Thanks for everything, 2008.

Welcome to the last day of 2008. It was a good ride. Only a few speed bumps, but we rolled on over them like pancakes. Our adventures were well, as was our health (for the most part.) I am not complaining.

This year we bought our 1st house, celebrated Jason's 5th birthday, the twins 1st birthday and our 7th wedding anniversary. Everything was new for the twins. We had several visitors and took 2 vacations back home.

Today we will rest and get ready to party like it's almost 2009.

So Until Tomorrow,
See you Next Year.

Tuesday.

Made Cinnamon Rolls.
Bathed 3 kids.
Drank a Mountain Dew.
Drove to and from Charlotte, NC.
Drank a Venti espresso truffle latte.
Paper City for party favors for tomorrows celebration.
Booked Jason's Birthday party for January 16th.
Called Visa about expiring card.
Typed a spring soccer letter to the parents.
Subway for supper.
Blogged.
Now, Bedtime for Babies.

Late Monday Night.

Well I would love to tell you that we are settled in here in the new home. I would also love to tell you that I am Superwoman. But I am not and the house is a mess. We have lived here for 15 days and were gone 9 of those days. Someday life will settle down, the kids will be in college and my house will be clean; Today is not that day and most likely tomorrow or the next will not be that day either.

But on the upside. We are all doing well. Ryan has not been running a fever since Sunday morning. Jason spent a wad of his Christmas money today on a boxed set of all 4 Indiana Jones movies. This does not excite me one bit. He had $25 to spend just at Walmart. The movies were $59. He said to his father, "You got me covered?" It was so something Jason would say. And it won his Dad's heart and he chipped in so Jason was covered.

I have a 2008 review coming just after the new year and I hope to have some new projects up as well. No, I have not ran out of glue or glitter, Don't Worry. I have a stack of photos that need some attention. I haven't done anything creative since early November.

Babies are asleep and I should be too.

Travel Times. One Way.

Saturday's Travel
Time Moving: 9 hrs 07 mins
Time Stopped: 1 hr 36 mins
Total Miles: 588.3
Total Time: 10 hrs 43 mins

Sunday's Travel
Time Moving: 9 hrs 41 mins
Time Stopped: 1 hr 10 mins
Total Miles: 613
Total Time: 10 hrs 52 mins

Overall Thoughts: Kansas is COLD, I had forgotten. We arrived home at 8:30 at night and here it was still 70 degrees out. We went through Kansas, Missouri, Illinois (stopping here overnight) Tennessee, Georgia and Kentucky before reaching home. Jason was amazing on the ride and the twins were easier than I expected. We will not be making the trip again anytime soon.

I have over 300 photos to upload and edit. Once they are done, they will go to flickr and to each of your inboxes.

More from me later and many of you will get personal emails.

Happy to be Home, Mandy

almost on the road again.

It's 8:11 am here in OZ and Jacques is still snoozing from another night of no sleep. I am about 3/4 ready to go so I will wake him soon. We are in no hurry and will pull over when ever we are burnt out. We may stay at the Holiday Inn Express on I 70 and 9th street. That's about as far as I am willing to drive today.

Christmas Night, Ryan had a fever and it got up to 103.4. We were up all night and went over to Stat Care first thing. He has an ear infection and is on antibiotics. Plus I am dosing him with tons of fever reducer.

We should be home Sunday night, but life will not start back up until late Monday morning. See you then.

Merry Christmas.

We are still here in Oz and the weather is kicking my ass. Eventually I will have photos to prove that I am alive and I have kids that actually celebrated Christmas morning. Hugs, MD

Baby it's cold outside.

It's cold here in the Land of Oz. Yes, Kansas. I have bought slippers, a knit hat and stock in Swiss Miss Cocoa Mix. Seriously Though, I am a wuss and I am not loving the cold. I am ready to get back to flip flops and Coppertan.

Good Morning, Illinois.

It's 5 am central. Are you still sleeping? See you all soon.

Safe and Sound in Illinois.

A recap of Christmas Travel Day 1: We left home at 8:54 am Est and arrived at our hotel at 7:10 pm Central. For a total of 760+ miles and over 11 hours in the car. BUT amazingly we made it with only ONE stop at noon for lunch and rest. We were back on the road at 1:06. We did pull over for coffee and gas at 3:30, but we took turns and left the car running and continued on. We made it through South Carolina, North Carolina, Tennessee, Kentucky and too Illinois. Wheew! We did hit some rain in Tennessee that slowed us down to less than 50 mph, but other than that no delays.

Hotel: swimming, room service, beer, baths and beds. Tomorrow 7+ more hours of driving, hopefully with a short stop or two. No rush getting on the road, but lots of caffeine.

Friday, with no relief in sight.

Hey. I wish I could say that I am busy doing super cool festive things that involve glue, glitter, cocoa and kids, but I am not. I am dreading the 18 hour trip ahead of me, and the fact that nothing is packed yet is not helping me.

This morning I spent cooking 9 pounds of nuggets for Jason's class party, then running after the kids on the playground and shouting, "Stop eating dirt, Ryan! Zachary, spit that out!" Then I went to the eye doctor to order 4 boxes of contacts for the both of us. I also bought an Elmo Live and a Batman movie for Jason. Then went to the Post Office (Bell and Reid, Packages Headed Your Way!) and Sears. I bought some new clothes for all the kids and myself some jeans.. We won't get into the sizes. I also got a Hershey's Chocolate Milk Tornado Maker, which I am stoked about.

Jordyn and Shelbert: I have yet to get the two of you any Christmas Gifts. I will take you both shopping when we are home. Miss You Both Bunches.. Well not really you, Bert.

Lewis: Looking forward to some massive pounds of food at HKB, See you next week.

Julie: Thanks for finally joining me on the Twilight Obsession. Go, Edward!

