Finding some ME time

2012-01-16T00:10:00.006-06:00

I just love the kind of days when both the twins are in a good mood...they are really few and far between and they love to fight with each other and cause trouble and messes ALL DAY LONG!!! but today, they were playing so nicely together after nap and we had a great time "Dressing up Mommy"....and pulling my hair, and poking me in the eyes, and ....Making me smile.... Here's our video....

Authentique sketch Challenge

2011-09-04T17:05:00.004-05:00

When I saw this paper line, i just had to get my hands on it!! I love the gray/yellow combo and knew that Londyn's Easter Dress would be perfect to use with it!!! Here is my entry this month .... Head over and check out their blog!! HERE
Thanks to a good friend for sending me this link!!! Love all the paper lines!!! I just might need them ALL!!! :)

Products used:
Authentiques Blissful Line with Blissful accents

15 hour Crop .... 'til you drop

2011-09-04T14:23:00.010-05:00

All day yesterday and ALL night...15 hours to be exact...I headed over to Springfield to crop with a group of ladies at the Paper Boutique, a New Scrapbook store owned by two really great friends!!! What a fun time, although i only got a few layouts finished, i had such a great time scrapping with all these girls, and met some awesome new friends too. Three other moms at the crop were also parents to Twins!!! it was so cool sharing stories and learning what i have to look forward to!! As always at crops, I ate myself sick,they had the best food and we were treated like royalty!! :) Lunch consisted of Awesome Turkey sandwiches from a local deli type place, they were huge, and chips, fruit, and cookies!, then snacks were put out... I ate crackers, cheese , cr. cheese dip, and about a dozen mini candy bars, then came dinner...uugh, like i was EVEN hungry by this time...but how could i pass up..Parmesean Chicken, angel hair spaghetti, salad, green bean and rolls!!! Then more desserts, cookies and brownies!!! uuugh...so yummy and well worth driving all that way to play with them all!! I love to see everyone's different scrap styles and there was even a BOY there...yep you read right...a BOY!! It was the most awesome thing, it was an older couple that came in together and i thought he was just helping his wife in with her stuff, then he put on his apron and i couldn't beleive it, this guy meant business!!! And his scrapbooks were AMAZING!!! they were prob. close to age 70's, how awesome that they have this hobby to share together!!!..and it didn't even phase him when at 7pm all the women took their bras off!! ha, NO, i will not be recruiting Joe however, this is my time away with my girls, but it really warmed my heart! Wish i had taken my camera, so i could share their photo with you.... But all i have to share are a few pics of the layouts i comepleted.... Enjoy your long weekend....why not try something Crafty?? oh and if you are in the area, head over to Paper Boutique and check out all their wonderful scarp products and sign up for a crop, I'll be going back for sure.... :)

This final layout was designed by Corynn (owner of the store) she was nice to help me get some of my photos onto pages.... :)

Going going.... too fast!!

2011-08-28T14:42:00.003-05:00

In just a few weeks the Twins will be THREE!! I can't believe how fast the time has gone, this past weekend, we went out for their 3 year photo shoot!! We had such a ball! We went with a Tea Party theme, and they had a ton of fun, and so did we the photographers!!! :) Here is just one photo to share, i'm sure most of you have seen them on facebook HERE or my other blog HERE...but i do have some family who don't have facebook.... (believe it or not) :)

I Heart Faces... EYES

2011-08-15T14:05:00.004-05:00

Love the theme of this weeks contest over at I heart faces... EYES!... i love my kids' eyes, so blue and so full of energy and wonder!! Go check them out, there are some wonderful entries this week!

a little strung out....

2011-07-22T21:58:00.003-05:00

....and it IS ok. I know that and believe that, so why do i always feel so 'unaccomplished'. So much to do, so little time. i don't really know if I have 'so much' to do, just have a lot on my mind. Work, Finances, House, Spouse and Kids! And the latter, are the most important, so if i just whack the first few off my list...all is what it's supposed to be!! It's all about perspective! So as the sign says "I can't do it all, and it's OKAY"... Enjoy the weekend!

2011-06-27T14:38:00.005-05:00

Having some fun with I Heart Faces again http://www.blogger.com/img/blank.gifthis week....theme for the week, is Whimsical.... this seems whimsical to me....what about you? If you haven't already, check out I Heart faces Blog, it's such a fun, relaxed photography blog! With tons of great photographers!

LINK HERE!!

Summer is Here.

2011-06-19T21:44:00.003-05:00

Just so you know, i'm still around, just haven't taken the time to blog lately, i'm hoping to do a bit better...but i've said that before.... I really enjoy blogging, becuase i can look back and remember so many things.... I went through my whole blog the other day, what a walk down memory lane!!

Let Summer begin......

2011-05-20T12:11:00.002-05:00

A Great Giveaway is going on over at Wild Hearts Photography, check it out for your chance to win some great prizes!

Happy Mother's Day

2011-05-07T21:34:00.005-05:00

This weekend the twins have come pretty darn close to 'doing me in'... I don't know if it's the age or the 'new found' 'finding their independence'..or because they haven't been feeling well....probably all of the above.... They are just soooo busy, and soooo MESSY!!! But today, I was scrolling through some pics on my computer and found THESE photos....They reminded me just how much FUN they really are, and that everyday in an adventure and worth everything I do, every DAY!! I am so blessed to be the mom of 3 beautiful children, whom i LOVE 'more than the moon'.....

Have a Great Mother's Day and enjoy your children...even their messes!! :)

Going Green with Scrapping....

2011-04-10T17:28:00.005-05:00

Just a quick post today, i have a ton to do after my weekend away, but I wanted to share some of the fun stuff i created while away... This last weekend was our annual scrapbooking girls getaway, we go every year and shop til we drop, scrap til we pass out, and eat til we puke...not really, but feel like it.... :) Altogether I created 11 layouts and 2 really fun mini albums.... I'll just share a few... Awhile back I created a mini album from an old book, I went back to this because I think It's a great way to re-use old books and SAVE THE PLANET!! :) Also, it saves money!!! So I took a few of my old books and remade this... I actually made two, but will only share this one.... I Made this book and called it "Say What?".... I have been keeping a journal of all the fun and funny things the twins say so one day I can look back and show them how silly they were and it's just so cute how toddlers say things..... Here it is before pics and journalling is added... >

Here Are just a few of the layouts I did this weekend .... I even took the time to scrap some old photos of the twins at age one too....
The Professional photos were taken by an amazing photographer, Melissa Waller here in town when they turned one...she had such patience. So happy to get these out of a box and into an album!!

That's all for now.... Happy Scrapping!! :)

2011-03-28T09:33:00.003-06:00

Yep, i'm still around and have been meaning to update my blog, but things keep 'gettin in the way'...we've been super busy around here lately, getting ready for the warm weather and enjoying some time off the past week....
So hopefully i can get so extra time soon, to post some of our adventures...
This past week i've been getting Super busy with photoshoots...
I had the pleasure of photographing these super adorable twin girls this past weekend and although i was peed on several times and barfed on...it was the most fun i've had with a photoshoot...they were simply precious...
You can check out some of the shots on my facebook or my photography blog here..
Enjoy your week to come!!
~tara

I heart Faces

2011-02-14T08:17:00.002-06:00

This week over at I heart faces, they are having a photo contest featuring RED! Just in time for Valentine's Day, i had a tough choice choosing which photo to pick, but this one had the most Red...Head over there to check them out...it's such a fun photo site.

Also to see more photos from my Valentine's day shoot, you can see them on Facebook!
Happy Valentine's Day!!

TALES from the Potty

2011-01-24T14:04:00.010-06:00

Ups and Downs

Tinkle tinkle little tot,
little bare bums on the pot.
Potty dances, potty parties,
sprinting when there's lil farties.
***
Days of celebrating cheers,
in between our daily tears.
I think we're gunna make it through,
But then some days, it's harder too...

I know I'm not alone....But this is MUCH harder and more frustrating than i remember it being with Austin.... Some days Londyn does so well!!! And others, she doesn't even wanna TRY! I spend all this money on the 'fancy pull ups" with DORA!!!! What am I doing wrong??

I've tried it all....stickers, candy, special projects...you name it....

I think the part that is so frustrating for me, is that i KNOW she is ready and KNOWS what she is doing!! Because as soon as she goes in her pants, she tells me...well Pee that is...
That brings me to my current frustration.... Playing in her poop!!!
For the past two days during nap time....she has removed her poopy diaper and smeared it ALL OVER the room.... (no, i didn't take pictures i prefer to forget this memory). She had smeared it all over her body, all over the LIGHT carpet, and even dipped her 'makeup' brushes in it and painted the walls AND River's back!!! He thought it was a cool game.

I am really not one of those mom's who ignore the children, so you may wonder how sh could have done this two days in row?? Well.... i thought they were sleeping!! because YES, i am one of those moms, who knows better than to even peek around the corner once they are asleep, they can 'sense' this and will wake up...so when they are silent i stay AWAY from the door.

After yesterday, though,i decided to peek in after a bit today.... and once again....she was playing PICASSO!! alllllll over!!! I even dressed her in layers today, button crotch onesie, pants...etc... she's a smart one!!

This morning, she even took off her pants went to the potty, sat there for a bit...got off the potty, and pood on the the floor.... again.....where was I??? getting River out of his highchair after breakfast because he was trying to CLIMB out on his own....I need more of me maybe or a better game plan.

I know this too shall pass....but do i have to be covered in poo in the meantime?? I stink!

So the days continue and i will keep trying....Someday i will laugh at all this...they say.

On a happier note... CHRISTMAS PHOTOS....
just a few, I don't want to over whelm you..... so here is our Christmas in a nutshell...

Londyn and her LA LA Loopsy doll.... the 'difficult' gift to find this year, there is always that ONE huh? But she was so excited!

Austin and his Android tablet! This kid wanted an iPad... hahaha... has he not seen how bare our trees are outside??? no money growing there! But this was just perfect for him...does the same things he wanted it for, just not all the bells and whistles of the ipad.
Long story short here: Austin wanted this xbox game for Christmas...I bought it Brand New at Target...opened it on Christmas am to play it and there was a blank disk in it!!!! no lie....sealed and everything....But target was good for it and exchanged it for us!! Crazy!
A way to BURN the winter energy!! a trampoline!!! This has provided tons of fun for both of them!!!

River....All he asked Santa for was TRAINS!!!! so that's what he got...a LOT of trains after he saw this train table...he didn't care to open anything else the rest of the DAY!!!

And some of you may be wondering about River and potty training.... here is your answer:

*Sometimes you just have to pick your battles.

Thanksgiving and Christmas Begins

2010-11-29T12:20:00.013-06:00

Be ready for a photo crazy post...it's been so long since i have posted...time gettin away from me, i cant believe that Christmas is around the corner...

Our life has been as chaotic as always, with the twins entering the terrible...and i mean terrible twos, i always thought this was a cliche' because really with Austin it didn't seem so bad, unless i wiped it from my memory. But it seemed on October 1st, on the dot they truly turned 'terrible'...just like a switched was flipped..they are nuts!!! so busy, and into everything... They had a great birthday with family over to celebrate. And loved their cake..which was Dora and Diego of course... they are still mainly into spongebob, but we did that last year and Londyn is a BIG Dora fan, so this year we went with Dora.

Londyn got a new princess vanity for her birthday...she sat here for hours playing the music, looking at herself in the mirror and applying her lip gloss...i finally had to put the lip gloss away, she was getting a bit carried away!! This was the perfect gift for our princess.
And this HUGE balloon was her best friend for weeks!! Grandma and Bampa brought her this balloon...They also brought a HUGE Diego one, but the ceiling fan ate him.... it was sad.
River and this BUUUUUUUUUUUUUS!!! he never let go of this bus all day...in fact in almost every single pic we took, he was holding this buuuuuuuuuuuuus...and that's what he was running around yelling too, at the top of his lungs....BUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUS!
This cute little duck made Londyn happy, this photo says it all.
And of course what is a party without a little DRAMA....River Drama. The tears smeared on the door i think he put there was added DRAMA!! Such a happy boy, but when he's mad , he's MAD!

Now for some odds and ends....

Who do you think these little feet belong to???
You guessed it....one of the few times they get along....
Bathtime with Daddy and Bubble hats for everyone.... always a favorite part of their day.

