Weekend Recap

We saw Lion King! It was unbelievable! We had a really good dinner before at Fogo De Chao as well.

Nice little Saturday!

Twins went sledding for the first time with Grandpa Jeff and Auntie Angie!

Grandma's House

I know you go to Grandma's house everyday, but this weekend you are also spending the night there on Saturday. Just you, two! Daddy got me tickets to the Lion King at the Orpheum Theatre in Minneapolis for my birthday. We have a nice little Saturday planned as we venture to The City!
1. Baby Shower
2.Dinner at Fogo De Chao
3. Lion King

We thought about staying in a hotel, but decided to drive home instead. I am looking forward to Lion King, as I have heard NOTHING but GREAT reviews on it.

Yesterday before I headed out the door with you from Grandma's house, I snapped some pics of you on the couch with some of your cousins!

Below, I am not 100% sure if Lilly is hugging Charlie or strangling him, but he seems to like it.

TGIF!

New Duds

The bonus of trying out all the new Christmas outfits, is seeing how excited this little boy can get over the small things in life. This top has 3 VERY cool features.

1. Zipper

2. Football on it

3. Pockets (notice his hands are in them) 

**I'm a fan of the popped collar as well.

He threw a fit when it was time to take the new duds off for the nightly transformation into his cozy footed pajamas.

Tax Season

 It's the time of the year when people are gathering up their documents to do their taxes from the previous year. Look at my little tax deductions at work.
I was catching up on some work emails Sunday afternoon, due to missing a bit of work Friday.  These two were amazed by the post it notes. Combination of paper and a sticker...who knew!

I also had my fun with post it notes.

 I know totally immature of me, but I sure got a laugh out of it.

Taxes, after all, are dues that we pay for the privileges of membership in an organized society. ~Franklin D. Roosevelt

Viewer Discrection Is Advised

**If you have a weak stomach, do not view picture below.

Well, this past weekend we didn't have much planned, and that is probably a good thing! Friday morning I didn't feel the best and felt a cold coming on. I didn't think much of it. It kept getting worse, and worse. By lunchtime I was feeling like a train hit me and my right eye started to water and feel as if I had sand in my eyelid. At 2pm, I logged off my work computer and settled into the recliner. At 3:30, I told Adam to call Gma Nellie and see if he can pick them up from daycare when he got off at 6pm, as I knew something was up.

When Adam arrived home with the kids, I said HI to them and left in the Yukon to go to Urgent Care in St. Cloud, as I knew I needed to be seen.

I knew I had pink eye, and I was pretty sure the pressure and headache I had were sure signs of a Sinus Infection (which I have NEVER had in my life).  I was seen and prescribed Eye Drops, and Anti Biotic for my sinus infection. They also did an eye test on me and assured me I am needing glasses more than just "reading." I knew they would say that, too.

Below was my eye Saturday morning. Pretty sure I am glad I went in Friday and didn't have to walk into a clinic looking like this.

Sunday night I started to come around and felt the pressure in my head residing. I even ventured to St. Cloud with Lilly for a dinner date. Adam wanted to stay home and watch Football, so I left Charlie with him. Lilly and I ate at Texas Roadhouse. It recently opened last spring, and I have wanted to try it out. It was pretty good!  Lilly's request when I asked her what she wanted was  "Fren Fries...and CATHSUP" So easy to please at this age. 

There were peanut shells on the floor at this place and Lilly's refusal to walk on them and her screaming.. "ICKY" at the sight of them made me laugh and made her look very high maintenance to the other restaurant patrons.

It was a good ending to a not so good weekend for me, but I am so glad it happened this past weekend, and not this coming weekend! Adam and I go see Lion King this coming Saturday! I can't wait!

Cabin Fever

The twins are handling being stuck at home this winter a lot better than I planned. I probably jinxed myself.
I mean Lilly loves playing in the house and egging her brother on to chase her. Yes she will stand on one side of the room and shout...CHHHAAAIIIEEE Come Get Me! As soon as he starts in her direction she runs the other way with the cutest trot and giggle.