Soooo I have a week's worth of photos to post and we are leaving in the morning. I think the laptop will go with us, so I will see you then. We should be in Kansas on the 21st. Hugs, MD

Thursday Update.

I am stealing wireless from a new neighbor. Later today, I should be online legally, if the ATT guy shows up. I will post more then. For now, we are all well, busy and super stressed. I am still sleeping with Zachary (who will soon be voted off the island) in the recliner.. That makes 12 nights in a row. Cable was hooked up yesterday and the contractors were here ripping out the bathroom floor boards. Tonight is Jacques Christmas party at work from 5-8 and he has to cook 3 turkeys for the event.

I'll Be Home for Christmas.

Woohoooooooo! This plan is contingent on all of our health and the weather. We should arrive home in Kansas late on December 21st and stay until the 27th.

I am posting 3 videos to flickr tonight from Jason's Christmas program earlier today. Please head over there to see them. He did a really good job with his part and as an elf. And he made such a handsome elf. Photos Later.

Note: Tomorrow is the move. I may be without the Net for a short period. You know the digits if you need me.

Too smart for me.

I turned on Batman Forever with Val Kilmer. One of the villians was The Riddler, Jim Carrey. So I say to Jason..

Me: "Jason, the actor that plays Riddler plays the Grinch."

Jason: "You mean Jim Carrey?"

Me: "Oh, um yeah."

Christmas, don't come too fast.

Maybe it is the massive lack of sleep or the exhausting stress of buying a house, but I am not feeling the spirit of Christmas. We have made out Jason's List and I am sure that "Santa" has all those packages hidden under beds, at the top of the closets, and under the locked kitchen sink cupboard. But other than that, I am empty. Out of Fuel. Zilch. Zero. Grinch.

We do not have the tree up and it is December 13. It is usually up before the 1st of December. There are no lights on the house, Jacques usually has those up pretty early too. Tonight on the way to Target, on the side of the road, they were selling fresh mistletoe. I wanted to stop, but again, no point in hanging yet. Maybe later I can get some. I have never had any before, fresh or fake. And never in my very own home. I have a ton of Christmas to do crafts, none of which are started. It will most likely be turned in to next years list of to dos.

Basically, I feel horrible for the kids, mainly Jason. The kid needs a tree up. Some decor wouldn't hurt either and some snow..

This upcoming week will be super full with handymen, cable guys, movers, kids, a husband. Plus a trip to Charlotte, 2 Christmas parties to attend, 2 days of speech, 1 birthday, a school program and lots of cleaning in both houses. We need to be 100% out of this house to turn over the keys on Wednesday.

Last Night and Today.

If you read the post below, you probably think that I went to bed early and got a good night's rest. You would be wrong. After I posted, I crawled in to bed. Three minutes later, I was up back up with Zachary. Not even kidding. It was exactly 3 minutes later. I rocked, fed and laid him back down. But 10 minutes later he was up again. This time while I was rocking him out in the living room, I hear Ryan wake up too. I was not a happy camper.

Today. Coffee and Cinnamon Rolls, and A Lot Like Love. Packing. Babies. I have to buy dress shoes for Jason and a white shirt. I need to bathe, so do all 3 kids. House is tore up with boxes, toys and half eatin' crackers all over the floor. Nice, Yum.

Bedtime.

Both babies are asleep and it is a little after nine. I should be packing, cleaning, organizing.. But I am not doing any of those things. I am going to bed. There is always tomorrow.. Or 3 am when the babies decide it is time to play. I will start fresh in the morning with some super strong Shera coffee.

Incoming Mail..

Please send all mail to the new address, please! I have already submitted the change of address forms to the USPS. I will send out an email of our new address to all, look for that tomorrow. We will be living in the new house on Monday. Thanks.

Brunette.

Ryan Update.

Ryan has been running a fever on and off for about 4 or 5 days. It has hit a high of 102.3 and usually goes down quickly after a Tylenol then Motrin dose. But he had a horrible night of discomfort and fever. Then this morning, he was constipated with poo stuck in his hiney for more than 3 hours. (Sorry if too much information.) He was very sore, upset and cried non-stop for more than 2 hours. At his appointment, he was fever free but had red ears. They tested him for strep and then the doctor helped out with the poo situation. I am sure he felt instant relief. He was acting normal again shortly after. We left and both boys napped in the car for 1.5 hours, but Ryan was still acting very lethargic and warm. I picked Jason up and came home. His fever was up to 101.5 again. More Motrin and Hugs..

Hopefully he will purk up soon. I am home alone with all 3 boys until like 11 pm on Sunday night. Jacques is in Wisconsin on TDY.

We are homeowners.

Thanks for all your encouraging words today.

wednesday.

Ryan is getting 2 more bottom teeth.
It is pouring out, but was 73 today.
We are closing tomorrow at 3:30.
I am reading Twilight, again.
Zachary is full of snot.
I drank egg nog tonight, it was good.
I talked to my mom, grandma and mother in law today.
And Lewis and Shannon.
I helped hem the whole K5's Christmas program costumes.

5 Sleepless Nights.

We had another rough night last night. I was up twice before 11, again at 12 and 1 and then from 2-4 with Zachary wide awake. We were out in the recliner till 3:50 when I was able to put him down. Ryan was the next up so I had Jacques get up with him. I think I did sleep from 430-630, that's the most consecutive sleep I have had since Thursday night. Another post later.

A more positive post.

Wow, it's been a few days since I haven't been complaining here on the blog about lack of sleep or snotty babies, so I thought a more up beat post would be fun. (Hooray, insert huge smile here.) Today I will pick Jason up and head to speech. I have my eye appointment at 215. So looking forward to the trial pair of contacts to get me out of these glasses. Hooray!