Then before we knew it...it was thanksgiving....
This year we had thanksgiving at my mom's house....always a ton of great food and lots of card playing....can't say i was at my best in the card playing this year, i was too preoccupied reading the sale ads for Black Friday...which is always a tradition while sitting around the table...making our plan...
My contribution to the meal is usually the homemade noodles.... Some how a few years ago, i got assigned the job when my grandma moved and couldn't be with us at Thanksgiving or Christmas. Mine will never be as good as hers, but i tell ya, it's not an easy job. And to think she used to make them every sunday for lunch after church too!!! The crazy part is, she has no recipe, when i made them for the first time, i called her and she was like "well eggs (can't tell you how many, it depends on how many you are making), a dash of salt, a pinch of baking powder, and flour...." Now seriously, my dash and pinch may be different from hers, but i did it, and since then, it has been my job.....

(notice there aren't any measuring cups or spoons in this photo)

This is the hardest, well not hard, but tedious....part of the whole thing...pulling the noodles apart. Austin always helps me with this part, bless his heart.... and this time...he took pictures and ate some raw noodles....eeeeew. Also thinking I need an apron...my scrubs got a bit of flour on them :)

Austin's Creation!! so cute!

I am so thankful for my family. We may not always have the things we "want", but we definately have everything we NEED, We are truly blessed and have each other, I love my family! Hope you all had a great thanksgiving!

Lastly, the tradition for our family is putting up the tree the weekend after thanksgiving. Here are just a few photos.

Last year, the boys won out and they chose to have a completely BLUE tree!! so this year...GIRLS RULE!!! Londyn and I decided we wanted a HOT PINK tree..... it actually looks pretty tame....almost like maroon, but we love it....yeah PINK!!!

I think our tree has seen it's last year....we have a 'pre-lit' tree, well it used to be, last year we had only two sections that lit up, this year we pulled it out and plugged it in and only the bottom lit, so we had to add our own lights this year....Joe's 'favorite' part.....i think it will be retired after Christmas this year.
River was amazed by the lights...he kept pointing and "oooohing and Ahhhing"
This was also the first year the twins actually put ornaments on the tree....they still threw most of them down the stairs and all over the house, but by the end, they figured out that they went on the tree....usually about 5 ornaments per branch, but that's ok.... they helped and did a great job.

Austin got the "fun" job of putting all the hooks on all the bulbs...Look at all that PINK!
The finished masterpiece...Let the Christmas Holiday begin!!!

Long time no post....

2010-11-29T08:17:00.001-06:00

Wow, seriously over 2 months since i last posted??? That's horrible.....
I really need to update this soon huh? Maybe during naptime today.. hehehee....Busy busy busy around here...Holidays are around the corner!!!!

A Lil' Peek into our Week...

2010-09-10T13:05:00.013-05:00

It's been awhile since I have had the time to blog...this week I decided to share with you, just a peek into what we have been up to this week.. We've been so busy around here but as always, it's full of fun, love and adventure!

The twins and I decided to make some cookies...
This is the first time, I let them actually stir and crack eggs, etc... They did pretty good...
I don't know if anyone, besides us, would really want to eat these cookies...
I mean, don't get me wrong, they were delicious...
but i'm sure they were full of second hand spit, and bacteria from their hands and mouth.
They really enjoyed licking the beaters then dipping them back into the bowl for more....
Don't worry I didn't give any of them away... :) But they had a great time!

This photo sums up our every day... always making messes...and mama always cleaning them up... they decided to have a party with the chessy sharks...dumping them outta the box...then stomping them into tiny pieces...

those poor sharks.

Where was I, you ask??? In the kitchen cleaning up the cookie mess of course.

Londyn playing dressup...this is her newest hobby...she loves to get pretty with tiara's, pearls, boots, dresses and bracelets.

And of course...the days are not complete without this.....

Always Fighting...I hope it's a normal thing, but they are constantly fighting. over everything. Sharing is a tough thing to learn... so usually we end up here: Yep...TIME OUT!!
Some other activites this week:

-coloring, tea parties, dancing, playing outside, going to the park, picnics in the livingroom, watching spongebob and pulling the cats tails.... so tough being a kid!

Also this past week, we started Austin's Soccer Season... Their first game was awesome. They won 2-0. I was so proud of Austin, he's really turned in to quite the player, we just might have a good season :)

This is Austin's best buddy , Josh. They are inseparable most of the time. They even ended up on the same soccer team this year. Which is awesome... In school I think the teachers have learned to not put them in the same classes, so, since 3rd or 4th grade they haven't had any classes together.... interesting. This year they have PE and soccer together, but usually spend every weekend together if Austin is home..

And also on the sports side... Joe and I joined our Church Softball Co-ed team... we are both so sore it's sad. I had no idea I had some of the muscles that hurt.... Our first game is Sunday, We'll see... But I think we could use some of this.. hehehe... Just a product of our getting older i'm afraid, not as easy as it used to be.

2010-08-17T21:20:00.002-05:00

If you love photography....Head over to Iheartfaces and check out their fun contests each week... :)

Fun around the House

2010-08-16T15:08:00.004-05:00

Just some fun going on at our house...thought i'd share a few pics....

Yep, Daddy needs to make sure he puts his pens away after doing his homework!!! But what a masterpiece!

River....After jumping on the bed with Austin and Londyn....They had so much fun, and it's not often we see this HUGE grin from River...He's grown to have such an attitude! hehehe. and loves his grumpy face lately.

Londyn, my bathing beauty....

And, of course, the tea parties.....we have one everyday before nap usually. She's such a good hostess....

Short and Sweet, but all the time i have today.... Enjoy your week!

BUSY BUSY BUSY!

2010-08-03T21:07:00.002-05:00

Yep, believe it or not, i'm still alive.... just BUSY!! sorry it's been so long since i posted last. Summer is winding down and I hope to get back to blogging a bit more soon. Stay Tuned!! :)

A Pickin' Good Time...

2010-07-17T10:38:00.002-05:00

When you are two, even NOSE PICKING is cute....

...Until he wipes it on your leg....I guess he found what he was looking for.
SIGH.......

2010-07-01T21:51:00.003-05:00

Recently I stumbled across a blog called Love Actually, it's a blog filled with fun ideas to spark romance and find creative ideas for "romance on a budget", it's really cute and today, this was the topic.... I thought i'd share because it was the cutest.

Here's a funny for you...

Dear Tech Support,

Last year I upgraded from Boyfriend 5.0 to Husband 1.0 and noticed a distinct slow down in overall system performance particularly in the flower and jewelry applications, which operated flawlessly under Boyfriend 5.0.

In addition, Husband 1.0 uninstalled many other valuable programs, such as Romance 9.5 and Personal Attention 6.5, and then installed undesirable programs such as NBA 5.0, NFL 3.0 and Golf Clubs 4.1.

Conversation 8.0 no longer runs and Housecleaning 2.6 simply crashes the system. Please note that I have tried running Nagging 5.3 to fix these problems, but to no avail. What can I do?

Signed,

Desperate

———————

Dear Desperate,

First, keep in mind that Boyfriend 5.0 is an entertainment package while Husband 1.0 is an operating system. Please enter the command: ithoughtyoulovedme.html, download Tears 6.2 and be sure to install the Guilt 3.0 update. If those applications work as designed Husband 1.0 should then automatically run the applications Jewelry 2.0 and Flowers 3.5.

However, please remember that overuse of the above application can cause Husband 1.0 to default to Grumpy Silence 2.5, Happy Hour 7.0, or Beer 6.1. Please note that Beer 6.1 is a very bad program that will download the Snoring Loudly Beta.

Whatever you do DO NOT under any circumstances install Mother-In-Law 1.0 (It runs a virus in the background that will eventually seize control of all your system resources.)

In addition, please do not attempt to reinstall the Boyfriend 5.0-program. This is an unsupported application and will crash Husband 1.0.

In summary, Husband 1.0 is a great program, but it does have limited memory and cannot learn new applications quickly. You might consider buying additional software to improve memory and performance. We recommend Cooking 3.0 and Hot Lingerie 7.7.

Good Luck!

Tech Support

Treasures from the Garage Sale!

2010-06-12T14:17:00.006-05:00

Anyone who knows me, knows i LOVE thrift stores and Garage Sales. I love finding silly things too for the kids.... Last week I found 2 pairs of Frog rain boots brand new. I have been wanting to get the twins rain boots so we can play outside in the rain...But Londyn had different plans, she played in these things the entire week, RAIN or SHINE, she wore them everywhere.

So of course I snapped a few pics.

The same goes for these pearls I found for a quarter! ha, she is such a girly girl and I knew she would love them. Like the Boots she wore them everywhere, the only time i could get them off of her was at bedtime...and if River touched them...WATCH OUT! They were HERS! So here are some pics of my "Fashion Diva" in action. Enjoy.

Getting Ready for her Day...

Playing outside....

Going down the Slide....
Playing in the Tunnel....
Playing in the Sprinkler....

She's got such Style!!
So there you go....Days of fun for $1.25.......

So Lucky to be a MOM

2010-05-10T10:55:00.007-05:00

(WARNING PHOTO OVERLOAD AHEAD)

I am so blessed to be the mom of these three kids!! They are the BEST! They made my day yesterday watching them play together and enjoy time outside, the weather was beautiful.
When Asked what I wanted for Mother's Day, I told them, i wanted the yard mowed and all my laundry done.... well, i didn't get the laundry done, but i did get the yard mowed and it looks great! I love a fresh cut yard! Austin mowed the whole lawn for his very first time, I was so proud of him! I think he could've learned sooner, but 'convinced' me that he didn't know how...So yesterday, he decided to give it a try..."just for me". AND HE DID IT!!! And a good job at that!!! I didn't get any pics...ha, but it was the best gift EVER! and Joe trimmed all the bushes, weed wacked and cleaned up the yard. Today we are going to get some flowers to do some planting!

Austin is so great with the twins and even helped them make a masterpiece for me for my day.

The finished product!

Austin was the official bubble blower for the day. The twins LOVE bubbles!! this was entertainment for a good half hour or more... :)

And the newest addition to our garage...(like we need more cars to add to Joe's collection) Two Volkswagon mini bugs for River and Londyn. Londyn got her pink one for Christmas and we just put it together and charged it. River got one from Uncle Jon and Aunt Deanna. It doens't have a functioning battery yet, so this made for some all out fighting over who got the pink car of course! They Love them. and now they have cars to match mommy and daddy's yellow bug.

As you can see River is NOT happy about his green one, not WORKING!!!

Austin was a great driver's ed coach...he got Sissy going in no time...up and down the street!!

And Last week Austin was part of an awards banquet where he was awarded a certificate for academic honors!! He was on HIGH HONOR ROLL all 3 semesters so far!! I was such a proud mama. He's Amazing!

Here are a few of my FAVE photos from the day....and some playing around with photoshop! Can't wait to scrap these!

Only the Beginning....

2010-04-26T10:44:00.010-05:00

Mark Huls -Our Orthodontist of choice.

Last Monday, Austin started his 'adventure' with BRACES! He was so excited the night before to get his braces on, all the kids in his class are going through them now and I think he also was ready to get those crooked teeth fixed up. I'm still not quite sure if he cared about how his teeth looked esthetically,because this is coming from a boy who doesn't like to shower, doesn't brush his teeth and doesn't do his hair, he's just NOT that into girls yet obviously. But I think deep down he really wanted his teeth straightened and to love his smile. He doesn't like his smile in photos and always comments on them. But that day he was ready to start his new relationship with braces...That was until about half way through the day....

Here is a photo before we went in, the smile on his face...the gleam in his eye....

The application of the brackets.....if he only knew what was going through my mind at this very moment. The discomfort he was about to endure, the pain in the teeth, jaw and oh, the canker sores...bless his heart. I am not normally an advocate of putting a child through pain, but i know someday he will thank us for giving him this opportunity.

He chose Black and Grey for his band colors:

Here is the photo when we left...all braced up and ready for some movement!!! errrr...pain.

He really looks so handsome with them on. And I don't just say that so he'll feel better, he looks so grown up and ready to move into that next phase in his life...TEENAGER!!! It's unbelievable how fast it goes.

