7 Months!

Where did the time go!?! Weren't they just born yesterday? And why didn't I take more naps during that 1.5 wk bed rest time? What was I thinking?!?

Anyhow, here are some things going on with the cutest twins I know!

Eli...
- loves to grab his feet. He constantly pulls off his socks to view his sausage toes.
- can't sit right beside Elsie during meal time because he likes to pull off her bib.
- throws his pacifier
- doesn't yet crawl, but does this head-pile-driver move where he pulls his knees up under his belly and pushes himself, head first, forward. (it looks as uncomfortable as it sounds!)
- breaks out in a rash around his mouth any time he eats any orange foods.
- must hold on to a blanket or some other fabric to fall asleep.
- is nowhere close to sitting up. In his opinion, his body wasn't meant to bend that way
-loves watching the dog and cat
- would rather nurse constantly than eat solids
- shows no sign of getting a tooth
- weighs 15.7 lbs

Elsie...
-smiles almost non-stop.
- thinks Emily is the best thing in the world to watch.
- talks with bababababa and dadadada sounds in several different pitches to communicate her mood
- is allergic to penicillin
-can almost sit by herself unassisted (we're working on this.)
- instantly pulls both hands up and rests her hands behind her head when she's tired
- has significantly chunkier thighs than Eli, however weighs a consistent .5 lb less
- has lost most of her original hair, but is growing very blond hair now
- gets a little upset when too many people are in a room, and prefers to put herself to sleep after spending some quiet time alone in her crib
- has one lonely tooth that has barely pushed through her bottom gum.
- weighs 14.9 lbs

Some of my favorites

Sometimes in the middle of the day I need some comic relief. Often its needed while I'm waiting for a baby (or two) to finally nod off in my arms, stop nursing, or drift off to sleep in the crib.

Other times its after sending Emily to time-out for the third time before eight in the morning. (yes, that has happened more than once!)

There are many sites that I frequent that foot the bill perfectly, and I thought that with everybody returning to work tomorrow morning, maybe I should share in case somebody else needs a reason to smile.

First of all is my all-time favorite. Read all about bakery mishaps here. This site has gained so much popularity, the author has even come out with a book. Fabulously funny!

Then, if you are in a mood to giggle at other's expense, or if you just need to feel a little better about yourself, click here. But be warned... the material can sometimes be a little gross, though unfortunately nothing that you haven't already seen in public.

Finally, from the makers of failblog.org is a favorite site of mine. These babies always make me smile.

Not quite what we had planned

This Thanksgiving will be a memorable one, and at first I would have thought it would be all for bad reasons. Just when we thought we'd gotten rid of Elsie's hives, and upped her reflux meds to accommodate her weight gain, she got a terrible virus. And then I got the virus. It was yucky, and it shut us in for Thanksgiving, causing us to cancel our plans to join our friends for a special Thanksgiving meal.

Now I love holidays and making things "special" so this was a complete travesty to me. How we were going to tell sweet Emily that our special day was ruined was beyond me. I boo-hooed like a baby and moaned and whined until I realized that Scott didn't seem to be upset at all. I couldn't imagine why this didn't matter to him!?! Didn't he realize that our special day was RUINED?!?

But that wasn't it at all. He was already planning the perfect way to spend the day, even if we were sick.

First of all he built "the fort." This is basically the couch and love-seat pushed together so no small children can roll off. Its pretty much entirely enclosed, and its the most comfortable place when one doesn't feel good. Elsie and spent hours and hours in the fort snuggling and sleeping.

We found a restaurant that makes (fabulous) turkey dinners, and once I got used to the idea, I was so thankful that there were no dishes to wash! We had our fill of turkey and the fixin's and we also got fabulous refugee plates from our neighbor.

Later that night Scott called everybody outside to see the space shuttle Atlantis and the International Space Station pass right over our house. They were perfectly visible and we were able to see them make a large arch over us. This was extra special because Emily and Scott have been doing their moon journals together this past week.