The house passed inspection and we are scheduled to close on Thursday. Hooray! I have some fun photos to post from Chuck E. Cheese later today. I have a super fun project lined up for tonight that involves needles and yarn. I will also post a 1st year in review about the babies.

Last night, I got out alone to Target and fnished up Jason's Christmas shopping while indulging in a venti mocha frap. I also have 2 gifts to send out too some special somebodies. I picked up House Season 4 over the weekend, so I was able to watch a few episodes yesterday.

And for fun.. My current Obsessions..

1.christmas early., 2.the love of christmas, 3.Dream Pocket Journal , 4. Venti, 5.My Little Lobster Girl, 6.Second Online Art Journal Class, 'Steady Hand, Faulty Heart', 7.twilight 8.Somethingshidinginhere 9.Shia 10.sushi cupcakes, 11.tying the knot, 12.robert pattinson Photos: flickr

Last Nights Schedule.

I rocked Ryan twice to get him to sleep and in bed around 830. Zachary didn't go to sleep until 945. Then I was up with Ryan at 1015, 1055 and 1130. Then at 125 I was up with Zachary until 310. Then Ryan woke up, so I laid Zachary down and took Ryan from Jacques. I kept Ryan out in the living room the rest of the night. He woke up twice in the 4 o'clock hour, but then we were both out in the recliner until 650. That makes 4 nights in a row for me in the recliner.

Another up all night, night.

I think the record of somebody living without sleep is 10 or 11 days, after that it is pine box central. I think I am nearing that mark. I am exhausted and so is the hubby. Last night I was up with Zachary at 10, 11, 12 then up with Ryan from 130-250 who was now running a fever of 101.4. I gave him some Tylenol and it went down. Then I was back up with Zachary at 300. At that point, I had to wake up Jacques to take over and he was up till almost 5, then he had to get ready for work. I was up 2 more times with Ryan in the 5 o'clock hour. The second time, as I was walking down the hall to lay him in his crib, I hear Zachary start to cry. So then I rocked him, put him back down, crawl into bed, reset the alarm for 20 more minutes, lie the phone down, start to close my eyes.... Both babies wake up. Today will not be fun.

Sunday.

We had a better night. I was up at 1 and 3 with Zachary and then Jacques was up sometime from 3-6 with him too. I was up with Ryan at 600 and Zachary woke up closer to 700. We had a simple breakfast followed by showers. We got out of the house before noon and ran to an auto parts store. Then Jacques suggested a trip to Chuck E. Cheese for Jason. We all had a good time and some pizza. After that, the babies slept on the car ride to Lowe's. We didn't need anything, just went to kill time. Now we are home, Jason is playing with clay and Jacques is changing the oil in the truck. More Later with Photos possibly.

Saturday.

Last night was more than rough. We had a sick baby. Zachary was feverish and irritable all day yesterday after his immunizations. Both boys (and I) were in bed before 8:30 but Zachary woke up at 10:30. He and I spent the next 7 hours together in the recliner rocking and dozing off every now and then. I woke up with a stiff neck and extremely exhausted. At 5:30, I switched with Jacques, but then Ryan woke up too. So I was up until 649 with him and then I was able to get in bed and snooze until 820.

Update: Zachary was still grouchy and feverish all afternoon and still this evening. Jacques took a 2 hour nap. Jason played Batman and watched cartoons, Ryan played in the curtains.

Birthday Photos.

Here are just a few Birthday Photos from 12/3/2008 when the boys turned ONE. We celebrated with just our family and with party hats, tacos and chocolate cupcakes. It was a SMASH! Both boys had a great time and loved wearing, I mean eating, their cakes. A ton more photos are up on flickr. And I wanted to add that all photos were taken by Jacques. I shot the videos.

Click here Birthday Boys Photos.

One year check ups.

We are home from the boys' 1st year check ups. Stats:

Zachary 20 pounds and 28.5 " long

Ryan 19 pounds and 29" long

Shots were another story however.

Zachary got 4 total including a flu shot that he will need another does of in 1 month.

Ryan got 4 shots as well, BUT she poked him 3 times just to get in 1 of the shots, so he had a total of 7 pokes. Poor Guy.

They will go back on Monday for the TB test bump to be read. Then they will also get their blood drawn as well. And in one month (January 5) they will go back for the second part of the flu shot.

Now.. Home and both my wounded babies are sleeping hard. I am going to try to edit some birthday photos. Watch for them later.

I am so exhausted there is no Title.

I am not sure where I should start, But I have an idea, the beginning. I left the house at 9:25 this morning. I got a few blocks away then turned right back around to go get the phone. The babies got a 10 minute nap on the way to the 9:45 appointment with the nutritionist for the boys'. The same 9:45 appointment where we were not seen until 10:50 and were not out of the office until 11:59. The whole time the babies were strapped into their stroller in a tiny waiting room. They were champs, but it was still no fun for any of us. At one point, I thought about raising some hell, chanting some voodoo and spilling chicken blood on the linoleum, but the only liquid I had was formula. (I make it a habit not to carry chicken blood on Thursdays or practice voodoo before noon eastern time.) At about the same time, I noticed the "No Verbal Abuse will be tolerated. MP's will be called to escort you out of the building." (Although it did not specify Voodoo, just verbal altercations.) Then it made sense too me; everyone must feel the same way which is why they needed the sign in the first place. So once we got in, the lady informed me she needed them undressed for weighing. Great! They are going to love this.. Then she says she needs to check their iron levels.. A needle prick is all each baby wants at this point, More Fun! Surprisingly neither baby made a peep or seemed to care in the least. But they both ate the band-aids off their fingers a short time later. Yum.

After all that, the babies quickly fell asleep in the van for another short 15 minute nap. I scooped up Jason from school and met Jacques for lunch. Then we rushed over to speech until 2:15. Then we picked up the hubby and we all headed to Charlotte for Ryan's 4:15 checkup. Just 2 more weeks in the helmet and he is done. His last check up is on the 17th.

