Tree Hugger

We got our Christmas tree yesterday. The boys were pretty excited about it and sort of in awe. Micah, especially, had some strong feelings about the tree. When we got the tree wrapped in netting before we left, Micah started crying, saying "hurt! hurt!" We tried to explain that the tree was not hurt inside the netting.

However, the tree's "pain" was not done for the night. Micah wailed the whole time that that Aaron was sawing off the bottom of the trunk and trimming the branches. He said, "Daddy, stop! Hurt! Hurt!" Poor little guy! He was so serious! Apparently, we have a "tree-hugger" on our hands.

He has much less anxiety about the tree now that it is up and decorated. Now the fun is pushing the button that turns the lights on and off. :)

Sweet Nothings

Here are some actual adorable "conversations" we had with Benji tonight:

Aaron: Benji, are you ADD?

Benji: (immediately) Yes.

(Scene: Benji is sticking pumpkin stickers on Brittany's forehead)

Brittany: Benji, is Mommy pretty?

Benji: So pretty!!!!

I tried to get it to repeat the "so pretty" (for my own vanities' sake) but it was a one-time compliment. Hey, I'll take what I can get! It was downright adorable!!! 

Happy 2nd Birthday Micah and Benji

I cannot believe my babies are TWO! TWO???? SERIOUSLY?? I cannot believe it...wait. I just said that. But it is true. They turned TWO on October 9th. We had a great day! I hosted a "friends" party for them in the back yard. It was really a glorified play group but we had a LOT of kiddos there: 12 toddlers and 3 babies, plus all the moms! WOW!

Happy Birthday Breakfast

It was an absolutely beautiful fall day. The kids ran around, played on our slide, "mowed" the leaf pile, and played in our baby pool that was filled with plastic balls. Plus there were snacks and mini birthday cupcakes! YUM! Micah at four cupcakes himself (they were MINI, don't worry!) The boys got lots of presents too which we opened later, after the party. The thought of opening up new, exciting toys with over 10 two year olds was simply overwhelming to me, so we didn't. I hope none of my friends are too offended. I truly was sorry. 

My BIG two year olds (enjoying their cupcakes!)

Micah MAN!

My little Benji

Party bags for our friends

Borrowing some "reading" glasses from Mr. Potato Head

Birthday Snuggles with Daddy (Benji)

Micah: I love Daddy

We had sloppy joes for dinner that night, which is Aaron's favorite (and requested) birthday meal. The boys LOVE sloppy joes too! It must be a Meng-man thing. :) 

We opened presents after dinner and the boys had lots of fun playing with new cars, trucks, Mr. Potato Heads, books, etc from all their friends. I had been buying them toys all week (and the week before that!) and was too impatient to make them wait until their birthday to open them, so there were no presents from Mommy and Daddy for the boys to open on their birthday, but I don't think they were missed. We now have TONS of new toys! AK! I feel like I need to "purge" some of their old toys to make room for the new....

That night, we put the boys to bed at 8pm, a little later than their normal 7:30 bedtime. Micah had taken a super long nap that afternoon (12:30-5pm!!!) and was still awake at 9:30. He was crying a bit so we went in to check on him. He said HI!!!! We got him up and he played, just as sweet as could be, until 11:30pm!! He was so happy and good though, we just let him stay up. Hey, it was his birthday after all! Around 10:30 (a little irritated, I must admit) I said, "Micah! Why are you still awake??" He looked at me, held up one his four wheeled birthday presents and said, "Cars!" Of course, Mommy! I am awake because of cars! We laughed. We should have known. 

I love my babies so much! Yes, they are still my babies, even though they are two. Seriously, how can it have been two years already. At the risk of sounding cliche, time flies way too fast, especially when you are having fun. Happy Birthday Precious Micah! Happy Birthday Sweet Benjamin! You are SO loved! 

PS. When we ask the boys, "How old are you?" They say, TWO!!! So cute!! I love it!

Buttercup Bags

So, I have been complaining about having NO FREE TIME! WOE IS ME! I am actually a lier. I have carved out a little free time to do some sewing. I call it my Sanity Sewing Break. I found this adorable little bag pattern on Arin Rollins sewing blog. Her blog led me Made by Rae. Here I am, giving you the links, dear reader. But most of you who read this blog are related to me. Here is my warning: DO NOT GO TO THESE LINKS, PRINT THE PATTERN AND MAKE YOUR OWN BUTTERCUP BAG (at least not until after Christmas, wink wink!)

Anyways, I LOVE sewing these bags! They are super fun and quick! I had the great idea (if I do say so myself!) of trying to sew the bags out of recycled material, aka old clothes from Goodwill! So far, I have sewed several bags out of curtains, pants, and two ladies blazers! They have turned out amazing! I have even sold two purses! YEA! If YOU, dear reader, are NOT related to me, and would like to buy a bag, I have some for sale. Here is the break down of prices:

Small: (date night bag or purse for a little girl) $15

Medium: $17.50

Large: (this is a great purse size. I am toting one around myself these days!) $20

If you provide your own material, I can make any size bag for $12

Here are some pics. Enjoy! 

This purse is made out of curtains! I made one for myself and for a friend of mine. I still have tons of material left if you like this look!

I love this combo! My sis in law as already claimed this purse...sorry...

My "upcycling" process: Before...

AFTER! This purse went to my BFF Candace for her birthday

My very first Buttercup bag! This is a Small. 

Not only have I been a blog slacker...

I have been a Shred Slacker too. Yes, I am bad. My exercising has dwindled down to....none or maybe once a week. I lost some momentum when my knees starting hurting around Shred day 22 or so. So I cut back. Then I starting doing my Biggest Loser Yoga video (which I really like, except for the fact that it takes and hour to do the whole thing!) instead of The Shred. Then I got lazy and started sleeping in. If I don't get up the morning before the boys get up, I have no time to exercise during the day. The boys have no patience for Mommy's work out dvd--not when Thomas the Train could be on the screen. (Aaron HATES Thomas the Train, btw). And after the boys are napping, all of my free time has to be devoted to homework. I try not to even do housework during nap time--homework consumes every free minute. So...needless to say, I am a slacker. And I can already tell a difference. My stomach muscles were feeling nice and tight and now they are feeling squishy again. Sad, sad day. :( I really, really want to get back into it. I just have to tell myself that in the morning at 7am--before I hit my snooze button 4 times.

Blog SLACKER

I haven't blogged in over a month! AK! Not that I have readers pounding at my door, dying to know about my life...but still! I feel bad. I have been so busy with school and just LIFE! My time is consumed with homework. This is actually a "lighter" week--meaning I don't have 600 pages to read for the week, more like 400-500, plus a few short papers to write. Ug. Grad school is no joke. I really do like school (I keep telling myself that....) but the homework load is overwhelming most of the time. I just wish I had more time to do things that I WANT to do....like blog...:) I will post a few short posts to update my life for the past month, just so I can remind myself, and you, dear readers (all 2 of you...maybe less) of my life in past few weeks.

