Sunday, December 28, 2008

Christmas Recap

Christmas Eve we went to my Dad's house where the boys got a bike and were super excited.




Christmas Day we opened gifts here at the house and then went to my Mom's house for yummy food.




I think everyone had a really nice Christmas, it was possibly one of my favorites.


My mom, granny, and sibling and thier spouses and kids.


My step-brother, My two sisters, me and my brother.

Friday, December 26, 2008

Seriously

I found out that my shirt appeared see-thru only after Jimmy took a photo of me in it. Seriously, how did I not notice this? Thankfully I didn't leave the house today, but I did have some family over. Sheesh, sorry guys. I will not be wearing that shirt again.

Christmas photos to come in the next day or so, when I can weed through them.

Wednesday, December 24, 2008

The Wrecking Crew

Is is just my kids who get totally besides themselves with joy when they make a huge mess? I'm talking belly laughs, squealing and running around like crazies.


Karter wouldn't wear the Santa hat for me, but Kolton would.
Merry Christmas everyone. Tonight we will be going to my dad to tear into some presents and enjoy the company of family.

Wednesday, December 17, 2008

Bunch of Thanks and The One Were She Was Sick

Thank you everyone who visited and commented on the Holiday Tour. I thought that was fun and I spent way to much time looking at other people's blogs. I like to see in other people's houses, I like to see how they decorate and what their stuff looks like. And now I have several new blogs I will be visiting.

We have still been sick. Not only is everyone in this house sick but my mom has the same thing. Hopefully the rest of the family will not get it but we were all together at a funeral the other day.
I have choir practice tomorrow and I feel much like Phoebe did on that Friends episode when she was sick and her voice changed, although I don't think I sound better like she did and I won't be singing Smelly Cat, but dangit now that song is stuck in my head. I suppose I will go to practice tomorrow, see what happens and then decide if I can still participate in the actual program. I don't want my squeaky voice messing things up.

Christmas is getting closer and I still have a few things to get and I have it all to wrap. I can't wait to get with family and see all the kids play and eat yummy holiday food.

Oh and several post back Jennifer commented on one of my posts. Jennifer are you still reading this? Jennifer was one of our favorite nurses while the boys were in the NICU, she took excellent care of them. Jennifer, I just wanted to let you know how nice it was to hear from you. I still think about all you guys, it's nice to know you haven't forgotten us either. Thank you for the NICU address I will be sending a Christmas Card. I've said this so many times but even though the Nurses in the NICU are just doing their jobs they really make a huge impact on so many lives. Thank you so much for taking such good care our our babies while in the hospital.

Here's a picture of Kolton taking his nap a few days ago. This was when he felt at his worse. He wanted to wear these gloves and he wore them all day.

Monday, December 15, 2008

Holiday Tour 2008

While visiting Angie's I found a link to BooMama's blog. She's having a holiday tour and has evidently been doing it for several years. I though, how fun, I want to join in and so I am. Here's a tour of our decorated house this year.


BooMamaChristmasTour

This year we did not do outside lights. Having moved to our new house just this summer we are still a bit unorganized. Basically we don't have enough outside lights so we will have to wait until we can get some more next year or when they go on sale after Christmas. We still have a house on the market and I don't feel like buying more lights at this time is a necessity so it shall wait.

I did however put this pretty wreath up on the front door.


In side the front door and to your left is the formal dinning room, only we don't use it for that, we use it for a sitting room and the dogs sleep in there. Eventually, it will be a beautiful family room.


(here's one of the dogs now. This is Zeeo our 9 year old Great Dane. It's very cold out today and Zeeo hates the cold.)

Just inside the front door is the foyer. To the right I have this table with these two little snowmen that I made pre-twins, actually like 8 years or so pre-twins. Wow, I didn't even realize they were that old.

Just after this table is another little tree. This tree was sitting on the front porch and it looked really nice there, but it kept blowing down so I brought it in. Now the cat likes to knock the ribbons off it.

Just past this little tree is the living room and the stockings.

BooMama asked that we share a snack with you so I'd like to offer you a peanut butter cookies. I found the recipe in one of my Parenting magazines.

1 cup sugar

1 cup peanut butter

1 egg

mix all together, form 1in balls, roll cookie ball in sugar, place on cookie sheet, smash cookie in criss cross pattern with fork. Bake 10 mins at 375. I skipped rolling them in sugar and instead placed a Hershey kiss on at the end.

As you leave you will see Santa sitting above the door.

I love Christmas and Santa is great but let us not forget the true meaning of Christmas. Our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ.