After that we piled in the fort and watched a movie. Then last night while I started putting the babies to bed, Scott built a fire in the fire ring in our backyard. By the time I joined them, he was reading Emily Curious George stories by flashlight in between roasting marshmallows.

Our Thanksgiving holiday wasn't anything that was typical, but I'm thankful that we were able to spend it together with great attitudes. I realized later that the reason why Emily was probably just fine with our change of plans was because we were just fine with our change in plans. I'm glad that she didn't take after her mother and carry on like a whiner!

And of course I can rarely mention Emily in a blog post w/o including a picture of her and sharing a current Emily-ism.

Here is one from Thanksgiving morning after she played outside. We thought she looked a little homeless!


And here is one from this morning. She was outside playing with the dog, carrying a big stick. I asked her to put her stick down, and she told me it was part of her "convention" and she needed it. Upon further conversation, Scott and I figured out that Emily had many "conventions" all over the backyard. Conventions = inventions. The girl cracks me up!

The hazards of a moring w/o coffee

A few weeks ago we had a major dilemma in our house. The coffee maker broke, before I even had a chance to get a cup, on a Sunday morning.

I'll wait while you finish gasping.

Yes, it was quite an ordeal, however my husband graciously left the house as quickly as he could to run to the store and get me a new one. He brought home the new pot, and we quickly discovered that it wasn't "new" at all. It had obviously been used, and was missing several critical pieces. Off to the store my lovely hubby went again, this time returning victorious! I don't if it was love that drove him to the store, or fear of dealing with a decaffeinated wife!

A very similar situation happened to this very inspirational lady and I had to laugh as I thought about the way coffee drives so many women through the morning.

Well, today is a case in point, so to speak. I had to have blood work done at 8 a.m. Scott was home today, so it was the perfect opportunity to make this appt. so he could watch the kids. The only problem was that I had to fast, and couldn't drink my morning cup of coffee.

Three major events occurred as a result. First of all, I backed the van up in to the front of Scott's truck. Thankfully nobody was hurt, and the vehicles were unmarked. Then I got to the waiting room, and as they called me back to the lab, I tripped over my own feet and fell on the rug, leaving what I was afraid would be a rug burn on my forehead.

Then while I was waiting in the lab, the receptionist came in and asked me when I'd moved out of state. Confused, I asked her what she meant. She told me that they had an address on file for here in Irmo, but "when did I move to Bakersfield, CA?" I must have had a dumbfounded look, because she showed me the paper I'd filled out while waiting this morning, with MY PARENT'S ADDRESS ON IT! I haven't lived there since I was 19!?! Who knows why I put that down!

All I can say, is that this girl needs coffee in the morning! Lots of coffee! If not, somebody will get hurt!

Random Tuesday Post

Couple things going on in our home right now:

1. Elsie's hives have gotten much better, however Eli also had something that we think was hives. Don't know if that means we need to flag his medical chart for a penicillin allergy too, or if it was something else. I'm learning that with parenting there are rarely any definite answers.

2. Emily has been fighting off some yucky congestion/cough/sore throat thing. I didn't send her to preschool yesterday after she said, "Mom, I think I'd rather stay home and sleep." This was so against the normal, that I kept her at home.

3. While my randomness is centered around medical issues I guess I should mention that I woke up with pink eye this morning. That's right! The whole crusty swollen shut eye thing was going on in full force. I'm sure that the first thought Scott had this morning was NOT that his wife was beautiful.

4. Eli has a strong arm that he uses to hit, push, and pull things. This morning while I was trying to get his breakfast of pears and oatmeal cereal ready, he was sitting in his bumbo on top of the kitchen table right next to the fruit bowl. Before I could stop him, he picked up an apple and threw it on the ground. Then a kiwi. What a boy!

5. Emily helped me make a new recipe the other day. When it was finished she took a bite. I asked her what she thought and she replied, "Mommy, this tastes so good! I think my heart is breaking!" I just love this girl! She brings a smile to my face every day!

6. Emily had a play date today. We're thankful to get out of the house and visit friends. Sometimes the rainy weather keeps us inside far too much!

