Snow Fun

"mommy, snow is fun!"

"peek-a-boo!"



"look, now I will run out of the fence"

"whhhaaaaaaaa.  I wanted to run out of the gate"

"oh boy, here we go again"

The day these were taken we had to leave the house early in the morning for my OB appointment.  I thought and thought the night before what was going to be the easiest and fastest way to get them ready and out of the house in the morning.  The next day, while we were out, I got so many comments on how cute the boys outfits were.  I don't think one person realized that they were wearing their jammies with a puffer vest and rain boots over them!  And I have to agree, they were so incredibly cute, I may just bring them out in public again like that!

Wishing You...

A Very Merry Christmas

Its a day late!  Oops!

A Decision.

I finally got around to my Christmas cards this week.  They will be late, I apologize.  But, they are finally in the mail.  I hate to even admit that I've had them sitting in my kitchen since Thanksgiving.  Why couldn't I have got them out in the mail then?  We will never know.  Or, maybe we will...

Yesterday we needed to go to the post office to get stamps for the cards.  Going to the post office, or anywhere for that fact, is no easy matter.  First, I have to figure out timing.  Yesterday I desperately needed a shower before we could leave the house.  So that right there puts us in the afternoon since the only chance I usually have to shower is while the boys nap (unless I make the boys take one with me, which works out OK... but completely ruins the whole point of escaping to a hot, peaceful, silent shower).  The boys wake up from their nap, I'm ready and off we go to the post office.

We were working on potty training yesterday (which is a WHOLE other story in itself) so neither of them were wearing pants. 

Mission 1.  Put pants on boys.  Tantrum 1 (times 2).
Mission 2.  Put boots on boys.  Tantrum 2 (times 2).
Mission 3.  Put jackets on boys.  Tantrum 3 (times 2).
This is where G discovers his cup and goes into complete hysterics because he needs water.  Now.  Get water, solve problem.
Mission 4.  Put hats on boys.  Tantrum 4 (times 2).
Mission 5.  Put mittens on boys.  Tantrum 5 (this is a tricky one.  Zwas happy to have his mittens, and G wanted his mittens faster than I could get them on him so he still had a tantrum).

There.  Now we can go out to the truck.  I had started the truck before this whole process.  I knew it would take awhile to get ready, and its usually enough tine for the truck to warm up.

Open the door.  Z runs outside, excited to see snow.  G refuses to leave the house (where is that child who was so excited to be going 'bye'?).  So I pick him up.
Tantrum 6. 

In the middle of carrying him the 2' out of the house a boot falls off into the snow.  And, here we go again.  Sobbing, screaming.  "MESSY!".  They aren't a fan of snow on their boots.  I get G's boot cleaned off and back on his foot and set him on the porch so I can grab the keys (which is an improvement over normal.  I usually forget the keys.  Get the boys out to the truck, realize its locked, have to make a mad dash back to the house to grab the keys and get back out to the truck before a child goes missing).

And now no one wants to go down the stairs.  I convince Z to hold my hand and get him down the stairs.  I go to hold G's hand, but it was the wrong hand (more screaming).  Switch hands and get him down the stairs.  I realize at this point its a LOT colder than it looks outside. 

Now we need to hurry. 

Go to open the gate.  Our gate has been having issues.  So I decide to stop wasting time and I just pick it up off the hinges.  Not a problem anymore.  Turn around, Z has fallen in the snow.  Its way too cold to be sitting in the snow.  Run, snatch him up, run him to the truck while brushing off the 1" of snow that is stuck to him and toss him in his car seat.  Turn around to get G.  He doesn't want to get in the truck (big surprise).  Carry him to the truck and put him in his car seat.  At this point I realize the truck is COLD inside.  Its been running.  Why is it cold?  Oh!  Someone turned off the heat the last time they were in there.

Buckle a crying G into his car seat.  Run around to the other side.  Buckle a crying Z into his car seat.  Turn the heat in the truck on.  Run back into the house to grab the Christmas cards (oh how horrible would it have been if I had forgotten those... or I should say more horrible?).  So there.  We're set.  We're ready to go.  Its only taken 30-45 minutes.

And we drive the 3 blocks down the road to the post office.  We don't even have a TURN between us and the post office.  A straight 3 blocks.

