my day.

Crazymamaof6 over at Truly Delightful in Every Way loves to tell it like it is. And she probably blogs more than anyone I know. She wanted to have 12 kids before she actually had any of her own, and now she tells people she plans on 8 on purpose, 10 on accident.

In the Quiet Heart's author Heather cheated and didn't tell me a single thing. But that's OK because I know plenty. Heather is a real life, in-person friend and is an incredible mommy. She allows her daughter to collect and be-friend bugs and creatures, and I love that. Plus, she's a Labor and Delivery nurse/supervisor. She is the only person I've ever met that knew without me telling them what monoamniotic twins are.

Casey finds the humor in life at Quilao Triplets. She has the cutest darn 25 weeker, micropreemie triplets ever. Her blog has seriously given me hours of enjoyment.
She says, "Not sure if this in interesting about me but I have this big mole on the inside of one of my pinky toes. I used to tell people that is how they could identify my body if something horrible happened to me."

Laura at The View From Our House is mom to 4, NICU volunteer and fellow monoamniotic.org moderator. She loves to exercise and is a great friend. And have I mentioned how cute and CLEAN her kids are? She hates sweet pickles and used to be a nanny for a SF Giants player. I didn't know that!

Latree at Dandelion is one of my first international blogging friends. She lives in Indonesia, has three children and is a regular commenter. I plan on learning a lot from her.

Shannon at A Day in Our Life has a cool twist to her blog: expert panelists. She was in the hospital at the same time as me with her monoamniotic twins and travelled that road with me. Our babies were born at basically the same gestational age, at the same weights and just one day apart. She has a business selling homemade hats for little girls called Pretty Peanut Shells that are adorable. Here is her contribution: "My husband started telling my brother (who was his fraternity brother in college) that he was going to marry me 2 years before our first date. Guess he knew what was coming!"

Melissa at Hope for the Hopeless goes all out with Christmas lights on her house. AND, she loves Panera Bread. She named her daughter Hope and not Faith because she didn't have a whole lot of faith she'd have her but she sure did have a whole lot of hope. "The name totally fits her."

Kristin at Just Breathe In and Out is my cousin. She sews, she cans, AND, she does exquisit cross stitching. She also knows how to ride a unicycle.

Arizona of Peace, Love and Vegetables is the best darn medical study intrepreter I've ever known. And, she so interesting. In a good way. I met her on monoamniotic.org and I like to think that my badgering helped her to make the decision to go inpatient with her twins earlier than she originally planned. Like me, she has an uncle who died from AIDS. Here's something original: "I used to think about committing some misdemeanor that would put me in a minimum security prison for 30 days so I could spend that time alone meditating and doing yoga. One thing that kept me from seriously considering it is that the food in prison is really bad. I'm kind of a food snob. Life is too short to eat bad food!" It just gets better: "My step-mother's mother pleaded guilty to murdering her boyfriend (who was married!) and she did time. She was even on Oprah to tell her story!! Is it a surprise that she loves surgeries?

Laurie M. at Treasure the Little Things, like me, has some seriously Adorable red headed boys (like the plug for my boys?). She has never broken a bone. "I fear the pain associated with broken bone. My kids have never had any broken bones either. My hubby? Well, he's a different story".

Jan is my newest sister and law and first time mom. I think she should start a blog, too. She has really long beautiful hair. And, even though I've never noticed, she claims to have uglier feet than mine, which just isn't possible. And, she shares my envy of long eyelashes.!

Driving With the Brakes On is another new blogger friend. She says this, "I may be a stay-at-home-mom, but I am not an idiot" and I love it. She can't stand restaurants with out changing tables or highchair straps that don't work.

Jeremiah, original author of Eastern Blog Country is smart as a whip and strong as a horse. Enough said.

Milz is my cousin-in-law whom I've never met. She has 2 adorable kids and is a native New Zealander. She's got two scars on her face, one between her eyes and one on the side of her nose (like a piercing)as a result of getting the chicken pox as a baby.

Laurie at Crazy for Four was was run over by a motorcycle when she was in 3rd or 4th grade. And, she taught herself how to play the piano. Another in-person friend that I'm thankful for.

Katie at Philigry makes me sick with envy each time I visit her site. She makes amazing things (jewelry, clothing, chair covers, you name it), and the things she bakes make my mouth water.
And, she can't whistle either!

Melissa at Are You Serious, fellow twin mommy, knows stuff about HTML. She scrapbooks in her "free time". Her "dad was a navy seal in Vietnam and tough as nails. We never crossed him and he could always tell if we weren't telling the truth. That's why we'd go to my mom if we wanted something..."

Cecily at My Chaos My Bliss is not only funny, but interesting, and she has a HUGE blog following. She posted 100 interesting facts on her blog, but can still think of more. She said, "I got the chicken pox when I was 16on a choir trip in California. A bunch of kids pooled money to pay for my plane ticket home but they wouldn't fly me because it's a communicable disease. I had to ride a bus from San Diego CA to Layton UT with full blown chicken pox. It was awful. Every two hours my friend would wake me up from the floor of the bus to give me either benedryl or Dramamine to keep me asleep."