(Sorry you can't read this and I don't have time to fix it at the moment but it reads:)

And you shall have joy and gladness; and many shall rejoice at his birth

Luke 1:14

Sunday, December 14, 2008

Christmas Card 2008

After I made my header for December I decided that I would make our Christmas cards this year as well.

Everyone's in the mail if I've forgotten anyone let me know and I'll send you one. And yes it does look very similar to my blog header.

We've all been sick this past week and today. First it was Karter with cold symptoms with a fever, then daddy got it then I got it and now Kolton has it. He has been running a low grade fever for two days now. I've been doing a lot of waking up at night taking temps and giving meds and comforting little boys that don't feel well. I've also been waking up trying to breath myself. I'll be glad when it's over.

Oh, and big boy beds are still going good. No one has tried to get out of them, not even when they were sick. I hope it stays that way and we are able to just move into them with no issues. So far so good.

Friday, December 12, 2008

American Idol-Church Edition

I signed up for the Christmas Church Choir, we have had 2 practices so far. I always go into new things feeling insecure and unsure of my abilities but I trudge on knowing that in the end I will be glad I moved forward. With that said last night really tested those insecurities. We were placed in our respective groups, Men in men section, women divided up into alto's and soprano's, I can sing both but was put into the soprano's. I haven't sang in public or in a group setting for years. The first practice was good, no one really knew what was going or or what was expected.

The second practice was better until the person beside me got up and moved. She actually moved to another seat two rows behind me. Now, here is where my insecurities kick in. I admit I was listening to her to hear our part mostly because I was sitting in between her and the beginning of the alto's. I could hear both parts and wanted to make sure I was singing the right keys. And then she moved, leaving a seat empty between the lady next to her and me. After about 10 mins or so the lady on the other side of her voiced her concern that it was her that had made the lady move. Really, who knows why she moved. Maybe it was me, maybe it was the lady on her other side and maybe it was neither of us, but I was surprised at how quickly I assumed it was me.

I felt much like those American Idol contestants who just know they can sing and then are told quit frankly that they cannot only sing, but they sing horrible, the worst they have ever heard. And here's where I get a little confident. I know I can sing. It has been confirmed many times by credible sources. Not just my parents and friends, but a college establishment who gave me a scholarship for my first two years of college to sing in their college contemporary band. A college won't just give you money for their school and tell you to represent them if you can't sing.

So I will continue knowing I can sing but being insecure and unsure of myself right until the Christmas choir is over.

Wednesday, December 10, 2008

Big Boy Beds

Last night while I was in Kolton's room with the boys playing I asked him if he was ready to sleep in a big boy bed. Usually he says no, but this time he said yes and went to the rail of his crib and said take it off. Karter also said he was ready too and joined his brother in the chant of "take this rail off".

Kolton's bed

So daddy go the tools off and converted the cribs to toddler beds. Karter sleep like he always does and didn't wake or fall out of the bed. Kolton however woke every two hours and called out for me. Neither one of us got much sleep. Karter took his nap today in his bed and did great. They don't realize that they can get out of the bed yet. I hope they continue to think that you can't get out of it because when they do there's going to be trouble for me.

Karter's bed

Hopefully tonight will go better for Kolton. So far so good, he was so tired he fell asleep on me before bedtime and I've yet to hear a peep.

As a weird side note, I let one of the dogs out at 6:30 this morning to go to the bathroom, by that point I had moved to the couch because I was up so much it was disturbing Jimmy. Anyway, I let him out at 6:30 and let him back in 10 mins later. I laid back down on the couch and woke up at 7:15. From the couch I could see a dog sitting on our back porch. I check and all our dogs were in their beds. Some strange dog jumped the fence or something and was huddled on the back porch. It appeared to be someones well cared for pet. Jimmy opened the gate and the dog left, hopefully he/she finds their way home.

Tuesday, December 09, 2008

Out My Backdoor





Sunday, December 07, 2008

It's Been A Long Day

The boys didn't nap today. Kolton didn't nap yesterday either. Both Jimmy and I were tired today. The boys were overtired so they were super hyper and neither one acted as if their ears worked at times. Both went to timeout for opening the back door and running outside and then not minding me when I told them to get into the house. Jimmy normally says on Sunday's "hmm back to work on Monday" clearly not wanting to go, but today he said "back to work on Monday" said with a much more optimistic tone.


After the very busy day we had, we put them to bed 30 mins early. This is what I found when I went in to check on them.

How can you not love the little guys no matter how busy they were today.

Friday, December 05, 2008

My Thoughts on Recent Shows.

