Rewind

Tomorrow is New Years Eve. I can't believe it. This time last year Matt and I were talking about if we wanted to have a 3rd baby or if one of us should get "fixed". Well, obviously we decided to have another baby and you know the rest! I never ever ever would have thought I would be the Mom to four amazing kids. I am happy. Truly happy. That's not to say that things right now aren't hard, and that I'm not stressed sometimes but when I sit down and take everything in, I'm happy with my life. I hope you can say the same.

I'm not sure I'll be blogging again before New Years so I hope everyone has a wonderful New Year! And as for resolutions...mine is like most other people's----lose weight! I'm not sure how long I'm able to use the excuse that "I just had twins"!

HAPPY NEW YEAR! HERE'S TO A GREAT 2009!!

Christmas

Here are some random pictures from Christmas, the first one is of Leah staring at the camera, then Evan making a gingerbread house, the next one is Maddie thinking about smiling for the camera, then the kids on Christmas, and Maddie again making a silly face.

I'm going to try to find time to write a "catch up" blog later on tonight.

Christmas gives me hives

Yesterday was bad. It started out bad and just kept getting worse throughout the day. Nothing major, just little bad somethings all through the day. It started with a really sleepless early morning with the twins. I maybe got 3 hours of sleep if I'm lucky. I finally got out of bed at 5am and came downstairs to check my email before the big kids got out of bed. Low and behold Speedy Gonzales got a ticket on his way to work. 50 in a 35. Um, yea. I'm so thrilled at this point. What cop is out running radar at 3am??!! Then it's time for me to go to BJ's and buy diapers and formula. I started the car to let it warm up a little before venturing out into the arctic and came back in the house where I was promptly distracted by something else. I then spent the next 5 minutes searching for my keys which I can never ever find when I realize, "you dumb ass, they're IN the car -- remember!??!" I guess that's what lack of sleep will do to a person?! I make my way to BJ's and cannot find a parking space - anywhere! I usually park out in the boonies but there wasn't even a spot out there! After I hike to the store, elbow people out of the way to make my way back to the diaper aisle I get the lovely task of waiting in a 20 minute line just to get to the front of it and realize that my membership expired 3 days ago!!! Ahh. I get out of line just to stand in another line to renew my membership. And then get to repeat the 20 minute wait to checkout. Once I get home, Evan went down for his nap easily just like usual. An hour and a half later I went upstairs to wake the little man and open the door to find that he had pooped, reached into his diaper and pulled out a prize. I guess that just wasn't enough so he decided to Jackson Pollock the wall and inside of his crib to the best of his ability. Oh yes. Lucky, lucky me. And now to add the perfect end to the perfect day, I went to bed last night after watching a very sad Little People, Big World feeling slightly itchy which I thought was just dry skin. About two hours later I am covered head to toe in huge red hives that are either a result of stress or the herbs I was taking to try to increase my breast milk supply, since I just can't seem to keep up with the girls nursing needs (hence the trip to BJ's to buy formula!).
I was so in the Christmas spirit yesterday. I hope today is better.

More whine...I need WINE

Grace is whining about everything. Every word that comes out of her mouth is a whine. It become a habit now that that is how she talks. I keep telling her over and over again to please not whine. When I remind her she will stop but oh how maddening it is!!!! By 3pm I'm ready to slug back a glass of wine just to calm my nerves from all of the whining!!! (I don't do it, mind you.)
The agenda for today is to clean, pack up toys to put away to make room for the new toys that Santa will bring. Then at 1pm I'm taking Grace to get a much needed haircut. I'm taking her to the same salon that she always goes to but to a different person since I can never get an appointment with the girl we usually go to. I hope she does a good job and do what I ask her to do.
I'm hoping that we can get a lot done today in the house. We're STILL trying to get the twins room finished up but we never seem to have enough time. Our house is busy all the time, not so much bad busy (well sometimes bad busy) but whenever Matt is off we're usually doing something or just get distracted by something and don't end up working on the room. We're now thinking that it might turn into a play room and that Grace and Evan will share a room. We're going to give it a trial run after Christmas and see how that goes. Evan is such a good sleeper. He sleeps through the night from 7pm until at least 6am every single night. Grace is a totally different story. For instance, last night not only did I have the babies up all the time, Grace was up 3 times. She was never a good sleeper though.
Last night I was making dinner and cut myself really bad. I was opening a can and cut it on the lid. I should have gone to get stitches in it but decided not to. How was I supposed to go to the ER with 2 newborns and 2 toddlers?? Matt was already at work so I was here alone. It still hurts pretty bad but looks like it will be fine.

Thankful

I have a new computer! I'm so happy that I'm back in touch with everyone. It's so sad, but the computer is pretty much the only way that I communicate with adults on a daily basis! Talking on the phone is just too hard with 4 kids running around! I got my laptop yesterday and am not trying to figure out why my wireless router isn't working. The help-desk guy on the phone said that it's probably too old/slow to work with my new computer or something. So that means I need a new one?! Ug...I don't want to run out for the third day in a row somewhere to get one. We'll see.
I took Madeline and Leah to the doctor on Monday for their one month appointment and they are both doing so well! They have both gained 2 lbs since Thanksgiving which is awesome! Madeline weighs 8 lbs and Leah weighs 7lbs 14oz!! They are in the 25% for weight and 50% height. It's still strange to think that they are still both smaller than Grace and Evan were at birth! Grace was 8lbs 3oz and Evan was 8lbs 13oz both at 38 weeks!
I am just so in love with my family!
Grace and Evan are so ready for Santa to come! Evan is really getting on board with getting presents! I think he's really getting into it now that he understands a little more what's going on. I can't wait for Christmas! I am sad (ok - really really sad) that Matt isn't going to be here. I will wake up alone on Christmas and then try to get things on video so he can watch it later. I am not sure how I'm going to get everything done on Christmas morning --- babies fed, Grace and Evan help with gifts, video camera everything. I just don't know. I wish I had help Christmas morning but I guess it's just not in the cards. Megan, Seth and Ellie will be staying at Mom's so we will go there after we get our act together here. Then I'm still unsure of what we will do Christmas night with Matt. It's still depending upon when he gets relieved at work. I hope and pray he can still find a way to get to leave early.

Maddie is crying ---

Not much of a potty mouth...

I usually have good grammar and use nothing but polite language -- but after today, HOLY SHIT! I got 2 hours total of sleep last night. Total. And it wasn't even in a row! Maddie and Leah both had horrible gas. Horrible in more ways than one! It's was painful, frequent and smelled horrible! I'm not sure if it was something I ate or was from the supplemental formula but wow did we have a bad night! Then I finally thought I was getting the girls to sleep and low and behold it's 3am and Matt's alarm went off -- back awake until 6:45 this morning. Grace and Evan got up at 6:30, ug.

I am trying to plan Christmas and what we're going to do since Matt won't be here. I think I'm coming up with some good ideas about how to still make it special for the kids and for Matt. However Matt's relief was supposed to relieve him early but low and behold he got himself a big 'ole DUI and now can only get to work by catching rides with his boss since he got the DUI leaving his bosses house! So Matt will leave the house on Christmas morning at the usual 3:30am and be home in the neighborhood of 6pm! How shitty it is. Shit. Shit. Shit.

There- I'm done being a potty mouth for today.

Shhh...listen

I'm listening to the kids play hide and seek in the living room/dining room while I attempt to clean the kitchen. Here is what I hear...
G: Evan-you need to count
E: no
G: yes - I'm going to hide over here and you need to count
E: Won, twoo, free, seben, nine, ten
G: you didn't do it right
E: (hands covering his eyes) here I tome
G: tag - your it!
E: toming! (as he runs as fast as he can across the living room)
G:you won!!

I can't help but laugh. It was a good attempt at playing the game, I guess maybe I should go try to help them work out the kinks. I won't. But I should. They're playing well together alone...If it ain't broke--don't fix it. My kitchen really needs attention. Expect more posts from today.

Things I've learned...

When one baby poops, the other thinks that it must be a competition and will inevitably blow out their outfit with a massive poop explosion. Evan has now entered into the phase of : if I leave the lid to the toilet open he will throw 'something' in it that I will then have to retrieve if I feel as though it's too precious or too big to just flush. Grace thinks that she needs to always talk to the babies in her own annoying version of how I talk to the babies. It's maddening. Or maybe it's just as annoying when I do it, hmmmm?? Projectile vomit from one of the babies always ends up on me when I'm wearing my only pair of jeans that fits. I never thought I would see the day when my chest registered into the 'double' anything. I really never thought that I would see the day when my family filled up a minivan! (And I hate my minivan for the record!)

