Make it stop!

CAUTION STOP NOW IF YOU ARE LOOKING FOR A HAPPY POST!

It’s just one of those mom days. If you’re a mom you know what I’m talking about. It’s the day where you just want to “call in sick” or “leave early”, because it has been so bad. This is a sad statement since it’s not even 10:30 am and we’ve only been up for about 2 ½ hours.

I guess it goes back to last night. My sleep style nursing bras were all dirty, so I wore a regular nursing bra to bed (it has under wires), this resulted in major milk leakage and clogged ducts from the wires. I hosed 2 shirts last night. It’s hard to sleep well when you’re soggy.

I woke up and all of the kids were happy. I love it when we are all happy together in the morning. This went away soon when I told Victoria to go and get dressed. She said, “No.” That’s always a big mistake. She did go and get dressed, but complained about how I had matched up her socks incorrectly in her drawer. Guess what? I didn’t match up her socks, but she blames me. Instead of re-matching her socks, she throws them out into the hallway (not in anger). I inform her to rematch them correctly and to get them out of the hall. She looks at me like I’ve told her to build a nuclear reactor, just totally dumbfounded. I try to explain to her what I want. By this time I’m not pleased, by the time she’s done I’m mad.

We move downstairs and everyone is at least playing or hanging out calmly. Then Jackson needs to use the bathroom. He stands at the regular toilet to pee and he had been using his potty seat for BM. Jonathan has started setting him on the toilet for that since we have no bathroom stool and they broke my kitchen one. Jackson proceeds to poop all over the bathroom. It’s on the floor, the side of the tub, my comb on the edge of the tub, up and down his legs, on the front of his shirt and jacket, and all over his pants and underwear. I’m livid. I give him a shower and clean him and his mess up, while I SCREAM like a banshee at him. *Isn’t that the most effective way to communicate with a 3 year old. (sarcasm emphasized)*

Then I fix the kids bowls of cereal. In the morning I let them watch a show while they eat breakfast (it’s the only time we sit in front of the TV and eat). I place J and V’s bowls of cereal on a TV tray and go sit on the floor to feed the babies their cereal. 3-5 minutes later I hear a bang. I turn and see Victoria’s bowl on the floor over turned (she looks at it and then back at the show), her feet are on the edge of the TV tray. At this point I loose it. Both kids are sent to their beds, so I get a break and can clean up without them around. J gets called down to finish his cereal and he takes his bowl to the kitchen. I follow this with telling V to come down and that she gets nothing else to eat until lunch (since it was 10 I thought 2 hours was okay). I’ve never used this as punishment before, but I get really tired of feeling like a slave.

These are the days that I want to go enroll her in school and find him a preschool. I hope this feeling is just a hold over from being under the weather last week (I still am a little sick). Right now just holds that feeling of needing a vacation from my job. I really just need some time off.

Call me crazy.

I’m thinking about going back to school.

Yes, I know, in what free time do I have to go back to school? I’m still thinking about it.

As it stands I can’t finish my Aerospace Engineering Degree here and if I traveled to the nearest town with an engineering program I could only get a Mechanical. These degrees are also ON campus degrees and I don’t have the time right now and I may never.

So, why am I thinking about going back to school and what do I plan on doing? I always planned on finishing a degree. I looked online at the university that has a satellite campus 7-8 blocks from our house. Since I obviously can’t go engineering I plan to change my major to business. This school has a Business Administration Degree with an Entrepreneur option. Jonathan would like to eventually start his own company (for those of you who don’t know he has filed 1 patent). This would be helpful. When I went through and figured up my hours and the classes I have to have; I am 24 classes and 69 hours away from done. 14 of those classes can be taken online. I love online courses I will begin this summer with one 3-hour ECON course. I will maintain at 3 hours and increase to 6-9 hours when (and if) I feel I can. This will take a minimum of 3.5 years(based on my planned number of hours), but it will probably take longer.

It may seem crazy. I have 4 kids and I homeschool, but this is one thing I know I can do. Once the twins are weaned and sleeping through the night better this will be possible.

I’ve been talking to Jonathan about it and he is supportive of this and is willing to do what he needs to do to help me make this happen. He’s excited and intrigued by the entrepreneurial courses. I am sending off for my latest transcript and I have filled out my application. I’ll be ready to go when this summer hits and homeschooling goes on a brief hiatus.

I may be crazy, but as I’ve said before I’ve learned to accept it.

It's doing it again!

My yard still has ice (I mean lots of ice) from the previous storm. You had 2 options of what to walk on swamp or ice. Now your options are again snow and ice.

This picture is from across the street. Parts of our 3 porch roofs still have snow (or ice). You can still see 2 mounds on each side of my front porch roof where it pours off the roof.


This picture is from one of our side porches and looks across to the art gallery across the street. Yes, there is an art gallery across the street (it's too cool). The drive in front is still a solid sheet of ice. I walked across to talk to Jody (the owner) and I almost fell on my rear (again). The last thing I need is my tail bone bruised again. It still isn't totally healed.


Oh, well let it snow, let it snow, let it snow. I've never seen this much snow in my life in Oklahoma. I'm ready to see it go.

CONGRATS!

I just went through my blog roll. I don't have all of my frequented blogs on my page. I go to my friend Jeremy's and I go through his and then on to his wife Tiffany's and through her list. I was excited to see something precious posted on both of their pages today. Their first child was born Monday and he is a cutie!

Congrats! Cooper is adorable! I hope you all are doing well, sleep when you can!

Yoga and the Alternative

For those of you who know me well, you know I work out when I can. I'm not the most consistent, but I do it and I enjoy it when I do. I especially love lifting weights. I also enjoy Yoga. The Yoga I do doesn't involve meditation it is strictly an exercise video. When it is all said and done I know that Yoga is almost synonymous with Hinduism (ask any Hindi and they will agree).

I have found and alternative I am eager to buy and try. It's called Praise Moves, the Christian Alternative to Yoga. This is really interesting and they have a kids version and a non Christian version for the public school system called Power Moves.

This morning before we began Victoria's school work we did my Power Yoga for Energy video, just to get her focused. I hadn't done it in a while, but it felt really good to stretch and get myself energized. I think Praise Moves Kids would be great for her, she really liked it.

Home Improvement II (Pictures)

I didn't get a real before picture. I only got one after we had started the removal. I will also find some time soon to post pictures of Jackson's room (which is only in need of period trim replacement), the utility/sewing room renovation (crown mold and paint are left to complete this) and a post of the insane amounts of decoupage, gross wallpaper, cork tile and paneling just for a laugh.

For the moment here is a before and during photo of one wall of the dining room. This room will be painted 2 tone. The top will be a spicy brown mustard color and below chair rail height will be a red/brown (almost mahogany or dark cherry wood) color wash.

Home Improvement (UPDATED)

UPDATED
Kelly I will post pictures as soon as I find my camera to dump them. I love my kids, but I wish they would leave my camera alone. :)

******
Saturday my family came up to celebrate Jackson's birthday. The usual things occurred, we ate, opened presents, hung out, played, moved furniture and started a home improvement project in a matter of about 5 hours. Projects and furniture moving ended up on the list. This is a strange, yet normal phenomena in my family.

