30 weeks (tomorrow)

Weekends at the hospital are LONG. There isn't much of the usual routine. I don't go down for testing. They do everything bedside which means little time out of my room. Weekends, even when I was at home on bedrest, were always the hardest. I think because when life was a bit more normal I always knew that Jared would be home and we would plan fun things to go and do and right now that is not reality.

Jared and the boys aren't coming up today. Jared took them to see Toy Story 3. We have been looking forward to taking them to their first movie for quite a while and we thought this movie would be the best to start with. They had fun. Eli was mesmerized and anyone who knows him will not be surprised by this. He is an avid tv watcher and if I'd let him he'd watch it all the time. Alex got a little antsy and told Jared he wanted to leave and come see me. :) You gotta love that. They went to church tonight which makes for a full day for a couple of 3 year olds.

I filled my day with some movies and magazines and a shower. Now I decided to make a video of the boys trips to the "hos-a-bull" as Alex calls it. Enjoy!

Oh as far as me and Addison. We continue to do well and they watch her closely. The doctor who rounded today said that their written goal continues to be 34 weeks. YIKES! That is another month but I am thankful to continue to carry her. I really am. It is just difficult to wrap my head around 4 more weeks without my husband and boys. I will do what is required of me but this is a whole new challenge I must say. Jared and I have always said that the boys being in the NICU and born at 27 weeks was the most difficult time in our lives but I think we have a new standard. This is tough but I first started having trouble at 22 weeks and here I am 8 weeks later. I find myself saying "Thank you Lord but how in the world am I going to handle this?" As is the theme for this current challenge I truly can't think of more than today. And today, I am pregnant and safe, Addison is safe, Jared has managed to keep his sanity and Alex and Eli are healthy 3 year olds.

Enjoy the video. Alex is front and center for most of it. He just tends to cooperate with the camera a bit more while Eli will just tell me "no" when I ask him to sing or talk. It all depends on his mood. :)

Make an on-line slideshow at www.OneTrueMedia.com

If your happy and you know it shout AMEN!

I'm kind of stumped as to what to write about today. Not because I don't have things to be thankful for it is more likely because I don't know where to begin. My mind drifts all over the place because there are so many things in my life for which to thank God. I just wrote a long post and deleted it because it is not so much each and every specific thing that I am thankful for but I am thankful for the grace God has poured out on my life on a regular basis. I wouldn't have always chose what he chose for me. I am, however, grateful that he had the wisdom to choose what was best for me when I didn't get in the way. When I did get in His way and forced my will He worked with me still and hasn't given up on me yet.

I am thankful for the way he gave me such immense love for Jared and Jared for me. I am thankful that he put Alex and Eli in our lives and the love we have for each of them. So.......If your happy and you know it shout amen! AMEN!!!!!!! (You'll understand when you click on the video below).

Make an on-line slide show at www.OneTrueMedia.com

If you need a good laugh...

I typically stick to family life in my blog but this made me laugh and I thought it might have same affect on you. Can you imagine what the reception was like if this was the processional? Yikes! ;) Hope this gives you a laugh!

You will want to pause the music at the bottom of my page before starting the video. It is 5 minutes long so sit back, have a diet pepsi and enjoy.

My Dose of Reality

Raising twins is awesome and I LOVE it. There are however some days, like today, for instance, that are a bit more challenging. So in the interest of "keepin' it real" I give you......

A day in the life

• 7:30 Wake/Dress etc.


• 8:00 Boys wake up crabby and both want to be picked up which is getting a bit more difficult given the fact that together they weigh over 50 lbs.


• Throw breakfast together to take with us, make milk sippies (aka chaka monkey), change, dress, and get shoes on them.


• 8:58 Arrive at 9am appt. JUST IN TIME.


• 9:00 Escorted back to the fun playroom where we typically wait FOREVER to be seen. Much to my surprise by the time I get the boys out of their stroller and they are mid-way to the slides a lovely lady comes out and calls our name. I am THRILLED that I didn't have to wait a day and a half. My sweet toddlers are DEVASTATED. This leads to me trying to wrangle them back into the stroller that they were just unleashed from. It was not pretty and involved kicking and screaming.


• 9:03 Mommy is slightly embarrassed and begins making promises about playing with the slide soon in order to calm insane children. I even get down to their level a la Nanny 911. Note to self: it doesn't work, it never works, they are too out of control at this point.


• Sweet lady finds them books and all is well for about 10 minutes.


• At this point they want to do blood work and get heights and weights.


• I brace myself for a little bit of a struggle but they are usually great with this and only cry at the poke because, well, it hurts, and then they are over it.


• NOT TODAY, Alex freaks out about being measured and weighed and by then he is so worked up that the blood work may as well have been an amputation. OY!


• Eli has been watching from the stroller and is already crying for his brother, so not only am I comforting hysteria boy in my lap I am trying to comfort Eli (my usually calmer child, but again, NOT TODAY).


• Eli repeats Alex's performance but weighs more thereby causing Mommy to break out into an aerobic sweat by the time we are finished.