Menu Planning

I was inspired by my friend Tara's blog to post a copy of my weekly menu plan. I have been planning weekly menus since Aaron and I got married. It helps me know what I am going to make every night and, more importantly, keeps me from wandering aimlessly in the grocery store, buying lots of stuff I don't need and forgetting half the stuff I do need. If you are curious about any recipes, let me know!  I love to cook. I know my mom hates thinking of things to make so, if you are like my mom, steal one of these recipes or meal ideas for your own family!

Monday (while I am in class): Chili dogs, baked french fries, jello w/manderian oranges and fresh strawberries

Tuesday: Chicken Fajitas w/green and red peppers and sliced onion (I make my own seasoning for this because the packaged kind messes with Aaron's stomach) 

Wednesday: Eggrolls (Sams), peas and carrots (super busy night for us....class, rush home, leave for church) 

Thursday: Marinated Shrimp w/ peppers, cheesy grits (using up the extra pepper from the fajitas, just saute it a bit before adding the shrimp and sauce to the skillet)

Friday: Chicken Parmesan bundles (new recipe for me!), pasta and spaghetti sauce, salad

Saturday: (Aaron's b-day! 26! Woot!) Sloppy joes, french fries, green bean casserole, Oreo ice cream cake from Dairy Queen :) (This is his requested birthday dinner EVERY year! Go figure...he is easy to please)

Sunday: Frozen Pizza 

Enjoy! Maybe I'll do this again in the future....

Shred- Day 12 The Good and the Bad

Today is Day 12 of Shredding. After 10 days of doing Level One, I was feeling pretty good--a lot stronger, confident, maybe a little cocky. It is time, I thought, to move on up to Level Two! WOOT!

Well, after two days of Level Two, I am not feeling so, um, cocky anymore. Level Two, to put it mildly, kicks my BUTT! It is a LOT harder. I have yet to make it through the whole thing doing all the exercises. Mostly, I find myself dripping sweat, gasping for breath, staring blankly at the screen as Jillian and her two minions do "plank" exercises confidently while I am falling on the floor from exhaustion. I am back to the sore and shaky state I was in after Day 1, Level One.

But, I am determined to stick with it--as much as I may HATE the word "plank" now...

Here is the good news though:

I had to know that this Shredding thing was working, that all of this pain and suffering truly wasn't for nothing. The scale was barely giving me reassurance--I have MAYBE lost a pound. But I have been "feeling" slimmer lately so I grabbed my tape measure and slung that baby around my body. And, joy and rapture, it gave me amazing news. Here are the results:

I have lost

1 inch from my natural waist

1 inch from my lower waist, ie. twin baby flab

3/4 inch from my hips/ba-donk-a-donk

YES! YES! YES! It really IS working. So, tomorrow morning, I will get up early, (yes, even on Saturday) because Jillian Michaels delivered these past 12 days. I am looking forward to seeing what the next 18 days will bring--even if the diabolical "plank" is involved.

Shred update

I am still Shredding! Today is day 10!! WOW! I took Sunday off--I told myself I needed a break (seriously, I think I was just being lazy)--but I was back at it on Monday. Tomorrow I start Level 2! EEK! I am scared. My endurance is so much greater than when I started a week and a half ago. I am still sweaty and breathing hard by the end but I definitely feel stronger.

Two day this past week I haven't wanted to get up and Shred before the boys got up. So I slept in. But I felt so guilty/compelled that I couldn't skip a day. So, I ended up doing the DVD while the boys watched. The first day, I had to bribe them 4 times (fruit snacks, cereal, books, juice) before I could finish the 20 min workout. It took me about 35 minutes to do the whole thing. Benji was hanging on my leg during the lunge--"hold me! hold me!" 

 The second time I Shredded while the boys watched they were better. In fact, the even tried to imitate some of the moves, ie. waving their arms while I  did Jumping Jacks and pretending to lift "weights" (toys) above their head. So funny! 

Not sure if I have lost any weight yet--maybe a pound. But I feel really proud of myself for making it 10 days! I have NEVER liked exercising (Read: I HATE EXERCISING!) so I am kind of amazed that I am actually sticking to this. Only 20 days to go till I reach my goal! 

My new cloth diapers!

I made some new cloth diapers. I LOVE using cloth! We have used cloth diapers since the boys were born (we use disposables sometimes too, but cloth about 90% of the time) and I love it! 

I made some diapers last summer. They were for 10-20 lbs and now the boys are growing out of them. I made 26 last summer (!!!) and it took me about 2 months to sew them (off and on). 

I ordered 13 diapers this time (bakers dozen special) from diaperkit.com. This business is owned by a work at home mom. The diaper kit arrives with all the pieces washed and cut--all I had to do was sew the diaper together. 

This time, I sewed the diapers in about 4-5 days over a period of 2 weeks or so, the majority being the past 2 days. I made some modifications from last time. My boys need more absorbency so I decided to buy some bamboo fabric (online) and use that for my soakers (absorbent part of the diaper). 

The fabric I bought is a blend of bamboo and cotton and it is SOOO soft--like a cross between the inside of a brand new sweatshirt and the softest towel you have ever used. The kit came with a cotton piece for the soaker so I used that for a pattern and sewed a two layer soaker--one layer of cotton flannel and one layer of bamboo. 

Bamboo is also 60% more absorbent than cotton (which is what I made the soakers out of last year) and has antibacterial properties. Awesome! Plus, did I mention how SOFT it it? Love it!

The only part I am not happy with is that the lady didn't send me very good colors this time. I don't know why. Last year, I got a rainbow of hues. Oh well. The diapers will still work the same. I just wish she would have sent a better variety of colors with my order. 

Here are some pics! Enjoy! And if you have any questions about cloth, please let me know! 

The size difference from last year to this year! WOW! The boys have grown!

I made 13. One was in the wash. Benji baptized it by, er, fire. 

The inside of the diaper. I only sewed the soakers on one side so that they can be free in the wash to get really clean and so that they will dry faster in the drier. 

All tucked in!

I only got three colors this time. But the diapers turned out really well! I love them! 

After I chased Micah around for 10 minutes, I FINALLY got a picture of him modeling the new diaper. They fit great and plenty of room to grow too! 

Day 4- The Shred

An update on my workout challenge: I am MUCH less sore today! YEA! Thank goodness. Right now, my muscle are feeling good and not hurting so much. I am getting stronger!

Shred = Sore

Day 3 of exercising/The Shred. One word: SORE! How can 20 minutes leave you aching for the rest of the day? The good part is, I feel really good after I finish and the exercising makes me feel strong. Just really, really sore. Waiting anxiously for results and more endurance as I keep at it!