Tammie with Tammie and the Hellions is mamma extraordinaire to triples. I love that she gets on the floor and plays with her children. She has always wanted to be a doctor. "Like always, but never had the guts to actually do it. To afraid to fail".

Kelly at The Craziness We Call Life can't whistle or roll her tongue. But, she is raising a fashion diva, with a baby just waiting to be educated in the love of diamonds, too.

Hi my name is mommy at Triple the Blessings is mom to triplets and works for MAC. What I know about Hi my name is mommy is that I don't know her name, but that's OK because I love her blog anyway.

Debra at Just Another Day in Paradise is fellow mom of five. She is a literally a coupon queen and she's squeamish about surgeries.

Rosie is Girl in a Cardigan and a historical reenactor. She's into costuming, and let me tell you, this girl can sew!

Carrie with Keiser Family somehow found my blog and through her I've made a bunch of new blog friends. She has 6 kids and sometimes still wants a baby. She survived a month without a computer, and I think that's pretty darn amazing.

Jenny L. doesn't have a blog, but should. Hint, hint. She brings at least one visit a week to my site from people searching for her. She's a music editor and has the cutest little monoamniotic twins ever. And, if you ever see a Bringing Home Baby episode about momo twins, that's her.

Robin at Around The Island is my newest blog friend AND she lives in Israel. Her blog got ranked as Post Graduate in one of those "thingies". Maybe some of those brain cells that I've allowed to die will re-surface after reading her blog. I can always hope, right? My curling iron factoid reminded her that her "mom once fried a blow dryer in Spain and tried to throw it out in the garbage in her hotel room. Each day the maid would fish it back out and put it on the dresser! (All the while wondering why the idiot American woman kept putting her things in the trash I'm sure.) She finally had to take it to a garbage can out on the street to get rid of it."

Tamara, the second half of Eastern Blog Country is an amazing mom. She's an in-person friend, and I'll always be thankful for her friendship when we lived on the East Coast. And, she's almost exactly my age.

Erin, The Pruetz Family author is a fellow momo mom, has a son that has had some major mishaps that left me astonished, and she's a journalist. Here's an amazing fact: when she was 16 years old, she could bench press 185 lbs.

80-100

The pressure is on. I'm going to try to make these interesting.

80. I had a babysitter once that left my sister and me alone, stole my mom's car and crashed into 9 cars trying to go down the hill.

81. My sister borrowed my curling iron while we were in London. Apparently my adapter didn't work correctly because when she rolled her hair onto the rod it sizzled and burned to a crisp. When she handed the curling iron back to me the rod melted off the handle.

82. I never liked being pregnant. Now I miss it.

83. I used to go to Jose Eber to get my hair cut once a year and the cut was so great it would last me at least 6 months. One time the stylist I usually used didn't show so I got a consultation with the flagrant man himself.

84. I make friends easily.

85. I wanted to be a school teacher until I had children of my own.

Have I mentioned that try to do everything the easy way? Here's a flashback for the remaining 15 factoids.

Whew, I LOVE that I did it. Check. The fun part is about to begin.

41-79

Keep those comments coming. I'm loving hearing about you.

41. I did not know that Poinsettia's could not tolerate the cold.
42. Jeff and I started dating our senior year of high school.
43. I like to be helpful.
44. I dropped out of college 2 classes shy of my bachelor's degree but then went back and completed my degree when Grace was 1.
45. When Jeff was hooded at his graduation ceremony I liked it so much that it made me want to get a graduate degree.
46. And then we went to St. Martin for vacation. Another reason to get a graduate degree.
47. I don't have a favorite color, favorite food, favorite song or favorite movie.
48. I rarely watch T.V. If I do, it's only bits and pieces.
49. I love to watch good dramas in the theatre.
50. When we lived in MA, I used to LOVE to go to Sturbridge Village and Concord.
51. I love history.
52. I took 3 years of French and managed to retain about two words.
53. I love it when babies have food all over their faces from enjoying their lunch or dinner.
54. I'd like to know how some people always manage to keep their kids clean.
55. I only allow washable markers in my house, and even those are kept under lock and key.
56. I love, love, love my husband.
57. I love, love, love my children.
58. My sister and I once got into a knock down drag out fight at school.
59. I'm terrible about proof reading what I write. Jeff always catches my misspelled words before they've been out there too long, though. If only I would take the time to do a spell check!
60. I was at a fair when I was in the 3rd grade where my step mom was selling crafts when the security guard told my step mom that a man had been trailing me all day. Scary.
61. We had a trampoline growing up, and I LOVED it. I'd go out back and just do flip after flip after flip. But only one flip at once. Too big of a scaredy cat to do more.
62. I really, really don't like whinning. By children or adults.
63. I got hit by a car when I was in the 6th grade and broke my tailbone. An ambulance, a fire truck and police all came with their bells and whistles. It was pretty overwhelming.
64. I've never broken a bone that needs a cast. Sigh. I always wanted to.
65. I've only had one speeding ticket.
66. I've only fainted once.
67. I had my wisdom teeth removed when I was 32.
68. I really don't like the dentist.
69. I have lots and lots of freckles.
70. The first new car I ever bought was an Acura Integra.
71. My sister and I bought a condo together when I was 18.
72. Ashley Tisdale is my absolute favorite Disney actress.
73. I've been known to tell my kids to shut up. I know, I know.
74. I used to want to be a lawyer when I grew up.
75. When I had my C-Section, I didn't even know I'd been cut open until I heard the amniotic fluid being sucked out.
76. I'm glad I'm wasn't a pioneer. I like modern conveniences and pain medication way. too. much.
77. If I had to choose one appliance that I think is totally dispensable, it would be an electric can opener.
78. I like managing things and people.
79. I would like to know why some people never feel the need to comment on blogs they visit. Ever. And this isn't meant as a hint. I'm seriously curious since I go to the other extreme of probably commenting too much....

