the "Crisis"

so Paul and I went to a dinner the other night and left the girls with my mom. about halfway through dinner, Paul texted her to see how things were going. this is what he got back...

{7pm Thursday night}
Crisis! Addie saw lizard on lamp in bedroom. I couldn't catch so we are snuggled in chair in living room. told her she didn't have to go back in room until you caught lizard. tiny and green.

our entire table got a good laugh.

and while clearly this was indeed not a crisis; in three-year-old-world, it was!

by the time we got home, Addie was sound asleep in her bed.

crisis averted?

{7am Friday morning}
mommy/daddy, there was a lizard on my lamp in my room. 

yes, i'm sure he's gone back outside to live with his family...

{fast forward about 36 hours}
i go to grab a bow for addie's hair as we're leaving the house...

...and there he is! perched on the warm lamp again. 

and the following ensues:
i try to grab him, and he jumps to the wall and crawls up to the crown molding.

paul stands on the stool and tries to grab it, and it jumps to the roman shade.

i see it and try to grab it, but it jumps from the shade to the blinds to the dresser to the floor and quickly runs...

...behind her bed!

(now try picturing that!)

assuring addie that he is headed back to his family, we leave.

{Later that night}
Addie's all ready for bed; and as i go to help her in bed, i think to myself:

am i really going to put her in a bed that we are almost certain a lizard is hiding behind? 

and i move her giraffe and pillow and there he is!

asleep, as still as he can be, under her pillow!   

i tell addie to get daddy quickly. huh she says? go get daddy fast! hurry!

no time

i cup my hands over it and it slides out. i cover it again with one hand and scoop it up, tail sticking out as he wriggles in my hand.

my thought: do lizards bite? if so, do they hurt?

we run out the front door with Addie in tow, and i gently lay my hand down and let him jump out.

finally...crisis over!

lizard returned to his family...outside!

let's just hope he doesnt decide to come back in to bask on Addie's lamp!

i'm not sure i can catch another one anytime soon! 

my only regret? i didn't get a picture of it ;-)

Fox on the Run

or just laying in our neighbor's driveway after he'd visited our front steps

the animal control officer wasn't too keen on catching it bc it was still so alert.

alert but clearly sick enough to lay still

distemper or rabies

poor little guy...

i'm afraid there wont be any relocating this fox. they were talking about sending him to the state for testing since they suspected early signs of rabies.

After it was secured, we brought Addie out to take a peak at it. She was certain they would be giving it medicine to make it better. It's not every day you see a fox in your front yard!

disclaimer: not to worry, i wasn't being careless to grab these pictures. i was 2 {front} yards aways using a 300mm zoom lens. ;)

Just an average Sunday afternoon.

Crayons

I don't know about yall, but somehow we have ended up with quite a few pieces of little crayons.

I'm sure some of them could be attributed to Abbey, but I'm pretty sure Miss Addie played a role in their destruction use too.

But I just couldn't bring myself to throw them away because I'd seen other people do this:

So we saved them. And saved them. And finally pulled all the paper off and broke them into tiny pieces and melted them in the oven.

To create these:

And Miss Addie-boo loves them!

I think it might be worth accidentally ruining my muffin pan for that!

Because of the LORD’s great love we are not consumed, for his compassions never fail. They are new every morning; great is Your faithfulness. 

Lamentations 3:22-23

Baby Love

So I'm pretty sure with all this birthday celebrating that I'm posting way more Addie pictures than little girl pictures.

So to make up for that...

One morning while Addie was at school a few weeks ago, and I'm sure I was supposed to be cleaning or doing laundry or catching up on something

I decided to grab my camera and follow the girls around in their room.

And what I walked away with are priceless smiles and sweet memories of just an average ordinary day.

Life.

What I'm greeted with each morning and after most naps.

How I adore these little girls. Adore watching them grow.

Explore.

Laugh.

Play.

And what a tremendous gift to be able to capture a small glimpse of that on camera.

I love you {Addie's} baby sisters.

The twins. The little girls.

Our angels. 

Anne Perry & Audrey Kate

All Good

Everyone is on the mend.

I think.

We're practically living in our backyard with the new playground (post to come).

My car is a beautiful shade of yellow. How about yours?

And I'm preparing for Addie's "redo" birthday party

which means our house is in that disaster stage

right before it becomes perfect (ha) neatness!

