An Opportunity to Give

Wednesday night was the Angel Tree party. It's a big community outreach event that I coordinate for our church. We partner with Prison Fellowship to sponsor kids by purchasing Christmas gifts for children with an incarcerated parent. This year we sponsored 14 families and 34 children. Each child receives a practical clothing gift and a toy gift. We also make care packages for the caregivers with gift cards to Walmart, and this year, we also did a Chick-Fil-A gift card for everyone. We received a grant from Walmart to help us with costs. (Thank you, sweet husband, for getting me the application, and getting the application where it needed to go!)

At the party, we feed everyone pizza and cookies, arrange some entertainment (had a magic show and some musical presentations this year), and give out the kids' gifts, caregiver gifts, and Bibles to all the kiddos.

Now let me just back up and say that Angel Tree has taken the place in my life that Nutcracker used to occupy. :-) My friend, Jess, and I, work on Angel Tree from October until mid-December (when the party is)...but then we also have to report, debrief, and send info to the prisoners as to whether or not we were able to serve their family. So, it is a sizeable undertaking.

Honestly, there are times that I wish someone else were doing the work. That is, until I see the families that come to the party, and realize what a huge blessing Angel Tree is to these people.

And what else would I be doing with the time I spent on the Angel Tree project? I could spend it trying to keep my lovely and warm home clean, washing the ample amounts of warm winter clothing that my children have, and buying or wrapping presents that are not necessities. I think the time I spent working towards something that would help people who don't have those things was a much nobler use of those pockets of time.

When I get to meet the moms, dads, and grandparents who care for children under extremely difficult circumstances, because their husband or wife or child is in prison...who thanks me tearfully because there would be no presents for those children otherwise, because we've treated them with kindness and respect, because we've put time and energy into loving on and blessing them...I'm really glad that I've been given the opportunity to be an Angel Tree coordinator.

We had several Mommas, who expressed how hard it is to put food on the table, and our food pantry coordinator stepped up and was able to make several bags of grocery items available, as well as making sure they know when the food pantry runs each month.

There is a Biblical principal called gleaning, which I love. In Leviticus and Deuteronomy the Lord instructs the harvesters not to go over the fields a second time. Not to pick up what they've dropped, and not to harvest the grain, the grapes, the olives completely...but to leave the excess, the dropped, the missed pieces for the poor, the alien, the fatherless and the widow. It was God's way of providing for the poor through the excess of those who had more than enough.

I believe that we who have been blessed with ample provision truly have a duty to use some of our excess to give to others. We can be the hands and feet of Jesus to those who are struggling and feel hopeless. The appreciation that I saw in the eyes of many caregivers and children on Wednesday night, was worth more than a whole season of my own selfish Christmassing!

Busy, Crazy Weekend

Last week, I went back to last year at this time to see what I was blogging about and how often I was blogging. Well, I was posting a lot more, even with a lot of the same responsibilites (a.k.a. Angel Tree). However, last year at this time, the kids were still napping twice a day, meaning I could get a lot more done. Now, my kids nap once and for maybe an hour and a half. So, my big dilemma is what to get done? Cleaning? Laundry? Work on Angel Tree? Do something Christmas related that is not Angel Tree? or...take my own nap? OH...or blog! See, I even forgot to include it in the list of possiblities. You see why I'm having a hard time. But I suppose that being on the computer shouldn't really have a high priority right now.

The kids are out of MDO for Christmas break. So, I don't have my usual 5 hours today to run around like a crazy person trying to be productive. The house is marginal. Not quite chaos, but definitely not clean. I need to make a packing list for our annual cross country tour. Aaron picked up our Christmas cards (prepare to receive the cutest Christmas card yet...well, I don't know...Veronica and Dr. Dan kissing at their wedding Christmas card will definitely be a top competitor for cutest Cmas card in existence this year!) I need to get those in the mail, need to wrap presents, and need to finish buying presents.

So, I guess that's some backgound to the actual topic I was planning to post about, which was our weekend. It was busy. It was crazy. Thus the title.

Friday, I had to go to the dentist to get two fillings repaired...because apparently that's how badly I grind my teeth at night. Two fillings chipped. I've had a night guard for 6 months, so I don't know. But I was dreading getting numbed because the last time I had to get numbed in that same area it took 3 or 4 tries before I could seriously not feel anything. I figured this out from the poking and drilling. I left the office looking slightly like a stroke victim. BUT, I ended up not having to be numbed this time, because the chips were so superficial in the composite. It was not painful, just took a while because one was stubborn and wouldn't adhere. Then Friday night, I went to the MOMC Christmas Party. We had a great time, at a lovely home, with lots of really yummy food. It's always interesting conversation when 20 moms of multiples are in the room.