They keep themselves pretty busy between their downstairs cave and making the trek up 2 flights upstairs to check on Adam and I while we are watching our nightly sitcoms. Lilly definitely stays more busy down there, and Charlie definitely likes to bug us...oops did I say that? I meant Charlie definitely likes to spend quality time with Mom and Dad by his side.

The other night though, I think Lilly was trying to give mother nature a hint.

Deja Vu

Do you ever have those moments where certain sites, smells, sounds or television shows bring you back in time? I do...and especially with TV shows. The Happy Days theme song brings me WAY back to supper time in my early youth. I bet age, 4, 5 or 6 maybe? It must have been on in the background during dinner time back in the mid 80's. Beverly Hills 90210 brings me back to the my junior high days. The Knots Landing Theme song reminds me of my mother.  There are many more, and I am sure this has your mind going as well as you read this.

Anyways...

Lastnight was the season premiere of American Idol. Although I wouldn't call myself a HUGE American Idol follower, I am a fan of the first couple weeks when they get the "doozies" on there that think they can sing.  This brings me back two years ago when I was house bound at home with 7 week old Twins. I had rotating nannies/house guests coming for blocks of days helping out with the chaos. Well the premiere 2 years ago had a really FUNNY guy audition and he sang a song about "Pants on the Ground." Do you remember him? I do very clearly and I think he was the only thing that made me laugh that whole month as I was the most TIRED I had ever been in my whole life.

Lastnight I looked over to my right and realized how much things have changed, and how much more rested I felt. Although you guys still keep me on my toes and stress me out. The fact that I can usually sleep 7 hours solid at night helps a TON!

I Wanna Run Through The Halls Of My High School....

Words of Advice: If you ever feel like your 2 year old is getting too big too fast, take him/her to the local High School some Friday Night for any event,  and take a picture of his/her tiny figure in the huge halls of the High School. I can just imagine her in 14 years owning these halls.

On Our Way Up

That virus that swept through our house was a nasty one! I think we went though a gallon of Motrin.
We are slowly but surely getting back to the swing of things around here.

Airplane Rides

Coloring is coming back, and Lilly's eyes don't look so miserable.

They say "All good things must come to an end"...

Same goes for all BAD things.

The silver lining to this bug sweeping through our house was all the cuddle time I got to soak up!

This picture above was Sunday nap time. Her fever broke during nap and she was in an all out sweat. Poor baby.

Jinxed Myself

I was just pondering last week how the kids have been pretty "healthy" this season so far, and we only had to deal with a couple colds that were over and done within 48 hours. As I was pondering this thought, I was also hoping I wasn't jinxing myself.  I have seen hundreds of posts on Facebook of parents claiming that their families are down and out with the Nasty Flu. 
See above picture. Kids have colds (not the flu...knock on wood) that are a bit more than the average cold. Charlie is just running a fever, but Lilly is accompanied by a hack.  I took Lilly into the Doctor yesterday just to confirm her ears were clear, and they were. We left with the annoying... just load up on fluids, honey, and Motrin and it will pass.

Lilly gets Honey Elixir and Motrin as you can see above, and Charlie just gets Motrin until the hack sets in.

Tiny Dancer

I love the song Tiny Dancer by Elton John. It brings me back to college, and me and my girlfriends would hear that song over the speakers at any local bar, and just bellow the words out and sway back and forth and wrap our arms around eachother. .

Charlie brought this song back up into my memory by being my "Tiny Dancer"

A couple weekends ago, Lilly was rocking the fairy outfit, and once she took it off, Charlie wanted it on right away. I knew it would end up video material, and it did.

Click Here For Video

P.S. Twins graduated to Size 5 diapers this week.

Lil' and Len

1. No Leni can't jump onto our island.

2. No this doesn't happen often nor is allowed.

Lilly and I were sitting at the island together talking about what was to come that evening and eating animal crackers. Leni insisted on being on my lap, and before I knew it, he made his way up to the island to beg Lilly for a bite of her animal cracker. I had to grab my phone and capture the moment.  If you could hear Lilly telling Leni to sit, or see her offer up a cracker to him, it would definitely make you smile.