So I promise to update soon...

...with a birthday girl post and a birthday day post and a birthday party post.

And all the wonderfulness in between :)

Happy Thursday friends!

Double What?

Ok. So I admit. I'm getting a little weary of random strangers commenting on our baby girls.

The most commonly asked question: Are they twins?

My kind response: Yes {smile}, knowing they are just trying to make conversation. And I usually add, and this is their wonderful big sister. (who then promptly yells at them that they can't have her baby sisters!)

My honest thoughts: Really? No, I just carry around two babies under one and dress them alike just for fun! Don't you?

Top 4 Things NOT to Say to the Mom of Twins: (no, I couldn't think of 5 nor could i narrow it to 3 :)

4.) Double Trouble: Double the work? Yes, try triple or quadruple the work. But Double Trouble? Does that mean since you have 2 children that you have double the trouble? Just because they are the same age doesn't mean they are more trouble! They are my children, not any trouble! Double.the.Blessing. Thank.you.very.much!

3.) You can just put one in my cart and I'll take her home: (this is when Addie goes postal!) Um. No. Don't even joke about that. They are all mine. God has given every one of them to Paul and me. What a huge responsibility and what a huge blessing. Would you give away one of your kids just because you have three? NO! So don't joke with me about taking one of mine!

2.) Oh, she smiles more. She must be the happy baby: No, you're just not standing two inches from her nose like you are her sister who's got a terrified look on her face because you are invading her personal space! Get.out.of.my.babies.face. Don't.touch.their.hands. Don't.touch.their.cheeks! You have germs, and I don't want them! Take a step back please!

1.) Which one's the bad one? Ok now really people. The bad one? How about just say, which one's your favorite. Because what I want to say is: oh, this one's the bad one. We just tolerate her! Want to take her home?

We love each of our girls for their uniqueness and already evolving individuality! They are all 3 so different and yet so similar at the same time! It's one thing to discuss what one child is doing or another child is doing, but there's just no need to classify or compare them! Having twins means having two individual children...as Paul says, not a two headed multi-pooping monster! ;)

And since this post is chalk full of sarcasm, I have to include some pictures of our current bad twin. She's a crawler and has discovered something I never dreamed she would get into! With all the construction we've had going on in our house, it's even somewhat ironic!

And because really, she's my favorite! {wink, wink} ;)

Emotional

–adjective

1. pertaining to or involving emotion or the emotions.

2. subject to or easily affected by emotion. 

3. showing or revealing very strong emotions.

heartbreaking: I think losing Abbey was just the start of an emotional roller coaster.

Then again, maybe it was just a down hill slope on the roller coaster I was already riding.

moving (literally): In the house. Out of the house. Back in the house. Thankfully we're here for good, I hope.

sentimental: Consignment tagging. Organizing. Realizing the reason I'm selling these things is because my babies can no longer wear them. Reality check that they're growing up...again.

nostalgic: Addie's birthday party planning. Details. Checklists. Outfit making. Coming to grips with her turning 3.

denial: Babies' birthday coming up.

This is why I haven't blogged in so long.

I just couldn't. I had to set things to autopilot and just go.

Too many emotions.

We had someone in our house sick for at least 8 weeks.

Flu. Upper respiratory infections. Ear infections. Snotty noses. Fevers.

I think we went through an entire bottle of children's motrin (and I use it sparingly), 4 antibiotics, over half a bottle of children's claritin (again, used sparingly) and the same in children's benadryl (used even more sparingly).

And then there was the allergic reaction to an antibiotic.

(can you see the spots? and this was after a dose of benadryl! they covered her face, torso and had started to move to her legs/feet and hands/arms.)

Everything caught up with me when we moved back home after being out of the house for a week instead of just 3 days.

The exhaustion. The fact that Abbey was really gone. All the many, many things that still need to be done around here for our house to finally function normally (ha!) again!

So there it is.

Honesty.

I can't do it all. Can't always hold things together. Not super mom.

Not trying to be.

But I'm gradually catching up.

Going through things. Cleaning out. Cleaning up. Dusting. Vacuuming.

Er. Um. Attempting to prevent babies from eating leaves. Or crawling off. Or bumping noggins.

