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.