Jonathan and I have a great and old house in NE Oklahoma (it's in the photo album). It's just under 2800 square feet with a 900 square foot attic that has a full set of stairs to it. Sometime in the 1970's the owners paneled most of the house followed by the next owners adding insane amounts of decoupage(sp?) to the mix. The house is structurally sound, but it is a restoration project. Jonathan and I love these projects and do most of the work ourselves.

My mom and I were in the dinning room which is currently another living room since we don't have a table big enough to do it justice right now. We were talking about moving the game table Victoria does most of her schooling at to the window so she had more light. Thus the furniture began to move.

Later my sister asked Jonathan what needed to be done to take the paneling down. We hadn't started that, b/c we removed paneling upstairs and it was glued and nailed to the walls. The walls were Sheetrock, so it ripped of the top layer of paper and it was a big skimming job. We assumed the downstairs was still plaster under the paneling or that it was glued to Sheetrock. We really weren't in the mood to remove plaster yet or to skim 10 foot walls. So we just hadn't started.

Jonathan decided to take a butter knife and pry back a peace of paneling. Guess what? No glue and no plaster. The walls were Sheetrock underneath. Trim and paneling soon was removed. We are going to do one wall at a time. Jonathan and I went and bought paint that night. Jonathan has since removed the 2 feet of acoustic spray from he wall. With 10 foot ceilings they put up an 8 foot piece of paneling and then applied 2 feet of acoustic spray to the wall the crown molding (I said it was a restoration project). We are relieved. We are now patching and skimming the wall. We hope to paint and faux finish the wall by the end of next week. Then it's one wall down and 3 to go.

Back with 4 posts.

Okay, so I may not get logged in often, but I make up for it, by posting several things when I do. I also apologize for not posting comments still and lurking on your blogs, but I still visit you faithfully almost everyday. Sometimes even more then once. Ya, I have better things to do, but I love reading other peoples writing and seeing their pictures. Often tiems you remind me that I'm not crazy and that we all experience a lot of the same stuff.

Since I can't use my blogger as easily as before I've been using myspace more. I don't really like myspace. One funny thing has happened, I was warned that it was addictive. Now regardless of my dislike of it, I must admit I am addicted. Myspace is Internet CRACK. Yes, My name is Sara and I am a myspace addict. I may have to delete my account, maybe not.

The more things change...

...oh, forget it they don't stay the same.

Last week was a big week at our house. My hair wasn't the only groovy thing.

For those of you who don't know Jonathan is an aerospce enigneer and he is a program manager/design engineer of aircraft interiors. Jonathan had his review at work last Thursday and he heared Monday that he is being promoted to Senior Engineer (or level III). This is totally awesome (we love raises)! He started at this company 1 1/2 years ago at a level I (because he changed the area he worked in). One of the guys he works with said, "It's about damn time they promoted you to Sr." Needless to say he's walking on cloud 9. We have no confirmation yet, but it looks like he may be the only one to make Sr out of the level II's.

Pediatric Purgatory

We went to Chuck E Cheese's for Jackson's birthday. That place is nuts. I remembered when we decided to go that a friend of mine in OKC had called it Pediatric Purgatory. No, I'm not Catholic, nor do I believe in purgatory, but I think this is an appropriate name.

At least it's not as crazy as The Incredible Pizza Company.

10 years

It's been almost 10 years since I started coloring my hair. I was 18 and a senior in high school. I knew my hair was getting darker, so I started dying it blond. The cost and maintenance of the blond has gotten old. Friday I did what any resourceful mother would do. I sent my husband to Wal-Mart with the 4 kids and a list, while I got my hair cut and colored. I had them dye my hair to match my roots. I must admit it has been a bit of a shock, but I'm getting used to it and I like it. I never believed that blonds have more fun, I guess now I'll find out.

Happy 3rd Birthday Jackson!

Happy Birthday my little man. You get to be a bigger helper and even more handsome every day. I love you!

Here is a picture of Tuesday's haircut, for a little boy who turns 3 on Friday. Yes, Jackson turns 3 on Friday. It seems like he has suddenly turned form a baby to a big kid. Potty training is still moving and the accidents are getting fewer. I just don't know where my baby went.

Tomorrow we are making a trip to the city. Our local Wal-Mart hasn't stocked the toys back up yet. We will be making a trip to Toy's R Us and/or Target and maybe even Chuck E Cheese. We had planned on buying his gifts last Friday, but with the storm we haven't left the house since Saturday morning. Jonathan has only left for work. I hope what's coming Saturday isn't as much as they think.

Blogger Help

From blogger help:
Users who have their Internet Explorer security settings set to “High” may have trouble logging in. After signing in, they see a “Click here to continue” link that does nothing. One work around is to right-click on this link and choose “Open in a new window.” — latest update on Saturday, December 09, 2006
Labels: google accounts, internet explorer, login, outstanding


I found this. I've already found this work around on my own over a week ago. Unfortunately it doesn't help when I'm not logged in and want to post a comment on one of the blogs I frequent. I am now a lurker, because I lose my comment. Also this work around doesn't always work. When I went into Internet Explorer to check my security settings I found nothing that said mine were set to high, so I can't remedy it there. Mine are currently custom set and I'm not seeing what could cause the problem.

If you are having a similar problem I hope this helps. The "click to continue" is also in a pale color and almost impossible to see. I really don't like having to log in every 5 minutes. It is now a hassle.

Does anyone manage to stay logged in to blogger for more then one Internet session? I'm booted even if I just shut the page, but don't log out of my browser.

Time Out

The new blogger is still not my friend. It is like pulling eye teeth to log in. I have to go to the blogger home, sign in, then right click and open a new window. Sometimes it works and sometimes it doesn't. I have to re log in every time I shut my browser (not even logging off). I apologize to the many of you I have written post to, that haven't received them, I lose them each time I'm not already logged in.

I have changed my cookie settings and I have looked through help files. I have even been offered help from fellow bloggers, but I've already tried the solutions before. As my frustration mounts my time on blogger is less. Though I hate myspace, I am using it more often, because at least I can post without hassle. I am reading your pages and if you check here thank you for checking in. I hope to be up and running again soon, but until then with this brief post I bid you farewell.

I HATE BETA!

Why did I think it was a good idea to change to blogger beta? I can hardly get logged into the blog. I have tried for at least 3-4 days to log in and I can't even post comments on the sites I want to comment on. I'm a bit frustrated. I'm not even sure what I did right this time. I've been trying to bypass a bunch and finally I weaseled my way in. Well, I guess I'll post the pic I've been trying to for 2 days.

Here is Jackson after his first fun dip. He ate the stick quickly and then used his finger. It was green apple. I don't remember that flavor from my youth, but times change.

Snopes

I'm not sure if you use this site, but I do. I get stories a lot in my inbox that I just don't believe, so I check them out on Snopes. I received one from my husband about the Brazilian plane crash, and since they produce parts for Embraer the guys at work asked him to have me check it's validity. Why they couldn't I don't know, maybe they can't remember the site name, so it came to me to check.

