Twins! Twins! Twins!

That's the title of a book we read and the end line is, Would you like to be a twin? Think about what it would be like. And Carter always says, "I am a twin!". He has been telling people about him being a twin a lot lately. It's funny because they always step back and look at both of them and say, yep you are a twin. I was looking at the questions on the assessment for their 3 year doctor appointment (getting a head start) and one of the questions is if they can answer correctly if they are a boy or a girl. Davis said boy, Carter said twin. I wonder if that counts?

Okay, so the pics to day are from all the scanning fun I have had lately. It has been more work than I expected but I am quite happy to have these pics in digital format to preserve them and also to be able to play with them. I seriously have no clue what to do with actualy physical photographs. They are always stuffed in a back room. But in a digital format I have been making photo books (so I don't actually scrapbook, this is the next best thing!), videos, etc. Guess what our mother's are getting for Christmas? Seriously I am a photo gift nerd, it's sad, but I have so much free stuff on artscow, what's a girl to do? So look ahead here and see if you can guess who the boys look like?
Wasn't Lowell the cutest little boy ever? I have just loved looking through his photos and his mom took a lot.
Here's me Easter '83 or so I think. I have the chicken pox (I shared them with my best friend Kristina who is still my best friend how about that? Oh and Kris, I have some good black mail shots from our childhood I have scanned, watch out! :p)
Here's Lowell and I when we were first dating, hard to believe it has been 7 years. Even harder to believe that I didn't own a digital camera yet or use photo websites. Shocker! I am going back and making the wedding video I should have done but didn't yet know how, like the one I did for my brother with the baby photos and then when we were dating. Stay tuned!

So I think you'll agree that the answer is Lowell, the boys look like Lowell now and when he was little. Which works out great because even my own mother says I wasn't a cute baby (something about how my brother was so much cuter, whatever!).

So . . . as usual after me rambling a bit I will get back to the title of today's blog post. This week we had three UVMOM (Utah Valley Moms of Multiples) events and it was a good week for me. I really don't have very many real life friends and the twin club has been so great for that for me. It's a sisterhood of gals who just understand what the others are going through. Because even though you have watched someone with twins or even babysat them, you really don't understand what it is like to have twins unless you have them too. The other great benefit is that there are several sets of twins close to my boys in age in the club so we love hanging out with them. Wednesday we had play group at the zoo when 2 other sets of twins my kids' age were there, so perfect play time. Unfortunately out of the blue Davis threw up in the car as soon as we got in the parking lot. I didn't have a change of clothes and I had carpooled so there wasn't many other options than to let him sit in his stinky shirt. Poor little guy. He said his tummy felt better after that but he has been off and on all week. He seems to feel well if he takes it easy and rests plenty but he seems to be having a lot of nightmares and not sleeping well at all, so that's not helping. He'll sleep at night but wake up numerous times and then not nap at all during the day (I think he's afraid to sleep because of the nightmares). We've been working on it with him and he is getting better. Anyway, back to the zoo. We did have a good time even after the little vomit incident and I really liked visiting with my friends. We had 2 turns on the carousel and one on the train plus had some fun playing jungle instruments before the elephant show. We had to take off sooner than I expected for my dentist appointment which was a bummer because I think the boys would have liked to play on the playground with the other kids for a while. They were getting pretty cranky though, so maybe it was just as well. So Thursday night was mom's night out and we had a chocolate fountain and gab session. Always a nice way to relax, visit, and catch up on potty training tips! Then last night was the summer family party (we don't always have this many activities back to back, it was kind of a fluke) at Payson pool. The water was a little chilly for my liking but the boys refused to get out even when their teeth were chattering. I enjoyed visiting with even more friends including some I hadn't seen in a while so that was cool. And it is always cool to see everyone's kids and their husbands. It's kind of funny though because the moms and the kids know each other but we only invite the hubbies to 3 things a year so they are not as close. Lowell seemed a little lost with that, but he said he just wasn't really in a social mood that night. The boys enjoyed swimming with him though. There were a couple of sets of brand new twins, so crazy to think back to what that was like. I don't think I would like to go back even to give up the tantrum fun that is 2 year olds, but I do have some fond memories of those days. I can't remember a lot because of the sleep deprivation though. Probably for the best. We ended up home very late last night after a stop at grandmas to warm up and have a snack (don't grandmas always have the best snacks, I remember having the best treats with my grandma. Last night it was apples, cheese, and animal crackers, thanks Naomi!). So we didn't get to bed until past 11 but it was a good time and I was glad to get out and visit. I guess I owe Lowell now, shhh . . .don't tell him ;).