And at the same time, soaking it all in. Savoring the sweet (and not so sweet) moments with our girls. Watching them explore and grow right before my eyes.

Working to make sure they know how very much we love them.

And working even harder to focus on what really matters.

Not the house. Not the drama. Not tidy floors or dust free surfaces. Not laundry or dishes.

Just prayerfully growing those sweet hearts we've been entrusted with.

I wonder too...if the rent in the canvas of our life backdrop, the losses that puncture our world, our own emptiness, might actually become places to see. To see through to God. That that which tears open our souls, those holes that splatter our sight, may actually become the thin, open places to see through the mess of this place to the heart-aching beauty beyond. To Him. 

-Anne Voskamp, One Thousand Gifts

It's Complicated

Or so I thought it was until Friday night.

Given our current situation:

no kitchen

the entirety of our kitchen packed up in our living room and dining room

large plastic sheet wall blocking off the above said kitchen

a temporary bathroom kitchen

dust everywhere

a 2 year old and two 7 month olds

and...

us trying to celebrate the most wonderful time of the year: Christmas, by heading to the Zoo Lights with friends.

So...

I was a little shocked when Paul came home from work with these:

No, we are not adopting two more dogs. Our precious Abbey has been spending her days and nights at my mom's for weeks now to keep her out of trouble here.

In fact, I don't like little dogs. I don't dislike them, I just don't like them.

Except this one:

But apparently I've rubbed off on Paul after 10 plus years of marriage.

I've picked up my fair share of lost/stray/run-away dogs.

I just haven't ever brought two home to him when we had three kids!

But I'm not one to turn away a dog, even if it's a little one

...or two.

Thankfully we got word out today through our neighborhood association and found their owners before I rode around and put up signs.

Who doesn't micro-chip a show-quality,breed-worthy, in heat dog and then leave them outside on a deck?

...and really think they won't run off?

Apparently it's complicated.

Wordful Wednesday: Pickles

Forget Wordless Wednesday. This is WordFUL Wednesday. So how is this different than any other post? I'll let you decide!

Bottom line, it's been a long week; and it's only Wednesday.

The house? In a nutshell, structural engineer #1 deserves to be sued for overlooking some major structural issues in our house. Thankfully, we don't always get what we deserve; and from our end, that will be the case here. The issues are here whether he is willing to address them or not. We'll let that be on his conscience (I'm pretty sure he's not losing sleep over it though!).

The problems? A tipped pier (that will need to be jacked up back into place). Temporary piers needing replaced. Piers needing to be built around the original abandoned chimney (that connected to a wood burning stove!) because it's sinking and pulling the middle of our house down with it. Rafters above our kitchen connected to our ceiling instead of load bearing rafters (you know, rafters that prevent your roof from collapsing!). Leaky dishwasher. Braced plaster ceiling. Cracking/peeling kitchen floor. And water standing up against our house because of an improperly tilted porch causing wood to rot. Oh yeah, and mold in two closets?

Monday's stink: literally this week. Four 2 year old potty accidents (one on the sofa!). Nighttime diaper contained more than I bargained for.  Tantrums that put any tantrum I ever threw as a child to shame! Crying babies. Tooting pooping bottoms that consider diaper changing time ideal for extreme production. Spit-up on down my shirt. I think I needed to be decontaminated of biohazardous waste by the end of the day!

Tuesday: a contractor finally showed up after trying to get him here for 4 days. there arent many options out there. at least this one showed up! the week is looking up! He'll be back sometimes this week to send some of his guys up under our house and into our attic.

Today we are visiting some fabulous friends. And the rest of the week will consist of packing up our entire most of our house to head out on vacation with Paul's Dad's family. Five babies two and under. Five teenagers (or close to it). Seven from our generation and eight from his Dad's generation.  All in a 9 bedroom antebellum home on a 6 acre island surrounded by a lake. Pictures to come! As Uncle Jay would say: Crazy Wamsted Vacation. If we can only get there, it will be a blast! :)

And my mom brought me this* tonight...

*hint hint: this is what makes this post different from the rest of them!

You think this qualifies as a 21st century picture album?

I do...and it also pretty much sums up the way I wish I could react right now, but I am thankful that my 2 year old can outdo me on these.

I'm thankful I have a 2 year old that can out tantrum me.

I'm thankful to have a house that can fall apart.