When I received the e-mail snopes had no information regarding this e-mail on their site. I sent them an e-mail on the 6th of December with a copy of the e-mail and pictures and on the 8th of December there was a link to the story. I feel pretty cool. I got to submit a story to Snopes (I wasn't the only one, but I still feel cool).

If you ever get an e-mail, and you think can this possibly be true, check it out. It's definitely worth checking instead of sending on crazy or wrong info.

It's a big day!

It’s a big day in the Ritchie household.

1. Jonathan and I were married 8 years ago today.

On Sunday, December 27, 1998 I married my best friend. It amazes me that it’s been 8 years. We have 4 beautiful children and we have been through a lot. We have been poor (hungry at night poor) and in college. We entered the world of Jonathan being a professional. We have bought 2 houses and moved twice over the course of a year and a half. We have triumphed in the face of obstacles and we have rejoiced over even the smallest of victories. We have a lot more room to grow as adults, spouses and parents, and we are always able to talk about everything.

I have heard people say that they grew apart from their spouse, but Jonathan and I only seem to be getting closer. We are in tune with each other’s interests and passions and we love to share with each other. I couldn’t be more blessed. I’m not saying we don’t fight, but it’s so nice to know that I am married to a man who is as crazy about me as I am about him. It’s nice to know that we see our marriage from another side as well, the side that reminds us that love is more than an emotion it’s a daily commitment.

Jonathan thank you for all of the little things you do; like helping me cook, going to the store with me and even reading books with me. Thank you for the big things you do too; like putting in a utility room and helping de-ugly the house, helping me with the house work, understanding me and trying to keep me in check. You are the best. You are my rock.

2. The twins are 6 months old.

The boys are both around 13 lbs a piece. They are rolling and desperately want to stand and crawl. They are eating cereal and fruits and vegetables and a little bit of formula. Feeding the some other food has allowed my body to finally let go of more baby weight without any effort. I’ve lost about 8 lbs in the last 3 weeks. I'm still nursing so I will hold on to the last 10-15 lbs until done. I know I’m behind on picture postings and I need to update the photo album, but I need to find more time to sit at the computer to do it.

3. We all have a cold or some type of allergy that is messing up our sinuses.

We all have a lot of sinus pressure, scratchy/sore throats with that dry cough that sounds fake, we also have a bit of that medicine head feeling without the medicine.

My frustration with people who make meth came to a head yesterday when I couldn’t get a hold of any form of Sudafed for the kids without a bunch of other junk in it. I understand combo formulas are very popular, but if my kid doesn’t need everything I won’t give it to them. I went to more then one pharmacy in search of children’s Sudafed to go with the Claritin and Motrin I had already bought. I couldn’t get what I needed so I called several pharmacies here in town today and I’ve found it at one. Thank you meth makers for making it so much harder to buy medication for my children and myself. I bet I’ll be on a watch list for the amount of Sudafed I’ve bought lately.

Fun. Fun. Fun.

Yep, you got it I have the stomach thing now too. Mine is abdominal craps which makes for great discomfort nursing or anytime. My hour on the couch trying to nap (when Jackson wasn't in smacking my head) wasn't bad. Sleep made the stomach aggrivation stop. So far nothing major has been unleashed, my stomach is just very angry.

It's going around town and it's going around in Norman too, so chances are it's going around where you live. Keep your hands washed and I wish you the best.

Finished

I can officially say I’m finished decorating and I’m almost finished shopping. I need to take and post pictures. The tree is done, the stairs are done, I bought stockings and a tree skirt Saturday and we wrapped packages Friday. This has been a real experience for us.

I think I have Jackson convinced not to take the ornaments off the tree, finally. We only decorated the entryway. We are desperately trying to de-ugly the house and too much will get in the way of progress.

Dang, the mail just came and I got my first Christmas card. Now I have to find something to do with these! Okay, I thought I was done at least this isn’t much.

I’ll take and post pics soon. It turned out cool. I decorated the tree the lazy womans way. I stuck artificial poinsettia heads on the tree so we didn’t have as many ornaments to put on (the kids lost interest fast).

In other news illness has passed, Jonathan felt bad yesterday, but he’s okay today. At least when he's sick the mess hits the trashcan and toilet. I now have to finish the laundry and mop the living room and office (I love hardwood floors). I managed to take the chair cushion out of its cover and took Lysol to it and I upholstery cleaned the cover last night. The kids are still tired. I’m the only one left standing (not counting the babies), lets see if I can last.

Vomit

Isn’t that a fun way to start a post?

The 2 older kids are sick and J refuses to use a trashcan or the toilet, which means frequent mop-ups and costume changes. Fun!

I hope Jon, the twins and I don’t get this

Could I be anymore stupid?

Yesterday afternoon we went sledding. Someone had made a great snow ramp. We all slid down the hill. We all took the ramp. We all sat at the emergency room, after I thought I broke my tailbone. I was there for 7 hours. It took me 5 to get into an exam room. It isn’t broken, but it is bruised very badly. I’m not even supposed to pick up the babies. My in-laws have been a huge help and stayed last night and they are here to help me today.

Well, you know what they say…it’s all fun and games until someone looses an eye (or bruises their tailbone).

Yes, I cried like a baby-thankfully my family were the only people there at the moment.

Blizzard?!?!? (updated)

You have got to be kidding me. The National Weather Service has just issued a Blizzard warning.

Last night’s conversation

Victoria: “Have you and mom ever been in a blizzard?”

Jonathan: “No, we live in Oklahoma, we don’t really have blizzards.”

I just called him at work and he couldn’t believe it. I told him if he wasn’t certain he would finish today to pack up and come home. I’d rather him get home now and go in tomorrow, then have a wreck in the ¼ mile visibility and the underlying ice slick. We’ll see what he decides.

(UPDATE)
Little convincing of the husband is required when they decide to close the plant. When the shop guys aren't there the engineering guys get to go home too! YIPEE!

Daddy did you know?

I read this article about things dads should know and I got a big kick out of it. Some of those things are even things mom’s should know. Much of it is funny, yet so true (not all mind you and a bit of it is just wrong).

Jeremy I hope it gives you a laugh.

Deep Freeze

Yesterday the high was 76 degrees with a low of 61 degrees. My heater hasn’t run in days.

It is currently 33 degrees and we are expecting a foot of snow. The high Thursday is supposed to be 29 with a low of 15.

Oklahoma has the screwiest weather.

Jonathan's heater in his car isn't working. He'll be taking my car to work tomorrow.

What we have here is a failure to communicate.

I’d just like to know why. It seems we all have communication issues. It doesn’t matter if it’s with our family or our spouse, our friends or even the person on the phone with something to “offer” us from the credit card company.

Times of stress (that should be times of joy) like the holidays can heighten communication struggles.

I guess it’s safe to say we all have our issues. Maybe if we could communicate better with God, we could communicate better with each other.

Just a thought.

The Tumbleweed

This was an article I was surprised to see.

I lived in Stillwater for about 6 years, and I only went to “The Weed” about 4 or 5 times. The last time was over 6 years ago. It wasn’t my idea of a good time, but to many Stillwater area residents it is THE thing to do on Thursday, Friday and Saturday. People loved and flocked to the Calf Fry (something I had no intention of trying), my cousin even called when she was coming up to a concert with Tone Loke.