Today I am back to work and that's it for now. No major plans next week, Hillary starts back to school on Monday and Cyndel has already been for a week. My play friends are gone :(. It is still quite warm during the day but the nights are starting to have a touch of chill and the days are getting shorter. The inevitable is happening, fall is coming. I have been waiting for this fall for nearly 3 years, waiting for my dad to come home (less than a month now, woohoo!) but I still am never happy to see cold weather come. We'll keep outside as long as we can and then just bundle up more. I am hoping this winter will be better than the last two as maybe the kids will be able to do more outside even though it is cold. And maybe they'll be able to do more constructive things inside, I am already getting a list of toys ready for their birthday and Christmas, stuff to keep them busy through the cold months and hopefully not drive me crazy! Well, happy Sunday to you all, be back soon!

Kid funnies

So this photo is a reminder to me after one of the later stories of why I love my kids. They are so funny, cute and zany. This was after the ill-fated trip to my cousin's reception. They seem pretty happy considering. I think the fact that my cold was brewing and I had been up for 19 hours made it less amusing to me, but not enough to not take some pics. Davey's shirt is pink because he decided to spit his clear colored drink all over himself and it leached the pink stain out of his carseat straps (oh yeah, my car is so clean!). The pink did come out in the wash though . . .
This is a visual of a story I already mentioned, how the boys love to count to 3, then throw sand in the air and yell surprise. I still don't get it, but hey whatever floats their boats.
So here is the story of the week: I made a trip to the bathrooms, because after all even moms have to use the facilities sometimes. I had left the boys with cups of yogurt which they love and eat really well and Dragon Tales on. When I emerged I immediately saw yogurt across the hall and all the way to the top of the hall closet door. I then turned the corner and saw yogurt in big globs on the floor and all 4 pieces of furniture in the living room (by an unfortunate oversight in judgement we got soft comfy suede leather which it turns out is stained by everything including water no matter how hard you try and is especially harshly stained by dairy--come to think of it, that is an odd piece of knowledge to already know first hand) and when I found them they were smearing the yogurt all over the TV with Carter paying special attention to rub it in the speakers because it made a fun sound. I guess I couldn't have been too upset since I right away grabbed the camera to share the moment with all of you. (Note how they are continuing even after being caught!)
I thought the appropriate punishment was of course to have them help clean up, though the help lasted not much longer than this photo. They then started sucking the yogurt out of the rag and goofing off so the punishment became being in time out for the duration of time it took me to clean it up. This was longer than their standard one minute per year of age but I think some circumstances deserve exceptions. I had to laugh when I got Carter out of his room, I asked him what he did wrong and he said, "made mess yogurt." I said that's right and he followed with "mommy pretty eyes, mommy pretty hair". Pretty smooth talker for 2 don't ya think? That day was fun for Lowell too as we had some good potty training success that morning, they both stayed dry all morning and had successful potty trips but as soon as I left for the dentist (shocker, only one broken filling and no cavities, maybe the curse is broken! I am used to 8 or so cavities per visit, I think there isn't enough actual tooth left for cavities now, hooray!) Davis peed his cloth undies as he talked to Lowell and Carter pooed in his while Lowell cleaned up Davis. Sorry, honey!
Here was another funny, the day Carter decided to eat dinner with a box on his head. Lowell joined in and that made me laugh even more, him sipping his drink through the handle slot. The boys both ate with Happy Meal boxes on their heads at lunch today, you know, whatever!