That night, he was cursing me...not literally but i'm sure in his head he might have been. His teeth were throbbing!! I remember all too well the discomfort of braces, i had them twice!!! So i kept telling him it would pass or i wouldn't have submitted myself to the pain a SECOND time. It is worth it. He was so strong though, through the pain, he was smiling and brushing and taking GREAT care of them. EVEN flossing! WOW! he never flosses!!! I hope this lasts, although i know the novelty will wear off.

By day 3 the teeth were feeling better , but the CANKER SORES made their debut. With the constant rubbing of the sharp brackets to his lip, we knew they would come. They gave him Wax to put on the brackets to help, but it doesn't help much. One week into the braces and the canker sores are still there.

I am encouraging him daily telling him that eventually the lip becomes 'callosed' to the brackets and the sores will go away. I know it doesn't help him NOW, but it will get better. His new friend it Orajel, wax and Ibuprofen.

Some quotes from Austin:

"McDonalds is just NOT THE SAME anymore with braces"
"My Whole head hurts"
"No, I don't want Lemonade"!!! (i guess that would hurt the canker sore a bit)
"I wish I would have never got them" ( I knew this would come sooner or later)

He's an Awesome kid and is doing great. One day all this will pay off.

(NOTE-Austin HATES these photos of himself, if he sees this post he will kill me, but i wanted the memories documented) :)

All in ALL, it's amazing how fast things move, we can already see a bit of movement on his front teeth in just one week. He has one band that is starting to come off already, which we were told it would with all the angulation problems and how the wire had to be fitted on his teeth, so we need to go visit the ortho to get that put back on. It's really neat how these things work. I will keep you posted on his progress. Until then, please keep Austin in your thoughts.... :)

~Tara

Creating Keepsakes Convention

2010-04-17T14:35:00.006-05:00

Finally, i had some time to scrap. It has been MONTHS! Last weekend my bestie Jenn and I headed to St. Louis for our annual scrapbooking convention! it's THREE days of nothing but scrapbook stuff and FOOD! We had a ton of fun and really got a lot done. Here are pics of the layouts i finished (sorry the pics are the greatest, i have no photoshop on this computer) :

I know, before you say anything, most of my pages done were of the babies! :) well, i can't get austin in front of my camera for anything! But you just wait...Monday My Austin is getting braces!!!! and i will be there with camera in hand, they will have him in the chair with his mouth open, so he can't fight or complain! ha haeheh...such a mean mom!

I hope to get down to my scraproom tonight too, now i have the itch to do more. I spent a few hours this morning cleaning and organizing my room, so i hope i actually get down there. Happy Scrapping and have a great weekend!
~Tara

Happy Easter

2010-04-05T12:54:00.004-05:00

Just a few Photos from our First Official Easter Bunny Visit!! The Twins Really enjoyed it this year.
18 months old....

Back to Reality...

2010-03-30T09:31:00.003-06:00

Well, our vacation is over...all too fast of course, but wonderful memories were made! We had a great time in Florida, from the beaches to Disney!! The babies did great on the drive down...19 hours each way!!! with averaging only 4 stops each way. Not bad. They were pros. It's great to be home and sleeping in my own bed of course, but we sure miss the weather, the beaches, and the relaxation that comes with being away from home and away from the stress from everyday life. Thanks to my mom and Gary for a wonderul time and also to the rest of the family that joined us there!!! it was so perfect! Now......off to do the bills! blah!!! :)

Finally...some ME time.

2010-03-08T10:37:00.012-06:00

Yep, finally, i was lucky enough to get away with the girls for the night. It had been since AUGUST!! sheesh. We had such a great time. We went to Lock Stock and just hung out talking and catching up. It's so awesome to have such great friends, who totally understand you. I am very blessed to have such friends. We don't get to see each other nearly enough.

That morning Joe and I woke up and took River and Londyn to the park, they needed to get out of the house too. They are both walking like crazy now, so we thought they were ready for the big kid park. They had a blast, but were VERY busy, there is no way i could take them alone without Joe, they both took off in different directions and had things to explore. The slide was their favorite. We had to help them up the steps because of course, they chose the highest slide in the park to be their favorite.

I can't wait to scrap this one, for some reason she just looks like she's up to something and she probably was....

These are some of my favorite photos lately. Every day when Austin gets home from school the babies won't leave him alone!! He is the most awesome big brother ever!!! These are from one day last week, Austin got home and Londyn thought she needed to help her big brother with his homework, I don't think she was much help, because it soon turned into a tickle party for Londyn. She was giggling and laughing so hard. We are so lucky that Austin is so great with them. Go Big Brother!!!!

Then, of course, we are starting the kids young...Joe and I LOVE Barnes and Noble, so we frequently take them with us, they love the kids section and love playing on the stage, and with the toy trains there. Londyn mainly likes to pull all the books off the shelf, then only sit through one page for me to read before she's off to get another. But it's fun for us all.

Sorry for all the pics...this is kinda long huh? it has been awhile, just thought i'd throw out a quick update. Have a great week!!!

Randomness....

2010-02-10T19:34:00.008-06:00

Random photos and things i adore...

-pouty little lips...

-Those BLUE eyes...

-That grin that says... "i'm up to something".

-The Faux-hawk

-The Wonder in your eyes...

-The "cute factor"

-Your Curls...

-Waiting for Daddy to come home.

Making a Mama Proud!

2010-01-29T16:12:00.003-06:00

I am so proud of Austin, he's been working so hard on his grades this year and with little assistance... Last semester he had ONE "B", and this semester he brought that up and had straight A's and was on HIGH honor Roll... Go Austin!!!!

Need Ideas Please.

2010-01-18T14:33:00.003-06:00

Lately i am feeling like i feed the twins the same things all the time. They are, of course, off of all baby foods and eating solids. Whether you have children this young or remember anything you fed your toddlers, i would so appreciate any ideas for variety, but of course CONVIENIENT!! I don't have a ton of time to cook after work of a day, so i would like simple. Please comment with any ideas you might have below.... i need ideas!
Here is a list of what i ALWAYS give them:
-mac and cheese
-yogurt
-crackers, cheese, fruit cups, cottage cheese, hot dogs, nuggets, pbj's, cereals, oatmeal, rice, mashed taters, chef boy ardee..(ick)
etc..like that.
Thanks in advance!!!

Pudding party at our house!

2010-01-15T23:02:00.004-06:00

Just some fun at our house this week! What the heck...let's make a mess!! It'll clean and so will they! :)

Just another Manic Monday

2010-01-11T09:06:00.009-06:00

Mondays are pretty awesome, i don't have to work and can spend time with the babies. Although they are more than a hand full, it is so fun to watch them explore and find new adventures around every corner. So this morning, i took my camera into their room to record some of these adventures.
Here is a recap of my first 15 minutes of the morning. Things i noticed, things that made me shake my head, and things that made me smile.

1. A visit from the hairy fairy in the middle of the night! This never fails to make me smile, every morning, even when it's 6am and i'm still exhausted!

2. The cutest lil baby bottoms i know! Pulling out toys for their morning playtime. They get so high up on their tip toes and just HAVE to have the toys on the very bottom.

3. Pulling everything out of their drawers... Every day! These two munchkins think it's pretty cool to pull everything out of their drawers then rolling in the clothes and blankets. Why is this fun? Possibly because they see the reaction on my face every time when i come in and say... "who made this mess"? and then we all laugh !

4. Digging out the dirty laundry. Perhaps i should put this in another room. But everyday they insist on taking the dirty laundry out of the basket. sigh......

5. The taking off of the socks...why? haven't figured this one out yet, maybe their toes need air.

6. Serious toy play. Yep River is very serious when he plays, everything has to go inside something else and everything has it's place.

Londyn on the other hand just likes noise and chaos....

7. Taking a break to tickle "gickle" mommy's toes. And of course i just giggle and giggle...

8. Reading books..usually upside down...But always seems to know what the story is about upside down or not.

9. Fill it up...empty it out. They could do this all day. River takes the time to fill things up so nicely and then Londyn will come along and dump it all out. Sometimes it makes him upset other times he thinks it looks fun, so he fills it up and empties it himself.

10. Playing peek.... Always a ton of fun.

So, that's our morning and what took me 3 1/2 hours to clean up on Friday only take them less than 15 minutes to destroy. But all in the name of FUN!! Oh the joys of being a parent. It's wonderful.

Oh and Londyn wanted me to show you her new tricycle/scooter. She is so happy, and I am even happier, i got this for FREE, yep FREE! I consign the babies old clothes with a shop in town and i had credit, so this was a STEAL! I couldn't pass it up. By summer she will be able to reach the pedals and will be off and ridin'.

Enjoy your Monday see you later in the week!

SNOW DAY!!!

2010-01-07T10:47:00.005-06:00

ok, seriously, i was like a kid last night. Wishing for a snow day. And this morning, well i was just like a kid as well... cheering and smiling from ear to ear when my wish came true. while i must admit, it's not my job i don't like, i am one of the lucky ones who likes their job..., its the...getting up at 5am, getting myself showered, getting babies up, getting babies ready, getting babies fed, getting Austin up, getting Austin fed, getting joe up (who can be as bad as the kids) and getting everyone dressed by 645am. And..the roads were trecherous...so i was dreading that drive to work, so i really appreciated when my boss called and said i didn't have to attempt it. So far we have received 4-5 inches and it's not stopping anytime soon according to the news. Probably a total of 7ish.

Today has been fun and relaxing so far. Right now the babies are napping, Joe is napping, Austin is playing his xbox, and i am watching price is right and having some computer time.

This morning, joe got breakfast for us all, then we decided to introduce the babies to the snow. They were so excited when they saw it out the window, but didn't know quite what it was, so we bundled everyone up...which took like a half hour, and headed outside...

Here are a few pics...i didn't get that many, it was snowing pretty hard and i was nervous my camera would get too wet!!! :) And some the lighting wasn't set properly, but as you can tell, they thought it was pretty cool.

Now, i think i will grab a blanket, and try to stay warm!!

Quick One....

2010-01-04T22:08:00.003-06:00

Well I tried to find the time today to post something new...I didn't really get much time unfortunately...but here is a quick peek at a year's worth of pics from my library.... Happy New Year!!

And... hold on to your seats.... i actually scrapped a layout today during naptime!! It's a quickie...but i wanted to make sure i got this memory in River's Book! He is going through this "uht oh" phase...everything is uht oh!!! It's even the first words out of his mouth in the mornings! That's how i know he's awake!!

well hopefully soon i can get a few minutes to upload some pics from christmas and new year too!! We had a great visit from my family from Arkansas and it was so much fun...I sure enjoyed it! My Aunt so kindly reminded me that I had not updated my blog lately.. hehehe.....

Here's to the new year!

2010-01-03T22:02:00.003-06:00

Yep that's me....a blogging loser lately...
Hopefully i will be back tomorrow to post something new...

2009-11-30T10:07:00.009-06:00

Its' that time of year again! Can you believe it? How fast did this past year go? WOW! I'll admit i had a hard time "getting in the spirit" this year, seems like money has been tight and stressin me out. But ya know, who cares.... It's CHRISTMAS for cryin out loud!!!! Why am I worrying about money.... I am losing sight of what this holiday season is about and for that i am guilty!! So I have been trying to change my attitude and last night helped a ton.

Austin had been gone for 4 days over the thanksgiving holiday, he went to his dads, and then he went and spent a few days with his cousin Parker!! I was so missing him!! When he came home he was ready to put up our tree and decorate the house! I tell ya, as we were hauling all the "junk" out of the rafters in the garage, i was thinking, "what a mess for just four weeks", again...bad attitude!!! But as the night progessed, it was the most fun night with Austin! He has the best attitude, he just kept saying "mom, it's not about how much money we spend, or the mess, it's about family!" What a smart dude i have, i tell ya!

And the rest was history, we had a ball!! And the house looks beautiful, i don't have many pics of all that Austin did, he decorted the stair railings, the entertainment center and the tree....later this week we will do the snow village.

But i did get a few pics of the tree while austin was put on ornaments!
This year he decided to go with colorful lights (we have had only white for about 8-10 years!!! So this was a fun change. Well, when we went to get some Lights he spotted these bright royal blue ornaments, he just HAD to have!! i thought they were knida ugly, but him and Joe LOVE blue, so i said, let's do it. It is such a fun and crazy tree, and we even used garland this year, i always use ribbon!!! He's really got an eye for decor!!