Then it was right at 5:00 when we left there and traffic was a mess, so we pulled over at a Target for treats and batteries. We were there 45 minutes and got on the road. We got home around 7:50. The babies slept those 2 hours home and are now still up at 10:03. They should zonk out shortly, I hope.

Tomorrow: I take Jason to school then the babies to their one year check up which will involve a series of 3 shorts and a full lab work including blood drawings. That should be more fun. I think that Jacques will be able to come along. It's 10:44, Ryan just went down. One more to Go.

Thursday, you are no friend of mine.

Geeze, I find my self wondering if Life will ever slow down. I know that today is not the day to question schedules or dirty diapers. I have an appointment at 945. Then I am going to attempt to get the oil changed in the van hopefully by some super hot cabana boy with grease stains on his Wranglers... Or an old toothless hillbilly who calls me Darlin' while drooling tobacco out the side of his mouth. Then I have to get Jason picked up at 1230 and head right to speech. We will brown bag lunch. Right after speech, I have to take off to Charlotte, NC for what will by Ryan's last appointment. Today is a No slow down kinda day and really all I want to do is sit and edit photos from last night. But you and I will have to wait till tomorrow to see any. I am posting the 2 videos on flickr now. They should be up shortly.. And just to make my day worse, I tore my last contact yesterday. I will be in glasses for a week now. Coffee in hand.. I am woman hear me roar!

Zachary's First Birthday!

Ryan's First Birthday!

double the cake, double the fun, the dake twins

Turn One! Happy Birthday Babies! These two little boys turn one today and neither of them really wanted to share any love with the camera. I will try again later for a better photos. I have photos of each boy alone too, I just haven't had any time to edit them. There will be more photos and posts later through out the day.

december lovely.

Wow. Where did 2008 go? My babies are grown and life is just lovely with balls of Holly. Seriously. Stop and Slow Down Now, Life. Here we go: I need to call about our Iowa tags. I need to walk to the mailbox and go by the bank. I need to buy formula, 18 cans to be exact. I am nervous about weaning the babies, I kind of forgot how that works. I do know that come Wednesday, they are both losing all their bottles, cold turkey. I take them away, and that's that. No looking back. That's how we roll.

Jason is at school and I will pick him up at 1230. Today is Grandma Long's 72 birthday and she is as lovely as ever. I will send some flowers or a male stripper. I need to debate a little longer on the perfect gift. I have a to do list that is twice as long as Santa's. Babies are snoozing so Time to Run along with December.

Jason got a haircut today.

It's the thought that counts.

Me: "What are you getting me for Christmas?"

Jacques: "Jason and I are thinking of getting you an air compressor."

and again.

We all got out around 11 to go see if Target had anything left. I got a bunch of movies for $4 and a Christmas decoration that I had my eye on. We had Starbucks then headed to the Home Depot with accurate directions from my Garman. (Not that I don't know the way backwards and blindfolded.) After that, we walked over to Chilis cause it was over 70 degrees out. The boys fell asleep on the way home, but we were unable to make a smooth transfer from the van to the cribs. Jacques went over to the house to do some painting. It is now 426 and I just got the boys down for a nap. Jason is watching The Grinch and I am ready for some relaxation after a full day already. I have already been up 13 hours and I have at least 5 hours left. Hugs, M

Black Friday, I rocked ya.

Up at 325 and out the door 10 minutes later. I scored 3 MAJOR electronics at Walmart including a Garman. I also got 3 HUGE winter coats for me and the boys for $8 each. I got some 3 piece outfits for the boys for $4 each and some clothes for Jason too. I got Jacques a wet/dry floor vac for $15. I got the babies each a large gift for $10 and $15 dollars, a piano and a push toy. I decided to get 2 different ones and let them fight it out, perhaps in a cage with barbwire. I had to be home early to get Jacuqes over to meet the electrician to install the stove, otherwise I would still be out kickin' ass. Happy Holidays, Hugs Mandy

The First Thanksgiving.

Happy Thanksgiving, Boys! Be back tomorrow with photos here and on flickr.

not today.

For all the other 364 days of the year, today is not the day you want your dishwasher to break. Happy Thanksgiving.

my thankfull list.

A Thankful challenge: to start your thank-FULL list and realize in detail how FULL your life is. Here we go..

fuzzy warm pink slippers, Ryan's laugh, sunshine, bella and edward, lattes, paper, glue, a home and big bed, ipod, good books, camera, the soap net channel, our vehicles, mom and all, my bffs, lights, coffee, tacos and sour cream, bell, magazines, frozen tv dinners, my laptop, Zachary's squinty face, big boys that sleep in their own bed and not mine, Jason, Excedrin and eyeballs, ponytail holders, a hubby to hold, warm showers and sweats, the McRib, dark toenail polish, online shopping and discount stores, Arby's curly fries, Crayola crayons, yarn, good medical care, Lewis and Legos, burp rags, Jordyn and Jarrett, chapstick, all family and friends, Grandparents, flickr and blogger, health and love, quarters for gumball machines, cocoa and smores, jason's education, chai tea, dollar stores, Pampers and wipes, knee socks, emails and ims, playpens, photographs and memory cards, cell phone, chocolate and cheetos, a deck of cards to play war with Jason, spell check, calculators, savings bonds and staples

These are just some random, off the top of my head, everyday thankfulls that I usually just over look. For instance, I have never thought how much hair ties kick ass. Tomorrow, I will remember to be grateful and give thanks for the smaller things too.

Someday Life will slow down,

and I will catch my breath. Yeah, maybe when the kids are like 35 and I have a pink walker with bling and a license plate that says Honk if you love Bingo and Bob Barker. Until then, Life is busy with babies, holidays and never ending to do lists. On the top of mine it says Jason Haircut and win the Lotto. I am hoping to accomplish the easier of the two today.