And there's my handsome hubby all content after a good meal for our anniversary. He is such a hottie and I am beyond spoiled to have him in my life. I can certainly say listening to the spirit pays off, Lowell gets better and better with time. I think I go the other way, but he still thinks I am taking pity on him. Anyway, we had 20 oz tomahawk ribeye steaks at The Cabin for our anniversary dinner. It was so good. And so quiet! It's the kind of place where they don't bring the next course until you finish the first and let you sit and digest before they bring the check. The meal took nearly 2 hours and it was so restful. Ahhhh. We stayed the night at Park City Peaks hotel which did have a very comfy bed and we slept in until 10. Heaven! Then we went to the outlets to shop shop shop and my darling Lowell even said he was having a good time. It helps that we went to the Polo outlet where we found him $85 shirts for $15. I loaded up on 3.99 fall specials at Carter's plus a 20% discount which I also had at OshKosh and I got lots of summer 1.99 and 2.99 deals plus 15% off at Children's Place. I get so excited at new clothes time! I only buy clothes twice a year, summer clearance and fall in late summer and winter clearance, spring clothes in early spring. Each year I find the sale items from the year before and it is so exciting, I just found the gorgeous sweaters I bought last year for dirt cheap in the closet, I can hardly wait for cold weather. No, I take that back, but still new clothes are so fun. I on the other hand have holy, stained and thread-bare clothes and have very little interest in buying anything new. It's just no fun buying for me. Blech! We were going to go to a zipline and alpine slide at the Olympic park after shopping but it was super busy and I chickened out after seeing the zipline! Yep, I'm a woos. So we went and got Cheesecake Factory on the way home instead. Wise choice.

(I wrote this while I waited for my slow tonight computer to load the photos, so if it seems out of place that's why!)

Wow, it's been almost a week since I last posted and I am getting itchy to blog! It is actually a nice place to vent and to journal, I am surprised how much I like to blog. And even though I would still do it for 0 readers, I am surprised at the fact that some of my dear friends and family members actually do read my musings. So hi all, I love you, thanks for caring about me and my crazy kids. You rock!

Anyway, I just had to write about some of the crazy and funny things in my life the last couple of days. For instance yesterday at church I was in the nursery as usual (don't you love it when your kid is finally old enough for nursery so you can enjoy class, but instead they put you in nursery? Don't you love it even more when they leave you in there for more than a year after you just moved into a ward to the extent that you know no one in the ward and can't even remember what Relief Society was like--partially because you have never attended it in this building? Yeah, me too . . .) Anyway, so my cute little 3 year old friend was doing puzzles with me and I was admiring her hairstyle and her painted nails, she is a darling dainty little thing when she announces to me that he daddy is a "Big, Fat, Butt Sniffer." What I asked and she was happy to repeat it a few times for me. I couldn't stop laughing it really was so funny under the circumstances. I mentioned it to her mom in the hall and she said it is from a movie called "Homeward Bound" which I think I have actually seen. It has 2 dogs and a cat and the cat calls one of the dogs a butt sniffer. This cute little mom's kids just clung to that phrase and have enjoyed saying it as much as possible. Too funny!

Saturday was a busy fun day for us. After we got back from Park City, Lowell and I took the boys to my niece Alivya's 1st birthday. She is such a cutie and had a ice cream party because that's what she loves. I think she loves cake too, because she tore into that thing! :-) What a sweet gal, the boys enjoyed visiting and playing with my other niece Hannah too. We then went to my mom's work party and though they were grumpy as bedtime loomed they really enjoyed the bounce houses that were there. There was a short obstacle course one that was just perfect for them. They could do it on there own and they just kep going over and over. If I can find it to rent I may do that for their birthday party instead of the Children's Garden. It took a lot to drag them away but grandma supplied a snow cone and the night went down pretty well.

I think that is all the fun and funnies things I have to share for now. Stay tuned! :)