LOSER

I guess I would give the contestants on the tv show The Biggest Loser a run for their money ~ I have lost 35 pounds in 3 weeks 1 day! That said I still have a lot more to go before I'm happy with my weight however it's an accomplishment none the less. I know breastfeeding two babies has a lot to do with it since I am not allowed to exercise yet because of my stomach/back issues that I hope resolve themselves. I'm still wearing the brace for my abdomen and have to for another 3 weeks at least. They might move me into something else after my 6 week appointment depending on how things are healing in my stomach. I guess my hopes and dreams for 6 pack abs again are a thing of the past unless someone will donate a tummy tuck to me like they did to Kate on Jon and Kate plus 8! Fat chance (literally)!
Last night I was driving home from Mom and Dad's house with the kids (Matt is on night shift) and I started to get that - "all four of these kids are really your responsibility...are you old enough for that kind of responsibility?!!" feeling I get sometimes. It's hard to explain really...sometimes I feel so old and sometimes I feel like I'm not old enough to be a married Mom of four and that I have no clue who in their right mind would trust me to raise 4 kids!! ;)
As I type this blog two of my kids are stuffing as much apple in their mouths as can fit and laughing hysterically at each other...I better stop it before someone chokes.

Pictures

Whew --

It's been a while since I've posted, I've been a little busy! Let's see, where should I begin----



Grace and Evan are really getting excited for Santa to come! They saw him at the mall and Grace just waved to him but Evan went up to him and was ok - then Matt put him on his lap and he had a meltdown! It would have made a really cute "bad Santa" photo! Then we went to the Picture People and had the kids pictures taken and they turned out really well! Both Grace and Evan smiled and pretty much sat where they were supposed to. Leah and Madeline were both awake - not looking at the camera but hey what more can you expect from babies less than 3 weeks old?! I bought some pictures to give as gifts so at least I have some gifts already purchased! I pretty much have nothing else done for Christmas. I did order some things from Amazon today so that will help. I was planning on going out next week when Matt has off but it looks like he's working 6 nights instead of 4 sooo that means that he's on tonight through Wednesday night. He will have off the rest of the day Thursday after he wakes up and then starts days on Friday through Sunday has off on Monday and goes back on nights Tuesday through Thursday night. Ug... It's going to be ROUGH!
Tonight was my first night here alone with the kids. It was hectic! However it's not even 7:30 and everyone is asleep! Small victory for me!!! The babies will wake up around 9:30 and eat again - then I'll pump and go to sleep. I 'hope' that's how it works anyway!
On a totally random topic - my glasses that are less than a year old are falling apart! I know that I'm hard on them with kids bumping into them and pulling on them - plus I have to wear them ALL the time but geez, they weren't cheap! I am going to have to go get new ones soon and I just don't want to pay for them! Luckily we have good vision insurance but it's still an expense I don't need right now with all of the medical bills coming in at once AND the HR lady at Valero messing up Matt's check for the second check in a row!! I won't even go into that!
My Uncle Bruce has been in the hospital with various serious medical problems and everything came to a head today when he had a very dangerous procedure done. Luckily everything turned out fine and everyone is breathing a sigh of relief. He will be home for the holidays and I'm so happy!
So much more to say but I just want to take this rare moment of quiet and sit and do NOTHING!!

A Thought?

I'm having trouble finishing a thought today so try to stay with me as you read this blog!

Madeline and Leah were up a lot last night, they must be going through a growth spurt because they're up every two hours eating - but then go right back to sleep. That means that I'm only sleeping an hour at a time since it takes about an hour to change their diapers, feed them, burp them and then pump after I'm done. I'm exhausted - but really happy!

Today is Grace's 3rd birthday!! I cannot believe it! She's getting so big and I'm so proud of her! She's so smart, and remembers EVERYTHING! Her favorite things to do right now are puzzles. She is doing harder puzzles everyday - it's so awesome to watch her concentrating so much on something. Today Grammie, PopPop, Grandma and MomMom stopped by to give her her birthday gifts ~ and she loved all of them! She is wearing the princess dress that Grammie and PopPop gave to her and it looks adorable! We're waiting for my grandparents to get here and she'll get even more gifts! She's so spoiled! Yesterday was her birthday party and she had a blast! It was just a little kids party with Evan, Ellie and Reese! My parents gave her two baby dolls and she just had to take them to bed with her last night! Megan made reward charts for both Grace and Evan, there are 15 squares and each day if they are good they can put a star in one of the squares and when all are filled they get a 'treat'. Grace is very into it! I hope it gives her incentive to be a good listener and behave well. Megan says that it's working for Ellie.

Matt is off until Friday night work so we're going to "try" to get some things done this week. Tomorrow he's working on the twins room trying to get it ready for electric to be installed. I need to figure out what color carpet we want to have installed. I'm looking for something durable yet soft and that can hide stains well!! ;) Tuesday I'm planning on going out shopping for Christmas gifts. I have ideas for most people but am at a loss for others. It's like that every year. The past few years I have made a lot of my gifts but this year I just don't have the time. We're also hoping to take the kids to see Santa and to get their pictures taken. I have been going to JCPenney to have their pictures done but am considering spending a little more and going to The Picture People. I want really nice pictures of all the kids together and Penney's doesn't seem to be good at group shots. I have a coupon so hopefully it won't be too too too expensive.

Maddie and Leah are hungry...

Small update

I don't even know where to begin...

Things are going pretty well considering. Grace is having some jealousy issues, which I expected. I'm sure she will get over them - I hope that it's soon. I have actually seen improvement this morning with her attitude. It's easier when Matt is home since he can pay attention to Grace and Evan if I need to feed the babies or the other way around, when it's just me it's a little harder. I'm not AS stressed as I thought that I would be, still stressed none the less but I'm managing it pretty well so far...however the twins are only 10/11 days old! Maddie still sleeps a lot but when she's awake she is very alert and interested in what's happening around her. Leah is awake a little more often than Maddie and is just mesmerized by the chaos of our house! I'm taking the girls to the doctor this afternoon for a weight check - I have been feeding them every 2-3 hours around the clock so they HAVE to have gained something.
I'm trying to get ready for Grace's birthday this weekend. Thankfully my Mom is coming to the rescue yet again and is picking up the few toys that I wanted to get her at Target since she was going there anyway! I cannot seem to find the adapter to my double stroller to hold the second car seat so we're pretty much prisoners here until I can find it!
I can't wait to have Grace's birthday party on Saturday. It's extremely small with just my parents and meg, Seth and Ellie but I want so much for Grace to be in the spotlight and have all of the attention on her! I try to give each of the kids their own time each day but just need to figure out how to do it better so that they still feel special and that they're important. I have such guilt all the time about neglecting someone. Like I said, I just need to figure this whole Mom of 4 thing out! I'm trying to be patient - that's just not my strong suit!!!
I want to post by "delivery" story but just can't seem to find the time -- I wonder why?!! lol It was just so chaotic and amazing at the same time. I'm sure I find it more interesting than everyone else but I want to write it all down while it's still somewhat fresh in my mind.
I better go finishing getting everyone ready to head to the doctor!

Nothing

Nothing really to say. Matt is back to work now after two weeks vacation. I'm hating it. I can't leave the house alone with the kids so we're pretty much stuck here until Tuesday around lunch when Matt wakes up. Then he's off until Friday when he goes back on daywork for Friday, Sat and Sunday. I pray the girls are here by the end of that rack. If not then he goes back on nightshift when it's a whole lot harder to find people to help me if I go into labor in the middle of the night. Long story. I'll also be crazy by that point, I'm nearing crazy now.
Today I'm going to attempt to clean. And maybe go to the grocery store after Matt wakes up and can watch the kids while I grab a few things since we have nothing in the house right now.
I have two doctor appointments next week, one on Tuesday and one on Thursday. It will be like this until the girls are here. I really hate seeing the doctor's office and hospital at this point.I'm so glad these are our last kids. I should be posting about my appointment yesterday in my twin blog but I'm still too angry about it. Maybe later.
Happy Saturday.

VOTE!!!

Today is the big day...Get out there and VOTE! I'm so excited about today, a little nervous too! I just want this election to be over and hopefully have this country move on in a GOOD direction! No matter who wins, I think it will have to be better than what it is now! I am trying to choose a time to vote where I don't have to stand in line because standing doesn't come easily to me right now!

We're trying to figure out something kind of fun to do today with the kids but we're coming up with nothing. I'm not really able to do much walking and can't be more than an hour from the hospital so we're pretty limited. But we're hoping to do 'something'...

