Erin's Epiphanies

Me Time

2012-01-27T15:35:00.001-05:00

I like to clean organize. Mostly from the inside out (Starting in drawers and closets and ending with tabletops). But I’m not where near as organized as I would like to be, and my house is no where as clean as I want it to be. Ever.
I’m a list maker. I like to mark things off when I’m done. It give me a sense of accomplishment when I can actually see that things are done.
I don’t say “ya’ll,” I say “you guys.”
I was born and raised in Jacksonville, Florida, but customers always thought I was from New Jersey because of my “accent.”
I never wanted to be a “Stay at Home Mom,” but it seriously is the Best. Job. Ever.
I’m not one of those women who loves being pregnant. I hated it, I never felt “pretty.”
I basically have no idea what my husband does to support us. When people ask what he does, I tell them “I don’t know.”
I’m not a morning person. But can get more done by 10 AM than I could all day when I’m up and moving by 7:00.
I love the smell of coffee. Hate the taste. For years all I would drink is a French Vanilla Cappuccino from a Hess gas station. Then Hess got rid of it and only carried Dunkin Donuts. I now will only drink a French Vanilla Cappuccino from a Gate gas station.
I just recently started to enjoy cooking and making dinner.
I tried the couponing thing. I stuck with it for maybe four or five months. I saved money. Not 99% or even 50%, but I saved a little. Then we had the twins, then our paper subscription ended.
I graduated with an Communications degree in Advertising. Big Whoop.
I like certain clothing trends. Some I’d even like to participate in, but never feel like I could “pull it off.”
I neither love nor hate my minivan. It is a vehicle that serves it’s purpose. I hate that I drive a minivan. I’d rather drive my Accord or SUV. I love the three reasons why I drive a minivan.
I can’t wait to pack up said minivan and take my kids to Disney World
I love mint chocolate chip ice cream, cheddar and sour cream chips, Double Stuff Oreos, Welches Sparkling Grape juice, Milk, and an ice cold Coke. Not necessarily together. ;)
I used to be a night owl. But in addition to not being a morning person, I often could fall asleep at 9:00 PM.
I LOVE my church families and how much they have come to mean to me
I don’t have 100 best friends. I have fabulous friends. But I can count on one hand the really good ones. They know who they are.
I have three cats and a dog. They were my first children.
If needed, I iron my jeans and sweaters.
I kept a diary, I’ve never let anyone read, until I was in high school. Now, I blog and want people to read it.
I’m cheap. But not extreme.
I wish I was more creative and artistic.
I love to plan. Showers, birthday parties, things for the house, etc.
I need to learn better time management.
I like to read. But don’t.
I like to exercise. But don’t.

FIVE Stars for the Twins

2012-01-21T20:55:00.001-05:00

Five months. ~~I’ve~~ We’ve survived five whole months with the twins and a two year old. ~~Some~~ Most days are good, some days not so much. But that is really no different from before we had the twins, it’s just amplified now.

I did something I said I was going to try not to do. I read Collin’s 5 month post and now I feel like there is something “wrong” and I’m a horrible mom. Collin was, apparently, sleeping though the night, eating pureed food, drinking water from a sippy cup, sitting up, and playing with a rubber duck in the bathtub. Hhmmm… Justin and Lana

JUST had single grain oatmeal for the first time this week

yummy??

Yes, their bibs say “Star of Mommy’s Blog” I LOVE these bibs and have been anticipating this for a long time :) And yes, unfortunately I know these pictures came out blurry :( But I wanted the pictures the first time they ate, but they weren’t really having it.

They actually did really well. They seemed to enjoy it and managed to get the majority of it in their mouths. By the second or third sitting, they couldn’t get it fast enough. I did buy sweet potatoes and peas this week in hopes of making some more food for them. Guess my goal needs to be to get on that sooner rather than later.

They are sleeping pretty good, still up once at night, and it’s still random between 2:00 and 6:00.
The thought of a sippy cup with water hadn’t even entered my mind yet.
We just put them in the exersaucers for the first time this week too

Sitting up on their own, seems to still be at least a month off
Bath time is, well,unfortunately for them, bath time, not play time
They are rolling over like crazy now though. It makes changing them ~~near impossible~~ exciting. Neither seems to mind their tummy at all anymore. Unless they are just way beyond tired and/or hungry, then nothing makes them happy.

I suppose I should get my act together and start feeding my kids more, praying they sleep more, give them a sippy cup, hang out in the bumbos and exersaucers more so they can learn to sit up on their own, and hopefully that will make bath time more enjoyable, rather than a chore we have to do twice.

Those are some pretty healthy looking kids for only being on Mama’s Milk for five months ;)

In other news, my dad got to come down for a few days and meet the twins for the first time. To say the trip was a success, would be an understatement. Collin for days asked me, “When’s Poppy coming over?” We are already looking forward to the visit in the spring. And a bonus to the trip for him, we were able to have the Baby Dedication while he was here :) Although, I don’t have any pictures because it was at the very beginning of the church service as opposed to the very end, like Collin’s was. At any rate, I was very happy with how it went. All three kids were very well behaved and didn’t cry, fuss, or wiggle at all.

I Need a Blog-A-Thon

2012-01-15T17:39:00.001-05:00

So. Much. To. Blog.

The next week or so should make for some easy writing (if I can manage my time accordingly). I’ve been so busy and things have been happening so quickly

I’ve got a new recipe

My dad came for a visit

The Twin’s are almost 5 months old which means a monumental post because:

   We did their Baby Dedication at church

   They have started using their exersaucers

   They have tried Oatmeal

I’ve taken so many pictures, there might even been a Wordless Wednesday thrown in there for good measure. And just for fun now…

What’s for Dinner: Easy as Pie

2012-01-08T14:12:00.001-05:00

I really shouldn't be as proud of myself as I am for “cooking” lately. But, the things that I am making are huge steps up from the hamburger helper Devin and I lived on the first, uh, five years we were married. It’s ridiculous how easy the homemade (and not really homemade) dishes really are.

When we had the twins a whole long line of people brought us dinner. It was fantastic to say the least. Jennifer brought us BB Chicken/sandwiches. They were fantastic to say the least. So when I texted her to ask for the recipe, I was more than excited to know that I already had the three ingredients I needed and the crock pot. Needless to say, the house smelled a-maz-ing, and Devin has asked for it no less than ten times since then. I’m actually planning to bring it to a friend who just had twins too :) Gretchen brought us homemade beef stroganoff. Also, fan-tastic. It didn’t last too long either. I got the recipe from her and plan on making it in the next week or so. Finally (well, not finally on the meals we received, because there were a lot, but finally for why I’m bring you or making you hungry…) Both Sarah and Lori brought us their own versions of chicken pot pie. Both, once again, were sooooo good. We finished Sarah’s, probably before she was out of the neighborhood. And Lori’s was so good that instead of the usual before bed sweets, I had the rest of the chicken.

After several attempts with different recipes of varying degrees of “difficulty” (I use the term “difficult” very loosely because I don’t make anything truly difficult…) I think I finally found the best “Easy Chicken Pot Pie.”

What I Used: (It was all Publix brand, just FYI)

Pie-ish type pan

Frying Pan

Tin Foil

Butter

Assorted spices

Refrigerated pie crust

Chicken Boobs as Brittany affectionately called them AKA Chicken Breast (I used 1 1/2 breasts, the ratio of chicken to veggies seemed pretty good that way)

A can of cream of chicken soup

A can of mixed veggies (in my experimenting I also used fresh veggies. It’s really all going to be a matter of personal taste, and what veggies you want/don’t want honestly.)

What I did:

Cut the chicken into bite sized pieces and cook them in a frying pan with a little bit of water and butter. I have gotten into the “just throw it all in and don’t measure anything” thing so I couldn’t even begin to tell you how much I used. Maybe 1/2 – 1 cup of water and a tablespoon of butter? Some thing with the spices. I just opened the cupboard and said to myself “sure, that goes on chicken, right?” and sprinkled some on. In the end I think I used Italian, Oregano, Chives, and Season Salt. Not a ton, just a… dash or pinch I think are the culinary words I’m looking for.

The refrigerated pie crust comes in a box with two rolls in it. One for the top and one for the bottom (I didn’t know so I bought two boxes because I didn’t pay that close attention to the box, whoops.) Anyway, I put the one crust in my pie pan and cooked it for 10ish minutes one 400 while I cooked the chicken and mixed the other ingredients. I also took a fork and poked holes in the bottom so it didn’t get all bubbly when it cooked.

In a medium-large sized bowl I mixed everything together. The chicken, the can of cream of chicken soup and the can of mixed veggies. The can of veggies I drained about half-3/4 because I didn’t want the inside goodness of the pie to be runny. (When I opened the can of veggies I didn’t like the ratio of carrots to green beans and peas, so I opened a can of peas and scooped three spoonful. The whole can would have been too much, but I felt the orange to green was balanced now. – that’s going to be your personal preference)

After I mixed everything together I poured it into the bottom pie crust that had cooked for about 10 minutes. And then covered it with the second crust and sliced holes in the top. Then I lined the edges with tinfoil so they wouldn’t burn and cooked the whole thing (still at 400) for 30 minutes.

VOILA!

Yummy! Yummy! Yummy!

The 2012 List Has Begun

2012-01-06T15:46:00.001-05:00

“Everyone” starts of the new year saying “I’m going to do this” or “I’m going to do that.” I stopped making New Year’s Resolutions a while ago, because it only made me feel badly about myself when I failed. Like I need something else to make me feel bad, right?

Right after Thanksgiving I got “the toss, clean, and organize” bug. I listed a bunch of stuff on Craig’s List and planned a yard sale (in a week). I ~~wanted~~ needed to get myself back on the track I was on before I got pregnant with the twins. I had a schedule to keep the house cleaned. It included vacuuming multiple times a week, cleaning a bathroom a day, doing ONE load of laundry a day to keep up, etc. I started that last December. It lasted until about February when I was so exhausted in the first trimester that it was all I could do to say awake on the couch while Collin played and watched TV. (Talk about feeling like a horrible Mom…) I never was able to get back into the swing I had. But once I felt like I “had a grip” on the Mom of multiple children thing, the gears in my head began to turn on high speed and work overtime. There ~~were~~ are so many things I wanted to do.

I now have a list about 10 miles long of things that I want to do, and only a few of those things have been crossed off. So I suppose this could be my “New Year’s Resolution” List. But the only thing that would actually qualify it for that is I really got started on it this week.

The TO DO List:

~~Take down Christmas decorations and tree~~

~~Make sure boxes get into the attic within two days~~

~~Control the new toy chaos that Christmas brought with it~~

~~Clean the “office”/front room~~

Get window coverings (blinds/curtains) for the front of the house

Hang pictures in the stairwell

Find storage boxes to hide clutter and laptop on the desk

~~Find storage for toys in the~~ f~~ront room~~ and purchase it

~~Settle on a color scheme and plan for the house~~

~~Begin execution on the plan~~ – A continuous work in progress

Finish our bedroom

Get the house “under control” and keep it “under control”

Cook more, I mean really cook more

Try more new recipes

Don’t become aggravated and annoyed when I can’t do it all and things don’t go according to plan

I feel like I’m off to a decent start. The list I made at Thanksgiving already has things crossed off. I feel like I’m getting a grip on my life and housekeeping again. I’ve settled on colors for the house (big shocker here: black, brown, tan, and blue…) I found curtains that I like (both for the front room and dining room and our bedroom) I know exactly what kind of storage boxes I’m looking for for the office, it’s just a matter of finding them in a store. Target was a bust in that department. I found decorative pillows I want at Bed Bath and Beyond for our bedroom. I bought and assembled new cubbies for the toys in the living room. Pictures are in the frames, they just need to be hung. And I’ve already made two new recipes since Christmas that have been pretty good. So, just because it isn’t crossed off the list, doesn’t mean it hasn’t been thought about yet. Out of everything on my list (that I’m sure will continue to grow by two more items each time I get one crossed off…) I’m pretty sure the hardest one is going to be the last one. I get completely and utterly aggravated, annoyed, and stressed out when I ~~can’t~~ don’t keep the house cleaned and organized the way I want to. I have to come to grips with the fact that life happens. I have three kids 2 and under. There are days that I’m not going to lift a finger on the house and just sit and play with them all day long. Those days are the best, but the next day is the worst. Guess I need to add “Better Time Management Skills” on the list also.

If I can better my time management skills, hopefully, I’ll be able to write more. More than my kids’ well check stats and monthly updates. I’d like to document the progress I’m making. Hopefully there is progress to document.

Oh yeah, every church-goer makes the same resolution every year “I’m going to read my Bible more.” It lasts about 3.5 days to a week most of the time. I have to say, I started using YouVersion on my iPhone and have kept up with daily readings every day so far. I have a reminder set to go off at 9:00 every night so that I remember to do it (if I haven’t already) after I’ve finally plopped on the couch when the kids are in bed. It’s got just about every different way to read the Bible you can things of, straight though in a year, through in 90 days, blended readings (some NT and OT) etc. And it has just about every version known to man. I started reading in the KJV but realized the the ESV has audio and I can follow along and not have to guess and struggle though the names of so-n-so begat so-n-so and lived 900 years that Genesis starts with.

So here’s to 2012! Collin turns THREE and my babies will be ONE! Gotta start planning for those too!

Four Month Old Justin and Lana

2011-12-27T19:31:00.001-05:00

My babies are getting SO BIG! I took them (and Collin) to their four month well check before Christmas. The doctor (who I LOVE!!!) was dealing with a “rebellious teen” who was talking to her about drinking, drugs, and sex, so we ended up waiting over an hour for her. THAT is just how much I love her, I’m willing to wait that long, will still go back to see her again, and will even drive to Southside to see her.

This is how Collin made it through the long morning/afternoon, and the promise of ice cream. But the poor guy fell asleep on the way home so I may or may not have let him eat ice cream for lunch when he woke up from his nap because he was that good. (He is watching VeggieTales. A few episodes actually)

That aside here are the stats for my sweet babies

My Lana I love this little chunk-a-monk! You can’t look at this and not fall in love and want to squeeze and kiss on those cheeks and thighs

14 pounds 8 ounces (75%) and 24.25 inches (50%)

Oh my Justin. I love this sweet boy more and more every day. He has turned into such a happy boy who loves to cuddle and giggle.

13 pounds 11 ounces (50%) and 25 inches (50%) Perfect. But I already knew that :)

Both are are on the charts as “normal singleton babies” not “premie twins” and we got the OK to start rice cereal, although we haven’t yet.

Before their appointment

Waiting at the appointment

Home after the appoinement

Sporting bandages from their shots

These kids have quickly become the loves of my life. All three of them. And here I was worried I wouldn’t know how to love them like I do Collin. Silly Erin. In the last two months they have learned to scoot and roll over. They have started to hold, play with, and chew on little rings.

There were about two weeks that they slept through the night. It was amazing. I couldn’t believe I had a child, never mind two, that slept though the night at not even four months old. Then my poor babies got sick and we are back up being up at night again. Thankfully, it’s only once (usually), somewhere between 4 and 6 AM.

All of my babies love each other. Justin and Lana have started to find each other when they are laying on the gym matt or blanket and hold hands while they are nursing. Collin, hugs them, loves them, and tickles them. But what I love most about it, is that he does it without me asking and often times when I’m not looking or he doesn’t know that I’m looking. It melts my heart and has made me cry more than once.