Enjoying the Harvest

So this year the boys and I have tried our hands as gardners. I thought it would be a cool learning experience about plants and growth, etc. and just plain old something to do. So they push the little seed in the Dixie cup and helped me water and we waited and we watched. And lo and behold most of our little seeds really did sprout. I think I was the most excited, but it was cool for the boys too. So we transplanted the seedlings when the weather finally turned warm and alas, only 4 plants have survived, some just not thriving in the new soil, some stepped on by dogs and yes, Lowell (I mourn you little pumpkin). The biggest of these and the only producing vast amounts of produce at this point is our yellow squash (the beans have some starters and the cantaloupe is growing, but no little fruit yet meaning it is unlikely we will get a ripe one off before winter). The boys are quite proud of their plants and I am thrilled to have something we planted from a seed make the full life cycle, now I can save some seeds and we can repeat next year. Last year we planted 3 zucchini and never harvested a one, though the tomatoes and watermelon were good. This year we can't think of enough to do with the zucchini, cucumbers, and squash and have no tomatoes on 4 plants and the watermelon just died. I guess you just never know with gardening, and I must insert here to be honest that yes the boys and I put the seed in the cup, but Lowell does all the watering, weeding, fertilizing, etc. I really should take no pride in accomplishment, but heck I still do! We are finding new ways to use squash and I found one that Lowell just loves that we are having tonight. I sautee zucchini and squash and then cook some sausage then mix them together with some fresh tomato (someone's garden is growing them and we traded!) and a can of spaghetti sauce. Put it on noodle and voila, my harvest put to good, fairly healthy use. The boys love carbs, so they'll even eat this one. I even made my grandma's vinegar and cucumber salad, I am so excited to eat! Yes I preoccupy myself with food a lot of the day, it is a love of mine. It is almost too bad this cold has not affected my appetite, the last one I lost 3 lbs. . .

Speaking of, thanks for the support I think I have finally turned a corner on the cold front. The chest cold part is easing up, so here's hoping! Tomorrow I have one of my most dreaded appointments, the dentist (I have to admit the gynecologist is worse for me). I have awful teeth and need so much work every time I go, blech, not looking forward to that one. I am such a whiner these days . . .How about some happier things. How about my darling boys, lately they have been telling me such cute things, like 'Mommy tute (cute)' or 'Mommy pretty eyes'. Seriously they say that, such an ego boost. Well they also say, 'Mommy big tummies' but I think they are referring to my bust so I am not offended. Sunday we had dinner at Mike and Sina's who were kind enough to make us all ribs, yummy and let us adore our little nieces a bit. Such cuties, little Livy is turning one next week, hard to believe. Yesterday I took the boys to the gym, yep I was coughing like crazy and could hardly breathe but wasn't going to pass up having someone else chase the boys for an hour and a half! They really like to go to and I didn't want to disappoint them so I just went and walked and watched Transformers. And today we went to the park and busted out the art supplies. We are working on discipline with them, again, which is tough because when we put our foot down they fight back for the first while. But then they wear down and return to my sweet boys, so we'll keep on it. We are trying Love and Logic again, this time the version for Young Children. When we took the class it was tough because the boys weren't really ready cognitively or verbally for choices, but I think they are better now. We also use 1,2,3 Magic and lots of prayer in our child-rearing techniques. And anyone who knows my kids would say we are pretty much failing on that front, but hey, can't say we aren't trying! I also had a small potty victory today, we watched the Pull-Ups movie today (free from their website if you want it) and the boys liked the little songs and wanted to dance. They both used the potty this morning and before nap and when I went to put a diaper on Davis he said,"No, want unnerwears, Diedo unnerwears." I reminded him that we don't pee in our underwear and put on the Diego pull-ups. I fully expect he did pee in them, especially during nap, but I was excited just that he wanted to wear them and was grasping the concept that he wants to be a big boy. We have also started having them do some simple chores, this week is putting their dishes away in the sink. It's a work in progress and we plan to add a few more as we go along, put your dirty clothes away, pick up your toys, etc. We probably should have done this sooner, but we starting now and that's just how it is. I'll add the chores to their sticker chart and they can keep working toward toys or outings. I am feeling pretty good about myself as a mom with these new things and a healthy dinner prepared. Patting myself on the back! :)

My next project is working on old photos. This weekend on my death bed from work (yep there's the whining again) I scanned all the old photos for Lowell and I (like baby pics) and some from when we first met. I need to get them all cleaned up and then move them into photobooks (my free ones expire in Sept, time to get moving!) and videos for our moms. I'll give myself until Christmas on the videos, so I think I'll get it done. (I said that on a cross-stitch piece I started for my friend's second son, it remains unfinished as her next son is now 2, safe to say I don't always finish what I start!). I'm also enjoying the Olympics on nbc.com, hooray for playing it online and giving me something to do! And I am thinking about the boys' birthday, less than 2 months to go--just a mental note since I'll forget it, I am thinking about Walkie Talkies and Remote control cars for them, plus some movies, books, and art supplies. Some of that will probably be Christmas though, just thinking of indoor activities to get me through the winter. Well, thanks for letting me ramble, time for that dinner and some Olympics! :)

I hate being sick!