I'm also starting to think about Grace's birthday party and what we're going to do. I wanted to have her party at a place like Bounce U in Exton/Downingtown but now I'm not sure since I may not end up having the babies until closer to her birthday than I thought. I'll have to think on it a little more.

Happy Halloween!!

I'm excited for today since it's Halloween and I know the kids are excited to go to Ellie's birthday party and trick-or-treating. I wish that I could go. However, I am going to be bad tonight since we don't have the kids for a few hours Matt and I are going to go to dinner at Texas Roadhouse I think. That way, yes I'm out and shouldn't be, but it's closer to the hospital and a girl has to eat...what's the difference between sitting and eating in at home and sitting and eating in a restaurant? That's how I'm looking at it anyway!
Then this weekend it's just more bedrest for me and trying to get the house in order for the new babies! Grace is really excited and Evan now points to my belly and says, "MadelineLeah" all one word. So cute. I have to finish getting the kids bags packed.

Sunday

I feel better today. I got out yesterday into the "real world" for a little bit and then we had company last night! TJ, Molly, Emily and Colin came over last night and the kids had fun playing...it was a little rocky at first! Two little girls who are almost 3 tend to fight over anything and everything! Girls will be girls I guess. I wanted to ask Molly a couple things about her c-section and totally forgot. I hate my medicine. I took it at 3pm and I was just a little out of it most of the night unfortunately. We still had a good time as usual. In the morning we had gone to breakfast with Rob, Debbi, Doug, Chris, Hannah & Devon. It was fun with the exception of the kids being a little antsy. We think we're going to just try to lay low over the next few days to try to get the kids back to their schedule of just Matt & I. The only thing we might do today is take the kids outside to play for a little while since it's so nice out and will be freezing for the rest of the week! I will,of course, just sit with my feet up and watch!
I got my camera and love it! It's so small and takes such nice pictures! I just have to install the software to my computer so I can upload my pictures. My next purchase will be a nice photo printer/scanner but will have to wait a little while for that one! Tomorrow we should be getting the Old Navy things that I ordered. I love getting things in the mail! I just don't like getting the bill! lol
Matt should be selling his Jeep tomorrow. He's getting his new Jeep detailed tomorrow also. I can't wait to see it all nice and shiny and clean. I just wish he got it some other way than he did.
This week we're really going to start/finish getting things ready for the babies. Matt is going to give me things to sort out/clean/fold while I'm sitting on the bed or couch. And he will just continue to be the 'muscle'! We decided to just put off the attic until we have our room and the downstairs all set up for the twins coming home. Hopefully by Wednesday we can have everything else ready. I have a doctor appointment on Wednesday that is a big one...I'll post more about that one on my other blog.

Life

I ordered my Christmas present early! I bought a new camera online yesterday and I think it should be here on Friday. That means that the babies can't come until Friday or later!! And it also means that Matt is off the hook for shopping for a Christmas gift for me! Lucky guy! I also placed an Old Navy order yesterday with a 20% off coupon and free shipping so I'm excited to get that one also! I got some of the Performance Fleece for the kids because I like to put them in it when it's really chilly in the house, I got adorable hats for the babies, lots of socks for the babies and the kids, and an outfit for me for after the twins are born since I will still be the size of a bus and fit in nothing! I'm still shopping online today. I have to find Matt a replacement headlight housing for his 'new' Jeep, which is very nice by the way!! I'm happy that he has a better car to drive. I can't wait to hear from him tonight about how his ride to work was. I hope it's much more quiet and less bumpy...just overall more comfy! As soon as I find it online I'll order it so hopefully it will be here by the weekend and he can install it.
Debbi came in this morning and will be here until Saturday morning! I'm excited. It's such a relief to know that we have someone here to help with everything AND to be here with me at night while Matt is on nightshift. I wasn't really scared to be home alone at night when I was pregnant with Evan but for some reason, I really don't want to be here alone this time. I'm probably just being silly.
Grace and Evan are going to go to Ellie's 3rd birthday party on Halloween night at Megan's house. They will have a little party and then trick-or-treat over there. My Mom and Dad are taking them since I'm not supposed to be more than 1 hour away from the hospital and will most likely still be on bedrest. I think Grace is going to dress up as a ballerina/princess and Evan will be Bob the Builder/construction worker/farmer...I obviously haven't figured it out yet but just don't want to spend much, if any, money on costumes so I'm trying to come up with something that we already have.
I think Matt and my Dad are going to try to work on the attic Saturday or Sunday of this weekend. I really want it to be done as quick as possible. My Grandmother said that she can come up over the two weeks that Matt is off to watch the kids while he works in the attic - normally I would say no but I just have to accept help now. I think I'm getting better at it...it's just hard.
I guess it's my nap time now since my medicine is kicking in and things are starting to look blurry.

Monday

Tuesday

The kids are so out of whack lately. They know that I am not myself. I can't pick them up, snuggle like usual, cook for them...and they don't like it. I feel awful about it. The have not been in their routine and that makes things even worse. Now hopefully we will be back into the routine and things will settle down. Debbi and Rob will be here starting Friday night so that will be 'different' but at least the kids will still do what they usually do and be in their own house and beds. Rob will leave Monday and Debbi will be here until Matt is done nights on next Friday morning. Then Matt has off for two whole weeks! We are trying to get things set up for all the changes that are coming in the next few weeks but we never seem to make any headway. Our whole life is just a little out of control and I hate it since I'm a control freak. I have my calendar and my lists and just like to be organized. I am waiting for some good news this week at the doctor, but am trying to prepare myself for bad news.

On a totally different topic...friends. Through this whole ordeal of me on bed rest and the possibility of having these girls too early we pretty much have found out who our friends are. When I was admitted to the hospital the first time, we were scared. Scared out of our minds to be honest. Things weren't looking promising. I made a phone call that weekend from the hospital to a 'friend' just to talk. Looking for a distraction. No response. Still haven't heard from her. I pretty much wrote that friend off. I know that may sound harsh but if you can't count on someone to be there for you when you really need to talk to someone...what good are they? It's been a pretty one sided friendship anyway with me doing the contacting, phone calls, texts and emails for a while now. So I guess it's really not much of a loss anyway. On the other side of things, we got phone calls to check in when I was in the hospital and emails to see how things were going from one of our other friends, and even offers to come over and help even when they are super busy with working, 2 kids, and a busy life of their own. Those are things you don't forget. We so have to get together with them. I will feel a little bad about just sitting on the couch with my feet up while we have guests here but I know they will understand. We actually had plans to see them the day I went into the hospital the first time.

Evan is talking so much now. You can understand him most of the time if you're paying attention. Grace still talks for him a lot and he knows it so I think that might be holding him back a little bit. He is getting quite the little attitude lately. I guess he's getting to that age where he knows now that he has a choice and can make decisions on his own, or at least he thinks that he can! I still can't complain, I have two great kids.

My Mom and Dad took the kids to a pumpkin patch on Sunday and met Megan & Ellie there. I wish I could have gone too. They sound like they had a blast. I also wish I could have gone because I pretty much never see Megan or Ellie. Maybe once every couple months. It's pretty sad. She's so busy all the time though so it's hard. And now with Seth in school full time that makes things more complicated.

I need a new computer...really bad. This one is broken in so many ways...the latest is the power cord doesn't work all the time.

Sorry this was so random. But my mind is just all over the place lately.

Recent pictures

The first two pictures are of the kids riding on their first ride at Riverfest! The next ones are of the mini-shower from my Mom and Megan, and the last one if of Matt tickling the kids!! lol

Busy bees

Matt is still working. Yesterday and today he's in training so he's only working 8 hour days which is a nice break. He even got out early yesterday and was home by 3:30! We took the kids to the park and they had a blast! And we didn't even have any tantrums when it was time to leave!!