Lana still hate being on her tummy. But Justin seems to enjoy it and will stay there for a while before rolling over. Both have started sitting in the Bumbos. It’s hit or miss if they like it or will tolerate it.

Both their demeanors have seemed to change. Lana used to be so laid back and “go-with-the-flow” while Justin was “needy” and always fussy wanting to attention and to be held. But lately Justin has been Mr. Whatever and Miss Lana has turned into my high-maintenance Diva girl. She has entered this phase where she out right refuses a bottle, and isn’t happy unless you are holding her, she is nursing, or asleep. It’s made life, um, interesting. She gets so upset and cries so badly that she turns a dark red, almost purple, and no noise comes out. She has even refused to nurse because she gets so tired and cranky. But when it’s all said and done, she returns to her normal color, she smiles and coos at me and I can’t help but still be in love with her.

I feel like I have finally gotten the hang of twins and a toddler. I made a trip to Academy Sports and to the mall to do some Christmas shopping. While at the mall I even nursed both babies, got Collin pizza and myself a sub. We all managed to eat peacefully without any issues. I couldn’t have asked for better behaved kids. Collin was rewarded with some time in the playplace and ice cream when we got home.

While most days I feel like “I got this” there are definitely still those days (like the last couple) where I want to bang my head against the wall or just crawl in bed and never come out. But then I get a big hug from Collin and a smile, coo and giggle from Justin and Lana and fall in love with all of them all over again. each day is a new adventure. Someone is doing something new and cute, or not-so-cute pooping up the back and I’m changing their clothes several times. My life is filled with so much love I just don’t know what to do with myself. I can’t wait to see what is in store next.

The Twins’ First Christmas Ornaments

My Babies’ First Christmas Ornaments

A surprise package from New Jersey contained two more First Christmas Ornaments :)

Family day at the park

First set of Family Pictures!

Little Cute-asaurus

Big Brother Loves his “JustinLana”

Mother-Daughter :)

Cuteness

Not so much cuteness

But so much cuteness

Ready for some Monday Night Football

3 in One: Helper, Stinker, and Booger

2011-12-13T09:52:00.001-05:00

First of all, there are about a hundred things that I could be doing right now. Finishing getting dressed and ready for the day, emptying the dishwasher and reloading it, folding laundry, cleaning the garage, vacuuming, wrapping Christmas presents, the list goes on. But I had to stop and sit down for a moment to write about my Sweet Collin.

He’s been such a helper lately. He has also been a cranky stink pot, and a cute little booger too. So I just had to post about him again.

Let’s start with Stinker. This kid definitely has his moments and can be described as a cranky stink pot during those time. And that’s putting it nicely and mildly. But he’s my cranky stink pot and I love him just the same. I may not like him very much during those moments, but we all have issues from time to time. There really isn’t a whole lot to write about in this category. There isn’t one or two specific instances that stick out that I just have to share. But in general, if I leave a room and he doesn’t want me to, he will run in front up me and turn around with much authority, put his hands up and say “STOP MAMA! STOP!” Other than that, for the most part, he’s been really good lately. The occasional bipolar moments (like yesterday, but I’m blaming the rain), but overall a good kid.

Booger. I call him Booger on a pretty regular basis. It’s funny, my mom has a cat who we affectionately nicknamed “Booger” years ago and Collin knows that. So if he’s in a moment and I call him Booger he says “no Booger, I’m Collin!” or “Gigi’s house!” and then assumed we are going to Gigi’s house to see Booger. He does some of the silliest things that just crack me up. Sneaky too. Recently in the morning he asked for cookies. I, obviously, told him no and I would make him a bagel when I was done feeding Justin and Lana. So, because he knows I’m not able to get up when I’m nursing them, he went to the pantry and took out the box of vanilla wafers and brought them too me. I, again, told him no, I would make him a bagel after I was done nursing Justin and Lana. He got a sad look on his face and hung his head as he took the box and walked back to the kitchen. But then turned into the dining room instead of to the pantry. Then he got quiet. I thought he must be trying to get into the box, so I listened for the bag to rustle. It did, so I called him. He comes running in. When I asked what he was doing, he ran away then ran back in with the box and said, “help Mommy, cookies!” Although I was a little annoyed that he was taking advantage of my sitting on the couch with the babies, I couldn’t help but think he was too cute in doing so.

Helper. He is turning into such a big helper for me. He’s starting to look out for Justin and Lana a little more every day. When they were really little he would try to put the pacifier in their mouth if they were crying and I was out of the room. He managed to get Justin back to sleep in the swing one day. He pushed the swing, gave him a pacifier, and turned on the music. I watched in awe as he did that. Lana threw up in the car one day. Because Collin faces forward and she is backwards he saw all of it happen. As I was checking my mirrors I saw him leaning forward to check on her and say “goodness.” When I asked if she threw up, he puts more emphasis behind it and says “GOODNESS!” haha She had thrown up a lot. He likes to help when they are in the bath and to give them a bottle if he can. He’s recently started to ask to hold them. I was coming downstairs with Justin one afternoon when he met us at the bottom of the stairs and asked to carry him. So I “let him carry Justin” over to the couch. He “laid Justin down” said “oh heavy” then kissed his forehead. Moments like that I just stand back and smile. Yesterday was one of my favorites. I had just fed and changed Justin and Lana and laid them on their tummies and walked into the kitchen to make Collin a smoothie. They, of course, started to fuss because they were unhappy. When I looked over the counter I saw that Collin had sat down between them and was rubbing their backs, looking at them, and saying “no cry JustinLana” (When he talks about them together they become one “JustinLana” it’s cute.)

It’s still true today that I love this kid more and more everyday. He’s getting so big and becoming such a little man. He’s polite, lovey, spoiled rotten, and I wouldn’t change anything about him.

So Many Ideas So Little Time

2011-12-06T16:02:00.001-05:00

The world is hooked on Pinterest.com. It’s a fantastic place to get sucked into for hours upon hours. Much like Facebook. At least with Pinterest there is an end product. I’ve made a couple different things I found there and have a laundry list 8 miles long of things I want to make, foods I want to try, deserts I want to bake, pictures to take, ways to organize, and a hundred other things that make you go “OOOoooo!” Here are just a few things I’ve Oooed and Aaahed over in the past couple months.

So who is up for a day of nothing but fun and creating, organizing, cooking, and baking?

Justin and Lana: 15 Weeks

2011-11-30T22:37:00.000-05:00

Again, with the slacking. Slacking, or being a mom of three. You choose. I’ve taken no less than a million pictures of Collin, Justin and Lana in the last several weeks. (Well, two years, but those were just of Collin…)

Lets see, at birth:

Justin: 6lb 2oz 19 inches long
Lana: 5lb 8 oz 19 inches long

At two months:

Justin: 11lb 7oz 22.5 (25-50%) inches long (25%)
Lana: 11lb 5.5 oz 22 (50-75%) inches long (25%)

I love these babies more than I ever thought that I could. Each day they get cuter and cuter. Some days I think I seriously may burst with joy.

Justin still remains to be the fussier of the two. Although, he has calmed down immensely. They have both started sleeping much, much better. I have gone from getting up every two hours to every three hours to twice a night, to now we are up (unless it’s a bad night) only once. It’s a nice surprise. I honestly didn’t think that I would get any sleep for at least eight months. Collin was eight months old before he was only up once a night. But, I have learned that I should really not compare them to Collin. After all, they are all individuals. Three separate children. And I love all three of them more than I ever thought possible.

Since their two month appointment, Lana has really chunked up It’s absolutely fantastic. She’s got these cheeks and thighs that are so squeezable it’s ridiculous. She now weighs a little more than a pound more than Justin. The strange thing… I’m pretty sure he eats more than she does. Poor girls metabolism just isn’t what Brother’s is. I love it though. Babies are suppose to be chunky. Here I go comparing again, but Collin was a chunk-and-a-half and now I can’t even find pants to stay around his waist. I’m sure Lana will slim down when she starts moving. Justin, on the other hand is just long and lean. We have a bunch of size 1 diapers that are going in the closet for the next diaper cake I’ll make. They/Lana definitely needs to go up a size. They are wearing 3-6 month clothes. I feel like they should still be in their newborn clothes, but at the same time sitting up and rolling over. Silly mommy.

Justin enjoys being on his tummy a lot more than Lana. Lana will hold her head up for a minute or two before she starts to get lazy and puts it down and pitches a fit. Justin, however, will just chill and check out what’s going on around him for up to 15 or 20 minutes before he gets tired of being on his tummy.

Both will roll over from their tummy to their back and are desperately trying to roll from their back to there tummies at some points.

We’ve started sitting them in the Bumbos for short amounts of time. Because they don’t hold their heads up consistently without giving up we sit right next to them and they only sit for 5 or 10 minutes.

I get smiles from both of them when I go in to get them from bed. This makes me so incredibly happy.

Both enjoy their bath time.

Both have had their first colds. And their second. (Gotten from Collin, passed back to Collin, and then Collin shared again, he’s so sweet…) I took them to the doctor this week and both have the beginning of an ear infection, both in their right ears, so both are on amoxicillin for that.

They made it through their first birthday party (Collin’s not theirs ), Halloween carnival, trick-or-treating, Mom to Mom, play date, and Thanksgiving. I really couldn’t be happier with them and how well they are doing.

Their first photoshoot

First day in church

Newborn “Littles” Onesies and pants

Starting to get that chunk!

Little Brother and Little Sister

All three of my babies have been escape artists

So glad I’m able to catch their smiles on camera

Most days I can’t get over how pretty this girl is

Collin’s Birthday/Halloween Costumes

Lana’s fist Big bow and headband

Justin chillin’ at Collin’s doctor’s appointment

“How you doin’?”

LOVE SOME CHUNKIES!!!

Bumbo Babies

3-6 month “Littles” onesies and pants

2 Year Old Collin

2011-11-28T21:40:00.001-05:00

I honestly don’t know what to say about this kid. He is my world. Every day is something new and a new adventure with him. I love it.

His two year stats are:

26 pounds is the 25%

34 3/4 inches tall puts him in the 50-75%

This explains why is pants are always falling off his waist. They have to be long enough but are too big in the waist :)

I lost count a LONG time ago of the words that he says because he’s talking in full sentences now. First it was just things like “there’s the ball” but now I can ask him a question and get a real answer. If he’s coughing or choking on something and I ask “Are you OK, Collin” he’s response, even though watery eyes and catching his breath, is always, “I’m fine, Mama.” I remember the first time he said it, I was driving and I chuckled to myself, “I’m fine, Mama.” Not, “OK” or even “OK Mama.” It was “I’m fine Mama.”

He is such a polite little boy. He has been saying “Please” and “Thank You” for six months or so. With his complete sentences, he will now ask specifically for something, “Please, cookie, Mama” and then “Thank you, Mama” Every time he does it I smile and can’t help but tell him how much I love him. To which he replies “Love you, Mama.” Seriously, I could just squeeze him all day long.

He’s adapted really well to having a new brother and sister. It was touch and go there for a couple weeks in the beginning, but I really think he loves them. I think for having his solo world bombarded with two new little babies he’s done amazingly well. There have been several different occasions that I’ve seen/caught him “taking care of” them. The first time I saw him try to help, Justin was in the swing crying, Collin tried to give him the pacifier. Just last week I was folding clothes on the floor and had Lana in my lap at the same time. Justin was, again, in the swing, but it wasn’t swinging. Justin started to cry and before I could get up and get to him, Collin was there. He started to swing him, after a couple pushes he reached up and pulled the mobile over Justin’s head so he could see it, then he turned on the music and walked behind the swing and pushed him for about a minute and said, “It’s OK Justin.” I watched in awe as Justin fell. back. asleep. and Collin went back to doing what he had been doing. That moment I teared up and was so happy.

There is so much I could write about this kid but I don’t have the time for that, so here’s the usual bullet list

Trying to give up afternoon naps
Opening doors he can pull open (Pushing a door open is serving a problem at the moment)
UNLOCKS the doors – I’m getting nervous he’ll unlock the front door to go to the park
Climbs on the playground equipment like it’s no big deal
LOVES animals, shapes, colors, and number
His favorite shows are Pocoyo, Team Umizoomi, and Blue’s Clues. He’s also recently taken a liking to VeggieTales. It’s affectionately known as “Bobby”
Answers the questions when the shows ask a question
Loves to be outside – I wish I could take him out more.
Says his prayers before we eat and bedtime
Gets excited when I tell him we are going to church
Learned what his birthday was and gets excited about parties and presents now :) It was really cute to hear him say “OH BOY! OH BOY! OH BOY!” when he opened presents
He’s learning to dress himself
Loves trains, airplanes and building with his blocks

I suppose I should try to make more time to sit down and write more because there is just too much to talk about. This kid is absolutely amazing. So cute, smart, and funny. He’s got it all

Living Life

2011-11-09T08:03:00.001-05:00

Well, I still have twins. I also now have almost three month old twins AND a TWO YEAR OLD! I can’t believe where my time is going. I have a monumental list of things I want to blog about, including an update on Justin and Lana, Collin’s two year update and his birthday party. I’ve also got to cover our first Halloween experience too. The thought about finding the time to do all this is exhausting in itself. I have sat down to write no less than 15 times. But every time I do, someone is crying, hungry, needs a diaper change, the phone rings, a text comes though, and life just gets in the way. It wasn’t so difficult to find the time to blog when I had just Collin. But for some reason it’s slightly more difficult with added children in the mix. As I sit here typing now, I can hear Justin waking up.

“Living Life” is all I can really say to sum up what I’ve been doing lately. I’m learning all the planning in the world doesn’t mean I’ll be prepared for anything and my days will almost never go according to plan. I’m over the moon happy with the way my life is going these days though. Some days I sit and ask God WHY He thought I could handle three kids. And other days I am all day long thanking him for these kids. When Collin is having a conversation with me, or Lana giggles and Justin finally smiles at me, my heart skips a beat and I feel my cup running over with joy. I may not have time to do the things I would like to do. My house might be a mess and I might be on the verge of a meltdown, or in the middle of a meltdown, but at the end of the day, I couldn’t ask for anything better than what I’ve got right now. I know watching Justin and Lana grow is going to be just as fun as it has been with Collin and watching Collin grow into this new little person amazes me everyday.

Now, if you’ll excuse me, I have to go Life my Life. Both Justin and Lana are waking up. There are children to be fed, diapers to be changed, fun to have, joy to experience and a life to live Eventually, I’ll get around to the other stuff.

We have Twins

2011-09-21T10:44:00.001-04:00

On one hand it’s hard to believe that I have twins, never mind that they are already more than a month old. On the other hand, I can completely believe I have twins and they are more than a month old because I’m having a time learning how to juggle two infants and a toddler plus, I think I’ve been awake pretty much nonstop for the past month.

Anyway, here’s how it all went down:

8/17/11 – Wednesday

Devin had been working from home because I just hadn’t been feeling well and he wanted to be close by in case something happened. I had two doctors’ appointments on Wednesday. The first was my regular weekly OB check and the second was at ROC for the fetal monitoring test. Neither my mom nor Devin liked the idea of me driving, or being alone at all, so my mom went with me (and Collin) to my OB appointment and Devin was going to meet me for the long appointment at ROC.