I won’t miss “The Weed”, but I do wonder what that group of OSU students will do for fun, cow tipping perhaps.

You can't say I never gave you anything! ;)

Merry Christmas! I know it’s the end of November, but I would like to give my valued readers (yes, the few family and friends who read my babbling) a little gift.

5 recipes.

I should have been witty and come up with a 12 days of Christmas theme and given you 12 days worth totaling 78 recipes, but I’m not that dedicated at the moment (and I doubt I have that many recipes I use), maybe next year.

2 simple dinners (we can all use something quick this time of year)
The first I’ve posted about before, this is a Rachel Ray 30 minute meal (it takes me closer to 45 without a helper for me). The chicken lettuce wraps are a lot like the ones at Pei Wei and P. F. Chang’s. I even use it as a salad topping with no dressing instead of making wraps sometimes.

The second is too easy; it is a simple homemade Vegetable beef soup. This one requires no measuring and minimal prep. Just brown some ground beef (you choose the amount). Get a large pot and dump a can or 2 of Veg-All, a can or 2 of sliced new potatoes, a can of whole green beans, 3 beef bullion cubes and some seasoned salt and pepper. Add whatever amount of water you desire. Bring it to a boil; reduce it to a simmer for 15 minutes (or how ever long you feel, simmer longer and just keep checking the water level). This is good reheated and even my kids eat it. In one pan you have multiple veggies, meat, and starch, I love one pot meals and soup on cold days.

1 easy dessert
I made this pumpkin swirl cheesecake for a dinner at our youth minister’s house and it went well. I made it again for Thanksgiving. For Thanksgiving I cheated and didn’t swirl it. I made it strait up pumpkin; this was a nice change to the usual holiday desserts. The ginger snap crust is so good. If you’ve never made a cheesecake before the videos on the page were very helpful. I’d never used a spring form pan before either.

2 recipes for the price of 1
This is the recipe for the rolls I blogged about before. This is a super simple and delicious dough. It is knead free and takes about 10 minutes to mix up. The time is mostly in letting the stuff rise, but it is well worth it. I usually make a double batch and make one batch of cinnamon and one batch of dinner rolls. By doing this you have breakfast on the go and rolls for your holiday dinner or whenever you want. Both freeze and reheat very well. I’ve been known to freeze meal size quantities of dinner rolls, so we don’t eat them, and I just pull them from our deep freeze with our dinner meat when I need them.

Cinnamon/Dinner Roll Dough
1 cake of yeast
3 tbsp warm water
Dissolve yeast in water (to check yeast activation add a very small pinch of sugar and stir in, if it begins to bubble yeast is activated).

2 eggs beaten
½ c Crisco
1 tsp salt
½ c sugar
1 c warm water
Mix together well and add yeast. Gradually stir in 4 c of flour. Cover bowl with a dish towel, if used the same day allow to rise 2-3 hours (may be stored in the refrigerator over night).

Cinnamon Rolls
After rising, divide in half. Roll on floured counter into a rectangle with dough about ¼” thick. Melt a stick of butter or margarine and brush onto the dough all the way to the edges. In a container with a lid combine ½ c dark brown sugar, ½ c white sugar and ground cinnamon, shake until well mixed. Shake ½ of the mixture onto the dough (don’t apply to the last inch on the 1 of the long edges) spread evenly and smoothly with hand. Roll like a jellyroll from the long edge that has cinnamon. Cut into 1” rolls with dental floss or a piece of string. Place in a greased pan, but not too closely. Let rise 2 hours.

Bake for 25 minutes at 350 degrees.

Glaze with ¼ c butter or margarine, ½ c of powdered sugar and 2 tsp milk. Soften butter at room temperature and use a fork to combine butter and powdered sugar, add milk and heat for about 30 seconds on medium in the microwave. Mix well and spoon over hot rolls.

Dinner Rolls
Divide into 4ths and roll into circles about ¼” thick. Brush with melted butter and cut into wedges. Roll from edge to point. Place on ungreased cookie sheet. Let rise 2-3 hours.

Bake 6-10 minutes at 425 degrees. Time varies upon cookie sheet and oven and desired doneness.

I use airbake pans and a temp closer to 450 degrees for 10 minutes, on the lower middle rack.

I hope someone can use these for some holiday help.
Enjoy and Merry Christmas!

Thankful

I did call my mom on Thanksgiving (just not mid dinner like last year) and told her I wasn’t pregnant, since I called to say I was last year.

I can’t believe it was Thanksgiving Day that the test came up + last year. Looking back over the blog it’s amazing to see the changes in our life.

Last year we were still making 2 house payments and paying 2 sets of utilities. We thought we were only having 1 baby. We only had 1 car. We hadn’t found a church yet. I didn’t have a utility room (we are trimming ours now, I’ll post pics soon). Life was just so different.

Now we are a family of 6 with 2 cars and 1 house. We have a church home we love. Yep, lots to be thankful for, change this year has been good.

Blogger for Word

I use blogger for word, but since changing over to the new blogger beta, it doesn't work. Is anyone else having an issue? I know things will be different with beta, but I'm not liking it at the moment.

HAPPY ...

This post is a precaution if I don’t have time in the morning.

HAPPY THANKSGIVING
&
HAPPY BIRTHDAY DREW!
(Your birthday is more important I should have listed it first, we love you)

We are off to Kansas for dinner with Jonathan’s family.

Today in preparation I made a big pot of chili (not for Thanksgiving), 120 more rolls, and a pumpkin cheesecake.

I pray safe travel for you all and that you all have much to be thankful for. I know I do.

Classy

I understand rivalries, but I think the AD at OSU shows a real lack of class in this article. I would like to see the people in charge at least act like adults. Just because Boone Pickens paid a lot to redo their stadium doesn’t mean they are any different in the realm of football.

It’s a football game. This emphasizes what I have said all along, OSU is more concerned about the OU game then OU is. OSU isn’t OU’s biggest rival and I think that tweeks them.

I’m with the kid who doesn’t want to pay $20 more for an OSU ticket then for an OU/Texas one. Heck, for $100 you can get an OU/Texas ticket and a tank of gas to get to Dallas and have a lot more to do. When I was a freshman at OSU (1997) a ticket to bedlam at Norman was $40. I personally wouldn’t spend $80-$100 bucks a ticket when I can watch the game on TV from the comfort of my living room.

Ready. Set. Cook!

My wonderful DH bought a recip saw yesterday. Would you like to know my first thought? I can cut out my cabinets that hold a lousy drop in out and put in my old stove! I have a 500 pound 1941 Chambers type B (scroll about 1/3 down). I have never cooked on anything that cooks half as well. It is a totally different cooking experience; heating is even (you can shut your oven vent and turn your oven off and it will hold your temp and continue cooking), simmering is right on and easy to adjust, the broiler under the griddle in handy, the griddle is awesome and the deep well (think crock pot in your stove) is too cool.