Saturday we all got up early. I took Emma down to Fort Smith to see the WAB Nutcracker. Aaron took Alec to work for Saturday morning meeting. Steve Carrell was the guest. It was so packed they had to go to three different locations, just to listen to it. So, I had a date with my girl and Daddy had a date with budbud. It was the first time we've done something like that. It was really fun. I was a little worried about how Emma would do at the show. I mean, an hour car ride, and then 2 hours of sitting in a dark theatre, and then another hour long car ride. She was stellar. I couldn't believe how good she was. It helped that she was tired. She didn't have the energy to be her normal spitfirey self...and since brother wasn't around to conspire with, she
clung to me like a koala bear.

I have to say that it felt pretty monumental taking my daughter to see The Nutcracker for the first time. I feel like I watched it with new eyes...child eyes, instead of dancer/teacher/critic eyes. And of course, it was nice seeing so many former students shine.

Alec continues to talk about how he went with "HIS daddy" in Daddy's car to
Daddy's work and to Daddy's Chick-Fil-A on Saturday.

Saturday after Emma and I got home, we all got to rest a bit, and then we were off to our favorite twin friends' Casey and Lundyn's 3rd Birthday party at a gymnastics place. The kids all got to play on the equipment and had a ton of fun. Afterward, we dropped in to say hello to some other friends who were having a Christmas party. We didn't stay long because it was a no-kids night for the rest of the parents there, and we wanted to respect that. We just didn't have time to get a sitter, bring the kids home and drive back up to Bella Vista after the bday party.

When we got home, Alec started to sound wheezy...so I tried to give him his inhaler, but he hates it and gets so worked up when we try to give him the medicine that it's counter productive. They went down at 9 and he woke up coughing and really laboring to breathe at 9:45. He sounded awful, so I took him to the ER. I'll say this, a small child that can't breath well is like a golden ticket at the ER. We got a room and an MD so fast (which was my expectation, but still somewhat surprising after having 5 hour ER waiting experiences in the past) it made my head spin. Alec got vitals taken, a breathing treatment, a steroid shot, throat x-rays and a dost of antibiotic. The verdict: croup and a double ear infection.

Now, here's the thing. My child was symptom free until 8pm Saturday night! I was like, really?? The croup came on so suddenly and the ear infection??? He gave no indication that he felt badly at all. I was like, "wow." Little man did well in the ER, except that they poked at him and the bp cuff hurt him and he screamed and bucked like a wild banshee when they administered the breathing treatment. That was not fun, trying to hold him down, while kicking and screaming. Then seeing him shaking and wringing his hands with anxiety when we went into the x-ray room because he had no idea what was going on and what the big machine was...but he stood there like a champ, holding back tears. (He kept asking to go home and he was soooo tired.) At one point the dr said we may need to admit him overnight, but after checking him post breathing treatment and reading his x-rays, they said we could go, but that he needed a steroid for the croup and an antibiotic for the ear infections.

For anyone who doesn't know what croup is...it's a virus that causes inflammation and constriction of the voice box/trachea. His lungs were fine, but the upper part of his throat was swollen so that it was making it like breathing through a straw at times.

He is doing much better. We got home around 12:30am Sunday, and kept him in bed with us to monitor him. He slept well the rest of the night. Emma was a little congested and restless, so she and Daddy slept on the couch together.

Sunday, Aaron stayed home with the kids. I had to go to church for a while to tally Angel Tree gifts that came in and to work on some party plans. I also had to go with a friend from MOMC to deliver a sympathy gift to a fellow member who lost triplets at 20 weeks in November. It is beyond my comprehension how painful and devastating that must have been.

The rest of the evening was spent at home, and was low-key, thank the Lord. Angel Tree party is Wednesday night. And then, good grief, one and a half weeks to Christmas! I'm so looking forward to being with family, and hopefully, catching up on some rest.

Thanksgiving

This year was the second time for us to have Thanksgiving here at our house. I tried to make it less stressful the day of, by making all of the side dishes the 3 days prior. All I really succeeded in doing was making 3 days stressful instead of one. Ha! But seriously, it did help. I made southern cornbread stuffing, sweet potato casserole, green bean casserole, and squash casserole beforehand. My mom did the turkey and gravy and brought the pecan and pumpkin pies. I did the creamed corn the day of...and my sister helped man the kitchen and do whatever else needed to be done with service items and place settings.

My family (all except my dad, because he ended up having to work) arrived Wednesday afternoon. Mom put the turkey in overnight, and we had a fantastic Thanksgiving lunch the next day. We enjoyed a lot of fun times together. The kids got to play with their cousin, Kylie, whom they are crazy about. We went down to the Fayetteville square to see the Lights of the Ozarks. My sister and I had our annual screening of "Christmas Vacation." They babysat for us while Aaron and I went out to brave a little of Black Friday. And they had to leave Friday afternoon, because my sissy had to work Saturday. It was a short, but great visit.