We have been so busy lately I just don't even know where to start....On Saturday my Mom and Megan gave me a surprise mini-baby shower! It was just Meg, Seth, Ellie, Mom, Dad, the kids and I. It was really nice! Megan made the cupcakes and these little baby booties filled with candy, they were adorable. I really needed a "pick me up" and it sure did help. I'm feeling pretty overwhelmed right now. On Sunday my parents, the kids and I went to Joann Fabrics, Old Navy and then lunch in Exton. I bought tulle to have my Mom make Grace a purple tutu. It's going to be adorable!! I want to see if I can get Mom to make Eleni one also for her birthday since she's going to be 2 in October!!
Matt talked to Debbi last night and Grandpa seems really unhappy where he is and from the sounds of it he should be. I hope he can get out of there soon. I feel guilty for this but I can't wait for Debbi & Rob to come down soon. I don't want to stretch Debbi anymore than she already is with trying to get Grandpa situated but we all miss them. I just finished thank you notes for the mini-shower Debbi gave me a few weeks ago! I just had to deflate the balloons that she had gotten since they were starting to droop, but every time I looked at them they made me happy!
Today the kids and I might go to get some fall decorations for the porch and some fall mums. Grace & Evan would love to pick out pumpkins so we might do that also. It all depends on how energetic I feel.
I can't wait until Friday at lunchtime when Matt will be off until day work Monday. Then he works Mon-Thurs day works and is off for a week after that. We all need it so much. He will spend a lot of the time trying to get some of the twins room finished. I'm so afraid that it's not going to get done. I think we might end up getting new windows for up there also.

Waiting for October

I cannot wait for October!! Matt only works about 12 days in October which includes 1 week off in the beginning of the month and 1 week off at the end and then 1 week off at the beginning of November. Thank goodness too because September is just awful!!! Matt was supposed to be back on regular schedule now after the turn-around but they screwed everyone again and scheduled training for Monday and Tuesday so now he works Monday instead of having off. All in all I think he has worked every day except 2 or 3 through the 26th of this month. I'm tired, he's tired,and the kids are missing him a lot. But I would rather him be doing this now and NOT in November when the babies are going to come. He unfortunately won't have much "resting" time when he's off in October though since he will be working his butt off to try to finish the attic in time for the babies to be born.

Today I'm taking the kids to my Mom and Dad's house to play with Megan, Seth & Ellie. I hope that it's fun. It's usually hit or miss with the girls playing and now throw Evan into the mix with no nap and it might get dicey! lol We will see. At least I can get the kids out of the house for the day.

I have to go shopping this week at some point. I'm trying to get everything set up for the hospital and then Grace's birthday and Christmas and I'm so far behind. I need to go shopping without the kids so that I can get presents purchased but it's just hard to find someone to watch them sometimes.

Matt's Grandpa is being moved to a rehabilitation facility in Altoona and when he's finished treatment there he will hopefully be moved back to the VA hospital. I hope everything starts calming down now with him. It's been scary this last week and I worry about Matt but also about Debbi.

Day

Matt's Grandpa has been in the hospital and isn't doing very well. They just decided that they needed to move him to another hospital's Intensive Care Unit. He's having mini-strokes and that's about as much as I definitively know at this point. He's supposed to be seeing a neurologist and getting more tests done and I am waiting to hear more from Debbi tomorrow at some point. Needless to say, Debbi isn't coming down tomorrow and I know the kids are going to be really bummed but hopefully she will be down soon. I really want Matt to go and visit Grandpa in the hospital whenever he can get a day off or (God forbid) if he needs to just take a day off and go up. I am going to ask the doctor tomorrow what she thinks about me possibly traveling up there sometime in the next week since I've been doing so well. We'll see what she says. I don't want to do anything to jeopardize the babies but if the doctor says that it's ok then I'll feel pretty confident going.
My friend, Molly, dropped off some of her maternity tops for me tonight! I can't wait to try them on. I am hoping that if I have clothes that somewhat fit me that it will make me feel better about myself. I'm having major self-image issues that I won't bore you with.
I'll post more tomorrow after my doctor appointment and hopefully after I get good news about Grandpa Guyer.

Night TOO MANY

I am so depressed this morning. I have the sniffles that I caught from the kids and couple that with not being able to breathe since I have two babies pushing on my lungs ~ I'm just plain cranky. This is the 14th day in a row (with one day off) of Matt working and I just need a break. I have no idea at this point when he's going to be off next. Right now the schedule is that he has off Monday the 21st for one day and then goes back on nights until the 27th. So that's 27 days of working with only 2 days off. Matt is so dead tired too. I feel so bad for him. He's just a zombie. The kids miss him, I miss him and me on a selfish level - just wants to step away from the kids for a few minutes and regroup. They're cranky today since we had such a busy day yesterday and they're not sleeping really well at night since they have stuffy noses. I'm just coming to the end of my rope and don't see an end in sight. Well - I shouldn't say that, my "break" will be going the doctor on Tuesday afternoon while Debbi and Grandma are down watching the kids for me. Debbi is bringing MomMom back that day and Grandma is coming with her. I can't wait to see them! The kids are going to go crazy when they see both Debbi and Grandma! Then the week after Rob will be down and they will be sooo happy to see him!

My plan for today was to go to the Verizon store to get a new cell phone since mine isn't working right anymore and then go to Joann Fabrics also but with the moods that the kids are in and as hot as it is outside, we're just staying here. Then Monday I was going to go to Walmart and then clean since Debbi and Grandma will be here Tuesday and the house could use a once over! I'm not happy about needing a new cell phone. The one that I have now I've only had for about 18 months and I take care of it. I just don't understand why it's not working....I think they make cell phones to only last a year or two so you have to buy a new one and renew your contract!!!

I better go - Grace wants me to help her dress up like a ballerina!

This weekend

I might *try* to take the kids to Riverfest in Charlestown, MD tomorrow. My parents would be going with me to help with the kids. I hate it that I need help just going places anymore but I won't go there, again. Riverfest is a big festival that has lots to do for kids and I think the kids would really love it. It's not supposed to be too hot tomorrow so I should be ok walking around for a little while. There was supposed to be a parade here in town tonight but the rain cancelled it. I was going to take the kids out to see it and think they would have enjoyed it but the weather interfered.
I can't wait until the babies room is done. I want to feel prepared. I think Matt is doing a great job with the room so far. He has put up a new wall and patched the exsisting walls. I know he's anxious to get back in there and finish everything in order to get the electric work started. I'm trying to be patient but it's so hard. I cannot believe that these babies could be here in as little as 7-9 weeks (God willing). It seems like there isn't enough time to get everything as ready as I would like it to be but on the other hand I cannot believe that I am going to keep growing bigger and bigger for another 7 plus weeks!!

Lonely - I'm so lonely....

Matt is still working nights. I am definitely missing him a lot right now. We barely speak to each other since he's so busy at work when we normally can squeeze in emails or a quick phone call, and when he's at home he's either sleeping or I'm laying down and he's playing with the kids. We have both decided that it's just better for me and the babies to take a little rest during the day since I have to do everything by myself since he's not here. I feel very guilty about doing it but we want healthy babies. I am just so ready to get my body back. I have never ever felt so run down and achy in all my life. I'm usually full of energy and feel like I keep up with the kids pretty well, not now. It's a little embarrassing to actually admit how tired I am since I know most people have never had twins so don't understand just how draining it can be. I never dreamt it could feel like it does.

I went out today to do a little more shopping since I'm trying to get everything bought and "ready" for the babies and Grace & Evan ready for fall before it's too late and I'm too huge. I got some good things but still need to go to a few more places. I have to get out to get Matt some new boots and a new pair of jeans. I also have to get myself an outfit or two for after the babies are born. I saw a few things in the Victoria's Secret catalog that I might order. I have no clothes that I think will fit me for after I have the babies. I am pretty darn sure that it's going to take me a lot longer to "bounce back" from this pregnancy and will have a bigger belly for a longer time before it "deflates"! lol...At least I might be able to hide it since it's winter and I can wear sweaters and sweatshirts to help hide it. Spanx might also be in order!!! hehe

quick one

I'm so happy - Matt got an unexpected night off for tomorrow night. I'm so thankful since it is really going to break things up for everyone. That means that he'll start again Saturday night then Debbi will be down on Monday for my first dr appointment and be here again Tuesday for my second appt at MFM, my Grandmother will be down again at the end of the week for a few hours in the middle of the day to help out also. I hate asking for help with things, but everyone keeps telling me that now is not the time to be too proud. I'm trying...it's just hard.

Grace and Evan get so excited when Matt comes home at night. They literally stand at the door and wait for him, as soon as they see him they both start screaming, "Daddy, Daddy" it's the cutest thing. Evan is talking so much now - he's becoming such my little man. He's rattling off new words all the time. I can't wait for Debbi to come down and hear him talking. They sure do miss her. Grace kept asking all day to call her on the phone. When we finally did, she got so excited that Debbi had a hard time understanding what she was saying since she was just talking a mile a minute! And Evan kept saying, "PopPop, PopPop" in the background - Rob will be down a little later in the month for a visit.

I love my kids so much...