I had a okay night but was up at 430 with Ryan. I was able to get him back to sleep til 530 then Jacques took him. Yesterday he was up at 430 and did not go back to bed until 800. I drank the entire pot of coffee threw a straw. Zachary was up at 610 today and was just so cute I wanted to dunk him in my coffee. All full of smiles and a good nights sleep. I need to get a picture of that top tooth coming in.Jason is out of school for the holiday and I am loving the idea of staying home stuck to the couch until Monday.

We are hosting Thanksgiving again this year. Jacques will fry 7 turkeys this year too. Last year, I think he did 4 or 5. I always wondered what would happen to the holiday as I was growin' up. I knew that Grandma would not host Thanksgiving forever. Now that I am all grown up and like an adult or what not, I am content with the idea of taking over and starting our own traditions.

holiday handmade.

I am on a design team at the scrapbook store here in town. The owner asked me to do something with a regular canvas bag. So in the spirit of giving and going green, I made this reusable tote into a Christmas gift bag. I decorated the front of the bag then made it all up into a package. Update: This was a hit at the store.

Thankful For You and You.

See ya next week, Monday.

Wow, today went fast. We were up and on our way to Charlotte, NC by 730 this morning and we were back home by 1045. We made the trip back and forth with no stops.

Thanks Again for everything, Mom. (I will send Walgreens photos when I catch my breath.) Glad to hear you are safe back in the Land of Oz, I mean Kansas.

Our oven was delivered today. No word on the inspection yet. Hopefully it will be good news. I will let you know. I have a bunch of photos to post of the house. Crossing our fingers that we still close on Wednesday.

I did do one Christmas Scrapbook Store design project that I was asked to do. I will post photos of that tomorrow.

I still have issues with one of my photo editing shops, that's why I am behind on photos. I am also having issue with my MSN messenger.

Zachary is teething. He is getting a top tooth and is full of attitude and drool. I think that is why he is having night time issues.

Ryan was rocking on his Daddy's lap just now, he crawled down, went to get his bottle then went back to his dad for more rocking. Such a big boy.

Jason is coloring and watching toons. He needs a haircut. Today he had a question about what Santa's procedure was if I was up rocking babies in the night when he came.. I assured him that would not be an issue for Santa.

Earlier today, Jason sneezed and hollered at me that I did not say Bless You. I told his that I had not heard his sneeze. He told me that maybe I should have a hearing test like he had last summer.

Looking Ahead: Ready for the long 4 day weekend. I am sure it will be busy, but it will be nice to be together. Tonight we bought all of our holiday fixins'. I have so much to be thankful for this year. See Ya Tomorrow for Tuesday.

Sunday Night Review.

Well we have done all that we can (for now) at the house. Tomorrow is the inspection. It will either pass or it won't. I don't intend to worry myself over it. The oven will be delivered in the afternoon tomorrow. The house looks great, really coming along. I will post some photos tomorrow as well as updates. In the morning, I am taking Jason to school and Mom to Charlotte.

Today I am Thankful.

For a little boy learning to climb trees.
For good reads and the movies that follow.
For Rubik's Cubes and refund policies.
For Golden Oreos and warm caffeine beverages.
For itty bitty baby boys' shoes, size 4.
For one more day with Mom and painting supplies.
For unlimited nights and weekends.
For new hobbies and the time to pursue them, hopefully.

edward here i come.. going to the movies : )

FREE Dead Cat Removal!

Finally, something that isn't costing me a fortune. When we had the house inspected, the inspector noted a dead cat under the house. Today it was removed by Sarah's Pest Control. Thanks, Mom. That's why you flew more that 1200 miles one way to see us. Those rubber yellow gloves are super sexy and so in this season. Nothing but love for ya : ) Hugs.

Friday is no walk in the park this week.

Another rough night, with another busy day ahead. I am still not feeling well and my voice is about gone. It's always something. Today we now have to call a heating guy to come over and see what's going on with that. Oven will be there Monday. And the inspection guy is suppose to be there too. We got the closet doors there and Mom will put them up today, One is already up. One room still needs coat No. 2 and 2 rooms still need painted. Those will only require 1 coat each. More Later.

It's not always apples and oats.

It has been go go go for days now and on very little sleep. I think the stress, 3 kids and lack of sleep is making me ill. I am stuffy, congested and still Mom. Today I was up by 615 and out of the house by 710. Then we left at 930 and was out until 400. And that makes 3 days in a row with that same schedule. Our nights are busy too, just here at the house with homework, baths and super. Last night, I was the last one up (with Zachary) until 935. I am exhausted, ready for Spring, a Vicodin, and a bottle of Tequila.

Today Mom and Jacques were working hard on the house. We went to the Depot and were able to get the closet doors to replace the broken ones. The contractors were there and doing awesome. The gas was turned on too, but the heater is not working. Now we will have to call a repair man and see what he thinks. This could get scary.

Living Room- Done.
Office- Done.
Entryway- Done.
Room 1- Under Construction.
Room 3- 95% (needs touched up)
Room 4- 75% (needs 2nd coat)

Mom and I stopped in to price some cheap curtains, but were called away to run to the house. We will try again tomorrow. On Sunday night, we are going in and cleaning. The oven will come on Monday. (And Mom Leaves Too.) I think the inspection guy will be back that afternoon. That gives us 3 dull days left. We are still crossing fingers to close on the 26th.

Seriously.

Last night makes 3 rough nights in a row with babies. I was up a bunch of times all night. I slept on the couch with a baby. I slept on the floor with a baby. I am thinking tonight might be better. I am going to look into selling babies on ebay. You can search for them under the username: nosleepmomma. Seriously, Kidding.