The twins had fun too, more of an "un" decorating help, than an actual help..but... Londyn put a few balls on the tree, River, just threw them all down the stairs with an "uh -oh" following his throw!!! I keep trying to tell him, that when you throw something intentionally, it's not an "uh-oh", but he doesn't get it. :) They loved the lights too, when we plugged them in their faces just lit up with excitement!

This year is really going to be fun for them i think!

After we got the tree up, Austin and I decided we needed to make some cookies, ya know, afterall, we worked hard and needed a bit of chocolate!! :)
We decided to make this an adventure too, and tried a new recipe!!! oh my goodness, are we glad we did....they were out of this world!!! oh and very fattening i'm sure, super rich!!!!

I found this blog the other day and this woman just makes up her own recipes off the top of her head, she has some amazing recipes for cookies and other things too...
click the link below to get the recipe and to bookmark her blog we decided to go with the double chocolate chip peanutbutter cookies..aaaaaah, just the name, makes me my mouth water! You must try them! The Picky Palate, so many yummy treats.

ok, Now i need a cookie....Merry Christmas to you all and enjoy this holiday season, and remember, "it's about FAMILY and being together"!!! And this is worth more than any amount of money can buy!

Just some fun pics-

Playing with photoshop

2009-11-09T16:16:00.005-06:00

we went out and took some pics yesterday and today i had a little time to play with photoshop ( just beginning stuff)!! just in case some of you don't have facebook and haven't seen them! Also i changed the look of my blog just a bit.... Hope you like it... :)

Before:

After:

Short but sweet today!!!
Have a great week!

Happy Halloween and Fall

2009-11-02T16:11:00.009-06:00

Happy Halloween Everyone....

As always, so much going on around here, it's tough to find time to blog...as we speak, River just woke up from his nap, I barely have got one word typed......and he started crying, it never fails. So i'll be back to post photos from Halloween in a few...

Ok, only a few moments, so i'll make this quick.

This year Halloween was a lot of fun. Austin decided he was "too old" to trick or treat, so with much persuasion we talked him into dressing up in a "family theme" this year. Bless his heart, he was such a good sport.

This year we decided to go with the Flinstones.

wait.... he's crying again.....

one hour later....

ok now they both are awake ....trying to get them to play together for a few minutes..

As i was saying.. the flinstones:

oh sheesh...hold on again...Now Londyn is Crying........... **SIGH**

20 mins later....

River hit her with a wooden spoon!!! I suppose i would cry too.
where was I?

oh yeah...Also the babies and I took a walk today. It was beautiful outside..finally! We took some fall pics in the yard and in the park..here are just a few.

Also I have been making Londyn these lil' leg warmers called "baby legs" I found out how to make them, now i can't get enough of them. You use adult knee socks and they literally take 15 minutes a pair to make. She absolutely LOVES them. She will hold her legs up to put them on and everything! They are great because at night I just put a onsies on her and her baby legs and she's good to go...very warm! and She also wears them with her dresses and even shorts in the winter. Here are a few pics of them. So fun to make.

Another way cool thing is Austin joined Chorus this year.... He wasn't sure at first, but now he really loves it! I'm so excited. The first concert was so good, he's really a good singer!!!

I'm so proud of him.... He also made HONOR ROLL this quarter!!!! Yahooo!!!!

Whelp that's all for now...because 2 hours later.... i am finally finished and you wonder why i don't blog often....

The Pumpkin Patch

2009-10-19T13:19:00.001-05:00

Londyn and River Turn ONE

2009-10-12T16:18:00.011-05:00

In pictures of course!!! Can't believe how fast this year has gone!! wow! Crazy, but unforgettable!!

Excited about opening presents...more for the paper than the gift though!!! Lots of fun!

Happy Birthday to you................ (la la la) River LOVED us singing to him....

Jennifer and River.... Thanks to Jennifer for helping me make these Awesome shirts!!

Great Grandma came to visit....Just for their party!!!

Here's to many more!!!!

THE END...... (i coudn't resist...can't wait to scrap this one)

Our September....over already???

2009-09-25T21:12:00.010-05:00

It's been a whole month since i have blogged. We have been so busy i've had no time, but here is a review of our happenings! and of course with photos! :)

Soccer Season has begun.

We haven't won a game yet, and probably won't it seems. But Austin is playing well. Getting better every year. He even was "scouted" by the traveling soccer team and asked to join them on the travel team. He decided he didn't want to, because of all the games and practices. Maybe another year, but i was so proud of him.

We went to Kentucky to visit family and the babies got to swim in their first "big pool" They had so much fun!

I made Londyn a tutu!!! it was so easy and fun, and she loves playing in it....she smiles the whole time. She thinks she's so pretty in it....and i'd have to agree.

Londyn Cheering on her brother at the soccer game!

River is learning early how to help daddy with his cars!! He had a ball "helping" put in daddy's new speaker system!

Austin got his FIRST DETENTION!!!!! for talking in class....go figure....

but it's "wasn't his fault" it was the "girl's fault" for asking him a quiestion in class...he was "just answering her".... la la la.... He will be serving it Monday.... i told him to be prepared for the big paddle! :)

We also started siding on our home. This week they tore off the old and then it rained all week, so our house it a bit scary! I can't wait for it to be finished. Stay tuned for before and after photos in the next month!

It's hard to believe that next thursday the babies will be a YEAR OLD already! Where did the year go??? it's so awesome! Everyday, they learn something new it's amazing how their brains just soak up everything they see and hear.
Londyn likes to talk on the phone but holds the phone to the "back" of her head,
River talks on the phone and holds the phone to his forehead. But it's a start.

They know how to use the remote, how to turn off the tv, comb their hair, and they even know where their shoes go, but can't quite get them on. They are both crawling, cruising and getting around and into everything. No walking yet, thank goodness, i'm not quite ready for that!!!

And River discovered something new too this month....

It's the best new toy.... and he will kill me one day for this! :)

Happy Fall to you all.....

On my Mind Monday....

2009-08-31T10:03:00.004-05:00

Monday Mornings are always fun at our house, full of surprises and random thoughts. Since i have mondays off i get to stay home with the babies and enjoy the day.

Here's whats on my mind this morning!

-Why can't i sleep in just one day?

-You can always find the humor in Baby poop on the walls!

-Dora was cool today, her mom had twins! :)

-Dirty bottles REALLY stink when left in the sink too long.

-If i pour milk on my kitchen floor I could have a big bowl of cheerios, no need for a bowl. Thanks to the babies, They have trouble hitting their mouths with those lil' things.

-Laundry Laundry, Laundry! How does the lint trap fill up so fast? is that where the socks go?

-Kraft mac and cheese, it's the cheesiest... even at 10:00 in the morning! mmm..mmmm.

-I'd look out my windows to see the beautiful day, if the grass wasn't so high blocking my view!

-I bought a new house on Farmville!! and an outhouse! woo hoo!

-What happened to Drew Carey's hair? Price is Right has changed him!

-Does Cat food really taste that good? Because Londyn keeps eating it!

-at what age do tantrums start....because i think River is starting to practice!

-When something is "missing" around the house, why am I to blame? Maybe if they would just put things away...they wouldn't disappear!

-Thinking that Austin needs a Miracle Ear.

-Is that a baby crying already....??? Naptime over.

Well, you've just had a peek into my brain this morning...Isn't it exciting in there? Enjoy your day!!

The past few weeks...in a nutshell!

2009-08-23T00:15:00.006-05:00

I know... guilty of lack of blogging, just have been busy and enjoying our last few days of summer.
Here is a quick update of whats been going on in our lives.
This past Thursday Joe and I celebrated our 4th anniversary... sure doesn't seem like it's been for years...it seems like longer... i don't say that in a bad way..ha, but it does. I adore this man and am lucky to be able to spend my days with him and have my best friend at my side! These are photos of us at a wedding we went to this past weekend, it was a lot of fun. We got out without the kids and even did some slow dancing! It was sweet.

Austin also started school this week. JUNIOR HIGH!!! I didn't get photos of him his first day...he said i could take them next week! :) He is really at the age where he doesn't care for photos! Drives me nuts! I have a zillion pics of the babies and hardly any of him lately.. i told him he's gonna look at his scrapbooks and think i quit photographing him when the babies came.... He didn't seem to mind! BOYS! JUNIOR HIGH BOYS!!! TOO COOL for mom!

The babies are doing great both crawling, pulling up and getting into everything now, we cannot leave the room for even a second now, they will get into everything that they are not supposed to when toys are laying all around. I don't understand it, they crawl OVER toys to get to outlets, scissors, cat furballs, leaves, etc etc!! Things are definately getting interesting! But still so awesome and rewarding! We are so blessed to be given this opportunity!

Here's a few pics from the past few weeks... just a few... ha hahaa!!!

And tonight i did a bit of scrapbooking. Joe went on a road trip to Tennessee for the day to pick up more of his "treasures"....CARS!!! just what we need, more cars to work on... but it's his thing. and it gave me a few hours to hang with babies, watch the Bears win, and even do a few pages.

Here's to another fabulous week.....

Re-purposing with a Purpose

2009-08-10T09:49:00.006-05:00

This past week i had off work and i took one day to be a little creative finally. I didn't get any scrap pages done but i still had a great day. My good friend Jennifer came up to play with me and we hit some thrift shops and of course went out to lunch. Marguaritta's were only 2 bucks on Thursdays at Cheddars so it was a great refreshment after our day of deal hunting.

I love to find neat deals on old things and use them to make something new and fun. Here are a few of my "re-purposed" finds.

I got 2 of these old muffin pans 25 cents each and made a neat decoration for my kitchen! I love the way it turned out! It was the first time i did one, so it was a bit of a challenge, but looks really fun in the kitchen.

Before:

After:

I also am making some small mini albums for the great grandparents for grandmother's day. They live out of town and don't get to see the kids too much, so i used some old deck of cards that i found at a thrift shop for those. The great thing about getting the deck of cards at a thrift shop is, you don't have to worry about if all the cards are there or not. and they only cost a quarter or so.
Here is one of the minis.

I also found a few old 3 ring mini binders for FREE!! I have been wanting to make a new coupon binder for all my coupons so when i go to the store things are more organized. Jennifer got me into to couponing and I am nohwere near as good as her at finding deals in the store check out her blog "it all makes "cents". I had a huge three ring binder but it was way to big for hauling around.

So i re-purposed this old binder into a smaller version. I covered the front with fun paper and added dividers and used baseball card holders cut to size (that i also got at a thrift shop).

I made it so i could tie it together with a ribbon to keep everything secure inside.

I also put clips at the top of each divider so i can clip the coupons i will be using on that particular shopping trip to the front for easy access.

I also put easy divider tabs on the side so i can flip to the section of coupons i need.

I was so excited how this turned out, it's so much easier to find what i need and i love the fun colors and how small it is compared to my previous binder.

anyway, i have to get off here for the day. Happy Thrift shopping and re-purposing!! Once you try it, you'll enjoy the fun you can have with it!

oh, i've had some people ask how they can find out whether ive updated my blog..
there is a link in the column on the right that says "follow". click on that and sign up and you will get notifications when i update my blog!! come follow along!!

Have a great week!

Today....

2009-08-04T09:57:00.009-05:00

Today I:

-Had to wake up waaay too early on my day off...because of these lil crazies:

-made my daily stop by McDonalds where they know me by name, for my morning MOCHA:
-am playing around on facebook, always a new game to keep me addicted!

-am watching a storm make it's way through Monticello.

-am feeling fat. How hard can it be to lose just 10 pounds?

- will be registering Austin for Junior High

-am going to town to pick up some Photos at Walgreens!! only 223 of them! I should take stock in Walgreens!

-Am watching Austin play xbox...why are these games so bloody and scary..?? yuk.

-am Looking around at my messy house, thinking i should really be cleaning today. But i have no motivation. Tired of always picking things up!

-am thankful for my blessings: my kids, my friends, my job, my home, my health, and for god blessing me with another day on this earth. oh and also for this man.. He's the best!

Ok, off to get my day started....Enjoy your week!

