Paging...

...Dr. Love!

































How do they pull it off you ask? They must take after Daddy's side of the family...We love you Grandpa Barry!

can't wait...

...to meet the 2008 model!

Happy Birf-day!

Well I am officially on the downhill side of my 20's. In 3 years I will be 30 and officially old! Yesterday I celebrated my birthday by cleaning house. My kids entertained themselves or they went to bed and I closed the door. My house reeeaally needed it to. I took 2 sick days AND 2 mental health days last week and as a result...well it wasn't pretty. It took me all day, but boy was it worth it. The bathroom doesn't smell like anything is rotting in there(that is until Gavin "Shamu the Whale" takes a bath again....that kid can flood the bathroom floor by splashing in 2 inches of water). ALL of the laundry is done...and I even mopped the kitchen(to follow up from previous post, Kenneth did the super stinky dishes...props to him for picking up a LOT of slack from his crazy hormonal pregnant wife). Nothing quite like a really clean house. The kids are pretty excited about it too, because it makes it so much easier and more satisfying to see the havoc they wreak.

Kenneth took me on a picnic last night to Riverfront park in Beaumont. That is an underrated location. It was beautiful, temperate(amazingly), and empty. A great place for a date. The most impressive part of the whole thing...he arranged for babysitters by himself...and not by calling my little brothers 5 minutes before he wanted to leave! By far one of the best birthday presents he has ever given me.

I was also overwhelmed with emails, comments on facebook, and phone calls! I love the information age! Thanks everyone. It all added up to a really great day. A special shout out to my parents who called from California where they are picking my little sis up from her mission(belated birthday present - she gets home TODAY!)...just to let me know that they were celebrating my birthday in grand style(riding the trolley, exploring Chinatown, eating at cool restaurants). Thanks Mom and Dad...

Super Saturday continues....

Conspiring parents know that one of the best ways to wear your kids out is to let them play outside on a really hot day. Conspiring children know that the best way to get their parents back is to find a mud hole and get as muddy as possible...

Super Saturday!

Lately with Kenneth's new job on top of all his other projects(mowing business, woodcarving business) and church calling(young men's president) we(the stay at home members of the family) have been sorely missing our Daddy/husband time. This morning started out feeling no different with him out the door by 7, before any of our kids were out of bed. BUT, (un)fortunately the weed eater that Kenneth has been using for his mowing business finally bit the dust(over 12 years old...broken when he received it...held together by gum and shoestrings). After spending a little time in heated family discussion regarding funding for a new one, we came to the conclusion that 1. We needed to buy a new one(I don't know why I ever delude myself into thinking we will be ahead on our bills...*sigh* and letting go) 2. why not make it a family trip. So load up the kiddos in the van(btw need to introduce you to the newest drain on our finances...the van that better not break anytime soon[and the first car in that we have had in our marriage that came with less than 140,000 miles on it] I will post a picture sometime) and head into town to buy a weed eater...whooowhee, that is fun for the whole family! And then, why not, stop at McDonald's for breakfast and let Gavin go nuts in the play place while the twins stuff themselves full of pancakes, eggs, sausage(thanks to daddy!), hash browns, and biscuits! It ended up being a lot of fun, and even better a time to reconnect with my husband! Now we are home the kids are all taking a nap, husband is out breaking in the new weed eater, and I am about to lie down(and ignore once again the dishes that have been building up since Monday...besides those dishes are a bit of a catch 22, they smell so bad I am not sure I could wash them without throwing up...so there they sit producing fruit flies and getting stinkier...oh well!)

the girl next door...

Gavin has a friend...a girl friend! We were so excited last month when Michael and Amylyn moved next door to us. They were considerate enough to have their children right around the same time we had ours. Now the pictorial evidence will show that Gavin and Ella had been introduced pretty early on...but distance had always hindered the development of their friendship. And when they first moved in, Gavin was immediately smitten and professed his attachment by throwing the plastic ball pit balls in her face. Ella was much more skeptical of this heathen boy and was not overly impressed by the ball incident. Fortunately that rocky start was not an indicator of things to come. They are very much friends now, fighting over toys, giggling together and having a rip roaring good time. The other day I heard Ella in the other room..."Gavin, Gavin! Come help me Gavin! Help me!" (I think she had climbed up something and couldn't figure out how to climb down) He dutifully ran in and helped her out of her dilemma. Not long afterwards I hear Gavin..."Ella! Help me! Help me Ella!" (pretty sure it wasn't a situation that he needed help in, but oh well!) In runs Ella and rescues her friend. So. stinkin. sweet. They went back and forth like that several times. Another thing...Ella is going to be responsible if Gavin ever gets potty trained. She is potty trained and so her frequent trips to "pee pee" pique Gavin's interest...and if that weren't enough sometimes when she gets done with a trip to the bathroom she'll say..."Now Gavin needs to go pee pee. Go pee pee Gavin." And away he goes. I love watching them. I am so grateful that Gavin has a friend so close in age and proximity!

