Out OUT dang stitch!

When I was pregnant with the twins nesting took the form of sewing things. Not that I knew how to sew or even had any supplies, but hey some ladies eat soap...I sewed. My mom got me started with her sewing machine, teaching me the lay of the land and getting me started. As what I wanted to sew was pretty basic I was soon on my merry way. Soon however I realized that all sewing machines are NOT created equal...and my mother's machine happens to be one of the crabby-est, most cantankerous, make saintly old grandmas swear kind of ordeal. Think of sewing too fast...the thread breaks. Think of sewing and not paying the strictest attention...and not giving the machine a compliment first - the bobbin gets 'take-the-whole-friggin-machine-apart' jammed! I have been more likely to cuss at this machine than any of my children...and have I mentioned...I have a 2 year old, an age that inherently inspires cussing. I am so ready to try out the machine that was given to me by a friend at church. It has apparently been in use for 20 years...most people might be put off by it being that old...me, I figure to put up with it 20 years it has to be better than what my mom has, otherwise the previous owner would have died of high blood pressure! You don't believe me? Lets just say...if my Dr. had taken my blood pressure this morning...I would have been put on bed rest! The source of my frustrations? An innocent little tag blanket...for baby shower...could there be a better cause(honestly yes...but not much better =)














It looks so innocent...














The sewing machine apparently took issue with me sewing a piece of fabric on the back. That was not the first fit it threw for this little project, but it was the last straw for me today...temperamental piece of metal!

my new body guard...

Pretty intimidating, eh?


















after Kenneth doctored it a bit in photoshop

confession

Blogging is so addictive. Well, blogging and blog stalking....So here is my confession in the hopes that it might help other hopeless blog addicts.....Google Reader. It is a wonderful service through Google(one of many wonderful services I might add...Firefox, gmail, gchat, picassa, tabbed browsing, the list goes on and on) that allows you to subscribe to all of your favorite web pages. It checks those pages and will let you know within the hour if those pages have been updated. So for me it means that instead of manually going to every single blog that I have made a part of my daily circuit...I click on google reader to see if I have any blog excitement to peruse and then get back to being a mommy. It saves a TON of time. Let's see, I will go look really quick....hmmmm, I have 31 subscriptions to date, none of them has been updated....Hah! I just saved myself at least 15 minutes! Hope this helps!

some more kid pics.

My house with a 2 1/2 year old and 2 mobile 7 month olds...I promise my house was clean 2 days ago...


His latest phase is pretending he is a cow...and like every good cow he eats grass and clover.


I am keeping these as evidence for when he starts dating! =)




He would stop every so often to "moo" like a good cow. And yes he ate it...and many many more!

















Double trouble!












Looking for bugs to eat, I'm sure!

updates, highlights...whatever you want to call it

I have gotten a little behind. I am not going to stress to much about it, but for the sake of journaling I will try to at least hit some highlights.

-Easter was wonderful. I actually got to listen to a little of the talks during Sacrament Meeting and was really uplifted. We spent most of the day with Kenneth's family eating crawfish, steak, and brisket....well most of us ate that, Gavin ate grass, dirt, and as much candy as he could get his grubby little hands on. It was very pleasant(except for eating too much) and a great way to spend the day. I will post some pictures sometime, but as our camera's battery died that is dependent on when we get them from my father-in-laws camera.

-Kenneth....put in his two weeks notice at work! Hooray and Yikes! He is going to be doing the same thing he has been doing(flash animation, court presentations, etc), but freelance. He is also gearing up the lawn mowing business. He is so close to finishing "the Machine" which is another of his projects that I am pretty sure involves a computer controlled cutting thingey...think decorative flowers on a bookcase, or wooden puzzles. I am looking forward to that being done as he has been talking about it/building it most of our marriage, and I have a list of things that I want him to build for me when it is finished(sewing table, kitchen table, more shelves, etc, etc.). He has already mentioned a few other projects to me that he is interested in starting...I told him he has to finish the ones he is already working on before he starts anything else! I love that man! I remember when we were dating someone telling me that he was a dreamer, and would go places with those dreams...and it is the truth! He is always looking for ways to make things better and then actually doing it.

-Gavin...has gone deaf. At least he acts like it whenever I am trying to get his attention for any reason. He has also started yelling at people lately when he gets angry....hmmmm, I think that might be my fault in response to the aforementioned deafness. So I am listening to a book called "Scream Free Parenting," and.... he is still ignoring me. Maybe I will get him some signing videos for his birthday...Oh and potty training.....yeah, not so much!