7. Tonight my Bible study group is taking a hiatus to enjoy ourselves with a Reindeer Trot/Walk, followed by breakfast for dinner at Cracker Barrel. I can't wait!

8. This must be my lucky week, because not only will I be out tonight, but tomorrow night Scott and I have a date! That's right! I real date with dinner and everything! Our friends Amber and Steven said they would like to watch the babies to give us a night off. What a blessing to have time to ourselves! We're looking forward to it!

9. Tomorrow I plan on baking some pies with Emily. I'm thinking we need an apple and a pumpkin. The bad thing about that Scott likes neither. I guess I'd better bake something else with chocolate for him! :)

10. I got all three kids down for a nap this afternoon. And there was a brief moment, about thirty minutes, that they were all asleep at the same time. This is totally a feat in itself. I feel like I should be wearing a medal!

Happy Tuesday!

If you give a mouse a cookie...

If Elsie gets a viral infection, then she will develop an ear infection. If she gets an ear infection, she will need antibiotics to clear it up. If she gets antibiotics, she will be allergic to them. If she's allergic to them, she will get hives. If she gets hives, she will probably need an antihistamine prescription to clear them up. If she gets an antihistamine she will develop dry skin. And if she gets dry skin she will need a prescription strength of hydro-cortisone to make it better.

Seriously, doesn't this sounds like a Laura Numeroff book from the dark side?

Update:
Here is Elsie in the bathtub tonight. If it wasn't for the obvious blotchy red marks covering her arms and face, she would look like her normal cheerful self! She is smiling and happy as ever. I hope that next time I feel horrible that I can keep a smile on my face the way Elsie does. What a sweetheart!

A room with a view

I have a chair in my bedroom where I do my Bible study. Often when I look out the window I think I should take a picture of my view out my bedroom window. I am thankful for the view out my window. I wish I would have taken a picture a few weeks ago while the trees were still full of multi-colored fall leaves. Now most of those leaves have fallen, but I still think its beautiful.

Today is one of those chilly foggy mornings that makes me want to stay in my jammies and put on another pot of coffee. The house is pretty tidy, and I'm actually caught up on laundry. I hope that I can slow down today and really just enjoy my kids. Maybe Emily and I can do a project together, or bake something that will make the house smell like fall.

Happy Thursday!

Picture update

Here are some things going on in the Johnson house:


We are all on count-down until our CA trip. Emily is especially excited because she can't wait to see her Grammy and Papa, Miss Pinni and Moses the dog. She's also excited about seeing Jay and Becky and their new baby Evie. We've created a paper chain that has each day of the week on it. Every time we start a new week the paper chain begins a new color. Hopefully Emily will better understand the length of one week by the time we're done. We measure the time from now until we leave in "wake-ups" so every time she wakes in the morning she pulls off a link. Its very exciting! :)

He's yet another reason why I'm so thankful for Emily Grace. She very well may be the coolest big sister around.

I found out about these bottles from another mom of twins. The babies each get a bottle every day, and so we've been trying to get the twins used to these bottles before our trip to CA. They make life so much easier! On this day I gave the babies each their bottle and I started making dinner. It was fabulous! Some times they get their bottle for their 11:00 feeding, and so I give it to them while we are in car pool waiting for Emily to get out of preschool. Fabulous!

Here is another close up of Elsie taking her bottle. She does this with her arms when she's tired. I know she's ready for a nap when both hands turn in to head supports. Its pretty funny.

Here is Emily and Daddy outside on the front porch with their "moon journals." This was a couple nights ago and it was a "new moon." Scott patiently explained to Emily why she couldn't see the moon.

This was a big moment in our house. Emily successfully cracked four eggs without getting any shells in the bowl. There never was a little girl so proud as Emily Grace with her cracked eggs.

Remember the posts here and here ? Well it left Emily feeling a little left out. So she asked if I would paint a flower on her wall. I chose a dandelion because Emily loves to blow the petals, and because it is so perfectly Emily. My friend Lori helped me a ton of course, and now Emily loves her dandelion wall. And if you're asking why two letters in her name are slightly cream colored... I have no idea. It drives me nuts, and I think I will have to pain them all white to match each other. They didn't use to be this way.

