Tuesday, July 31, 2012

Friday Night Play Date

I know I have said this before, but getting good pictures of children is tricky.

Baby Thomas didn't even make the group photo. He was chilling out in Charlie's crib taking an evening nap, that wasn't sitting very well with his Mamma. 

I sure do not miss the days of freaking out when your child is sleeping at 7pm, as you know it usually means that they will not sleep well at night. Thomas is a rock star though and is a good little sleeper for his mommy. 

These kids had a great Friday night!

This one above might be the best shot, even though Evan is chugging out of the watering can.




Evan is 3 months younger than the twins. I think they will grow up to be really good buddies!

Monday, July 30, 2012

Happy Birthday Great Grandma Lilly

This peach of a lady below would of been 87 today!

I miss her so much and think about her all the time. I have so many good memories of this lady, it just makes me smile! This picture below is almost spooky how much my Lilly looks like her Great Grandma Lilly when she was a kid. I need to get some of her old baby pictures scanned so you guys actually believe me.



Friday, July 27, 2012

Friday Fun

Random Things I Learned This Week
  • Never assume a small brown thing on the carpet is a dried up leaf, there is a chance it could be a turd.
  • Never assume that your son will sit nicely in the tub while it drains, while you diaper and dress his twin sister. He may try to speed up the drainage process by dumping cups of water onto your bathroom floor, causing a wet mess.
  • If you show your kids how you can blow bubbles with Chewing Gum, they will ask you to keep doing it until your Jaw Cramps Up. Their belly laughs make it worth it.
  • Your daughter Lilly pronounces her name "Yiddy", and instead of correcting her, I think it is the cutest damn thing in the world and make her repeat her name as much as I can.
  • Just like the statement above, Yiddy loves CROCKET NELK! (Chocolate Milk)
  • Cabin fever does not only happen in the winter. It can happen when it is 100 degrees outside, too. You get bored, real bored having to keep 2 Toddlers in the house. Actually they get bored, and you get CRAZY. Maybe even bored and crazy enough to dress  your SON in your daughter's duds.

  • The kids are ok and have a blast while you work. (I knew this all along but needed something to fit the pictures below)



TGIF
One of my favorite funny quotes:

"Before you judge someone, walk a mile in their shoes. That way, when you do judge them, you'll be a mile away AND you'll have their shoes..."

Monday, July 23, 2012

Monday Monday.....

     So my previous BLOG post today, that was totally complaining about the Dog Days of Summer, may have worked. Today when I pulled into our garage, after picking them up from daycare, I glanced at the Thermometer on my rear view mirror and it ONLY SAID 85! That's right, low enough to let them play!  We even had little sprinkles to keep us cool.

     My camera has been in neutral since we got back from vacation last week, so I decided it was a good time to break it out as well.


Charlie was in the garden with Grandpa today when I picked him up.

Bubbles!

Charlie still doesn't know enough to keep the bubble blower off his lips.

He even watches his sissy to try and copy her.


It will come with time, Buddy!

They loved it when I would blow bubbles in the the grass and let them chase them.


We did a little putt putt in the front yard.



Lilly is my kid. I usually end up sitting in the golf cart like this after about 7 or 8 holes....


I started to teach them tonight about the importance of "looking both ways" before entering the street to get the stray toys/balls. They are far from being 100%, but they are getting the idea....

Dog Days...

These dog days of summer are over rated and flat out DUMB. These little munchkins can't even play outside due to the humidity level. We are ready for Fall/Winter here. I haven't even ran that one by Adam, but I am speaking for us all I think. I might be exaggerating about ready for Winter, but I would take a Fall Day for sure!

"Winter of 2011"


"Fall of 2010"


I mean, let's get real here. My daughter is even Panting in this heat :)

Tuesday, July 17, 2012

The Year You Were Born



I have recently come across a website that helps parents "fill" their kids baby books with the little things that new mom's have no power of remembering. I do have actual hard cover books that I have been trying to keep up as well, but I definitely have trouble doing it. I do plan to turn this blog or parts of it into a book some day as well. Maybe I will do each year separately even!  It is actually easier than it sounds due to technology and awesome websites.