Maybe.

A Sigh of Relief, Without Photos.

I got a great construction guy hired to take over the maroon room and to fix the back door. These were the 2 HUGEST and worry some tasks and he is doing it at a very reasonable price and will be done in 2 days. Technically a total of 5 hours, but over the 2 days due to the mud/putty needing to dry. He has all the materials, we are only paying for the 5 hours of labor. While he was there, he gave us some pointers too on some other things. I added him to my contacts on my phone as my new "go to" guy. (Sorry Hubby, the man is cheap and works on my schedule. You still have my heart.) This frees up the hubby's time to focus on other things that need done too.

I purchase the oven today. Ouch, an unavoidable expense. It will be delivered on Monday and the hubby will have to hook it up. (I need to check on his insurance policy just in case he gets shocked. Hopefully he won't lick the wires, but I would hate to have a random puddle of water on the floor ; )

The office is 100% complete. Thanks, MOM! She even took down the blinds and washed them. She did the ceiling fan too. She added the 2nd coat of paint and did all the touch ups. She was moving to the living room next. I am sure it will be completely done soon too.

Jacques was adding the 2nd coat to the babies room and then moving on to put the first (and only) coat in our room. I taped it off while we were there, so he should be good to go.

And the gas company is FINALLY turning on the gas. We have had electricity and water from the get go, but never gas.

We still have work to do, but there are only 2 more things that need done for the inspection guy to come back and hopefully give us a go. We are still waiting to close on next Wednesday.

No Photos Today, Maybe tomorrow. I will post some on flickr though of Grandma and the boys.

Carpet Inspector.

The most important opinions are the smallest. It is so nice to know that these kids have the cleanest carpet possible to roll around on. I am sure it won't stay this way forever with 3 boys, but I am a-okay with that. Photo: Monday 11/17 Ryan.

Updates: Today I called a contractor to get his estimate on this room, it was OUTRAGEOUS. We will continue to do it ourseleves. Also we need a new oven, the one in there is shot. That will be a $600+ expense. Mom and Jacques have been at the house since 1:00 today working hard. Jason is there too. I will post more later once I get some updates from "my crew." I left at 3:00 with the babies for naps.

Updates on Today's Work: Office. Jacques got the top half of the office done. The bottom was already done. Mom was doing the touch up with the paint. She also cleaned the ceiling fan, lights and blinds. Is just needs the outlets covers and vents back on, but they may have since done that.

Less Miles Apart.

Our new house is 16 miles away from our old house. Jason's speech therapist is 1.2 miles from the new house and his dentist is 0.7 miles away. Jacques work is 8 miles. Jason's school is 9.1 miles from the new house.

Currently we are 12.5 miles from Jason's school and 18+ miles from Speech. Jacques work will be just about the same.

Monday.

I got Mom picked up at the airport.
Ryan's helmet check up was great, just a few more weeks.
Jacques' team won the first football game, lost the second.
The house was carpeted.
It totally transformed the whole house!
Garage door was fixed and is now fully functional.
Tomorrow is FULL of more House Work.
Look for photos and another post tomorrow.

Home Work Day 2

No Photos, but more progress.. Secretly, not as much as I would have liked, but something is better than nothing. And I am not the one over there bustin' my behind, so I really can't complain. The entry way got its 2nd coat on the top and the bottom half done in white. It was an awful pink/cream. The living room got both coats of white and Jacques got the drywall putty up. Personally I thought he would of used a ton more, but we will see what happens.

I forgot to tell you yesterday, but Jacques told me a woman came by and was crushed that it had been sold. She even used the word "dream house." I sure hope she wasn't referring to the wall paper.

Then two more people came by today. I told the hubby we should take down the Remax sign before they sell the house twice. He said that is impossible cause it is under contract with us. We have also had to sign an "Intent to Buy Contract" before they would allow us to go in and do all this work.

Tomorrow will be Day 3 which involves the carpet installation and garage door spring being fixed. I am not sure anything else will get done because it's a work day for Jacques and I will be in Charlotte, NC picking up Mom from the airport and taking Ryan for a helmet check up. Then we will have the drive back. It will be close to 6 pm, if not later than that.

Be back tomorrow to keep you updated.

Home Work Day 1

Today was Day 1 of Project Home and it was a MAJOR success! Jacques and his team were able to room all the wallpaper from every room. (Note: Kitchen will be done later. All rooms getting carpeted are the first to-do's.) He also got the top half of the enrty way painted (Not in this photo, I was there earlier in the day.) It already looks so much better and brighter. Here is the before, in case you forgot that horrific wallpaper. Before:

The day did have one set back, the maroon room was CRAZY with a vinyl wallpaper with a fabric back piece that tore the wall all up. I talk to my associate and she recommended drywall plaster, so we went with a TON of that. Then the room will need primered and painted with two coats. Click here for Maroon Room Before Photo.

Watch for another update with photos tonight.

Saturday.

Hey There. Really Quick, I noticed that I have a ton of photos from 2007 that never made it to my flickr account. I have already started to add a bunch of them and will continue to do so.

I tried to upload photos from my memory card earlier but the program was having issues. That makes me nervous, especailly because Jacques is not here to soothe/beat on the computer.

Today Jacques is busy in the new house and has been since 7:30 am. He has already conquered the first wallpaper battle. Way to Go, Jacques! Now do more..

We are just lounging today. I need to run to Walgreens for photos. We will stop by the house to see Jacques and we may just have to hit the bookstore and Bucks. Look for more later.

Julie- Still watchin' for a HS to be sitting in my inbox.
Lewis- Welcome Back, Buddy!
Mom- See Ya in 2 Days.

back on track.

We have access to the house. Jacques will be working in there all weekend. On Monday, the carpet is being installed and the water is getting turned on. (Insert another unexpected charge $45.00) Also I think the garage door spring will get fixed then too.