computer crash

I was just working on my computer when out of nowhere...CRASH! My computer shuts down. 'Crud' I think, 'maybe I got a stupid virus...' Then I felt a wiggle by my foot, and look down to find...

the reason it is called...

pack -n- PLAY!

by our powers combined...

...we can destroy everything!





Forget to put the cereal up and BAM! Major mess all over the place






As far as we can tell Jane was the "fall guy." Pretty sure she climbed on the chair and then climbed up the back, overbalancing it and knocking it over...vwah-lah fun for everyone!

100th post...yipee

Well, We are on the downhill side of this pregnancy. I officially have no energy, feel fat and ugly, and am a hormonal CRAZY woman. Sometimes I want to cry when I think about having to pick up both of the twins...wait a minute a couple of times I did cry! They are getting so stinking heavy! Maybe lugging them around will cause me to go into labor...

To celebrate this impending birth I have somewhere close to 5oo...million... doctor visits in the next 6 weeks from OB visits to ear checks(which if we fail this time leads to yet another Dr. appointment, this time with a specialist to discuss tubes) to 1 year well babies. It feels endless and exhausting. Also, I need to pick a day to have this kid. It can be any time after August 25th. I am leaning toward the 28th or 29th. Any opinions/input? Also got the twins 1 year birthday coming up. I think August is trying to kill me, and we aren't even out of July yet. Oy vey! Anyway, enough whining!

the many faces of Atticus...

He has a tendency to run his grimy figures thru his hair toward the end of a meal...

most embarrasing thing I hear during the day...

"Mommy...top scweaming!" Um...I wouldn't necessarily say I was screaming so much as raising my voice in frustration....can I plead pregnancy hormones? Ok, ok...sorry dude! To a two year old the nuances of frustration are mute. He is not allowed to yell at me(or anybody else for that matter) so why should I be allowed to? Reality check at 9 am.


















Not the clearest picture, but this is after Gavin helped Grandma Ross put her makeup on. He was so proud he carried her mirror around looking at himself.

and people ask...

...how we will fit 4 kids in a 700 square foot, 1 bedroom apartment. Well fire codes be darned...


















We're just gonna stack 'em!

still here

Atticus is walking. Jane is walking and climbing. Gavin is running away. They are destructionators. I am tired. And fat...I mean pregnant. When I clean it is like Christmas for my kids as they interpret it as the blank canvas for destruction.









































"Cleaning" the fudge pot on a Sunday afternoon.

sleep tight!

I just tried to climb into bed. First I had to throw 2 plastic snakes, baby lotion, and my glasses case out of the bed. Finally I was able to crawl under the cover...where I found the car keys, a plastic dinosaur, and something else but I forget what. Our bed is a playground by day....someday...someday, we will live in a house big enough to put our bed in an actual BEDROOM!

my house smells....

....BAD! Yesterday I changed 9-10 poopy diapers...yeah I was curious and counted. That doesn't count the ones that weren't poopy but had to be changed anyway. Needless to say our diaper trash is full and our house smells....well it smell like crap!

Other exciting things:

Atticus took 6 unassisted steps yesterday and is pretty consistent with pulling up on things and then trying to walk from there. He gets sooooo excited you would think he was the only baby ever to hit a milestone!

Jane has figured out how to climb on our bed....and from there to my desk. Yesterday I was listening to music working around the house and the it began to skip around. That is when I discovered Jane sitting on the keyboard. She can walk across the kitchen(my moms....important to know cause there is a major size difference) if there is a treat involved.

Gavin is learning to speak in sentences. All of you who read who only deal in verbal little girls might not understand what a big deal this is...but it IS! He was looking at his photo album the other day and found a picture of his uncle David holding him in the hospital and got really excited:
"David...baby! David...baby! David.....baby!" pauses and slows down, "David holding da baby, momma!"
Whoa...was that a sentence? I would have popped the button of my pants from pride if I wasn't only doing elastic right now!