I just have a hard time trying to think of what a loaf of bread costs, a movie ticket, etc.. Just for fun, here is what the handy website said for the year 2009!  The twins were born at the tail end of 2009, so I am sure a lot of the stuff I remember on TV from Maternity leave is from 2010. The main thing I remember is the Terrible Earthquake in Haiti happening shortly after the twins were born. I sat on the couch and watched hours and hours of the coverage while keeping the two, fed, diapered, and as happy as I could (with the help of my weekly rotating, nannies)

Cost of things (averages):


Gallon of Milk~ $2.69

Dozen Eggs~ $1.34

Loaf of bread~ $1.45

U.S. Postage Stamp~ 42 cents

New Car Price~ $28,400

Gallon of Gas~ $2.51

Movie Ticket~ $7.18

Price of new house~ $232,880

Top Celebrities:

• Michael Jackson

• Sandra Bullock

• Susan Boyle

• Jennifer Aniston

• Adam Lambert

• Kobe Bryant

• Chris Brown

• Johnny Depp

• Chuck Norris

• Joe Wilson

• Tiger Woods

• Christian Bale

• A-Rod (Alex Rodriguez)

Top Music Albums:

Lil’ Wayne, Tha Carter III

Coldplay, Viva La Vida

Taylor Swift, Fearless

Kid Rock, Rock n Roll Jesus

AC/DC, Black Ice

Taylor Swift, Taylor Swift

Metallica, Death Magnetic

T.I., Paper Trail

Jack Johnson, Sleep Through the Static

Beyonce, I Am … Sasha Fierce

Top Television Shows:

American Idol

Dancing with the Stars

NBC Sunday Night Football

Dancing with the Stars – Results Show

NCIS: Los Angeles

NCIS

NFL Regular Season ESPN

Sunday Night NFL Pre-kick

The Good Wife

Top Movies:

Transformers: Revenge of the Fallen

Avatar

Harry Potter and the Half-Blood Prince

Up

The Twilight Saga: New Moon

The Hangover

Star Trek

The Blind Side

Monsters Vs. Aliens

Ice Age: Dawn of the Dinosaurs

Top Books:

Going Rogue: An American Life- by Sarah Palin

‘Have a Little Faith: A True Story- by Mitch Albom

True Compass- by Edward M. Kennedy

Arguing With Idiots: How to Stop Small Minds and Big Government- by Glenn Beck and Kevin Balfe

Open: An Autobiography- by Andre Agassi

The Lost Symbol- by Dan Brown

I, Alex Cross- by James Patterson

Under the Dome- by Stephen King

Pirate Latitudes- by Michael Crichton

U is for Underflow- by Sue Grafton

Top Fashion Trends:

Ruffles – it seems that this feminine look was all the rage.

Transparent, gauzy fabrics – but not see through.

Bold, graphic patterns

One-shouldered dresses

Jumpsuits

Shorts as evening wear

Leggings

Sequins and Glitter

Leather Jackets

Hats

World Leaders:

President Barack Obama– USA

Prime Minister Gordon Brown – UK

President Hu Jintao – China

President Pratibha Patil – India

Prime Minister Kevin Michael Rudd – Australia

Prime Minister Nicolas Sarkozy – France

President Horst Kohler – Germany

President Dmitry Medvedev- Russia

Major Events:

Barack Obama, the United States first African American President was sworn into office on January 20, 2009.

Michael Jackson, the self-described “King of Pop” died of an apparent heart attack on June 25th. It was later found out that he was under heavy sedation at the time his heart stopped in a controversy that will surely continue for the next year. Jackson was one of many celebrities who passed away in 2009 which was included other high-profile deaths including: Farrah Fawcett, Natasha Richardson, Bea Arthur, Dom DeLuise, Karl Malden, David Carradine, Patrick Swayze, John Hughes, Ed McMahon, Walter Cronkite and Don Hewitt, Senator Edward Kennedy, Britney Murphy, Authors John Updike, Frank McCourt and Dominick Dunne, blues legend Koko Taylor, Ventures guitarist Bob Bogle, Mary Travers of Peter, Paul & Mary, guitar innovator Les Paul , Adam “DJ AM” Goldstein. NFL players Steve McNair and Chris Henry, veteran basketball coach Chuck Daly. Former U.S. Housing Secretary Jack Kemp, Oxiclean pitchman Billy Mays and Gidget, the Chihuahua best known for hawking Taco Bell.

Bernard Madoff was convicted of a operating a “Ponzi Scheme” which duped many people out of their retirement money. He will serve 150 years.