While I was in the post office I saw that Santa Claus was going to be in town at 3:30!  We haven't been able to see Santa this year.  We've been snowed in more or less for a few days now.  The weather has been bitter cold.  And I just can't bring myself to drive to Minot just to see Santa. 

For just a moment I thought "we should go!".  And then I realized that it was only 3:00.  Which means, we'd go home and repeat.  And that wasn't happening.

And I feel, that I shouldn't fail to mention that upon arriving home the boys, who were still crying because they had to get in the truck, started crying harder realizing that their trip is over and we were home again.  G had taken his mittens off by now, and of course fell numerous times into the snow while making his way from the truck to the house.  Screaming, sobbing.  "SNOW COLD, SNOW MESSY. COLD. COLD. COLD."

In the midst of this I came to a decision. For the rest of the winter. If the drive to our destination doesn't take us longer than it took to get into the truck. We just are.not.going.

{Merry} Christmas Tree Cookies!

I'm back, though this blog will be mostly pictures, I do intend to start blogging more frequently again!

Christmas is all about traditions to me.  And you must always have 'christmas tree cookies' at Christmas.  The only time a year I would even think to make buttery spritz.  I decided that I would be brave today and let G and Z help me with the cookies.

Have I Mentioned...

I really despise moving?



Chaos is everywhere.  I hate chaos.  There are odd, random items that never seem to have a perfect place to be packed.  Do you shove them all in one box and say the hell with it?  Or do you have 500 little, tiny boxes each labeled with the 3 specific items that are in it?  I prefer option 2.  Only I've about ran out of boxes.  Right now I have 3 boxes left.  3 huge boxes.  I should probably save those to pack our clothes in anyways.

Gah.  I hate moving. 

To add to our moving woes.  I can't find a sitter to watch the boys.  I was planning on having a sitter.  The local daycare is understaffed.  So I can't drop them off for the day there.  That was my back-up plan.  Oh, and did I mention?  We can't get a hold of the guy that has the U-Haul rentals?  Mmhmm.  No one has answered the phone.  No one has called me back. 

And.  We wanted to get the boys' room painted before we moved in.  There was an old popcorn ceiling in there that was starting to fall down.  M went to remove it, and found out that its not just the texture falling down.  The plaster has pulled away from the lathe.  Looks like someone is going to learn how to drywall a ceiling.  Hopefully in the next 2 days, before we move (ha.ha.ha.).  Pretty sure we're going to need to be on DIY Network's "Renovation Realities".  We will be the next couple the world laughs at as they tackle impossible renovation tasks with having no clue as to what they're really doing.

I could just put them in a different room.  Yes, that is true.  There is the room that has a door to a rooftop.  Hmm, doesn't seem like a good choice for two little boys that will no longer be in cribs.  Or, there is the other room.  Except, there is a walk through closet into a different room.  And a linen closet.  And the hallway door.  First, two twin beds don't really fit that great in there.  Unless I float one basically in the middle of the room.  Second, these little boys can now open doors.  There are too many escape routes for them.  I am going to take a closer look at that second room tonight though.  Maybe I can make it work.  Because I certainly don't see getting a ceiling ripped down, drywalled, and painted before Wednesday.

Blah. Moving.

There Goes That Time Thing Again

Time has once again flown by since I've been on here.  I can't tell you how many blog entries I've wrote.  In my head.  While driving down the road.  While cooking supper.  While walking the dog.  And yet, by the time I'm able to sit in front of the computer, the thoughts are gone.

Our little men are growing and changing so much the past few weeks.  The words they can say.  The ideas they come up with.  The things they do.  Its hard to get it all down, and capture every moment like I want to.  There are just too many moments.

One of G's new words is "gosh!"  Its adorable to watch him say.  His little chubby face lights up.  He throws his hands up to his face.  Squishes his rosy cheeks and says "GOSH!".  Where he picked it up?  Who knows.  Me?  Possibly.

Z says many more words than G does.  And while the word count itself may not be greater, he says a lot more unprompted.  He's started putting together little sentences - "what happened, gabvy?"  He also has started saying "I love you"!  Only he says "I wuv ou".  Ah, it melts this mommy's heart. 

