Found

Do you ever go through your digital camera card and find photos you forgot you took...?

This is Lucy's signature pout. I believe this will come in handy when asking Daddy for a new car someday...

(pretend you don't see the mess that is my room...)

...or in my case, photos you didn't realize your TWO YEAR OLD took???

Apparently Henry knows how to turn my camera on and how to snap a few pics. I had no idea until I came upon a handful of these...


My budding photog showed me just how he knows what to do when he hijacked my camera this morning...

As he looked at the LCD screen: "Where's mommy?....oh, there she is!..." SNAP!


So I hijacked the camera BACK and took these...

Happy Day!

Craigslist Ad

So, this is the ad I'm dying to post on Craigslist.

Feedback is welcome.

"Free to good home. Three children. Two girls, one boy. Must be taken as a group. They are adorably cute. They will make you laugh. Insomniacs preferrable. The girls will wake up 3-4 times a night. EACH. That means that you get to enjoy their adorable cuteness 6-8 times per night. The boy will wake up at 5:20 a.m. so you get a maximum amount of his cuteness too. It is probably best if you are lactose intolerant, because the girls have a dairy sensitivity, so you won't be able to eat any. In addition to that, you will also have to cut out Dr. Pepper and flavored coffee. Little Lu thinks it makes your milk taste like mud and will refuse to eat as a result. But, she will be starving so you'll also get to enjoy her innate ability to scream at a unfathomable volume. Jill loves being held and protests if you *ever* set her down. Often, these two things happen in unison. So, if you are also deaf, that would be great too. Please contact Jeannett for more information."

Basically, I've decided that the best person for my kids is a deaf, lactose intolerant insomniac.

Any takers?

I love my kids, I love my kids, I love my kids....breathe....

(oh, and in case you were wondering, no it's not the caffeine in the Dr. Pepper or the coffee...it's the flavoring...really...the kid is a freak...)

4 month check up

Lucy: 50% for both height and weight.

Jill: 10% for weight, 25% for height.

I can't remember how much they actually weigh. And I can't find the little paper where they wrote it down...but it was like 10.5 pounds and 12.5 pounds...

Poop.

Can you tell I'm still sleep deprived????

Jill's tremors and shakes are long gone. She hasn't done it in a while. That, or I've gotten used to it and don't notice anymore...

But, she's really wobbly. She can't hold her head up for very long, and when she does, it's not steady. She doesn't reach up for toys and she's just....kinda floppy...

Doc said that because she could smile, track with her eyes, and roll from her belly to her back she was on track and in the normal range for her age. He admitted that she was on the low end of normal, but that she passed the three big tests. If she doesn't gain more strength in the coming months, we'll have something to worry about, but for now, there are no major red flags...but we have to start keeping a close eye on it...

Lucy on the other hand falls in the very high end of normal in terms of her strength. The kid is ready to take off crawling any day now (a bit of an exaggeration, but she does scoot and push off with her legs if on her belly). So, the doctor pointed out that because I have two babies...and they are both on opposite ends of the spectrum, it makes Jill's progress look worse than it is.

Anyway, that was pretty boring, but that's what I got for today.

Later sk8er.

Jilly & A Scarf Along

Jill's sleeping has gotten better. But certainly not before it got worse.

She continued to wake up every 1.5 hours through the night...for oh, let's say...about TWO WEEKS.

Brutal.

Remember those first days you brought your baby home?

Remember how you were just a walking zombie?

Remember how you were so tired, it HURT?

Yeah, like that.

Add in a second infant and a two year who's ready for the day at 6:30 a.m.

Like I said...brutal.

BUT, I think I figured it out!

Tummy.

If I put her on her tummy to sleep, she can manage to get her Paci back in...or at the very least can get her hands in her mouth.

Apparently she was like a turtle on it's back before.

And apparently she didn't like it.

She's still waking up often, but if I give her a couple of minutes, she figures herself out and passes back out.

HALLELUJAH!!!!



In other news, I'm doing Julie's Scarf Along.

A pretty simple project that I probably don't need the detailed instructions for, but maybe I can pick up a tip here or there.

After all, I learned how to sew by literally buying a machine, opening up the instruction manual and reading.