Tell All Thursday. Because I can.

Cecily, over at My Chaos My Bliss has my admiration for finding 100 truly interesting things about herself. Her post (and blog for that matter) is one of my all time favorites, so in my tradition of sharing, I mean stealing, here's my pilfered attempt. Let's see if I can even come close. Here goes.

1. I have weird, and ugly I might add, feet. I think they must be double jointed because I can walk on them sort of bent in half. Not as easily as I used to though.
2. When I was in 4th grade a boy wrote on my shirt and as a result got sent to the principals office to be whipped. Yep, that used to happen. I still feel bad about it.
3. I peed my pants in kindergarten. And then had to stand outside during recess so everyone could see my tell tale stain.
4. I can't whistle. At all.
5. I love Twizzlers. Like love them. Could eat a whole bag. Or two.
6. I was born in the middle of a snow storm on the side of the road in the middle of no where. On April Fool's day. And, my dad delivered me. I guess the joke was on him.
7. I'm allergic to penicillin.
8. I have eye lash envy. The type that makes me jealous of others who have long full lashes.
9. Hands down, when I was in school I did the best on essay tests.
10. I love to read. Just about anything with words. Well, sort of.
11. I have had someone I love die as a result of homicide, and from A.I.D.S
12. I have yet to meet someone who has read and loves Villette by Charlotte Bronte as much as I do.
13. I don't like Character clothes. I really don't like character shoes. Especially if they light up.
14. The hardest job I ever had was as a hostess at Acapulco Restaurant.
15. I never thought I'd say this, but I miss California.
16. As a teenager, I got propositioned by a geriatric at a youth hostel in Germany.
17. One of my favorite cities in Europe is Dresden.
18. I would love to travel the world.
19. I have absolutely no musical ability. None.
20. I'm a poor loser.
21. I LOVE playing games.
22. I didn't know that milk comes out of the breast in more than one hole until I saw it with my own eyes.
23. I almost failed Calculus in College. But then I dropped out of the class instead.
24. I love potty humor. It gets me every time.
25. My husband and I got lost on our first date trying to find Ed Debevics.
26. I used to work in Hollywood where I saw first hand that many actors are really, really short.
27. I do NOT like sweet pickles.
28. My dad made a salmon casserole once that made me detest salmon forever.
29. I wear shoes as little as possible, and socks even less.
30. One of my most used and loved talents is my ability to spit ideas onto paper or the computer screen. Quickly.
31. I suck at miniature golf and bowling. And basically all organized sports.
32. When I was in elementary school I was really, really good at Chinese jump rope, hopscotch and handball.
33. I like to vacuum. I don't like to clean showers.
34. My favorite costume ever was as an Indian (as in Native American) with long black braids and tons of bronzer on my face and arms. No one knew it was me.
35. The thought of hunting for pleasure makes me sick.
36. I sold an article to the Ensign magazine, and it's slated to be published in April.
37. I do a lot of volunteer work.
38. I love to look through houses. Could totally dig being a realtor if the job didn't demand so much time.
39. I think Newbery Award winning books rock. The best of the best.
40. On the rare occasions that I get a manicure, I can't keep my fingernail polish from chipping for even one day.

I know I have a lot of work to do. Will keep my thinking cap on. In the tradition of Cecily's game, tell me something interesting about you, and I'll post it later on with something else I know about you.

Wordless Wednesday

Look what my friend Bev sent me.

Grinchy, grinch.

That's me.

I wish I didn't have a touch of the grinch. I love being busy. And I'm SO busy this time of year. I just hate that sometimes it's an obligated, time-is-running-out, better get it done or feel terrible kind of busy. I need a little less grinch and a whole lot more true holiday cheer.