I'm currently teaching them to say "two" when I ask them how old they're going to be.  Z says "free", more than "two".  But, hey, its something! 

Motor skills and muscle development, they are off the charts!  They climb, they jump, they dance, they run, they throw, they sometimes catch.  Z has started doing a crazy run, he'll hike his pant legs up and run while leaning side to side.  Its hilarious to watch him.  They also LOVE to make silly faces for me, and put their fingers up by their mouth and try to wiggle their tongue.  G loves to color, and his fine motor development has really impressed me lately.  He's attempting to hold his crayons and markers the proper way, and is really quite good at it and almost there.

Another area that I'm so proud of them in is how well they are recognizing the alphabet and numbers.  I always love it in the car when we're driving down the road and I hear "duppu, duppu".  And then realize that they're looking at the compass display and recognizing that there is a "W".  They'll also say the numbers of the temperature that are displayed.  

It is true that these precious boys are turning TWO!  I'm amazed at how fast those 2 years have gone by.  And at the same time, amazed that it was only 2 years ago that my life was so incomplete but I didn't know it. 

We're also moving again.  This will be the boys 4th move.  Seriously, I think M and I are crazy just no one has realized it yet.  Not have we just moved ONCE but FOUR times with twins.  Under the age of 2.  Yes, officially insane.  This move should be a more permanent one for us.  I say should.  We would like to believe that this is the end of a long line of moving.  And yet, part of me knows better.  I've always said that M has a gypsy side to him, and doesn't like to stay in one place long.  Hopefully this time will be different.  The process of buying a house has been a horror story for us.  And I'm thinking that alone should keep us tied down here for awhile.

Z and Mommy goofing off for the camera



G intent on coloring while we're goofing off



Fall Begins

Here in lovely North Dakota, its definitely turning to fall.  You can smell it in the air.  You can certainly feel it as well.  Without fail I'm ready for apple pie, pumpkins, beef stew, piles of brilliantly colored leaves, and big cuddly sweaters.  The epitome of autumn (my favorite season) in my mind.

Last weekend we had, what I'm guessing to be, one of the last picnics of the year with our 'canada friends'.  Crackers and cheese, cut up veggies, and juice boxes never tasted quite so good as when shared with my little boys, a good friend, and her two boys.

All Boy

Yesterday morning when the boys got up, I decided for a special treat we would watch cartoons in the living room.  When I turned on the TV, there was an off-road truck race on whatever channel it was we had been watching the night before.  And being the little boys that they are, they insisted that a truck race was SO much better than cartoons!

Bath Time!

Bathtime has become a fun adventure in our house.  The boys have discovered how to squirt the water out of all their bath toys.  They've discovered they can splash with their hands.  And kick the water extremely far across the room with their feet.  But their favorite part is when I pull the plug...

wwooooaaahhhhh!

What Makes....

A runner?  Bet you didn't see that one coming!  Earlier this year.  Before winter had fully ended here (OK... winter didn't really end until about June this year, but before that), I decided that I was going to start running.  I was not a runner by any means.  I never have been.  At best I would go for short power walks.  Even then, I preferred the nice, leisurely stroll over that.  But, I got it in my mind that I was going to start running.  Somehow.

I eagerly waited until we made a trip down to Minot, and picked out a pair of running shoes and a sensor for my shoe that would track my runs on my iPod.  I really wanted an adorable outfit to run in, because lets face it, I was going to look like I was dying so I may as well be dressed awesomely.  After looking at the awesome running clothes and seeing how much they cost (did you know a Nike tank top alone is almost $30?!) I decided that I should wait to see if I really could do this before investing a lot of money into running clothes.  I settled on a pair of cheap athletic pants and a t-shirt from Target.

And then of course I had to wait out winter.  In the middle of March we finally started to have some nicer weather.  And I was ready.  I set my alarm, and got up first thing to 'run'.  Run is a loosely used term in this case.  I walked for 5 minutes.  And then I tried to run.  1/2 a block.  I made it half a block.  I was gasping for air.  My legs felt like they would collapse under me.  But that was were this all began.  I finished that first 'run' by alternately running for a 1/2 block, and then walking for 2 (I'll be honest, it was possibly more).  20 minutes later I was back at our doorstep, exhausted.