I love this picture. I can't wait to see all the things these two sisters will get into together! Simply sweet!

The other side of the table

Today is Emily's parent/teacher conference. Scott is taking a half day so he can join me there at 11:30.

I'm learning more and more that the weird thing about school is that you send your child there how ever often each week, but as a parent you really know anything about what your child does when they are there. Yes, I know that last week Emily made a costume to go along with her Thanksgiving celebration that I will attend next Friday. And I know what songs she's learning in music class for the Christmas performance. And I know which Bible story they're learning about. But I DON'T know how Emily interacts with her classmates. I don't know how she pays attention (or doesn't) during circle time. And I don't know if her teachers really know her and appreciate her the way I think they should. Don't get me wrong, I think she has FABULOUS teachers. And I think they appreciate Emily. But I want to know that my Emily feels loved and cherished. Is that silly? I don't think it is.

As I reflect back to my role as a teacher I hope every child I taught knew that I loved and cherished them. And I hope that each parent knew that I loved their child, both when they were precious and easy to cherish, and also when they weren't. Because if I am learning anything about this school thing it is this: It is hard to trust another adult do love your child as well as you think they should.

Just the Two Of Us

This morning our friend and neighbor, Meesh, offered to come over and hang out with our sweeties while Scott and I went out and got some breakfast from the new bagel shop. This may not sound like a big deal, but the last time we were in a vehicle just the two of us was when I was driving him home from his kidney stone surgery back in June. And really, does that even count? No, I don't think so.

Anyhow not only did we get to ride JUST THE TWO OF US, but we got to go in Scott's truck. You all remember Scotty's truck, right? Its the "horizen blue" (I just call it purple) Yoyota that he's had for over ten years now. We love this truck. Scott loves it because it was his first new vehicle and he's always cared so well for it. I love it because Scott picked me up in this truck for our first date. I've always thought he looks so cute driving it.

So off we go in the Toyota. Loving our freedom, and taking full advantage of our musical selection. No Hannah Montana, no Veggie Tales, just music we chose. Fabulous musical freedom!

We had a great breakfast and I think both of us fully appreciated being able to finish our whole bagel from beginning to end without having to stop and rock, pacify, feed, or shush anybody. I actually was able to eat my food without getting indigestion, as normally I wolf down my food in a moment, always anticipating a possible fussy sweetie. We talked about news, education, and when we will need to separate the twins in different bedrooms. There were no interruptions, to potty breaks, no crying.

As we got back in the truck and pulled out of the parking lot, we toyed with the choice of getting on the freeway, or taking the back roads home. We chose the back road. It took longer, but gave us maybe five extra minutes. Its the little times that we have together, just us two, that I'm learning to appreciate. Having time together is tough most days, but when we do get to be just us, I pray we continue to recognize how special it is. Even if its just out for a quick bagel!

Why being sick on a Friday is tormening to Moms

Eli woke last night at 2 a.m. I could tell immediately that he had a high fever, as his face was burning up. His little baby cheeks were so red and flushed as well. The thermometer under his arm confirmed a fever of 102.1. What a bummer! I gave him some Tylenol and rocked and snuggled him for about an hour, in which time his fever broke. I changed his clothes, and put him back to bed. He continued to sleep until 6:30. I thought that being over four hours, he would have another fever. Much to my surprise he didn't! We went most of the early morning hours just fine, but then around 10 a.m. (while grocery shopping) I noticed his red face, and knew it was a fever. I was right.

So here I am asking the ultimate question: When do I call the doctor? He's beyond that young infancy when any temperature is a crises. He has no other symptoms, and the Tylenol brings his fever down. And I certainly don't want to expose him to a pediatrician's office full of sick kiddos!