My cousin just posted this on her blog and I couldn't have said it better:

"I really just want to feel a little of that *PEACE* that only can be gained I suppose by constant reflection upon our Savior, and gratitude for His birth, life, and sacrifice on our behalf. My goal this next two weeks (ack! is that all that's left?!) is to focus on the things that can't be bought, or made even, that can be gained only through quiet contemplation. I sincerely hope you are all having PEACE at this hectic time".

Bloggapedia?

Member? If so, rate my blog. But be kind, please.

http://www.bloggapedia.com/Personal_Blogs/Family/Kids/

Need Extra Money for the Holidays?

Just loose a few teeth. That's what Emma is planning on doing.

She and I were discussing ways that she can make some money to buy some presents and she said, "well, maybe I'll lose like 3 teeth". Problem solved. I wonder how much she thinks the tooth fairy pays per tooth? If only it were so easy.

Conversations with Santa

Took the kidlets to see Santa for a Primary activity on Saturday and it turns out Santa was their uncle. I think even the twins may have known because they were pretty comfortable on his lap, considering. When Garrett had completed his turn I asked him whose lap he had sat on. He said, "Santa Cause. But it was really Jeremy". The best part? Jeremy's kids didn't know it was their dad even after conversing with him on his lap. Shuush. Don't tell. Jacob telling Santa he's been a good boy. A bold faced lie at 2!

John's a little unsure..."have I been a good boy?"

Emma tells Santa she wants the "Emma baby doll".


Always in pose mode. Love that smile. He didn't even bother asking what she wanted.......

All Garrett wants is a gun and a frisbee.

I *HEART* this kid.

Let me just say upfront, I *heart* all my children, but this post is specifically about Garrett. He is just such a sweet, good natured, almost never gets in trouble, fun to be around kid. These pictures capture his essence perfectly. I *HEART* Garrett with all my heart.

My Little Song bird

did a fantabulous job at her winter recital. Glad she didn't inherit my musical disabilities.

We're all about trial and error, here.

This is what happens when duct tape comes into contact with one's lips and then gets removed.

Next experiment: let's see what Grace does when she finds out I published this. :)

Free shipping, guys

EDITED:
Thanks to all of you that gave me gifts. So much fun to play until someone nasty decided to play along. 49,000 dirty gifts to me. No THANKS.

Christmas Tree Tips.

Tips for making your Christmas Tree decorating day a success:

1. Don't take someone's word for it that the base of the tree is cut evenly. Check yourself.

2. If your tree takes 2 hours to get to stand up straight and then it still begins to lean, do not proceed. Take Tree out to stand and cut the base level.

3. If you did happen to already decorate it, and then it falls, don't dispair. It can be fixed.

4. Just take every blasted ornament off the tree, and remove the lights. Take the tree out of the stand, clean up the spilled water. Re-level the base. AND START OVER.

5. Once your tree is level, stable, decorated and in it's splendor, keep your kids away from it.

6. I'm convinced trees DO not like to be redecorated no less than 51.5 times a day.

And now you know why I'm a humbug.

My Favorite Day (Date)

Here's a recycled post for Sunday Scribblings:

Michelle over at Scribbit is hosting a December Write-away contest and I decided to write-along.



I have a lot of favorite days but one that clearly stands out in my mind is the day that my whole family was reunited after months of separation. Friends, family and old blogging friends will know exactly what I'm talking about, and I apologize up front because sometimes I feel like I'm playing the same old tune, but I think one has to experience what I went through to appreciate that 2 years later, the memories are still fresh, sometimes raw even in my mind.



One of the worst days of my life led to one of the best days of my life, and for that dichotomy, that stark discovery from dark and light, I'm thankful. That bleak day began with excited plans for a full anatomy scan of the baby I was carrying with a Maternal Fetal Medicine Specialist. I had nagging feelings that something wasn't right, but I was optimistic just the same that we'd find out the sex of the baby and feel confident in our decision to move to a new state THAT WEEK with a slight lapse in medical insurance coverage. Our life was packed, a house purchased, and we were ready to go. And then the appointment happened. The Ultra sound technician put the conducting gel on my stomach, added the wand, and viola! I saw a dismembered baby. To my horror it dawned on me that my baby had a stomach that was not attached to it's head. The technician was very surprised and kept looking at my notes. Nowhere on my referral file did it mention TWINS. Not the kind that are dismembered (it was two heads I saw, not a free floating stomach and head), but the kind that are so rare most people have never heard of them. So rare and high risk that they were only given a 50% chance of survival, and a whole treatment plan had to be set up including a prolonged hospitalization for the 3 of us.

Within weeks I was in the hospital. The babies heartrates were continuously monitored to make sure that if there was cord compression they could be taken, and the burden of carrying on with life without a wife and mother fell to my husband and family. I spent 10 weeks in the hospital, doing everything I could to bring home two babies if we were lucky. Babies that we knew would certainly be premature and have a rough start in life. Our family life together was the price we gratefully paid, but it wasn't easy.

