So how many of you have heard/seen me say/type “I can’t wait till the girls start school!”?? C’mon, show of hands… don’t be scared…  Yeah, well, that time is here. They start school next week. Yes. I said NEXT WEEK. CRAP!!!! I’m so not ready for this!

I think back to the day Daddy and I went in for our first ultrasound. I was 22 weeks pregnant, larger than I imagined I would be, but didn’t have a single thought in my mind about more than one baby being in there. Just two weeks prior, we had heard the heartbeat… of “a very active baby” as my OB would put it.. We went out and shopped for everything we’d need … Stroller, crib, car seat… you name it, we bought it. We thought we were all ready…. and then… the ultrasound tech said something that changed our lives. “you’ve got two babies in there!”. Did I just hear that right??? Yes.. there they were… two little blips on the screen. I think I speak for the both of us when I say that we were shocked…  but it was a good kinda shocked…

Anyhow.. long story shorter… That day was an emotional day… Good emotional though… really… I never thought I’d ever have twins… That day changed everything. No longer did I want to go back to work… I wanted to make sure I was home with the girls…. and so it was… LOL… I’ve had 5 years with them… hardly any time away from them… We’ve had fun times, we’ve had tough times. We’ve laughed, cried, snuggled and argued… One thing we’ve always tried to do was enjoy the time we’ve had together…

In just a few days, my girls will be going to Kindergarten. Yes. Kindergarten… not half day, but the full day. I’m going to be going from “madhouse” to silence and all alone. I’m just overwhelmed with life… Things going on all around me… and the girls going to school… Yeah Yeah.. I’ve been saying that I couldn’t wait till the girls start school… Yes, things will be so much easier in some respects. I’ll have time to go to the doctor, time to concentrate on things I need to do… I might have a clean house longer than not now… What will I do? Well, I’m going to work from home, I’m going to be there for my girls, and I’m going to exercise like crazy! I’ve lost weight… I’m down from a 22 to a 16.. And that’s with 5 months of TaeKwonDo… going two nights per week. Can you imagine if I had more time to exercise? Yeah.. I’ll be smaller by Winter… Which is a good thing! A very good thing!

Anyway.. It’s just been an emotional time here… and it seems like the next few weeks are going to be pretty crazy as well. But you know what? We’ll get through it.. We always do.. .and the changes that may happen will be for the better…. More on those changes once I have confirmation… Can’t jump too fast on that…

**Note: I started this post on Friday Jan 15th…

So, this morning was a shitty morning. I’m not going to lie. Hubby got up and went to work as usual, waking me up just before he went downstairs to warn me that the girls were already awake.

I didn’t think this morning would be so much trouble, but it was… and here’s how I handled it.. Tell me if you could do better.. really.

So as I got out of bed, out of my warm electric blanketed bed, my girls asked if they could have my iPhone. Typically it’s not an issue. But this morning, it changed everything.

I let Monkey Do play with it for a bit as long as she promised to share it with Monkey See. I told them to sit tight, and let me take a very quick shower… Usually my showers are very quick… I’m all about water conservation ya know! Anyhow, I get into the shower, start washing my hair, and the I hear fighting. I told Monkey Do to put my iPhone on the bathroom counter. Little did I know that that request was going to change the course of my morning. Monkey Do didn’t have my phone, so in order to get it from her sister, instead of asking for it, like any normal person, I hear this wailing cry. I jump out of the shower, soap still in my hair, and Monkey See is walking towards me crying.

“Sister bit me” she tells me..

I flip.

“Where did she bite you?”

Monkey See lifts up her shirt to reveal a nasty bite mark just below her chest.

wow.