For Christmas, we'll make our usual cross-country tour. We're gonna head to Victoria to spend Christmas Day with Aaron's family and then make a stop in Purcell to see the Lee's before spending New Year's with my family. So excited to see EVERYONE at Christmas!

Gratitude

Last year I did started doing something on facebook called "30 Days of Gratitude." I did it because I figured that for the month of November, instead of just throwing up any old status update, I should publicly recognize some of the many blessings that the Lord has allowed into my life. I decided to do it again this year, and I'm pretty sure that it will be repeated next November as well.

I think that gratitude is so important. I think that we live in a world and a culture where entitlement is king, and we spend much too much time thinking about the things that we should have or deserve or "need" to keep up with all of the people around us that we are trying to compete with or impress.

I have said before that I'm learning a lot about God from being a mommy. Nothing burns me up more than seeing a spirit of ingratitude when I give my children something or do something for them. It is so distasteful to have a child respond with an attitude of "this isn't what I wanted" or "this could be better" or "you could have done more." Now, obviously my kids are 2 1/2. They aren't exactly mature enough to really comprehend what they are doing or why they are doing it. It's just the nature that is inate in them. Our job is to help guide their heart attitude to something higher and more Christlike.

But honestly, how many times have I responded to the situations, circumstances, people and deeds in my life with the same distasteful attitude? A LOT. And I'm sure that it grieves the Father's heart when we do this.

So, a lot of my goal for the month was to really attune myself to the obvious and not-so-obvious things that I need to recognize as gifts on a daily basis. A lot of days were easy, happy days. Some days, like today...were more difficult.

Today I felt ready to be committed by 1pm. :-) The kids were being really ornery with eachother, and getting on eachothers (and my) nerves. There was a lot of screaming. As we were getting ready for naptime, Emma came in to tell me that she pooped her panties. While I was trying to deal with her, Alec managed to catapult himself off of the couch, smashing his face into the coffee table. So, one poo-poo kid and one hematoma kid. What to do? My first thought wasn't gratitude.

But later, after things had calmed down, and Emma's bottom was clean and Alec was holding an icepack on his face...it occured to me that I could still be trying to have children. I could still be hoping and praying to be a mom, and getting rather incensed with women who are moms, but feel the need to complain about it a lot.

But the fact is, the same little girl who pooped her panties, is also the Emma who comes running from a mile away when she hears me in the bathroom to hug me and tell me she's proud of me for going peepee in the potty. And the little boy, who thought he was Evel Knievel, is the same Alec who was raising his hands during worship in church on Sunday loving Jesus.

I think that in most difficult situations, there is probably a flipside possibility for gratitude. We just have to find it, or have the faith to choose to believe it regardless. For the ridiculous number of good things in my life, and for the tough things that cultivate character, I am thankful to God.

Let's Play Catch-Up

Oh gosh! I know I need to post to update our avid readers on what's been going on since Halloween. Well, here it is in a nutshell: we've been busy and tired! Aaron is always busy with work. I have been busy with, obviously, entertaining two 2 1/2 year-olds daily, trying to keep them excited about peeing in the potty and hopefully pooping there too one day, arranging meals for new moms in the multiples club (there have been so many births lately!), cooking a massive amount of enchilada casseroles for a meal exchange I do with the MOMC club, planning, grant writing and kicking off our Angel Tree ministry at church, trying to get Christmas shopping done, planning Thanksgiving (which is at our house with my family this year), and trying to really get back into a running routine, which has been repeatedly interrupted by my getting sick.

Exactly a month ago, I went in for a sinus infection. I was put on antibiotics. Now I have another one, and I feel like poo. There is so much pressure in my sinus cavities that my teeth hurt. I've been coughing so much that every area of my abdominal muscles has received the workout of a lifetime. I've been trying to do this sinus rinse thingy (kindof like a Neti pot...but not), but apparently I still need to go to the doctor because I feel awful. Aaron is so anti-doctor, but last time and this time he's been telling me to go to the clinic. So, he's going to take off a little early today so I can to to the Walmart clinic this evening. I know that antibiotics will help, I just don't understand why I came down with two so close together. I guess the weather fluctuations have really done me in this year.

In other news, the kids have been pretty funny lately. Emma has been spanking and reprimanding her Oucan (stuffed Toucan that is her favorite lovey). She'll give him a few whacks and then say something like "You have to listen. I said no. You have to look at me. I said no." Hey, at least she's been listening! And they've also really gotten into playing "doctor" lately. They keep taking an emery board of mine and using it as a tongue depressor on "baby" and Blue. They're also getting really excited about Christmas things this year. One of our neighbors was working on lights and had them on the other night, and the kids went nuts! They've also been really excited about Santa and Chritmas trees and snowmen that they see in the stores. I got them a Twas the Night Before Christmas book, and we've been reading it a lot already. I'm excited because I think this will be the first really FUN Christmas with them! My plan is to get some decorations up this weekend...because hopefully, I'll be feeling a lot better by then.

