TwindomKingdom

2008-04-25T18:28:00.000-07:00

Me, me, me and me

My throat is still hurting. This will be day 4 of having some sort of nasty bug or allergy (?), other than my throat feeling like there are tiny cactus prongs sliding up and down as I swallow, I feel fine. If this is strep, it will progressively get worse, right? I hate being sick.

I'm also feeling quite snacky lately. Just call me snacky pants. I made rice crispy treats last night,YUM...I added a little more marshmellowies than the recipe called for, along with strawberry crispies, ooooh yeah. Much much better than sex.

2008-04-21T21:36:00.000-07:00

finish the sentence.

maybe i should go to bed already.
i love the smell of vanilla, or anything sweet and sticky.
people would say that I don't look like a former police officer.
i don’t understand why I have so many addictions.
i lost my shyness when I was about 21.
life is hard to not take so seriously.
my past is something that has made me stronger and more adaptable.
i get annoyed with rude people.
my idea of a good time is spending the day with my horses.
i wish I didn't squander my early 20's.
Moles are cute when they are someone else’s.
Too much perfume makes me sneeze.
tomorrow i’m going to have more patience with my boys.
i have low tolerance for dishonesty.
i’m totally terrified of waking up in a nightmare again.
i wonder why bad things happen to good people.
never in my life have i broken a bone.
high school was miserable.
when i’m nervous my stomach hurts and i'm jittery.
one time at a family gathering I started lactating.
take my advice: enjoy life for what it is, things could always be worse.
Being appreciated makes me happy.
i’m almost always wishing I could take a long nap.
i’m addicted to good food and junk food, and food that makes me feel like crap the morning after.
i want someone to tell me everything will be ok.

Now its your turn.

2008-03-28T19:49:00.000-07:00

I need help guys. I know I've asked this before, but I need your help again!!! One of my classes requires a paper over peoples' perceptions about how children learn language. I need the following questions answered (don't worry...names will be changed in my paper). Any and all elaborations are welcomed!

1. How do you believe children learn language and when does this learning start?

2. Do you think certain languages are learned quicker and easier by children than others?

3. What do you think are the reasons behind some language delays in children and how can they be corrected and/or treated?

4. What are your earliest memories of talking? Do you remember what frustrated you? Do you remember trying to verbalize something difficult?

5. How did your parents and/or teachers help to develop your language abilities?

Thank you guys!!

2008-03-04T18:43:00.000-08:00

Snow Day in March

John and his snow man

Matthew just chillin'

The boys

The good news is that I'll graduate this year, quite unexpectedly. I didn't think it would happen until after the Spring 2009 semester. The bad news is that I'll be taking 6 summer school classes and 7 classes in the fall to finish early. Yee-haw!

2008-01-24T05:13:00.000-08:00

Totally Blog-worthy

The lady that watches the boys while I'm at school has been attempting potty training the past few weeks. She has reported to me that BOTH boys have done their business in the potties on a pretty consistent basis. I've been working with them at home as well. I admit, not to the same degree that she does (every hour, before and after meals and snacks, after naptime), but I've been working with them every now and then.

Matching potty chairs sitting side by side on the bathroom floor, check. Plenty of good reading material on indestructible cardboard, check. Step stools to reach the sink for handwashing after, check yet again. The desire to undress the boys every hour just to have them monkey around on the potty...er, not so much.

This morning after breakfast I took the boys to the bathroom and Matthew peed in the potty!! This was the first time *I've* witnessed this, even though Peggy (Mimi to the boys) argues they understand the concept, just need consistency in training on the home-front.

Today is a good day. We are one step closer to being done with diapers....can I dream that they will be fully trained before their second birthday??

2008-01-14T17:23:00.000-08:00

3 semesters and counting...

Today was my first day back to school. It was an ok day, other than the fact that my second to last class has a 2 1/2 hour break between it and the last class. Time to study every Monday and Wednesday I guess, or zone out in my car. I talked with a nice woman I had a class with last semester for the first time today. We recognized each other and have two classes together this semester. Turns out she also has two boys, so we had a lot to talk about. Maybe this is a potential friend? Lord knows I need them!