We have 12 days to do all the repairs that need done in order to please the VA inspector. If he then signs off, we will close on Wednesday November 26th. Then we can finish up the move and be out of the rent house by the 1st.

just today.

Ordered 188 photos from Walgreens.
Picked up Jason.
Went to the bank.
Cooked soup and grilled cheese.
Paid Bills.
Ordered Jason's school photos.
Talked to Mom, Jamie, Jacques and Grandma.
Did 2 load of dishes.
Swept the floor.
Changed 6 diapers, 2 were smelly.
Confirmed the carpet instalation for Monday.
Chatted with Mom and Lewis on MSN.
Won an Ebay item.
Renewed Jacques Iowa on the truck.
Got the mail.
Working on a book for Shutterfly.

Dear Friday, where've you been all week?

Hooray for Friday. It's about time it showed up. These are 2 of my boys from Sunday November 9th. That's Zach and Dad. Not much to report this morning. Coffee is warm, weather is cold and wet. And we have got access to the house as of today, I believe. We ran off to Home Depot last night for a few supplies to get this thing kicked in the butt. This weekend Jacques will be over there non stop busting his behind. Mom will be here on Monday and she will be a huge help as well. Thank you all who left comments to "keep positive" on the house.

Lewis- You cyberspace-less is boring me. Please resolve that issue immediately. Hugs.

Janie- Safe travels to you and yours during your travels through China over the next few weeks.

Yesterday Jacques called me on his way to the hospital to visit a solider, before we get off the phone, he jokingly asks if there is anything I need from Providence Northeast Hospital and I reply, "If you can get out of there with a brand new baby girl, that would be splendid." No Luck. He came home empty handed, but confessed that he saw a gurney and thought of me.

Hey Friday, what do you say you last forever? Go!

Go Thursday.

The Frosted Branch by Pottery Barn $24.00. Hmmmmmm, I am thinking I could buy a can of spray paint and pick a twig up out of the yard and save myself $22.00. Love the idea tho.

Twilighters: I got my neighbour hooked. She is on book two. My aunt picked up a copy to keep her busy on her flight to China. Julie-Do I need to say it, really? Fine. Read the books already!

Yesterday my Studio Calico kit came by UPS. It looks so super yummy! We had lunch at Ryan's Steakhouse, stopped by Walmart for waffles and dish soap, then dropped off 18 library books. There is still no news on the house. We are certainly getting annoyed, worried about time and the task at hand. Jacques had a football game. Their team won. The ultrasound photo that I did, see below, got 154 views yesterday. Wow.

It's 7:40 am and I have a cup of coffee poured but have not had any yet. Babies were up at 6 and Jacques took Jason to school. No Speech today, Mrs. Wendy is off. No plans for the day, it is rainy out. I have a ton of dishes piled up high that seriously need some attention. Maybe more later, Now Coffee.

Looking Ahead.

Mom's Visit.
Thanksgiving.
A New Home?
Twins Turn #1.
Celebrate #27.
Christmas.
Jacques Vacation.
New Years.
2009.
Take Up Knitting.
New Hope.
Jason Turns #6.
Sugar Mountain Ski Resort.
Employment.

lots of random.

This year I want a new smaller Christmas tree. Ours is 7 years old and very wide. We bought it our 2nd Christmas together in 2001. The first year we had a real one. I want one just as tall, say 6.5-7 feet, I just want one with a much smaller base and maybe prelit too. I was thinking that I should sell ours before getting a new one, but just now, I realized that I should keep them both. And I am tossing around the idea of only a few colors up on the tree this year. We have a ton of ornaments from as far back as my baby ones, and they are all sorts of colors. But they are all so special, it may be to hard to choose.

On another Holiday note, I plan to try Egg Nog this year. I have never had any before. And I have a few projects up my sleeves too.

There is still no news on the house. It will either be a Go or a No. Hopefully we hear anything soon. We are already 5 days off of schedule with a ton of work still needing done. I called this morning and they said they will call again this afternoon. Fingers and Eyes Crossed.

Today is the 10,000 Episode of All My Children, the only Soap I watch. I started watching it with our babysitter in elementary school and have been ever since. When I was in high school, the show aired at 3:00 so I would rush home after school let out at 3:05. As an adult, we have Soap Net which shows that days rerun 2 or 3 times a day. On Sunday it runs all 5 episodes in a row from that week. This really excites the hubby. Another something fun, I found a copy of the book All My Children by Agnes Nixon at the Goodwill. This was the book that started it all. (Update: The episode was awesome! And there was a guest appearance by Agnes!)

In the mail today, we got our SC property tax forms for the boat and the motor! What? You have to pay property tax on a motor! This luxury will cost me $455.01. I am thinking we will nix the motor and use paddles and ors.

two.

Just wanted to share this fun photo that I made today. It is the twins (Zachary and Ryan) in utero from September 2007 I think it was about 29 weeks along. This is still my most cherished photo and memory of the whole pregnancy.

november.

Photos.
Family.
Art.
Scrapbooks.
Hubby.
Cocoa.
Thanksgiving.
Our Home.
Jason.
Cooler Weather.
Friends.
Babies.
Oatmeal.
Leg Warmers.
Pen and Paper.
Peace.
Love.

dake mom and kids.

be still my heart.

Today I got 3 Pottery Barn magazines in the mail at once. It is overwhelming cause they have such lovely lovely things; expensive lovely lovely things. I fall in love with them all. This is one of the things I fell hard for Wish Tree Quilt and Shams. Maybe it will be under the tree from Santa. I have been a very good girl this year.

Saturday, In Review.