So to be honest, I think I do a lot of things the hard way.

Which is probably why I pretty much hate sewing.

Anyway, by the time I'm done, I should have 8 scarves.

If you are female and related to me, don't be surprised if one of these finds its way into your Christmas gift.

All of my fabrics are from Amy Butler's newest line: Love.



Be excited.

And I just had to include these pictures because these girls are just so fun I can't stand it.

first christmas gift of the season

These are the first few lines of Julie's blog this morning:

As I sit and write this, in front of my beautiful computer,
a cup of coffee next to me, in my safe, big new home,
mothers are burying their babies.






This is not okay.

***

I read those lines and looked around me. That was EXACTLY what I was doing. Sitting in my heated home...oversized and spacious...hot cup of coffee...my three kids in cozy footed pajamas.

I was just talking to someone about the unfathomable grief that must come with burying your child.

I had 6 minutes before I lost Jill. God graced us with sparing at least a few of those precious minutes.

I think we forget that mothers around the world bury their babies.

I think we sometimes justify it by thinking that "well, they're used to it. they see babies dying everyday."

blech.

ugly, ugly hearts of ours sometimes.

I don't believe for a SECOND that any mother, in any country, no matter how destitute, does not feel the burning anguish for a dying or sick child.

$10 will provide one person in Africa with clean water for TEN YEARS.

TEN YEARS.

I spent more than that on some fabric last night.

EVERY. SINGLE. PENNY. will buy clean water.

So *please* take the two minutes and donate.

Super easy. Super quick. Super important.

Go.

Now.

Donate.

Really.

Don't say you'll do it later.

Just go.

Leave a comment if you donated. Let's see if we can reach $100 today.

Upgrade! And my adventure this morning...

Andy's Aunt Shelley decided to hand deliver our "family christmas present" yesterday. She hinted that there was no way we could fit it in our car with three kids and all the gear we need...hmmmm....what could it be???

A new, super duper, fancy schmancy wagon.


The wagon that all other wagons secretly wish they could be.

She obviously reads our blog and had seen that our current wagon was just NOT going to cut it.

Henry was...JAZZED.

She made a comment about how she would find herself walking to Starbucks every morning if she lived in my neighborhood. (It's maybe 2 blocks away).

So I thought: Yeah! Great idea! I'll load the kids up in the new wagon and walk over for a coffee in the morning!

So, I got everyone dressed and headed out.



About 3/4 of the way there...

Tell me that WASN'T a drop of water I just felt...

Crap. It was sprinkling.

I had two 4-month old babies and a 2 year old in an uncovered wagon!!!

What to do???? Turn around, go back home? Keep going and wait it out????

I decided to continue on since it was closer.

It started sprinkling harder.

The kids were getting wet.

Henry kept yelling: "It's RAINING Mommy!!!"

I had images of the Oregon Trail...hoping that I would make it to my destination with no one in my group dying of malaria or dysentery.

Dramatic, yes. But hey, it's California. We're not used to this sort of thing.

I made it to the shopping center and an old man rolled down his window to inform me that a huge storm front was on its way.

Thanks.

I had no idea. Sure it was a bit overcast, but it was only 9:00 a.m. I figured the sun was just sleeping in. Oops.

I decided to stop at Panera instead...my super rad wagon was A LOT bigger than I realized.

I had to prop open both doors and the aisles sure seemed much narrower than I had remembered...


I didn't realize just how big this thing was. Kinda like when you bring your christmas tree home and it's suddenly about five times bigger in your living room than you thought it would be?

Totally like that.

I couldn't turn around in the aisle, so I had to back up and try to steer this thing in reverse. About 7 people had to move out of my way. Let's just say it was embarrassing.

Luckily everyone was pretty gracious. I've found that you get a lot of grace when people see twins. In fact, complete strangers will completely fall over themselves to help you out when they see that double stroller. It's kinda nice. I'm not gonna lie.

Well, everyone but one man who rolled his eyes, sighed and otherwise acted as if me, my three kids and my (giant) wagon were causing him great bodily harm.

Whatever dude. I think you suck too.

The "rain" subsided, Henry scored a balloon, the girls fell asleep, and I headed home with my hazelnut brew.