My last class that I was counting on being a "blowoff" class seems to be anything but. Some friends of mine had told me from semesters past they rarely attended class....well, my prof is VERY big on attendance...and get this, 70% of our grade will be from classwork and the remaining 30% from tests.

Here's to getting through another semester!!! Wish me luck!

2008-01-10T17:49:00.000-08:00

Better late than never...Christmas 2007

The boys with their 4-wheelers

Me with my(upside down) gift

Opening presents

Look, a frog!

2008-01-01T03:59:00.001-08:00

Lets Start the New Year as Flowers...

I am a
Snapdragon

What Flower
Are You?

"Mischief is your middle name, but your first is friend. You are quite the prankster that loves to make other people laugh."

2007-12-31T11:51:00.000-08:00

Dear 13year old Babs,

You are far too insecure and shy! Everyone, and yes I do mean EVERYONE your age feels as insecure about their bodies as you do! Being flat chested is something you will just have to learn to love. No matter how much you wish for a full chest, its just not going to happen! Surgery is an option, but more important is to learn how to love the body you have been given.

It does suck to have gotten your period for the very first time while at girl scout camp. Thank goodness for friends that had already crossed that bridge and came prepared! Think of it this way, at least you were at a camp with a bunch of girls versus a co-ed one! Relax. Its really not that bad and NOBODY can tell its *that special time of the month* other than you.

You are a great person and should not settle for less..ever. Do not let others take advantage of you or talk down to you.

Listen to that little voice, it will not steer you wrong!

This post is because of Steph.....I now tag JC and BJ!

2007-12-26T11:46:00.000-08:00

Day after Christmas

I started the day by cleaning up the kitchen a bit and making cinnamon rolls for the boys before we all tore into the presents. The boys got a bunch of books, twin four wheelers, stuffed animals, clothes, and of course candy! I got John a new rice maker, indoor grill, facial hair trimmer, and assorted treats. I think I made out best of all though. John got me a new computer

I also got a new coach handbag from his mother, a grill pan and money from my mom, a really cool shirt from my sis along with a book, cookie sheets, and a dustbuster....a necessary item after obtaining a very large doggie.

I am still learning how to use my new toy...I have so much stuff on my old computer that needs to be transferred to the Mac. Along with all my pictures. Any tips or hints would be appreciated as we are both new to the Macworld.

Christmas dinner was at my sis' place. I made some kickazz tamales from a recipe Anne selected for me. The recipe called for pork butt...but all I could find on Christmas Eve was a pork loin, so I plopped that in the crockpot for 12+ hours, assembled the tamales and took them to Annes to be cooked. Her enchiladas were great, along with all the fixins.

The decorations were disassembled and put away with the help of my mom this morning. I hate prolonging the inevitable. Now all that needs to be done is for all this food to be eaten before I lose my willpower and gorge myself to death!

2007-12-21T15:07:00.000-08:00

Meet Andy...

Andy with Michael
Andy next to me in the kitchen

Getting love from all three boys

We got Andy a week ago Saturday from the local Petsmart. Every weekend they have a nonprofit shelter come by with cats and dogs that they adopted from kill shelters. Originally we were looking for something small. A Chihuahua. Perhaps a Yorkie. We walked away with a 97 pound, one year old Anatolian Shepherd. He is great with the boys, and best yet, is house trained!

2007-12-04T17:53:00.000-08:00

Have Done/Haven't Done!

I got this from Steph's blog
Highlight everything you have done from the following list and post in your blog. I feel like according to the list, I'm pretty dang dull. Oh well, life ain't over yet, right?