So there are lots of people sicker than me by far and I have no right to compain, but since this is my sounding board and y'all have no say about it, I am going to compain anyway. Blah! Feel free to skip to the next paragraph to see what the munchkins have been up to. I picked up a little chest cold at Yellowstone that has lingered with a sore throat added during the week but even that was manageable. Then I had a few nights with activities and work which left me with very little sleep and gave the cold an opportunity. Oddly the cold moved up not down and did not resolve itself as it went, it is lingering everywhere! So by last night I still had the narly chest cold with accompanying painful cough, horribly sore throat which nothing seems to help, nasal congestion, and sinus pressure filling my whole head, so much so it was leaking out my eye last night, yeah that's gross! Ugh, I just feel crappy and tired and blech! Here's hoping a little rest helps a lot (Lowell put me right to bed last night and I did get a full night's rest. DayQuil is helping me limp through work today). Okay enough complaining . . .

So this week has been pretty busy. First we just needed to recover from the trip, my van is still trashed even though Lowell had it spotless before we left. Thursday we went swimming, we love the Legacy center pool! and then helped Robbie with his new house. My bro sold his townhouse and bought a big house in Slate Canyon. He is single still but is renting out the rooms and it works out pretty well for him actually. It is a nice house and he will fill in with nice things, being Robbie. We hd Dairy Queen that night and headed home late. Friday Lowell stayed home to work on our basement room which flooded (again!). This time we'll only have to replace half a room of pad but now we have to replace the bottom portion of one wall of sheet rock as well as base boards. I think Lowell has isolated the problem--a combo of a hole is the foundation and a sprinkler that was pooling, so here's hoping after he makes these repairs we will be done fixing that room! If not I am seriously going to tile down there and save on replacing the pad a couple of times a year. Anyway, while Lowell worked on that the boys and I went to my cousin Jared's wedding reception with my mom, Hillary, and Jay. Let's just say I was very tired, sick, and very cranky! The boys weren't exactly on their best behavior either and the trip wasn't entirely pleasant. The reception was fun though, the boys made some new friends and wore themselves out running around, I got to visit with my aunts/uncles and congratulate Jared and Tanya, and they had Coldstone, so it couldn't be all bad! So that's the fun we have had this week!

The shots above are first, Lowell and the boys when I tried to recreate a shot from last year. It didn't turn out as good obviously, but it makes me smile anyway. A gold star for my Davey-boy. And no, the participants would not allow me another shot! The second 2 are this crazy idea the boys came up with to run around with their pull ups over their PJs, I think I have mentioned it already on here. So funny though, weird things they come up with. Like lately they keep asking to go to the doctor. Any complaint leads to 'go see doctor?'. When I come home from work (I work in a hospital lab and wear scrubs for those who don't know) they ask, 'Mommy, you doctor? You see doctor?' I don't know where they got this from but it does make me smile. Also yesterday they were playing in the sandbox while mommy vegged a little and daddy went to the store for me (always my hero Lowell!) and they would count down from 3 then throw their sand in the air and yell, 'Surprise! Happy Birthday Mommy!' No clue where that's from and for a minute I cringed at the sand getting everywhere but then relaxed and just let them be dirty and be boys! They are certainly all boy, no doubt on that one. Even though Carter has a liking for Princesses, one that Lowell does not let him expand upon, but I think it is cute when he looks on with wide eyed wonder at the Barbie Princess ad on Curious George. They are my silly sweet, and rather naughty and mischevious little boys. I couldn't love them any more! I think of those who would give anything to have their little one well enough or even alive to be coloring on the walls and just count my blessings. The Lord is good, even when I am not. Blessings on each of you this Sunday!

We survived Yellowstone!

Hey, you can never get everyone looking, especially when people are waiting, but man was this a beautiful vista at Artists Point of the Grand Canyon of Yellowstone!