-Jane...is completely mobile. She is crawling and pulling up on things and talking in a loud voice that is sometimes startling coming from someone who looks as dainty as she does. She is very intense and interested in the world around her. It makes her a pain to hold onto because she dives for anything that passes in her line of sight. She reminds me so much of Gavin at this age

-Atticus...is even more mobile than Jane. He isn't crawling yet, but he has figured out that he can move just as well by scooting, and he has decided that he is going places! He is definetly a different model than the other two. He is a funny mixture of cuddly little snuggle bug, wanting to be held all the time and wiggly dynamo(when I was pregnant you never could be sure where he would show up on the ultrasound he moved so much...Jane was firmly planted feet first on my bladder). I think when he starts walking and running he is going to give me a real run for my money!

-Me...I am trying to keep up. I feel like every morning I sit down on top of an ant mound and then spend the rest of the day with kids crawling all over me. I am trying to figure out how to fit 4 kids in such a small(1 bedroom) apartment, as it doesn't look like we are moving anytime soon! My current excitement - a lady at church is giving me a sewing machine...I am soooo excited. I spent most of last summer sewing/learning to sew. I have a ton of fabric, but with 3 kids it is such a pain to haul them to my moms, get everything set up, keep the kids entertained, sew anything, and get everything cleaned up when my kids lose patience. Now I will at least be able to have a small space set aside for it at home, and I will be able to use it when the kids are in bed!


















who is that sexy pregnant woman? Ha ha, not me, but people say we look alike and I always thank them profusely!














cute cousins!














Jane's new talent....















and its consequences....














Hmmmph!














Here comes Michael to save the day!

pregnancy, potty training, etc.

Well, I have officially entered the second trimester! I think gestation-wise I was probably there a few weeks ago, but I am celebrating now, because this is the week that my energy has been gradually coming back and my nausea is just a background complaint(compared to what it has been!). Wonder of wonders, my house is slowly gaining order, and the laundry is(for all intents and purposes) done! Another sign I feel better...I have even been slowly doing the dishes, which per an agreement earlier in our marriage is Kenneth's job for eternity. I have been doing them five at a time, in between being swarmed by children...I only have half a sinkful left for tomorrow(I am pretty sure if I finished the whole sink today I would have been translated...and then what would my children have done for dinner?)!

Last night Kenneth and I went on a date to the mall. There was a little carnival set up in the parking lot, so we celebrated my lack of nausea by eating a lot of cotton candy and riding a couple of rides...of course Kenneth made one of the rides spin so wildly that I was pretty nauseated anyway for a while. Then we walked around the mall and ended up spending most of our time browsing through books at Books-A-Million. Just for your information...I love, love, love books, and book store browsing is one of my favorite dates. My absolute favorite stores are used book stores, followed closely by resale shops. I could spend all of my money in those places!














Gavin's life is about to change. I spotted some "Cars" underwear tonight at Wal-Mart, and decided to buckle down and make our first assault on potty training. Also, he is big enough for size 6 diapers, and that equals $20 for 54 diapers....absolutely ridiculous. AND, it gave me an excuse to go a little nuts in the toy section, buying potty bribes. So here we go, I may not be sane in a few weeks but maybe he'll surprise me!

tier 1 bribes










tier 2 bribes

movie night

We ended up starting after 9:30 p.m. so there was no way that Gavin and I were going to make it to the end. So Kenneth started playing around with the camera.

sweet moments

The past few morning when I have gone to pick up the babies, they have been "talking" to each other. They are also becoming very interactive with each other during the day, whether it be laughing at each other, stealing toys, or demanding to be held at the same time. It is a lot of fun seeing how much they enjoy each other. I always missed that with Gavin, feeling bad that he didn't have anybody his own age to play with on a regular basis.

Atticus started scooting yesterday. Jane will crawl a little and can move from her knees to sitting up now. Gavin is in love with life. He loves to run, and has had a few accidents watching himself run past Grandma and Grandpa Rosses reflective glass windows. He loves to climb. He loves to dance, he loves to sing, he loves to learn new words! Life is an exciting place for him.

an argument in favor of marriage

Today I was grateful again for being married to and not just dating Kenneth, because I think this morning would have been a deal breaker. He pulled me in for a big bear hug as he was walking outside...and squeezed a sneeze right out of me. This was not a polite little 'a-choo' either...this was a clear your sinuses of all that has been building up for the past 2 years kind of blowout. Needless to say the next time I saw him, he had a nice snot mark on his shirt sleeve that he thought was hilarious. Can you imagine doing that on a first date...holy frijoles! Kenneth almost ran away cause I gave him a hug on our first date(yes, I know, I have a shameless hussy streak that runs deep). Anyway, I am glad that it happened after 3 1/2 years of marriage, which includes countless gallons of poop, puke, pee, and snot, and we were pretty much desensitized to that kind of thing.

one of lifes mysteries...