At 11:15 I got called back for my appointment. Collin had shown no interest in waiting with me and was running around the lobby being a little boy. So I thought I would be smart and not draw attention to the fact that I was leaving the room. Well, that was the wrong thing to do. As soon as the door closed I heard him run over and bang on the door yelling “Mama! Mama!” Thankfully my mom was there and he is easily distracted by her. So I’m walking back to have my BP and weight taken and Collin is just tugging at my heart strings. Once I got to the room and was waiting for my doctor I was thinking about Collin and not having much more time alone with him, I started crying. When my doctor got to the room she was empathetic but also knew how miserable I was. So she did was OB doctors do and asked if I wanted to have babies today because I was 3 centimeters dilated already and was actually in labor.

So, over here I have myself getting every excited that I’m not going to be pregnant anymore and don’t have to go to the other doctors appointment. But over there I’m panicking because I know I REALLY have no time left with Collin. My doctor sent me straight across the street to the hospital. I told Devin what was going on and luckily we already had bags packed so all he had to do was throw everything in the ~~car~~ van. When I walked out into the lobby area I hugged Collin as tight as I possibly could, knowing it would be the last time I would get to do so him being my only child. At this point I was only excited about not being pregnant. I wasn’t happy about anything else. I wanted Collin to sit with me forever, and at least go have lunch with him. Mom drove me across the street and I cried as I gave Collin one last hug in his car seat before I walked inside to register. He started to cry because he wanted out of his seat and to go with me. Talk about killing me.

I got checked in, admitted and was in triage waiting when Devin got to the hospital to be with me. Because I had a donut at 8:00 that morning we were going to have to wait eight hours before they could consider my surgery. Seriously? It was a donut, it was probably already completely threw me by that point. I didn’t have a four course meal for breakfast and hadn’t eaten lunch. Whatever. The nurse told us it would probably be about 5:00 before we headed back for the C-Section. It was going to be a long day, it was only about noon at this point. I was hooked up to all the monitors for heart rates and whatnot and the nurse mentioned that Lana’s heart rate was a little low, but wasn’t anything to worry about yet. Luckily for us the triage was filling quickly and they wanted the bed I was in, so they rushed all my blood and paperwork and we headed back for surgery at 3:00 instead of 5:00.

I really thought I would be more scared than what I was going back. I don’t do needles, hospitals, or blood, and I was in the epicenter for all three. The anesthesiologist was great; I never knew anything was going on. When I was numb and couldn’t feel anything my doctor said to bring Devin in. I asked if they could get him a chair because he nearly passed out when I had Collin, I didn’t need him actually passing out while I was on the table being sliced open. He got in and within minutes I felt a “huge” weight lifted off of me and I took a big breath and thought “I can breathe” simultaneously my doctor said, “Justin’s out first!” and we heard a very large-little cry. A nurse noted the time, “3:51 PM.” Within 30 seconds Lana was out, I could breathe even easier, my doctor commented that the cord was around Lana’s neck (which explained her lower heart rate earlier), we heard yet another large-little cry, another time note of “3:51 PM” and my doctor say “and here’s Lana!.” At some point in there she also asked Devin if he wanted to see something. So he stood up and looked over the curtain. Not gonna lie, I would not have done that. What he really saw is still a mystery to me, and I’m ok with that. As my doctor was doing what she needed to do the nurses were tending to these two crying babies. I couldn’t help but think, “how are we going to handle that!?” Because we knew I was going to have a C-Section and we are done having children, we decided I was going to have my tubes tied. My doctor leaned over the curtain so she could see me and says “Erin. You have beautiful ovaries. And such long tubes” I told her “Good. Double-knot them!” She and the nurses giggled as they brought Justin and Lana, all bundled up, over to see me. Devin got to walk over and take pictures and see them while they were being cleaned up.

It was at this point that I wasn’t thrilled about the whole C-Section process. I didn’t get to hold my babies right away. Collin was placed immediately on my chest after I had him, but my twins had to go to the NICU for several hours and I had to go to recovery. After I left recovery I thought they would be brought to my room. But my bed was wheeled into the NICU were we got to hold them for a grand total of about 5 minutes. They were so tiny, all I wanted to do was snuggle them on my chest and nurse them. But I couldn’t. They stayed and I was taken to my room. My mind was taken off of that a little when my mom came back and brought Collin. I was so happy to see him, but he was scared to walk into the room. He saw me, in the bed, IV in my hand, and fell to the floor saying “oh mama!” I told him I needed a hug from him, so he eventually warmed up to the idea of being in the room and that I was OK. He definitely wasn’t sold on the fact that I was “fine” but he took that Mama was “ok.” It was so good to hold him in my arms again. I say that like it had been days or weeks since I had seen him, when in reality it was only like 8 or 9 hours. Devin took my mom back to the NICU so she could see the babies, they didn’t let anyone but me or Devin hold them, but she got to hold their tiny hands for a minute, and I got some alone time with Collin. It was rough saying goodbye to Collin again, but he needed to go; it was way past his bedtime. FINALLY about 6 or 7 hours after they were born, our babies were brought to our room. We could hold them and I could nurse them.

It was a long day. I cried more about how Collin was going to feel and not getting to spend more time with him than anything else. The only thing I would change about the day is that I wouldn’t have eaten breakfast and I would have spent much more time with Collin the night before and that morning. But I was/am definitely glad to have my two new babies there with me also.

“Smoonie!!!”

2011-08-18T09:18:00.000-04:00

My child is a bottomless pit. He will eat all morning and all day long if I let him. But I’ve finally found something that he LOVES, fills him up, and it actually half way decent for him. He knows EXACTLY what he’s getting when I pull the frozen yogurt and fruit from the freezer and go to the corner by the sink. He does a little happy dance and says “smoonie! smoonie! smoonie!” He MUST help make his smoothie or else he’s not completely happy. But the second I hand it to him, he says thank you and runs off doing his happy dance again.

One day I made him a smoothie he happened to be in just a diaper. When he drank it I noticed he was shivering. So I asked if he was cold and wrapped up in a blanket and cuddled with him. Ever since then, about three or four sips in he shakes, on purpose, says “colt” and wants me to wrap him in the blanket. He’s even done it when he’s not drinking a smoothie. He just tells me “colt” for no reason and I have to wrap him up. Of course because he isn’t cold he only stays for about a millisecond, but it’s still pretty stinkin’ cute.

The Big Boy Bed

2011-08-16T11:07:00.000-04:00

Several weeks ago Devin converted Collin’s crib to his toddler bed. I cried, but he was very excited about it.

That afternoon he took a nap in his crib

But went to bed in his Big Boy Toy Story Bed

He’s done REALLY well in it. He stays in bed until we come to get him. Even if he’s not ready for a nap (or he thinks he’s not ready rather…) once we leave the room he stays there and plays under the blanket or cries. When he wakes up from his naps or in the morning he still won’t get out, even after I moved toys into his room. He will lay in bed and say “uh, mama!” or “Daaaaada!”

Part of me wanted to keep him in the crib until he discovered he could climb out, but I just couldn’t lift him at all anymore. And when he does wake up, I’m surprised he doesn’t get out of bed and go play. Again, part of me wishes he would so that I could just relax and wake up myself a little bit first, but it’s all good. I’m happy with the way things are, and I think he really is too.

We didn’t have a video monitor before the twins’ shower so we have been taking advantage of it. It’s quite interesting to see what he’s up to when we aren’t in the room. (Which is why I know he doesn’t get out of bed even if he’s not happy about being there for a nap) He has a Toy Story blanket and when he hides under it just right, it looks like one of the aliens are in his bed. Being under the blanket is one of his favorite things to do, rather than sleep. Since we’ve had the video monitor I’ve sent Devin several picture that crack me up or are just too sweet not to show him. So here are some cute “sleeping” pictures of the monitor I spend a lot of time looking at now…

Before actually giving up and going to sleep

And a sweet sleeping little boy

This one cracks me up because his legs are hanging over the edge

THIS was the day I first put toys in his room. I thought I was going to have issues keeping him in bed. He was getting out to go play. So I used the intercom feature (IT’S GREAT! Because we can tell him to lay back down without going upstairs) to tell him to get back into bed. He wasn’t happy about it, but get right back into bed. He cried for a little bit, but fell asleep and hasn’t gotten up since.

Crafting Nursery Wall Art

2011-08-14T07:31:00.000-04:00

I knew I wanted Justin and Lana’s initials on the wall somehow, but didn’t want to just buy them somewhere. So I thought, I have sample paint leftover from the windows. I’m not artist, but I’m crafty enough to be able to do something simple that I’ll like. So I went to work in Photoshop and designed something that I knew I could execute. When I was telling Angela about what I wanted to do, she suggested attaching wooden letters to the canvas. So I found exactly what I was looking for… and then some.

I sketched out the Photoshop design onto the 12x12 canvas

And went to work painting…

painting…

twice ;)

The isle the letters were on were these little cliché words that I had to have… but I had to paint them because they were horrible pinks, blues, and yellows.

And you’ve already see the final product, hung with a black chord

I don’t think I’ve ever planned out an art project/craft that actually turned out the way I envisioned and really wanted it to, so I was pleasantly surprised with myself on these.

The Long Awaited Nursery Post

2011-08-13T08:00:00.000-04:00

I probably should have done this last week when I posted these pictures to Facebook, but I’m going to use the whole tired and pregnant with twins excuse.

This was my original vision for the room. Teal walls and espresso furniture with white bedding. After purchasing two cribs and 4 drawer dresser, we realized we didn’t have a whole lot of room. That extra crib sure does take up a lot of room. But I’m really happy with the way it all turned out nonetheless.

(The pictures are taken on my phone and didn’t turn out all that great. Sorry about that)

The view from the door looking in

I know I know, it’s crooked, Lana’s bed (where they will both be initially) and the rocking chair

Justin’s Bed

What makes it “boy” and “girl”

Corner windows between their beds. My favorite lanterns and homemade curtains

Justin’s View, the rocking chair, and side table with my custom wall art :)

Lana’s View, The dresser/changing table

It’s a lot easier to organize a closet for one baby. Two take up a TON of space! And Justin/Collin have way more clothes at this point :)

All in all, it turned out pretty much how I envisioned it would. That’s definitely a first for me!

Getting Emotional

2011-08-11T10:15:00.001-04:00

As we get closer and closer to having two new babies around, I find myself crying more all the time. Not because I’m necessarily sad, mad, upset or even happy. Just, because I look and watch Collin and all the things that he does and says now, and I just wonder if I’ll really feel the same way about the twins as I do about him. Everyone says yes of course you will. And I guess I don’t really doubt that I will, but it’s just hard to sit and spend so much time with him the last two years and think that, not just one, but two, new babies are going to have space in my heart and my life like he does. As much as I’m ready for the twins to be here and not be pregnant anymore (I’m WAY beyond done being pregnant this time) I can’t help but think, these are the last days that I’m going to have just me and Collin.

He actually talks to me now and tells me what he wants and doesn't want. He interacts with Carly and the cats. He comforts me when I’m crying because I can’t believe our time is almost over. He gets excited to see me when I’ve been gone. He gets excited and recognizes things in books, on TV, and when we actually do get out. I watch him play and he’s using his imagination. He’s just one big ball of amazement to me and I just can’t seem to grasp the fact that “just us” is almost done. I’ve got two weeks at the most just us. And the worst part is, he doesn’t really understand what’s about to happen, and it is killing me.

Comforting me

Throwing his pall and playing catch

Enjoying some time in the sandbox

“Calling and talking” to Daddy

Look Who’s Getting Crafty!

2011-08-01T16:21:00.001-04:00

TODAY! I did a project for our room! YAY! I bought a 12x14 canvas to paint and create a necklace holder, but that one will have to be for another day. Today was the Flower Hook (Also to hold necklaces). It was really easy, and super SUPER cheap, as in, practically free because I used stuff I already had in the house :)

First I picked two different 12x12 papers and cut them into four smaller pieces

Each of the quarter pieces got folded in half twice to make a smaller square and then on a diagonal

When it was folded on the diagonal I cut the petals for the flower out. (And forgot to take the picture…) Even though there are eight total pieces, I only used six. It just felt right to stop at six, haha. So I alternated the paper patterns and placement and stapled them together.

Next, I folded the petals up so you can’t see the staple and “brought the flower to life” one later at a time

After I spent a whole $1.50 (only .75 after my 50% coupon! LOL) on the wooden circles, I realized I probably could have just used cardboard or something else laying around the house, but, oh well.

The hook is SO SIMPLE! It’s just a wire hanger… which I hate anyway and was happy to put it to good use. I had a white one, so I used it rather than having to paint the plain wire one. I hot glued the hanger (after I cut it with wire cutters and shaped it with pliers) to the wooden circle and then glued them to the back of the flower creating a (well, I did two, so two) flower hooks that will accompany my canvas necklace board later. I’m SO HAPPY with the way this turned out, I could just scream.

To hang it on the wall, I’m going to have to wait for Devin to drink two cans of the Mountain Dew that is in our refrigerator at the moment. I plan to glue the tab to the wooden circle and use it at the hook for the wall. :)

The Twins’ Shower

2011-07-26T15:56:00.001-04:00

I seriously have the best group of friends ever on the face of the planet. Since I’m not getting out a whole lot, just me and Collin, anymore, I’ve had more people come to me and Collin :) Last week I asked Sarah, Brittany, and Ashley to bring the kids over for a play date and just get some adult conversation and interaction. Little did I know what they had been plotting.

I took them upstairs to see the wreck of a loft area and the twins unfinished nursery. Brittany saw boxes of clothes and said “OOH! Let’s have some fun and sort these!” If you don’t know Brittany, cleaning and organizing is her thing. A good comparison would be Monica from FRIENDS. She hosts a party at her house and when you ask to what you can do to help her, she says, “Are you kidding me? You had your party, now I get to have mine!” So these three lovely ladies took over my house last week. They organized my loft: separated things that needed to go into the attic, baby items, boxed and labeled Collin’s old clothes, toys, cleaned the bathroom, vacuumed and just made the upstairs livable. Downstairs, Sarah cleaned out our refrigerator. (Talk about embarrassing!) When I say cleaned out, I mean took everything out and wiped the shelves and drawers and tossed what needed to be tossed and then did the dishes. Before they left I had a very clean house. And as they left, said, “we’ll finish when we come back next week.” NEXT WEEK?!

Next week meant the shower! I have to admit, that the girls in our Sunday School class somehow manage to outdo themselves each time another shower is thrown. (A little unspoken friendly competition perhaps???? ;) ) I didn’t think that Brittany and Ashley could top what they did for me at Collin’s shower, but they did. With the help of Sarah and Angela this time. Ashley and Angela made some awesome food, Sarah’s cup cakes ~adorable!!!~ and Brittany and Sarah’s decorations, too cute for words. The shower was at my house after church on Sunday afternoon. But I wasn’t allowed to be at my own house for several hours? Yeah, they kicked me, Devin, Collin and my mom and brother out of the house for a little more than two hours between the time we got back from church and the time the shower started at 3:00.