Lowell loved taunting the bison that created traffic jams. This one snorted at him when he told him he stank, the next one almost tried to ram the car!
Darling Cyndel at the lower falls of the Yellowstone River.
Our little family in front of the Grand Prismatic pool, yes the boys love their new cameras.
I think this is our best family shot, in front of Yellowstone Lake at West Thumb Geyser Basin.
All 3 of my cutie boys at Tower Falls (you can just see it off to the right).

Okay, so we are back and almost all in one piece. I may have left a bit of my sanity on a trail somewhere, but the rest came back with me. What was I thinking tent camping with 2 2 year olds! Actually it wasn't that bad, well, depends who you ask and when you ask them. By now we have had a good night's rest on our very wonderful Tempur-pedic, yes it makes even the air mattress look awful, and we're a bit more chipper. After 2 nights of hardly sleeping while wrestling 2 bed-hogging children and getting yelled at by the mean neighbors next door, we were less happy. But I digress . . .the trip started late because we were waiting for the second camera to arrive in the mail. I knew if we went with only one we'd be in trouble and I was only hoping the second would come that day, having been a week since I bought it on ebay. Thank goodness it did come but not without a yellow jacket bite for me from the nest under the mail box (now eradicated thanks to my buff hubby). It was quite traumatic for me, seriously, I am allergic and I was freaking. My hand swelled a fair amount but it wasn't anything too exciting, it still hurt though. I think people all have different pain tolerances for different things. 3 days after my C-section I was driving between NICUs with only tylenol for pain (no Percocet and driving) and doing fine, I have had teeth pretty much rot out of my head and it didn't bug me a bit, but that sting really hurt! Anyway, I digress again. I think I better do the Reader's Digest version of this trip, it is almost midnight already.

So we got to Yellowstone pretty well, we did skip the dinosaur park to conserve on time and good things as we didn't get to camp until 9 pm. We still had to set up, eat s'mores and get everyone to bed. The boys were a struggle to get down and ended up snuggling with Lowell and I during the night to keep warm, but that was actually pleasant to me, waking up next to my darling Carter. Then we went adventuring through the park. I forgot just how much driving there is in the park but the boys handled it pretty well. The hard thing was that we ended up at Old Faithful around naptime and were half-way around the loop back to camp. That meant at least an hour drive during which my kids would probably sleep but then not nap when we got back. And Lowell and I needed naps! We were excited to see Old Faithful, I thought the munchkins would think it was pretty fun but it wasn't so faithful for us. They have it timed down to about 10 minutes but of course it is a variable thing. We got in a good spot and waited expected to be there 20 minutes max. 45 minutes later the boys had had it, were fussing and downright screaming and the stares of the crowd finally got us on our feet and on our way out. And of course, you all guessed it, half way to the car it went off. Oh well, thus it is. So what I predicted did happen and there was no rest for the weary back at camp. So we took another drive just to cool off from being cranky and irritated and came back to camp pretty happy if beyond dirty and exhausted. That night the boys again were hard to get down and wanted to snuggle, but this time they really just wanted our spots. They pushed and kicked Lowell and I who each took turns at the bottom of the matress or on the floor freezing as our kids screamed if we tried to lay next to them. Little stinkers! Next time, 2 matresses!!!! Anyway, the next morning we packed up and got a shower, oh blessed day. I seriously have never seen my kids dirtier, and that is really saying something. We checked out the upper and midway geyeser basins that we had bypassed the day before and headed for civilization. No nap on the way to Rexburg meant we would not be staying for my Grandpa's birthday party, it was still 2 hours away and no one, me especially, wanted to be around my grumps. We let them play at a park, bribed them with some ice cream and then they finally fell asleep for a while on the way back. Lowell and I got to visit, a surprising treat since we live together and laugh at a couple of episodes of Friends. This whole trip has made me more anxious for our anniversary getaway coming up in 2 weeks. I loved spending time with my boys this weekend. It was fun to see them take it all in and just be in love with rocks and their cameras. I got a lot of snuggle time in and was reminded of lots of things I love about being a mom. But I also remembered what it was like to just be me and Lowell (we went to Yellowstone 4 years ago before the kids came along) and I miss that too. So our overnight away is much needed and will be much appreciated.

I am working on videos of the shots on each of the kids' cameras--very funny really, lots of pics of the ground and feet and blur, but a few good pics-- and on mine that I will post later. It is time for rest for me! Loves all!