Scrappn' "vacation"

2009-07-16T15:29:00.006-05:00

I was off work all this week!!! I was so looking forward to it, some "me" time. Well i did get some me time, but not as much as i thought. It's a good thing i was off work this week. River has been having EXPLOSIVE diahhrea for 4 days. It has been everywhere. It started MOnday morning when we awoke to this horrendous smell coming from the nursery. Upon entering the premisis.... we found river covered from head to toe with poop, rolling in it, in his eyes, mouth, covering his matress and crib slats etc. It was a MESS!! It took me two hours to strip the bed, bleach out everything, wipe antibacterial stuff on the entire room and do the laundry!! I thought it was a one time thing. However.... it has been going on all week, we went to the dr monday for their 9 month check and she said just to monitor it, so i've been keeping her updated and keeping him hydrated. He acts FINE!! he's smiling, laughing , crawling everywhere and getting into trouble!! If he's not better by tomorrow, they want a culture...that should be interesting. So far Londyn hasn't has any problems other than her constipation...one extreme or the other. i tell ya.

So needless to say, i had to pick him up early from daycare Tuesday, Wednesday i had to myself (more story on that one later), and today, thursday i kept both of them home with me.

Tuesday night, i get a call from Austin's church camp and he is running 103.7 temp!! he said he felt fine, just tired. They couldnt get it to come down, I was 2 1/2 hours away, but was prepared to hit the road at 11pm if need be. This was the church camp of his dad's church, so i had no idea where it was or anything about it, and they couldnt get a hold of his dad. Finally they got a hold of his dad and they took him to the ER for eval. They couldnt find exactly anything wrong, just some white blood cell count was elevated, whech usually means infection somewhere. they put him on Antibiotics and sent him home once the temp got down to 99.7 about 230am, i was a nervous wreck waiting to hear something, so no sleep for me!! He had a followup the next morning and everything was back to normal, they think it was just a fluke virus for 24hrs??? weird.... Poor guy....But he was fine, i think i was the worried one. Those boys, never think they are sick.... until they are older and want their wives to take care of them....

Yesterday was going to be ME day. Jennifer came over to scrap for the entire day!!! she got here about nine in the am. We had a very productive day!! we had done a bit of scrapping last friday to kick off my vacation and then yesterday we did some more. I got a ton done, for me anyway. 11 single pages and 2 double pages. NOT bad!! Here they are, sorry the pics aren't very good of them.

Then after lunch yesterday, i started to feel a bit nauseated, i figured it was all the junk food we had been eating. I fought off the feeling until about 7pm and then it got really bad. Jennifer left about 830pm and that's when it all was over.... i was sooooo sick...I had the flu. I was up all night sick, miserable and ticked because this was supposed to be my vacation... never fails.... but i guess you can look on the bright side, at least i was home and didn't have to miss work right?? whatever. :) So this morning was pretty interesting, i awoke, after my 2 hours of sleep i got...still sick and went to get river because he was crying...and yet again..... DIARRHEA was everywhere, i had to run to the bathroom because the smell made me sick...then i had to clean up the mess in between my runs to the bathroom...
then i gave him his bottle and he projectiled it all over the living room!!

Those are the adventures of my "vacation". I hope the last few days gets better for us all and that Londyn and Joe stays healthy. Joe says that "all that scrapping" made me sick... he hehheee..... I tend to think maybe it was because i was knee deep in diarrhea all week!!!!

Anyway, here are the results of my scrappn "vacation"

Thanks for peekin....
Hopefully we all get better soon and back on the mend.

9 month Dr. Visit....already!

2009-07-13T16:46:00.007-05:00

9 months??? are you kidding me??? Boy it's flyin by!!! and wonderful.
Today was our 9 month check with Dr. Patel. He is an Awesome pediatrician and are so pleased with him. He's so great with the babies and always makes them laugh.

They liked this visit, just a lot of playing, no SHOTS today, but of course ihad to go and ruin that one for Londyn, because we decided to have her ears pierced.

I know, I know, she's really cute enough...tee hehehee... but it's so cute. I'm a horrible mom for having put her through this it WAS pretty sad actually, they had to do one of them two times, because she turned her head and the back didn't clamp on properly...poor thing, BUT all is forgotten already and she is smilin and proud of her first set of "bling"!!!

Also this past week, River had to have his first haircut!!! i was so sad, i wanted to wait for the "year" mark, but his hair was outta control.. He did fairly well, and what a cool mohawk he ended up with!! he hehee...(just daddy playing) :) so handsome and he looks older, i don't like that!!!

Also this weekend a great friend of mine who i work with GOT MARRIED!! I had the honor of doing her photographs. I took over 500 pics! whew..it was definately a job, but it was fun. I have a lot of photoshopping and cropping to do on them, but here are a few unedited ones. She looked beautiful! and the weather turned out great.

Here is just one of the edited photos..

congratulations Curt and Deanne!!!!

That's all for now, babies are calling. must be time to eat!!!

This and That....

2009-06-27T22:42:00.009-05:00

This weekend we finally had a chance for some family time. Austin was home so we decided to head out for some miniature golf. with the babies too. Kind of interesting pushing 2 strollers throughout the mini golf course, but hey we proved it can be done..thank goodness the course wasn't busy so we didn't hold anyone up behind us. It was a lot of fun. Really i won.... the boys cheated of course. ha!
Here are a few pics...

River was plum tuckered out today, the golfing must've worn him out.

Tonight Austin is having a sleepover with a buddy of his... i feel like an old hag, i keep yelling at them to "quiet down".... man i'm getting/feeling old!

I did however get ONE scrap page done earlier this evening... yippeeee....
This is River showing off his teeth... I think i posted this pic before but here is the layout i did of it... I just love his lil teeth... he has FOUR now two on bottom and two on top!! such a big guy!!!!

Here are a few more random photos from the month..

I love my kids! I tell ya, even though every day can be a challenge and so crazy busy, i love being a mom!!!

well, not much to report, but i will leave you with this fun lil' poster i found on the net this week. I think this is awesome, really puts things in perspective. My next project is to make this for my scrap room.

Have a Great week ahead!!

I LOVE Garage sale season...

2009-06-15T13:31:00.004-05:00

This time of year is always my favorite, GARAGE SALES!!! I am a sucker for a good deal and i love scouting out great deals at thrift shops and garage sales as often as possible. I don't understand paying full price for things that you can find for next to nothing. Since having the twins I realize how important saving every extra dime can be! and as fast as they grow out of clothes they will wear a few times, i figure this is the way to go. I have only been a few times this year and my first time out garage saling, i got a TON of baby clothes, which i don't have pics for, but this past weekend, i hit the jackpot on toys and clothes for Austin, so i thought i'd share my finds...
I didn't have pics of all of it, because Austin is at church camp this week and he took some of the "finds" with him!! But here is what i got!

2 highchairs that attach to regualr kitchen chairs!! this was an awesome find, because we had two HUGE highchairs in our TINY lil kitchen and had no room to move around.
$10.00 each price to buy new - $29.99 savings of $40!!

Two pairs of jeans for myself:
Silver brand - 75 cents >>Price for new pair $69.00 >> saved $68.25 WOW!!! my favorite brand of jeans too!!
American Eagle jeans - 1.00 >>Price new $49.50 >> saved $48.50

For Austin i found a gold mine!!!
5 American Eagle collared shirts (his favorite) for 75 cents ea.
3.75 spent >> regular price $24.50 each >> saved $117.25 !!!!
2 old navy t's - i paid 50 cents ea. >> reg. $9.50 ea. >>saved $18.00
1 old navy collared shirt - i paid 75 cents >> reg $14.50 each>> saved $13.00
1 old navy button up shirt - i paid 50 cents >> reg. $14.50 >> saved $14.00
1 ralph lauren polo shirt - i paid 50 cents >> reg.29.50 >> saved $29.00
NOT pictured:
2 old navy cargo shorts - 50 cents ea. >>reg 24.50 each saved 28.00
old navy swim trunks - 50 cents >> reg 19.50 each saved 19.00
Old navy polo shirt - 50 cents >> reg 14.50 each saved 14.00
nike swishy shorts - 25 cents >> reg 15.00 each saved 14.75

Total Spent 30.00 on the above not counting toys... total saved >> $424.50!!! that is so exciting to me, for very gently used items!! in great shape!!

and TOYS!!! i was so surprised to see how much leap brand toys were new last time i went to the store. They have defintely gone up since Austin was little. So i decided this called for rummages as well.
Here's what i got.
i don't want to look up the regular pricing... but here's what i paid for all these toys!!!
-container of shaped blogs with lid = 25 cents
-Leap brand drum = 25 cents
-playschool bird bath with music - 1.00
-ring stacker -50 cents
-baby piano - 1.00
-barn toy - 50 cents
-Leap music train - 25 cents!!!

it was amazing... all these toys even had working batteries!! ha! the littlest things make me happy huh?

also not pictured
i got joe 2 old navy t-shirts 75 cents for both
a book 25 cents i can always use books and it's a good one too, i'm half way finished with it already!

Well those are my finds for the week!!! so excited on how much i found this week!!
Happy garage saling to you ALL!!!!! Hope you find some treasures this season!

Late-Night Scrap therapy.....

2009-06-14T23:43:00.005-05:00

Just a few more layouts i did tonight....
It's nice and peaceful down in my cozy scraproom tonight too.... aaaaaah.....
morning will come tooooo early though, so i'm off to catch some z's.
Have a great week ahead!

journaling reads:

Just for today, I will make a conscious effort to be agreeable. I will be kind and courteous to those who cross my path, and I'll not speak ill of others. I'll improve my appearance, speak softly and not interrupt when someone else is talking. Just for today I'll refrain from improving anybody but myself.

Just for today, i will be happy, i will not dwell on thoughts that depress me, If my mind fills with clouds, I will chase them away and fill it with sunshine.

Just for today,, I will live through this day only, I will not brood about yesterday or obsess about tomorrow. I will not set far-reaching goals or try to oversome all my problems at once. I know that i can do something for 24 hours that would overwhelm me if I had to keep it for a lifetime.

Just for today, i will improve my mind, i will read something that requires effort, thought and concentration. I will not be a mental loafer.

Just for today, I will accept what is. I will face reality. I will correct those things that i can correct and accept those i cannot.

Just for Today.
2009

A little Scraptime...

2009-06-08T15:14:00.002-05:00

Well it's only 2 pages, but i only had a few hours last night to play. It's been over a month!!! Austin kept me company and played on the computer and I did a few quick pages. And i know, they are BOTH of Londyn. I am NOT being partial, I just felt like playing with FLOWERS and Bright colors, so this is what i ended up with. I promise I will make it Even! he heh....

YAHOOOOOOOOOOO!!!

2009-06-01T16:21:00.007-05:00

Well i guess no one can help me with this blog craziness....maybe i'll figure it out some other day. Today i was playing with my new present!!!

My Cannon EOS Rebel XS arrived in the mail this past week and i am sooooooo excited!!
I never thought i would actually get this camera and thanks to my adorable husband, he made it happen!!!

After over a year of using all my christmas bonuses and christmas gifts, and birthday money on BILLS, he finally told me to order the camera... I thought i should take him up on this offer before he changes his mind! hehehe.... so i ordered it that very next day after i researched for the best deal with the most accessories with it!!
So i played today with it... MAN DO I HAVE ALOT to LEARN!!! These photos are from a rookie, but the quality is still amazing compared to my other camera! They were all shot in basic mode that the camera came with. I bought a book to learn the ins and outs...but it will take awhile. I have a wedding to photograph in july and i need to get familiar with it fast! so any pointers from you pros out there is appreciated!
Here are a few of Londyn:

Here are a Few of River:

And .... if you are not sick of photos yet... here are a few of the fun we had at lunch today!!

so much fun!!! I love my Mondays off....
I get to play with my babies all day...and clean only at naptime (or blog ha ha) !!!!

testing...testing..

2009-05-29T21:50:00.002-05:00

trying to figure out why all my "extras" are at the bottom of my blog...??? anyone know??? HELP!!!
when i press "customize" all the widgets are shown to be on the right side, but they are not showin up there.... they are at the waaaaaaaaaaaaaaay bottom...

i am about to scream, i've been working on it FOREVER!!!!
and i really should be down in my scraproom!!!!! but it's driving me crazy...

i even went back to the original template and tried to go back to 2 column etc.... everything... anyone have any ideas...
i just opened my blog one day this week, before i made any changes to banner or anything to update and it was GONE!!!!!! what the heck???