Finally, we made the transition to toddler beds. It kinda happened on a whim this last weekend. The kids think it's pretty cool, especially Alec, because he's never been able to fully get out of his crib. Let's face it...Emma could do whatever she wanted anyway because she's a monkey child. I kind of dreaded the transition because I read so many horror stories of parents whose kids just refused to stay in bed anymore or nap anymore...but they've done amazingly at night. No issues there! Nap time takes some gentle coaxing, ha ha, from the Nap Nazis (Aaron and I tag team this role), but they are beginning to understand that daytime rest is still not an option. Today they went down pretty easily, and I was really thrilled.

Speaking of nap, they will be waking up soon. So, I'd better jet. Until next time...

Halloween Weekend

Me and my pumpkins!

With their painted pumpkins

Helping Mommy pass out candy

Playing with pumpkins at the party

Looking a little pooped!

"Look, it's a baby pumpkin!"

Being a little silly

Spidey and Tink

We had a really busy and fun Halloween weekend. We actually bought the kids' costumes like two months ago at the Asst. Store for super cheap. I felt ultra-prepared with a Spiderman costume for Alec and a Tinkerbell costume for Emma. However, it would have been a good idea to at least take the costumes out of the bags and look them over before the big weekend, ya know? What actually happened was that I opened the costumes on Friday...a few hours before Aaron came home. The plan was to take the kids to Trick-or-Treat at Walmart ISD (Daddy's work) around 3:30. Well, Emma's costume was fine. Alec's, however, ended up being a size 4/5 that had been placed in the wrong bag (it was supposed to be a 2T). So, while the kids were napping, I spent a good while using my barely adequate sewing skills to take about 4 inches out of the sleeves and pants of his Spidey outfit. By the time Aaron got home, I'd barely finished, the kids were waking up, and I needed a shower. We got to ISD around 4:30. The kids were able to get an ample amount of candy (I didn't care for us to get too much. For one, they don't really eat much candy. They like a little chocolate, and they're crazy for DumDum's...but I just haven't really introduced much candy to them.) We got to show them off to a few people, and luckily, the building was not a sauna like the last time we took them through for Halloween (two years ago).

Saturday was a big day. My NWAMOMC (Mothers of Multiples) Club had our annual Fall Party that day. I had to be there at 9am to setup, and Aaron brought the kids at 10:45. Hooray for dads of twins who can get their kids fed and dressed in their costumes and to the party on time...namely, my husband! Anyways, the kids all had a costume parade, feasted on tacos and Halloween goodies, got to take part in a cupcake walk and lots of little crafts and games. It was lots of fun!

After the party, we came home and had family nap time. Then, around 4:30 we headed out to a park in Rogers because a few of our friends from church were doing a magic show out there. Alec and Emma mostly wanted to just play on the playground...and eat the snacks that were provided.

By Sunday, we were so Halloweened-out, that we decided not to Trick-or-Treat the neighborhood, and just chill at home. The kids helped me hand out candy, and they really enjoyed that. We also painted pumpkins, which they loved.

It was a busy, but fun weekend. Enjoy the pictures!!!

Titi V Comes to Arkansas

V trying on shoes to match the dress she just bought.

Both of us trying on shoes. :-)

Thanks, Nine West saleslady for taking the picture and humoring us.

So, a few weeks ago, one of my best friends from dance class/ballet company in Victoria (we've known eachother since we were 6), Veronica (Titi V to the kids) called to ask if she could come visit us since she found a great flight deal and could redeem a bunch of miles. I said SURE! (We don't get a lot of visitors up here! Although we have had both of our families here over the summer, and that was a treat!)

Anyways, she flew in on Friday night and stayed until Monday afternoon. It was awesome having her here. I'm not sure if she came more to hang out with me or with the kids, but that doesn't really matter. :-) Saturday, the whole family went to the gym. V and I took Zumba, Aaron worked out, and the kids played in the YAC (youth activities center). We had a blast in Zumba (that we paid for in soreness later) and then we came home to relax. We had family photos scheduled for that afternoon at 4, but the weather was storming/raining off and on, and we ended up postponing them till Sunday. So, instead of taking pictures that afternoon, we went and got pizza and did a little Duggar stalking. She is a HUGE fan of "19 Kids and Counting" and just the Duggars in general...and since they live just a town away, we told her we could drive down 71B in Springdale and show her Josh and Anna's car lot. We don't know where the house is, so we didn't officially stalk them, just pseudo stalked. ;-)

Sunday, we went to church, and came home to relax a while before trying "take two" of fall family photos. The weather ended up cooperating beautifully. We went down to the Fayetteville square, and our friends George and Terae (Terae has done all of our family photo shoots since the kids were born. She's super flexible and we've been so happy with all of the pictures.) came out to meet us around 4. We got some great family and candid shots in, and Alec and Emma had a blast playing with the leaves, all of the foliage, and a little waterfall pond thingy. Emma actually ended up slipping a leg into the water (oops), but other than that I think we got some great shots. I can't wait to see them. After that we picked up Sonic and came home to relax the rest of the night. V introduced me to Real Housewives of Beverly Hills (don't know that I'll ever be able to watch it again, they are so obnoxious.)