Bradley took Collin to his house for the afternoon and a nap, well, what turned out to be a 20 minute power nap for the car ride. (Sorry about that Brudder!) I really don’t have words to describe how I felt that afternoon, other than blessed and loved. All these ladies bringing us diapers, clothes, and all kinds of baby goodies for a second/third time. After all the fun and shenanigans were over and most everyone had left the girls went into attack mode. You never would have known there was a party of 20+ ladies at my house. And you would really never know that any gifts were involved. In addition to cleaning everything up, again, they took all the loot upstairs to the babies’ room and helped unload and organize it. Tags came off clothes and were ready to be washed. “Necessities” were placed in drawers and the closet and drawers organized as best as could be at that time. (I promise in the next few days I’ll get a post of the nursery. It’s SO CLOSE to being complete it’s scary!)

At the time of the shower it was 32 weeks and counting…

My Mommy and Me

My Lovely Hostesses

And the traditional shower picture, with a little something “extra”

Thank you ladies for ALL your hard work! I LOVE YOU ALL!!!

31 Weeks

2011-07-08T09:11:00.001-04:00

Baby's now the size of a squash!
Baby's going through major brain and nerve development these days. His irises now react to light, and all five senses are in working order. (He won't pick up anything from his nose until after birth, though -- smell is transferred through air, not amniotic fluid.)

Except, I have TWO squashes! Justin doesn’t usually cooperate during ultrasounds so I haven’t gotten a good picture of him in several months. Tuesday I only got a good picture of him :) This week (July 5) we found out both Justin and Lana are head down. I feel like there isn’t much room for them to turn anymore, but I’ve got this streak of being proven wrong, so in 4 weeks they’ll be in some other position, I’m sure. Justin weighed approximately 3lb and Lana was 3lb 2oz. When Collin was born, at 39 weeks, we was only 7lb 4oz. Guess there is a reason I feel like I’m more than 31 weeks now.

I haven’t been anywhere, just me and Collin, in more than three weeks. (With the exception of Wednesday, we went to a friends house. Where i sat or laid on her couch the whole time. And someone even changed Collin’s diaper for me. I’m telling you, my friends are the best!) But even going out with Devin and Collin is exhausting and I feel like I need to lay down after just thirty minutes to an hour. One night week I went to Publix with my mom and Collin. I didn’t even push the cart, but I was done. The next day all I could do was lay on the couch. Luckily, I think Collin can tell when I’m not feeling well and was really pretty good all day. He laid with me for a little bit and watched Toy Story 3 and went right down for his nap and told me “night night” as I was half way down the stairs. It put a big smile on my face as I went straight to my bed a slept for two hours :) We’ll see what the next few weeks and my appointment on Wednesday bring.

Justin’s profile :) 30-ish weeks

Looking right at us :)

Lana’s profile at 26-ish weeks (June 10th)

Cute Video Friday

2011-07-01T08:00:00.000-04:00

Our upstairs AC has been on the fritz lately. As a result, Collin, for the first time ever, slept in be with me last night. (Devin was in Arizona for work.) Needless to say, neither of us slept very well, and he was up at 6 AM. That’s an hour and a half earlier than normal. We had a play date the same day. After everyone left he ate a few grapes and almost fell off the couch watching TV. It was only about 20 minutes before his normal naptime. Poor guy just couldn’t make it any longer… neither could mama.

It’s Been A Year Friend

2011-06-30T07:54:00.000-04:00

Yes, I’m talking to you Angela! Since your last post, Dallas has grown hair, started walking and talking, been turned around in her car seat, turned one, been on numerous road trips, and announced she’s getting a little brother (who is more than half way here, by the way) Where is my friend who would complain that I went more than a week without a new post? Hmmm…? Get your hubby to design your new layout so you’ll be motivated :) That, or just pick up tomorrow like nothing ever happened :) That’s all, thanks.

Less than 78 Days

2011-06-23T08:45:00.000-04:00

I didn’t even realize that we hit the “Less than 100 days” mark! I have really started to “feel pregnant with twins” in the last three or four weeks. I’m so grateful Devin has been home these past few weeks because I’m absolutely exhausted by the time he gets home. It doesn’t matter if I’ve run errands in the morning, taken a nap, been to the zoo or the pool, done housework, played with Collin or just laid on the couch all day.

Despite being so exhausted by 5:00 or 6:00, but the time it’s actually time for bed, I’m wide awake and can’t sleep. The babies aren’t happy with me laying on my left or my right. One is always moving. And I just can’t seem to get comfortable at all, even with a pillow under my head, on my left, my right, and between my legs. Yes, I realize how ridiculous that sounds, but it’s the only way I can actually sleep, even if it is at 2 AM. A few nights I’ve just had to lay on the couch and toss and turn, eventually when I wake up to use the bathroom – the first time – I’ll make it back into the bed. At first I thought it was because I was taking a nap in the afternoon, so I stopped doing that. Lets just say, I’ll be taking naps again because it doesn’t seem to matter.

Answers to common questions:

Made it to the third trimester on Devin’s birthday :)
Almost 29 Weeks – the new week starts on Fridays
Approximately 9 weeks left – assuming they don’t make me go the full time.
I have amazing friends that are throwing me another shower next month.
I passed my glucose test several weeks ago, that was a relief. Apparently multiples pregnancies that’s not a common thing.
I’m no longer allowed to travel. (Well, by the time I hit 30 weeks anyway)
As of my last ultrasound – Lana is head up on the right, Justin is head down on the left. Lana has always been on the right or the bottom, Justin has always been on the left or the top.
Her name is Lana Paige, his name is Justin Maddox. We like the names, it’s that simple. We didn’t pick them because they were family names, or we had a family member or friend that passed away, or because they were Biblical (obviously) or they meant something very profound. We just liked them. Period. It’s that simple. But yes, we liked Maddox because we are Braves fans. But we changed the spelling :)
I guess a C-Section/Induction can’t be scheduled more than a week before a due date (Which is September 9th) so I’ll most likely end up going into labor myself.
If I have a C-Section will depend on how the babies are positioned at the time they decide to come, how brave I’m feeling, and a variety of other “medical” things.
My doctor will do what she can to stop contractions before 37 weeks.
I haven’t had any contractions.
Every time I have an ultrasound they say everything looks good.
Both babies are the same size – within one ounce of each other
I do plan to nurse both of them.
Not sure if they will be sleeping upstairs in the beginning just yet.
The nursery is not done – it’s painted and has cribs and a dresser.
We’ve bought some girl clothes – yes some of the girl clothes are pink, but not “frilly girly pastely pink” – it’s not our style. If you decided to get that for us, don’t be surprised if it doesn’t get worn, or gets exchanged. Just being honest.
The only things we need as of right now if they were to come today, are a second car seat and newborn diapers. Although we still “need” to do/get a good chuck of stuff
Yes, we are done having children. Promise.

And finally rundown of the pictures I’ve actually taken this time around…

16 Weeks

18 Weeks

20 Weeks – Officially Half Way

25 Weeks

28 Weeks

Eh, Not Sure I’m Feelin’ It

2011-06-22T14:12:00.000-04:00

I’ve been playing around with some new backgrounds and headers. And last night this is what I ended up with. I’m just not sure I’m sold on it. Although, I like where it’s going, I don’t think it’s quite there yet. So, be prepared for possible frequent changes :)

Faith, Trust, and Pixie Dust

2011-06-21T14:31:00.001-04:00

My latest venture of designing invitations and announcements brought a friend to ask for a Tinkerbell inspired birthday invite. I ABSOLUTELY LOVE the way this one has turned out. It’s definitely my favorite girl one so far.

Find me on Facebook :)

Cute Video(s) Fri--- er--Saturday

2011-06-11T09:02:00.001-04:00

First I thought he was just cute because he was eating milk and cereal with a spoon, and doing pretty well.

Then he spilled a little and make me laugh…

But then he finished everything!

A Chain of Events

2011-06-06T16:13:00.001-04:00

From Proverbs 31 (KJV)

Who can find a virtuous woman? for her price is far above rubies. The heart of her husband doth safely trust in her, so that he shall have no need of spoil. She will do him good and not evil all the days of her life. She seeketh wool, and flax, and worketh willingly with her hands. She is like the merchants' ships; she bringeth her food from afar. She riseth also while it is yet night, and giveth meat to her household, and a portion to her maidens. She considereth a field, and buyeth it: with the fruit of her hands she planteth a vineyard. She girdeth her loins with strength, and strengtheneth her arms. She perceiveth that her merchandise is good: her candle goeth not out by night. She layeth her hands to the spindle, and her hands hold the distaff. She stretcheth out her hand to the poor; yea, she reacheth forth her hands to the needy. She is not afraid of the snow for her household: for all her household are clothed with scarlet. She maketh herself coverings of tapestry; her clothing is silk and purple. Her husband is known in the gates, when he sitteth among the elders of the land. She maketh fine linen, and selleth it; and delivereth girdles unto the merchant. Strength and honour are her clothing; and she shall rejoice in time to come. She openeth her mouth with wisdom; and in her tongue is the law of kindness. She looketh well to the ways of her household, and eateth not the bread of idleness. Her children arise up, and call her blessed; her husband also, and he praiseth her. Many daughters have done virtuously, but thou excellest them all.Favour is deceitful, and beauty is vain: but a woman that feareth the LORD, she shall be praised. Give her of the fruit of her hands; and let her own works praise her in the gates.

Do you ever read a passage and feel completely crappy about yourself? For the past 6 months or so Proverbs 31 has been placed in front of me is some form or another. Proverbs 31, the infamous virtuous woman passage. It’s not one that I like to read to fee good about myself, that’s for sure. Here’s why.

My husband treats me better than I could ever imagine, but I don’t feel like I do the same for him. On one hand I say how thankful and appreciative I am for the hard work he does so that I can stay home, but on the other hand I complain and stress out about him having to travel for work and al the “extra stuff” that comes with his career and job.
I don’t think I could sew more than a button back on a shirt or a pair or pants. Maybe a blanket or pillow if I tried. But I don’t make my family’s clothes or the like things around the house.
I’m definitely not up before the crack of 7:00, never mind before dawn. And prepare breakfast or lunch for my husband who does actually get up early everyday, that’s a good one.
I don’t have my own garden or do anything to bring extra money into our household - Mary Kay, Premier, I don’t babysit or make bows or jewelry, and we’ve covered the fact that I don’t sew. I could kill a fake plant for crying out loud.
I wouldn’t say that I have “homemaking skills” – I don’t sew or really cook, and it’s a daily struggle to keep my house organized clean. Most of the time I settle for “livable.”
I surely don’t have the kindest words to say all the time
I see people begging for money and all I can say (most of the time) is “Go find a job!”

Every time I think about it, I feel like a complete failure. I had always thought of myself as very independent. I didn’t need help from anyone, I did the best at my jobs, never really had a boyfriend growing up. Since I had Collin and quit work, I feel very vulnerable. If something were to happen to Devin, I’d be in trouble. Actually, my mom would be in trouble because I’d have to go live with her again. Me and three kids :) (Love you Mommy!!) Anyway, the not working and bringing in money thing has probably been my biggest internal struggle. I’ve always had a monetarily paying job, sometimes two. I’ve been trying to figure out for a year now what I could do to help money wise with our family. When we got married I switched what I could to off brands. I actually can’t tell a difference in most of the Target (Up&UP) or Publix brand from the name brands. More than a year ago I got to where I would only buy clothes if I had a “Spend $XX save whatever %” from my favorite stores, and Babies ‘R’ Us only got business from me if I had a 20% of coupon and then I might consider looking at the 70% clearance rack while I was there.

About a year ago, before the whole “extreme couponing” fad hit, I began talking with a friend who works at Publix about coupons and she tried to explain it to me. I was fascinated with how much money she would save, but never really got the hang of it or really understood how she could save so much money – and actually have the name brands! I began using the sites she used. About 8 months ago, I bought a Sunday paper and decided to see if I could do what she was doing. I even tried printing coupons. But I just couldn’t seem to do it. I thought it was too much work and just got frustrated with it. The more I thought about it, the more I thought, about my contribution, or what I felt was a lack thereof. So I decided that I would give it another try. Really give it another try. It’s still a lot of work, but I find that I am oddly proud of myself when I make a list, have my coupons, and know when I go into Publix (practically the only place I grocery shop now) that I’m getting X-Y-and-Z… and that’s it. I have really been doing pretty well. I don’t save 80% or 90% of my bill, I’m lucky if I save 40%-50%, 50% being REALLY exciting for me. But here’s what I did that truly meant saving. At the bottom of my receipt there is that line which reads “Your Savings at Publix” with the dollar amount underneath. I actually transfer that amount into our savings account—when I remember. I figure it’s the least I can do to put away some money.

I don’t think I’ll ever get to the point where I need 100 bottles of mustard, 58 bottles of laundry detergent or 45 bottles of pain reliever. And I won’t have a bill totaling anywhere near $300-$400-or$1000 and only spending .01-$5. But I will have fresh fruits and vegetables in the refrigerator and several packages of meat, chicken, and fish in the freezer.

So all that brings me to my next topic in this marathon of a post. Even though Devin will ask me how much I saved and tell me “good job” and he’s proud of me, I still don’t feel like I’m doing enough. Last year I co-hosted a double baby shower for some friends. Do you have ANY idea how difficult it is to find a baby shower invitation for a double shower? I’ll let you know, it’s frustrating and difficult to say the least. So, I turned to my major, which I never got a job for. Advertising. I opened Photoshop for the first time, probably since college, and went to work. Again, I was oddly proud of myself for my creation and the shower was, in my humble and completely unbiased opinion, one of the best I’ve ever been to :) From there I made Collin’s first birthday invitations and thank you cards, a birthday invitation or a friend, and two more baby shower invitations. I even changed the one for Collin for another friends son. Some because I offered in passing to do them, others because I was a part of the shower, and sometimes because my friends knew I liked to do it and was willing to do it for them. Each time I completed one I felt good and wanted to keep going. I designed a few blogs along the way as well. My creations aren’t anything spectacular by any means, but like I said, I get oddly proud of myself when I’m done with a masterpiece.

This past weekend a friend who I had done a couple shower invites for before asked about one for her daughters first birthday. She asked how I did it. When I told her I used Photoshop and made them from nothing, she said “oh.” I hadn’t done one in a while so I jumped at the chance and offered to do it for her. I managed to wiggle around the licensing dilemma because they wanted Mickey Mouse and created, what I think, is a very Disney Worthy invitation and thank you card. Each time I design an invitation people tell me I should do it on the side and start charging. I just never felt right about doing something I love, for people I love, and charging them for it. I mean, I’m not a professional graphic artist by any stretch of the imagination. But Proverbs 31 came back to me again this weekend in some reading and I thought, “I’m gonna do it.”

What does anyone do today who wants to get their name out there? I created a Facebook page! DUH! I even have a whopping 15 people who like “Erin’s Epiphanies” Does the name sound familiar? :) Design by: Erin's Epiphanies erinsepiphanies@gmail.com When I figure it out, I’m going to add the “like” button to the sidebar—one day anyway. We’ll see if anything actually comes of my little epiphany. For now, I’ll continue to shop the sale ads and use what coupons I have. Maybe little by little I won’t feel so crappy about not being the Proverbs 31 woman.

Cute Video Friday

2011-05-27T09:00:00.000-04:00

This absolutely cracks me up. You can’t really hear it, but playing in the background is his favorite show, The Fresh Beat Band. He LOVES dancing to it. This particular night after dinner, I left him have some chocolate cake, which he tends to enjoy :) Well, a song came on the show and he started to dance, and sing a little. I think I’ve watched this at least 20 times and laughed every single time.