Back to School

I am in my second week of school and second semester of my MA English program. So far, it is going well. I am taking 9 hours (3 classes) which is full time. Am I crazy? Sometimes I think so! Here is my schedule:

MW 4:05-5:20pm Christian Poetics (this is not a poetry class. More like a "What makes good literature good" class and "So what are we going to do about it as Christians?" class) Love my professor. I took her for almost every class she offered in undergrad. Go Dr. Prior! 

M 6:00-9:00pm Victorian Literature. Currently reading "Oliver Twist." Can't wait to get to "Dracula" later in the semester. Bring on the vampire lit! Wonderful, witty professor in this class too. She keeps us laughing. 

Tues 6:30-9:30pm Seminar in Jane Austen. Sigh. I love Jane Austen. Re-reading "Pride and Prejudice" for the umpteenth time. Double sigh of happiness. That book is delicious every time you read it. 

I chose to do my small (7-9 page) research paper for my Christian Poetics class first (we had to sign up for a date) so I began working on it 2 weeks before classes even started. I had to present/read it aloud in class on Monday. I was SUPER nervous. The topic was hard--Aristotle's "Poetics" was the book--and I choose a very abstract concept to write about. But the end result was very satisfying and once I was done reading, I felt really good about it. The paper provoked some good class discussion. And I am SO glad that I don't have to think about another paper for that class until the end of the semester. YEA!!!

Did I mention, I love school? Well, I really, really do. :) 

The Shred

Today I started "The Shred"--Jillian Michaels workout video. Yes, Jillian Michaels of Biggest Loser fame. It is an intense 20 minute workout consisting of alternating intervals of cardio, abs and strength exercises. And boy, was I shaky afterwards. And now, 15 hours after completing the workout, I am SORE! I also bought Bob's Yoga video, which I am going to try tomorrow.

But I am determined to do it for (at least!) 30 days. I am working out for the first time since, well, before I got pregnant. And since I quit breastfeeding 5 months ago, my weight has crawled back up to, well, let's just say it's a little higher than I would like it to be). My favorite jeans are just too stinkin' tight and I've decided I can't use the excuse that "I had twins" for my poochy belly forever. So, we'll see if "The Shred" helps. I would love to tone up and see my flat belly again (Don't really know if that is possible but, hey! I am going to try!!)

Stayed tuned for descriptions of my agony, I mean, of my success! :/

What happened to "3"?

Counting to three is a common occurrence in our house. Sometimes we count to warn the boys that they need to obey NOW, and sometime we count before we play "tickle the belly!" or "throw the baby in the air!" Before we get to "three" the boys are usually squealing "YEA!" in anticipation.

So now, the boys have learned to count. When we say one, Micah especially, will pipe up, "two?" It is super cute. Unfortunately, when you are laughing at the cuteness, it is hard to keep up the counting in a discipline situation. :)

We are trying to get the boys to say "three." Here is how our conversation went:

Mom and Dad: One!

Micah and Benji: Two!

Mom and Dad: What comes after two?

Micah and Benji: YEA!! 

Benjamin-isms

Benji is the sweetest little boy. Here are some adorable things he does that I don't want to forget:

Whenever Benji looks in a mirror, I ask him "Who is that?"

His response? "Brother!" 

So precious! 

He has recently fallen in love with a small elephant figurine. It really isn't a toy--it was brought back from Thailand by our friend Anna. But he loves it and calls it "Eddie!" Eddie has his own plate at dinner. Eddie gets to swim in syrup at breakfast. Eddie goes "ni-night!" Eddie rides with Benji in the car. Eddie is loved. 

Benji LOVES to wrestle! He is a beast! I call him my "little scrappy ram!" He loves to head-butt things, and people. When he is in a wresting mood, nothing phases him, or hurts him. He often tries to wrestle with Micah but Micah gets "hurt" easily (read: annoyed). We have to call Benji off his brother frequently. But other things are fun to wrestle with--Daddy, Goldie, Mommy, the stuffed Elmo chair. Seriously, this kid has some rockin' moves! 

My new 'do!

I finally got my hair cut! I have been growing it out for over a year (last haircut was July 2008!) I have always wanted to donate my hair so last year, I decided to go for it! I chose "Pantene's Beautiful Lengths" to donate my hair. It is like "Locks of Love." Enjoy the pics! I LOVE my new haircut and I think it will be really easy to maintain!

Before- SO LONG

10 inches!!!

I got BANGS!!! (that is for you Kalina!)

I love it!

Passport Adventure- Day 2

Whew....yesterday was LOOOONNNNGGGG. It just seemed to stretch out forever.

We all took our time getting up yesterday morning. The hotel had a nice breakfast and I think the Jr. High boys took advantage of it at least 3 times (their first breakfast was at 6am!). None of us figured out how to work the curtains in our room to block the sun, so Ra was blazing in before 6am. Needless to say, we were all early risers. 

We hung out at the hotel until 11am, then checked out, loaded up and headed over to "The Mall" (that is what they call their mall in Frackville). And we hung out at the Mall for their entire business day. Yes, operating hours for Sunday were 11am-5pm. We are real winners. RABC Mall rats! 

We all got lunch and then hit the movie theatre! It was very nice! Half went to see Harry Potter 6 (including me!) and half went to G-Force (FBI guinea pig movie). When we got out of the movie at 3pm, we had high hopes that the van would be fixed (that was the forecast yesterday) and we would be on the road to camp. Sadly, no dice. The guy had gotten the wrong part and had to drive 45 min one way to try and get the right part, drive back, and then start at 3 hour install. This news was a definite LOW point of the day. 

So the cards came out and we played Nertz for the next 2 hours in The Mall until it closed at 5pm. Then the real adventure began--Limbo.

We had checked out of the hotel, The Mall was closed, the van may or may not get done tonight for us to drive up to MA so....we literally had no place to go. All were hungry so we began the search for an open semi-healthy restaurant. We were all sick of fast food (and The Mall). 

So we drove to the friendly neighboring town of Pottsville, founded by Mr. Potts in 1809. He even had a white marble statue up on the mountain (either that or it was Mr Frack...). Well, Pottsville turned out to be not so friendly. Not only did they boast of their own castle prison right smack in the middle of town, but the food joints all decided to close at 2pm on Sunday. 

Thankfully, a Pizza Hut was open!!!! Overjoyed, all 18 poured out of the 12 passenger van (insert circus music here) and stimulated the economy of Pottsville PA with our pizza purchasing. Since we had nowhere to go, we stayed a Pizza Hut for a good while. Our good waitress even provided coloring materials which most took full advantage of. 

The dreaded call came: the van would not be ready tonight. Back to good ol' Frackville. (I think when we get back to the Burg, we are going to make t-shirts that state "I survived the Frackville experience" or something of that sort. The kids have a new found appreciation for "all" there is to do in Lynchburg). We checked in to the Holiday Inn again and settled in for the night. Some of the kids were pretty sad to be stuck here again. There were some tears. 