01. Bought everyone in the bar a drink
02. Swam with wild dolphins
03. Climbed a mountain
04. Taken a Ferrari for a test drive
05. Been inside the Great Pyramid
06. Held a tarantula
07. Taken a candlelit bath with someone
08. Said "I love you" and meant it
09. Hugged a tree
10. Bungee jumped
11. Visited Paris
12. Watched a lightning storm at sea
13. Stayed up all night long and saw the sun rise
14. Seen the Northern Lights
15. Gone to a huge sports game
16. Walked the stairs to the top of the leaning Tower of Pisa
17. Grown and eaten your own vegetables
18. Touched an iceberg
19. Slept under the stars
20. Changed a baby's diaper
21. Taken a trip in a hot air balloon
22. Watched a meteor shower
23. Gotten drunk on champagne
24. Given more than you can afford to charity
25. Looked up at the night sky through a telescope
26. Had an uncontrollable giggling fit at the worst possible moment
27. Had a food fight
28. Bet on a winning horse
29. Asked out a stranger
30. Had a snowball fight
31. Screamed as loudly as you possibly can
32. Held a lamb
33. Seen a total eclipse
34. Ridden a roller coaster
35. Hit a home run
36. Danced like a fool and didn't care who was looking
37. Adopted an accent for an entire day
38. Actually felt happy about your life, even for just a moment
39. Had two hard drives for your computer
40. Visited all 50 states
41. Taken care of someone who was drunk
42. Had amazing friends
43. Danced with a stranger in a foreign country
44. Watched whales
45. Stolen a sign
46. Backpacked in Europe
47. Taken a road-trip
48. Gone rock climbing
49. Taken a midnight walk on the beach
50. Gone sky diving
51. Visited Ireland
52. Been heartbroken longer than you were actually in love
53. In a restaurant, sat at a stranger's table and had a meal with them
54. Visited Japan
55. Milked a cow
56. Alphabetized your CDs
57. Pretended to be a superhero
58. Sung karaoke (very badly)
59. Lounged around in bed all day (this pretty much summed up my pregnancy)
60. Played touch football
61. Gone scuba diving (just snorkling)
62. Kissed in the rain
63. Played in the mud
64. Played in the rain
65. Gone to a drive-in theatre (not a good idea for hormonal highschoolers)
66. Visited the Great Wall of China
67. Started a business
68. Fallen in love and not had your heart broken
69. Toured ancient sites
70. Taken a martial arts class
71. Played D&D for more than 6 hours straight
72. Gotten married
73. Been in a movie
74. Crashed a party
75. Gotten divorced
76. Gone without food for 5 days (I lost 10 pounds too! It came back VERY quickly once I started eating again)
77. Made cookies from scratch
78. Won first prize in a costume contest
79. Ridden a gondola in Venice
80. Gotten a tattoo
81. Rafted the Snake River
82. Been on a television news program as an "expert"
83. Gotten flowers for no reason
84. Performed on stage
85. Been to Las Vegas
86. Recorded music
87. Eaten shark
88. Kissed on the first date
89. Gone to Thailand
90. Bought a house
91. Been in a combat zone (the city you work in is a combat zone when you are the fuzz)
92. Buried one/both of your parents
93. Been on a cruise ship
94. Spoken more than one language fluently
95. Performed in Rocky Horror
96. Raised children
97. Followed your favorite band/singer on tour
98. Passed out cold
99. Taken an exotic bicycle tour in a foreign country
100. Picked up and moved to another city to just start over
101. Walked the Golden Gate Bridge
102. Sang loudly in the car, and didn't stop when you knew someone was looking
103. Had plastic surgery
104. Survived an accident that you shouldn't have survived
105. Wrote articles for a large publication
106. Lost over 100 pounds
107. Held someone while they were having a flashback
108. Piloted an airplane
109. Touched a stingray
110. Broken someone's heart
111. Helped an animal give birth
112. Won money on a TV game show
113. Broken a bone
114. Gone on an African photo safari
115. Had a facial part pierced other than your ears
116. Fired a rifle, shotgun, or pistol
117. Eaten mushrooms that were gathered in the wild
118. Ridden a horse
119. Had major surgery
120. Had a snake as a pet
121. Hiked to the bottom of the Grand Canyon
122. Slept for more than 30 hours over the course of 48 hours
123. Visited more foreign countries than U.S. States
124. Visited all 7 continents
125. Taken a canoe trip that lasted more than 2 days
126. Eaten kangaroo meat
127. Eaten sushi
128. Had your picture in the newspaper
129. Changed someone's mind about something you care deeply about
130. Gone back to school
131. Parasailed
132. Touched a cockroach
133. Eaten fried green tomatoes
134. Read The Iliad and The Odyssey
135. Selected one "important" author who you missed in school, and read
136. Killed and prepared an animal for eating
137. Skipped all your school reunions
138. Communicated with someone without sharing a common spoken language
139. Been elected to public office
140. Written your own computer language
141. Thought to yourself that you're living your dream
142. Had to put someone you love into hospice care
143. Built your own PC from parts
144. Sold your own artwork to someone who didn't know you
145. Had a booth at a street fair
146. Dyed your hair
147. Been a DJ
148. Shaved your head
149. Caused a car accident
150. Saved someone's life