Every time I see the Polar Express I wonder why they made Tom Hanks charactor the Conductor so harsh at times. He speaks harshly to the kids. Why? What is the point in that, why isn't he all happy go lucky. Also Santa looks kinda scary at times. Especially, when he hands the bell back to the little boy, who's name escapes me at the time. Anyway I like my Santa's jolly, ya know, like the song says. Jolly ole Saint Nick.

Secondly, what is up with the whole Denny/Izzy thing on Gray's Anatomy. I don't really like that whole story line. Once again what's the point. I'm confused and why can she touch him much less uhh have sex with him. That's just weird. I really like the show but not liking that story line so much. I'll be glad when it's over. Oh and I'm not digging Torres being a lesbian all the sudden either.

Thirdly, why did they take Journey Man off? I loved that show it was much like Quantum Leap, which I also loved. However, the leading guy on journey man now plays Christina's boyfriend on Gray's Anatomy.

And this is totally off the subject of tv shows, but I just discovered these, the cherry cordial kind. They are delish and so not going to help me lose the weight. I did however get on the elliptical today and the day before yesterday.

ElfYourself 2008

It's that time again folks. Time to get your dance on.

You have a choice this year. You can watch us dance a country dance(top one) or you can watch us dance the Charlston(bottom one) these always make me laught. Enjoy!

Send your own ElfYourself eCards



Send your own ElfYourself eCards

Wednesday, December 03, 2008

And Some More Things I Thought I Would Never Say

"Karter don't wipe your nose on the couch"

"Kolton don't wipe your nose on my shirt"

Tuesday, December 02, 2008

There's a What in the What

Today on his way to work Jimmy called me and said he found a quarter sticking out of his CD player in his car. He then tried to put a CD in and it wouldn't go. He discovered that one of the boys has stuffed change in his CD player. We assume it happened this weekend when they were playing in the car as daddy cleaned the garage. So now he has to take the CD player out and get the change out.

This morning on my way to take a shower. Kolton came and was telling me something about the TV cable in our room. He had pulled on it and disconnected it not only from the wall but from the little thing that screws into the wall.

Then this evening before I cleaned the toys up. I was sitting on the couch and I noticed something in the fireplace keyhole. On closer inspection Jimmy found out it was a piece of cheese that the boys had just been eating. We were sitting right there and neither one of us saw them do it.

These boys are mischievous I tell ya.

Saturday, November 29, 2008

In a Slump

I've been in a blogger slump for the past week or so. I have some pictures that I need to go through that I have taken over the Thanksgiving holiday. I hope to do that tonight and maybe they will prompt me to have a decent post. Until then know we're here and fine.

Tuesday, November 25, 2008

My Medical Mess and Rock N Roll

Oy, where do I start? A few weeks back I mentioned that I thought I was having gallbladder issues. I went to the doctor, he confirmed that, that is indeed what it sounded like but sent me to have an ultrasound of my gallbladder to confirm it. The ultrasound showed nothing wrong with my gallbladder but it did show that I had "spots" on my liver. My doctor said that it looked to be a Hemangioma but we would do a catscan of my liver to confirm. It was in fact a hemangioma and I don't really need to worry about it. They don't seem to cause any issues.
That's just part one of the story. Part two is that for two years I've been having back and leg issues. Recently my leg began to hurt so bad that I could hardly stand on it. My gallbladder/liver issue was going on at the same time so I wanted to have it looked at. Of course my mind began to wonder and think that maybe I had some sort of cancer in my leg and it was spreading to my liver. Yeah, I know sometimes I get carried away. Anyway, I was sent to orthopedics were they sent me to have x-rays on my neck, back, and hips. The x-rays showed that I have Spondylolisthesis. Basically my L5 vertebra is slipping over my L6 causing pinched nerves, which in turn is what is causing my back and leg pain. Sooooo, are you tired yet, I am being sent to Physical Therapy where they have put me in traction, hooked me up to some electro stimulation and taught me some exercises. He also added that I need to lose significant weight or face horrible back surgery. Um, so yeah that's whats been going on around here along with the typical stuff that goes on with two, two year olds.
I know I need to lose weight. I recently lost 22lbs, I have gained about 6 of that back, but I need to lose more, which as any of you out there who have lost weight before know it is no easy task. Especially when you have two picky eaters in the house and you seem to always be rushing around. Anyway, I have to stop the excuses and just do it because I DON'T want surgery.
Now on to the Rock N Roll. The boys love to sing they use any and every thing as a microphone. It's cute. Their cute.



Even with everything I've stated above I have to say I'm thankful that even though I have minor issues my body is still healthy considering all the stress I have put it through. I am able to see my to crazies sing and dance and jump and run and most times I can get right in there with them too. I might feel like a mac truck hit me afterwards but I'm working on that.