Labor Day

Matt is working today. He works a lot of Holiday's this year, not that Labor Day is a big holiday or anything...but he does work day shift on Thanksgiving AND Christmas Day. I'm bummed about it but at least I knew that he would be from the very beginning of this year and have been preparing for it all year in my head. I'm still trying to come up with a good plan of action for Christmas Day with the kids gifts and things so Matt doesn't miss as much. I just found out a few weeks ago that Debbi and Rob will be here for Christmas Day and that has me soo happy! The kids will LOVE seeing them on Christmas Day and so will I. I'm sure Matt is going to want to try to meet up with them on Christmas Eve but I'm not sure how that will work since Rob's family has an open house that night and they will be going to that and we won't be able to go. Matt won't be home until about 6 Christmas Eve night anyway...we'll figure it out when it gets closer.

Nothing much has been happening here lately. I've been shopping for the kids for fall clothes and have made out pretty well with sales and coupons. Target today was awesome for play clothes for the kids at $4 each pc. They also had jeans on sale with adjustable waists that Grace really needs since she's such a skinny mini. I'm still in need of things for the twins but am trying not to buy too much since we don't really have anywhere to put it. The things I have purchased are hanging in Evan's closet.
Matt has been working on the new room and he's making good progress. He's almost done the drywall and things are looking so much better already. Now he just needs to finish the drywall-which should only take him less than an hour to do, and on to finish patching the plaster portion of the walls...sand them all down and that will be ready for the first coat of paint. Then we need to do the electric and put up the chair rail on the bottom of the walls and paint a little more then carpet and it will be done!!! October will be a busy and expensive month for us but it will be worth it!
Matt started his long shift today. He works 4 day works through Thursday and then goes right into 17 night works without a day off. Grace already said she misses him. That makes me so sad. At least on night works Grace gets some time with him in the middle of the day. Unfortunately Evan sleeps most of the time that Matt is here and awake so he doesn't see him that much - maybe for an hour a day. Debbi is my saving Grace for this turn around that Matt's on. She will be down twice and is watching the kids for me for my doctor appointments and if I just need a little break. She'll be down for 9/8 and then again the following week on Tuesday I think. On some levels I cannot believe that it's September already. I am excited though - I love fall! Picking pumpkins and apples, fall leaves, cooler weather, comfy clothes, parades, and festivals. I was looking forward to going to the mountains with the kids this fall but I'm not allowed to travel up there now. I thought maybe Matt would take them in October overnight without me (which would make me sad but the kids would love it) but I don't know if we will have time for it with the rest of the work that needs to be done in the twins new room. I feel bad that Matt is doing all of the work alone but I am in no shape to help!! lol...
Grace just yesterday was saying how much she misses Grandma and Debbi and Rob. It makes me so sad that she wants to see them but I can't take her up to see them. She will be thrilled when Debbi comes down next week.
I better go -Evan is getting up from his nap.

I confess

I confess - this morning I let the kids watch a show on TV while I did nothing more than paint my nails and read the news online. My nails look really nice, I painted them a really fall color called Copper Pumpkin. Evan and Grace are wearing their new jeans today. Evan's are a little big in the waist but the next smaller size were too short. Grace is wearing hers but isn't really happy since she wants to wear a dress today and I won't let her since she doesn't have one that is weather appropriate. If I let her - all she would wear are dresses since "she is a princess!"
I cannot wait until it's cool outside all the time - jeans and sweatshirt weather. Too bad that kind of weather is fleeting. Then it's into heavy winter jacket - freeze your booty off - type of weather, and I don't like that! Ah well anything is better than 95 degrees swelling up like roadkill type weather.
Yes- this blog is a bunch of nonsense, but it ate up the time that it took for my nails to dry. Now it's off to turn the TV off and listen to the kids complain that they want another show. Maybe I'll have something more interesting to say later. Until then...

Barf-O

We were supposed to go to my Mom's today for a little birthday party for her with just Meg, Seth & Ellie and the kids and I. We got there and were literally barely in the door and Grace said she didn't feel good. Then all of the sudden she threw up all over the floor. I cleaned it all up and her up and she was burning up! I had just rubbed lotion on her about an hour and a half before that and she felt fine. She was acting fine this morning also-playing, dancing, and being her normal self. But we came home much to the chagrin of the kids and she does have a 103-104 fever and says that her body hurts. I gave her Motrin and it brought her fever down significantly in no time so that's good. She also ate and drank a little bit. I'm just letting her veg out on the couch the rest of the day and hope she feels better tomorrow. I feel so bad for her when she doesn't feel good.

Salon

Grace went to the salon this morning and got her hair cut. She was such a good girl! She loooves the big girl salon! I had my Mom go with me though in case Grace wanted to sit on someone's lap and she did but that was ok. This is the second time I've taken her to Aldus to get her hair cut and this time the atmosphere was a little more tense. We got there and when we were called back, there was a woman sitting in the chair next to us getting her hair done. This woman was what looked to be about 4-6 months pregnant and she said she was starting to feel queasy and faint. Pretty much as soon as she said that she started to pass out and then started having a very mild seizure. It was so scary to see. I turned the kids the other way since I didn't want them seeing it plus I didn't want it to freak them out with everyone running over to her. They called an ambulance and she seemed fine after a few minutes. She was sitting up and talking and drinking some water. She said she has never had anything like that happen to her before. How scary to have that happen to you, let alone while you're pregnant. I hope she and her baby are fine now.
But back to Grace and her haircut - she looks sooo cute. It's just in a classic bob cut now. I will try to get some pictures posted here soon. I will probably take pictures tomorrow while we're at my Mom's with Megan, Seth & Ellie. I have to post a belly picture soon too. I've just been avoiding it since I feel so fat now. I won't even go there though ---!!

She's crafty

My Mom told me that she is going to be in a huge craft fair on 9/27 with my sister. I wish that I was as crafty as they are. I have been trying to think of things that I could make to sell but I just don't know if I have the time/energy for it. Between doctor's appointments and two kids and being pregnant with two more kids...there never seems to be enough hours in the day. I'm sure a lot of people out there can relate.

I was reading an article in a parenting magazine at the doctor yesterday about birth order and predisposed behavior. I don't think that it very true. I think it's all in how you raise your kids and the amount of discipline and time you spend with them. I just don't believe that only children are spoiled and middle children are neglected - and so on. I'm sure that there is SOME truth to it, but you just have to be aware in HOW you are raising your kids and the amount of attention you spend with each one individually should be equal.

Have to cut this one short-

Amazed

I'm amazed at how fast time is flying by with the kids. I cannot believe that Grace is going to be 3 soon and that Evan is starting to really talk now. I know that the more busy I am, the faster time goes by - so I'm scared at how fast time will go once the twins get here. I'm extremely ecstatic that school is starting for all of the kids on Monday. I can't wait!! I loooove when it's nice out and the kids are in school since I can take Grace and Evan outside and pretty much hear nothing and have the park and the rest of town to ourselves! I need to get some more fall shopping done for the kids also, and the mall is always less crowded once the kids go back to school also. I found some good deals at the mall the other day but ran out of money so I'm going to have to wait until next paycheck to get them some more things. We are anti-credit card so charging isn't an option! It's all about the debt-to-income ratio for when we go to buy another house!
Matt made some headway on the attic on his 3 days off this week. I'm actually surprised at how much he got done since we ran around a lot also. He talked to the neighbor about doing the electric work for it and he agreed to do it whenever we need him to. I hope that Matt can get a lot done in the first week of October since that is his next week off. That way we have enough time to set up the appointment to get the carpet installed and to paint. Speaking of painting, I'm going to have to recruit/bribe someone to help with the painting. I'm not sure how careful Matt will be painting! lol... I wanted to do a really neat faux finish but I don't think that is going to happen since I have to ask someone else to do it for me. I hate asking for help - I just don't like to admit that I can't do it myself. But I know that with my current situation, I can't not ask for help.

why?

Why is it that I complain about seeing weight gain and changes in my face - yet I cannot stop eating?!! I don't eat a ton at each sitting but I eat pretty much all day long. There is less and less room for me to put food since the babies are getting so big - but man I eat a lot! I am a little anxious to see how much I've gained at the doctor on Thursday but excited at the same time. I was told to try to gain roughly 24lbs by 24 weeks. I'm 24 weeks this week so we will see!!