When the babies were born on their scheduled date at 33 weeks gestation we were elated. When we found out that their cords were entertwined with 8 knots we were humbled. When we saw that they had signs of late onset of Twin to Twin Transfusion Syndrome there was no doubt that a miracle had happened in our lives.

The time they spent in the NICU (Neonatal Intensive Care Unit) was relatively short and blessedly uneventful, but it was a taxing time. Trying to heal from the C-Section, nurture the children that I hadn't lived with for 10 weeks, get back into a routine at home and go back and forth from the NICU was trying. The kids wanted to see the babies they had sacrificed for, and more than anything, we wanted the ordeal to be over and our family to be together.

My favorite day was when that happened. We bundled up our 2 little almost 5 lb. monoamniotic babies, said farewell to life in the hospital, brought them home, loved them up, and haven't looked back.

A little Bling.....

is added at the bottom of my blog, but it's not complete without you. Show some holiday spirit and add a little bling to my blog by signing my guestbook.

Merry Christmas to me, Merry Christmas to me.......

You've probably noticed that in the past few months I've been playing around with headers that Melissa at Are you Serious! designed for me. I've loved the creativity and originality of the headers. But, then the headers were not enough. I got greedy and wanted to whole new over-haul. Once again Melissa humored me and got to work. I'm so incredibly excited and pleased with the results. My very own custom blog. Now, here's my shout out to Melissa......she is a blog design wizard, as well as an incredible scrapbooker and busy mamma for 4, including twins. And she has a great telephone voice. She has learned blog design by trial and error all on her own. She isn't afraid of HTML code like I am and is willing to experiment. She is willing to manipulate headers and possibly do blog re-designs like mine. If you're smart though you'll contact her soon because I have a feeling she is going to be one busy designer soon. You know, in her spare time.

Memory Monday

One that I will never forget.
Grace's first play date without mom.
My last post brought back this Kafkaesque (that's the nice way of saying nightmarish) day.
A good reminder to all that scissors are best hidden under lock and key.

And just so you know, everyone said I'd be able to laugh about it one day. I *STILL* can't, and it's been FIVE years.

Dumber Mom Award

I would have awarded myself just the Dumb Mom Award, but I think I deserve the Dumber Mom Award for this one.

scissors (used with a sing. or pl. verb) A cutting implement consisting of two blades joined by a swivel pin that allows the cutting edges to be opened and closed.

Dumb: allowing Grace to have a pair in her room against my better judgement

Dumber: trying to take scissors away from Juannie when said blades joined by a swivel pin are open and he's holding the scissors with both hands. His first cutting experience was a success. I have a huge V shaped cut on my thumb. Job well done.

Award definitely deserved.

Tiki can read my mind.......

He disappeared this morning and wouldn't answer when I called for him. First clue that he was into BIG trouble. I went searching and found him in Emma's room. Wearing a necklace and at least 4 rings. He had a purse on his arm, lipgloss in his hand and markers with the felt pieces pulled out all around him. After his solitary free-for-all was interrupted and he saw my face, I didn't have to say a word. He just answered the question. Cuz. Short for Because.

Mice peanut butter?

I was making Garrett a peanut butter sandwich for lunch when he asked me, "is that mice peanut butter?" Huh? "do you mean lots? are you saying 'much peanut butter'?" "NO! Mice peanut butter". Repeat, please?

Apparently there are two kinds at my house. The one for human consumption, and the other kind (sorry Jiff) that serves as the last meal for the mice under our house. I thought there was just smooth or chunky. Not so!

Christmas Favorites anyone?

Mama of 6 published this list on her blog, Truly Delightful in Every Way, and although I usually hate this sort of thing, I liked the festive feel of it. Not surprisingly, as I was answering the questions, I realized I'm really kind of a hum bug. I'm super interested in your answers though. So, leave a comment or publish on your blog. Let's spread the fun.

So, here are the questions and my grinchy answers:

1. Favorite winter beverage? hot cider
2. Fave Christmas candy? See's chocolates, nuts and chews only
3. Fave candy cane flavor? color? not a candy cane fan
4. Favorite christmas cookie? good old oatmeal chocolate chip
5. Favorite Christmas song? to sing? to listen to? Silent night to listen to, Rudolph to sing with my kids.
6. Fave Christmas movie? The Christmas Story
7. Fave christmas story? the story of Jesus' birth
8. Fave christmas colors? red
9. actual color scheme for your decor? mostly traditional red and green, but I did decorate one tree in silver, turquiose, magenta, orange, green and blue.
10. Fave christmas tradition? as a kid? with your own family? opening one gift on Christmas Eve after dinner and family program.
11. Tree topper? star? Angel? other? angel
12. Christmas lights display?your house? to drive by? small bulbs? large bulbs? white? multi colored? simple? Griswald? simple. small. white.
13. fave holiday icon collection?? Santa? nativity? snowmen? Fenton nativity and Santa Clauses