Enjoy my little booger!

Reasons Why I Smile

2011-05-25T09:44:00.001-04:00

Went into my purse and pulled out my gum. This is a stick of Big Red that obviously made it into his mouth. He’s telling me “CHEESE!”

I love when he sits in his chair, especially when he eating a snack. I think it’s just too cute.

He LOVE to go to the park. He’s started pulling me to the door and saying “Part part,” which we can see from our house.

I’m so glad I caught this with my phone. Such a precious innocence.

I started making him a smoothie in the late morning or afternoon. This particular day I made it a little think, it took him about forty-five minutes to drink half that cup full. He sat and watched a movie the entire time.

A Boy and His Dog. These two love each other. (Most of the time)

I was laying on the couch recently while he played in the living room. For no apparent reason at all, he climbed up on the couch and gave me the biggest hug while saying “awe.”

And this morning. He had already eaten breakfast and was playing in the living room. I was cleaning the kitchen and took the garbage to the garage. When I walked back in, I found this booger standing on the chair eating the Renna’s we had for lunch yesterday afternoon. He opened the box and took the pizza out on his own. He proceeded to sit on the couch and eat the entire slice while watching Mickey Mouse.

With events like this in my life, I don’t know how I could be anything but happy. Yes I get stressed and have my meltdowns. Especially when he’s not being quite so cute. But when he stops his meltdown because I’m the one crying and gives me a 5 minute hug and says “OK Mama”… nothing else seems to matter for that time.

And I get two more :)

Mothers Day Version 2.0

2011-05-09T14:39:00.001-04:00

Last year for my first Mother’s Day we moved into our new house. I really cannot believe it’s been a year that we’ve been here (and I have yet to post pictures!) This year my second, we, ok maybe I, decided that I wanted to actually DO something to celebrate and spend some time with Devin and Collin, since Devin has been traveling and next year we will have two more kids added into the mix.

Collin got me (us) a zoo pass :) I’m very excited about it (and just hope that we can really take advantage of it before the twins come). Friday Devin had the day off (HALLELUJAH!) so we planned to go, but the weather didn’t allow it. But we spend the day together. It sounds boring, but we ran errand and had Five Guys for lunch.

Saturday we got up and headed to the zoo. I swear I will never be arriving at the zoo past 10 AM. The weather was really nice. We started at the back because we never start there and are always too tired to enjoy it later. So we skipped the Africa loop this time (knowing I’d be back later this week). We packed a lunch, shared a shave ice and was in the car on our way home by noon. We all took naps then Devin and Collin headed to have dinner with his family at Ted’s for Mother’s Day and I met my brother and we took Mom to the Melting Pot. We had a great time, it was nice to be just the three of us again. After dinner I stopped at the mall with mom to try and help her find shoes for my cousins wedding in a couple weeks, but after walking the zoo in the morning, I wasn’t much fun and headed home after just an hour.

Sunday Devin completely spoiled me and let me do whatever I wanted :) We went to church, of course, and then stopped by Steak ‘n Shake for lunch. I really wasn’t wanting to go out for lunch, but since we were driving by I thought, ok why not? We went home, Collin and I took naps while my wonderful husband worked in the yard. Then for dinner we went to Applebee’s. We even bought two cribs and a dresser that were on sale at Babies ‘R Us before heading home for the night. This is my beautimus bracelet Devin got me! I’ve been lusting after it for months! Collin and Devin both did REALLY good on gifts this year! Although, gifts aren’t really needed, I LOVED spending the whole weekend with them. It was long overdue.

The plan for the nursery, right now, is dark furniture. Espresso. I found that I like the Lauren collection by Graco. I want teal walls and white bedding. I put together a visual for Devin, because, well, he’s a boy. The only thing he doesn’t like is the wall color, he thinks it’s too dark. We’ll see how that discussion goes ;)

Throughout the course of the weekend we talked names for the twins. There is a possibility that we may have settled on something. I have wanted to keep the names a secret until they are born. Devin, however, thinks that’s annoying and wants to tell. We’ll see how that goes too. I’m betting that when we finally DO settle on names I’ll end up caving and he’ll get to tell the names. Oh well.

A Year and a Half

2011-04-26T15:10:00.001-04:00

Every time. It never fails. I can’t believe how fast the last few months have gone by and how big Collin is getting. I took him for his 18 month appointment last week. He took his one shot like a champ, hardly even flinched. He’s increased in both his height and weight percentiles, so Mama’s happy :) He’s 24 pounds (25%) and 32 3/4 inches (90%).

He’s changing so much every day, I’m having a hard time keeping up with all the new things he’s learning. It seems like there is a new word every day or every other day. New animal sounds, actions, and personality traits coming along all the time.

We were FINALLY able to get him to eat vegetables! He will down half a can of vegetable soup like it’s his favorite food ever :) This was a HUGE accomplishment for us
He loves to color (had a few incidents with the walls, but I had him “clean it up” and haven’t had any issues since) Tells me all the time “ca” and “pa-per”
Dances to music
Has started to “sing”
Says “peas” and “daaan doo”
Knows how to call for the cats to give them treats, he makes the kissing noise. It’s too cute, too bad the cats want nothing to do with him really
Calls Carly in from the back yard and claps his hands to get her attention
Builds a building (or had me build one) and tried to blow it down… every time
Carries his own diaper and drink “ba-pak” It really makes him look like a big kid
When I ask him where the babies are he either points to my belly or lifts his shirt and points to his :) hehehe then he says “bebe” or “bella-bella” (baby and belly)
Entered (and has pretty much exited) a hitting and pushing phase
Has started to pull at his diaper :/
Gives not only high five, but also fist bumps and says “boom”
He LOVES the Cat in the Hat. Both the book and the tv show. In the book, when they “see all those things fall” he says “oh no!” and on tv he sings, “two! GO GO!” (On the show it says 3-2-1 Here we go go go go on an adventure)
Naps and goes to bed really pretty well without any fuss
Will help clean up the big toys in the living room, with very specific and repeated instruction (put the block in the basket, get that block and put it in the basket, are there more blocks to put in the basket…?)
Says “su-sor” Which is “sorry” when he’s told he’s done something wrong and is told to “say your sorry”
If he thinks you are hurt or sad, he will get a sad face, put his head down, open his arms and give you a very comforting hug and say “awe”
Loves grapes, bananas, and… Oreos

Knows when we go to Publix that he gets a cookie, and repeatedly says “cookie” until we get to the counter. Where he has to say “please” first and before his first bite must say “thank you” If he sees a balloon while we are there, I will hear “balloo-balloo” until he gets one or can’t see the balloon anymore. Usually, if he gets one, shopping is much easier
When he looses a sandal or shoe, he immediately tells me “Sue! sue!”
Says “AMEN!” after the blessing
When we are pulling into church I ask him where we are, he’ll say “Chuch” and on occasion will say “Jes-sus”
Prefers to drink from a big cup than his cup

Has been to the fair

Hunted for Easter eggs

Visited the Fire Station (These pictures were too cute to make smaller)

I just love this kid so stinkin’ much. He’s too much for words :) He melts my heart.

20 Weeks – HALF WAY!!!

2011-04-22T08:09:00.000-04:00

I can’t believe that this pregnancy is half way over officially!I say officially because well, obviously I’d rather not go 40 weeks with twins. I don’t know if it’s because it’s the second time, or because I’m not “working” and I”m staying home with Collin and he keeps me busy, or a combination of everything, but this has gone by fairly quickly!

My pregnancy app isn’t kidding when it said that in the recent weeks the babies were going to triple in size. I suddenly and very aware of the fact that I look pregnant. I was reassured by this fact today. As I walked outside to get the mail my neighbor was loading up her to youngest kids to go pick up her two oldest kids from school. We always exchange hellos and how ya doin’s. As I walked outside today we said our hellos and as she was about to get into her huge SUV (she can have an SUV because her kids are older and not in little guy car seats anymore…) she did a double take. Her mouth dropped and said, “Oh my gosh! You’re pregnant!” I laughed and said, “yeah a little bit.” I wasn’t insulted by her reaction, because I’m half way though and she’s just noticing. Not that I see her and hang out on a regular basis, but we do see each other frequently enough to be able to tell.

I thought that I would be able to feel them move a lot sooner than I did. One, because I “knew what I was feeling” and two, well, there’s two. But I had the same questions as I did before, “was that it?” “it’s too soon, surely I’m imagining it, right?” Well, there is no doubt about it now, I’ve been able to really feel them for about a week and a half, but just within the last few days have I decided for sure that “yup, that’s what it is alright.” I’m pretty sure that Devin will be able to feel them in the next few weeks too :)

I’m definitely more comfortable in maternity clothes, but I could still fit into some of my regular stuff with a bella band if I really wanted to, but I don’t that badly.

I took Collin with me to my OB appointment yesterday and my doctor said everything looks good. My weight gain is perfect, for anyone who wants to tell me that I’m not eating enough. She also said to remember “you’re not eating for three. If it were only one baby, you really wouldn’t be eating for two.” The extra caloric intake is like 700 or something like that. It’s not the equivalent of what people generally think. So HA to all those people out there who think being pregnant is an excuse to eat whatever you want and however much you want. It’s NOT! And I hope not to make the same mistakes and gain as much as I did with Collin.

I go for my glucose test in about four weeks. I’m more nervous this time because I know that gestational diabetes is more prominent with multiples. So with week of I’m really going to be watching what I eat and make sure to stay clear of the sweets.

Again… I don’t know what the deal is, but I DEFINATELY look bigger in the evening. These were taken in the morning before the day really started, I’m tricky like that :)

Baby Burn Out

2011-04-13T16:09:00.001-04:00

Am I the only one who gets baby burn out? I mean, not that I don’t absolutely love my babies. I could talk about all the fun things Collin does all the time. But there comes a time when I just can’t/don’t want to talk about it anymore. There are other things in life other than pregnancy, child birth, nursing, changing diapers, doctors appointments, and parenting in general. Right? Trust me, my life is over run by all of these things too, and for the most part that is my life. But just for a week, ok, maybe a week is a little long for some people, a day or two, I would like to NOT talk about how I’m feeling, how much weight I’ve gained, how much the baby weighs, how to get them to sleep, how long they do or don’t sleep, names, showers, registries, what stroller I want or how to decorate the nursery, have I thought about this, that and the other. I would love to talk about a movie or a new food recipe or decorating my room, I’ve even turned to couponing for crying out loud!

Don’t be mistaken. I’ve VERY happy for all of my friends and family having babies and I’ll talk about it all day long. But when one goes to a “9 to 5” job isn’t that one of the last things they want to talk about at the end of the day? Or was that just me? I need some adult conversation, not just mommy and parent conversation in my life sometimes. Which is why I am very much looking forward to the Ladies Retreat this weekend. I am going to miss my husband and baby like crazy. But Momma needs a little non-baby for a minute.

It’s a… And a…

2011-04-08T10:52:00.001-04:00

After and eventful week last week, we had to postpone “THE” appointment where we found out what Thing One and Thing Two were from Monday this week to Friday this week. Well, it’s FRIDAY this week, and we were at the doctor at 8:00 this morning. So ladies and gentlemen without further ado I give you…

Thing One and Thing Two!

It’s a BOY!

And a GIRL!

Today marks 18 weeks! Everything looked good on both babies :) And since everyone told me I didn’t look pregnant in my 16 picture, here’s the update. (and if you see me later in the day, I DO look MUCH bigger, promise!) I’m even more frustrated with clothes than I was two weeks ago. I can fit into my normal jeans, but I don’t like to sit in them, even with a bella band. I can also fit into my maternity jeans, but I don’t like them because they fall down, even with a bella band. My normal shirts fit, but I look fat, not pregnant. And my maternity shirts fit-ish, but are really long still or make me look like I’m way bigger than I actually am. Enough complaining about my clothes… Here’s me, er, us?

My Honey and Me :)

Something to Work With

2011-04-02T20:07:00.001-04:00

By the end of this post, you’re going to be laughing at me. Thinking, “um, ok Erin.” But I don’t care :)

I was, shall we say, not feeling so well yesterday and pretty much recovered today. I’m feeling MUCH better. With the exception of my back being extremely sore and hurting when I laugh or speak above a normal tone, I’m all good. With that being said, I’ve spent a lot of time on the couch today. Devin is upstairs giving Collin a bath and putting him to bed and I decided to dive into the world of baby bedding. (On a side note, we won’t be finding out the sex of the babies on Monday, but rather Friday. Long story, don’t want to go into it right now. Sorry)

After Googling for quite some time a plethora of different combinations, “baby bedding,” "modern baby bedding,” “kids bedding,” “kid’s rooms,” etc. etc etc. and bookmarking a few different sets, I had one of my epiphanies. I don’t have to design the room around the bedding. DUH! ERIN! Why did it take me TWO PLUS years to figure this out? What I loved so much about the kids bathroom upstairs is that it’s bright, colorful, fun, unisex, and could be changed fairly easily if I wanted to. That’s what has had me hung up on Collin’s room too. I didn’t want to stick to one specific “theme” per say, but wanted to do something that could grow and be easily adapted to a change in taste (mine or his, whichever it may be.)

So I went from looking at things like these…

To things like these…

While there is a big difference in the two “categories” at the same time, there isn’t. Both are modern, contemporary, bright (ok, maybe not the red, white and grey…) and funky. I realized that because I’m not a fan of “baby baby” that I could do something more “big kid” with a “baby twist,” if that makes any sense at all. That way, when the time comes to either switch their rooms or “graduate” from the babiness it’s not like I would be started all over again.

This is why I started looking for solid bedding. Shocker, I know, me plain. But the more I thought about it, the more I liked the idea. So I did a search and found that Carousel Designs has exactly what I was started to envision, in such a wide variety of colors.

The more I looked through all the colors, the more I saw a colorful room in solid colors (not necessarily matching but coordinating) with “something” else. A design on the wall or “something.” I’m just oddly proud of myself for finding something that I liked and could go off. So, now I’m looking for the “something.” And still have two rooms to do. Ugh… Oh well, it’s a start.

Calling All Creatives

2011-03-31T08:58:00.000-04:00

Most people know the issues I went through with Collin’s nursery at our Argyle house. And my lack of motivation/cash flow here at the “new” house has left every room incomplete, except for the Kids’ bathroom, upstairs. You know, the one that no one ever sees. Yeah.

I knew the second I saw the shower curtain for the bathroom what I wanted to do. I love it. It’s perfect for boys or girls. It’s bright and fun. And I know exactly what I want to do in our bedroom (but it’s going to be quite sometime before that happens (Unless someone wants to make a sizeable donation for new furniture, linens and paint)) So here is what I want some help with. Bedroom ideas. For the kids.

Come Monday (HOPEFULLY) we will know if they twins will be boys, girls, or one of each :) Obviously if they are both the same sex they will share a room. And I’ll need to decide on decor for boys or girls. Should we have a boy and a girl, they will share a room for about the first year. Maybe a little more or less depending on sleeping habits. Then the boy and Collin will share a room and our Little Miss will have her own space. (This makes me kind of sad thinking that “the oldest” won’t have his own room, but I can’t make a boy and girl share a room for very long.)

