GirlyDos

Girly Dos is having a pretty cool giveaway and I would love to win! Go on over and check it out and don't forget to tell her I sent ya, alright? Yes? Great, thanks.

The Mind of My 7 Year Old

Me: Parson, hurry and put your crocs on, it's time to go to school.
Parson: Mom, I really don't think that's a good idea. I always get bark in my crocs (from the playground) and then when I empty them out, I lose my friends and I have to go find them.
Me: I see.

A few hours after school is over. He is going out to play.

Me: Parson, why don't you wear your crocs to play outside? (thinking we might be able to keep his new school shoes in good condition for a while)
Parson: No mom. I want to wear my sketchers. They have air technology. They send a puff of air to your toes with every step you take.
Me: Oh yeah?
Parson: Yes. The tv said that, and the tv KNOWS!

Easy Dinner

I have been making this quite often lately. It is very easy! Preparation time is usually under 20 minutes, depending on what you add to it. And it's pretty good, too. My kids even like it, so that's definitely a bonus.All you do is get the Bear Creek Creamy Potato soup mix, and make it according to the directions. (I know what you're thinking, but this one is really pretty good.) Then I just add a few things, depending on what I have. On this particular night, I added sausage and mushrooms (I chopped the mushrooms into small pieces and my kids didn't even know they were there, haha.) In the past, I have done sausage, hamburger, peas, mushrooms, cheese--really whatever you want to add. Our personal favorite is turkey sausage. It's a lot less greasy but you still get that spicy sausage taste. Then my favorite part of the meal is the yummy asiago cheese bread loaf from the Walmart bakery. Mmmmm! It is so soft and tasty. I love to dip my bread. My mom uses garlic bread and that's good, too.
And that's it. I know it's nothing fancy. It's very basic and practical. A good, somewhat healthy dinner that's very quick and easy to make. The soup literally takes about 17 minutes to make. Browning my meat is what takes the longest.
Let me know if you try it and enjoy!

Looking Back.....4

Carissa was nice enough to remind me that I haven't finished my twin pregnancy story, so here it is.

A peek into my journal...continued.

31 weeks finally came! We were getting closer! My doctor came in early that morning to talk to me, as she did every morning. At this time, she informed me that she was heading out of town in a few days and wouldn't be around on our planned delivery date. We discussed all of our options. 1-We could deliver a few days earlier than planned. 2-We could deliver a few days later than planned. 3-We could have another doctor do the delivery on our original planned date. We made the decision to deliver the night before she was leaving out of town, which was Monday, May 22, 2006. This put our delivery at gestational age 31 weeks 4 days.

When Monday, May 22 finally came, I was so excited! Mixed with nervousness! I was so glad that this pregnancy was finally going to be over and that I would be able to go home with my family. I was so excited to meet my sweet little girls and be able to hold them in my arms and know that they were both healthy.

I was so nervous about having a c-section. In addition there was so much uncertainty as to whether or not both of my girls would be healthy and ok.

Our delivery was scheduled for that evening and it was a very long day waiting.

This was right before surgery.

For me, the surgery went very quickly. I didn't feel any pain. A few minutes into surgery, I was told that baby A was coming out. Then the assisting doctor held her up so I could see her for about 2 seconds, before whisking her away to the adjacent room where several NICU doctors and nurses were waiting. Abbie was born at 6:46 PM. Exactly one minute later, they held up baby B in the exact routine as they had done with Abbie. Ellie was born at 6:47 PM.

The window shades were open, and I could see my girls being worked on in the next room as my surgery was being completed. We were told that they were both doing very well for 31 weekers. We were also given their weights, Abbie weighed 3 lbs 1 oz and Ellie weighed 3 lbs 14 oz. It wasn't until 2 days later that we found out we had been misinformed. Abbie had actually weighed in at 3 lbs 10 oz which was quite a difference. This was good news to us.

An hour or two later, they wheeled my hospital bed into the NICU so that I could see my sweet little girls. I just kept saying "They are so small! I can't believe how little they are." They had a bunch of wires attached to their stomachs and chests. they also had IV's and were on ventilators. It was very hard to see them like this. I was so glad that they were getting a good start. Throughout my pregnancy, I was told by doctors that by 32 weeks, we might not have 2 live babies. Yet here they were. They were very, very small. But I knew that they were in good hands and that they were going to have a fighting chance to live. I was overjoyed. And exhausted. And proud of myself for making it through this amazing day without crying!

This is a different angle to my famous "twin heads" picture.
This was the very first time they put the girls in together.