The World Health Organization declared the H1N1 Virus, otherwise known as the Swine Flu, a pandemic. By the end of the year, the predicted vaccine shortages and potential large death toll proved not to be.

Pop Culture:

In February we listened to a leaked audio tape of Christian Bale unleashing a torrent of verbal abuse in the direction of the happless director of photography on ‘Terminator Salvation’ who apparently got in his line of vision as he filmed an intense scene. Chris Brown was involved in a brutal altercation with then-girlfriend Rihanna, earning himself a community service stint and five years’ probation for felony assault. Jennifer Aniston and Angelina Jolie had their highly-anticapated ‘Oscar Showdown’, which involved Jen looking very uncomfortable as she presented an award on stage, while Angie looked angelic and laughed in all the right places from the front row.

In March, ‘Octomom’ Nadya Suleman gave birth to eight babies and a reality TV show concept, Jennifer Aniston and John Mayer split for the third and final time. British Prime Minister Gordon Brown was among those who paid tribute to ‘Big Brother’ star Jade Goody, who lost her battle with cancer at the age of 27.

In June the king of pop Michael Jackson died, Charlie’s Angels beauty Farrah Fawcett lost her long battle with cancer at the age of 62, and the tragic death of Mike Tyson’s daughter.

August; after a tragic 2008 which saw the murder of her mother and brother, Jennifer Hudson celebrated the birth of her first child, a baby boy called David Daniel Otunga Jr. DJ AM tragically died from an accidental drugs overdose, just eleven months after he and friend Travis Barker survived a horrifying plane crash.

September; Dirty Dancing star Patrick Swayze passed away after a battle with pancreatic cancer. Nicole Richie gave birth to a little boy called Sparrow.

December; Tiger Woods’ squeaky clean image was shattered by tabloid allegations of infidelity, which grew by the day as more waitresses, hostesses and porn stars were linked to the married golf superstar.

Technology and Science:

  • Twitter
  • Smart phones
  • Google Wave
  • Macbook
  • Ebooks
  • Mobile apps
  • Snow Leopard
  • Tweetdeck
  • Facebook
  • Smart-grid energy 
  • Windows 7
  • CES
  • Palm Pre
  • Google Latitude
  • Macworld

……………………..

-Several vaccines for dengue fever, a disease that strikes roughly 230 million people each year, showed promise in preliminary human trials.

-Researchers at the Israel Institute of Technology in Haifa built a sensor that can smell cancer.

-In the first major pharmaceutical extension of lifespan in a mammal, scientists gave elderly mice Rapamycin, an immunosuppressant used to slow cell growth in cancer patients. After taking the drug, the rodents lived a mouse equivalent of 13 extra years.



Sunday, July 15, 2012

We're Back

Well, our third family vacation is now in the books.

We had a great week, great weather, and lots of fun in the SUN!


I have over 100 pictures but will just give you 30 or so on here. I am sure other ones will make an appearance down the road as well.




Lilly is 100% my daughter. She loves the water and can spend hours in a pool or lake.



The kiddos had a TV to settle down to every once in awhile, and it was well needed for their tired little bodies.




Lilly rocks hats pretty well, even her daddy's fishing hat. Those eyes, are eyes of a "nap-less" 2 1/2 year old.
Evening boat rides were the best. I however did not go on one ride all week. I stayed back and tended to whatever children needed tending to.

Cousins!
Visited the headwaters of the Mississippi River!


Charlie wasn't too sure on all the people and the new surroundings, so he stuck by his "rock." His daddy!

Here is my little Lilly fish again!


We had great weather. A bit warm some days, but we had the option of a pool or lake to cool down in.


Charlie is going to for sure take up the sport of fishing. He loved it. He dropped his first pole in the water, but we bought him a new one the next day.  Neither daddy or Uncle Russ wanted to go overboard in search of a $11 pole, in the weedy/muddy part of the lake.



Lilly scored some cheap jewelry downtown Park Rapids.



We came home with 5 to 6 loads of dirty laundry. 100% worth it!
 Charlie perfected his cast!




This is how we all looked at felt by the end of the week. Tired!



Great week. Back to work tomorrow. It has been a nice break from reality, but ready for a routine again, I think. All four of us have a shock coming tomorrow when we have to be awake before 9am!