Let's Get Ready To Rumble

Wrestling is a new sport for me, but is a Mergen ritual. Papa Jeff coached for many many years, and you daddy wrestled all the way into his 20's. First at Rocori, and then ended his career at St. John's University.  Your daddy brought me to my first wrestling match when we were dating. We went to see the Minnesota Gophers take on..umm I don't even remember. I guess it was a HUGE match. Now that we live back in daddy's old stomping ground, we get to go to Rocori Wrestling Matches. I think we planned on doing this last winter, but you guys still pretty much called the shots still last  year, and we didn't take you many places due to hard work.

This past Friday night we went to Rocori's first HOME MATCH in their BRAND NEW GYM! It was pretty nice. Lilly was scared at first due to the loud cheering, music, and announcer's loud bellowing voice. She became very comfortable in minutes, and was munching on popcorn, dancing to AC/DC between matches, and yelling GO GO GO!

Charlie was in awe. I think he was very surprised that those kids were getting away with fighting/wrestling and their mom's were not giving them time outs! I felt a bit nostalgic sitting in a school gym on a Friday night. It brought me back to the days of being a kid, and running around under the bleachers until our parents would say. "I am not bringing you here again, if all you do is run around!"  I saw kids running around that night and realized that they were having the time of their life, and so was I.

The Key To Keeping The Mergen Twins occupied... provide POPCORN.

Bathtime Fun

Auntie Karrie and her boys including her big boy, Chris came to visit after Xmas and stayed a couple days. Karrie snapped some cute bath pics.  I have a picture similar to this picture below when I was a kid, except my father has 2 horns on the top of my head and they stick up perfectly since my hair was a bit shorter.

Charlie's Signature Face. When he is really trying hard to pronounce something his lips typically end up like this. Especially if he is dying of thirst and wants...JUUUUUIIIICCCCE.

They LOVE BUBBLES!

Lilly with her SASSY arm cross that she will do if she isn't a fan of things.

Helping wash brother's back

The Twins really like Uncle Chris, I wonder why....

Lunch Break

I am pretty sure I won't be able to post many posts like this down the road. Lunch break on 1-5-2012, took a walk with the dog, and broke a sweat in the balmy 46 degrees. Thought I needed my North Face, Hat, and Gloves. When I walked in the door I had my hat in my hands, gloves off in my pocket, my coat unzipped, and Rosie cheeks. The dog was a soggy mess and needed a quick bath before I returned to work for my 1pm meeting.

Happy Wife, Happy Life!

This girl is going to be just like me. She likes ORDER and when there is ORDER she is Happy.

See the glow in her face when all her people are lined up in order?

Order is good!

Some day I will teach her the phrase:

Happy Wife, Happy  Life!

Back To The Grind

Back to reality this morning. No more sleeping in until you feel like it, no more sleepers all day long types of days, no more demanding movies, coloring, juice, and "ahhh eat" from me or dad whenever you feel like it, and getting YOUR way.

Back to Reality and 40 hour work weeks. Daycare structure is back in session. I do have to admit I was getting kind of bored sitting around the house. Too cold to go outside  yesterday.

Not sure who had a harder time this morning, me or the kids. 2012 will be an exciting year for the twins. The two big milestones I bet they hit sometime this year will be.

1. The cribs will eventually be turned into beds.

**This picture is on her friend Lucy's bed**

2. You will HOPEFULLY start  using the Toilet one of these days.

Lastnight Charlie and I played house. He was my baby for 5 min with a fake bottle. Not sure who enjoyed it more, me or him.

Here is what your dad has to look forward to in 2012.

 

I hate to jump on the  bandwagon of working out for the New Year Resolution, as most people fail...but. I have started to slowly get into the work out groove since November. SLOWLY I remind you. I do however have a mindset to stay focused and no more excuses.

I also would like to grow my hair back out, too.

Flashback

What's your New Years Resolution or what are you looking forward to in the New Year?