Well, it was totally last minute, but we were able to get the girls into school today. Monkey See’s weird blisters were gone. We called the doctor just in case… and in the end, we were rushing out the door to get to school on time. We were one minute late… Yes, one minute… ARG.. Oh well.. We signed them in, and walked them to their classroom.

They knew exactly which room was theirs, and were very excited to get their backpacks in their cubby. Heck, they almost forgot to say good bye to us when we told them we had to leave… As I turned to walk out the door, I choked up… Darn it.. I almost made it out of the classroom without crying… I didn’t want them to see me get upset… I didn’t want them to worry about why mommy was crying… I honestly don’t even think they noticed. They went straight to their desks and started coloring and talking to their classmates. Yeah.. They were excited to be there.

Daddy and I walked out, of course, he got the video camera out to catch me crying.. turkey … I took him back to the house, since he was working from home today, and headed out to the chiropractor. It was a little weird not having the girls there, and of course, everyone asked me where they were… I headed out to CVS on the way back home to pick up a couple of things, and that was it. The house was quiet. I got some work done, and got the dishes done. Daddy and I had lunch, and realized that it was only a couple of hours until we picked up the girls. Wow, the day went by so fast.

We picked them up… parked and walked in… and they came out with pretty big smiles on their faces. We asked them what they thought, and they both said they wanted to go back on Monday… Phew.. LOL.. Well, Monday is going to be treated like their first day, since we know they’re going to school. I’m hoping to get them ready early enough to get some good photos of them. I promise I’ll share!!!

Well, this week the girls were supposed to start school… It didn’t happen. Oh yes, school started, but the girls didn’t get to go. Instead, we’ve been cooped up in the house just about all week. Why ?? you ask?? Well.. here’s the story…

Last week, Monkey Do came down with a decent fever. 102ish.. It wasn’t fun. We gave her ibuprofen, acetaminophen, and cold meds.. cool baths, etc.. Just anything to make her more comfortable. It lasted 2 days, and just vanished. Awesome.. The next day was perfect! No one was sick, we went out to eat, we had a great day! The next day, Monkey See woke up with a fever. Ok, no biggie. It’ll probably last a couple of days and she’ll be fine by Monday.. Monday was open house and orientation at their school. She was fine by Monday too! I went to orientation meetings in the morning, came back home, gave them lunch, and the whole family went over to the school to find their classroom, and meet their teacher. We found their seats, and giggled about the teacher putting them across the room from each other, with their backs to each other!!! *smart teacher* LOL.. and then we went home. The evening went on as normal, nothing major happened, until we were getting the girls ready for bed.

We noticed some yucky blisters on Monkey See.. They just showed up out of nowhere. We started looking her over and found more rash on her hands and feet.. We got worried and called my parents who could only offer a sudden/strange allergy as an answer. We decided I was going to call the pediatrician first thing in the morning.

The next morning brought more blisters, small ones around her mouth and on her fingers. It was so weird! I got her into the dr first thing that morning, and after waiting about an hour, we were given the diagnosis of Hand/Foot/Mouth virus. Yeah.. I know.. It’s typically called Hand Foot Mouth Disease, but that word scares me… and it is a virus after all..  Anyway… we were advised not to bring either of the girls to school until this thing ran through them… I agreed, and here we are. It’s Thursday, and the girls have yet to start school.. I have NO idea where they caught it, or what it’s all about.. but hey.. we’re getting through it.

The good news is, her blisters are starting to go away. There’s no fever left in the house, and they are excited as ever to start school.. I’m still excited, scared, sad, etc…  but hey… What do you expect? Now, I’m going to spend the weekend making sure we have everything for the girls. They’ll go pick out their first lunch boxes, and their favorite snacks for school. I’m sure they’ll be ok…

It’s times like right now when I wished I had a crystal ball… You know.. one where I could really see the future based on a variety of life decisions… BEFORE the decisions are finalized…
I’m awake.. it’s 1:30am…. I’m going through the myriad of options in front of us, and really praying that the one we are most considering is the right one.

You’re probably wondering what the h-e-double hockey sticks I’m talking about… Well, until we have a final answer, I can’t really say… All I can say right now is… I wish I could be a kid again.. to see everything through rose colored glasses and have the responsibility of school, homework and play… Being an adult sucks right now…

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…

I’ve had every intention of keeping up with it this time… and the last time, and even the time before that… but wow.. Time is something that’s slipping away fast! So what’s been going on??

Well.. The girls are about to test for their Tiger Cub Green Belts… I hope they do well.. I’m a little scared because they tend to not be loud in class and answer up.. It kinda drives me nuts because they do so well at home… Maybe someday…

I went to BlogHer 2010, and had an absolute blast. I did conference things, and saw the Apple store, and more conference things, and walking toured NYC, and more conference things… you get the picture..

Umm… that’s about it for now… exciting eh??

So, July is here already. The girls turn FIVE in 6 days… *sniffle* I can’t believe it! I really have no idea where the last 6 years have gone.. yes 6… I was pregnant for a bit of that time

Well, the month of July started as well as it could. We’re getting ready for a visit with Meemaw & Peepaw (my parents) and the girls are super excited. I’m stressing a little. The house is a little bit of a mess.. We’ve been clearing clutter and just getting rid of junk that we’ve collected over the years… and boy do we need to do a Yard Sale!!! Anyway.. I’m getting the rooms together upstairs, hoping to get vacuumed, dusted, etc all out of the way before they get here on Wednesday.