Monday, Aaron went to work as usual, and V and I took the kids to MDO. We went and ran some errands, got breakfast, and went shopping at the Promenade. She was able to find a super fabulous dress and shoes for a photo shoot that she and Dr. Dan are doing in New Orleans (belated engagement pics). And she bought Dan a dress shirt from Banana Republic as his "gift from Arkansas." Maybe when he's done with his residency and things simmer down, he can come visit us too...and give us free checkups...JUST KIDDING!

V and Dr. Dan are both blessing Houston with their careers daily. He uses his skills to heal people, and she uses hers to educate high school kids who would most likely be "lost in the system" otherwise. She teaches Spanish at Cristo Rey, a Jesuit charter school that is focused on giving students practical real world work experience while they get their high school education and prep for college. These are low-income kids who are able to go to school there because they are actually motivated. They go to school four days, and work one day. It sounds like an amazing opportunity for the kids who are attending there.

And this brings me to the fact that I have been pondering going back to school and getting certified to teach. I've been considering doing this for a while, but it's just deciding on when to start. For now, I am perfectly happy being with my munchkins, but at some point they will start school, and I will probably want to be doing some kind of work. I will never go back to teaching dance full time in the evenings, because that cuts out all of our family time. Who knows? It's definitely something I am praying about regarding the what and the when. Well, that about sums up our weekend. We had a great time with Titi, and are all really glad that she paid us a visit!

Potty Party

I can't really even believe that I am able to write this post. Just as a refresher, on Sept. 17th, Aaron "announced" that it was time to put the kids in some underwear and really get going with this potty training thing. By the 22nd, Alec was basically good to "go!" He was telling us everytime he had to peepee, and was doing great!

Emma on the other hand, really had no interest in peeing on the potty (though every great once in a while, she'd humor us). She didn't want to make it her new default setting. She was comfortable with diapers, and it wasn't HER idea to use this potty thing. Anyways, I let off of her, and just focused on praising brother and helping him along.

The last few weekends, Aaron has put her in underwear again and tried to get her to comply (by freaking her out everytime she'd wet herself- she'd have a total cow...but not really want to change it by going to the potty). Last weekend, she was especially stubborn, throwing some major fits when we'd even ask her to sit down on it. We decided to dig our heels in and try to push through. After MDO on Monday, I put her back in panties, and did the same Tuesday and Wednesday. I decided I would not put a diaper on her, even if it killed me. She...and brother, went through every single pair of underwear that we have (7 for Emma, and 10 for Alec). All I did was clean up messes, and try to encourage, and deal with the knock-down-drag-out fights that Emma put up a few times. Alec wasn't having big accidents, just little whittles here and there...so I'd change them out.

Anyways, I was thinking that I just didn't have it in me to fight her much more, and I was starting to feel puny. My throat was killing me and I felt like I was coming down with something. Thursday morning, I felt so bad, that I was like "forget it, let her wear diapers...because I can't do this today." Well, I don't know what happened. I've always maintained that Emma will do what Emma wants to do when Emma is good and ready to do it...and apparently God really had mercy on me, because all of a sudden on Thursday morning when I took Alec to use the bathroom after he got up, Emma trotted in like it was no big thing, and plopped down on the potty to pee. ???? Holy smokes! After days of freaking out everytime I'd ask her if she wanted to use the potty, she voluntarily did it. I was so darn happy, and she was really proud of herself too. Ever since yesterday morning, she has either gone when brother has gone, or told us she needed to go. No accidents. No griping. No drama. I don't know what happened, but something clicked. They are really cute because they congratulate eachother when they go and they help give eachother a candy corn as a potty treat.

Now, let me just mention that they are not poopy trained. Alec will go in the toilet every once in a while, but they both have a hard time doing that on the potty. We are trying to transition them to doing that too, but I'd rather that they go and not get constipated, then try to force it and have them hold it all in. Sorry if that grosses anyone out, but its just the way it is. Kinda hard to get grossed out once you've had kids. You deal with every bodily fluid imaginable on a regular basis...sooooooo.

This has been a process that has really tested our parental ability and patience. I don't think we've had it too rough. There were a few days of insanity, but I've heard stories of kids that have taken years to potty train. I'm not saying it's done, but I see a light at the end of the tunnel. When they really are completely trained, I feel like I should have an honorary degree conferred upon me by the American Academy of Pediatrics or something. I think anyone who has potty trained a child should.