But its Friday. There is an actual law about sick kids on Fridays. I think Sir Issac Newton discovered right after his laws of motion. It says that when kids are sick on Fridays and their mommy takes them to the pediatrician, the child feels better INSTANTLY upon walking through the office doors. The doctor has nothing to report, as all symptoms vanish and while the mommy is thrilled that there isn't anything wrong with her sweetie, she feels pretty bummed about the $20 co-pay that could have been used towards those gorgeous shoes she's been wanting.

However, when a kid get sicks on Friday and his mommy decides its probably nothing and chooses to wait it out, the sickness intensifies the moment the pediatrician's office closes that afternoon. Of course this forces the mommy to take her sweetie to the after hours office downtown that is always full of feverish vomiting children with oozy rashes. After seeing the doctor and getting a diagnosis and feeling guilty about not taking the sickness seriously earlier, the mommy returns home with her sick little one and, unknowing to her, she and her sick child pass around germs they attained from the icky waiting room at the after hours office so that the rest of the family wakes up sick in the wee hours of Saturday morning.

That being said, my appt. is today at 2:20. I'll let you know if the symptoms vanish at 2:19!

Sumo wrestling twin style!

Sometimes in the mornings when I'm changing the babies out of their jammies, we spend an extra long time playing. Mostly this is because the twins get put in the same crib, and they easily roll all around and over each other. Its hysterical!

Here are some highlights from this morning's wrestling match!

I've told them that if they continue somebody is bound to get hurt. But they never listen! But don't worry, Eli's scratch on his nose was self-inflicted. Or at least that's what Elsie tells me!


Notice Elsie giving her brother a little "twist" in the last picture. He screamed right after I took the picture.

Thank goodness I'm not in this alone!

Scott has been gone at a conference at Myrtle Beach since Sunday afternoon. I didn't mention this on the blog while he was gone because I didn't want robbers and murderers to see it. Yeah, that's how I think. Lovely right? And I already have trouble falling asleep at night in the big house while he's gone because I think that every little sound is somebody trying to break-in downstairs. I didn't need to exacerbate the problem by worrying about the wrong people finding out that he was gone, and then internet stalking until our address was found.

Anyhow, all of that to say, Scott is home now! I managed the kids all by myself, and it really wasn't so bad. Emily was precious and helpful almost all of the time. Each evening after the kids were in bed I had all kinds of time to myself. We still don't use our T.V. and with Scott home there was nothing to do. So I got lots of laundry done! :)

During the days and evenings when I was doing the dinner/bath/bed time routine by myself I kept thinking that this wasn't so bad because it was just for a couple of days. But single parents!? How do they do this? There are a lot more days with no rest for single parents. That has got to be one of the toughest jobs I can think of!

And again I am reminded of my belief that God designed parenting to be for two people. Of course this doesn't always work out to no fault of many, but there's a reason why children have two parents! Its because they need two people so that if one gets worn out (which we do often) the other can take over!

I'm so grateful for my husband and the partnership that we have in raising our children. And as wonderful as that all is, I'm heading out now for some relief at my friend and neighbors house. I think I deserve a beer! :)

Dreher Island State Park

Yesterday we decided to celebrate the beautiful sunshine by taking a trip to Dreher Island. This is a park on an island of Lake Murray that isn't too far from our house. We had a fabulous time!
First of all we played on the toys, and then headed over to the lake. Emily found many, many "treasures" and she and Scott decided next time they would return with their fishing poles. I think there was a bass fishing tournament going on the lake.
Then we took a nature walk on the Billy Dreher Trail. We enjoyed the beautiful colors of fall, and were surprised to see the remains of and old house (literally only some scattered brick and what was left of a chimney). Turns out this Mr. Dreher used to live in this house that was built back in 1856. There were some old metal pieces that Scott told Em must have belonged to Mr. Billy Dreher. Of course Emily wanted to know what happened to Billy. We told her that he was very old, and that he died. Well, that was it. For the rest of the trip she was fascinated with Billy, or as she called him, "poor Mr. Billy." She would see any litter on the ground and tell us about how Mr. Billy left it there. She saw a food wrapper and said, "Oh, that must have been Mr. Billy's!" Scott and I were cracking up the entire time.