2007-11-26T17:53:00.000-08:00

Family Foto's - November '07

2007-11-25T20:53:00.000-08:00

Thanksgiving wrap-up

We took the boys to visit the in-laws (are they considered inlaws if we aren't married?) and cousins in the Ohio/Kentucky/West Virginia area. This is called the tri-state area....we went there last year and I was thoroughly confused as to what state we were in at any given time. We divided our time between visiting John's sister in Kentucky, his mom and step dad in Ohio, and touring his old stomping grounds in West Virginia. It was a lot of driving but a good visit. The boys did great compared to last year...they were a mere 8 months old at the time and we had to stop every 3 hours for bottle feedings. This time I just handed them sugary snacks whenever they whimpered. Another thing that made this trip better this year was the absence of double ear infections, thank goodness for healthy boys!

On our next to last day we visited the town of Point Pleasant, West Virginia.....the location of various Mothman sightings and where the filming of the movie took place a few years back. We also toured a little museum devoted to the flick. Here are a few pictures from the museum...

*I'm sorry the pictures are all out of order, I'm having trouble with blogger and don't have the energy to find out what I'm doing wrong!*

Time to leave the museum! The boys having a meltdown

Me with Matthew and M.M.

Outside of "museum"

Bridge that was rebuilt after the collapse

Sign of Point Pleasant from entrance of bridge

View of Point Pleasant after getting off the bridge

Original newspaper clippings about M.M.

2007-11-14T17:52:00.000-08:00

I'm not going to bore you all with the ugly details of my personal life.

Just sending a message for you guys to pray for me, if you don't mind.

2007-11-10T12:26:00.000-08:00

Solution: Crib Tents

I ordered online yesterday two crib tents for the monkey babies. I should have them early next week. In the mean time, Michael's crib is against the wall on two sides, and Matthew's crib is against it on the third side, leaving only the short, high side available for climbing episodes. So far so good. They are NOT ready for toddler beds. I read somewhere that for most children, they need to be at least 3 to understand the "imaginary boundaries" of bed. So crib babies they will remain until then!

2007-11-09T10:29:00.000-08:00

Its official: We have a crib climber

Michael has been the more climbey-er of the two. He gets up on couches, chairs, even non-furniture items quite easily. Matthew (bless his chubby legs) is not YET as flexible as his brother. This morning I put the boys down for their nap around 10am. John and I also took advantage of this quiet time to also sleep (I wish I didn't need an afternoon nap, but I do!). We heard the regular crying for a few minutes until they both settled down. A few hours later I heard Matthew laughing, so got up, checked my email and lazily went to their bedroom to get the boys. What did I find? Michael out of his crib and the room torn upside down!! I scooped him up and snuggled him for a good 5 minutes straight, looking for lumps on his noggin, uneven dilated pupils, etc. What a scare.

Now what the crap am I to do with no toddler beds and a crib climber?

2007-10-31T16:18:00.000-07:00

Happy, Happy Halloween!

Candy IS good!
I feel pretty!

Twin Ninjas!

Me with my three favorite (and only) nieces!

2007-10-30T19:55:00.000-07:00

Happy Early Halloween!!!

Can you believe this is the BEST picture I've got of them in their costumes so far?? Oh, and it was only this good because they were bribed with chocolate. Hopefully tomorrow will be a better picture day.....Hiii-aaahhh!!!!