Jai Ho

When the kids were about 6 months old, one of Aaron's co-workers went home to visit India, and returned with a beautiful outfit for each of the kids. We have been waiting for them to fit into them. A few weeks ago, we decked them out in their beautiful Indian clothes for church. They are such beautiful outfits, and Alec and Emma looked just adorable in them. Daddy got some great pictures. I love the first two. They look so Bollywood!

Teamwork

Alec: Hey Sissy, I have an idea. We should slide down head first.

Emma: What?! That's crazy! Let's do it.

Cool.

Wee!

It's All About Attitude

Here is my Emma in an outfit that must have been made for her. We've had it for a while, but she just now fits into it. I LOVE how it just captures the essence of Emma! Too bad she wasn't around in that getup when we were shooting our 80's video to "We Built This City" in college!

It's Potty Time

I do have more pictures to add to the previous photo update...but I have to pause a moment to tell you that my baby bear is becoming a big boy! On Friday afternoon at 3:00, Aaron announced that we should slap some underwear on these kids and just "see how it goes." I was like "sure," thinking "this should be interesting." Even though I knew the accidents would ensue shortly, one feels quite a lot of freedom in this regard when they know that the carpet, which has already been destroyed by water damage, will be coming up soon, when it's replaced with hardwood...and the upholstery in the living room has already been marred by it's share of snot, spitup, and Cookie whatnot. I'm not saying we live in a pigsty, I'm just saying that I have a lot less stress since I'm not worried about a house full of brand new Ethan Allen. This also came in really handy when we painted the dining room. We spattered paint on the floor, and just shrugged it off. Really liberating!

So, back to the point. Alec went through like 3 pairs of Elmo underwear in about half an hour. He would startle and say "aaaah....peepee comin' out!" At first he didn't know it was coming. Then he thought it was coming and it wasn't. He'd say he needed to go and nothing. This happened several times, and then....he actually went! Victory! After this first major victory at keeping the big boy pants dry, he was successful the REST OF THE DAY at letting us know "peepee comin' out!" and running to the potty. I was totally floored. Saturday he did excellent. Sunday, was a little setback because of church and us being out and about. Yesterday, after Mom's Day Out, he went back to being on track. I had to trade cars/kids with Daddy on my way to teach last night, and Aaron said that on the way home Alec said that he needed to go, but they were on the highway, and there was no way to get pulled over in time. Alec was pretty upset that he had to pee in his pants (he was wearing a pull up.) What a great sign. Last night, on my way home from teaching, I got a call from Alec exclaiming "I put poo poo in the potty!" Holy smokes, the mother load! Aaron even took a picture, since I missed such a momentous occasion. (I know that's weird, but it's not like I'm posting the picture.)

Today, Alec has not had any accidents. He's been great about telling me when he needs to go. I have been totally floored by his ability to pick this up so quickly.

Emma has humored us on the potty several times. She's even gone in the potty a few times, but she would much rather keep her diaper. We've tried the underwear on her, but she has totally freaked out when having an accident. We thought this would cause her to want to embrace the potty a little more, but I'm not quite sure that she can tell yet that she needs to go before it happens. So, I'm trying to give her some space and time to watch brother. I don't want her to feel pressure or failure. It has been great for Alec to do something "first." It's great for his self-esteem. He's had a great sense of accomplishment because he knows how proud we are of him. Emma will feel that too, when she feels more ready. If you know Emma, she doesn't do a whole lot of anything until she's good and ready. I have a feeling she will just decide one day that she is done with diapers...and that will be the end of that.

So anyways, after months of dreading potty training twins, and feeling very unprepared to just begin already, I'm glad that Aaron suggested we start trying for real.

Photo Update

I know I can only make so many excuses, but I really have been "out of it" lately. Our routine was so shaken up with the whole hospital/Aaron being sick thing...and then Emma got strep. I have some cute photos that I've been meaning to share, and am just now getting around to it. We are back to a "normal" routine now. Daddy is back to work. Sissy is all better from strep. Alec and I have managed to stay well. The fact that he didn't get strep is a miracle from God. Those kids share everything. There is no way to prevent cross-contamination with those two. I know for a fact that he used a fork she used, and drank out of her sippy. So...thank you Jesus, for sparing my son...and this Momma...from another round of yuck! :-)


Here goes with some pics:

At the playground, walking trail and lake in Bella Vista

Playing at Foerster Park in Rogers while Daddy was at the wound clinic


Alec steering "vroom vroom"

I'm the king of this dinosaur!

And obviously, I'm the queen!

Random, I know, but this was Aaron's 30th birthday cake...

er...pie. He's not really a cake person. It's peanut butter silk.

No, I didn't make it. Sam's did. I didn't have a whole lot of time to be real domestic that week.

Love those pretty blue eyes

Love my little Miss Thang too

Having fun on our very own playground

Getting some kisses from my Emma doodle

Posing in the dining room before we painted

Gotta love the expressions

BFF's!

