Still here . . .

Hi everyone, I am still here! The house has been crazy while DH and his dad put in the new hardwood floors - but they look great! The girls have been having a blast with Nana and Papa - they love having all the extra attention. However, since we had to put the dining room table in their 'toy' room - they have been a little mad. Everyday, they remind me that the table is taking up their area and they would like to have it moved! Hopefully, it will be soon!!

And Goose is terrified. He hates loud noise - like thunder and fireworks - so a nail gun and a compressor have kept him shaking for days. He finally found a good place, in our bathroom with the fan on and door closed so that he can't hear anything. If he was any worse, I might have gone to the vet for some doggy downers - but he is hanging in there and has not lost all his hair yet!!

I will write more soon - hope you all are having a good week! K out

"Indian Sneak Attack on Indian Rubber Ducky!"

The girls had a Thanksgiving feast at school today. The younger kids, were the indians and the older kids were the Pilgrims. A and B did not want to be indians, but I think in the end they were very proud of their costumes and even put them on again for me to take some pictures tonight! I really love the loin clothes - too funny! A and B called them Indian skirts and we just nodded and agreed!

We had a 12 week ultrasound today! Still only one, and yes, we just expect them to find another one each time, however, we are slowly being convinced that they are telling us the truth! The baby is measuring right on track! Today it was stretching out its legs and waving its little fingers around everywhere - so it was pretty exciting. But no picture today because we videotaped it instead, guess you can only do one thing at a time!! The next ultrasound is at 20 weeks, when we will not be finding out the sex. Yes, you read that right. DH would like to keep it a surprise and as time goes on, I am getting used to the idea. DH says that finding out if a baby is a boy or girl is one of the greatest surprises in life - so we will be surprised in May! I know that if I found out and not DH that I would spout it out at some point by accident, so I am going to try this "greatest" surprise thing too. Have a good evening and Happy Thanksgiving if I do not blog again before then. But since we will be in town and the inlaws will not be here until Saturday - I am looking forward to a relaxing week of cleaning the house!!

The baby has stolen my brain!

Well, except buying the hardwoods for the living room, dining room and family room, we really did nothing this weekend. We have 56 boxes of hardwood in the living room and front hall - yikes, it really looks like alot!! So I have nothing else to write today, so I am just going to cut and paste what I wrote for the twins club newsletter this month. It seems like I am cheating by not writing something new, but I am so brain dead, I have no more interesting thoughts. I swear, this baby has stolen my brain!!!

I love Thanksgiving! I love that one time per year I can eat all the Turkey, stuffing, sweet potatoes and Pumpkin Pie that I want. And the calories don’t count . . . don’t I wish! But after all the food we eat the most important thing that we have are our families. Since we live in Georgia and all the rest of our families live in either Virginia or Scotland we have a rotating visitor schedule for the inlaws and my parents.

We decided after the kids were born that it would be too difficult to travel for all the holidays so we invite the family here to Alpharetta. Of course, our house is too small to fit everyone at once so we use a schedule and everyone gets an event per year, either the girls’ Birthday, Thanksgiving or Christmas. It works well and the girls love to have the visitors and each holiday is an intimate visit with family.

But even with just a few visitors at a time, I still feel that holiday crunch. That feeling that I just don’t have enough time to get things done and the deadlines are approaching fast. When I get stressed out, I hear these words come out of my mouth, “Not now, Mommy is too busy.” At first, the words seem easy and I can get the dishes done, the emails written, or make dinner faster. But what am I doing? One day after telling the girls I was too busy washing the dishes to play with them, I saw two sad little faces stare up at me. I heard a little voice in my head ask me what was more important at that moment, the dishes or my daughters? I put down the dirty pan, and joined the girls in the creation of a play-do grocery store.

The sounds of whining kids getting under my feet in the kitchen were replaced by the sounds of calm and laughter. The dishes were sitting in the sink, but I was sitting with the girls really being the parent that I want to be, one that lets my kids know how important they are to me. Especially during the holiday time it is hard to stop and not be too busy. But the holidays are all about family and how we should be thankful for the time we have with them. So I invite you, when those inevitable words come out of your mouth, “Mommy is too busy now,” stop and breathe, then put down what you are doing and enjoy your family. I will be enjoying my family this holiday season and maybe, eating using paper plates!

Calendar Girls

I volunteer with a group at the hospital where the girls were born, called Parents Partnered for Preemies. The hospital is putting together a calendar of preemie pics to sell for the March of Dimes for 2007. They asked us all to find pics of then and now to put in the calendar and I had to look through all the old pictures that I had of the girls. It was really amazing to see just how small and cute they were. So I just wanted to share my favorite pic of the girls from the NICU. This was just after they co-bedded them, about 4 days after they were born. They just snuggled right in together and it was too cute! It was really amazing in contrast to the pictures that we took of the girls this weekend outside in the leaves!





















The weather today has been horrible! It has rained since midnight last night and the thunder has just started. The girls hate thunder, which is strange to me becuase I would totally be a storm chaser if I had known such a thing existed outside of the movie Twister!!! Anyway, stay dry and have a good day!!

Well, I switched to Beta and everything seems to be here . . . Anyway, nothing too new around here. I am feeling much better, just bigger than I was at this point with the girls. DH took a picture this weekend of my belly, just after Kelli and I talked about not letting people do this! But I covered half of my belly with black pants, so it was a compromise! Thought I would share for some crazy reason, must be a mood swing!
















And we tried to start on the Christmas Picture for the year, we did have some cute ones, but I can't decide and I am thinking to do another picture shoot this weekend. But look these over and vote for your favorite and then be suprised when your Christmas card arrives!!