I’ve missed my stove since we moved (it’s in the garage). It’s been a year and a half since I’ve used it. I bought it in Stockyard City in OKC at a place called Tyson’s. They referb old stoves. My friend Kara’s just went out and she went and bought an old Chambers as well (think Rachel Ray). She called raving about her cooking experience and I missed mine even more. I’m so ready to cook on a gas stove that I can actually adjust to a simmer and that doesn’t have oven temperature fluctuations between 100 degrees too hot and 50 degrees too cold.

Ducktales (Part 2)

Back in May we bought Ducktales Vol. 1, 27 episodes of Ducktales fun. Last week I bought Vol. 2, the 5-episode pilot and another 19 episodes (it was $23 at Wal-Mart). They have released these in November the last 2 years. I decided to check and see how many more episodes and volumes we may see coming out. I found this site and there are 100 episodes. It looks like we will be able to buy a potential Vol. 3 and Vol. 4 over the next 2 years. Ducktales is one of my favorite cartoons. It’s up their with classic Looney Toons and Kim Possible.
I don’t like to be the parent that plants their kid in front to the TV, but this has been handy when I’ve needed a minute to myself. I will admit I’ve also enjoyed just sitting and watching too.

R.I.P.

'What will your obituary say?' at QuizGalaxy.com

'What will your obituary say?' at QuizGalaxy.com

I'll miss Leaky too, Prince Charles I won't.

I like the second one better. Obviously I must stop laughing now. I know I have a warped sense of humor. I didn't know it would kill me.

My Accent

What American accent do you have? Your Result: The West Your accent is the lowest common denominator of American speech. Unless you're a SoCal surfer, no one thinks you have an accent. And really, you may not even be from the West at all, you could easily be from Florida or one of those big Southern cities like Dallas or Atlanta.
The Midland
Boston
North Central
The Inland North
Philadelphia
The South
The Northeast
What American accent do you have? Take More Quizzes

Addicted to rolls.

I love to make homemade dinner rolls. I think it’s fun and even more importantly I love to eat them. I only make them around the holidays, so it has begun.

I will concede that my sister may make the best, but I think I love to make them the most.

Today I made 4 batches for a total of 128 rolls. I made 64 Saturday and took 30 to church and we ate the other 34 by Monday night. I’m going to have to freeze these so I have some next week for Thanksgiving.

Mmmm, dinner rolls –insert Homer Simpson drooling here-

Wedding Bells!

My friend Staci is getting married Friday!

Congrats Staci and Rich!

They say...

…patients is a virtue.

It’s defiantly something I need more of today. Today’s lesson was retched. I understand the concept of ADHD, but to me after reading the symptoms I think MOST (not all) kids diagnosed with it aren’t, they are just being children. Children must be taught to control the urges of childhood. Today the urges reigned supreme.

Today we had serious focus issues. Focus issues make me cranky and then I push harder. When I push harder she can’t focus even more. It’s a vicious cycle.

I hope I can remain calmer and that our work progresses better tomorrow. These are the days I question why I homeschool (not for her, but for me). My life would be much more simple without it, but I think I can provide a really great education for her with plenty of varied socialization and activities.

Some days I just have to remember what a waste of time school was (for me) and how much I hated that I could cover everything I needed in half a day in high school. I just want her to be able to learn more and experience more. I want life to be her education; I want her to expand beyond the standard confines of walls, desks and curriculum. I don’t want her to conform to what school produces I want her to excel beyond that. I know she can and that I am responsible for helping her reach that height.

I just have to find my happy place before I ram her math book down her throat. –enter chanting- I feel good, I feel great, I feel wonderful. (repeat)

VOTE...(Updated)

…or don’t (forget the whole “vote or die” gimmick).

Just a reminder if you intend to vote, Tuesday is the big day.

If you don’t intend to vote, please ignore this message (I’d rather you not vote if you don’t care).

Have a great Tuesday!

UPDATE

I voted straight party today. I was well informed and knew what I was voting, no lingering over my ballot. State questions and judges, the whole nine yards. I was there and gone while many were having to sit and read theirs. I love being decisive and prepared.
I didn’t get an “I Voted” sticker, I was a bit bummed about that.

All dressed up...(Updated)

Here are a few recent pics.

Victoria is a Punk Rocker. She is also never allowed to wear make-up agian (she looks too old I can't handle it). I never thought my precious 6 year old would look good as a Goth. I made her guitar out of plywood.

UPDATE-For those wondering why I linked "Victoria is a Punk Rocker" to the Ramones site, the Ramones have a song called "Sheena is a Punk Rocker." Other days it would be because they have a song called "Beat on the Brat". Just Kidding! -insert singing-

Jackson when informed he finally got to wear his Red Mysitc Ranger costume (he picked it out) informed me he wanted to be a “punk rocket”.



They were ready to hit a total of 9 houses. We only went to houses of people we know. Traffic was slow to get candy here. We still have a ton of candy and we were giving out small handfuls. The kids had a blast handing out candy and seeing others costumes.

I wish I had gotten a pic of a group of high school students who came by. They were actually collecting canned goods for the Salvation Army (of course I gave them candy too). Their costumes were great and they asked Victoria to give them a concert and she sang in the entryway. It was a total hoot.

Cutie babies are now over 4 months old and about 9 ½ lbs each. Owen is in blue and Alex is in the white print. For Halloween they went as a mirror image. Ha. Ha.

Aren't they cheesy!

Myspace.com

Well, I’ve now added a myspace account to keep up with a few people. Over all I don’t care for myspace or the set up, so it will be a world of copying what I've already done here. If you care to network in with me let me know here, and I'll give you info to be added as a friend. There will be minimal difference between here and there, so stay tuned here for my real blog.

My Yahoo Avatar

I wish I could do my hair this way.

Weather Change

Some of my joints are sore. That makes me feel a little old.

The Divine Conspirator

Jeremy mentioned in the comments that he had attempted reading The Divine Conspiracy, and thought that maybe he should give it another try.  

This is a book that I am finding is easiest to process while reading out loud and with a pencil to mark things I find important (I’m glad I bought it).  This is very hard for me, even in school textbooks.  I just detest marking books up.  Hearing it, seeing it and making notes is improving my processing, unfortunately it is taking a long time to do this (reading allowed requires quiet children).  I’m only on page 10.  This book is written by a man who means and uses every word he puts to print.  It’s evident to me why I am a science and math person and not a philosophy person.

Here is a little interesting info on the author.  I thought this was a good article about who this man is and where he comes from as a Christian and a USC Philosophy professor.

FUN

I want one!

Breaking an addiction

I am battling an addiction. I have been fighting my computer cravings. We don’t have cable and we don’t watch a ton of TV, but I’ve been filling a lot of time in front of the “tube” still. My e-mail is piling up, but I’ve been more productive around the house. I still have a long way to go. I have resorted to turning the computer off after I use it every time instead of putting it to sleep. I’m too impatient to let it boot up, so I just haven’t been using it. I’m even calling my mom to look the next day’s weather up on her computer. I need to get my life and family back in better order and I’m making progress.

On the illness front I am much better. Currently hay fever is still running rampant at our house and Victoria has pink eye, but we are doing very well.