The babies thought the nature walk was very cool too. They loved being outside. And they loved watching their big sister on her bike!

What a beautiful morning!

Sleep is a marvelous thing! Our babies slept so well last night! We put them down at seven, and with the exception of some minor fussing that was quickly resolved, they slept until seven this morning! Oh what a blessing!

Here they are declaring to the world that they are fabulous sleepers!

And if a picture could ever sum up their different personalities, I think this one does! Sweet smiley Elsie Faith, and an ornery silly Eli!

Once we were all awake and downstairs we fed them their favorite breakfast, which is homemade applesauce and oatmeal baby cereal. They both ate an entire bowl, which consists of over three ounces of applesauce and over 1/4 C. of cereal.

Weekends are always so great because Daddy gets to help feed the twins breakfast. Normally they are so hungry that they grunt in between bites because I have to switch bowls/spoons as I got back and forth between the twins. Elsie Especially hates this because I never shovel the food in fast enough to her liking. This morning she was pleased to have her daddy all to herself!
And finally, here is what the rest of us made. Whole wheat blueberry muffins. Emily thinks the wait time while they bake is the longest time ever, and I wish I had a picture of her eating her muffin, but she inhaled two whole muffins too fast! This was the first time I made the recipe using whole wheat flour. I had to make some minor adjustments to account for the thickness, but overall I think they tasted fabulous.
We are all well-slept and refreshed. I think I got hours and hours of sleep last night, and I feel like I belong to the living once again. What a great start to the weekend. The babies are now asleep (on their own) for their morning nap and I just can't wait to call my mom and talk with her! Its the first Saturday in awhile that we haven't had a soccer game to run off too, so I can't wait to get back to my normal Saturday routine of talking with my mom over coffee. Hey, she won't mind if I wake her, right? Maybe I'll go ahead and call. Its 6:18 a.m. there, and she should be up this early on a Saturday, right? Sure! :)

Sleep Training

We've hit a downward spiral in our house when it comes to sleep. I think it all started when Eli and Elsie got diagnosed with reflux. They'd wake in the night and be truly uncomfortable. Scott and I would rock them back to sleep and lay them back in their crib.

Well, they're not sick anymore, but Eli keeps waking in the night. It used to be that he would wake a couple times in the night, and not even want to eat, but would want to be rocked back to sleep. Well that was fine, but then he woke up even more times in the night, and then he wouldn't want to be put down.

Gradually we got to the point where I was rocking and pacing the floor (he would cry if I sat down in the rocker) for literally hours on end. He would sleep in my arms as long as I didn't stop rocking him or pacing. Obviously this got old.

I won't give you the details regarding my mental break down, but just know that we should all feel sorry for Scott.

Anyhow, we now have a plan in tact, and while we didn't intend to start a sleep training plan this early, we know that Eli (and Elsie) should be able to self-soothe back to sleep.

To make a long and very detailed plan short, we had to stop swaddling them so that their hands were free to help soothe themselves. We spent a couple nights helping them back to sleep until they got used to being unswaddled. Now we are letting them cry for specific increments of time before walking in to comfort them. And when we comfort them we aren't picking them up, but we are giving them their pacifier.

Luckily they don't wake each other with their cries. But the bad thing about that is that they both cry at different waking times, which means twice as long listening to that heart breaking sound of our babies cry.

They both go to bed so easy, and put themselves to sleep on their own... initially. Its just the night wakings that we are being tormented with.

This soon will pass, but until it does I am operating on literally 2-3 hours of sleep max per night. Every morning I am still able to get up and get going like always. (With the exception of one morning, and boy was that ugly!) I can only praise God for giving me the strength to get out the door and on time for preschool with three kids and all the other details that a day brings with only that little sleep. He gives what we need, and I am so thankful.

Right now we are prepared for another long night of waking babies and crying. Please pray they figure out this sleep thing in the next couple nights, because Scott leaves for a conference Sunday afternoon, and won't be back until Wednesday. I rely so much on his encouragement and support.