Lots to do

I can't believe how much we have going on right now. Each day it's not much but when you add it all together it just seems as though we're constantly running around and have things going on. Today after Matt wakes up around 11 we have to take Evan to the doctor for a check-up. Then we need to go shopping for a new saw for Matt so that he can start framing out a section of the twins' room. After that it's a quick stop at the grocery store and then home to get dinner and tub and bedtime. Tomorrow morning we have to take Grace to the dentist. That should be interesting. I won't even get into that now! After the dentist Matt is just going to work on the twins room and mow the grass. Thursday I have a regular OB appointment to go to. I have so much to do around the house that it's scary. I just don't seem to have the energy to do it. I'm supposed to be posting belly pictures and I'm scared to. I don't want people to see how big I'm getting in places other than my belly. I really want Matt to buy me an elliptical machine for Christmas!! I'm going to need something to help get this weight off. (And yes, I'm selfish...I'm worried about getting the weight off now - before the babies are even here!!) I just don't like how I feel when i'm carrying around extra weight. I am trying to gain as much weight as my doctor is suggesting it's just scary that's all.
I just found out that someone else I know is pregnant with their second. I think their kids will be 3 years apart. I'm happy for them. This will be their last baby. As hard as this pregnancy is getting for me, I'm a little sad that I know that I won't ever be pregnant again. It's hard to explain. That said - we are SOOOO finished after this!!!
I better go get something done instead of sitting here blogging!

Happy Tuesday!

Loner

I haven't written in a few days, I've been pretty busy. We went car shopping for Matt and almost bought something and then chickened out. We're both having a hard time making the decision about what is best. There are just so many unknowns right now in regards to money that we should just wait until after the new year to do anything. We will see.

We now have a 'loner' tv since ours couldn't be fixed here. They didn't have the parts and it was too complicated. I'm such a tv snob now. This one is still a flat panel, but it's a 720 lcd and ours is a 1080 plasma so the difference is drastic to us. At least I have a tv though.

Starting labor day Matt is pretty much working the entire month of September with no days off, at least from the 1st until the 20th...It sucks so much for everyone. Not to mention that it's alllllll nights. I won't even go there right now. The money will be nice but money isn't everything.

We have to get moving on finishing the twins room...it's just now with him working over his next week off I have no clue when it's going to get done. He has two weeks off in a row the last week of Oct and first week of Nov but that's cutting it so close to me having the babies. Not to mention that we have to schedule for the carpet to be installed and everything. I'm so stressed about it.

Random: My Dad went to the emergency room this morning, he walked into an engine that was on a hoist in the garage and put a huge gash in his leg so he went and got some stitches. Luckily the ER wasn't crowded. He must visit the ER once a year for stitches!

Overtime day

Matt's at work today for an overtime day. He almost got forced to work tomorrow also but they found someone else since we have plans and a dr appointment at Maternal Fetal Medicine. Our tv that is less than a year old is broken. It's a flat panel plasma tv and it just shut off the other night. Well it turns out that it's something that effects a lot of this brand of tv so Panasonic is sending a repair guy out this week to fix it. Luckily it's still covered under warranty! I don't usually have the tv on during the day except when i'm showering and making dinner or if there is something that I want to catch a peek at. I have been searching for baby stories that are about twins so if I know that one of them is on and I think I can watch it - I won't bother to dvr it...but most of the time I just keep the tv off and watch it after the kids are in bed. I just don't want the kids sitting and tubing all day...Even though you would never know it with as much as Grace loooves Dora and Diego and knows everything about them! She also likes Max and Ruby a lot. Evan likes Blues Clues and Sesame Street. I try to alternate shows for them when I shower in the morning.

We had a good weekend this weekend. It was pretty hectic though. Friday we did errands and cleaned a little bit. Saturday Matt worked in the attic all morning and then we had TJ, Molly, Em and Colin over and had a blast. Grace really likes playing with Emily! And Colin - well he's just the cutest little thing!! I had a hard time holding him though since my big ole belly kept getting in the way! I miss snuggling with Evan - he always wants to crawl up on my chest and lay when he gets sleepy b/c that what we would always do before I was pregnant and now I can't. But I try to snuggle with him in other ways. He's such a snuggle bug! Sunday we went to a family party and the kids had a good time! They looove playing at my Grandmothers house -so much room to run and play with new toys and treats all the time! It was a lot of work to keep them awake on the 45 minute ride home!!

I'm trying to come up with what color I want to paint the twins new room and just have no idea...maybe i'll try to decide on a carpet color first and take it from there. I better get cracking here - I have laundry that needs to be folded before it wrinkles and i'm almost ready to eat another lunch! hehehe....eating for 3 is a lot of work!

Freaky Friday

Today is Matt's first day off and he's still sleeping. Getting up at 3am for work every day this week really took it out of him. I guess more than usual b/c there was a lot going on this week at work. He's officially on nights for his turn around at work which is supposed to start the weekend after Labor Day. That means about 2-3 weeks of constant working night shift. I hate it, but what can you do?! Just part of the job. It still sucks that I won't really see him for 2-3 weeks and the kids miss him terribly.

I have a lot to try and do today. I have some cleaning and finishing trying to clean up the flower bed since it won't be so hot out today. I have errands to run and some grocery shopping to do.

I'm trying to get this house organized and have been trying to since we moved here 2 years ago but it just doesn't seem to be working! I guess it all comes down to lack of storage space. I'm getting more creative though with how to store things so that's helping...but it just costs money.

Yesterday I was swelling up so bad that I had to put my feet up to try to get it to go down. I cannot wait for fall where we will have cooler weather!!!

Thursday.

Finally, Matt's last day of work before a week off. We have so much to do. I hope he can get a lot done on the twins room on Saturday and Sunday. I really wish I was able to help him. He is going to talk to the neighbor about the electric that needs to be installed up there. I hope that the neighbor will do it - we'll pay him of course - he did the rest of the wiring in the house and offered a few months ago to do it. As for today, I really overdid it yesterday and am so sore and crampy today so I'm not sure what I'm going to get into today. I am going to take the kids to the park at 3ish when Evan gets up from his afternoon nap as long as it's not raining. I really want to shampoo the living room carpet but am hesitant because we might just end up buying a new rug all together. This one has stains on it from various child related issues and we just can't seem to keep it clean or even get it clean-looking for that matter. I found one on clearance that I like at BJ's so I might just go get it and be done with it...as long as they still have it. I have to get back to BJ's before Sunday anyway to use all of my coupons before they expire. I'm going to stock up on diapers. I cannot even imagine how many diapers we're going to go through when the twins are born....3 in diapers for a little while - WOW! 2 in diapers was bad enough. I'm ordering a cloth diaper to try out on Evan just to see...cloth diapers have come a looong way so I figure that I'll give it a try at least. They say that cloth diapered kids potty train earlier so I'm just going to see what it's like with cloth - I researched and found highly recommended ones so we will see. I'll let you know how it goes. (And to those who think that I'm crazy - yea I probably am- but I'll do anything to save money since we're a one income family trying to support soon to be 6 people and buy a new house soon!!!) :)
That's all for now - I'll probably post more later - I have lots to say and haven't been talking to any adults during the day this week for some reason!

A need to vent.

Ok, I can't help it....I am SOOO annoyed right now and have no one to talk to !! Why in the hell do people get animals as pets that they don't want to bother with????? The people up the street whose house just burnt down had a pen outback for a large dog and two small dogs. When their house burnt down they moved across the street into a rental home that was owned my the same people as their original house. Well it turns out they have a zoo in their house, birds, rodents, reptiles, etc. Fine, whatever. Not my business. But now they are just leaving their 3 dogs - now 4 but I don't know where the 4th one came from outside in the pen ALL day and ALL night barking. And barking. And barking. It's hot outside. Why are you getting dogs just to leave them locked in a pen all the time?! I understand that people have to work and whatever, but the girl is HOME right now and they're STILL out there!!!! I can't handle the barking. It's coming through on the monitor from Evan's room and uggg...I just want to go let the poor dogs outside to stretch their legs!!!!!!!!!!!! It's not their fault that they're barking, it's the irresponsible owners fault!

Wednesday!!!!!!!

I don't know what to get into first today. I guess I have this problem almost everyday. There are so many things to do I just don't know what to do first! Then I have the issue of distractions! I start one thing and then get distracted and move on to something else. We are definitely doing some crafts outside today after Evan gets up from his morning nap (that he decided he wants to take again!) . Probably something messy like painting little wooden birdhouses or something. The kids love to do crafts! We're going to try to make some thank you cards also, but I might not have the right paper for that.

Nothing much to say right now other than I need to get motivation to start on a project and just don't know which to choose...

I just heard Evan say, "uh-oh Mama"...I better go see what he did that was an uh-oh!