Two new things are also taking my time. I started journaling a couple of weeks ago. It hasn’t been daily, but it’s a good way to vent and ponder things. I also just started a book by Dallas Willard called The Divine Conspiracy. It’s a long and in depth book. It will be taking a lot of my time as well.

This coming weekend is our only one this month with nothing planned and no long drive to go on, so I’ll try to post pictures again soon. The twins will be 4 months old on the 27th and the have both finally broken the 9 lb marker.

Still down

Every time I think I’m better this stomach bug comes back with a vengeance.  I seem to have a day on and a day off being sick.  Friday morning I went to the ER for dehydration.  I’m okay being sick during the day, I keep myself well hydrated in spite of being sick.  Thursday night I kept trying to go to sleep between being sick and by 4 am Jonathan and I were getting the kids together so he could drive me to the hospital.  It wasn’t a big deal, just a bag of IV fluids.  Normally I would just stay up and chug electrolyte for a while, but since I’m still nursing the twins it was too important not to take care of immediately.  I’m really tired, but I hope to be back on track soon.  

Victoria’s schooling has been sporadic at best this week.  We’ve even had non-curriculum related lessons.  When you can’t do much else flash card exercises requires no table work.  Jonathan also has done some schooling in the evening.  Victoria has been a big help when I’ve been down.  Homeschooling is very nice for me when I’m sick, I have a helper and if we miss a day or 2 of school it’s no big deal to just make it up on Saturday and/or Sunday.  

Yuck and stuff

I know blogging has been light and almost entirely about my family since having the twins, and it will continue in this pattern for a while.  Today though I am going to be selfish and talk about me.

Readers Digest Version of events:

I got a cut and color Friday and I had Mindi pink (it’s more of a fuchsia) streak my hair.  Yes it’s a bit off the wall, but I needed a crazy change.  It’s different and kind of neat.   I’ll find out later this month if it clashes with the dresses for Staci’s wedding.  If it does I’ll change it, other wise I think I’ll keep it, but darken the rest of my hair a bit more.  Instead of blond with brown and pink streaks I’ll make it Brown with blond and pink streaks.


I have a stomach bug and working out, eating and most everything else is going on the back burner.  The kids are getting loads of TV time.  I’ve lost 2 lbs today already.  Thankfully when I decided this wasn’t going away, I had the things the doctor said I could take and I don’t have to load up the kids to go in and get checked.

And the beat goes on…

Totally random

There are just moments you want to blow a big raspberry and say, “I told you so!”
I’ll be honest I was good and didn’t.

How do you tell if a person is feeding you a line of bull?  I’m not great at discerning if people (enter the word acquaintances) are telling me the truth.  I’m not totally gullible, but when I question a person’s honesty, it takes me a while to be totally sure.  I wish there was a trick for when you think people are being tricky or dishonest.

It’s warm, almost toasty outside.  We ran the attic fan last night and it’s outright cold in our house.  I need a sweatshirt indoor and a t-shirt outdoors.  I love fall.

Music

In my old age I now prefer talk radio to music, at least during the standard 8-5 Monday through Friday week. At home though I rarely turn on the radio during the day and I only listen to a little from the computer. My radio time is now in the evenings in the car. Since we moved a little over a year ago I haven’t taken the time to find music stations I like, until now.

I have come to the conclusion that I am old (not really) because my favorite station now is the classic rock station. I’m now feeling very “1985”, not the whole song mind you, but things like when did Motley Crue become classis rock? For that matter when did Pearl Jam? I do prefer my rock & roll, alternative, and 80’s to most (not all mind you) of what’s out today. I will admit I have found mad love for one new song, Nickelback’s Rockstar, the lyrics had me totally cracking up at how it mocks rockers.

One Last Picture

Labor Day weekend my mom, dad, sisters and my mom's parents all came up for a visit. Here are Victoria and her Great Grandparents in the parking lot at Woolaroc on Labor Day.

Pictures Round 2

Owen is in yellow and Alex (or Xander) is in blue. They are still very little (especially compared to Jackson at this age). They are very sweet and sleep through the night.




Victoria begged for us to go to this Indian Summer thing down the street from out house. It was a waste of time with junk dealers and not much else. The only good things (outside of a nice walk) were the good pictures I got at the waaaay over priced pony ride.

Pictures Round 1

These are pictures of Victoria before dance. I bought her goucho pants to wear to dance instead of a skirt and she really likes it. She also got a jean jacket for her birthday and if I wear mine she has to wear hers.



I am a proud parent, but I honestly believe that Jackson is the most handsome 2 year old boy I've ever seen. He now informs us that his name is Jack.




Victoria is one tough cookie. Owen is in blue in this pic and Alex (or Xander we're debating now) is in off white.

I'm a bit behind.

Yes, I know I’ve promised pictures and updates and it will happen, just not right now.

The larger memory on the camera has allowed us to take more pics and video. Which takes more time to dump and I’m lazy and hate having to go and rotate the pics that need rotated before I post them.  Every time I sit at the computer the bigger two make me crazy, so I’m a bit limited.

Also, Jonathan and I started the Body for Life challenge and we’ve been at the YMCA every night, which limits my time in the evening when he gets home.  We aren’t at the Y too long, but I nurse right before we go and right after, plus we have to fix dinner.  We’re a bit sore and our evenings are limited, but we feel good.

Scary

What would you do if you saw a child being abducted? This video was amazing. This video is a staged abduction to test how people will react. It took 2 hours before anyone did anything.

Watch. The link will come up blank, but a media player window should open.

What can we teach our kids to make sure this doesn’t happen to them in a real life situation?

More importantly what would you do?


On a lighter note, check out the video of the Karaoke Cabbie in Singapore. This one you'll have to click the search to watch.

This weekend

We have company coming.  My dad is coming Sunday morning and leaving that evening.  My mother, her parents and my 2 sisters are coming Sunday right after church and staying until Monday.  They have been warned that the house may be picked up and rearranged, but it will not be “clean” (when I clean it’s like a crazy woman, so I don’t do it too often).  Today we worked on the yard, our birch tree is loosing leaves like its October and I had no idea we were so low on bags.  We now have a pile sitting on the sidewalk until I hit Wal-Mart tomorrow.

In preparation I have done a lot of rearranging and I am by no means finished.  They are bringing a few pieces of furniture including another twin bed.  The major room rearranging is to accommodate a dresser, video cabinet and the bed.  We may be done by the time they arrive Sunday, but I make no promises.

My right arm hurts after all of the yard work today.  After 2 ibuprofen and 2 glasses of wine I would think it would hurt less, but so far no luck.  I hope it hurts less tomorrow.  

All is well and I’ve been told I need to post new photos of the boys, I will soon, I just need time to rotate the photos so they aren’t sideways.

Have a great holiday weekend.

The Emmy's

I don’t watch TV much and I didn’t watch the Emmy’s, but congratulations to 24, the only TV show I rent on DVD and Congrats to Kiefer Sutherland.

I really do enjoy that show.  I have listened to a lot of people who love it and a lot of women who love Kiefer and find him sexy and irresistible.  Though I enjoy the show and I think Kiefer plays his role well, I just see him and I think of his father and the crazy pot head he played in Kelly’s Heroes.  I just can’t quite find the sexy/irresistible thing when I think of him as looking like his dad.