13.5. Christmas card? letter? picture? last year I did a card and picture. This year? who knows.

14. what is more fun for you White Elephant? or Draw secret Santa names? Secret Santa
15. Holiday budget? extravagant or low budget? what do you wish it was? moderate
16. Tree? real or fake? prelit ? Green or flocked? REAL and green.
17. best gifts are? homemade? or store bought? both. Depends on what it is. I don't want say a homemade DVD player or IPOD.
18. which is better in your opinion? surprises galore? or being sneaky and peeking? PEEKING. PEEKING, and more PEEKING.
19. do you do thank you cards for christmas gifts? I try to, but sometimes I just don't meet that goal. I do think thank you cards should be sent though.

I couldn't resist stealing these....

from Carrie over at Keiser Family. Who are you?

Take the Quiz here!

How do you rate?

You Are a Smart American

You know a lot about US history, and you're opinions are probably well informed. Congratulations on bucking stereotypes. Now go show some foreigners how smart Americans can be.

Are You a Dumb American?

You're To Kill a Mockingbird!

by Harper Lee

Perceived as a revolutionary and groundbreaking person, you have
changed the minds of many people. While questioning the authority around you, you've
also taken a significant amount of flack. But you've had the admirable guts to
persevere. There's a weird guy in the neighborhood using dubious means to protect you,
but you're pretty sure it's worth it in the end. In the end, it remains unclear to you
whether finches and mockingbirds get along in real life.


Take the Book Quiz
at the Blue Pyramid.

And from Arizona's blog Peace, Love and Vegetables, I took this:

What Classic Movie Are You?
personality tests by similarminds.com

Feels like I've been gone so long.....

Here's to randomness (if that's even a word) since I don't even know where to begin......

I'm super bummed that I missed a nostalgic "I'm thankful" post. I just can't bring myself to write it now though. Guess I'll keep my list rattling around in my brain this year.

The twin dogs officially turned 2. We went all out. Sang happy birthday to them. Thought about having a get together to celebrate but went out to dinner instead. Without kids. Including the twins. I don't know if they appreciate my gift to them yet, (taking away their bottles) but they are doing fabulously. I can see them eating us out of house and home.

Had a nice Thanksgiving with Jeff's family and dessert with my sister and her family. Didn't cook a thing. Not a thing. Weird. But I'm not complaining. Loved it. Everyone said something they were thankful for. My husband said he was thankful for me. My heart melted.

Accomplished one goal while I was in Southern CA. Went to the Mattel outlet store and stocked up on gifts for my kids to give at birthday parties. I was almost banned from shopping there again on vacation since the gifts take up all extra space in the van (I do this every year), but I got some mega deals, and when one's children get invited to about 10 birthday parties a year each, it pays to have toys on hand. Jeff says that when birds fly over me they say, "cheap, cheap", but I think he's secretly pleased that I saved him a bunch of money. At least that's what I tell myself.

Stretched ourselves thin trying to see family and didn't have time to visit even one friend.

Did I mention that my dad flew up to visit us for a few days before Thanksgiving? It was great.

I can tell I was tired when I wrote this because I thought this was worth mentioning: On the way home I swear I saw a cow putting out the vibe. I had forgotten that this is sort of an inside joke, but putting out the vibe is standing with your back to someone sticking your butt out, like Jim Carey does. The cow in question was right by the freeway with his/her butt to the traffic with it's front legs bent so it's back side was directly at us.

My kids are super travellers. I mean amazing. It took us 18 hours to get to Los Angeles, and the twins only got out of their car seats for 10 minutes once. No complaints. None.

My new favorite dessert is a pumpkin cake (the recipe calls it Pumpkin bars, but I think it's more like a cake) that my friend Shannon shared on her blog. I love BBQ'd carne asada, fresh pico de gallo, and grilled green onions sprinkled with lemon and salt.

When I'm "home" in Oregon I miss Del Taco and In and Out.

Bought our Christmas trees tonight. Douglas Firs. One is 10 feet, one is 6. $30 bucks total. Yep, $30 bucks. I think Christmas trees are the one good bargain here. Jeff put the Christmas lights up on the house, too. It's beginning to look alot like Christmas. See what delirium does to me? I start singing Christmas songs.

I've missed blogging and your commets.

OK. Done. Finito. Off to bed I go.

On the road again......

I'll be back to the blogging world, soon. Promise.

FOUR word Wednesday

Drove 1,000 miles today.

Pre-Birthday Bash

We decided to kick off the twins SECOND birthday with an early bash.....Happy early Birthday to my sweet, naughty, adorable, fiesty, loveable, surprising, tenacious, miracle boys.

Jacob
John

Jacob

Daddy and John

Mommy and John

Hey guys, check me out........