2007-10-26T16:07:00.000-07:00

Meme on the first born

1. were you married at the time? nope
2. what were your reactions? excited and scared
3. how old were you? 26
4. how did you find out you were pregnant? I'd been feeling funky for a while, took a pee test while at work, it came back with both pregnant/not pregnant, so I went back to the store for another test and it came back pregnant.
5. who did you tell first? John
6. did you want to find out the sex? yes
7. did you deliver early or late? about a month early
8. did you have morning sickness? yes, it was terrible. brushing my teetch in the morning started it up
9. what did you crave? anything that wasn't nailed down....I ate a lot of cheese,crackers, corny dogs, onion rings and apple juice in the beginning
10. who irritated you the most? people that were more pregnant than me who wanted to tell me how much MORE uncomfortable I'd soon be.
11. what was your first child’s sex? boy/boy
12. how many pounds did you gain throughout the pregnancy? I stopped weighing myself after I hit the 50 lb mark
13. did you have any complications during your pregnancy? yes, starting at 29 weeks when I was put on bedrest in the hospital
14. where did you give birth? presbyterian hospital
15. how many hours were you in labor? a few, once my water was broke it went really fast.
16. who drove you to the hospital? myself.....I was there for what I thought was a regular appointment when I was admitted
17. who watched? John, Mom, Anne
18. was it natural or c-section? natural with mucho drugs
19. did you take medicine to ease the pain? yes....but I thought I didn't need anything after the fact.....wrong!!!
20. how much did your child weigh? Matthew - 4lbs 15oz Michael - 5lbs 9oz
21. did your child have any complications? Michael did...gastroscesis....was in the NICU for a month
22. what did you name him/her? see above!
23. how old is your first born today? 1 year and 7 months

2007-10-11T13:29:00.000-07:00

Daily heart attacks

Matthew on the corner of a box of wipes looking over the gate
Michael thought the box holding the toys looked even more fun than the toys themselves

This is Michael's newest trick, he gets up there himself....its only a matter of time before the other monkey joins him

2007-10-09T18:25:00.000-07:00

I'm loved!

My sister brought these over to me today, love them!!

This is John's creativity before he left for work yesterday afternoon, sweet huh?

2007-10-07T18:13:00.000-07:00

Age

I'm not even sure if anyone still looks at this thing, but just incase you are out there....I have a couple questions for you!

a. What age does someone become old?

b. What do you think is the best thing about becoming old?

c. If you could change one thing about aging in this country, what would you do?

These questions are from a class I'm taking this semester about diverse families. The class is kinda blah, but I like that its semi-internet so I only meet every 2 weeks.

2007-09-08T15:20:00.001-07:00

De-mulleting the boys

Before:

After:

2007-08-31T16:54:00.000-07:00

Eh.Mey.Gawd.

Today was the first meeting of the woman's group where I watched the young toddlers while their mothers got closer to Hey-Seuse. Cheese and Rice. It was bad.

I arrived right on time and promptly joined the line of temp workers getting their room assignments for the day. The boys and I found our room and they got to explore for a few minutes before the other children arrived. I ended up keeping one of my sister's girls in the room, even though technically she should have been in one of the older-toddler rooms. Four other kids were dropped off not including my niece and M&M...everything seemed to be going ok. Then Sumo-Baby arrived. To imagine this child is to imagine what a successful Sumo wrestler must have looked like as a baby. He was around the boys age, about a year and a half, but probably outweighed the average Kindergartner. If his massive trunk, meaty arms and legs were any indication of how heavy he was, then they were a gross understatement. Sumo-Baby must have been made of lead. Having to tote around Sumo-Baby occasionally during the day would have been a vast improvement over having to constantly rock/sing to/and bounce him during the entire 4 hours, which is what actually happened. Sumo-Baby could not and would not be comforted. He snotted all over my shirt. The beads of sweat from crying exertion would reappear the moment he decided being a content baby was for the birds. Sumo-Baby capitalized my time and my co-sitter's time the whole 4 hours. We passed him back and forth between the two of us when our arms would get tired. My co-sitter attempted to minimize how Sumo-Baby was when his mom picked him up. Not me. I was honest. Sumo-Baby cried. And Cried. And Snotted. And then Cried some more.