The guidelines:

I think I like darker furniture.
We are more contemporary and modern with clean lines, and strong bold colors.
Not so much into “vintage” or “boutique” or “classic baby.”

OK! Now send me your ideas! Pretty please :)

Wordless Wednesday

2011-03-30T07:34:00.000-04:00

What’s for Dinner?

2011-03-28T10:13:00.000-04:00

A LONG time ago Angela told me she made homemade pizza rolls. When she blogged about it, I had to give it a shot. It is now one of my favorite things to make. And since I’ve had a lot of people ask about it/laugh when they see “pizza rolls” on my weekly meal menu, I decided I should do a post of my own. So… here goes!

Ingredients:

Pizza Crust (I had to ask where this was. It’s in the cooler section with the Pillsbury biscuits and croissants. Usually all the way at the top) You can almost always find a coupon for 50 cents off the purchase of two, and get them when they are BOGO)
Mozzarella cheese (I think it’s easier if you use the already shredded kind")
Favorite Pizza toppings (we use pepperoni and Italian sausage) (Remember the more you stuff the bigger the rolls are and the more difficult it can be to make and eat)
Ragu Pizza Sauce (Found with the other Ragu spaghetti sauces)
We also have a seasoning that specifically is called “Pizza seasoning”

What to do:

Roll out pizza dough. (I find its easier to work with when it’s really cold, but not frozen (obviously)) and cut it into ~~even~~ rectangle-square-ish pieces (if you can get them even, you’re my hero)
Place desired toppings NOT INCLUDING THE SAUCE onto each piece. (I’ve found that cutting the pepperoni into quarters, and sausage into tinier chunks makes for easier biting and eating)

Pull the four corners together and make a ball. Yes, they will all be different sizes (Unless you’re my hero and can make them all even) Place the rolls into a greased pan (I use a 9x11)

Once you’ve rolled everything, sprinkle any desired seasoning on top

Bake according to the directions on the Pillsbury dough container. I believe it’s 475 degrees. Just like anything else, baking time will vary. I’ve done anywhere from 10-20 minutes. I keep an eye on them and when the tops are a nice brown color and the sides aren’t doughy anymore then I say they are done and take them out. A real science, I know.

Don’t forget the Ragu! It’s for dipping! :) Some people like to heat it a little, some don’t. That’s up to you. VOILA! You’re done, enjoy your homemade pizza rolls! They are SO MUCH BETTER than anything you’ll pull from the freezer section! Hands down.

This amount is usually good for both Devin and I. Sometimes we’ll have some left over, sometimes we won’t. Just depends on the day and how hungry we both are. Plus, Collin loves pizza and enjoys them also. He eats one or two easily.

***Disclaimer*** It took me ~~several~~ a few times making these before I got them perfect. Not enough cheese, too long in the oven, not long enough in the oven, the pepperoni to sausage ratio wasn’t right, blah blah blah. So if they don’t turn out “just perfect” the first time, PLEASE don’t give up. It’s totally worth trying again. PROMISE!

16 Weeks Down Just a Few More to Go

2011-03-25T07:00:00.000-04:00

I’ve been really bad this time around with taking progression pictures. I kinda thought I would be though. Especially after I found out it was twins. I thought maybe I would before that wanting to compare this time around to Collin. But there really is nothing to compare. Everything is going to be different. I mean, there’s two. You can’t compare anything really. Nonetheless, this is me and “the twins” at 16 weeks. It’s probably the one and only time I’ll have a picture of me in ~~cute~~ normal clothes. I ~~feel like I~~ am usually a lot bigger later in the afternoon and evening. I don’t remember that from before. Odd. But I have a feeling that I’m not going to be fitting into normal clothes for much longer. I’m going to, the polite way of putting it, “pop” in the next few days/weeks. And there will be no going back. I know I’m going to wake up one day and be like, “what the heck? Where did this come from? Where are my toes?!”

Just for argument sake, here’s a little side-by-side. All I can say is, “uuuhh…?” I guess thinking back, I’m glad I’m still in my regular clothes. And I really don’t have anything to complain about. I wasn’t really all that sick with Collin, and I haven’t been sick at all with the twins. I was tired with Collin, I DO remember passing out on the couch immediate after work everyday the first trimester. I am tired with the twins. I was sleeping during Collins nap everyday. But I’ve been good for several weeks now. I’ve even been cleaning and planning meals again during naps. Come April 4th (when we should get to find out if they are boys or girls) I suppose I’ll start looking at bedding and thinking about what we ~~want~~ need.

Man, I was HUGE!

And yes, I’m well aware of the fact that I’m pasty white and should spend some time at our pool and at the beach.

It’s Not the First Time

2011-03-23T15:00:00.001-04:00

Nope, this is not the first time this has happened (I was going to include a link because I blogged about it before, but I can’t find it. So, oh well!). In fact, it happens about once a month or so. Well, today I went to the pantry to find something to eat. I didn’t know what I wanted, just knew that I needed to eat before that sick feeling came on and I couldn’t eat anything at all. Well, this is what I opened the doors to…

Half an hour later, this is what made me happy…

Aaahhhh! MUCH better!

…but I’m still hungry and don’t know what I want to eat. :(

10 Facebook Pet Peeves

2011-03-17T10:03:00.000-04:00

***Disclaimer*** This is MY LIST. If you made the list, so sorry. Don’t take it personally. Just fix it :) HAHA! I’m pretty sure that I’m not going to lose any major friendships over this. Some minor ones, perhaps ;) But no one I can’t live without :) I kid. I kid… or do I???

Liking your own status or picture- obviously you like it, you posted
When your name isn’t your name
Profile pictures that aren’t you- this includes your pets and most of all YOUR CHILDREN. I’m ok with it, if YOU’RE IN THE PICTURE. But, I’m sorry, it’s not Fluffy’s or Suzie’s profile, it’s yours.
Horoscopes- honestly, I don’t read my own, I don’t care what yours says every single day
“Husband Day” “Awesome Mommy Week” “Sister Month”- if my fill in the blank with appropriate relative does something spectacular, I’ll post about it. I don’t need a “special day” that some random person designated a over year ago, but it’s just now getting around to someone I know.
Eight different music videos that "touched your heart” all in a row. One, ok, but no more.
Sideways pictures… there is a way to fix it. Please do.
The latest high score you got on whatever game you happen to be playing today- unless you topped the high score list on Doodle Jump I don’t really care.
Constant and incessant complaining and whining- Oh. My. Gosh. SOMETHING has to be good in your life, you woke up didn’t you? Thank God for another gloriously crappy day or something!
Intentional misspellings- everyone has the occasional typo and/or autocorrect but srlys ur not da Chick-Fil-A couz.

Sad…

2011-03-15T15:34:00.001-04:00

Let me begin by saying, yes, I know how ridiculous I’m about to sound. But, I don’t care. So there!

So with the impending arrivals coming this summer, the question of vehicle has come up. Which makes me sad, because everyone knows how much I absolutely love my Accord. L-O-V-E. The Accord would be perfect for two car seats. But, that’s just not our case anymore. We will be bringing two home, at once. To one that is already at home. Making three. Yikes.

So originally the though was to keep the Accord and sell/trade the Civic for an SUV(/::cringe::minivan). Obviously I’m not keen on the idea of a minivan. But what kills me almost more than the thought of driving a mom-mobile is the thought of not even having my Accord in the garage anymore. It was a thought that had crossed my mind, but I never wanted to dwell on, then Devin brought it up because he had been thinking about it also.

Enter Sadness.

The Civic is paid off. The Civic is a hybrid. The Civic is a commuter car. The Accord is not paid off. The Accord is not a hybrid. I wouldn’t exactly call the Accord a commuter car. So, with a VERY heavy heart, I do believe we have decided to, ::tearing up now:: trade :( my :( Accord :( WWWWWWAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAA :’(

Believe me when I say this is going to be just as tough for me as having twins in our lives. Also believe me when I say, I could probably handle driving a minivan knowing it was parked next to my Accord and it was still in the family. I’m going to have to take a SERIOUS big girl pill the day I have to say goodbye to my pretty Accord baby.

Until then, I’m soaking in oppertunity I have to drive with the windows down, sunroof open, and radio up. The SUV-minivan conversation, is still in the works. Seriously, no idea how that is going to end. I just can’t express how much I really don’t want a minivan. But again, I’m sure I’m going to end up taking another big girl pill. :(

Less than 200 Days!

2011-02-24T11:51:00.001-05:00

Considering the state of shock I've been in for the last several weeks, it's gone by relatively quickly. I cant believe there are already less than 200 days in the pregnancy! Woo-Hoo! I know how terrible this sounds, but I'm not one of those women who "oh so enjoy every second of being pregnant." A few seconds here and there, perhaps, but definitely not every one.

I am looking forward to tomorrow however. We get to see the twins again already. :) one of the perks of twins, we get to see them often. From what I understand (from people telling me, not the actual doctor) it's going to be one of those fancy-smancy 4D ones :) and if I can get my hands on a writable DVD before 9:30 we'll have a video too! So check back soon for the babies second round of pictures!

Surprise! SURPRISE!

2011-02-08T10:11:00.001-05:00

Collin is going to be a big brother! But it’s not just to one lucky little baby. TWO little ones get the pleasure of Collin’s older wiser guidance in life :) Yes, we are expecting TWINS!

Twins. As in One TWO!

No, we weren’t expecting it.

No, Twins don’t run in the family.

I joked when she stared the sonogram and the right baby came on the screen, “it’s only one right"?” and literally as soon as I said that I saw the other bubble flash on the screen and the midwife says, “well, just a second, I just got started.” I immediately knew, BEFORE she said anything. And I broke out in a sweat.

Yes, I started to cry. I panicked not knowing what to do with two babies at once. Devin and I about hit the floor. Not quite sure how to process the new information. Our entire drive home, all we could say was, “Twins. As in One. Two.” And laugh nervously about it. As the week has passed we have had some time to process the idea and it’s sinking in. Still not sure how we are going to make it work. But we know that God has a plan and will take care of us. All FIVE of us.

I was too shocked at the time of the appointment to ask questions. So I don’t know if they are fraternal or identical. All I can guess is that they look as if they are in two separate sacks so, fraternal, maybe?

One baby measured at 8w4d the other measured 7w4d.

My due date is officially September 9, 2011. Although the midwife did say that because it’s twins it automatically will be pushed up a few weeks so, most likely sometime in August.

Twins, automatically made me “high risk” so I get lots of “extra” sonograms :)

The midwife says, “Everything about this pregnancy will automatically be different from your first” Awesome. (Note the sarcasm)

Collin is 15 Months Old!

2011-02-02T10:04:00.001-05:00

I really can’t believe that FIFTEEN months have gone by since the fist time I held my sweet little boy in my arms. I LOVE watching him grow and learn new things everyday. His vocabulary is growing, he understands when we tell him to do things, he learns how to play in new ways all the time. It really is amazing to watch. There is no way I could write about all the new things he does, but I’m gong to list some of my favorites.

At his 15 month appointment he was 31 inches tall and weighed 22 pounds
He’s still wearing 12 and 18 month clothes
He wears a belt with his 12 month pants to keep them up :)
He’s down to one nap a day, and it’s always for at least two hours, sometimes more depending on what we did that morning
Over Christmas he weaned completely. It was bittersweet (now he has to eat almost immediately when he wakes up)
He can go up and down the stairs on his own, but would rather hold your hands and take one step at a time
Says “BYE!” before bedtime and gives kisses
Climbs in and out of the car himself

Climbs in and out of the bathtub himself
Likes to brush his teeth standing on his stool at the sink before his bath

Dips his food in ranch, bbq, ketchup, or anything else that resembles a sauce
uses a fork and a spoon to feed himself

Blows on his food before he eats is
Says “HOT” and holds his hand over things… even if it is cold or an inanimate object. Needless to say we are working on “cold”

He actually says “MMMMUAH!” when he give a kiss
Dances when he hears music – ESPECIALLY the Fresh Beat Band on Nick or NickJr.
Runs straight for the swings at the playground

Was absolutely amazed with the Christmas tree
Wakes up from his ONE afternoon nap and walks straight to “his” cabinet and says, the hard “c” sound twice “c-c” is Cookie or “wan dat”
Has actually started to cuddle with me. In the mornings when I’m not quite ready to get out of bed at 7 or 7:30 I’ll get him a box of raisins and turn on PBS and he’ll just lay in bed with me :) It’s my new favorite thing in the entire world
Says “cat” almost every time he sees one. Whether its one of our cats, a cat on TV, in a picture…. or my personal favorite, our DOG Carly. :) We’ve been working on “DOG” and he’s getting a little better
Point furiously and repeated at things and says “wan dat! wan dat! want dat!”

And with that, I leave you with more cute pictures :)

Cute Video Friday

2011-01-28T10:16:00.000-05:00

“Brushing” his teeth

Cute Video Friday

2011-01-28T07:00:00.000-05:00

I’m taking Collin for his FIFTEEN MONTH well check this morning. I can’t believe it. Anyway, this is one of my current favorite videos. Collin in the tub :) Who doesn’t love a baby in the tub? Well, for his birthday he got this singing octopus piano type thing that sings and teaches shapes colors and sea creatures. Collin has started singing along with it and bobbling his head. I was so excited when I caught it on video the very first time a few weeks ago.

My Sweet Boy

2011-01-20T22:11:00.001-05:00

If it’s even possible, I think I love Collin even more this week than I have his entire life. Devin has been gone all week, for the first time in more than a month, so it was just me and Collin. I’m not sure what got into him, but he was really really good all week, and super lovey and clingy. I’m not necessarily thrilled about the clingy part, but the super lovey part, I could take in bulk.

Recently in the mornings we have cuddled in bed. He eats a little box of raisins and watches cartoons, for at least 30 minutes but usually an hour. If I’m lucky a little more. :) There is no better way to start the day.

At the end of the day I ask him if he wants to take a bath and he walks to the stairs. I taught him how to hold my hands and take the steps one at a time, it’s the only way he goes up now. He stands at the stairs turns to me and reaches for my hands. My sweet little boy stands at the sink to take his vitamins and brushes his teeth. I can’t believe how big he’s getting and all the things he’s learning. Just before bed we read a book or a few stories from his Baby Bible. He has started to put his hands over his ears or uses his fingers to plug his ears when he’s done reading. At first I thought it was because of his ear infection, but nope, just because he was done reading. So I put the book down and he turns to me and give me a kiss and hugs me. I could hold him all night long. But he won’t let me, he wants in his bed. :( As I walk out I ask for one more kiss, which I usually get, and tell him goodnight, which he responds to with, “Bi!” and lays down. I walk downstairs one happy momma.

The rest of the night I have a tendency to flip through the photos and videos on my phone that I have of him. He just melts my heart every time he offers me a kiss without me asking or climbs up onto the couch and cuddles up next to me. He’s such a sweet boy that I love more and more every day.

Oops, Sorry

2011-01-18T15:23:00.001-05:00

:( I totally did not mean to sound as whiney in my last post as I did. Not my intention, but nonetheless…

I am glad I do still have readers though :)

Mom Genes

2011-01-17T14:25:00.000-05:00

For some reason I was reading back though my old blog postings. I’m talking, the very first ones. Maybe because I just hit the two year mark I suppose. Anyway, I realized something. I have got a serious case of the the Mom Genes (NOT Jeans!!!) As I was reading, I was laughing, sometimes out loud, because I was cracking myself up. Then I was reading the comments people have left me. They also cracked me up. I was reliving some very odd and funny moments and I could hear my “followers” actually speaking their comments to me.