Labor Day Project

New formal dining room color: Raspberry Rouge

*Notice the clean transition lines from the dining room into the foyer and living room. :-)

Luckily, we were given a great piece of advice for how to paint a straight line on a textured bullnose corner. Place your high quality blue painters tape, and then caulk over the tape edge where you want the paint to end. Rub the caulk into the tape edge and then wipe off completely with a damp cloth. Let set. The caulk will fill in the gaps in the texture that paint can bleed into. This will create a super straight line with no/minimal bleed through when you paint. Thought that would be a good tip to share!

Pics from August Family Visit

with MoMo

with NuNu and Alex

with Alex in Branson

with Alex in Branson

cuddling with NuNu

When Life Hands You Lemons...

just be grateful that they're lemons...and not brussel sprouts.

So, almost two weeks ago, after a softball game, Aaron noticed a sore on his leg. Since he's had staph/MRSA before (in Jan 08 when I was pregant,) we pay close attention to any sores that pop up. Well, Friday he started to run a fever. Saturday, after he took his mom to the Tulsa airport, he was really feeling bad, so he went to the clinic to have it checked out. Well, they sent him to the ER. Apparently he had a deep infected abscess, so it needed to be lanced and drained. He came home from the ER hurting and pretty torn up. They told him to go see his normal doctor in 3 days.

Two days later, Monday, he was feeling wierd, light headed. We both decided he should get in to the doc a little earlier. So, that afternoon, he saw his doc, who very quickly admitted him to the hospital in Rogers. He needed to be on iv antibiotics and needed to have his wound cared for there. After a rookie nurse completely missed his veins twice, someone else finally got his iv catheter placed. Then they started a process called repacking. They pull the gauze out of the wound, and then poke a bunch more gauze in. It's soaked in a disinfectant solution to help the wound get cleaned out. It has to heal from the inside out. They can't just sew him up, and send him on his way.

He was in the hospital until Thursday afternoon. They had run a sonogram on his leg to see if there were anymore areas to drain, and said that they saw a little fluid but no need for further surgery. It was determined that it was MRSA, and we got info about following an anti-MRSA regiment at home.

WELL...Friday morning when I took him to the wound clinic to be seen by a wound specialist, he disagreed. He cut him even more. In fact, now his wound is twice as long of an incision as it was, just not as deep (thank God!) All of this, on his 30th birthday. Sorry it was such a bummer of a birthday, honey! I have to care for him at home, but repacking his wound twice a day. I am much nicer than the nurses at the hospital though. I don't do it like I'm poking around at wood on a fireplace. I hate seeing him in pain.

He has a follow up at the wound clinic tomorrow, so hopefully we will get good news: ie...it's healing nicely and we don't have to repack it so often or at all. Please pray for my hubby. He's working from home and hanging in there, but I know he's tired of this. It's a slow healing process. I want to give a shout out to our awesome friends and church family for stepping up and bringing us meals and offering childcare so I could be with Aaron at the hospital. And to all of those who called to offer encouragement. It was pretty impossible for me to let everyone know what was going on. It was just too crazy.

Last week was a week I'd rather not repeat, but it could have been worse. It could have been more serious, more unpleasant...or it could have been one of the kids. For that, and a million other things that the Lord reminds me of daily, I'm really thankful. Please pray for him when God puts him on your heart!

What a Slacker!

So, I realize that I've been terriby negligent with this blog. For the past two weeks we've had Aaron's mom, Wanda, with us. You would think that having the extra pair of hands would cause me to spend more time blogging, but it didn't. I was enjoying spending the time with her (and the boys while they were here the first week.) I haven't done a whole lot of anything on the computer in the last two weeks. Anyways, here's a quick rundown:

Wanda and two of Aaron's brothers, Andrew and Alex, arrived on the 6th. We all went to Branson on Sunday, the 8th, after church, and stayed at the Grand Country Inn. We chose the GCI because it has an indoor and outdoor waterpark, which we could all enjoy in the 100+ degree weather. We did the waterpark and did some shopping. We only stayed one night, because I had to be back to teach on Monday. Alex and Andrew stayed until Thursday. They needed to head back for a gig that Andrew had on Friday. We all enjoyed our time with them. The kids had so much fun with Uncle NuNu and Uncle Alex. I especially appreciated having so many people around to entertain the kids.

Wanda decided to stay an extra week, because we really needed help Thursday and Friday. You see, I needed to go to Enid by myself to take care of some family business that I was really not looking forward to. I needed to go support my mother in telling my Nana that it was time for her to go into a nursing home. The doctors have been saying that she needs 24 hour care for a long while, and it was finally time to do it. Thursday, I left after the kids went down for nap. Wanda was with them until Aaron got home and then took care of them on Friday while Aaron worked from home. Thursday night was no fun. It was one of those "adult things" that I never signed up for. Friday was better. By the time Nana was actually admitted to the nursing home, things were much more calm. But it was definitely an emotional few days. No one wants to go into a nursing home. And no one wants to have to put their loved one there. But sometimes, it is in everyone's best interest. We certainly want her to have the care that she needs. And I think she's ended up liking the place a lot more than she ever imagined. I was so appreciative that Wanda stayed, because the added stress of having to either take the kids along with me or to have to find sitters would have just been so much more to deal with.