I'm a featured blogger over at the Mom Salon. It's a post you've all seen, only the one you saw was revised. I'm sort of embarrassed that they published my "I don't know what Blog" means business, but I submitted it the Mom Salon, not thinking there was a chance they'd pick it to be featured so it didn't matter anyway. The best part? The Mom Salons slogan is "Where Women Find the Smartest Mom Blogs". Er, except for this one, apparently. Oh well........go see me in lights.

http://www.themomsalon.com/whydoyoublog.htm

The answer is:

Emma

It's been fun, Dr. Brown.........

but you're banned.

That's right. I decided to give the twins a gift for their 2nd birthday. The gift of taking away their life line. Not nice, I know. I decided on Wednesday that they've had bottles for long enough and I'm sick of them. They LOVE their bottles and drink way more milk than they need to, but more than that, their bottles are their safety net. They wanted to carry them around at all times like a blanket, and it was getting old. Plus, Jacob started biting holes in the nipples and it was getting expensive to replace them. So, they gave me a gift in return. Dry diapers. Yep. They are showing me. Take away our bottles and we won't eat or drink. A real treat to not have to change their diapers, but worrisome all the same. I'm expecting that today they'll give in and eat and drink. They better. This is rough. On all of us. But I'm not giving in.

And the winner is.........

ME! I'm SO excited. Melissa, mastermind behind Hope for the Hopeless had a "lunch on her at Panera Bread" giveaway and I won. I was so excited that I had to call Jeff at work to tell him how thrilled I was. I won! I won! My luck is changing. I can feel it.

And now for the lucky recipient of my first ever blog giveaway:

Tamara, it's your lucky day. Jeremiah (lucky number 12) won my 200th post giveaway. Hope you both enjoy it!

Research Randomizer Results
1 Set of 1 Unique Numbers Per SetRange: From 1 to 40 -- Unsorted
Job Status:
Set #1:
12

Timber............

Do any of you live in a Tree City USA? If you do, you'll understand the frustration that comes with needing proper authorization to remove trees on your property. We've had this blue cedar in our front yard majestically cracking our driveway, blocking the view of our house, dripping sap, shedding needles and pods and driving me crazy since we've lived here. We finally got the permit to cut down the tree, and I couldn't have been happier. Until I saw the tree on it's decent to oblivion. Then I got this really sick feeling in my stomach. We electively killed a really beautiful tree because it was a nuisance. One can actually see our house from the street now, and I'm thrilled about how it looks, but I still feel a tad sad. Part of that may be though that now I either have to get window coverings or stop scampering around in things I don't want my neighbors to see me in. Sigh.

Going, going, gone.

The tree pre-death.

200th POST!

*NEW POSTS ARE BELOW THIS ONE UNTIL CONTEST IS OVER*

Drum roll please..........

Why I BLOG

Melissa over at Hope for the Hopeless gave me the inspiration for this post. Thanks, Melissa.

Someone recently asked me what "blog" stood for since I am a regular blogger. I researched (for about 2 seconds) didn't find anything promising and then CecilyR suggested WEBLOG, which is the correct answer. I guess when it come down to it though, it doesn't matter, BLOG just sounds fun. And that's one of the things that I love about blogging. It brings me hours of enjoyment and I LOVE that I can let my fingers fly and throw out there whatever suits my fancy that day. Inane musings, life lessons, funny and touching things that happen. Every once in awhile I even produce something of quality. A blog can encompass past, present and future. It can be anything one wants it to be. Gotta love that!

I appreciate instant formatting. I appreciate the ability to add personal touches and fun pictures. I really appreciate that unsung hero that made blogging possible for people like me. And, I can't tell my friends, blogging aquaintances, and family how much their comments mean to me.

And now for the fun part......my first give away. Come out, come out, where ever you are. I would LOVE to see who actually visits my blog. I'll leave this post on top for two weeks and at the end of that time a random number will be drawn. If that number corresponds to your comment number, then you will be the lucky recipient of..........................a $20.00 gift card to Bath and Body Works. Indulge a little!

Four eyes *ARE* better than two...

Wanna play a game? The game is: guess which one of my sweeties got to pick out some super cute glasses yesterday? Have you seen the frames they have for children now? Ultra stylish. I took my mystery child to the optometrist yesterday because a letter arrived saying the child had failed the school vision test. Apparently the child's eye has a turn or tilt (not apparent with the naked eye) so depth perception is lacking, plus one eye is nearsighted, and there is a stigmatism. Getting glasses this young is a great thing because the eye and brain connections are still developing and having glasses can allow those connections to be made properly, hopefully allowing the child to grow out of the need for glasses. We're optimistic! I know first hand how annoying glasses and contacts can be, so I'm sympathetic, but if the child does not grow out of glasses, it's totally OK, the child looks "to die for" in glasses. Makes me want to get some "dummy" glasses just because they are cute. And here's some trivia for you......did you know they have to dilate children's eyes to get the correct prescription? The great reveal will be coming soon......as soon as the glasses are made and I can snap a picture! :)

Do you see what I see?