Since then I have pushed myself probably harder than I ever have for anything.  The first day I ran for 10 minutes straight on "my loop" around town, I was so proud.  I had gone from running half a block, to a full 10 minutes.  In July, I successfully ran my first 5K.  I started running at the start line and didn't stop until the finish line (minus the brief pause at the water truck).  To that point, it was officially the furthest I had run without stopping.

I have developed a love of running.  Most mornings I'm eager to get out of bed, get my sneakers laced up and hear the thud of my feet against the pavement.  Some days, I just can't run far enough.  My legs just want to keep going, even though there is no road left to run in our tiny town.  I love that I can get lost in my thoughts.  Those moments when I'm on the road, that is the only thing I need to focus on.  The next stride, the next breath.  There aren't many moments like that in my day.

I still consider myself a beginner.  I'm not the fastest.  I still don't run very far most days.  I want to call myself a runner.  And yet, I don't really know. What makes a runner?  Do you have to do it for so long before calling yourself a runner?  Is it the fact of just doing it no matter how pathetic an attempt?  Or is it the love of doing it?  Regardless of what or when, I know that tomorrow morning will find me out on the road falling in love with it all over again.

crossing the finish of of my first 5K - July, 17 2010

33:08

What An Ordeal!

Ugh!  I decided it was time to revamp the blog again.  Update the background, especially considering my last one had disappeared somewhere.  What an ordeal!  Completely more time-consuming that I thought it was going to be.  Thankfully the boys are 'reading' right now, and perfectly happy and content.

We are all doing well in our little corner of the world!  The boys are developing and changing SO much every day.  They are both starting to say a lot more words.  Many of them very clearly.  Z's new favorite thing to say "Want T-B on."  Said, with a lot of determination, that if he says it sincerely enough, it will indeed happen.  "V" seems to be a letter neither of them can pronounce!

I am very proud of my little G-boy.  Over the past 2 weeks he has almost learned the entire alphabet.  He spends many, many minutes of his day bringing me the alphabet magnets from the fridge and telling me what the letter is.  He isn't 100% right all of the time, and there are a few letters that he can't quite get (V being one of them).  Z attempts to do the same... though his version of telling me the letter is repeating the same letter over and over while pointing at different letters.  He knows that eventually he'll get it right!  I did realize while reading an alphabet book with G the other day that our magnet set is missing "H", and he hasn't the SLIGHTLY clue what that letter is! 

We're still in the middle of buying the other house.  Its a long, slow, agonizing process.  It wouldn't be so horrible if I knew for sure that at the end of this we would actually have a house.  As it stands right now, the appraisal is set for September 21.  My understanding is that if the appraisal is good (needs to be high enough to cover the cost of some repairs in addition to the actual house) then our income will have to be reviewed to verify if we still qualify.  The last step isn't something we had planned on.  When we put the offer on the house, we assumed that it wouldn't be over 160 days before we were able to close.  But sadly, it will be.  And our income will need to be reviewed.  That is the main stress for me.  To get this far into the process, and this close... and then not have a home to call ours.  It doesn't help that I eagerly packed half of our household thinking we'd be moved by the beginning of August at the latest!  At this point I'm trusting that everything will go through, and we'll be moved by October 1.  I sure hope so.  Otherwise I'm going to have to start unpacking things before we even got to move!

Little Loves

Having children brings out emotions in me I never knew were possible.  Its a love beyond words.  Now, there are certianly moments that I question the wisdom of me having children.  But those moments pass quickly (most the time, hour long screaming tantrums over simple things like giving your child the wrong color cup do not feel 'quick').  And I'm left with this sense of wonder and awe.  These two little creatures are truly mine?!  Mine to love.  Mine forever.

kisses

Just For Laughs

Personally, I think this little boy has the cutest laugh ever!

Random Shots

Here are some clips of our life from the beginning of August through now.

I made a hat.  Which no one really wanted to wear... but I did get a few pictures!

I then recreated the hat.  Z liked it a little better.

Sleepy boys before bed.

Headed to the pool one sunny, hot afternoon

posing for Mommy

walking around the house in his new boots (more commonly known as freezer containers)

Mommy loves her babies blues