Fraud

This is amazing and infuriating.  This is one of the reasons I don’t watch much news or read many newspapers, I even take my Internet news with a grain of salt.  The Mark Twain quote in this video says it all.

Unfortunately the news outlets that committed this fraud rarely admit it.

The world of, "What if...?"

I received a surprising call yesterday evening.  

It was one of those calls where you know something isn’t normal.  You get the prompt of, “Can you go someplace where you won’t be interrupted?”  You have the quick run through in your mind of what the call could be about.  Then the person gives the news.  You may be surprised, but not shocked and you give your congratulations or condolences on the situation.

Last night was a condolence situation, no one died, but the situation just wasn’t what the person wanted or planned for his or her life.

This of course sent my mind to land of “What if…?”  My “What if…?” turned into many about this situation, and then just about my life in general.  Don’t get me wrong here I’m happy about my life and I haven’t tried to answer my “What if…?” questions.  I just started throwing out ones that would have really changed my life.

You’ve been there I know, we all have.

-What if I hadn’t gone to OSU?  (I’m not an OSU fan, so it’s a surprise I went there in the first place)

-What if I hadn’t married Jonathan?

-What if Jonathan had gotten the job in Palmdale, CA?

-What if we didn’t have kids, or had timed them differently?

-What if my parents hadn’t separated when I was 7?

-What if I had graduated from college?

-What if…?

-What if…?

-What if…?

There are so many directions our lives could have gone.  There are so many directions our lives can still take.  The adventure and unknown continue for us all.  The good, the bad and the indifferent.

What a gift!

Wow.  I am currently listening to a fantastic sound, the sound of thunder.  It has been quite a while since it’s rained here.  It’s currently 77 degrees; it hasn’t made it below 90 before 9pm all week.  I’m going to go and sit on our front porch with a glass of wine and enjoy this moment made for relaxation.

I made the prediction that it would rain this week though.  It always rains the week surrounding my birthday.  Hey, I’m not complaining, with Oklahoma heat I’ll take rain to cool things down a bit in August anytime.

YOU POOR THING! (Revised)

Seriously, just because I had twins and already have 2 children, that doesn’t make me a “poor thing”. I wish people would quit saying it. It’s not just one person; there have been several.

Why the hell do people think my life is so, rough, awful and bad? If I stated that life was like this, then maybe I'd seem like a "poor thing", but I don't.

Ya, so Alex pooped all over my bed yesterday, I changed the sheets.

Ya, so Jackson hit me in the head with a toy sword, I disciplined him.

Ya, so Owen spit up all over the couch, and me, it wiped right up.

Ya, so Victoria asks every question 100 times, I deal with it.

Ya, so my house is ugly, we’re working on it.

Ya, so I have bills due, I have the money.

I call it life!

The funny thing is these things that aren't much fun aren't things I discuss with people. When people call it's, "Hold on Jackson's doing something he shouldn't", or "Victoria just a minute I'm on the phone", or "Can you hold on a minute I need to check the babies." I've explained their monitors when the questions come up and to some degree I use them as an excuse to not take them out and to not have people over that I don't want. My explanations to the questions are very matter of fact. This is what they are for, this is what they do and I don't like packing them around.

On the other side of life…

…Jackson wanted to cuddle mom, not dad last night (he’s so soft and cuddly for being so big and tough). He is also learning to clean up and put together puzzles he dumps very well.

…Owen grinned so big at me and was awesome at the doctor today.

…Alex was so relaxed on my chest after being burped and he too was good at the doctor today.

...Heck the twins have slept between 5-7 hours the last three nights and I've had 2 naps in 3 days. That is totally cool.

…Victoria is the sweetest helper and has made my job so much easier when I’m nursing. She is also attempting to read more (she still memorizes the books when we read them and recites it when she can).

…Jonathan is a huge help and works so hard for our family at work and at home (he’s even going to potty train Jackson for me-he offered).

…We sold the house in OKC and money isn’t so tight.

“Poor Thing” I think not. Lucky that my life is the way it is? Definitely. I'm totally blessed.

Dismissed

Have you heard? If you live in Oklahoma or if you follow college football I bet you have.

Our quarterback is apparently gone, who the other player is I’m not sure.  Here’s what I can’t figure, after the days of Barry Switzer, there is proof that no one is above the rules.  Why did these 2 morons, who knew they were doing something wrong, do it?

Bomar was a pretty good quarterback, but he certainly wasn’t the best, what is he going to do now?  Obviously he’s lost his scholarship and won’t be able to play for another school until next year and it’s too late to attempt going pro.  Will he go play for the OKC Yard Dawgs?  Without the scholarship I bet he’ll drop out of school.  Honestly you think these people could look at the endgame of their decisions.  

I hope Halzle is a decent QB since he seems like the most likely option to take Bomar’s place.  Thankfully two players aren’t the whole team; hopefully recovery will be quick.

I’m not sure where to put Big Red Sports and Imports in the mix.  I know they are the business responsible, I also know they just changed ownership.  Which side was in the wrong, the previous owners or the new one?  I still wouldn’t buy anything from them after the lousy service my sister has received on her Isuzu Rodeo, but I am interested in which set of ownership is to blame.

The Puzzle

The previous post is about the Rubik’s Magic Rings Master Edition, circa 1987.  This is the second challenge and has 12 flat panels.  The first challenge from 1986 has only 3 rings and has a black background and only 8 panels.  The picture is of one of the solutions the other kind of zigzags and looks like unlinked Olympic rings.  You fold and unfold to get to the solutions.

I received one of these for Christmas when I was around 8 years old.  My cousin broke it and I have wanted another ever since.

I'm a Winner!

It’s about stinkin’ time. I finally won on ebay and at a price I’m not disgusted at paying. I blogged about this stupid thing months ago. Now I can blog about it making me nutty, not trying to find it.


I will now have one more thing to frustrate me other then my children.

Video Blogging Question

Does anyone know how to put video on the blog?  

4th of July we did a great display using Mentos and Diet Coke, that I would love to share with you all.  It was amazing.

Web Nursery

Here are the boy’s web nursery photos.  Can someone tell me, do they make the babies suck lemons before their pictures?

Here’s Owen

And

Here’s Alex.

Driving Quiz

You are driving in a car at a constant speed.

On your left side is a valley and on your right side is a fire engine traveling at the same speed as you.

In front of you is a galloping pig, which is the same size as your car, and you cannot overtake it.

Behind you is a helicopter flying at ground level.

Both the giant pig and the helicopter are also traveling at the same speed as you.

What must you do to safely get out of this highly dangerous situation?






Answer:

Get off the children's "Merry-Go-Round". You're drunk.

*Thanks for sending this to me Michelle!

Recovery

Maybe NICU wasn’t a totally bad thing.  Would I go through it again by choice?  Not a snowballs chance in hell.