She stayed for a whole extra week, which was wonderful. The kids love having her around, and so do Aaron and I. She is a big help! I got to take care of a lot of errands that are just so much easier without the children, and Aaron and I got to (drumroll please) go on a date! We know that this is really important, however, it still is a rare occurrance considering that we don't have family here, that sitters can be pretty expensive, and that even though we have several good friends that will offer to watch them for free...it's still hard to make schedules work out, because we are all very busy people.

This afternoon, she flew home. Aaron and the kids took her to Tulsa to the airport, while I had to teach a workshop in Fort Smith. We are all back home now.

I have to get back into the swing of the "just me and the kids" routine, and I have some potty training to look forward to...when I really get myself psyched up enough for it. I also have to get ready for Aaron and I to turn 30, which will be happening very soon.

I have new pics to post, but that will have to wait until later. :-)

Just one of those weeks

I know I haven't posted in a while. Things have been kinda crazy around here this week. I've been trying to get so much done, and had a lot on my mind. First off, Aaron's mom and two youngest brothers, Andrew and Alex, are on their way here as we speak. They will be visiting for a week. I'm so happy that they are coming. It's a rare treat for us to get family up here. So, one item on my agenda has been to get the house in order.

I started the week with a plan of attack to get my cleaning and decluttering done, but Monday evening Alec came down with a fever and was sick thru Tuesday. Emma came down with it on Wednesday and is coming out of it today. I'm almost certain it is hand, foot and mouth that they caught. They have had it before with the exact same symptoms. Anyways, that was one, wait...two challenges.

Also, earlier in the week, I started to notice frost in the freezer and a clicking noise coming from our fridge. One evening I realized that it was not keeping the temp down and things were defrosting. (no bueno considering we just bought a bunch of meat last week) So, Aaron pulled the fridge out, checked it out and turned down the temp for the freezer. I looked for a repair number that I could call in the morning. The next morning everything was frozen again and it seemed to be working fine. Today, it started clicking again. So, we just pulled the grille cover off to vacuum the condenser coils underneath. (I knew this needed to happen because I googled it.) If you're going to do this...make sure you turn off the power first. Hopefully, this will take care of the clicking (which is a safety feature when the coils get too hot-keeps the compressor from running when too hot and also causes the fridge to run warm.)

What else, oh...I also had a phone interview with our bank to refinance our morgage during naptime on Wednesday. I wasn't super thrilled to be losing my "me-time" but I WAS super thrilled to find out that we would be able to lock-in at 3.75% on our 15 yr refi. yay!

Finally, I've pretty much had the baby/dog gate down all week. I decided to let the kids roam a little more free this week in anticipation of the family coming over. I hate for people to have to hurdle over the baby gates while they're here. So, I figured I'd prepare them by letting them get all of their excitement about it out of their system. I don't always have the gates up, but most of the time I do. The kids get half of the house to play in and are kept out of the stuff I'd rather them not get into...and I keep some sanity. Plus the dog gets kept out of the living room, and I only have to de-hair half of the house everyday. It wasn't too bad with the gate down because most of the week I had at least one sick child that really wanted to just lay down either in our bed or in the living room.

Well, the fam should be arriving soon, because I'm finishing this post at 7:20pm. I'm so glad to have a few more people to help entertain toddlers! Plus I think we're going to spend Sunday and Monday in Branson...should be fun!

Church in the Park

Last Sunday, we had church at Blowing Springs Park in Bella Vista. Here are a few pictures of the kids.

We had a fun time out at the park. We got to play in the little spring and the waterfall, see friends and eat yummy food.

In other news, Alec and Emma have been asking me to take them to see family. They've been saying "Momma...go bye byes...go see MoMo or PaPa or Aric" (and seriously, you could insert any family member...they've asked me to take them to see them. ) This makes me happy and sad. Happy that they love their aunt and uncles, grandparents and great-grandparents and cousins. But really sad that I have to tell them that they are all too far away for us to go see them today.

They've also insisted on naming everyone in our nightly prayers. Usually we just say "bless Momma, Daddy (they add "at work"), Alec, Emma and our family and friends" (because there are a lot). But the last few nights, they don't let me say Amen until they've named off several people from the following list: PaPa, MoMo, Alex, Aric, NuNu, GiGi, Abuela, Mimi, Papa James, Nana, Chrissy, Kylie. So, if you're feeling extra blessed this week...it's because Alec and Emma are deliberately praying for you!

They're going to be napping for probably another hour, so I need to get crackalackin' with some housework.