I am so frustrated.......

A BIT overwhelmed lately...

2009-05-23T10:09:00.010-05:00

Well, Despite the former name of my blog, i am ANYTHING BUT "Full of Scrap" lately, so i decided it was time to change up the name of my blog to "Finding some ME time".
Me time is very few and far between at the moment, and i know it's for a good reason, but sheesh, can i just get 30 minutes of uninterrupted time to do something for myself? Maybe 30 minutes is too much to ask for, how about 10?? But it's not gonna happen. Right now the babies are asleep, Joe is at work, and Austin is out of town with his dad, so maybe if i type fast, i can update you all with the craziness here we call LIFE.

Lately all i feel like is that i'm chasing my tail, always hurrying, always having to get somewhere by a certain time and always preparing for the "next" day. Maybe in 20 years it will slow down a little.

They say things come in threes...hmmmmm...i think we passed that up. It started out 3 weeks ago the babies got sick...one of the joys of being back in daycare. They both got Croup and fevers etc. It's impossible to miss work these days due to the economy and the "need" to keep your boss happy. With my job it is next to impossible to miss a day of work, my patients schedule appointments with me literally 6-8 months in advance and if cancelled, it will be 4-5 months to get an appt. we are that busy...which is great, but also tough at times. I am so thankful for my work and job. So thanks to the grandmas, we were able to find someone to take care of them so joe and i could get to work.

As soon as they got better, well guess what, Joe and I both got sick...it could be the baby snot we were covered in for a week, ya think? :) Joe ended up with an ear infection, and i ended up with a sinus infection. Both on antibiotics and two weeks later, we are still not 100%. But despite being sick, life must go on around the house,, work, etc. So i know I am not getting proper sleep, but my family always comes first.

Then, in the meantime, I dropped my phone a few months back and broke it, i superglued it together and it worked for awhile, but then it went out completely i had to put everyone on speaker phone to answer the phone...so i had to go get a cheap pay as you go phone, because my agreement doesn't rollover for 2 more months, so it was that or spend 300$ on a replacement.

Last Friday night, our town got a huge storm (view video here), the power went out, sirens went off and golfball size hail came slamming into the house and cars. It was pretty scary actually, thank goodness for Austin who kept his cool. Austin grabbed one baby and i the other and to the basement we headed. Under the desk sat Austin, I, and two screaming babies waiting for the tornado sirens to stop and the power to come back on. Austin had his "working" phone, because for some reason, he gets the best phone in the house.. he hehee.... funny how that works. We sat under the desk and listened to the radio on his phone, to let us know when it was safe to come out.

Then we see the WATER!!! since the power had gone out...the sump pump was not running and water was starting fill the basement. We all came upstairs and Austin said, "mom, maybe we should pray" bless his heart. He is the BEST lil dude. So we prayed. A few mintues later, the power came on and the sump pump started it's job.

Joe finally got home from work and hooked up a second pump to work on the water. After the water had dried a bit i went to the basement to see if anything in my scrap room was ruined. I guess all the rushing around caused a breeze to blow my latest two scrap pages off my desk onto the floor, so they were destroyed...boooo, but that was it. The man room carpet was ruined and had to be cut into pieces and taken outside. whew.....

...oh and hail damage to the cars as well.....nothing too big, just little dents which is great compared to some others here in town as you can see on the video.

I could go on and on but all in all...just a busy last few weeks and somewhere in all that chaos, the babies, just keep on growing like weeds and learning new things all the time every minute.

It's so cool to see how things that happen in the everyday that we get stressed about, don't even phase them... they are just as happy and carefree as ever. I need to take a lesson from them Life goes on and things will come and go, good and bad, but a positive attitude works wonders. So i took Austin's lead and prayed about all the craziness going on and i know things will relax soon. Just tired. Kinda like my Mr. River here.... he "bounced" until he couldn't bounce anymore!!!!!!

On a WAY COOL note.... i decided i deserved a little ME present, which is just as good as ME time right??? I finally ordered my new camera. I purchased the Canon Rebel XS with all 4 lenses and tripods, cases, chargers memeory cards...etc... i can't wait to play. It won't be here for another week though... i am stalking the UPS truck!!!!

Guess what? my Me time is over... the babies are starting to stir... off i go to have a fun filled day snuggling and playing!!!

.....and look who greeted me.....

....as my camera battery went dead.......sigh......

now where did i put that charger?????

confused....

2009-05-23T09:55:00.003-05:00

i was getting ready to update my blog...but where did my third column go to the left?? any pro bloggers have an idea.... i haven't chenged any layout stuff at all??? oh well... figure that out later...

2009-05-22T21:21:00.004-05:00

Hopefully a new entry soon... i am still alive....barely!

It's been awhile...what we've been up to.

2009-05-03T22:31:00.023-05:00

**WARNING** LONG POST AHEAD!!

Geesh, it's only been a month since i posted...maybe i'm a bit pre-occupied or something. Things are busy as can be. Seems like the days are zippin on past so fast! Here's what we've been up to...in a nutshell.

-Easter Photo shoot: ( some of these i put on facebook, so i apologize if you've seen them already)

-Easter at my Moms' ( no pics can you believe that?) I guess we were all too busy EATING and playing cards. Austin is finally learning to play Pinochle! yeah!

-WORKING: SO thankful and blessed to have a job these days and I totally love it, somedays it just wears me out though. But always thankful!

-Playing with babies

-Cutting Teeth

-WORKING

-Doing hair and Painting toenails ( i don't think River was impressed)

-Learning to sit up:

-Going to MARATHONS, notice i didn't say running a marathon, just going to one. My sister who is the awesomest jogger eva along with my cousin Angie, ran their first marathon..I was so proud of them!!

-WORKING

-Throwing Fits:

-Visits from the "Hair Fairy" (gotta adore this morning hair)

-Scrapbooking only 2 pages this month...hmmm i need to make more time for this somewhere:

This Page of Londyn was done for a challenge over at Swirlydoos...go check them out!! Awesome kits and challenges!

-More Pics of my favorite people:

whew....sorry it's been so long...

I'll try to keep up a bit better...but no promises, I've got my hands full :)And I LOVE IT!!

What i've been working on.....

2009-04-09T13:15:00.006-05:00

Here are a few mini albums i've been working on this week... not finished...
but oh so fun!
This is a chipboard album i'm making of the twins at 6 months.
I got this book at the convention and it was "naked" chipboard cut into letters to spell "twins", I then covered with paper and finished off the cover with flowers (with "stickles" glitter, my new favorite scrap item), crystal brads, and a mirror on which i put their names on with rub-ons. The inside is still being worked on.

The next little thing i am working on is a mini calendar for my purse. This was a 10 minute project, literally. I bought all the days of the month on a sheet of 12x12 paper and also 12 different dividers on a 12x12 sheet and then cut them to make this. I used acrylic cover and back and used my Bind it All to make it into a mini. Then i will add pictures of course to make it a "brag' book as well as a calendar.

And lastly, I have been working on an acrylic album kit i also got at the convention..This was fairly easy as well... All the pieces come in a kit and you just measure, cut and adhere, then you just add pictures and journal. I am thinking of taking this one to work to show off my kids in a fun way.

In case you missed the entry on how the scrap convention went, see entry below...I can't believe i have blogged two times in ONE week! I guess a few days off always helps! Thanks for takin a look.

Have a Great Easter!

Creating Keepsake Convention 2009

2009-04-08T15:13:00.013-05:00

This past weekend my friend Jennifer and I went to the Creating keepsake Convention, which is a weekend long scrapbook frenzy!!! We go every year , and every year, we stay a little longer and do a little more. This year we went up on a Friday, shopped a little, then stayed in a "great" motel and scrapped all night!! well until about 230am, then we woke up at 630am to hit the convention again! We were so tired, but it was all worth it. We even took a class this year and made an awesome mini album. I used it to put our pics from the weekend in.

Our class was taught by the Creative Editor, Megan Hoeppner of Creating Keepsakes magazine and we had the pleasure of getting our picture with her in the end of the class. It was so cool, and the class was awesome.

We also did a ton of shopping at the vendors and found a lot of neat "treasures". A lot of cool stuff at the "dollar spot" even, so that was cool! Some things we just "had" to splurge on. Here is all i got....

I also got 3 t-shirts this year, last year i waited to long and no one had my size, so this year i stocked up... One says "scrap chick" with lil chicks on it, another says "scrappin with my peeps" with chicks on it...and the last one is a rocker t-shirt with hearts and wings that says "Paper scissors ROCK" i love them, prob. my favorites things i bought. One of them is pictured above.

I can hardly wait for next year, i think we are going to stay an extra day next year!!! he hehe.... It was so relaxing and so much fun hanging with Jennifer too... I swear, I am NOT the only CRAZY, ADDICTED scrapper out there....
Here are a few pics from the weekend as well...

Trying to open the wine.... You can tell how much i drink wine... I think i pulled a muscle trying to do this...Jennifer ended up getting it... she's the pro.. he heee.

Here are the "necessities" for our stay....
Food, Food and more Food....

And.... I actually WON a door prize.... wow, i never win those things!!

Happy Scrapping!

14 hours Scrap attack! and eating of course.

2009-03-28T09:20:00.010-06:00

My Friend Jennifer and I got together for our monthly ALL DAY scrap. We got a ton finished even with taking frequent breaks to squeeze and feed babies and EAT of course. We ate so much and actually had horrible heartburn all day long, but it didn't slow us down with scrapping or eating more... It's part of the scrapping process i suppose. Later in the evening my sister joined us. She said she came just because we had M&M's, but I think aybe she needed some baby squeezing time as well. I was so happy she came:

Later in the evening my sister came to join us too.. I was so excited. She says she came just for the M&M's but I think she needed some baby time too.
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I Still have so much to catch up on, but at least i put a dent in the photo stack. I found that i got more done if i did a layout for one, then duplicated the same layout design for the other, and just changed the paper. Here is what i accomplished!

Here are the double pages... they don't scan in as well, but you can get the idea...

Here's a digi QP i found online too... just had to plug in the photo and added the title...real simple. i wish i could remember the site i found it.. the QP is called "whoo's ready: reed-mullen just wanted to share

I did alot of scraplifting from magazines too, this day was all about "gettin em done"!! What a fun day. Have I mentioned i love scrapbooking? Maybe a few times huh?

And Again, another big hug and kiss to my wonderful hubby for entertaining babies all day and even cooking out on the grill for us at dinnertime! He's the best!

Fun Stuff

2009-03-23T22:00:00.005-06:00

This photo cracks me up...
River, he is always so darn happy! I just love it. The littlest things make him crack up and usually we're not doing anything at all. He's just a happy lil' guy!

Just some new things to share this past few weeks. Austin had his 11th birthday party at the roller rink and they had a ball! They skated, played laser tag, and played video games and racked up a zillion tickets to buy things with. A bunch of junk really in my opinion, but they had fun playing the games to get them any way.
He had his bestest friends and cousin share in his fun and i even had one of my bestest friends come too with her daughter and neice to keep me company. Here are a few pics. No, i didn't skate, just observed... it was much more entertaining and less dangerous.

This week is my spring break from work also, so i have been trying to squezze all the scrap time i can into this week. I have been pretty productive so far, I made 3 mini albums for the kid's great-grandparents who don't get to see much of them. Two live out of state and one here in town. They took me about an hour a piece and i think they will like them. They always love pics and i thought this was a neat way to send them some.

Also, here are a few real quick pages i did last weekend too....

This Friday Jennifer is coming over to scrap ALL day and NIGHT!!! i hope to get a little caught up on some of these MOUNTAINS of pictures on my desk... Then in 2 weeks we are heading to St. Louis for a scrap convention for the weekend!!! Yeah, i can't wait.
Also, i should mention how wonderful my husband is to me by allowing me the time away to scrap and go to this convention!! He's the best!!! I knew i married him for a reason. He's so generous giving me some "me" time when i can get it!!

Well i must be off to bed.... Tomorrow we are taking the babies out on the town, shopping and walking... i hope the weather cooperates! goodnight!