I just *don't* get it. I wish I could say this was the first time Jacob has stuck something up his nose, but it's not. John likes to put things in his ears. What is the fascination? I'll never know. I hope they get their fill soon though. I don't relish fishing things out of noses or ears. Especially things that don't belong there.

Who do YOU look like?

This is hilarious. Upload a picture of yourself and it'll tell you what famous person you most resemble.
http://www.myheritage.com/FP/Company/tryFaceRecognition.php

I tried a couple different pictures and each time it gave me different results. Some of them are Delta Goodrem (whoever that is), Kirsten Dunst (when Spiderman came out I did get lots of kids asking if I was Spidermans girl friend), Julianne Moore (I get told I look like her the most-but always when I'm thinner) and my all time favorite: Harvey Keitel.

It said Grace looked most like Alexandre Dumas, Julia Styles, Dennis Rodman and Michael Jackson. Um, OK. Had me laughing out loud though.

Emma looked like Jennifer Love Hewitt, Sophia Xie, Emily Watson, and Harvey Keitel (OK, so Emma and I must be related) while Garrett most resembled Jessie Jackson, Leonardo Di Caprio and Shirley Temple.

Jeff: Tony Blair and Joe Pesci.

Also, upload a picture(s) of your family and see who your children look like the most.

Guitar Hero

Has it invaded your home yet?

Fifteen years.

Jeff reminded me today that it has been 15 years since he asked me to be his girlfriend. Whew! That's like half our lives. Crazy. This is a picture from our carefree days of only having one child.

Just thought I'd throw this out there.....

I have no idea what I'm doing. I have 5 kids and there is something about the learning curve that just isn't sinking in. I'd like to know where to find the manual that tells me how to keep the twins out of trouble. The boys get into about 10 times the trouble that my "singletons" got into at the same age. And so, for my higher order multiple mother friends, if the trouble is expotentially greater with each additonal same gestational child, I DO NOT know how you are sane (um, if you are still sane after reading that sentence that just kept going). Here, I'll say it. Sometimes the twins (well, Jacob, really) make me crazy.

From this post this you might get the impression that today is a particularly rough day. It's not. I just wanted to say it. Sometimes they make me crazy. Done!

I *HeArT* Japanese Maples

One of the best things about fall around here are the Japanese maples. Right when all the leaves that *were* glorious have turned brown and fallen off the trees, and you think if you have to rake up one more leaf you'll commit suicide, the Japanese maples pop. It's like a second fall and it's a reminder how wonderful autumn really is........even if it doesn't last as long as I'd like.

This little game

The kids and I play this little game.....well, let me amend that. I always try to make the kids play the "back guessing game" since I get a free back tickle out of it, but it goes like this: The kids draw a number, letter or shape on my back with their finger and I guess what it is. Tonight Garrett and I had this converstation:

Garrett, "what number is it, mommy?"
Me, "Um, a 12?"
Garrett, "NO, MOMMY! It's an F!"

Words that make me run, not walk......

"MOM! The twins got in your make-up!"

The thoughts that ran through my mind as I was sprinting upstairs: "crap, why did I forget to put it back after cleaning the bathroom? Please, please only be on the twins, and please, please let my lipstick and lipliner be intact".
Whew......it was. Just a little mascara.

Here's my question: do you think they applied the mascara to their own faces, and then passed on the wand, or do you think they applied mascara to each others faces?

I'm thinking they decorated their own faces and then decided to be good little sharers.

Loving my new header...

and it's all thanks to Melissa over at Are you Serious? I bought a bundle of headers without realizing that I'd need special software to manipulate them. Duh! Right? So I asked Melissa for help and she inserted pictures and text into all of them for me. It was such a nice thing to do and is a shining example of her obvious kindness and willingness to help. For nothing. I so appreciate all the time she put into helping me out, and now I get to enjoy her labors each and every day.

Happy Birthday to SevEn cLoWn CirCuS

Happy Birthday to you. Happy Birthday to you. Happy Birthday dear blog. Happy Birthday to you..........

2007 Halloween Retrospective

Cowboy 1 & 2, pirate, witch, vampire
All were on their rounds last night, sometimes in ire;
In the moon's golden ray,
Collecting candy in their own unique way.

Juannie says "sanks" and then turns back around for more,

Jacob says "trick" and holds his bag wide as if the candy will pour,

Garrett, Emma and Grace all on a race.

Today it's begs to shove that candy in their face.

This is what happens when mommy gets the kids ready (for a Trunk or Treat last weekend), and when daddy gets the kids ready (for real Trick or Treating). Um, can you tell he's a little better with accessories and makeup?

Jacob (L), John (R)

Jacob (L), John (R)

Garrett

Emma

Grace (my SIL, Jan actually did Grace's make-up after Jeff told her his vision)