Needless to say, I don't think we'll be going to stores with our wagon again. It's kind of an outdoor thing. :)

THANKS AUNT SHELLEY!!!!

As a side note, if you want a good laugh this morning, check out my friend Joy's blog.

My 2 New Favorite Colors

Aqua.

Red.

I'm not usually a "blue" kind of girl.

But it's Lindsey's fault.

She's painted a few things in her house this aqua color.
(Behr's Mermaid Net in case you were wondering).


And I felt so drawn to it.

Which is weird because I normally am not into blue or bright colors.

I'm more of a red, orange, browns and black. Dark, rich, deep...

But this ocean-y blue called my name.

And I needed an excuse to use it somewhere.

But I wasn't sure how it would work with my existing decor.

And then...my A-HA moment.

My Le Creuset collection is RED.

And, good old Lindsey (are you seeing a theme here?), had once done a baby shower with aqua and red.


An odd combination, I know. I kinda wrinkled my nose at her when she first told me about it.

But, when I saw it in practice...I. LOVED. IT.

Loved. It.

So, I decided that my kitchen needed a re-vamp. To include aqua. :)

BEFORE:



AFTER:


Not only do I love the color combo, but the blue makes the Le Creuset stand out more! (It's just scrapbook paper lining the back).

My Family Rules were very strategically designed to go with my new aqua/red color scheme:


A couple of aqua placemat things that I put up like "art":



My chalkboard embellishments:



The remaining pieces: my dad is building me a new kitchen table...that I'll be painting the top white with aqua legs...and I NEED this print (hint, hint...Andy ::cough, christmas, cough::)...


Likey?

Lucy is my favorite

I'm not gonna lie.

It's totally true.

You're shocked, huh?

Maybe even gasped aloud at my title.

HOW COULD SHE?

Yeah, well, I'll tell you EXACTLY how:

LuLu goes to bed at 5:30 p.m.

Yes, 5:30.

Sleeps and sleeps and sleeps.

Wakes up at 7:30 a.m.

Yes, 7:30.

That's 14 hours people.

Straight.

And when she does finally wake up...she doesn't cry.

She just lays in her crib making little noises until I come get her.

And when I peer over her crib, she lights up, grins the biggest toothless grin and starts flailing in excitement.

Precious.

***

Jilly.

Oh Jilly.

Last few nights she's been waking up EVERY HOUR ON THE HOUR from about 11:00 p.m. until...well, until I finally roll my tired body out of bed at 6.

All. night. long.

Every. Hour.

She wants to use me as a giant human pacifier.

Last night I broke down and let her cry it out for a while.

A long while.

I wanted to tear my hair out listening to her cry.

Awful.

And it didn't work.

I finally had to go in and rescue her.

And you know what?

An hour later...

...she woke up screaming again.

I have no idea what her deal is.

But I'm tired.

Grumpy.

It's a good thing God makes babies cute.

It's a good thing that Jilly has the most darling smile.

She flashes it when I pick her up.

Even at 3 a.m.

So, I can't stay too mad.

But for now at least, Lucy's my favorite.

Today anyway.

I'm pretty petty.

It'll change often.

My game of favorites is easily won.

Sleep is a good start.

(Henry has yet to get the memo about daylight savings time...he still thinks 5:30 is a perfectly acceptable time to get up...so he's not in the running for favorite either...)

Surf N Turf 2009

Andy is in a little cult...er, I mean club...for Toyota LandCruiser owners.

He's really into it.

In fact, we own 2 LandCruisers.

His is red. A 1987 60 series.

Mine is green. A 1999 100 series.

As much as I like to make fun of him about it...I love my car. Really. It's fancy. And it's big and heavy and it makes me feel safe. It's a tank. Okay, so it only gets like 14 miles to the gallon, but it has butt warmers and that makes me happy.

Every year, one of the local LandCruiser guys organizes a huge event call Surf N Turf and it's held at the Oceano Dunes. Which, happens to be about 15 miles from the house. Nice considering there are guys who drive from Canada, Pennsylvania, Wyoming...

This is the sixth year we've gone. It's a tradition now.

In support of Andy's LandCruiser love, the whole family geeks out for the event.