Remember Us?? We don't give Mommy time to BLOG!

2009-03-07T23:12:00.006-06:00

Long time no blog!

Sorry, things have been super busy here at the Young home. Working, changing diapers, cleaning, and celebrating birthdays!

I had mine in February and Joe and Austin had theirs this past week! and Austin in STILL celebrating with having a party this week with his Dad and then having another one with his friends here next weekend... so he has been celebrating for 3 weeks! hmmmph, wish i could say that about my own... it was just another day... must be something with getting older.

The girls at work (yes, long story i DID have to work on my birthday boooo ), but they were so good to me, One of my bestest friends i work with, made me a cake and then the girls bought me flowers for my operatory! They just made my day. Then that night Joe took me out to dinner.

Austin's birthday was on a Monday this year, so he had school, but we made treats the night before for him to take and share with the class and when he got home, we took him out to dinner at Cheddars (his choice, don't you know they have the BEST chicken strips EVER??)

Then went shopping with all his birthday money!!
Thanks to everyone who sent him $$$ for his birthday, he used EVERY dime of it, put it all together to get the XBOX360 he's been wanting!!! he had just enough!! He was so excited!!!! On the way home he said:

"This day has been the best.... I keep thinking it's a dream and i'm going to wake up"....

oh bless his heart... I about cried. I'm glad he enjoyed his birthday so much and got what he "ALWAYS" wanted! 11 years old already.. it's hard to believe...

We also celebrated the 5 month old birthday of Londyn and River this past week! WOW 5 months! They are both starting to roll over pretty good and starting to giggle quite a bit now....and have become very ticklish!! I just love it!

I will close this out with a few new pics of them...
signing out..... Have a great week ahead!!

Austin is 11!!

Londyn with her pants on her head...

5 months old

River... the happiest lil guy EVER!!

That smile.. the wrinkled nose...i think she's gonna be trouble one day!
(also thanks to my friend Kristi who taught me how to make these AWESOME bows.. i am having a ball with them...

My Sweet Valentines!

2009-02-15T15:10:00.005-06:00

What a fun Valentine's Day and i spent it with the people i love most!!! I had a date with my Super HOT husband, Joe who took me out for dinner, just us two...WOW was that weird! We only stayed gone a few hours, but it was nice getting away! We had dinner and went to the mall to walk around. We acted like teenagers and even took pics in one of the photobooth things, it was pretty sweet that he played along. I can't wait to do a scrapbook page with those pics. He dropped me off at the door and when he came in, i know he could see my "wheels" turnin' as i stood in front of the booth! he hhe... bless his heart!
Here are a few pics from valentine's weekend!

Lil bit of this..lil bit of that.

2009-02-13T22:05:00.004-06:00

What an exciting few weeks we've had and so much fun!
The twins are growing like crazy! I can't believe how fast this is all going by. I am trying to enjoy every minute the best i can. They are so awesome.
We've had some milestones reached this past week...
Londyn rolled from her belly to her back on the Seventh and River did the same on the very next day... they are starting to MOVE!! It's so fun seeing them learn new things and they are so proud of themselves...as are the parents! :)
They are also starting to giggle a little too, but mainly just for big Brother Austin! He can always get them smiling and laughing at his silly songs and faces! He is such a wonderful, caring brother. They adore him.

I also had a few minutes last weekend to clean and organize my scraproom! I can now see the top of my work table and i also added a new little scrap bar so i can fit more people in to scrap with.

Speaking of scrapping, I had the Awesome opportunity to have some girls over for an ALL DAY scrap! Last weekend one of my bestest friends Jennifer and my mom and Mother in law came over to scrap with me. We started about 9am and the last one standing, Jennifer didn't leave until about 11pmish i think it was. It was very productive! Our goal for the day was to scrap as much as we could, and to get as many photos on each page as possible! My pages were pretty simple, but i ended up passing my goal i had set for the day... my goal was 4 double pages. I actually got 5 double page layouts, one single page layout and a card done!!! I have sooooo many photos to get scrapped and i am so far behind already! I figured if i wanted to get them in an album i better start doing some double page layout designs. So that's what we did. With the limited scrap time i have these days i need to make the most of it...
Here is one double page i did and the single photo layout also... I will post the others soon... I couldn't get good photos of them tonight..it's too dark, but you can get the idea....I actually cropped out some of the single layout...oooops! But Here they are.... More to come soon.

Well i need to get these precious bundles to bed...so i will catch up more later...
we also had a fun photo shoot for valentines day too... but getting both of them to smile at the same time is about impossible, so i might have gotten ONE good pic! :)

Enjoy the weekend!

Just some fun new scrappin' happenin'

2009-01-31T20:09:00.007-06:00

I finally got down to my scraproom last night and did a few pages... i only got two of them uploaded on this computer but i will share it. and i don't want you to think i left River out of my scrapping, but i don't have a picture of the layout i did of him last night on the computer yet! :)

Also i've been playin around a bit with digital scrapping the past few months and today i learn a new technique that i just had to try out... so here is the latest digital i did today.

Also here is a digital layout to share that i did of Austin a few weeks ago too.

ok, babies are crying i must be off....

Long time no see...

2009-01-25T18:39:00.003-06:00

Well, once again, time is scootin' on by and just not enough time in the day. It's been forever since i've blogged but i thought i'd at least drop off some new pics of the kids!!! Because of course i've found time to take some of those!

we had a little photo shoot the other day and even Austin played along... i got a ton of photos! i was so excited!

Nothing really new here... playing with babies, and finding a new addiction that is known as facebook!!! click my link above to check it out!

Here's a few more pics and then i will try and get on here again soon to blog a bit more interesting things! Off i go!

One Little Word 2009

2009-01-02T16:45:00.005-06:00

Ali Edwards challenges us each year in the scrap world or anyone actually to pick ONE little word as a "Focus" for the new year..
Last year my word was perspective... I felt i really needed to have a better perspective on my life and how i reacted to things.

This year I have chosen my word...

It is ACCEPT:

ac·cept (k-spt)
(Verb)
1. to take or receive something offered
2. to agree to
3. to consider something as true
4. to tolerate or resign oneself to
5. to take on the responsibilities of: he asked if I would become his assistant and I accepted that position
6. to receive someone into a community or group
7. to receive something as adequate or valid [Latin acceptare]

Ok.... Now to work on accepting.... in the new year, the things i cannot change and the things of which i have no control over...

The Serenity Prayer

God grant me the serenity
to accept the things I cannot change;
courage to change the things I can;
and wisdom to know the difference.

Living one day at a time;
Enjoying one moment at a time;
Accepting hardships as the pathway to peace;
Taking, as He did, this sinful world
as it is, not as I would have it;
Trusting that He will make all things right
if I surrender to His Will;
That I may be reasonably happy in this life
and supremely happy with Him
Forever in the next.
Amen.

--Reinhold Niebuhr

Here's to a New Year!!! What is your "word" for the new year!!?? Take the challenge!
Happy New Year!

Christmas Fun

2008-12-29T13:28:00.008-06:00

Merry Belated Christmas to everyone.
Our christmas here was filled with so much joy this year. With the addition of our new lil' ones and the joy of seeing Austin opening and enjoying his gifts. Even though money was tight this year, we were blessed enough to get him what was on his list and he was so excited.
We had a little fun with him this year though... he hehee.... we had told him for the past few months we were going to get him coal and a miracle ear for Christmas, because he has trouble "listening" to us these days... something called "selective hearing" they say, so this year we did get him COAL!! we found some at the dollar store and we wrapped it up a box with in a box....in like 8 boxes and the first box was HUGE then it went all the way down to the last box which held the coal... it was so funny watching him open box after box until he finally got the coal.... he was amused...we thought it was hilarious!! Here are a few pics....

i know, we're so mean, and we didn't have any luck finding a used miracle ear, or you better believe we would have wrapped that up too.... he's such a good kid!! it's all in good fun!

Santa did bring him more than just the coal though, he got his Rock band, Rock band 2 and a projector tv so he can play his band on a wall in the "man room" like a real rock star...other than that he got many assrtd video games. no toys this year... i guess he has outgrown them... boo hoo! It was really awesome seeing his face on christmas morning when he opened all his presents!

As for the babies... we didn't get them gifts, i guess they won't rmemeber anyway, but i'm sure we will make up for that in future years... they weren't totally left out though, family bought them gifts, books, clothes, toys etc!!

And we even got a visit from "santa"... like for REAL!! we didn't see him...but we came home from church sunday morning and i got a text saying to go to my scraproom and look for a blue bag!!! so i ran downstairs like a little kid and there was a HUGE bag full of goodies for all of us! clothes, blankets, wallets, toys, playstation game, lots of stamping and scrap stuff ( im guessing that's for me ha), diapers wipes, lotions, frames, and a TON of gift cards to the theatre, applebees, children's place, blockbuster and walmart!!!

i was sitting down here in tears looking at all the gifts from some "unknown" person or people!! We are so blessed to have people that love us and this was such a suprise and i have YET to figure out who it is.... everything said from santa, and no one i have called knows anything about it!! seriously!!! someone broke into our home to leave this stuff... ha! we don't lock the doors much i guess.... but anyway... i suppose that this "santa" person doesnt' want us to know his identity...so i will stop investigating. But Santa if you are reading this... THANK YOU for making this christmas special for us and so unexpected!! i can't wait for Austin to see his goodies!!

well i am rambling here so i will close this out with some photos....
just some random christmas photos and also of my new haircut... Joe got me a "make-over" for christmas i was in dire need of a cut and wax...what an awesome gift!!!

a bit of Scrappy goodness!!

2008-12-20T17:50:00.002-06:00

The "darkside"... MoooHAAAAAWWHAAAHAA

2008-12-15T17:48:00.002-06:00

ok Seriously Like i said , i am NOT going to the "darkside". Paper Scrappers call digital scrapping the "darkside". But i seriously was having some scrapbooking withdrawl here.
Since the twins were born, it is next to impossible to get any scrapping done, and i have accumulated more than 500 pics already! uugh! So today, with my ONE FREE HAND i did this layout.
It literally took me all day to do this, i would put some papers on, feed the babies, then put some embellishments on, then change a diaper.... and so this is how my day went until i finally got this page done...and even though it took me all day for this simple layout... i feel great for getting it done.
And i wouldn't change a thing!!! I love being a mom to TWINS!!! They are the best!, just a lot of work! ha!!!

Happy Holidays

2008-12-10T19:01:00.000-06:00

Send your own ElfYourself eCards

I don't think we're in Kansas anymore....

2008-12-06T18:18:00.013-06:00

2 clean diapers - $.84 cents

2 'soothie' pacifiers - $3.59

2 Miracle blankets - $60.00

2 Babies Sleeping through the night - PRICELESS!!!

Oh my goodness...a miracle it is!!! Our babies were waking up every THREE hours for feedings for the first 5 weeks!!! We were getting absolutely NO sleep. When i went in for my 6 week check up, my OB-GYN (who also has twins) said, "don't you have the miracle blanket?".....

a WHAT??? What IS this Miracle blanket you are speaking of, and WHY didn't you tell me about this sooner? ... was my reply????

So i went home and looked it up straight way on the internet...
Here is the link... http://www.miracleblanket.com/

OMG!!! Talk about a miracle. They are pretty pricey, but we thought, hey, if they work then what is a few extra bucks??? right? So we ordered them, it took about a week to recieve them. The first night we tried them the babies went from 3 hours to 4, well, hey, that's a little miracle right? well, within a week they were sleeping 7 hours a night!!! UNBELIEVABLE!! it truly was a MIRACLE blanket!!!

Last night, they went to bed at 11:00pm and didn't get up until this morning at 7:15am!!! A whole 8 hours and 15 minutes!!! I really thought something was wrong... i ran into the bedroom and these were the photos i took!

This is a photo of both of them when i came into their room... not really awake but starting to stir, i bet they could've slept a bit longer, if i hadn't disturbed them.

This isn't the most clear pic, but i had to show off his sweet smile, every morning they are so happy to hear our voices and they always smile. Then it's time to unwrap them! They really smile and get excited then! The miracle blanket works by strapping down the arms, tucking in their legs an swaddeling them with about 5 foot of blanket, you have to watch the video at the website, i think the secret is the arm straps. It sounds really sad, but the doctor said the reason most babies can't sleep through the night is because they inadvertantly move their arms and it startles them awake... this blanket keeps everything tucked in and they can't loosen the blanket, like most swaddling with regular blankets does.