I'm thankful I can hold my babies while they poop out their diapers and spit up down my shirt because I can hold them!

I'm thankful that Mondays end and Tuesdays begin. 

I am thankful that I can write totally random posts!

I'm thankful that this too shall pass.

And I'm thankful for our God who extends grace to us on a daily basis teaching us to extend grace to others!

Let us then approach the throne of grace with confidence, so that we may receive mercy and find grace to help us in our time of need.

Hebrews 4:16

By the Numbers

Just a few numbers that have changed over the past month!

We've gone from:

 having 1 to 3 little girls (praise God!)
 changing 6-8 diapers to 28-32 diapers a day
 feeding 1 child 3 times a day to feeding 3 girls 19 times a day

 keeping up with 2-3 pacifiers to more like 9
 me drinking 1-2 glasses of water a day to 5-6 glasses
 me eating 3-5 times a day to eating close to 10 times a day (for real!)
 sleeping a 6-7+ hour stretch to several 2-3 hour stretches each night
 giving 7 to 15 baths a week
 washing 5-6 loads of laundry to more like 10+ each week
 cutting 10 to 30 fingernails/toenails 

...but who's counting?

(the girls slept for a full 6 hours last night. now that's something I am counting!)

a simple Mathematical Problem

If we're trying to leave the house at 1:30pm to arrive at a party at 2pm and the girls need to eat around 1pm, then what time do I need to start getting ready if I have to: shower, find something that fits, dress myself, change and dress Addie, get snacks/drinks together, pack the diaper bag (pacis, lovie, burp clothes, 2 sizes of diapers, wipes, camera, drink/snacks, etc), feed the girls, feed Addie, eat lunch myself, change and dress the girls, put them in their car seats, and get everyone in the car and out the driveway?

I hated word problems when I was growing up. Probably because I was never taught how to solve them. I loved teaching them though.

Clearly I have not given you enough information. You have no idea how long it takes me to get ready and complete that list above or how long it takes the girls to eat.

But I do, and anytime we want to go somewhere, I have to apply a not-so-simple Mathematical Equation to solve a similar problem and figure out what time I need to start things.

The answer: at least start by 10:30am, probably earlier, in order to build in time for the unexpected!

You know, the unexpected like when Addie decides to splash water out of the dogs bowl all over her dress and the bathroom floor while I'm changing the little girls!

Life is interesting to say the least!!! :)

We Interrupt This Programming...

{again}

I once again have several posts written and ready to publish, but this must come first.

Tuesday was Paul's last day home with us.

We went to the zoo (post to come) and had a fabulous morning, lunch, and nap.

But somebody apparently woke up on the wrong side of the bed from her nap!

If you had been a fly on the wall in our house, you might have heard a few of these things:
disclaimer: no, the majority of what we say to our child is NOT negative; but this is certainly a conglomeration of primarily negative responses to her behavior. 

you may not jump on the sofa. stop or get down.

stop trying to pick up Fuzz by the head. let go of her tail.

leave the boppy alone while mommy is feeding the babies. 

push the swing gently. do not let it hit the wall. gently! (there was no baby in it)

yes, that is Abbey's eye. do not poke it!

do not take your diaper off.

stop kicking. stop hitting. do not hit your sister. that is not petting the dog, that's hitting.

you may not bite me. 

use your spoon in your yogurt. you may not drink it. no, we do not use our fingers in our yogurt!

give me the baby paci. do not put it in your mouth. take it OUT of your mouth and hand it to me.

yes, you can go potty but not with all your clothes on!

The various forms of consequences we employed were apparently inconsequential to her.

so...

Dinner. Bath. PJs. Teeth. Read. 

Poopy diaper?

No more nighttime {cloth} diapers. Make a nighttime diaper. Change diaper. Dump diaper. 

Put on sleepsack.

Anne Perry wakes up. Mommy holding her while finishing up cleaning the kitchen.

Daddy goes to find lovey #2. 

and this is what I hear...

CLICK

Daddy: Addie, unlock the bathroom door. Addie. Unlock the door. 

Mommy from the kitchen: You're kidding? You're kidding, right?

Daddy: Nope. 

Mommy continues cleaning to gather her thoughts. Daddy begins to freak out (his words, not mine). 