Jason played an amazing game today and scored twice. It was warm but super windy. Ryan got to walk around at the field and loved that, then fell asleep in my arms. After the game, the boys wanted Red Lobster so we went there. Zachary slept through the entire meal. Ryan and Jason ate biscuits. We ran over to Target next cause I needed dish soap. I got Jason 3 Halloween shirts (that he can wear anytime) marked down to .60 cents each. I also got a Halloween treat box set for .29 cents, a Transformer drawstring tote for .59 cents, and some decor for next year for .29 cents. I was thrilled.

And I forgot to tell you what made my day, at the soccer field next to where we were playing, I noticed someone had left a coffee mug there. Everyone was almost gone as their game was already over, so we waited to make sure no one ever came back for it. Eventually I had Jacques go pick it up. It was a super neat one. So when we were at Target, I check the travel mugs to see if they had one like it. They did and they were priced at $19.99 each. Score on the Soccer Field for Mommy Today. Does that make me an awful psycho coffee mug stealer? Sorry.

that cold black cloud is coming down.

Okay, maybe it is not that dramatic, but I did listen to some Bob Dylan today and that quote came to mind. Julie would say, "Enough with the drama already." Bad News : Some things need done to the house in order for the inspector to give us a green light. Somethings that will cost us quite a bit of money and a lot of time. Somethings that we were going to have done anyway, but on our time and on a budget. Now it must all be done in a few weeks and before we can even close the deal. Basically we have to fix them ourselves while we still don't own the house in order to own the house. Confused? Me too. To sum it up: The house is bank owned and being sold AS IS, if we want the VA appraisal to be a GO, it needs to be up to their standards.. So if we can get early access to fix up these things, then the VA guy will give us a go and approve the appraisal amount and we will close on the house... BUT only after we have already spent our own time and money on a house that we DO NOT yet own. Let's hope nothing goes wrong.

rehab and apples on friday.

Love, love, love these. They are made in France by Lamomme's Shop on Etsy. They are $16 each of $42 for this set of three. Also the words are customizable, up to 10 letters. How perfect is that? These better be in my stocking on Christmas Morning, Santa.

Totally lovin' this song right now Bartender Song by Rehab. My hubby thinks I am such a weird person. Who else loves sweet plush apples with tender messages of hope and happiness and songs about parole and Chevrolet's? Give it a listen.

Aw Friday, My favorite day of the week. We are still hoping to close today, it is all on the bank's shoulders. We need to close today, I am not even kidding. We have no plans today either. Jason asked to go to the park after school. It should be in the 80's, I think we just may.

I am happy that Zachary survived yesterday, Poor Kid. Ryan,standing above him, dropped a baseball on his forehead. He busted his head hard twice under the kitchen table, I checked for blood. He fell at the Children's Museum, bad enough again that I checked for cuts and blood. Then I practically ripped his leg off getting him out of the stroller. It was caught in between the sides, and I was picking up both babies at once, didn't notice and lifted. And those were just the big bonks.. There were the normal little ones too. Geesh!

Weekend: Saturday is Jason's last soccer game at noon and Sunday we have a birthday party. If the house is in our possession by then, Jacques will be working hard on wallpaper removal.

Coffee is warm. Let's get going, Friday. I love You!

more things on thursday.

The babies found a 500 pack of napkins on their level, need I say more?

I am still crossing my fingers for closing on the house tomorrow.

Jacques ran to the store then he is cooking super.

Jason's homework is done and he is watching Shrek 2.

I lent Twilight to the neighbor yesterday. She rushed over for Book 2 today. That reminds me to hound Julie again about reading the series. And until she reads them.

I talked to Mom, Jamie and Ian earlier.

I am super grouchy. So are the babies.

thursday things.

Today Jason's class went to Edventure Children's Museum. The babies and I went along too as chaperons. They learned about fire safety last month and again at the museum today. I have more photos to share of Jason and the babies, so look for those later today on flickr. After the class was done at the museum, I got to keep Jason with me and we stayed longer.

Zachary's 2nd tooth is finally about to pop out. Ryan has 6 teeth.

Our carpet is in and will be installed through out the new house on November 17th. We are suppose to close tomorrow, but not sure that will happen as our loan company is having non-cooperative attitudes from a third party. We need to close tomorrow.

A Thank You to my Lewis for googleing hours of operation.

No plans for the rest of the day. No speech until the 18th. We need to go to Home Depot this evening when the hubby gets home.

halloween photos.

good morning again..

I forgot to tell you all about Ryan's check up yesterday in Charlotte. He is doing great and should only have a couple more weeks with the helmet. Another check up on the 17th and we will be picking Grandma up at the airpot too that day.

Today I am feeling Crafty. I want to do something Red, White and Blue. I may call Jamie over to get her craft on with me. Or Julie if she wasn't in Waterloo.

I think we are good on the house closing in 2 days. We are just waiting on 2 pieces of paper. I will keep you updated.

Bell: Thanks for the email and call last night. Thinking of you today and your Momma.

I still have Halloween photos to post.

Both babies are down for their morning nap already. I should get started now. Hugs, M

good morning, america.

Today I woke up, started the dishes, drank my coffee, watched All My Children from yesterday, and Obama's speech. I was super excited to tell Jason the Obama won and that his vote counted. He chose to vote for Obama all on his own, I know he ever heard either of us talk about our choices in front of him.

I have to say its amazing that Obama's middle name is held against him. I am sure he had no more to do with picking out his own name than any other in-utero baby does. I don't see anyone saying, "OMG.. John's middle name is Sidney. He may plan to add the words "Hello, Mate" to our national anthem." Hello, People. There is no need to comment snidely here as all comments are moderated as always. Change is Okay, People.

Moving On, today we have no plans and I couldn't be more thrilled. I will pick Jason up at school and we will be couch tatos. Tonight the hubby has a game at 7 but I won't go out that late.

Tomorrow Jason's class is going to the children's museum and I will chaperon too.

time for a change.