Tuesday

I can't wait for Thursday evening when Matt is off for a week. Well, almost a week, he picked up an overtime day on Monday ~ we're taking it where we can get it! He won't be able to work much overtime in the late fall closer to when i'm due because i'm going to need so much help and then obviously after the babies are born I'll need a little help until I recover from not only the delivery but just letting my body recover from the pregnancy. I am hoping to get out one day on his week off to do a little Christmas shopping/Birthday shopping for Grace - I hope to get it all done by mid October. And what I don't get done i'll do online when the Christmas sales start. We're having our friends over on Saturday and i'm excited about that - people we can relate to!!!! And have fun with!!!! I can't wait! Sunday is Tour de Christiana so i'll take the kids out to see some of it for a little bit and then the kids and I might try to get out of town to go to a family birthday party at my Grandmother's house...we'll see how it goes. Matt is going to stay behind though to work on the attic. We HAVE to get it finished. And we thought that he would get a lot of it done on this coming week off and the next one in September but he is going to end up doing a turn around during his next week off - working for 2 weeks straight ugg...so he won't get anything done then. He'll be on night shift too. 2 weeks of night shift.

Another one...

I hope the kids and I can have another day like yesterday. We had such a good day, it was busy but good. Everyone was in a good mood, no tantrums, just a really great day. I am going to take the kids to the park today so run off some energy and do some things around the house. We might take a small shopping trip but I'm not sure yet. I have coupons for BJ's for diapers that are going to expire and want to use them It's $5 off a box of diapers plus I can use a manufacturers coupon so it's a really good deal. I have to try to finish up organizing my bedroom even though it's packed with boxes of things that are going to go in the twins room when it's finished. Matt is hoping to get a lot done on their room this weekend. He said he might get some help Sunday but i'm not sure that's set in stone.
Off to take a shower now...

Thankful

I get so caught up in daily happenings that sometimes I forget to be thankful for where I am in my life and what I have. Today, I took a minute to step back and really see what I have and how blessed I am. I am married to my best friend, who could ask for anything more. Matt is the most wonderful father to our kids. We have two healthy, unruly, good kids who sometimes give us more than we think we can handle but that's what being a parent is all about. We're pregnant with twins due in December. Someone must think that we're good parents to bless us with two more! I have come a long way...I have grown and matured in ways I never thought I would. I attribute that to being a parent also. Kids do funny thing to you. Things you never thought you would see yourself do or say. I used to say, I'll never say "xyz" that my parents said to me, and I find myself saying it! I never dreamt of driving a minivan...here I am, a minivan driving, toddler toting Mommy. I never thought that sleep deprivation and sheer exhaustion would be so rewarding. I guess you truly never know what being a parent is like until you are one. I thought that I knew what love was when I married Matt, and I do love him. It's just a different kind of love. Again, it's something I never would have believed before I had kids - that there was a more powerful love out there than the love that I have for my husband. I guess it all comes down to life being about constant growth...to never think that you have it all figured out. Being humble is important. I'm thankful that I'm 27 and not 21...thankful that I'm 27 and not 17...

Dunno

I don't know what's going on with Grace. She keeps saying her tooth hurts and pointing all the way back in the back of her mouth but she won't let me look. She still sounds very hoarse but has no runny nose, no other signs of being sick and if she was going to get sick from her throat being like that I would have assumed she would have woken up this morning sick. So i'm going to go to Walmart today and get the things we need to go to the mountains and pray that she stays healthy! Matt is really looking forward to going. His cousins are going to be up there and so is one of his uncles from SC. I can't wait to get out of this house for the weekend!!
Evan is really starting to talk now. He was walking around yesterday pretending to talk on his phone saying, "hello"...."byebye"...and lots of jabbering in between. He's talking later than Grace but every kids is different. I have to get him to the doctor for his wellness visit in 2 weeks I can't wait to see how big he is now.
We have such a packed weekend schedule from now until the end of August. We aren't usually this busy on the weekends since Matt works 2 a month.

Hope not

Grace woke up this morning and her voice sounds scratchy. I hope she's not getting sick. Ellie was sick on Saturday when she was here and I hope she didn't catch it from her. That will surely ruin our trip to the mountains if she gets sick since we wouldn't want to get Debbi or Rob sick. I will be SO upset if we can't go. I need to get out of this house. The walls feel like they're closing in around me. I hate it. I can't imagine what it's going to feel like this winter when I have the twins here and can't get anyone outside. Argghh....I am trying to start my Christmas shopping. I have a partial list made and just need to start buying! I don't want to have to fool with even internet shopping when the twins are born or getting ready to be born. I'm having trouble thinking about what to get Grace for Christmas. Usually we get the kids one "big" gift and I just don't know what to get her. I also have to buy her birthday gifts and think of neat and special gift for both Grace and Evan that are going to "be from the twins" when they're born. So far i'm going to get some Color Wonder things for the kids since they love that stuff, they can color with it in the living room or in the car and think it's so neat. I'm going to get Grace some dress-up things and puzzles, Evan is getting a big toolbench/workstation for his big gift. I might get Grace a backpack for "her things" when we go places and maybe one for Evan.

Thinking

Things have been nuts these last few days. I just don't know where the time goes, Matt has been on day shift this weekend (and has off tomorrow yea!) and before I know it, he's calling to tell me he was relieved and is on his way home! It's nice but i'm not getting nearly enough done. Yesterday I just couldn't get my act together. At all. I get waves of sickness on random days and yesterday and now today are just some of those days. Yesterday I didn't physically get sick but today I have been, ugg. Anyway- I have a friend from high school who was my best friend back then who I talked a few weeks ago and she said that she was pregnant with her first baby. I haven't heard from her since and now i'm scared that something happened. I hope not. I am not really close to her now but from what I do know of her, she will be a wonderful Mom. Someone else I know from high school, although we weren't friends then (probably b/c I was a major bitch in high school - yea I know I was but people change and thankfully I did!!) is trying to get pregnant with her second child and is on month number 2. I hope it happens for her this month! When Matt and I were both working at W&J we worked with a man named Sam, he was always more than nice to us and fun to work with. Well, he had triple bypass surgery recently and I just pray he recovers quickly. I simply cannot imagine how I would feel if it were my Dad going through that. How scary.
Sorry this blog is so scattered.
I used my carpet cleaner today on the kitchen floor-it has a hard floor attatchment and it worked ok. I think it will be better on the carpet, but it's too hard for me to push on the carpets so I have to wait for Matt to do it tonight.
I think we're going to do Boys and girls day tomorrow. I am going to take Grace shopping with me and Matt is going to take Evan to Home Depot with him to get supplies for the attic. Grace loooves to go shopping especially when she gets to walk around and do things like I do with her purse and everything. She's such a girly girl! I painted her nails this morning a really light color pink and she just loves them! I know before long she's going ot be begging for me to let her get her ears pierced....no way kiddo - not for a while!!

Hands on!

We took the kids to Hands on House today in Lancaster and the kids had an absolute blast! It wasn't crowded and the kids got to lead us around and touch everything--they thought it was the coolest thing! I love love loved watching them try everything out and the looks on their faces were just priceless. They're always told to not touch things when we're out and they could just go around and touch everything that they wanted to! Evan was very into "picking the corn" and putting it in baskets. They both loved the giant Lite Brite. And Grace loved the fishing and the treehouse. The face painting thing was pretty nasty looking I have to say so we didn't do that part. We probably spent and hour and a half in there. It cost us $21 total. So it wasn't bad at all. I will take the kids back there. There was a garden outside to explore also but it was closed for a special event which was a little bit of a bummer. I'm just happy to get the kids out to do something fun and just for them. They both fell asleep on the way home which is unusual for Grace.

Finishing

We've started working on our attic and Matt should start the actual refinishing next week. I'm excited to get it done but kind of bummed at the same time. We really want to move out of this place but just can't agree on where to go. If we move to the "ideal" location, we will need to stay here at least a few more years since it's a VERY high dollar area and will need that time to save up some more money. If we decide to go to a less expensive area we could potentially move in the spring IF we could sell this house which I don't think would be an issue since it's a lower priced house and nice inside. You don't find too many nice homes in the price range with 4 bedrooms and 2 full bathrooms. I don't know. Right now isn't the ideal time to move anyway for us. The housing market sucks, we have only been here two years this month and I'm already huge and unable to pack/move boxes. I guess I still have to have faith in the idea of when it's time we'll know it. For right now we have to enjoy the low mortgage payment and just get ready for the babies!

Just one of those days

Today started out not so great and is staying not so great. The kids are both in bad moods, they're fighting over everything, screaming when they don't get their way, and throwing tantrum after tantrum! The time out chair has been the "hot spot" all morning. All of this and it's only 11:00!! Right now I pulled the, "Mother of the Year", turn the tv on so I can grab something quick to eat, shower and have a moment (just one i'm sure) of peace for the day. BUT-I only have half an hour to do it since that's when the show is over. (I'm typing this while my lunch cooks!) Multitasking is a must!