The girls were only on their ventilators for a couple of hours and the oxygen a day or two. The main reasons they needed their NICU stay was to learn to eat and obviously to grow. It was very difficult to come home without them. At the same time, I knew they were much too small to come home. It was also difficult juggling my recovery, my 2 older kids, and twice a day visits to the hospital. It was definitely a roller coaster ride of emotions. Somehow we managed it all.

This was the 1st time I got to hold them together! I was thrilled!

The girls were in the NICU for 32 days and they came home together. Finally, our family was all together!:)

Fun Stories

I have noticed lately that Parson asks Joshua which girl is doing something. He'll say "Josh, which girl is that?" or "who is this one?" So I was asking them, "Parson, you can't tell who is who?" And he said he couldn't. So I asked Josh how he could tell them apart and he told me, (very matter of factly) "Because their faces don't look the same. They look different."
Here is a recent picture of them. What do you think?
I was thinking about another funny story today, so I thought I would share. It was probably a year ago. We were picking up my sister in our minivan to go somewhere with us. My boys sit in the back seat of the van on each side. My sister was going to have to squeeze in between them and sit in the middle. Joshua sits on the passenger side, the side that my sister was entering. It is a tight squeeze, as you can imagine, getting in. My sister starts backing herself into her seat.
Now imagine if you will Joshua sitting in his chair watching her backing herself past him. He says, "Whoa! You've got a big fat butt!!" And of course, my sister says, "Joshua that isn't very nice! You shouldn't say stuff like that. You really think I've got a big butt?" And Josh says, "yes." My sister replied in a quick, sassy voice, "Well, I think you're annoying sometimes."
Hehe, I still laugh when I think of this story. Maybe you have to actually hear my sister's response to find it funny?
Oh well...here's another pic, just for fun!:)

Birthday Fun!

Thanks for all of the birthday wishes. You are all very nice! I had a great week. Monday, we celebrated Matt's birthday. Can you guess what one of his presents was?


Wii rockband!! It's super fun. Although I wish they (the game makers) had picked some better songs.
Wednesday, some of my neighbors threw me a surprise barbeque.
Friday, one of my brothers and one of my sisters and their families came over and we played some games (Wii Rockband, Mariokart, and Boomblox). Oh yeah, and look what Matt gave me for my birthday! I will never be lost again!!
I still haven't messed with all of it's features, but let me tell you, it is cool! I also got clothes, cards, and a cookbook from my siblings. (interesting cookbook--I'll save it for another post!)
Saturday my other brother took me and Matt four wheeling for my birthday. It was so fun!:)


Sunday, my whole family had a cake and sang Happy Birthday to me. So this year I got to celebrate over a few days, which was fun. Doesn't this cake look delicious?! My sister in law made it for me, and yes, it tasted as good as it looked!!:)
All in all, we had a great week! Maybe 30 isn't so bad, after all...

30 for my 30th!

That's right, I'm 30! I am officially old! And that makes Jaysi the winner of my very first giveaway!:) Yeah Jaysi, you are going to love this prize! Go ahead and start browsing the catalog on my site and I will email you later today!

30 things about me you probably never wanted to know:

1. I am the third of six children.
2. I never had any wisdom teeth.
3. I love lip gloss. And I have to put chap stick on every night before bed.
   
4. My left big toe is quite small in comparison to my right.
5. I swam in a triathlon last year. And survived. And didn't come in last.
   
6. I LOVE a looooong, hot shower.
   
7. My first job was working at Dairy Queen.
8. I love sports.
9. I love my shark vacuum.
10. I love to go shopping and I love a bargain even better.
    
11. My arms are shaped funny.
12. I am late 9 out of 10 times.
13. I HATE spiders more than I can even say.
14. I shop online a lot.
15. I faced my fear of sharks last year.
16. I was not a very good student.
17. I have never had a professional pedicure.
18. I want to buy an xrail.
19. I never wear pantyhose or high heels.
20. I will not eat anything out of the ocean.
21. My husband is a much better cook than I am.
22. Aside from my c-section, the only surgeries I've ever had were for a bone spur and bunion on my right foot, and eye surgery.
    
23. I have seasonal allergies.
24. I cut my own hair (and have for the past 6 years).
    
25. I love to rock in my rocking chair (my parents actually gave me my first very own one when I was about 5).
    
26. Last year I found out I love to snorkel.
27. I love to go to Lake Powell.
28. I am NOT a morning person. I can stay up all night, but don't expect me to be up early.
29. I am left handed.
30. I have never seen the movies "Greece" or "Wizard of Oz" (and probably never will).