Sunday, November 23, 2008

It's that time of year again.

Being that it's close to Thanksgiving and Christmas I have been busy. Too busy to update lately. I hosted Thanksgiving that was also a surprise birthday party for my mom at my house last night. It was nice to have the family all together.

While doing all my cooking I listened to Mark Driscoll a lot. I like his approach, it's straight to the point and he covers a lot of things that we have everyday questions to.

Tuesday, November 18, 2008

Cushion Jumpers

The other day while I was vacuuming the never ending crumbs from under the couch cushions, the boys figured out they could jump from one cushion to the next. They had such fun and played like this for 30 mins or more. My first reaction was not to let them do it because they might ruin the cushions. Then I remembered I was vacuuming food particles out from under them, I must not be too concerned about my cushions in the first place. So I decided to let them have at it.







Friday, November 14, 2008

What's Not Cool

When your husband gets on your computer and see what you are getting him for your anniversary and when you exclaim in excitement that you have the perfect gift picked out for him, he looks back at you and tells YOU what you are getting him. Yeah, takes the fun right out of it.

Jimmy is so, so hard to buy for. He literally has every single thing he ever wanted. We are blessed but he is a doodie head for ruining my surprise for him.

I should add, he doesn't care that he already knows what it is, but because I have never really been able to surprise him I thought I had pulled it off this time. Basically the excitement is for me, I love to give gifts that I know someone will love and watch them open it.

And I should also add that he has done this twice not once, but twice. Silly husbands!

Monday, November 10, 2008

I Wanna Ride Dis

While looking through yesterday's paper I found the Target toy book. As I was thumbing through Kolton saw this.

He started out saying "I want dis" then it moved to "I wanna ride dis". I tried to explain to him that it's in a book, that we don't have one. He just kept on insisting. He became more and more distressed and finally broke out into a fit. No amount of trying to explain was working he was just getting more worked up and saying over and over while pointing at the picture "I wanna ride dis". Jimmy tried to distract him and take the paper away that didn't work he got even more upset, somewhere in there the paper ripped a little and he came unglued. I ended up having to sit him in the time out chair for him to calm down.

That's the first time he has seen some sort of advertising and wanted it. I'm sure there will be more to come over the next years.

Sunday, November 09, 2008

Sunday Morning with Daddy

Saturday is Jimmy's day to sleep in and Sunday is mine. This morning I heard my three guys moving about the house as I dosed on and off. Sleeping in for me is never sleeping very late. The latest I think I've slept is 9:00, but that's beside the point. I kept hearing the boys and Jimmy talking and when I got up I saw Jimmy had taken some pictures. This is what I saw.

Notice the missing keys on the keyboard. Karter did this when he was a baby.

This boy loves him some electronics.


As a side note I hate that table cloth and the mismatched table and chairs. Alas, I am waiting until our old house sells before I spend any extra money. I'm just thankful I have a table to eat at.

Friday, November 07, 2008

Don't Likes

Kolton and Karter don't like eggs, spaghetti, putting their clothes on, having their diapers changed(most of the time), Karter dosen't like to get in his car seat, he would rather try to climb to the front of the car and push, turn and spin every button in the car. Kolton does not like hamburgers.They also don't like boxed Kraft macaroni and cheese. I can't really get them to eat very many vegetables either. Oh and breakfast, I can't get either one of them to eat it.



They do like shrimp, fish, cheese(oh how they like cheese), pizza, chicken nuggets, real macaroni and cheese, Kolton loves tator tots and french fries. Karter love bread(that's like his mama). They both LOVE mandarin oranges. Kolton likes all fruit. Karter loves bananas. They both LOVE chocolate(that's also like their mama).They love to help me cook, even when I don't want them too, they push chairs over to the counter to get to whatever I'm doing. They play with the can opener, the toaster(unplugged of course), the water and whatever I'm trying to use to cook. It drives me crazy sometimes because I'm trying to juggle cooking with fire mind you, and keeping two little busy boys away from the fire and off the counters. But the number one thing they are loving now days is going outside.

For several day now Karter has asked first thing in the morning to "go outside" If you say not now it's too cold or wet or early he will cry and basically throw a fit. Until you promise him that at some point in the day, usually after a nap that he can go outside. He forgets nothing. When he wakes up from his nap he says "I go outside".

So we've been going outside a lot the past couple of days. Sometimes I find it boring outside, but they sure don't so I just watch them play and pull them in their wagon and then after an hour or so beg them to come into the house. Actually, if you just say ok time to go in they have melt downs, but if you tell them that in 15 mins it's time to go in and keep reminding them every 5 mins they are fine when it's time to actually go in.