But, the night was redeemed when at 9:30, the mechanic called and said the van was done and would be ready to be picked up at 8:30! SO......we are on our way this morning! Send up a prayer! We are headed to Passport this morning. Hopefully, we will get there before dinner tonight. It is about a 7 hour drive. 

Goodbye Frackville. Goodbye Pottsville. It's been real....um...real long and boring. But.....memorable. :) 

To be continued...

Passport Adventure- Day 1

Aaron and I left bright and early to take the youth group to Passport Camp in MA today. We have 14 kids going and 4 chaperones. I have been really excited about going, but nervous to leave the boys. My MIL is staying with the boys for the week. We said good bye to the boys last night and left before they got up. I was ok until we got into the car. Then I started tearing up. And I fought back tears 4 or 5 times until we actually left. This is the longest I have ever been away from my babies! I talked to them twice today though and Rhonda assured me that they have all had a very fun day. Lots of laughing and no tears!

We had a great trip until around 3:45pm. We are driving two vans, Aaron and I with the high schoolers in one 12 passenger van and the middle schoolers and the other two chaperones in the other 15 passenger van, which was pulling a trailer. We were following the van with the trailer. All of a sudden they pulled off to the side of the freeway. We followed suit. It turns out that a belt had come loose from the engine and tons of fluid gushed out of the van. Needless to say, we were stuck. On the side of the road. In the middle of nowhere in PA. For two hours. 

But the kids did great! All of them had great attitudes. Some of them decided to use the bathroom up the hill and in the brush. They found a patch of wild blueberries and picked a huge cup full. Others played cards and just hung out. Aaron called 411 for road side assistance. We couldn't get a rental van. So, we had the van towed, the trailer with the luggage picked up by an SUV from the towing company (five kids also piled into the SUV). The rest of the kids piled into the other van. And I and Hannah Owen (an 8th grade girl) got to ride in the back of the state troopers car (He showed up after about and hour an a half and "guarded" us against oncoming traffic). Everyone was so nice. And the repair guy (who came out earlier to look at the van) agreed to work on the van tomorrow (Sunday!) so we can get to camp. 

The next adventure was to find a hotel. Like I said, we were in the middle of nowhere--actually we are in Fracksville PA. Yes, Fracksville. The state trooper drove us a Holiday Inn and our trailer was dropped off there too. We were supposed to spend the night in CT (where we had reservations at $74 per night). Well, we did not get such a good deal in Fracksville but we got the price cut down from $174 per room to $126. 

After getting all the kids settled in their rooms, we decided to head up the hill and around the corner to the mall (yes, they have a "mall" in Fracksville) to eat at the food court. All 18 of us pilled into the 12 passenger van as rain came pouring down. The pouring turned into a sideways downpour with hail!!! It was crazy! There were rivers flowing across the road! We drove right up to the mall entrance, onto the sidewalk and ran screaming into the mall. 

All four of us chaperones had a nice dinner at a Chinese buffet while the kids walked around and did a little shopping. The plan tomorrow is to just hang out in the morning while the van is getting fixed and maybe see a movie at the mall to pass some time (Harry Potter 6 is playing!). Prayers for getting on the road again by 3pm! Only 6 more hours to get to camp!

Right now I am relaxing in the hotel room. Mmmm....missing my sweet babies though. 

To be continued....hopefully with less adventures but with the same sense of fun and good attitudes! 

Super easy summer dress!!

I was looking online yesterday for easy sewing projects and I came across this idea. This dress is from the Thread Bangers (freakin' awesome name and even funkier website!!). Here is the video I got the idea from- Dress Video 

After watching the video, I thought, "I can do that!" So, I went to Joann's after Aaron got home from work, bought some material and elastic thread and got to work as soon as we put the boys down to bed. I worked on it for about 2 1/2 hours last night and about 2 hours (all together) today. I love it! I wore it all morning and then decided it was too long and shortened it after I put the boys down for their nap. 

Here is the finished result. It is so nice for hot summer days. And I think it is still pretty modest, considering the halter neck. (I did vary from the dress video on the halter design) So, if you are looking for a smokin' hot, easy summer dress to make, here it is! It was SOO easy! No kidding! Please excuse my lame attempts at taking pictures of myself! But enjoy the pictures! :) And check out Thread Bangers! :) 

I made an apron!

I made an apron! After admiring some aprons that I saw on etsy.com, I decided to try to make one myself. I love the material and I think it turned out pretty cute. I wanted to have a sweetheart neckline but it didn't work out. I made the bodice way to big at first and had to alter it after I sewed it, taking out the sweetheart curves. The bodice could fit better but I think the apron will do it's job. Not too bad for an afternoon project with no pattern!! 

Love this fabric!!!!
Not such a nice pic of me, but you get a good look at the apron on

Finished product!

Micah-isms

Micah has is own quirky personality! Here are some of the adorable things he has been doing lately to let his little personality shine:

Loves to where shoes- all the time! He will come up to me and say "Shoes? Shoes?" (Not to confused with "juice" or any other word that Mommy tries to guess...) He wants to wear shoes as soon as he gets up in the morning, when he gets up from his nap, and asks to wear them to bed at night. And not just any shoes. He has to wear one puppy shoe and one turtle shoe. He is very adamant on this point. I lost one of the turtle shoes a long time ago. Then I lost of of the puppy shoes. So, for a while there was no choice but to wear both. But, I found the other puppy shoe a few days ago and put them both on Micah and put the turtle on on Benji. Well, Micah would not have it! He fussed and whinned and pointed and "pleased" until I asked him, "Do you want the turtle?" to which he replied with an enthusiastic "YEAH!" So I switched the shoes and he was a happy camper. 

He has also gotten opinionated about what he wears. His current favorite thing to wear is short-alls. Too cute! 

Bed Skirt

On Thursday I was feeling crafty and decided to make a bed skirt for Aaron and my bed. We have never had one in the 3 years we have been married and I have wanted one for a while. I've looked at some online and in the stores but they are expensive! So, after perusing some craft sites and sewers blogs, I decided to make one myself.

I bought some white sheets from Burlington Coat Factory (Queen set for $15!!!) I measured the depth, length, and width of the bed. The depth was 17'' so I cut an 18'' strip on the long ends of the sheet. Then I cut 18'' on each of the short sides and sewed them together so they would be long enough for the short end of the bed. Since I used the edge of the sheet for the bottom of the bedskirt, there was no hemming involved! YEA! I pinned the strips on the bed and marked where I wanted box pleats. Then I sewed the pleats (one in the middle of each strip and one at each corner) and sewed all the strips together. Then I took the mattress off the bed and safety pinned it too the box spring. Yes, safety pinned it! I saw that on one of the websites I looked at before I made it. Yeah, it was a little lazy but now one can tell since all the ends are tucked under once the mattress is back on. And it looks great! I feel like we are finally getting a "grown-up" bedroom. Still needs a little work, decorations, new dresser etc....but the bed skirt is a start! Enjoy the photos!