And we proceed to attempt to tell her how to unlock the bathroom door that she's locked herself in!!!!

Turn the thing below the knob. No, that's the knob. Turn the thing below the circle. Yes, that's the knob. Turn the lock like when we open the front door.   

FYI: our house was built in 1928. That makes the door, the handle, the lock and all its components approximately 82 years old. The door opens in, so the hinges are inside the bathroom. There is an outside window in the bathroom. No outside access. 

There are 2 screws that we can unscrew to take the outside plate off, but the bottom screw is stripped.

Mommy: Addie, what are you doing? 

Addie: Going potty. 

Mommy: No, let's not go potty. How about if you get in the {empty} bathtub and play with your toys. 

Mommy: Stop kicking the door. It's ok. 

Daddy: Bang. Bang. Bang. 

Mommy: It's ok, we're just trying to unscrew the door. 
(as we try to create a groove to use to unscrew the bottom stripped screw). 

Silence. 

Daddy: Addie, what cha doing?

Mommy: Are you playing with the dogs water? That's ok.

Hear the trashcan. Hear the water bowl. Hear the bath toys. Hear more water?

Daddy working on it. Mommy holding Anne Perry. Mommy working on it. Daddy holding Anne Perry. Mommy holding Anne Perry. Daddy finally getting the plate unscrewed.

...and after what seemed like seconds minutes hours...

allen wrench into hole inside door

click 

...finally

We had our girl out.

and that concludes not only this interruption but thankfully this day!

My mom assures me that we will laugh about this some day.

 Not today.

Therefore do not worry about tomorrow, for tomorrow will worry about itself. Each day has enough trouble of its own. 
 Matthew 6:34

The Most Random Post Ever...Maybe

Our internet has been down for about 24 hours.  I've felt totally disconnected from the world! Maybe because I had time yesterday during Addie's nap to post some pictures and couldn't. Who knows...but there's no excuse! :)

Last week, Addie ended up with her first yucky throw-up stomach bug. Yuck and not fun! She slept and cuddled and slept and cuddled all day Monday and Tuesday. As much as I didn't want her sick, it was such a sweet time with her! I was so thankful we could do just that...cuddle and sleep!

oh...and watch videos! (way blurry...sorry). She loved cuddling with her giraffe from Kat Kat!

This past weekend was crazy. I got told to "rest and stay off my feet" two days before such a fun weekend. My mom really wanted me to just cut something out, but instead, Paul came with us to both birthday parties and chased Addie the whole time! Is he a great or what?

There was a Mother's of Multiples sale here in Montgomery Saturday morning. I hate to say it, but it didn't touch the one in Birmingham. That's ok. I found 2 cute outfits! :)

Then we had Anna Beth's birthday party in Wetumpka at the Sonshine Park. It was a gorgeous day!  

This is a huge playground, and Paul literally followed her around the whole time so I could get a few pictures and then go sit down!

Anna Beth (birthday girl) and Addie swinging! Their birthdays are only a few days apart!

And look at this darling cake! Anna Beth's mommy took a picture to Publix, and this is what they made! Adorable!

While Addie and Paul stayed at Anna Beth's party, I ran drove down the road to Rena's shower. Our 40 weeks due dates are only a week apart, but she'll have a scheduled c-section and who knows when the twins will show up.  No matter what, our girls will be about a month or less apart! And Addie and Rena's son Jace are about 6 weeks apart!

Here are the 3 expectant mother's at the shower: me (2 days shy of 33 weeks*), Rena (32 weeks) , and Rena's friend (who will deliver next week!).


Then on Sunday we had Lucas' 2nd birthday party! It was another gorgeous day, even though rain was predicted! We played outside the whole time! I forgot my camera, but Anna took these for us!

Addie had a blast on this powered 4 wheeler (in her smocked dress)!

She was so excited that Lucas had so many balls to play with!

Then there was church on Sunday and life group at our house Sunday night. Neal and Jennifer surprised us with a shower and this gorgeous cake! Jennifer is an amazing cake decorator! Check out that bow!

Addie was so sweet with baby Toni, Neal and Jennifer's little foster baby. She loved giving Toni her paci (and taking it back)!

(This was even after our church had a huge baby shower for us last Sunday! I left my memory card at home and couldnt take any pictures...but I figured I'd mention it! We got some wonderful gifts and so many diapers and wipes! Praise God!)