I yelled for Monkey Do, who conveniently took off for her bedroom… I showed her Monkey See’s chest, and just couldn’t really hold back. I got angry, I yelled, and I sent her to her room. Oh she knew I was mad. She knew I was very mad. I let her sit in her room for a while and think about it. I finished my shower, dried off, and got dressed. Monkey See was laying in my bed, still sniffling, so I checked on her. Yup, her chest was definitely going to bruise. I asked her why her sister bit her..> She told me it was because she wouldn’t give back the iPhone… Oh great.. so I indirectly caused this?? UGH! I called Monkey Do back to my room… more like yelling at her, but that’s beside the point… I showed her what she did to her sister and asked her if she would like it if her sister did that back to her. Of course the answer was no… I sent her back to her room, told her to sit on her bed and plan on staying there most of the day…. Oh the flood gates opened. Sure I didn’t mean that she’d really stay there all day, but she didn’t know that.

I sat with Monkey See for a while, talking to her about all the great things having a sister means, and having a TWIN sister to boot! I explained how I didn’t like seeing them fight, and how biting is always a no-no, etc etc etc… After  few minutes of talking I took her into her bedroom to sit with Monkey Do and gave her the same speech. As I talked to her, I mentioned the time when she was bit in the arm by another girl at the gym, and told her to remember how badly that hurt. I showed her Monkey See’s chest, and told her to think about it happening to her all over again… That’s what her sister felt… Finally, I had her look her sister in the eye, and apologize. They gave each other the biggest hug.. Ah to be young and sisters…

And they never fought again… yeah right…

Every year during the holidays, I do a lot of photo editing and uploading.. which usually means I’ll go through the older albums. I usually end up sitting at my computer reminiscing over the previous years. This time, Halloween really got me. I have looked back over the photos of my girls, from their first Halloween as cute little witches to this this year as Barbie cheerleaders, and I just don’t know where the time went.

When we first found out we were expecting, we were elated. Daddy had begged for so long for children. I didn’t want to start having kids until we were back home, and he was out of the USMC. Greedy, I know… I just couldn’t chance having children and then him getting deployed somewhere. Yes, families do that all the time. I know. I give them major props… I just was too scared to do it myself. Anyway.. I digress.. Then when the girls were born, life as we knew it had changed. We were now in charge of taking care of two little lives, teaching them, molding them… you know.. everything parents do for their children… and we were excited, scared, and anything in between.

I still just can’t believe how much they have grown. It’s only been 4 years, and they look/act like little adults. they’re so smart and funny, and mature… at least we like to think so .. and you can just see it in their photos…  I still can’t believe how fast they’ve grown…

Halloween 2006

Halloween 2007

Halloween 2008

Halloween 2009

Dear children of mine…

When Mommy and Daddy tell you “it’s time to go to bed”, we mean it! That does not mean that you can turn on the light and play until midnight when we come upstairs to go to bed ourselves. When you decide to not listen to Mommy and Daddy, and not go to sleep. You will be super tired the next day. So will we. Everyone will be cranky and get flustered easily. It is in your best interest to go to sleep at your appointed time so that everyone will be able to rest for the next day.

Thank you.

Mommy

My house is full of geeks… and I love it…  We’ve officially gotten to the point where we need one computer for each person. I have my iMac, hubby has his computer, one girl is on my laptop, and the other is on another computer in the office. They are obsessed with PBSkids.org… which I guess isn’t so bad, since it’s all learning games. We usually spend 30-60 minutes on it during the early part of the day, and then I give them time to do it while I’m getting dinner ready in the late afternoon. It is just too funny!

Well, I was looking in the mirror the other evening, and all I saw was this one hair sticking straight up from just behind my bangs… My hair is long, and dark.. Why would just one hair be sticking up??? It was much shorter than all of the others, and it was a different color too.. Frantic now. Must. Find. Tweezers. NOW! As soon as I found my tweezers, I plucked that hair out.. and ran to Daddy… He just started laughing hysterically… Nope, not getting any sympathy here… 

I took off, and intended to take a photo of this particular hair… only to realize that the winds that whipped though our area had blown said hair off of my vanity, somewhere on the floor.. So I don’t have a photo to share with you.. but I can tell you… 

IT WAS A GREY HAIR!!!! AAAAHHHHHHHHH!!!! 

ok, so it was just one… and it’s gone now… My mom keeps telling me that pluck one, and 2 more grow in it’s place… well.. just great.. We’ll see… Now this is what I get for not coloring my hair for nearly a year… I wanted to go back to my natural color, and what do I get?? A grey hair.. .