NOTE: the only down side to pinning the skirt on instead of sewing a huge square of material to each piece of the skirt is that the skirt is not really machine washable since I didn't finished the edged. I guess if I wanted to wash it, I could zig-zag all the edge before I threw it in the watch, then iron and pin back on. 

Signing Time

(I realized I haven't blogged in two weeks! Don't know how many people read this but I thought I should update!)

The boys' new favorite thing is "Signing Time" videos. We get them from the library and the love them! They ask to watch them and when I pop in the DVD they get hysterical with excitement. "Signing Time" teaches babies and kids sign language. They are made by a mom whose daughter (who also stars in "Signing Time") is deaf. The videos use lots of kid friendly tactics, some animation and original songs to teach signs. The boys are really picking up a lot. They love to sign and they are so stinkin' cute! Here are some signs that they have learned recently-

Dog- pat the leg (this is also their favorite word to say!)

Tiger- your hands are claws on your cheeks

Fish- move your hand like a fish swimming in water

Bird- move your thumb and forefinger like a beak opening and closing by your mouth (they have known this one for a while but it is still a favorite)

Grapes- "peck" up your arm with the opposite hand, like clumps of grapes on your arm

Sleep- stroke your fingers over your face, ending in a pinching motion

They are saying and signing new words every day. I love it and I know they do too. Every time they sign a word, they clap and and say "YEA!" I love these videos! Christmas or birthday presents, anyone? www.signingtime.com. I would highly recommend them. My favorite one so far is "Leah's Farm." Check them out from your local library!

With more independence in language comes more opinions about what they do like and don't like, and what they want to do and don't want to do. "No!" is also a favorite word these days, often accompanied by high pitched shrieks! I am praying for patience daily. But, even on the "worst" days (there aren't TOO many of those), Micah and Benji always come up and kiss and hug me. Micah, especially, is very affectionate. Oftentimes, I will be in the kitchen cooking or cleaning up and I feel two little hands on my backside and a big kiss will be planted right on my butt! I guess that tells you how tall their are! :) 

The boys were 20 months yesterday! I can't believe it! They will be 2 (TWO!!!!) in only four months. Where has the time gone? 

Done with school!

I realized I needed to post an update on school! I AM DONE! My survived my first semester of full time grad school. YEA! And I got a 4.0. SUPER YEA! It was a lot of hard work but I learned a LOT and had a great time. Grad school is a lot more challenging than undergrad. I was really stretched.

I relished the time I spent in class each week. I felt like a woman, an intelligent human being, whose only objective was to learn and better herself. It was very nice to think about myself for a few hours every week instead of taking care of everyone else.

I told Aaron I still wanted to go out for a couple of hours every week by myself, to get away, be by myself, and read or write. School has been out for 3+ weeks and I've gone out once. Sigh....it is hard to carve out time when you are a busy mom. 

Looking forward to a break this summer but I am excited about next semester too. I am taking Seminar in Jane Austin, Victorian Lit, and Christian Poetics. :) :) :) 

WICKED!!!!!

We finally did it! Aaron and I went to see Wicked this weekend. We have been wanting to see the musical since we were dating. We promised each other that we would go see it in NYC for our first anniversary. Well, number 1 came around and I was 5 months preggo with twins. Then last year we were moving into our house our anniversary weekend. So, when I saw that Wicked was coming to Norfolk VA (about 4 hours from our house, at the coast) I jumped at the chance to get tickets. So, we did!

We left yesterday (Saturday) afternoon and drove 4 hours to Norfolk. We stayed at the Sheraton Hotel right on the bay. It was really nice. After we checked in we walked to Outback Steakhouse. We both had steak, potatoes, and ceacer salad. I also had some scallops. YUM! Then we walked to the theater, about a mile a way. The weather was perfect. 

The play started at 8pm. We were in the second to last row in the balcony. We needed some tissues for our nosebleeds. Just kidding, they weren't that bad. The set was really cool, the lighting was amazing, and the voices were phenomenal. The girl who played Elphaba (the Wicked Witch) was mesmerizing. I was on the edge of my seat for all her solos. Wow. It was wonderful!!!

They had lots of "Wicked" paraphernalia to buy so Aaron let me buy a shirt (even though it was $35!!! EEK!) It is really cute: pink, short sleeves, that says "Popular" on the front in really whimsical lettering. For those of you who have seen the musical, it is the title of one of the songs that Glinda sings. It was too cute to pass up. 

The play got over at 11pm and we walked back to the hotel and then walked along the waterfront for a while. So romantic!

The next morning, we got breakfast at Micky D's and drove home. The boys and dog were very glad to see us. My best friend Candace stayed over with them and said they were very good. The didn't cry at all. Heh. They saved up all their crying for me when they got up from their nap and while Aaron was at youth group tonight. Oh well. Such is being a mother. It was nice to just think about being a wife for one night though. It was unforgettable! Happy 3rd Anniversary Aaron! 

Richmond Adventure

We had a really good past weekend. Aaron took off on Friday to get some school work done and work on our deck that we are building. It was nice to have him home for the day.

On Saturday, we got up at 6:30 and left at 7:45 to head to Richmond VA. (We were supposed to leave at 7am. But with two babies, what can you do?) It is about 2 hours to Richmond. We were going to visit Aaron's sister Angela for the day. Angela's husband, Pat's sister was graduating from college and his whole family was up to celebrate. (I hope you can follow that). We spend Christmas with Pat's family as well and we really enjoyed our time with them. They are a really easy family to hang out with and fun too. 

We met them at Golden Corral and fed the boys some breakfast. First I had to change Micah's clothes because he had shook his entire sippy cup of water out on his lap. He was soaked. The boys really enjoyed running around after being in the car for 2 hours. 

After breakfast/brunch we went to the hotel  and went swimming. They had an indoor pool and it was so warm. Benji was a little hesitant at first but he starting having fun after a few minutes in the water. Micah LOVED it! He didn't want to be held and was so squirmy. He wanted to "swim" away. He loved it when we dunked him under the water (if you blow in a toddlers' face RIGHT before you dunk them, they will hold their breath for the moment you dunk them under). Both boys loved to "jump" off the side. We sat them on the edge and said "jump!" and they would lean forward and scoot their butt off. My arms were so sore the next day from lifting them up and down so many times. We had a blast. Poor Aunt Angela got peed on twice. Once by Micah while she was holding him on her lap by the pool and once by Benji when he was running around the hotel room naked and sprayed a stream 4 feet across the room. :) 

After swimming and showering we ate lunch with Pat, Angela and their boys at Five Guys at about 2:00. Poor babies were so tired! The slept just about the whole way home. Micah kept waking up and crying because he was hot but he didn't want to let go of his blankie. 