What a fun weekend! I'm so thankful for my sweet husband! He was such a trooper, never complaining once about all the places we went and all the time he had to spend chasing Addie. Usually we do it together, but he was on his own! He's been fabulous at home, even after working all day, cooking dinner and doing dishes. I am so thankful he's so committed to our family and to Addie.

*Now, if you made it to the end of this post, you're a dedicated reader! I intended to take a 32 week belly picture but never did. So here I am 33 weeks + 2 days. What's amazing to me is the difference in how high I was carrying the girls at 32 weeks 5 days (see picture from Rena's shower) vs 33 weeks 2 days! I stood up Monday night and all Paul could say was, "Whoa! Look at how low you are!" Then Addie's teachers said the same thing when I took her to school Tuesday! I could definitely tell because I can finally BREATHE! So I'm anxious to see what the doctor says today at my appointment today!!!

Be Back Soon...

I came down with a stomach bug on Wednesday. Paul had one this past weekend. Two weeks ago, I had a serious sinus infection. The week before that, Addie had a terrible cold and pink eye. The weekend before that, Paul and I both had a stomach virus.

Me, Paul, Addie, Paul, Me...notice the pattern. It's complete! I don't want it to continue or start over! 

Before a month ago, we had all been well since my surgery (and Paul's first of 3 stomach bugs right after my surgery).

I told my mom the other day that our house fell apart from October of '08 to the summer of '09. 

I had major emergency surgery in October of '09 and here we are sick again. I'm hoping our health valley will only be a semi-fiscal year and end now instead of this summer.

So although I have posts almost completed, they are going to have to wait until I'm back on my feet again.

Paul's dad and Gail are coming this weekend. After painting with Margaret two weekends ago, we hope to finish hanging shades and valences this weekend; and I'll take/post pictures of the girl's rooms soon.  Maybe I can manage a belly picture in there for all of you begging to see! For now, these snow pictures will have to tide you over.

Happy Weekend!

Mid-Week Musings...

We were late to MMO yesterday for 2 reasons:
1.) Addie wanted to cuddle and I sure wasn't about to rush her. It was precious and sweet and I 'm so thankful for that time with her. It is quickly fleeting.
2.) I jumped out of the shower to a too quiet room only to find Addie dumping out the 2nd half of an entire bottle of gatorade in her lap on the floor that I was so looking forward to drinking after my shower. How she got the top off, I'll never know!

The girl's (all 3 of them) valences and shades came today. They are beautiful, and I'm eternally grateful to my mom for helping us have them made.

I was 25 weeks on Monday. I wrote a whole post last week on making it to 24 weeks and never published it. Bottom line: I continue to thank God for His faithfulness throughout this pregnancy, every bit of it being orchestrated by His hand. We have an ultrasound on Thursday, and I can't wait to see these girls again.

I had a much needed girl's night Monday with 5 other friends from high school. We're all completely different than we were almost 15 years ago and yet the same, but it's so refreshing to reconnect with Godly, encouraging friends! 

I have either a terrible cold or a sinus infection. Can't breath. Coughing. And I've almost completely lost my voice. Miserable. But...I'm not throwing up, and I couldn't be more thankful!

Fuzz the cat just grabbed one of Addie's toy spoons and carried it down the hall making the strangest crying sound. She acts like such a dog. Weird cat.

My aunt is coming today with an entire car/trunk load of bigger maternity clothes, baby gear, and some baby clothes all from a cousin. My aunt has this way of finding out a need and working magic to meet it. Really.

Paul's mom is coming Thursday to see the ultrasound with us and then staying for a visit and to paint the girl's rooms. I'm worried it's going to be too much for us to complete, but then again, she can work (speedy) magic with paint!

Addie thinks in days of the week now, at least for the first 4. RieRie church Sunday. Sara Monday. Deborah Tuesday. Cady Wednesday. Kindermusik with Ms. Sara is on Mondays. MMO with Ms. Deborah is on Tuesdays. Cady comes to spend the afternoon with us Wednesdays.

Three nights of success in a big girl bed...answer to prayer. Waking up to Addie walking in our room in the morning, sneezing, and saying "Bless you Addie" at 6:30am...a little early but precious.

And that was officially the most random post I've ever written...but I'm ok with that!