When I started blogging, I suppose you could say my posts were closer to actual epiphanies than they are now. Today I mostly, when I do, blog about Collin and the great stuff he does. (Which still crack me up, just in a different way) And no one really comments (MOM- you DO NOT need to comment that you are “no one”). This could be for a number of reasons. One, my commenters aren’t really blogging much themselves anymore either. I mean, it’s been more than SIX MONTHS since Angela and Bradley have blogged. (And I’m pretty sure that Angela had a post at some point discussing blogging in a timely manner and not letting such long amounts of time pass between posts…) More than a YEAR since Robert or Dayna have blogged, Charish deleted her blog and Devin never really commented on my blogs anyway. Or it could be because I don’t have funny bank stories to tell about ATMs and counting cash and chewing gum and whatnot. I’m the only one interested in my son. Which is fine, don’t get me wrong. I’ve just come to terms with the fact that I should probably change my blog title from “Erin’s Epiphanies” to “Mom Genes” because I’ve got a serious case!

It’s Been TWO Years!

2011-01-14T09:35:00.000-05:00

Wow! I can’t believe it’s been TWO YERS since Angela, Bradley, and Devin talked me into blogging. Sometimes I feel like what I want to blog about no one really cares about, and then the stuff that people might actually want to read about I don’t find the time to blog about. But then I think about it, and say, “eh, who cares?” It’s my blog, I don’t have many readers anyway, it’s mostly for me anyway. I’ve had two years of good times and I enjoy rereading them and looking at pictures. So basically that’s all folks. I just can’t believe it’s been two years since I’ve been blogging. And fairly consistently too! SO YAY ME! On that note, I will leave you with a couple pictures, you may or may not want to see, but I will smile at when I reread this later in life :)

My big boy drinking from a juice box

And, my pretty girl :)

Cute Video Friday

2011-01-07T17:51:00.001-05:00

Collin LOVES the sandbox and has recently has learned “uh oh.” He would intentionally dump sand out he would say “uh oh!” Guess, we need to work on when to say “uh oh” :)

Watching in Awe

2011-01-04T21:56:00.001-05:00

I never cease to be amazed at the things Collin learns to do.

He lifts his hands over his head for you to change his shirt, holds up his foot so you can put his socks on and shakes his legs to get his pants off.

This past weekend we started letting him get out of the car by himself. I turn around to unbuckle him and he does the rest. He pulls his arms through the straps and proceeds to climb down out of his chair, turns around and wiggles down backward when I open the back door.

At dinner time we are teaching him to fold his hands and say, "thank you Jesus." Although he won't always do it, he surprises us in the middle of dinner by randomly stopping, folding his hands and saying, "thank you" in his cute little way.

When he does these things I just watch in awe and smile, then tell him how big he is. Tonight I was putting him to bed and we were watching one of his Baby Einstein DVDs. He was sitting curled next to me so sweet like when all of a sudden he stood up. I didn't want him to go play, I wanted him to wined down, so I told him to come sit back down with Mama. He did. But not before grabbing one of his books that were propped up next to the TV. He sat down, opened the book to the middle then turned the pages so he was at the front (so he could read it from the beginning of course.) he flipped through the pages a little then closed the book, looked at me and hugged it. I'm not sure what it was about that particular act that got me, but it made me tear up a little bit. It was just so innocent. After he hugged the book he handed it to me, for me to read. I opened it to read and he flipped the pages, pointed to the pictures and babbled like he was telling me something serious. It was too sweet and precious.

After his story we said bedtime prayers and I put him in bed. I love when he lays right down, but will lift his head as I walk out, wave and say, "bye!"

“Cold Flurries”

2011-01-03T22:23:00.001-05:00

I’m more than a week late on this, and as a result, it’s a new year, and the temperatures have risen so it almost seems unbelievable that we even had snow flurries!

So, as I talked about before, Brudder got took me the the last Jags home game of the 2010 season, which was the day after Christmas. Although we lost the game in overtime, we had a great time anyway. We always do, which is why I was so excited about going with him again.

Sunday morning while I was at church, I had several different people tell me they had seen snow flurries at their houses that morning. I texted Bradley (who was at his earlier church service) to tell him that we could possibly see snow flurries at the game today and we should bring a blanket. He says back to me, and I can hear his snarky tone, “Not going to be snowing. If you really want a blanket we can stop and get one.” That was about 11:00. At 11:34 I get another text from him, he’s in the parking lot waiting for me to come out and “there are flurries on my windshield.” HA! Take that Brudder! It IS going to snow! hehehe.

As we are driving to the game I keep putting layer after layer on. I think I had a tank top, two sweaters, my jersey and a jacket, two pair of socks, a beanie cap, and gloves. I told Bradley that I didn’t want to freeze in the cold flurries. Yes. Cold flurries. He looked at me like I was stupid (as he often does) and said “really?” Forgive me, it cam out a cross between snow flurries and freezing in the cold. Whatever. :)

Once we got to the game, we quickly found we were surrounded by Washington fans. Great. (This is where the story become abbreviated.) There was a couple behind us that was so-stinking-obnoxious. Seriously, they were so loud and just down right annoying. Long story short, the first quarter they got into a fight with some Jaguar fans across the isle from them. They went and go security to have them removed. Come the fourth quarter, the Jaguars fans that were back. The Washington fans were not happy about it, to say the least and went to get security again. Before the end of the quarter both of them had been escorted out of the game. THANK GOODNESS! Bradley and I could actually enjoy, well sort of, the overtime.

After we lost, we walked back to the car, frozen toes and all. While they were “only snow flurries” snow is the operative word. I can officially say that I have attended a football game in the snow :) Is it cheating a little? Maybe, but I don’t really care! So there! I had a great time with Brudder in the cold flurries.

Thank you Brudder for a great Christmas present! I had mucho fun with you!

Wordless Wednesday

2010-12-29T07:46:00.000-05:00

It’s a Wonderful Life 2010

2010-12-27T13:57:00.001-05:00

Everyone looks forward to Christmas every year. This year, was particularly great. The entire week, not just Christmas day (although, all the pictures I have are from Christmas morning…) was a great time.

My mom was off work the whole week and we spend Monday and Tuesday doing small projects and cleaning my house to get ready for Christmas. By Wednesday she was too sick to leave the house and had a fever. :( Sad. One day Collin and I had lunch with my aunt one day since she’s off school right now. Another day we had dinner with the Whiteners at Sonny’s then Mandy and I visited Ashley and baby Luke at the hospital. Devin was off work Thursday and Friday so we got to spend a little bit of time together. My cousin was in town from Pensacola so I spent Thursday afternoon and evening with her and my aunt shopping. (***Side note, I can keep up with my 14 month old better than I can keep up with Melissa shopping. That girl can shop, and I can’t keep up! I was worn flat out by the time I got home! haha!)

Friday, Christmas Eve, we always spend with Devin’s side of the family at his brothers house. So we were there around 2:00, ate dinner opened presents and just hung out for a while. Devin took Collin home to put him to bed and I stopped by my aunts house to enjoy the last part of their Christmas Eve dinner before heading home. Devin read Collin the Christmas story from his little Baby Bible and then he, Bradley, and I finished getting the gifts around the tree ready for the next morning. Everything he got that night we took out of the boxes and set up so they were ready for him to play with when he got up in the morning. Bradley stayed the night with us so he was here Christmas morning.

Because I told Bradley and Mom, Collin would be up about 7:30, he of course woke up coughing at 6:00 and wouldn’t go back to sleep. So he played with the fun new toys early in the morning. Ugh. Mom got to the house about 8:00, we did the present thing and ate the casserole I made for breakfast. More toys were put together and played with. Collin had some serious stimulation overload going on. He bounced from toy to toy to box back to toy after toy after box after toy. Finally it was naptime. For Collin. I should have taken a nap too, but I didn’t. We had dinner with my family at my aunts at 4:30. Collin ran around and around and around before Devin took him home for bed. I stayed to hang out with my cousin for a little while. A little while ended up into about four and a half hours. At 10:30 I thought I should probably go home.

I feel like I definitely made the most of Christmas this year. It was great. Sunday/the day after Christmas will be another post. It was also great, fun, exciting, and cold. For now, I leave you with Christmas morning in pictures…

My poor tree never got the ribbon or bow topper this year :(

Having a blast with his new toys

Opening his stocking

Opening presents

Carly checking out the action, wanting to chew on everything!

“Open it Mom!”

Playing the the new toys

Carly got new chew toys… one was destroyed almost immediately

Everyone needs a slinky!

Oh Carly

My Mom and Collin after all the chaos

Enjoying his new table and chairs

Merry Christmas everyone!

Cute Video Friday

2010-12-17T10:34:00.000-05:00

In September Collin learned how to climb up the stairs

In late November/early December he learned how to climb down the stairs. I got very excited for him and he just continued on like it was no big deal.

Unplugged-ish

2010-12-14T09:11:00.001-05:00

It’s 2010, practically 2011 already, and technology makes everything so readily available to us, it’s ridiculous. Devin and I can be driving down the road talking about a movie and I’ll open my RedBox app to find out where we can get it, then I’ll use Google to find a code so we can rent it for free. All within minutes. A few nights ago we wanted to go to a store but weren’t sure what time it was open until, so again, I took my phone, opened an app and found out what the store hours were. Literally, “there’s an app for that” and just about anything you can think. We would check weekly to see the progress Collin was making while I was pregnant with him and while I was in labor, we used a contraction timer app. I have an iphone, but don’t actually even need songs in my itunes library because I can listen to Slacker Radio.

This post is going somewhere, I promise. I have spent countless hours reading Twitter updates from people I don’t know, playing Angry Birds, DoodleJump, iJewels, PaperToss, and a ridiculously infinite amount of time of Facebook. Over the last couple of weeks I’ve had conversations with people about how addicted to Facebook we are. We check it constantly from our phones, getting (for lack of a better word) annoyed, when there are little to no updates to read. A friend of mine was recently locked out of her home with a sleeping baby inside and no phone. She laughed as she said she was upset because she didn’t have her phone to check Facebook while they waited for help to come. About a month ago I thought about deleting my Facebook app from my phone because I knew I spent too much time on it. But I didn’t. This weekend I got to go to the Jaguars/Raiders football game with Devin. I posted pictures while we were there, people commented on them. I like that. But on the way home and that evening Devin told me that I spent too much time Facebooking.

I woke up the next morning and did what I always do. Looked at my clock, grabbed my phone, checked my email and scrolled through Facebook. I have known for sometime that I spend way too much time on Facebook. So I though, Ok, I’m going to do this. I’m taking a Facebook sabbatical-ish. I deleted the app from my phone to resist the urge to just look when nothing else is going on. I still get email updates when people comment on stuff or send friend requests, so occasionally, if/when I turn the laptop on, I’ll check stuff. But I’ve already decided I will not spend as much time… wasting time… as I have in the past.

The End-ish ;)

Cute Video Friday

2010-12-10T10:31:00.000-05:00

I’ve been getting so many cute videos of Collin lately, it would be a shame for them to sit on our YouTube account and no one really see them. Yes, there is a VERY good possibility you’ve already seem them on facebook, but I don’t really care :) So here’s the first of many more to come!

We got the lemons so Collin would eat them, little did we know they were going to keep him entertained for about 20 minutes.

A Family Photo Shoot

2010-12-09T09:05:00.000-05:00

So, we went back to Portrait Innovations this year for our family pictures. It was almost exactly a year, to the day, than when we went last year. I was much more annoyed this year than last. We had to wait more than 45 minutes past our appointment time, got passed off between people (two different photographers, two different assistant type people, and a person to go through the pictures with us), didn’t get the poses I really wanted, didn’t get the “attention to detail” I would have liked, and had to go back the next day to pick up the pictures. “Because we had to wait” they gave us 25 “free” Christmas cards as opposed to the 9 or 10 they normally give. But oh well, what’s done is done and these are some of our family pictures… they are growing on me. Ok, truthfully, I LOVE Collin in every picture, and Devin too, he has a genuine smile (as opposed to the fake I’m smiling for a picture smile) I’m just not crazy about me. Surprise surprise. For some reason I don’t think I look all that happy and my head was tilted to the side (hence the lack of attention to detail by the photographers and assistants. They never said, turn this way or tilt your head that way, which turned out to be very annoying.)

Wordless Wednesday

2010-12-08T08:44:00.000-05:00

FREE Christmas Stationary Card

2010-12-06T12:51:00.001-05:00

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At the Park

2010-12-03T16:16:00.001-05:00

/Mommy Needed Out of the House/Wordless Friday :)

Collin’s First Airplane

2010-11-29T11:51:00.001-05:00

I have no idea where the time goes. Apparently it is going by just as fast as it did when I was in elementary school, but at the same time, it SO-DOES-NOT (said in the Ross voice). I can’t believe that Collin’s birthday has come and gone, our New Jersey trip has come and gone, Thanksgiving has come and gone, and Christmas is just around the corner. Goodness…

So at the beginning of the month Mom, Bradley, Collin and I packed up and went to New Jersey for a few days. It was my first time going on a trip without Devin. If I have to go without him, I’m glad it was with my mom and Brudder. Three adults,one one year old and stroller, four carry-ons, two large tote bags, one backpack, and one car seat made for a fun time. It sounds bad. I was dreading it in the weeks leading up to it, but overall, it wasn’t bad at all. Collin did really well. Much better than I thought he was going to do actually.

Collin didn’t sleep much Thursday when we left. It was a VERY long day. But we made it to Newark alive. We even made it to the car rental place and to my aunts house alive and in once piece too. The fact that we (Mom) drove ourselves was a success in itself. Thursday night my aunt made dinner and my dad came over and we all had a nice night relaxing.

Friday was fun. My old youth pastor and his family live in New Jersey now, a little more than an hour south of where my Dad and aunt are. We couldn’t travel all the way up the coast and not go visit them. Poor Missy had just had knee surgery but still came out to dinner with us. I felt so bad for her but was really happy she did. We had dinner at Red Robin. I don’t know that I’ve ever seen one here in Florida (not that I have been to all of Florida or anything) so it was nice to go someplace we don’t go to everyday. After dinner Mike took us to see their church. It was awesome, they had just redone their youth room. I had a cool youth room and hang out when I was in high school, but this place was so amazingly awesome. Their children’s church is the old main auditorium, and was so much fun. They only live a few minutes from the church so we got to go back to their house and hand out for a few hours. It was definitely a high point of our trip. The little girls I babysat have grown up into beautiful teenagers. I miss them.

Saturday was my cousins daughters birthday, and since Collin’s birthday was just a couple weeks earlier we had a big birthday party Jersey Style! It was so much fun. All my cousins kids playing and running around with Collin, was so cute. They all had a great time. I’m sure my grandmother loved seeing them all together too. My ant it a fantastic cake decorator, so I was really looking forward to what she was going to make. Autumn (my cousins daughter) wanted Tinkerbell and Collin got a train. They were ADORABLE!

Sunday morning we got up and went to my grandma’s house for breakfast, church, and a big lunch. While everyone went to church, I was the heathen that stayed home with Collin. It was naptime and it would not have been good for him to be at their little church missing a nap. So I stayed back and put him down, and maybe took a nap myself :) Sunday night Bradley and I left Collin with my mom and aunt and we went to dinner with my dad before we left Monday morning.