Why is it that my two year old thinks nothing about eating dirt....any dirt, at any level of nastiness...on a daily basis...but when he drops his pacifier(yeah he is 2 and still needs a pacifier, remember this is the "mom of the year" you are dealing with) on my recently vacuumed floor, it becomes "unclean" and results in a meltdown! I do not understand this phenomenom and it has happened more than once, can anyone explain it to me?

messy picture blog (updated with some captions)

I've been trying to post these pics for days now but have gotten overwhelmed at the thought of captioning them all. So I am just going to put them out there and if you really want to know the story behind them call me or make one up and leave it as a comment!













Gavin drinking the standing muddy water in our back yard, and trying really hard not to get his clothes dirty in the process....I do not understand this child!













Kenneth showing Gavin how to turn the wagon around after he tried it on his own and dumped Atticus in the mud.














The Aftermath...Atticus is one unhappy camper, everyone got a bath after this and then went down for a nap.

































Lately with the twins teething, it gets to the point were I just lay down on the bed and let them crawl all over me...it keeps them happy and I don't go crazy

sugar coated goodness

I made a momentous discovery tonight at Wal-Mart...are you ready for this? Chocolate Marshmallow Mateys! Effectivlly combining my two favorite cereals and getting rid of all the parts I don't like. And get this...they are actually good for me...at least that is what is says on the bag, and what the heck was I doing without those 12 essential vitamins in my diet before? Now I must clarify that I would never eat this for breakfast...I do not eat "cereal" for breakfast unless it is in the form of oatmeal, anything else makes me feel gross the rest of the day. This is my new special treat eaten like popcorn but much much better!

salad & playdates

conversation with Gavin:

Me: "Would you like chicken nuggets?"
G: "NO!"
Me: "What do you want to eat?"
G: "No."
Me: ???"How about horse food(salad)?"
G: "Noooo! Bear food!"
Me: "Bear food?"
G: "Yes, bear food."

so I made him a salad anyway(after all a salad was tiger food a few days ago) added some croutons and called it good. I am amazed that he will actually eat it, but so long as he gets to be a horse/tiger/bear he chows down. I wish it were that easy for me!

The twins had a play date today, consisting of 3 other kiddos the same age as them. We were really good at getting together right after the babies were born, but then it just got harder and today was the first time we have gotten together in probably 4 months. It was really nice catching up with the other moms and getting to see the babies, who are all sitting up and really getting big.

In the last picture the kids on each end are my nephews, Michael and Clayton, in case you were wondering how the numbers multiplied so quickly.

dreams DO come true

Gavin has had a life dream fulfilled. Yes folks, my little heathen finally got to play in the ditches and throw rocks in the water to his hearts content. This was all brought about by Robin, mother of Gavin's good "fwend" Grant, who called us on the fly and said her kids where playing in the mud and invited Gavin to join them. Thank you Robin! You made his day(it would be at least a week, but I am not sure how long his 2 year old memory will hold onto it). Below is the nap he took after his adventure. It took him maybe 5 seconds to fall asleep.


In other exciting news, I am pretty sure the twins are both teething...oh joy! Either that or they have just been especially cranky, snotty, clingy, and jealous lately. Jane is officially scooting, and has celebrated that fact by scooting right off the bed...twice. I was not present on either occasion, but apparently she got points for style(she completely flipped in midair one of the times) and for reaction(remarkably little crying). Also she escaped without a concussion or any other serious injuries....thank goodness! Atticus is not scooting quite yet but he has made up for that by actually growing a little more hair, which with my babies is pretty remarkable. There is not enough to put a bow in yet, but he definetly has more potential than Jane(poor girl, he has longer eyelashes too!).

my enchanted life...or why I don't clean

A cardinal just flew in my front door and ate the cracker crumbs off the floor....and yes I was singing and dancing and watching the other birds and squirrels clean the rest of the house. The roaches would have helped but we have a poison perimeter set up around our house that discourages them.

when daddy is in charge...

assorted happenings

Well, I just ordered a manual baby food grinder off line. I haven't decided if it is a good decision(grind my own baby food, never have to buy baby food again) or a bad decision(I actually have to grind the baby food, I have to clean the thing), but it is a done decision so I guess I will get back to you on that.