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I blame it on 3 year old twins!!! LOL It’s ok.. because when they’re older, I’ll show them all the grey hairs that “they” gave me, and maybe that’ll be the trick to get them to listen to me… 

In my dreams…

 Ok.. so I was searching for my darn book reading light so I could read in the dark while Daddy slept with his first migraine ever… I feel so horrible for him. I really do.. I have had so much experience with migraines, and I hate them.. with a passion.. Anyway… While searching in my spare room closet, I found this large ziplock bag with a bunch of photos in it… Did I put them away? Nope.. I dumped all of the photos on my guest bed and looked through them… I found a few that are sure to make you laugh… 

If you’re playing along, feel free to leave me a comment & add yourself to Mister Linky!!! 

Mommy at 1 year old... Oh yeah!

Auntie C & Mommy Halloween...

Don't Make Me Kick Yer Ass!

Taking a nap after a hard day of playing!

And my personal favorite… 

Got Gas?!?!

Hope you had a good laugh!! I sure as heck did!!!!

Well, the last 3 weeks have been nothing but craziness. The week before the girls’ birthday, we spent time trying to organize the house and getting everything ready for my sister and her hubby to come visit for a couple of days. We had a nice, albeit too short of a visit with them. They enjoyed some time with us and the girls that they don’t get very often. We even threw a small “family” party for the girls before Auntie C & Uncle B had to leave. They got their birthday presents from us, and some from Meemaw and Peepaw, and from Auntie & Uncle… It was pretty cool!

The following week was spent steam cleaning, and super deep cleaning most of the downstairs in preparation for the girls’ big birthday party.. That was something I wasn’t really ready for, but we made it through. I think I said we had nearly 40 people here.. It was crazy! So, after any party, there’s clean up… We used mostly regular dishes for serving, so we had to wash those. We got all the recyclables in the blue bin… Then it was steam cleaning again, and cleaning counters, and getting the upstairs completely cleaned. The next Thursday, we had Julissa Ortiz from Good Day Sacramento coming, and our inspection with our Property Manager… PHEW… now.. it’s all done… and I just want to veg out… I highly doubt that will happen, because something ALWAYS comes up… but for now… I’m resting, trying to catch up on writing… and planning a yard sale for next weekend… Fun stuff I tell ya…

Well, yesterday was Monkey See and Monkey Do’s big birthday bash…. We had somewhere around 40 people here, and it was a blast. I’ll admit… I was stressed as heck yesterday morning, but once everything was all said and done, it was a pretty darn good party… 

About a month ago, we decided that we were actually going to throw a party. It was supposed to be a small, cozy, family and a couple of friends event. It ended up being a huge party. The fun crazy stressful part was that there were going to be some family members here that don’t exactly get along. Yaay… As long as everyone behaved themselves, I didn’t care. My whole idea is, if you aren’t here for the girls, then leave.. 

Anyway.. This past week was spent cleaning house from top to bottom, steam cleaning the carpets, dusting, scrubbing, you name it.. It had to be done. It was an absolutely crazy week. 

So, we woke up around 630am, when the girls came into our room to wake us up… We got ready, and dressed the girls up. The party started at 1100am. We had a few things left to do before then. I had to finish cleaning the counters, run a vacuum over the carpets, scrub the BBQ down, and start making the snacks… I got it all done! Our first guest arrived around 1115. Good thing, because I was running late. Once they arrived, though, everyone started coming…  There were people from our families, friends from Daddy’s work, friends from the girls’ play groups, and more friends from their daycare at Gold’s Gym… They were all so much fun to have here. 

Daddy took charge of the BBQ’s, and I was able to talk to everyone and play with all of the kids, fill up water balloons, and set up some good snacks. Yes, I said water balloons. We warned the parents that we’d have some water games. It was a must. It was pretty hot, so a good cool down would be fun for everyone. 