Its funny because I remember going through the newborn phase and thinking, "Hey, this twin thing isn't so hard!" I can honestly say we are having a worse time now that they are six months old than we did when they were newborns. Crazy! Oh well. Thanks to our friends for thinking of us, and praying for our sweet babies. I promise I have some pictures to post soon, but right now I think I'm going to bed early!

Momma's Boy

I have a sweet boy who loves me a lot. He wakes in the middle of the night to show me how much he loves and needs me. And he refuses to sleep in his crib to show me how much more comfortable he is in my arms. He yells and screams when he sees his sister being fed, so much in fact that I actually have to leave the room sometimes to nurse Elsie so that he doesn't get super fussy.

Yes, my boy thinks I'm pretty cool. And I keep trying to tell myself that in a few years I will be so sad that he doesn't need me like this anymore. But until then, I'm pretty tired. Two hours a night doesn't do much for exhaustion. This too shall pass. And until it does I will search for all the patience and grace I can muster as I get through the day.

Random Monday Post

A few random thoughts:

* I used to think I was successful when the twins would sleep and wake at the exact same time, but I've learned to recognize the blessing that comes with one-on-one time with each baby.

* After I dropped Emily off at school I walked the across the Lake Murray Dam and back. I have no idea how far it was, but it felt great to be out in the fresh air and view the beautiful fall colors and of course the lake.

* At church our pastor started a new sermon series on marriage. So far its fabulous, and I'm looking forward to next week.

* "School Bus Hour" begins at 3:13 every day. There are four busses that come in our neighborhood, and each have their first stop right in front of our house. Dakota thinks they each do this just to torment him. I think Dakota's barking during nap time is tormenting me!

* Our plane tickets are booked for December 19. I can't wait!

* Next year when I am at the grocery store staring at the many many packages of Halloween candy, I will chose only those I can't stand to eat. That way I won't be tempted by the left-overs.

* The kids seem to have conquered the time change. It really didn't mess us up too much.

* We've been T.V. free since August 15. Two and half months have flown by, and I don't miss the tube at all! (That said, I do keep an active log-in at hulu.com. I watch a favorite show each afternoon while I fold laundry and the kids are taking their nap!)

* We have an infestation of lady bugs between the screen and upstairs window. Its crazy. I'm talking over 50 lady bugs. I keep trying to think of a way to capture them for my veggie garden w/o letting them in the house.

* I still swaddle my babies. They're six months old now. My pediatrician's office says "no blankets" probably because of SIDs risk. However, we have decided that the risk of less alert parents do to sleep deprivation is more statistically relevant in our household. That said, I wonder how long we'll go before we won't swaddle?

* It was over 80 on Halloween. Poor Emily was sweating like crazy in her costume (see below) but refused to take it off so that she could continue to match "her babies." We're already talking about what theme we could do with the kids for next year.

* I think my greatest pet peeve is being late. (blame my father) Lately I find that Atilla the Hun makes an appearance at our home every time we're in the verge of being late to get out the door. I need to work on refusing her visits.

* When I was in high school I dated a boy with three little sisters who were much younger. I remember him complaining often of their lack of understanding of time. I didn't sympathize at all back then, but I completely understand now.

* We didn't even carve a pumpkin this year. Does that make us un-American?

Well, I think that's about as random as a post can get! Hope everybody's Monday is fabulous!

Halloween!

We had a fabulous evening! We started out neighborhood pool house for a costume contest and games. Then we trick-or-treated most of the neighborhood with our friends Amber and Steven and the Hays' family, and Grandma Linda. After that we went back to the Hays' house to admire Jimmy's handy pumpkin carving (we're on their front steps) and to watch the Gamecock game.

I'm thankful Emily didn't think she was too old to be Pooh Bear! I found the twins' costumes first and thought they would be perfect, and was lucky enough to score a pooh outfit that was big enough for the big sister from E-bay. Emily loved to be part of a costume theme with her babies.

I hope everybody had a great time as well!