Here are some pics of me unwrapping the blankets:

This is Londyn all swaddled up in her blanket..

If you look you can see the arm wraps.. the material goes over the arms at their side and then tuck under the back before swaddling. this keeps the arms at the sides tightly.

and here she is FREE at last!! with a big STRETCH!!! and happy and rested!!

If you know anyone who is expecting this is the PERFECT gift...and really works!

We also had a little photoshoot today...
Here are my favorites:
Londyn with her gorgeous, long eyelashes... they are really growing long... just like her daddys'

What an ornery smile!! She already knows how to work us... how can you resist that??

I LOVE River's lil smile too... he is so animated and so darned sweet and so good natured!!!

Ok, enough rambling... just wanted to share my news... i hope the miracle continues tonight... we sure did get spoiled last night!!

May the sleep be with us... ZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZ

So Thankful!

2008-11-17T15:57:00.009-06:00

Where does the time go...
wow, Since the twins were born it seems like time is just FLYING by... probably because i never sleep! ha. But it's awesome..

Here is my lil guy last week:

He is such a great eater and gaining weight like crazy! I need to weigh him and see where he's at...

He doesn't miss a meal that's for sure. He has lost his neck....and gained a chin as my mother in law says.. he heee... it's so true!!!

As for Londyn, she's just as pretty as ever...now don't i sound like a proud mama now do i????? ha, She's growing like crazy too...still has her full head of hair which keeps getting longer along with her eye lashes!!! so fun playing with a girl!
Here she is last week:

It's hard to get a smile out of her, but they are starting to come more easily nowdays! i love it!

It's been pretty busy around here.
Thanksgiving was wonderful, great to see family and spend time together! Here are a few pics:

Grandma and Grandpa and Londyn

Great Aunt Brenda and River

We played alot of cards and ate way too much, getting ready for our big BLACK friday shopping trip. I did get all my christmas shopping done and am proud to report i stayed on budget. i am thankful for that... i do have a few mini albums to make, i hope i can find the time to get those done soon...
I also need to get my christmas cards made, we had a photoshoot last week and i hope that a few turned out ok, to use for cards!

Then the flu hit... uuugh! it was horrible, but it's over now, thank goodness and i hope and pray the babies don't get it!

Today is my last day off work. I am really sad, but i NEED to get back and i am ready to be productive! I love staying home with them and will miss them like crazy! boo hoo!!!!! but that's life! They will only have to be at daycare two days a week, so it won't be too bad! just on ME i suppose!!!

Well i will leave you with a few pics i took last week of Austin... i tell ya, he is the BEST big brother... he can ALWAYS get a smile out of his lil sister!! it's adorable!!!

Until next time.... Happy holidays and safe shopping!!!

14 hours....4 layouts...it's been awhile!

2008-11-08T23:57:00.006-06:00

Yep it's TRUE... i scrapped with friends ALL day Friday from 9am to almost 11pm and all i finished was 4 layouts... it has been too long i guess and i just couldn't get myself going...ideas were few and far between. But how fun was it to get back in my scrap room and play.
Here are just a few layouts. I also started a mini album with some odds and ends photos, but i didn't get it finished!

I wanted to get some pages of Austin done too, but lately he is just not cooperating with the picture taking... he's decided he doesn't like to be in front of the camera. I will have to sneak some i guess. I lost all his soccer pics from my camera card. somehow the whole card got erased. I was sooooo sad!

Anyway...here they are....
What a fun hobby!

Already Wrapped
by Toofclnr
Scrapbook.com

Rock the Faux Hawk
by Toofclnr
Scrapbook.com

Hello Sunshine...
by Toofclnr
Scrapbook.com

Look whoooo is growing...
by Toofclnr
Scrapbook.com

Don't Forget to.....

2008-11-04T12:44:00.003-06:00

More Pictures!

2008-11-03T14:14:00.004-06:00

Hope you all had a funfilled Halloween. This year was a bit different for us, Austin decided he was WAY too cool to dress up and trick or treat, so him and a friend decided to have a sleepover at our house and hand out candy.

They built the coolest fort out of leaves and it even had a WINDOW so they could see people coming. Their plan was to scare them when they approached! Well, we only had ONE lonely trick or treater!!! and we told them to come by or we wouldn't of had ANY!! It was kinda sad really. But they still had fun and just sat in their hideout and ate the candy themselves! ha!!!

Here is a lil' slide show of some of the pics we took the past few weeks.
these are the ones i hope to scrap this weekend, some of my favorites!!

Weighing in....

2008-10-30T17:06:00.007-06:00

River

River

Londyn

Londyn

Sheesh, what a crazy 4 weeks!! Yes, Londyn and River are already a month old! wow! seems like it's already going so fast!

Things here are pretty hectic, seems like i can't get much done that i'd like to, but it's all good! I am loving my days lately! I love being home with them, but i only have 4 weeks left! I miss work, but i am dreading going back, i don't want to miss a thing!

We are adjusting pretty good to our new life, we aren't getting much sleep but it's all worth it. Austin in being the BEST big brother, he is so attentive to them when they cry and he is always the first to arrive when they start in! What a great dude he is.

Today i decided to weigh the babies. From the looks of the scale, they are BOTH weighing in at 7.2 pounds!!! unbelievable!!! River has caught up to his big sissy! What a porker! He loves feeding time and can throw down a bottle in record time. We like to fight over who gets to feed HIM in the middle of the night, because he is so fast, then he burps before he even reaches the shoulder! ha. Londyn in a slow poke, she's so dainty, but yet so messy. She likes to get milk all over herself, where as River doesn't let a drop miss his mouth! It's so funny! A big thank you to my Aunt Connie who gave me the scale. It's so cool, i can weigh them everyday if i want!

I have been so busy taking a million pictures, but have yet to scrapbook any of them, i hope to get some done next week when i have some friends over to scrap! I can't wait to get back into my scrap room and enjoy time with friends!

I also made a book on Blurb.com about my pregnancy and birth. If you click on the link on the right, you can get a short preview. It's 36 pages long, but the preview only shows the first 15 pages. I've got a lot of new pics in the final pages, i can't wait to get my copy of it. I figured it was a fast way to get some of my photos scrapped. I know i won't be able to get all of them scrapped. I will just scrap my favorites.

Well "dooty" calls....

I'm glad someone is getting some sleep!

2008-10-27T17:18:00.003-06:00

Sure wish it was me!
But i wouldn't trade it for the world!

Scrapbook material?? someday!!!

2008-10-14T23:11:00.005-05:00

Just a few fun pics from my pregnancy and now....
someday i will scrap again!!

Londyn
River

They're HERE!! Finally!!!

2008-10-07T17:11:00.018-05:00

Sorry for the delay...**snicker** **snicker**
I've had my hands a little full!!!! of BABIES~~~~

I am Proud to announce the arrival of our twins:

Londyn Alee Young
5.6 lbs 18 1/2 inches
born October 1st, 2008 at 11:30 am
and
River Alan Young
4.1 lbs 17 3/4 inches
born at 11:35am

It was all such a whirlwind, but here are some quick stats!!!

WEll, as you know, the past two weeks they had diagnosed me with pre-eclampsia and my blood pressure was starting to get out of whack and raising to unhealthy levels. so i had been having several tests done and seeing the dr. every other day.
After the last appt, (the stripping of the membrane) pregnant life was pure hell! I was constantly in pain and didn't feel like myself at all. She said she would induce me, but as posted earlier i chose to wait it out for the babies.

Well at mondays appt i saw the dr and she said i was definately pre-eclamptic from the results of the first "24 hour urine catch" results. So she wanted me to do another one to see how fast the levels of protein were elevating. So Tuesday i took in another "catch" and i wasn't feeling good at all and i called the dr and she said to go up to labor and delivery for montioring... Well i had had ENOUGH of this "monitoring" and being "sent home", so i told joe i wasn't going and to take me home!!

So we came home and watched biggest loser and then got austin in bed and went to bed.
I was laying in bed feeling horrible and joe took my BP. It was 170/100 and he MADE me get my shoes on and get austin up and go into the hospital at 10:30 at night... i was so mad~ He said "I didn't wait 30 years to find you, to have something happen to you now" "get your shoes on"... so i guess there was no arguing!! So off we went.

We got to labor and delivery and i was "hooked up" to all the monitors , i was contracting every 3 minutes, which i had been doing for weeks!!! so i wasn't concerned, i had horrible pain in my upper abdomen and i felt pressure in my ears.
my BP was way up and the results from my urine catch i took in earlier had DOUBLED since the day before, so before i knew what was going on, they wheeled be out and into a room and hooked up an IV drip of magnesium to bring my BP down, they were scared i was going to seizure or something??? But let me tell ya... that magnesium is WICKED~~~~~~!!! i felt like i was on FIRE!!!! horrible stuff....
The Dr. called, i was admitted for the night and she would be in in the morning to break my water, she said it was too dangerous to keep them in any longer.

NEXT MORNING>>>>

7.30am Dr came and broke my water - dilated 5 cm 60% effaced
7.35am first BIG/Real contraction already!!!

*DR called for immediate epidural! and me too! he heheee.... i knew the time had come, no stopping now!!!

8.00am Epidural was placed... Hallaleujah!!!!!!
8.30am Pitocin was started
10.00 am Contractions closer together
10.45 am Nurse check and i was 100% effaced and she could feel the head!!!! oh my!!!
she called for more nurses asap and i was wheeled immediately to the OR for delivery just in case we needed to do a c-sec. I was wheeled in and the prep began.
My dr was in another surgery, and i didn't think she would make it, but in she came at the last minute!! i was so excited, because i really didn't want a c-section and she was willing to try a vertex / breech delivery. My first baby was head down, and she thought that she would pave the way for the breech baby to follow.
11.00 ready to go....
11.10 began pushing.... possibly 9-12 pushes and at 11.30 Londyn was born, crying and screaming as loud as can be...Joe wouldn't cut the cord, so i did!! it was amazing!!!
so now for the breech delivery.... i pushed 3 times and she saw a foot, he them pulled it back up and came butt first into this world!!!
at 1135 River was born...
It was a little scary, he came out placenta and all, with a quick squeak and then, silence. He has stopped breathing and turned white and blue. she wouldn't let me see him , but said he'd be fine, the dr. cut the cord, remained calm and passed him to the staff waiting along side....
they hooked him up to something and next thing you know, he was crying right along side his sissy! Thank goodness!
I didn't get to hold him at all, they took him away immediately along with joe to put him on oxygen and evaluate him. He was just a lil guy!! AFter delivery the Dr. evaluated the placentas and Londons was twice the size of his and her umbilical cord was twice as long as well.... they had been measuring the same since the beginning and the last ultrasound i had was the first time there was such a difference in weight and size. The Dr. thinks the placenta got "old" and stopped functioning properly, so i am so glad things happened the way they did. River is safe, just small. It's all just so amazing and such a miracle to me.

He had to be on oxygen for awhile, but after no time at all, he was off the oxygen and breathing on his own. He is very small and cannot maintain his temp yet like they would like, so he is still in the hospital and we are traveling back and forth for visits, love and squeezes several times a day!!! it's so hard leaving him there, but i know it's for the best!!!

We were released on Friday, Londyn came home with us on Sunday. So we were without babies for 2 days!! so hard to go through all of that and leave empty handed. so hard!

So now, we are trying to get settled and get Austin back on track, this has all been such a crazy whirlwind of events the past few days, and i can't even keep track of what day it is...

Anyway, i know i missed some details, but you get the idea...
we are all doing fine and now we just need to adjust and get River's temp maintained and get him to gain weight so he can join us at home!!

Thanks for all your prayers, please keep them coming. We sure appreciate you all! and know the prayers and thoughts have gotten us through these last few days, keeping us all safe! God is Good indeed!!!

and i leave you with a few pics: (not photoshopped, not great quality, but it's all i have the energy for right now.. hehehee)

Londyn oh so pretty!
River and Daddy
River smiling!! He's such a flirt!!
Is she trying to tell us something??
Londyn and Austin
First night home with Londyn