Monday was another long day, but thankfully we made it home alive. I felt really bad for Brudder. We landed in Jacksonville at 5 something. He went to get the car, changed suitcases, and walked back in the airport to catch a flight to Atlanta at 7 something for work. I know he had to be exhausted by the time he got back home the following Friday night about 8:00.

I was annoyed with myself when I realized that I wasn’t taking any pictures, so I have minimal pictures to show of our trip. But, here they are!

On the plane, looking out the window, then passed out

Collin with Morgan and Maddie

I love these girls!

Collin’s Train Cake!

Autumn’s Tinkerbell Cake

NOM! NOM! NOM!

Ready to go home

He slept MUCH better on the way home

Shutterfly.com SWAG!

2010-11-16T11:24:00.001-05:00

While I was on vacation in New Jersey this past week (once the pictures are loaded and I can gather my thoughts, I’ll post about it) I saw my friend Michelle post something about 50 Free Christmas cards. After reading her post about it, I was in. So here’s my plug to get the SWAG!

A year or so ago, I signed up and made a photo book using Shutterfly.com. I don’t remember who it was for or what was in the book off hand, but I enjoyed doing it. It was fun, easy, and the quality was really good. I’ve printed pictures from them really cheap. Devin even made me a calendar for Christmas one year. I loved it! They always have some sort of promotion going on, it’s awesome. Basically it’s a great site all the way around. Anyway, A few weeks ago, I began thinking and planning my Christmas cards, so this came at the PERCEFT time! Shutterfly is offering 50 FREE 5x7 folded or flat stationary Christmas Cards when you register and blog about the promotion. It’s a pretty genius idea, I think. Think of all the FREE advertising they are getting for this. Everyone loves FREE stuff, especially at Christmas time. Everyone has a blog, or knows someone who has a blog. So basically the promotion was a no brainer. And since I’m all about the free stuff (especially since I stopped working to say home with Collin… BEST decision Devin and I EVER made, btw!) I had to get in. I was looking around at the cards and fell in love with a bunch. The picture(s) we end up with will ultimately decided what card everyone will be getting this year :) There are so many great ones to choose from, it’s going to be tough to decide. (You might notice a commonality among my choices) :)

So, my fellow bloggers, bargain shoppers, and coupon clippers go to http://blog.shutterfly.com/5358/holiday2010-blog-submission-form/ at shutterfly.com and get your free stuff too!

A FIRST Birthday Party –BASEBALL Style!

2010-11-03T15:57:00.001-04:00

So every girl I know is obsessed with or at least loves the color pink. Not sure if you know this about me or not, but I don’t like pink. I didn’t own anything pink until a few weeks ago when I bought a plain ole T-shirt from Wal-Mart for the Making Strides Against Breast Cancer Walk. Anyway, thankfully I have a little boy and was able to throw an anti-pink party, in a baseball theme :)

I had such a fun time planning it! I made the invitations a month or so ago, and made thank you notes to match. (Now I just have to print the thank you cards, write, address, and send them. Two weeks. Tops. haha) We had classic baseball game food, hotdogs and hamburgers, Coke and Sprite, (and what’s a party in the South without sweet tea?) baked beans, deviled eggs, chips and of course Craker Jacks! I made Collin a baseball cake and cupcakes (not that a ball is hard to do, just time consuming and I will NEVER use icing in a spray bottle again. It’s too unpredictable!)

We had thirty plus people at the house, both Devin and my families and a few close friends, plus the eight small children. We had ages ranging from 5 months old to our grandparents in their 80s.

Collin LOVES the balloons that are still floating around and is very much enjoying his new toys. He’s so cute exploring what the new things do. Now, the fun part, PICTURES!

Drink Table

Favor Cups by the front door

Collin’s Birthday Chair with his name pennant I made ;)

My rendition of a baseball

The presents and a little chaos

Me and Papa

Daddy and Mommy with the Birthday Boy

Singing with Aunt Lynne

Cousins

Random Birthday Fun

The hours before the party I did start to stress a little, ok a lot. But once things go underway, I started having a really good time. I am very happy with the way the decorations and food turned out. And I’m so glad that most everyone was able to make it. It make me happy to know that Collin is so loved by all of our friends and family that they were willing to come to a first birthday party that Collin won’t even remember. It is definitely a day that I will remember and cherish for years to come.

ONE YEAR ALREADY?!?!

2010-10-30T20:43:00.001-04:00

I seriously cannot believe that it was (now, more than) a year ago that we were blessed beyond belief with the most precious, adorable, loving, sweet baby ever! This past year has been absolutely incredible. Just when I think I know what’s going on and what is about to happens, everyday turns into a new adventure. I’ve gone from getting up at least every two hours to nurse Collin, to homemade puréed foods, to solids. From laying him on the couch while I take a shower, to watching him roll over, crawl, walk, run, and climb. From the rolly polly blob of a boy with eight chins and twelve fat rolls on his arms and legs to a tall skinny little boy whose pants I have to roll over to keep them up. From only sleeping two hours at a time throughout the day to sleeping eleven to twelve hours at night and two hour to two hour naps during the day. From newborn diapers for a minute, size one and two diapers for about a week each, to size three diapers for the past six months. There really are no words to describe how this last year has been, therefore, I’m not even going to try. All I can really say that that God has blessed us so much more than I ever could imagined was possible.

With that being said, here’s the 12 month/ONE YEAR update on my little man!

We go to the doctor on Monday for his one year well check appointment, so height and weight will have to wait.
12-18 month cloths, just depends
Appetite varies. Some days he’s a garbage disposal, some days he hardly eats a few peach slices. But is generally a very good eater.

Loves goldfish (and on a completely unrelated note, the Goldfish with extra cheddar, are FANTASTIC and completely addicting!)
Has been drinking from a straw for several months.

This kid climbs on anything and everything possible. He’s a dare devil and I’m pretty sure I’m just waiting it out until I have to take him to the doctor because he’s really hurt himself.

He’s gone from pushing the Thomas Train to the couch and climbing up to just climbing straight up onto the couch.

We got him his own chair for his birthday, he thinks it’s to climb on half the time.

He wants to climb in and out of the tub himself (no, we don’t let him)
Tries to climb out of his highchair.
My Dad spent a week with us, we went to the zoo. Then Devin and I took him again on his birthday. He LOVES IT! SO much more than when we took him in May.

He mastered “no no no no no no” and shakes his head and waves his arms while doing so.
Got tooth number 7 and is desperately working on number 8 (I wish it would hurry up and come through already so he’d stop chewing in his fingers and drooling)
Loves balloons

We walked in the Making Strides Against Breast Cancer walk (AND made it onto Jackxonville.com! http://photos.jacksonville.com/mycapture/enlarge.asp?image=32160711&event=1098099&CategoryID=57820 )

Is really trying to talk, bad. It sounds like he’s trying to say “what’s that?” and “look at that” while he points at things. Points to the cats and says “cat” and is working on looking at Carly and saying “dog” He’s doing a lot more mimicking, does the same number of syllables after we say something.
Had his first birthday party (look for the post in a few days/weeks, whenever I happen to find the time to do it)

As requested…

2010-10-11T08:59:00.001-04:00

You asked for it, you got it :) The Collin Tracker is officially up-to-date. Isn’t he adorable???

On A Scale of 1-10, He’s an ELEVEN!

2010-10-04T08:35:00.001-04:00

Where has the time gone?!? We have been SO BUSY lately, I’m not even sure I could tell you what day of the week it is. All I know is that Collin is growing like a weed and keeping me busy busy busy. Because he’s keeping me so busy, I’m late on this ELEVEN month post, and it’s going to be a quick one (I think) So here we go!

WALKS, WALKS, WALKS! He’s a machine! And a fast little booger too!
He went to the beach for the first time, Labor Day weekend

He can climb the stairs, really well

He eats just about anything we eat (with the allergy exceptions of course) LOVES hotdogs, and banana bread

His teeth come in TWOs, he got two more on top for a total of SIX (and I think I’ve started to see another one on the bottom the last few days
He’s talking with more letters. He discovered the “b” sound, and it’s ADORABLE
LOVES popsicles

Says, “hi” correctly, and also frequently
Not only climbs the stairs, but anything else he can

Because he climbs and walks, he has battle wounds

Points to everything and says “dis!” or “dat”
We had to put locks on all of the cabinets to keep him out

Got his first hair cut!

And as always, the too cute not to include photo montage!

Crawling is a Thing of the Past

2010-09-13T13:27:00.001-04:00

Collin is a full blown walker now. And has been for more than a month. Once he started, he never looked back. The first video is when he was just learning and was only taking a few steps at a time. The second video I took several weeks ago. He was pretty good at walking around by then. We got home from dinner one night and I thought I’d just let him walk around outside for a while. He had a great time.

A Day at the Beach

2010-09-08T15:40:00.001-04:00

It was Labor Day Weekend I wasn’t 17…

This past weekend was the PW’s family beach day. I’m not usually a big beach person. I mean, I like the idea of the beach. The ocean waves crashing on the shore and soaking up the warm sun raise, what’s not to love? Well, for me, it’s the stickiness and saltiness and I burn. I have to lather on the sun block, so the sand sticks to me and I can’t wash it off because the salt of the ocean water just makes it that much worse. Anyway, as I was saying, I’m not usually a beach person, but this weekend it was perfect weather, I could have stayed out there for hours upon hours. More importantly than me actually enjoying my day at the beach, it was Collin’s first time at the beach, and he loved it. He had so much room to run around and could run through the water, splash in the waves, and play in the sand. I was, of course, ready with my camera to capture his first experience. So, here’s my little speed racer running around the beach!

Putting his toes in the sand and water for the first time

Checking it out

Collin said, “my feet are sinking!”

Waving with Daddy

Splashing in the waves

Playing with Dallas

Playing the the sand

Dallas was sunbathing, she doesn’t like tan lines

Schrunchie Face!

Wittle Sandy Toes!

Relaxing in the pool

He’s A Perfect TEN!!!

2010-08-31T21:52:00.001-04:00

My little booger is TEN MONTHS OLD! Every time I sit down to write these blog posts, I seriously cannot believe that another month has gone by and Collin has changed so much. Again.

I think I only took about 300 pictures this month :) This has the potential to be a very long post, because I have a feeling I’m going to have issues selecting just a few. So hunker down and lets get the 411 on Collin this past month, shall we?

I’m not taking him to the doctor for his weight and height check, so those will have to wait until his one year appointment.

He eats three good meals a day, snacks here and there, and nurses 4-5 times a day (including once at like 5 am)
Wears size 3 diapers and 9, 12, and/or 18 month clothes (depending on the brand and article of clothing)

Has four teeth

His eyes have started to change color, it looks like they are going to be hazel
I moved his toys to a drawer in the entertainment center. He opens the drawer and pulls the toys out as he wants them.
Still loves the pool. So much so, that when I tried to dry myself off, he took off back for the pool

Loves to sit at a door and open and close it
Holds the banister when we walk downstairs
It’s time to put the child locks on the cabinets

Walks around smacking his lips
Loves his big blue ball

Gives “high five”
Waves “hi” and “bye”
When you say “yay Collin!” he throws his hands up in the air and squeals. In the past few days, he’s started smiling really big and clapping instead.
When asked if he can clap, he does
Makes the “schrunchie face” I LOVE this face, but I’m having a hard time capturing it on camera when I want it

He eats a ton of “real” food. He LOVES chicken. Especially when he can just pick it up himself

Played in the Chick-fil-a play place for the first time, and had a blast

Then I took him to a real playground the same week, he didn’t know what to do with himself he was so excited. I’ll have to make a separate post for pictures from the park days because there are just so many perfectly cute pictures

When I hand him the container with goldfish or some other snack in it, rather than taking the snack, he reaches for the lid to the container and puts in back on.
Went to Clearwater last week, and unlike trips in the past, did really well sleeping at night and took great naps during the days

Giggles and runs away when we say, “I’m gonna get you!”
My least favorite thing, he’s started showing signs of separation anxiety. When we drop him off at the church nursery he clings to us (but starts to play and is fine) and if we walk away from the room he’s in he fusses and runs to us.
Never crawls. This boy is a full blown walker!

…More pictures to come soon :)

I Feel Like A Snob

2010-08-11T10:39:00.001-04:00

***Disclaimer: I'm writing this from my phone, so there most likely will be more typos than normal!

I have this thing with my lip that flairs up very so often. Most of you that know me well, know what I'm talking about. It hurts, and is worst of all, just plain embarrassing.

Anyway, after the first time this happened and I went to the ER several years ago, I was able to just call my doctor and he would call in a prescription for me. This morning when I called in, the nurse told me because I hadn't been into the office since 2008 that I needed to come in for an office visit. Luckily, they had a appointment and I was able to get right in.

So here I sit, in the waiting room, in Middleburg. And I feel like a snob because I feel like I'm the only one who thought it necessary to shower and brush my hair and teeth before I came in. The waiting room is full of people that look like they haven't brushed their hair in days, never mind wash it. The man and wife sitting next to me are both missing the majority of their teeth and smell horrible. Their jeans are more of a brown than a blue and their shirts are only what I can assume used to be white.

If the patients are young enough not to be wearing velcro shoes (yes YOUNG enough, you know what I'm talking about, kids and older people wear velcro shoes...) they have on dirty sandals and their feet are just dirty, Jiffy Feet fo'sho! But what is grossing me out about their feet are the think yellow toenails that need to be cut, but are so think a regular pair of toenail clippers just wont do the job.

There are several teenage/young mothers with their kids who are just running around like wild animals (the kids not the mothers. They are just sitting there like nothing is wrong.)

Side note thats kinda funny and not really related...A man just asked the nurse at the desk, in the MOST hillbilly voice ever, "you ever see that show Cake Boss? It's perdy good."

And THAT is why I feel like a snob. I showered, washed AND blow-dried my hair, then brushed it, brushed my teeth (that I have all of) my feet are clean and sporting a French pedicure, and even though the shorts and shirt I have on I wore to a jewelry party last night, I'm CLEAN. so maybe I feel like a snob, because I AM a snob. :(

Words With Friends

2010-07-29T10:58:00.001-04:00

There has been a new addictive fad on the iPhone and iPod Touch. It’s basically Scrabble, but not. Anyway, my friend Brittany got me hooked about a month ago. I had a game with her, her husband Danny, my mom, Devin and a couple random people. In playing this game, I’ve learned a lot of new words. One of my favorites, for example, is “qi.” Pronounced like the Greek “chi.” (No, not like the hair straightener.) “Q” is a 10 point letter. And when you land it on a Triple letter, you can really rack up the points for playing two little letters.

Well, I had gotten to the point in a game with my mom that we didn’t have many options left. I was going to play the word “wag” but thought I’d try to play “vug” because it was worth more points. Just to see if it was actually a word. Well it was! My mom didn’t believe me and wanted a definition. I opened my Dictionary App and sent her the definition.

So, what does my sneaky, conniving mother do? She plays “vugG.” But not just “g” and blank tile she made a “g!” That’s playing DIRTY MOM!!! She questioned my word, and then stole it. That’s just wrong!

Because of her little stunt, she ended up beating me by a whole 6 points.