The reason I’m thinking this is that so far it hasn’t been too bad having all of the kids and being home by myself.  I think a lot of that has to do with the fact that I had 2 ½ weeks of recovery time before having to take on 2 more.  I really wouldn’t wish it on anyone, just for the emotional roller coaster, but physically I’m not totally wiped out (just close).

I will also say that I am so glad at my hospital choice, my experience over all couldn’t have been better.  The staff and the facilities at Norman Regional helped a lot in the long run.  My only complaint was the long trip to the bathroom from the NICU, that’s not half bad.  

Yes!

To answer Jeremy's question, the boys are identical. The specialist had been able to tell us this at our first ultrsound with him, I was amazed he could tell us that and I even hoped he might be wrong. Now, that they are here and I see that they are it's kindof exciting. If their monitors didn't have their names on them we would have to mark them. If they are right next to each other and facing up you can tell which is which, because Alex weighs a little more and right now a little goes a long way. When they weigh more and the monitors are gone we will be in trouble.

A quick rundown

Here I am moments after loading the car and moments before exiting for the hospital. I swear that beach ball was going to pop. Here I am 5-7 days after having the boys. Now that it's been 2 1/2 weeks my belly is almost gone. I just can't wait for my hips to return to normal and to loose the last half of the weight (if that ever really happens).
This is Owen under and oxygen hood in his isolete. It was tough not being able to really touch him. The little doors in the sided just weren't enough to satisfy me.

Alex was under an oxygen hood to, but he wasn't completely enclosed. He was easier to love on. The isolete didn't stop Victoria from getting up close, holding hands, saying prayers, singing songs and reading books to Owen. She did the same things for Alex too.
Jackson loves the boys, but he'd still rather play. He was only allowed into the NICU in short bursts, because he would yell at the babies to "Get UP!" He refers to them as "My Baby" or "My Babies".
Alex's little foot. With the flash off this picture looks like the light in ET's finger is in his foot.
After they removed the Umbilical Arterial Catheter (UAC) I was allowed to hold Alex. We weren't allowed to hold Owen until the next day when his was removed. On this day they removed Owen from a private room in the NICU to the room where most of the babies were, and to the station next to Alex.
Here is Jonathan holding them both together for the first time. At this point they were hooked up to normal IV's so this was a close as we could get them without disconnecting something. You can't see it, but they each have a NG tube in their nose to eat through. Who thought up the idea of eating through your nose? I always hate it when things come out my nose in laughter. Naturally the boys had to have theirs reinserted at least once a day, because they ripped them out.
Owen is screaming (he doesn't cry he shrieks), I guess it's time to change his pants or feed him. I'll go wake Alex too.

Thank you! Thank you! Thank you!

Thanks again to everyone for your words of encouragement and your prayers. This may be hard, but my frame of mind is better and this is getting easier, because of that. You all brighten my day. Normal blogging (and topics other then pregnancy and babies) will resume soon, as I am now better capable of streaming my news and infomation on the internet (and I'm not transfixed by cartoons on cable).

Wow, it’s amazing how nice it is to return to my own bed. The spare bed at moms house is newer, and after sleeping on it for 2 months I wondered what it would be like to home and in my own bed. It was great, and I don’t particularly think my bed is comfy. I am gearing myself up for tomorrow, when I am left alone with all 4 kids. I have successfully feed the twins at the same time (nursed, bottle feed, burped and diaper change) in about and hour. That takes a lot of the scare out. When we were feeding separately, with Jonathan bottle-feeding them it was taking an hour. Now that I can nurse at the same time the time is getting better.

Without further ado, here they are Owen Banks (on the left) and Alexander “Alex” Sloan (on the right). This was taken on Sunday, July 9th, right after they were put in the same bed together.

Antici…pation

As of about 12:30 PM today we officially have our children. We roomed in last night and came to moms this afternoon. We will be leaving for B’ville Saturday morning. Per instructions given to us at the hospital we will be limiting the kids outings and visitors, until instructed otherwise by our physician. I’m not complaining about his, because I have to feed every 3 hours by their orders as well (this takes one hour if Jonathan and I are tag team breast feeding and bottle feeding, it’s 2 hours if it’s just me). With the monitors for their “brady’s” we also are packed like we are going for a long trip, just to the next room. I’m on my own this next week and then my mom is coming to visit the week after.

Thank you all for your thoughts, kind words and prayers. I can’t wait to get home and post pictures. This adventure is a strain, but it’s pretty fun ( and tiny) too.

Breakdown

I finally broke down. We were told yesterday, that we were going to get to room in with Owen and that we were going to bring him home today. I was about to load the car for the hospital and Jonathan called and said our rooming in had been cancelled. He had an episode of bradycardia (heart rate drop); this was the same reason Alex wasn’t being released. They have both been put on medication for reflux. We are going to request heart monitors for them when we do go home, we’ll talk to the doctor about that today.

I cried when I was released from the hospital a week and a half ago, and I’ve held the tears back pretty well this far. Watching mom’s be released with their babies, while I’m walking in with milk for my babies has been tough too. Yesterday I worked on getting our laundry done and getting us packed all afternoon. I wouldn’t have done that and I would have been at the hospital with my babies if I had known I wouldn’t be with them last night. I know this is for the best, but it’s getting hard. The kids are so ready to go home too. Wednesday we will be here 2 months. The kids have at least seen home. I have only seen it in pictures.

Last nights nurse went up to the Women and Children’s center and got a full sized crib for the boys to share. They were even wrapped in the same blanket. That is making this a bit more bearable. They just belong together.

Owen and Alex

Owen Banks was born at 12:31PM, and weighed 4lbs 10oz and was 17 inches long and Alexander Sloan was bor at 12:32PM, and weighed 5lbs and was 18 inches long on Tuesday, June 27th.

The babies where put in NICU, because their lungs were immature and they were experiencing respiratory problems. It's was and is tough to see them hooked up to so much stuff, but in the last 2 days a ton of stuff has been removed. The are no longer under oxygen hoods, they have had their UAC's removed (Umbilical Arterial Catheter, used for blood draws and to check gas levels in the blood), their IV's are now in their wrists instead of their navel. Owen had a blood transfusion yesterday for anemia and the boys are now "eating" expressed milk through a tube in their nose. Alex may be showing some signs of apnea, but it's unconfirmed. We have now held both of them, I held Alex yesterday and today we held both of them today. They are doing really well. After we left Friday night was when the big improvements came. I guess it's along the lines of a watched pot never boils, I didn't sleep much in the hospital. We always had nurses or techs in, and then I kept running back and forth to the NICU.

I know it sounds bad, but it's not as bad living this as it sounds. The hardest parts for me have been Tuesday when I wasn't allowed out of my room to see them until 8PM and the first time I saw them after surgery they were just shy of untouchable, and Friday when I signed the papers for the blood transfusion and realized I was leaving that night. We are doing well dealing with all of this and we appreciate all of the prayers you have lifted up on our behalf. They are working and we are really at peace with everything going on. We haven't heard, but we are hoping to get them out Tuesday or Wednesday.

I have to go, we are off to the hosital again.

PS Owen had been in a room by himslef and they moved him to the main NICU room, right next to Alex, so they are as close to together as they've been since Tuesday (Jonathan did hold them at the same time today).