• 9:30 WE SURVIVED and as far as I am concerned we are heading for the play room. NOT TODAY! Insert pleasant ladies voice "Mrs. R we just need a bit more paperwork and then you are all set. "


• 9:32 Back in the stroller. I don't even need to tell you what happened just read the end of the 5th bullet point again.


• 9:45 We are finished, as in, we can leave.


• 9:50 We are still there playing on the slides.


• 10:00 Still playing


• 10:05 I am exhausted and we are outta there.


• 10:06 Mommy decided we will visit Daddy at school. At this point you may think this was an insane choice but at school the boys usually don their wings and halos and it is peaceful for Mommy. It was for the most part (despite dropping Thomas, you know the tank engine, in a big puddle).


• 10:40 We are home and heading for the back yard. I now think it is wind down time. It is a beautiful day, my toes are in the grass and nap is in less than two hours.


• 11:30 Bring them in and give them their daily dose of Barney.


• 12:00 Lunch


• 12:30 Begin prepping them for their nap, change diapers, etc. It is at this point that I notice that Alex has a rash around his mouth. You see, the nutritionist said it was fine to start peanut butter. I did and shouldn't have.

• 12:35 Call Dr.


• 12:38 Call Jared


• 12:45 Head to the pharmacy but not before Alex tries to bring his bus with him. I let the boys bring little things with us but a bus, come on. I pry said bus from eachandeveryoneofhischubbylittle fingers and head out the door while he screams "bus, bus, bus, bus,".


• 12:50 Arrive at pharmacy and forgo the cart trying to hurry and as an added bonus give the boys a bit of freedom.


• 12:52 Head back to pharmacy entrance to get a cart after the boys discovered the sunglasses display and the candy display and the magazine display. (yes, all in 2 minutes)


• 12:53 Guess who doesn't want in the cart.


• 1:00 Leave pharmacy with Benadryl


• 1:10 Call Dr. to check on how much to give.


• 1:15 Finally get off the phone with Dr. only to hear splashing and laughing. My boys were playing in the toilet and had wet sleeves, hair and Alex's mouth was wet (lovely).


• 1:16 Clean boys up, give Benadryl to Alex, PUT THEM TO BED

And that my friend is all before 1:20p.m.

People say to me they couldn't imagine having twins and I always say it is awesome but there are difficult "moments". I make it through the difficult situations because there are moments like the ones in this video. Enjoy! (By the way, the "good bibs" were in the wash, which is why Eli's looks a bit out of proportion!) :)

Make video montages at www.OneTrueMedia.com

The Up Side of Things!

I am not going to pretend that it's been glamorous. I won't sugar coat, but there have been some sweeter moments. On the not-so-sweet side of things: My hands are cracked because I have washed them a bazillion times. My swiffer mop and washing machine currently HATE me due to their overuse and the disgusting things I have been having them clean. Seeing your babies miserable is not a fun part of parenting.

I have enjoyed, however, the extra snuggle time that it has allowed. My boys are a.c.t.i.v.e. When other people are around us they always comment on how busy the boys are. "They NEVER stop" is something I hear on a regular basis so to have them slow down and want to snuggle and watch their shows feels like a stolen moment. This morning I had Alex on my chest and Eli leaning against me holding my hand. It was so nice to be snuggled up under a blanket on a cold morning with two of my 3 favorite guys.

Because I have a little time to kill I find myself taking pics and videos of the boys. Here is one from this morning.

Make video montages at www.OneTrueMedia.com

Another Video

I guess I am in quite the blogging and video mood lately. Here is another fun one. Last week Chad, Missy and the kids came over and we got out the slide that is when Eli started being so careful going down and refused to let go for several seconds. We were cracking up. This is actually an improvement. Alex usually goes down like crazy but today he too decided that he was a bit nervous about it. Enjoy the video and if you have some more spare time hop over here,to Laura's Mommy Journal and enjoy another set of videos. They absolutely crack me up.

Make photo slide shows at www.OneTrueMedia.com

Monday night entertainment!

The boys always rock to music like Barney and Sesame Street, praise and worship, etc., so we thought it would be fun to put on a little something with a beat to it. If for some reason you thought that you were hearing a song referring to "Rehab" you are mistaken. Nope, not in my house, no way! :) Enjoy the fun!!! You will want to pause the music at the bottom of my page.

Make an on-line slide show at www.OneTrueMedia.com

The Whirlwind!

The first 6 months are a blur that I will refer to as the whirlwind. Amidst feeding, diapering and rocking our boys Jared and I definitely fell in love with these babies. Exhaustion is probably the best word to describe what we felt but it falls short. Their cranky time was anywhere from 4pm-10pm and sometimes the entire 6 hours. Poor Jared would get home from work and enter the nightmare of their cranky period. As all parents know however we already have trouble remembering what that was like and instead remember how sweet they were. I am not sure how that works exactly but I am convinced God knew it had to be that way otherwise people would never have more than one child (or in our case 2). Here are some pics of that period.