We rushed home and got Goldie (who had been in our bedroom all day) and then rushed to Aaron's first softball game of the season. He has played with a church league with some of the guys from his work for the past 3 years. He got the first run of the game (a HOMERUN!) and they won both of their games. YEA! The boys had SO much fun. Micah ran around the whole time and wanted to sit on the bench with all the other players. He played with the extra bats and balls and rubbed his hands in the dirt. Benji cheered the entire game. He said YEA YEA YEA!!! every time anyone hit the ball, on either team. Both boys said YEA DA DA! It was so cute. We had a blast. 

Ummm...no.

Benji is staring to talk a lot these days. He understands even more than he can say and when we ask the "right" question, he responds in a very enthusiastic and high pitched, "YEAH!"

He has also learned to say "no." More precisely he often says "umm....no." It is so cute. He really draws out the "ummm..." like he is thinking about it. 

The other day Aaron was watching the boys while I was at class and he was asking Benji all kinds of questions, all to which Benji was answering "ummm...no." Finally, Aaron asked him, "Can you say anything else?" Benji answered very matter-of-factly, "Yeah!"

Aaron: "Well, what else can you say?"

Benji: "Ummm....no." 

:) :) :) 

Stupid Dog!

We have had a very bad week with the dog. She had discovered that she has a taste for disposable diapers and likes to shred them on the living room floor. And she also likes to use the living room carpet as her personal potty. So frustrating! When I got out of the shower on Wednesday I found a disaster- she had shredded 5 poopy diapers all over the carpet (the smell was overwhelming) and peed and pooped herself. I was SO mad! It took me 45 minutes to clean it up. GRRR! Stupid dog. We are trying to be proactive about taking her out but she just won't go the bathroom when we take her out. The exception is while we are on a walk- she always goes to the bathroom when we walk her every day. But I can't walk her every time she needs to do her business.

To add to my bad luck for the day, my flip flop broke while I was out at play group. Sigh.

Update: she has done a LOT better today. No accidents in the house and she went in the yard TWICE, as well a on her walk. Thank GOD! I hope she is on the road to recovering from her pottying-in-the-house addiction. 

Teething Woes

I officially HATE teething.

Benjamin has been a bear this week. He now has 5 teeth but each one has come in with fever, crying, temper tantrums and over all distress for mommy and baby. SIGH. He had a fever for 3 days last week and was very sensitive to any little disruption to his life. 

Finally, that darn tooth popped through. It was a rough week with the teething, colds for Aaron and me, and my eye problems. PLUS, Goldie's  incision from her spaying (right before we got her) got infected and we had to take her to the vet. And we had a friend come and stay with us for three days in there too. It was great to see Anna (we hadn't seen her for a year as she was teaching in Thailand) and she helped me out with some of the driving I couldn't do. But I'm afraid she saw the worst side of Benji during the time she was here...

Easter hello?

This morning, Easter morning, while I was getting ready for church Micah found my phone and pressed the speed dial buttons just right to call my sister Chelsea in KS. She thought it was me and answered "Happy Easter!!"

Micah breathed heavily into the phone. 

Chelsea: Hello?

Micah: HI!!!!!!

Chelsea: Hi Micah!!

Micah: Hey! Hey! Hiiiiiii!!!!!

Then he hung up. 

I came in the room just then and quickly called her back. I bet she didn't expect an Easter hello from her 18 month old nephew this morning. :) 

I once was blind but now I see

I have had a very hard past week with my eyes. Almost two weeks ago, on Tuesday night my left eye started to get irritated. I thought it was pink eye again--for the third time since January! I was so mad. The other two times it cleared up so I kept wearing my contacts. It seemed to get better but by Friday morning, it was even worse than before. I went to the eye doctor that morning and he told me that I have an inflamed cornea and white blood cell deposits on my cornea. So, I had to stop wearing my contacts immediately and got a tiny $35 bottle of steroid drops to put in my eye 4 times a day.  We made another appointment for Monday. My glasses were not up to prescription so I knew I was in for a very long weekend and a really awful headache. I ordered new lenses for my glasses since I have had the same prescription since high school (!).

Fast forward to Monday. Now my right eye is infected and even worse than the left one! AHH! The drops had helped the left eye though so now the doctor told me to put drops in both eyes and to come back on Friday. I was so frustrated! Because I couldn't see, I couldn't drive so Aaron has had to drive me everywhere--doctors appointments, vet, grocery shopping, airport to pick up our friend on Wednesday etc. Plus the headache was awful. In the middle of all this I got a cold and completely lost my voice. 

But, my new glasses came in on Thursday so I can now see!! YEA! By Friday, both my eyes had cleared up but I can't wear my contacts for a month. That's right, a MONTH! Apparently if you get white blood cells flooding your cornea it is a bad thing. All of this "pink eye" happened because at the end of the month, my contacts were getting old and clogged and my eye was getting irritated with not enough oxygen. So, to prevent permanent damage, I am regulated to wearing my glasses until May 11th. So far, so good but it is really strange to wear glasses again full time. I am still getting used to them. 

Dog?

The boys' new favorite word is...can you guess? DOG! They say "dog" all day long, especially when they haven't seen Goldie in a while, like after their naps. Micah says, "Dog, dog, dog, dog, dog?" And Benji will say, "Hi! Hi! Hi! Hey dog!" It is so cute. They also recognize dogs on tv, movies, books, and toys. Sometimes they call animals "dogs" that aren't dogs, at all, like cats, or our stuffed toy opossum (a wonderful birthday present from their Aunt Candace....)

Well, last night, apparently, animals aren't the only thing the boys are calling "dog." Micah was sitting snuggled in Aaron's lap. Aaron had his arms around Micah and they were sitting contentedly. All of a sudden, Micah pointed to Aaron's arm, his rather hairy arm, and said "Dog?" We couldn't stop laughing. 

Goldie!

We have a DOG!!!! Yes, a dog! We got her this weekend, Saturday March 21 at 9:30pm.

In my last post, I mentioned that we were looking into getting a dog. We looked at petfinder.com and saw her picture online. I fell in love and knew that I had to e-mail the rescue to find out about her. Debra, one of the rescue owners, told us that she thought Goldie would be  perfect fit for our family--and she is! Goldie is a 2 year old yellow lab, about 70 lbs and has short legs! She is gentle, sweet, laid back and is completely non-aggressive. We think she may have been abused before she came to the rescue because she seems fearful at times and cowers down a lot when we want to do things like put on her leash. She just wants attention and to be loved. She loves to have her belly rubbed and go for walks. 

The boys love her! We introduced them to her Sunday morning. They just gasped and said, "Dog? Dog?" Micah said "Woof! Woof!" The kissed/licked her on the nose and loved to pet her. They also liked to poke her eyes and grab her mouth. We kept saying, "Gentle! Gentle!" but she didn't do anything. She just let them mess with her. She is going to be great with them.