This afternoon I hope to finish cleaning out the kids rooms of clothes from the winter and spring. I will figure out what to do with the clothes after Monday's ultrasound. If they're both boys like Matt and Grace think then I can get rid of everything from Grace, If they're girls -everything from Evan and so on.

Have to go - time to eat something and then make the kids lunch and pray they get in better moods. It will be better tomorrow when Daddy is home.

Park

Holy cow it's hot outside today! This morning we went to Walmart and Grace was my big helper. She only put things in the cart that I told her to, and she walked right with me the entire time with no issues. Some may think that this is nothing big, but Grace has a very independent side so I was just really happy that she listened so well today. Evan was in the cart and he got to drop the things into the cart which he thinks is big fun!! We came home and had lunch, did crafts, Ev took his afternoon nap and then we went to the park! They had soo much fun! It was really hot but at least at 3 when we usually go, the park is completely in the shade so that helped. No one else was there so that's always nice. I was going to call Molly to see if she wanted to go but realized that I don't have her phone number. I'll have to message her later to get it for next time! I think we're still seeing them on Friday night but will have to confirm that also. (sorry random things are popping into my head as I write) I will try to post pictures on here later of the kids at the park. Most of the pictures aren't very good b/c the kids were literally running around like crazy since they were so excited to be there and have the whole park to themselves!

I can't wait for Thursday about 6...Matt will start his week off! We live for these! The week off every month makes up for the rough schedule the rest of the time! And we're getting closer to our big ultrasound! I am getting more impatient by the day! Monday is also my birthday so that just adds to my anticipation! Can't wait!!!!!!!!

random

On a message board that I visit, this was the question of the day...What have you done so far today? I thought I would answer it here and then paste it over there... so here goes -

I got up at 5:30am, Grace had to pee. We came downstairs and had juice and watched something on tv that I don't recall b/c I was still half asleep. 6:30 Evan woke up and we had breakfast, peanut butter toast for Grace, a cheese bagel for Ev. The kids watched Blues Clues while I took a shower and got dressed. We played and cleaned up toys until Evan's nap at 9am. While Ev was napping, Grace played with a makeup kit that I got for my birthday, I will post pics here later. She did her own makeup but had more fun doing mine! I should stick with that look! Ev woke up and we did crafts, painted pictures for Daddy. Then it was time to clean up and have lunch. The kids played for a while then it was time for Ev's afternoon nap...and here we are. Oh--and in there I did 3 loads of laundry and dishes.

Guess

Guess what the twins are...

update

In some ways I can't believe that it's July already!! I can't believe that Evan is inching his way towards a year and a half and that Grace is getting closer to 3!! We made it to the beach last week and had a blast. We tried to see if we could rent a house in NC for the week of July 14th but I couldn't move a dr's appointment so we are going to see how i'm feeling in August and maybe try to go the second week of August, we'll see though i'll be btwn my 22/23 week then and i'm not supposed to travel very far after my 24th week. I guess we'll play it by ear. Matt and I are talking again about where we want to move. We just can't decide. We're toying with moving to Jersey again b/c of gas prices, maybe renting something to test it out if we like it or not. Who knows. This weekend is shaping up to be pretty busy. Then Matt's on dayworks next week Mon-Thurs so they always go pretty fast then he has a week off! We might try to go to the beach again or Dutch Wonderland or something else for the kids.

It's a toy store!

I rotate toys in the house pretty often. It helps keep the kids from getting too bored. Yesterday I took Grace downstairs with me where we put the toys that are out of rotation and she was so excited to see all of the toys she said, "We have a toy store in our house!!" She loved picking out "new" toys to take upstairs to play with.

I really want to try to get to the beach this Wednesday, it really all depends on the weather. Just for the day. I think the kids would have a blast! And we would too! We'll see.

Randoms

I haven't posted in a while because things have been so crazy. Nothing much is happening. Grace is potty trained now. She is doing so well with it. I'm beyond proud of her. She's proud of herself too which I LOVE to see. Evan is really starting to talk now and it's just adorable! Grace and Ev have conversations all their own, I just gobble it up. I bought an amazing playtable and 2 chairs from the Pottery Barn outlet and total it cost me $76!! I looked it up online at the regular store and the table itself was $200. I want to go back and get a bookshelf that I saw. They really have some good deals there. I will have to stop in more often on my way past going to the dr to see what other things they get in. I need 2 more chairs but they only had 2 in a color other than pink!
We might try to take the kids to the beach next week for the day. I really want to do some fun things with them before I'm either too big and uncomfortable or on bedrest and can't. I wanted to try to get together with Molly and the kids this week but it just didn't happen this week. Just like Matt's other weeks off we just don't know where the time goes. It's Thursday night and I really don't know where the time went this week. We did get to go see Greg and Eleni for the first time in a long time, and did some much needed running around but I just can't figure out what happened to the time.

oops

I posted a little story about Grace and Evan on my "twins" blog by accident, check it out over there!!

Rough

We had a rough day yesterday that I am just too mentally exhausted to get into at the moment. However it did bring a few things to light. Even though i'm not proud of it, Grace has been watching more TV than usual since I got pregnant and wasn't feeling well. I can see the impact that it's having on her attitude so starting today i'm limiting her tv time to one show while I take a 2 second shower, and then MAYBE another one in the late afternoon while i'm trying to get dinner together. I have crafts and things for her and Ev to work on in the evenings though when i'm doing dinner so I don't have to result to using the tv as a babysitter. I don't have any ideas though as to how to keep them out of trouble while i'm showering so tv it is. Flame me if you must.
We're trying to get ready to go to the mountains this weekend and I feel like I take 2 steps forward and 5 back. I did errands Mon and Tues to no avail b/c I still have running around to do. I just hope that this mountain trip goes better than the last in regards to sleeping at night.
Matt wants a motorcycle. I would love to get him one for Father's Day just to make him happy but I just don't want him to have one with the temptation of saving so much on gas riding it back and forth to work. That's just too too too scary. I mean he crosses 95 for goodness sake. So I just don't know about how I feel about the motorcycle thing.

Extra Extra read all about it.......

Grace is almost done potty training!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! I'm soooo excited. She just hasn't been ready and hasn't been ready and I was beginning to feel like she wasn't going to ever do it and I'd be putting diapers in her suitcase for her honeymoon! lol. Well last week she asked to get on the potty on Wednesday and from then on we've been out of diapers!!! She finally did a poop on the big potty last night and was SOOO proud of herself. Up until that point, the smart little thing would wait until bedtime and poop in her pull-up. So today we're off to pick out a new toy and get ice cream as a reward! Yea!!!! I forgot what it was like to have just on in diapers!! So now I can enjoy only having one in diapers until the twins come!! Then we're going to be up to our eyeballs in diaper duty!

Just have to

I know that I shouldn't even approach this subject but I just can't help it...I know that someone might feel as though this is talking about them but in all honesty, the person who really inspired this blog i'm not sure even knows how to use a computer.

I just have to talk about relationships. It seems like all of the relationships around me are falling apart at a rapid pace. Is it our age or is it just how things are now? Are Matt and I really that strange? We have a wonderful marriage. I really love him. I love him more than I did the day we got married. I miss him when he's not here. I look up to him when I see how amazing he is with the kids. He takes care of me when i'm sick. I would go to the ends of the earth for him, do anything for him. We have our arguements. And they usually last a whole 5 minutes. What is so important that you can't talk it out with someone you pledged to love for better or worse? How do you just simply 'fall out of love' with someone? The simple answer is you don't IF you truely loved them in the first place. I'm not talking loved like a friend, i'm talking the all encompassing, whole body, love until it hurts, unconditional love. I cannot imagine happily living my life without Matt in it. He's in every thought and future daydream that I have. Sitting at the kids sporting events together, teaching the kids how to drive, putting the kids on the bus for their first day of kindergarten, walking Grace down the aisle when she gets married(at age 40). Is it luck that we found each other again after not talking very much to each other for those few years after high school? Maybe. But I also think that it has something to do with the fact that we both got to live independent lives for a little while before we got together. Matt did his, what i call, "alcoholic" phase and went to the bars all the time and bought way too many "toys", and hung out with the guys all the time. I did the college thing and the drinking thing and living in AZ thing. We knew what it was like to be independent and do our own thing. I guess I may have lost my point in this....I just don't understand how you can walk away from someone that you pledged your love to with, what seems like, not even a second thought.