(Jill's shirt says Cruiser Baby)

Nelle and Andrew came too.

It was pretty windy and cold so we camped out with the babes in the back of my truck and had a picnic lunch. It was...cozy.

It was a long day. It was fun. We were all very tired.

ummmm....

The last few days Henry has been calling us by our NAMES.

"Where's Andy?"

"Um, DADDY is at work."

"Yeah. Andy's working."

***

Or my new "favorite":

When I'm busy and he doesn't have my attention...

"Jeannett! Jeannett! Jeannett!"

Really? Wow. Seems a bit early. Gee whiz.

He's two.

TWO, people!

Walking By Faith...or trying to anyway

Our Pastor is doing a series of interviews at the front of church showing how different people are walking by faith. So, he asked us if we would mind answering a few questions about some of the stuff going on in our lives lately.

I was a bit hesitant.

Not because I have stage fright. Nah, I did presentations for work.

Not because I didn't want to "air" our families' challenges...I do that on my blog regularly.

But, I was afraid that talking about my kids in front of a bunch of people would turn me into a blubbering mess.

And I really don't like being a blubbering mess in front of people.

I'm not nearly as tough as the characters I play on TV.

Besides, I'm not sure how well we walk by faith anyway. In fact, I think I kinda suck at it.

But, I knew it was the right thing to do.

If you can encourage someone else, let them know that "hey...your walk may look different, but you're not the only one who doesn't have it all together!"...well, I think that's important sometimes.

Anyway, it's torture for me to watch this video clip.

Fidgeting, swaying, looking at my feet, playing with my hair.

My voice even cracks at one point.

Terrible, terrible, terrible.

NOT the kind of composure I had for work meetings.

Not one bit.

But this was different.

This was about my family.

And I was vulnerable.

So I apologize in advance for the horrific speech composure (or lack thereof).

(In fact, I was so mortified by my delivery that I seriously debated posting this...there's that vanity again...!)

Brotherly Love

I spent some of my afternoon pulling Henry and one of the girls in a little plastic wagon around the yard.

"Mama I want two sisters!"

Sadly his wagon won't accomodate the whole clan so they had to take turns.

Heck, his little wagon can hardly hold him and LUCY!

Random Project: Chalkboard

I've always liked having some kind of eraseable board in or near the kitchen. It's easier than frantically looking for a scrap of paper and pen to jot down phone numbers or notes while on the phone. In previous homes we had a dry erase board just outside the kitchen door but it got ruined during our various moves so I needed something new.

Plus, there's always been a particularly bare wall in the kitchen that just screamed for something.

I went to Home Depot and searched the remnants pile. If you go to the back corner of the lumber department, they have a giant saw where they will cut down wood for customers. They typically have a pile of leftover scraps that they will sell to you for *dirt* cheap. This piece of melamine coated mdf cost me a whopping $0.50!!!

Ran to our local craft store for chalkboard paint ($5.99 - 40% off coupon = $3.60).



Added some embellishments with scrapbook paper I already had using my new cricut.

Tied some chalk ($0.99 for a box of 12 pieces) to the boards with ribbon I already had.

Bought Henry his own mini chalkboard ($2.49 - 40% coupon = $1.49) and painted the wooden frame in a coordinating color (with paint I also already had).

Total cost of project: $6.50!!!

Halloween 2009

4 Families

14 Kids

Soup, Trick-or-Treating, & Hot Cocoa

Happy Halloween!!!

Beware: lots of pics to follow! :)

Handy Manny...you can't tell from the picture, but getting these few shots was like PULL.ING TEETH...

Miss Ballerina Jilly

Madame LuLu Ballerina

Hope everyone had a safe and fun night!

It's a good thing Henry has nice cousins

I have a confession to make:

I *hate* carving pumpkins.

It's sticky, messy, and frankly...they never come out very good.

Or at least mine never do.

I get impatient and want to give up pretty quickly.

So I had no remorse for taking full advantage of the fact that Henry is too young to know that we didn't carve pumpkins this year.

Enter Second Cousin Nelle and her boyfriend Andrew.

Andrew, who may be on Henry's top 5 favorite people in the world list.

Stay tuned for Halloween costumes tomorrow! Yippee!!!