She was kind of sad yesterday and just laid on her bed. We think that she is lonely for the other dogs at the shelter. She always had a buddy with her. She perked up when Aaron took her for walks. We also gave her a bath yesterday. She was STINKY! I hoped she would love the bath since labs are supposed to like water but she was terrified. Poor girl. I actually need to get some flea wash today because we spotted some little buggers on her. Great....

We are excited to be dog owners but nervous too! We think she is going to be a great addition to our family.  (I am still trying to figure out this picture thing....I really didn't want them all at the top...any advice, bloggers?)

Where I've been

Wow! It has been a long time since I blogged. I have been so busy! I survived the insane school work load and have now finished one of my classes. I actually read my term paper aloud today for an audience (of four- my professor and three of my fellow students) and got lots of great feedback. My paper compared Sandra Cisneros' "The House on Mango Street" and "Cinderella." Fun topic and fun paper. I am so glad it is over though!

In the middle of all this school work craziness, we went to FL for 5 days. Aaron's stepmom's mother died and we went down to FL from Thursday through Tuesday. We drove overnight on Thursday. The trip went really well except for Benji vomiting in the backseat at 2:30am. Carsick? Who knows! He was very happy after he threw up though. I guess he got all his sickness out. The boys were great and slept for most of the trip.

 It was a sad reason to make a trip but we really enjoyed seeing everyone and were glad we could be there to support the family during this hard time. There was a memorial service on Sunday that was very special. We also got to see my grandparents for brunch on Monday morning. We always meet them at Cracker Barrel in Tallahassee. We loved seeing them had a great time. Benji shared toast with jam with Nonnie and then decided to style his hair with blackberry jam. It was everywhere! The boys love going out to eat and we had lots of laughs and took lots of pictures with Nonnie and Poppie. We love seeing them! 

We also spent the night with my best friend from high school, Megan and her husband Matt in Atlanta. They have a beautiful and comfortable home and a very energetic puppy! The boys loved all the dogs we saw on this trip (there was one at every home we visited!) and their new favorite words are "dog," "pup," and "woof!" It is SOO cute! We are seriously asking ourselves if we want to get a dog now.....DOG, not puppy, though. We'll see...

The trip back was really long and stressful. The boys were really very good but it was difficult keeping them entertained for the LONG hours in the car. Micah's favorite game was dumping his snack bowl of cereal all over his lap over and over again. That child was swimming in cereal by the end of the trip. I just had to keep telling myself, "deep breaths! deep breaths!" Benji is not a very happy traveler but thankfully slept most of the way. He has a really hard time dealing with change in routine and cried a lot while we were away and was very clingy. He is SO glad to be home and hopefully will be back to his happy self soon. 

While we were away, Lynchburg was dumped with 8 inches of snow!!! We were enjoying the sunny weather in FL but were sad to miss such an awesome snowfall. Apparently there were some other things falling while we were away too- my (original) painting that was setting on our mantel fell off while we were gone and shattered! There was glass all over our living room when were walked in the door. All I could say was, "oh no! oh no!" Aaron was afraid someone broke in. Thankfully, that was not the case but I was really sad about the painting. It was punctured by a utility knife that was on the floor but hopefully it can be fixed. I tried to pick up as much glass as possible before I had to rush to class. Tuesday is my busy night- I usually don't get home until 9:30 but amazingly my professor let us out at 8:30! YEA! It was so good to go to bed. I worked on the chaos that is "coming home from a trip" today so the house is a little back in order but it still needs some work in the coming days. Whew! Life is an adventure! I'll try to be more faithful about blogging in the future but who knows what else life will bring in the day ahead. :)

Where I've been

I realized I haven't blogged in about 2 weeks. And this will be short. I am SWAMPED with school work! I have a huge paper due at the end of this week and have only had a week and a half to work on it, thanks to my teacher only letting us know of the deadline a week and a half ago. Grr. Plus I have book review due for another class on Friday as well. I am still frantically trying to get the book read. I can only work on school work while the boys are sleeping so I have been up late every night and letting housework go out the window as I am hitting the books during nap times. And I am sick. Life is hard to say the least. Tired, tired, tired. I just need to survived until the end of the month when one of my classes ends. Say a prayer for me!

On Dancing with my Sons

Turn up the music

I love this song

Hold me, hold me

Bounce and sway

Socks on linoleum

Twirl and spin

Hold on tight

Again, again

Laugh and coo

Head on my shoulder

Tender kiss

The melody surrounds us

And this moment lingers

Like honey on the tongue

Potty Seat

I guess I am writing a lot about potties lately....

I bought a potty seat today. You know, the ones that fit on top of the regular toilet seat? It is soft and has ducks on it. :) I know the boys are only 16 months old but hear me out. I have been having them sit on the potty to poop since they were about 7 months old. Micah has really taken to it and really likes to sit on the potty. Benjamin, not so much. Micah, on the other hand, wants to sit on the toilet at least once a day, sometimes more. 

On Saturday, Micah started grunting and went into the bathroom and starting banging the toilet lid up and down. Aaron asked him if he wanted to poop and Micah got all excited. So, Aaron helped him sit on the toilet. I don't think he pooped- just had some gas. But he's got the idea. So, I bought our first potty seat today. Sniff! My little boys are growing up. 

25 Random Things

Ok, so everyone is doing 25 Random Things about themselves on facebook. I couldn't miss out on the fun so here is my note. 

25 Random Things

Potty Humor

I knew it was only a matter of time....

I was doing the dishes this morning and realized that the boys had been awfully quiet. I decided to investigate and discovered Benjamin in the bathroom with the toilet paper all unrolled. Thankfully it was the end of the roll. He was standing in the bathroom between the toilet and the wall holding a remote control. Thank goodness the toilet lid was down! And he had thrown the toilet brush out into the hall. LOL! Oh, I love my kiddos! :) I don't know what hand Micah had in this escapade. He was sitting happily in the living room. I guess I'll never know...until next time! 

That darn tooth!

Benjamin had a terrible day yesterday. Aaron brought him to our bed for me to nurse. He nursed for FOREVER! I am down to two nursings a day and usually they only nurse for about 5 minutes or so. But Benji probably nursed for 15 minutes. And he felt really warm. We took his temperature at it was 102.8! Poor  boy! Aaron loves to snuggle with the boys when they don't feel well so Benji had lots of  Daddy snuggles yesterday. His nose and eyes were poring all day long. I was planning on going to our weekly play group at 10:30 that morning but that idea was kicked to the curb because I was sure that Benji was coming down with some terrible sickness. He didn't even sleep very well during naps and would wake up wailing. We didn't give him any tylenol or ibuprofen because I wanted to let the fever "fight" whatever germs were "attacking" his body. Aaron was wonderful enough to stay home with both boys while I went out to lunch with Candace. We had planned the lunch date earlier in the week and had a great time at Applebee's. YUM!