The 4th of July weekend, we went up to Raleigh for a quick visit with friends. We lit up some fireworks, and smoked some awesome beef, pork, and veggies. It was an awesome weekend. Well.. mostly. I woke up Sunday morning with major back pain. I was hurting a little bit when I went to bed Saturday, but it was crazy when I woke up… I had a hard time standing up, bending down, lifting anything. I have NO idea what I did to hurt so badly! The crappy part… it’s been hurting ever since. I’ve sat in a hot tub, I’ve iced, heated, massaged, you name it… I’ve taken acetaminophen, naproxen, muscle relaxers, anti-inflammatories, and pain killers. Not all at once mind you.. but nothing is seeming to help! I’ve missed one day of TaeKwonDo, and I’m more than likely going to miss Friday as well.

Top all of this off with two sick little girls. Both of them have had a fever of over 100F. I don’t know where this came from either, but I’m hoping it’s gone before their birthday! I can’t imagine being sick, in the middle of summer, on your birthday That would kinda bite… ok, it would REALLY bite.. Anyway… If you haven’t seen me online much lately.. this is why. I’m sorry! I’m just exhausted from the week.

I promise, once my back heals and I’m able to sit at the computer for longer, I’ll be online a little more. Yes, I have a laptop, but it still hurts… I’ve spent a lot of time with the girls watching movies on the couch, or setting them up to color or write, and laying down behind them until they need help witch something.

I’m just hoping that everything calms down soon, my girls feel better fast, and my back quits hurting like NOW!

Since getting home from my trip to Bentonville, this household has not been bored..

The girls tested and got promoted to Tiger Cub Yellow Belts…. They are so excited. We’ve been practicing punches and kicks at home. I’m finally getting them to do things here that they’ve been too “embarrassed” to do at TKD. I have no idea why…  Hopefully if they have fun with it here at home, they’ll do it at class too.

Well, last week was all about helping Melissa a.k.a. ConsumerQueen.. I’d say it was a raving success!!! We raised over $4K (you can still donate using the widget to the right) and were able to gather a lot of big donations to make their house whole once again. They still have a lot of work. The cleanup alone is costing them around $7-$10K and that doesn’t even include supplies and labor costs to FIX everything! I can’t imagine… But we got them a good head start.

Woot to generous people and brands!

Ok.. I’m just going to copy my post from Mommy Brain Reports;

If you’ve been watching the news at all, you’ve probably seen the crazy flooding in Oklahoma City & Edmond, OK… Well, a very dear friend of mine lives there… and if she knew I was doing this, she’d probably kick me… but… She lost everything in this storm.

You may know her as Consumer Queen.. I also know her as Melissa Garcia… a fellow Walmart Mom … and a truly hard-working, selfless, giving mom, wife and daughter. She has a pretty nifty blog, and uses her coupon and money saving powers to stock up on some awesome products that she donates to people in need. Well this time, she’s the one in need. She is a working mom, her husband works from home due to his disability. She recently sold her home in order to buy a new home with more room so she could take in her mom who has been very ill… They moved in about two months ago, and were finally settling in…

Well, today, while she was at work, her children called her screaming and crying. Water had come in and flooded her house….. Her boss took her home in her vehicle since it would get through the flooded streets. Melissa came home to Firefighters rescuing her pets and family.

I just got off the phone with her, and her family is safe at another family member’s house, but she’s lost everything in her home. Over 2 feet of water came in (red mud and all) and covered all of her new furniture, and electronics. Her appliances are yet to be determined. They are waiting for the water to recede so they can go back and pick through what’s left. They didn’t have flood insurance… They don’t live on a flood plain. Their only hope now, for relief is if they get government aid from disaster relief.

If you can, please help. She gives so much and asks for so little… Please use the chipin widget in my sidebar to donate directly to her…

Thanks so much!

Tiger Cub Yellow Belts, that is.. This week was a big week for them.
I was away on my trip to Bentonville over the weekend, came home late Saturday and spent Sunday through Tuesday pop quizzing them on various things that they needed to know for their first ever test at Tiger Rock TaeKwonDo. They had to do a late test since I really, really wanted to be there for it. It all worked out pretty well.
Tuesday night came and off we were to Tiger Rock TaeKwonDo Academy… The girls got a little nervous because they were so small in a group of big kids and grown ups. Daddy and I actually walked out of the room because they kept looking back at us instead of paying attention to their instructors. We ended up watching from the window in the lobby… which probably worked out better anyway. They did really great… I was super happy to know that they had passed, and they were super excited to be given their new Tiger Cub Yellow Belts. I think that helped give them a little more confidence than they had before. They’ve really seemed to get even more into class now… which I really love! I would venture a guess to say that putting them in TaeKwonDo was an excellent choice for them!

Yes… that’s a long title… but there’s a reason for it…watch this…

Yeah.. I can’t eat Chicken Nuggets anymore… This show has ruined it for me forever. I know, I know.. he says that chicken nuggets aren’t really made that way here in the U.S., but every time I see those darn things, I get flashbacks to this video.

Now, can my children eat them? Yes.. and sure, I’ll get them chicken strips or whatever is 100% breast meat from Tyson or whoever is on sale at Walmart/Sam’s Club… They still refuse to eat at fast food places, and I’m fine with that. I think it’s what’s helped me stay away from fast food for nearly an entire year now. Which also.. along with my TaeKwonDo has helped me lose weight… how much weight? Stay tuned