Praise be to the LORD God, the God of Israel, who alone does marvelous deeds. Psalm 72:18

Recalls

I just need to say that I'm tired of so called good baby products being constantly recalled.

First it was our McLaren single stroller. Got the covers to fix it.

Next it was Addie's crib made by Storkcraft, that we'd just bought a duplicate of for the twins. We ordered the pieces to fix them.

Now it's Graco strollers? What? We have a single travel system and have been given a duo for the twins. Are they in the recall? I have no idea.

But seriously people. Either we're doing a really poor job of choosing our baby gear, or these companies need to get their acts together! Kids are getting hurt! They've been making products long enough to know what's safe and what's not safe. That's why we're buying their products, right?

Ok. Over my gripe session.

Send in that silly registration card for your baby gear products, especially car seats. Know what your buying when you buy things used. And find blogs/websites like the Baby Bargains Book Blog and Safemama who routinely check these recalls and notify readers.

Off my soapbox. I'm blaming the double pregnancy hormones.

Happy Wednesday :)

Ramblings

Starting on Friday...finished on Saturday.

I found a lump on Abbey's (the dog) side last night. After a biopsy, it's only a "fatty tumor", and we even made it out of the vet paying under $100. I love that dog. I hate going to the vet.

I finished Addie's dresser! It could probably use another coat, but it will do. The white looks so different in her room but so sweet! I can't wait to get the other pieces in there. But it made me sad to unload her nursery dresser and put her clothes in a big dresser. They looked so small and tiny. Now if i can just get that ebay seller to send me the drawer pulls I bought from her back in December...

I unpacked 95% of our 0-6 month little girl clothes today and put them in the dresser that's finally in their room. I don't remember them being so small. I remember the clothes like yesterday though. Has it already almost been 2 years? I found lots of coordinating onsies and sleepers that will be fun to put the girls in. I even folded them in twos. This is real.

I got my first "oh, you don't have long" comment this week. I bit my tongue and politely said, yes, I hoped that I did because I was only 22 weeks pregnant...with TWINS! I was already feeling like I looked like I did when I was 8 months pregnant with Addie. Maybe I do?


I had 3 pairs of maternity jeans (2 of which were borrowed). I can now wear one. I went through at least 5 shirts this week that I've now outgrown. Um....this might be a problem in a few weeks, or next week.


Addie had one of the worst meltdowns today that she's has since a few weeks after my surgery. She wanted her paci. We're trying to only let her have it in her bed for naps and sleeping at night. She went and stood by her bed, sobbing and saying, "bed. bed. bed." I picked her up and plopped her in and gave her a paci. She laid down whimpering. So I picked her up and held her. She was asleep within 5 minutes, only 2 hours before she normally takes a nap. I did it because I can't do it much longer. She had to lay next to me because I can't actually hold her on my shoulder any more. And so I rubbed her hair and kissed her head and thanked God for my little girl.


I can't sit up straight enough. My belly is huge. I feel rotten right now. It might have something to do with the 3 tacos I ate for lunch. I think they are all still sitting at the bottom of my esophogus. Maybe they've made it to my tummy...but I'm seriously doubting it for several reasons I won't go into.  Scratch that. I ended up with a serious stomach bug, that we're hoping is only 24 hours, on Friday night. Miserable. The first 12 hours was awful and now Paul has a milder version of it. Thank goodness my mom and I had today blocked off for shopping. She's kept Addie all day so Paul and I could sleep. I am thankful for phenegran (sp). I think I feel rotten to remind me of how good I've felt over the past 6 weeks and how awful I felt before that. I remember. I am thankful.

I love listening to Paul and Addie. They have the sweetest relationship. He's so patient with her. I truly thing he's the best daddy ever; I know I'm biased. But every so often I hear, "Mommy?" "Mommy?" and it melts my heart.

Now I'm going to go concentrate on keeping down the chicken and stars broth and graham crackers I just ate. Hope your weekend has started off significantly better than ours!

H1N1

Given our most recent blog posts, this one probably seems somewhat out of the ordinary. I can assure you that it's not. This is something that has been on my mind for months now. What to do? Do I take the vaccine as a pregnant women? Do we chose to give it to Addie? What are the risks of the illness vs the risks of the vaccine?