New Music

I put a new music video on here today!! Yeah, I bet you were getting tired of the old one - I was!! So this new one is Ben Harper. We love Ben Harper's music and we go to his concerts whenever he comes here to Atlanta. We have seen him here three times - and he has been here 3 times since we moved down here!! Actually DH listened to his stuff first, but I really enjoy his music and after the concert last year at the Tabernacle, here in Atlanta - I will be a fan for life. It was the most amazing concert I have ever been too!! (And it really had nothing to do with the clouds of green smoke wafting up from the college kids that surrounded us!!) But anyway, the story behind all this starts when we were pregnant with A and B. I chose the first names and dh chose the middle names. He picked his grandmothers first name for one and Harper for the other one. Now, at first, I didn't get it. In fact, I don't think it was until after the girls were a few months old, that I realized, oh, she is named after a musician. Luckily, I like it! Anyway, I hope you like this music - this is one of his political songs - and I really like it!! And this was not on my list of things to do today, in fact this is a procrastination from all the other stuff that I should be doing!!

What Are Our Plans for the Day?

Well, this was my morning to sleep in - but I woke up after dreaming about eating a breakfast pastry cart - I couldn't go back to sleep for the hunger pains. Then of course, when I came downstairs and opened the fridge and then the pantry, I realized the most exotic food we had was instant oatmeal. Bummer! So I pulled out the Bisquick and mixed together a blueberry coffee cake. Now, that does not really fit the pastries that were in my dream, but you know, you really only eat that kind of breakfast when you are traveling or at a fancy breakfast event!! I guess that breakfast really is my healthiest meal of the day around here!

And as for Gray's Anatomy, made me bawl like a baby. I think they should have a disclaimer at the start of the show whenever they are going to show a couple losing a baby. I think I will tell A and B's pediatrician who is best friends with Shonda Rhimes - it is a loose connection, but my claim to fame at the moment!!

Anyway, what are we going to do this weekend after I eat my Blueberry Coffee Cake :

1. Watch DH do work around the house - hehe!
2. Get my picture taken with an ewok or a wookie!
3. Rake Leaves - the never ending battle in the backyard!
4. Wrap Christmas Presents - I know - but we have so many for friends and relatives that we have to mail stuff too - that I need to start - but not finish today. Okay, perhaps I will just pull out the wrapping paper for next weekend!
5. Watch DH cut the branches off our magnolia tree that hit the house whenever the wind blows and the sound drives me crazy!!
6. Play with the girls - maybe they will share the dollhouse with me today??
7. Listen for updates on the Hokie game - since it is only on ESPNU and we don't get that channel!
8. Christmas shop for the rest of the presents that we need - but NO MORE FOR THE GIRLS!
9. Wash sheets, vaccuum and generally pick up this messy house!
10. Go for a walk on the Greenway for some much needed exercise
11. Relax, it is the weekend!

Snow White and the Hello Kitty Princess!

Hi! I know that it has been a while since my last blog!! But I am back - and I have some Halloween pictures to post for you!! The girls and I just had a wonderful walk around the neighborhood because it about 75 Degrees outside today!! AMAZING! Of course, it was not without incident, when B grabbed a piece of elephant grass and got the equivalent of a paper cut on her finger! She started to WAIL!! I know that paper cuts can hurt, but she was crying so hard that a neighbor came out of his house with a band-aid! And of course, put the band-aid on, and not another peep!! Too funny. Band-aids, the miracle workers!!

And the pictures I finally downloaded from my camera today! The pictures from Halloween are the worst pictures that we ever take of the girls. Of course, I wait until just before we go trick-r-treating and all the pictures really capture - are crazy looking kids!! But I have enjoyed their candy too much, luckily it almost gone - at least the chocolate!! A was Snow White and B was the Hello Kitty Princess. (Too bad neither of them can say 'Kitty' and it just comes out 'Titty!' Dh was red with embarassment everytime a neighbor asked B what she was!! And when asked to repeat herself - she just got louder with a much more pronounced "TITTY!"

And just some things that made me happy today:
1. I had a Fantastic Lunch at a place called PURE Taqueria
2. The amazing weather today and tomorrow!
3. I gave the girls new toy brooms and they swept the leaves off the deck for 'fun!'
4. I had a check-up with my doctor today and still only ONE baby!! (I really expect them to tell me there is one hiding in there somewhere!)
5. My Friends!
6. Elastic Pants!
7. Rotesserie Chickens were on sale for $3.99 at the grocery store and that is what we are having for dinner!
8. Mallomars!!
9. The girls have school tomorrow and I have nothing to do!!
10. Christmas shopping has started!!!

I had a little break . . .

My goodness, if I didn't have such clear ultrasound picture of ONE BABY - I would swear there were at least two. I AM SO TIRED!! I had a little break from being sick for about two days, but today, it is back in full force! Even during my first pregancy - I was never this sick and then when I was pregnant with A and B - never this tired. I am bloated and my elastic pants are biting into my tummy. I really wanted to blog without complaining today, but no way. I need a nap, I need to eat something that won't make me sick and I just want to curl up and go to bed (it is 5:30 p.m.) I just finished crying over some silly commercial on tv - am I moody or what! AAGH, thanks for the pity party!! Now I have to get off my bum and make some dinner for the family, that I don't want to eat - b/c it will smell revolting. The girls will most likely get cheese, yogurt, grapes, crackers and vanilla milk- nothing with smell. But it sounds healthy - we will call it the French Picnic Dinner. Poor DH - he is coming home to an ambush!! But I really am glad to be pregnant, really. I can't wait to meet the little bean in June! Does this make any sense - I think I should stop typing now . . .

And HAPPY BIRTHDAY KELLI!! ONE MORE YEAR IN YOUR 20's!! ENJOY YOUR DAY!!
K Out!