By that evening the fever reduced and Benji seemed to be feeling a little better. On a whim, I felt inside his mouth and lo and behold, his second tooth had popped through his gum. Poor baby! I let him suffer all day with the fever and pain and it was all because of a tooth! Teething is hard work--for baby and for mom and dad. I hope Micah's come in without incident. He has yet to cut is first tooth. 

Good Weekend

Aaron and I have this weird radar between the two of us--food/restaurant cravings! One of us will say (usually too late) "I feel like Texas Road House/Chinese/Subway etc" and the other one will say "Me too! Why didn't you say something?"

Well, after sleeping in on Saturday morning (the boys were gracious and didn't make a peep until 9am! Amazing!) I got up and ate a bowl of cereal. I then got the boys up and nursed them. They started to play and I told Aaron, "Today would be a good day to go to IHOP. Too bad I just ate breakfast." And of course he said, "I was just thinking about going to IHOP! Do you want to go?" So we hurried and got the boys ready and I threw my hair into a pony tail and off we went. We had a WONDERFUL time! The boys sat in the high chairs and flirted with the waitresses as they came in and out of the kitchen. And they put away some FOOD! They ate a stack of 3 pancakes and scrambled eggs between the two of them, plus cherrios while we were waiting for the food. Micah couldn't get bites in fast enough. He is a very fierce eater! That boy is serious about his food! I got the Country omlette- yum! And Aaron had eggs, bacon, pancakes, etc. Are you hungry yet? We were there for an hour and the boys did great. 

The boys took a good nap when we got home and Aaron and I enjoyed a fire in our fireplace all day long. Mmmmmm. It was 3 degrees when we went to IHOP. Brrrrr!!!!!

Sunday morning I officially taught my first lesson as the Senior High Sunday School teacher. It went really well. I hope to build even better relationships with the kids as the weeks go by. 

After church we had a couple and their baby over for lunch. Jay, Tracey and Adalie are the only other couple in our church that our our age and have a child the boys' age. Micah, Benji and Adalie are good friends. She gets so excited whenever they come into the nursery and they all play together really well. For lunch today, I made Italian potato, sausage and kale soup and homemade key lime pie (key limes compliments of Aaron's dad who brought them up from Florida!) Everything turned out deliciously! We had a great visit with them even though Adalie didn't get to play with her "boyfriends" during lunch--they always conk out after church. 

Little Monkey (and other news!)

Micah and Benjamin have been getting really talkative lately. The latest super cute thing that Micah has been doing is making animal sounds. We have this little stuffed monkey that he pulled off his mobile. I say "What does the monkey say?" and then I say "Oooo, ahh, ahh ahh!" (oh the things you do for your kids). Micah then squeals over and over again while waving the monkey over his head. He also points to a monkey in one of his books and squeals. TOO CUTE!

Micah also has been saying "ni-night" on a regular basis. 

Benji's favorite words are "ball" and "book" (or "ba!" and "Bu!") and of course, "Da-da!"

Both the boys learned the sign for "please" on Wednesday and we try to have them use it when they want snacks, a drink, etc. 

Weight update: As of Wednesday, Micah weighs 17 lbs 5 oz and Benjamin weighs 15 lbs 6 oz. SKINNY boys! 

LONG week

Well, I survived my Bibliography and Research intensive. It was actually a really good class and I SO enjoyed being back with my fellow English majors, as weird as we might be. We were able to have some great discussions about literature, language, the duty of a Christian critic, and the qualities of "good" writing.

The class was slightly overwhelming- so much information in one week. We had about 4 hours of lecture in the morning and then did research/ group meetings in the afternoons. I was gone every day from about 8am-4pm. My mom said the boys were angels for her! I am so glad. But as soon as I walked in the door it was "whine, whine," cling, cling, "mama, mama." Which lets me know that I was missed but hard at the end of a long day. It really wasn't as hard as I thought to be away from them. This was the longest time that I had ever been away since they were born. 

It was nice to feel like an intellectual woman for a change instead of just a mommy. Motherhood is rewarding, but it is nice to have a real conversation that doesn't include the words "juice," "all done?" "stinky," or "sit!"

My master's degree is going to be a lot of fun and a LOT of work. I hope I can balance it all without having an emotional breakdown or be stressed out all the time. Say a prayer for me as I start my regular classes this coming week! I am taking TR classes. Tuesdays will be 5:10p-6:25p and 6:30p-9:30p (ug!) and Thursdays will be 5:10p-6:25p. I am taking Classic Greek Literature and Non-Fiction Writing. Should be lots of fun! 

Back in my Element

I am back in school! I have officially started my M.A. in English yesterday. I am taking a research and bibliography intensive this week from 8am-4:30pm. It is so nice to be with my fellow English majors again. I have really enjoyed the discussion and literature. I really feel like I am back in my element. I know this is the right program for me. :) The only down side is that I am really tired at the end of the day and now have lots of reading and homework.

The other downside is that I am away from the boys. This is the longest I have ever been away from them. My mom is here from KS taking care of them during the day. It is nice to have her here. She has even been doing things like the laundry and changing sheets. She says that the boys have been great. In her words, "These have been some of the most relaxing days I've had in a long time." YEA! I'm glad the boys have been angels. Only three days left! This is a really busy week for us. We have a busy weekend at church this weekend too. Whew! My regular classes start next Tuesday. 

New Years Resolutions

I was really into resolutions when I was younger, making lists in journals or lavender flowered notebooks of how I was going to improve myself for the year. For the last two years, I have not written any resolutions. Two years ago, my only goal was to graduate from college. DONE. Last year, it was to survive. DONE. I thought I would be  a little more adventurous this year. So here are some of my goals, boring as they may be:

1. Keep up with house work. When you have kids, it is almost impossible to keep the house clean. I am determined (I think...) to tackle the dirt and Cheerio crumbs head on. I even made a daily cleaning schedule of each task I want to do each day. We'll see how that goes...

2. Keep my car clean. One of my other downfalls. We (ok, Aaron) cleaned out the car before we went to WV for Christmas and it is currently free of any Sonic cups, used Kleenexes and all other crap that seems to have an attraction for my car. I really like having my car clutter free so...we will also see how this resolution goes. 

3. Work on my book consistently. I am currently writing a novel and have 40 pages. Doesn't seem like a whole lot but...hey, it is a labor of love. I thought about making goals for myself like, write for an hour a day, or 10 pages a week but I don't want to disappoint myself. So, "consistently" is the best I can do. I am probably more dedicated to this goal than keeping my car or bathroom tub spotless though....

4. Maintain at least a 3.5 GPA. I want to do well in grad school. There is no room for debate in this resolution. 

5. Love myself and love my life! As the keeper of my own happiness, only I can live my life to the fullest. Bring it on, 2009! Let's rock and roll!