I was fiddling with the mac yesterday and that thing can be aggravating. I ended up muttering under my breath, "STUPID, stupid computer...." then I heard a little voice behind me, "tu-pid, tu-pid, tu-pid, tu-pid...." trying out a new word and practicing to get it just perfect. Great...'and the mother of the year award goes to'....some one else!

Gavin is learning that being a big brother is not just hugs, kisses, and adoring gazes. We started ordering the "Friend" magazine for him, and he loves his new "book." He spends a lot of time flipping through the pages and staring at the pictures.














Unfortunately, he also leaves it on the floor when he is finished, and there is nothing the twins like better than a magazine to chew on. A new authoritarian side of Gavin has come out as he marches to his siblings and says gruffly, "No, NO Jane, no eat book!" (and this from the kid who used to bite huge chunks out of his board books)














Kenneth is on spring break this week. So this morning I got to have a "girls morning out." What did I do? What I have been trying to do for a month...I had the oil changed in the van, and then ran other various and sundry errands. It felt sooo good! You know you are getting old when going grocery shopping, or having your oil changed(without any of the kids) is a major emotional outlet!

the rise and fall...

So I stopped nursing several weeks ago, and I had forgotten(again) that when I am not nursing I really do have a semi normal size bosom. I realized a couple of days ago that I am in decline, because when I leaned over my phone fell out....I guess it is time to get pants with pockets!

I hope the subject is not too inappropriate, it has just been a source of amusement lately.

an exercise in aggravation

Today the twins had a well baby visit. Kenneth left at 5am for Austin, and then everybody else was up by 6:30am. It was not the smoothest morning, probably in large part because my hormones are still crazy and I am not doing so hot at "acting" and not being "acted upon" by the psychotic woman who has taken residence in my head. And also my kids were a little difficult(why on this morning of all mornings did Gavin decide to poop in the bathtub?). Anyway, I got us dressed, together, out the door, Gavin dropped off at his playdate, and to the dr.'s office 15 minutes before my appointment time...pretty impressive for a cranky pregnant woman toting 2 car seats that weigh at least 40 lbs a piece. The Dr.'s visit went great, the twins are so healthy it is disgusting and hitting all the important milestones. We made it thru in record time. And then we had to visit the dreaded "shot lady," yep the twins had to get shots....so I haul everyone thru 2 more sets of doors, get Jane out of her car seat and then am informed that they are all out of the vaccinations and that I have to go the the Health Department...and I have to go today...or Monday. WHAT!?! Are you kidding me?

shot lady: "nope I'm not kidding...the state didn't send us enough vaccinations and we ran out for the month."
Me: "And you couldn't call parents so they could plan their day accordingly?
shot lady: "No, not really...we don't know when we are going to run out..."
Me: [at this point I clamp my mouth shut as I feel my hormone induced rage instantly makes it necessary to keep my head from exploding...] (what I was thinking) So you couldn't go and print out a list of all the babies that are coming in for a well baby to find out how many vaccinations you were going to have to do today and then go to your little fridge and count how many little bottles of vaccine you have in there and think 'oooooh I have 23 kids coming for shots and only enough for 2 maybe I should call the others, maybe in all my free time when I am not giving shots'....no I can see how that is impossible...especially if you are going to beat that high score in solitaire any time soon....so I will haul my 2 40 lbs car seats and my pregnant self down to the health department and see if they have the vaccinations since it has to be done TODAY!(at this point I was screaming in my head...and possibly spraying spittle)...oh and I will call my babysitter and see if my 2 year old can stay for at least 2 more hours while I take care of this... thank you for being so considerate, good luck with your game..."
so I didn't actually say any of the last part, but the lady could tell that I was not so happy and so spent the rest of the time I was in her office bad mouthing the state of Texas in a lame attempt to place blame. And honestly I can see the frustration of having the state not send you enough vaccines so that you run out by the first week of the month...but honestly if you don't want an office full of angry parents do what damage control you can! Oh, and when I got down to the health department and they asked me which dr.'s office sent me the lady taking my info made this comment..."Oh, wow they ran out fast this month...we've been getting all of their shot patients since yesterday." since yesterday....Yesterday!!! I can see why they didn't have time to call....really! grrrr. Curse that lying shot lady at my Dr.'s office.

proof i contributed to this kid

my cranky kids

Atticus is more honest with his emotions...
































Jane is a good faker. She would smile at me if I was looking at her, but if I broke eye contact she would shriek like a banshee...