I'm not anti-vaccinations. I know the staggering statistics of how easily these deadly diseases will reappear if too many refuse to vaccinate their children. I'm not a vaccination delayer either. Addie's my first though, and watching the huge number of vaccines that they give to our children at one time, I may opt for an additional visit or two to the pediatrician in order to spread some of these out with our next two kiddos. But I'm not here to start a vaccination debate...

I can tell you that I 1.) am no medical professional, 2.) don't have an answer, and 3.) am not here to tell you what to do or not do!

But we've talked to several medical professionals about the H1N1 vaccine specifically: my fertility doctor, twice; my regular OB; and Addie's pediatrician.

One thing we know for sure is that we will not be taking for ourselves or giving Addie the nasal version of this vaccine, F1uMist, even though it does not contain thimerosal/mercury. The reason being: it's a live virus. All single dose versions of the vaccine, which are apparently the ones given to children, are thimerosal/mercury free. I just wish I could find one for myself!

Another thing we know: I don't have much of a choice as to whether I take it or not. I'm pregnant. Now I'm pregnant with twins. And on top of that, I'm pregnant after emergency surgery. So to some extent, my immune system has been challenged.

I've read a lot of articles on this. Some of them were just pointless and told me nothing concrete. But I finally linked to one from a blog written by a fellow mother, Safe Mama, that seems to make the most sense. It's from the New York Times and you can find it here. It is very matter of fact vs. using scare tactics. The thing I found the most interesting was the comparison it made to children dying from the seasonal flu (last year) to the current numbers of children who have died from the H1N1 flu.

We all hear about washing our hands and keeping them away from our eyes and mouth. My mother-in-law sent us a great email about preventative measures. I've found the link to the article here. It not only had those duh things in it but some good points that I sure hadn't thought about as well.

We haven't decided whether to give this one to Addie or not. But I've pretty much been told, I'll have it. I am waiting until the end of my first trimester, which is soon!

Again, I'm not here to preach or tell you what to do or not to do. I would LOVE to know what you have decided to do about the seasonal flu vaccine and/or the H1N1 vaccine for yourself or your children...and even what brought you to that decision!!!

Hope you have a great week! Ours has certainly started off better than last week! :)

Blessings

Reality check: twins means two of a lot of things.

Two cribs

Two infant car seats

Two high chairs

Two booster seats

Two bouncy seats (got it!)

Two swings (got it!)

Two shopping cart covers (got it!)

Double strollers to add to a single stroller

Oh...and two more babies!

We knew this going into the fertility treatments. We knew this once we found out we were pregnant. We really knew this once we found out we were having twins.

And the reality has set in: We've got to start searching for these big things now!

Thankfully I have the best friends in the world who know how to shop on a dime. Well, on a few dimes.

I've never hesitated to go to yard sales. I've gotten some of the best deals for the best stuff for Addie at these yard sales. Gear. Clothes. Toys. It's finding the right ones though and knowing how to shop! That's where those awesome friends come in!

I passed up the $40 Baby Einstein exersaucer and the PegPerego highchair for $45. I could buy a decent new one for that! Both excellent deals. But we're talking yard sale here people!

I went ahead and figured out the percents. I hate discussing money...but this is just too amazing not to share!

So here's the loot...
Rocker Glider with foot stool: 80% off
Boppy: 86% off
Picnic Table for Addie: 90% off
Play Gym for babies: 97% off (I kid you not!)
Parents magazine drum set: 83% off

After I left, Diane and her mom found these!
Combi Twin stroller: 83% off
Kolcraft highchair: 70% off

We have a friend who's giving us their Graco double stroller (the kind that the infant car seats can lock into). So that'd be 100% off! We found a Graco Snugride infant car seat online for 20% off (new). We found Addie's crib online for almost 45% off of what it's retailing for now. It's really gone up since we bought it for Addie!

And then there's the car. I'll post more about it later. Long story short: 3 car seats can fit across the middle seat. It's not a mini-van. And our monthly payments are significantly lower than we expected!

I have 3 words for you again. God is good!!!

Amazingly good! All the time!

Morning sickness might be doubled with twins, but so is God's goodness!

"And my God will meet all your needs according to his glorious riches in Christ Jesus. To our God and Father be glory for ever and ever. Amen."
Philippians 4:19-20