We ate a feast of Jalapeño Poppers, Hot Dogs, Bratwurst, Corn on the Cob, Baby Back Ribs, salad, and chips & dip… It was sooo yummy! After we ate, we let everyone relax a little bit, and then brought the kids in for presents.. The girls made out like bandits!!! They had a stack of presents here… it was absolutely crazy! They had so much fun opening everything, and they actually did a pretty good job of telling everyone “Thank you” after they opened their gifts.. I was so proud of them! 

Instead of the traditional cake, we had cupcakes. It was so much easier to deal with, and the kids loved it. It was getting late in the afternoon, and most of the kids were beginning to crash…  As soon as we pulled out the cupcakes, smiles formed, and it was like they had a second wind… We knew it was getting hot, so we told everyone it was water balloon time! The girls had gotten into the water balloons earlier, so there weren’t as many as there should have been, but, there were enough for them to have fun throwing them at their parents. The kids had hardly gotten wet, so I ran out front to grab our sprinkler.. and boy was that a hit… even some parents got in on that! 

After a good run through the sprinklers, and some awesome photo opportunities, it was finally time for everyone to go home. Most of the kids were super tired by this point… Everyone dried off, and said their goodbyes. It was an amazing day! I loved seeing the smiles on all of the kids’ faces. It was awesome hearing them laughing and giggling and playing with each other. Honestly if I could, I’d do this more often.. I just don’t know if my pocketbook could handle it!!! LOL.. 

Here’s a link to some of the pictures of the sprinkler time… It was great!!! 

On Sunday, we went with Meemaw and Peepaw on our annual cemetery trip to visit our relatives. I know I know. I should go more, but it’s so hard to get there with the girls.. I’d just rather wait until someone could go with me. Anyway… So, we all got up at a decent hour, got ready, and came downstairs. Meemaw and Peepaw arrived a short time later, and we all had a big breakfast made by Daddy. Yum! 

We got everything together and headed out of the house around 1030am, and went off to the cemetery to clean up around the family’s graves, give them some fresh flowers, and remember. We made sure my Great Grandpa, and Grandpa each had their flags there representing they both of their service in the US Army. I remember as a child, my Grandpa would walk around with us, and tell us stories of each person we took flowers to. I only wish I would have taken a video camera, just once. I miss hearing his stories. Now my dad (Peepaw) is the one telling as many stories as he could remember to my daughters. 

Anywho.. after the cemetery, we got lunch and came back to our house. My parents wanted to get home, but we convinced them to stay… We turned on the Wii.. and it was all over.. Peepaw started bowling, and then I played him… Yeah. I lost. I called around on a whim and ended up finding the Wii Fit at Walmart by my house… Thank Goodness… I got the last one that they had too… Neener Neener.. LOL I ran out and got that, and as soon as I was home, I heard the girls were up and Wii-fishing. It was so cute.

Daddy started cooking dinner while I ran upstairs to start changing their bedroom over. Yes, we took the cribs apart and turned them into the toddler beds.  He met me upstairs to help put the hutch onto the dresser, and take apart and put the toddler guard rail on one of the bed. He came downstairs to finish dinner and Peepaw came up to help put the guard rail on the second bed. I vacuumed and dusted the whole room, and then made up the beds with their brand new Princess bedding. I had also purchased a couple of new princess nightgowns that matched their bedding… They were so excited to see those after their bath.  It was so cute. Before they went to bed, we made sure to call Meemaw and Peepaw upstairs so they could see the girls’ reaction to the big girl beds. I had already snuck into their room to video tape them from the moment they opened the door… I must say they were pretty happy! LOL… Of course I had to tell them not to jump on their beds…

We got them to calm down a little and climb in bed. We tucked them in and everyone kissed them nite nite. We then turned out the lights, closed the door, latched the gate at the top of the stairs and prayed they would stay in bed… Not to be. We heard the pitter patter of little feet running out of their room, and into ours. I think they got up about 4 times each, and finally fell asleep. They didn’t get up at all during the night. In fact, when they woke up the next morning, they stayed in their room and talked and played. We had to go in and get them! It was crazy! The next hurdle to jump was going to be nap time. They’re growing up too fast!

Here are some pictures of their room, and them all tucked in…