Our OTHER children...

I've had many people ask me how the dogs do with the boys.

Well...

First you have to really understand each of the dogs. Jazmin, for instance HATES everyone. This is not an understatement. In fact, the only person we've found that she actually likes, is Pat. We always tease that Pat is her real owner. We could only be so lucky.

She's not mean to the boys. Not at all. She just doesn't care one way or another. She's a tad skittish around them, but then again that just seems to be a personality trait of hers. I have no doubt in my mind that she would trample the boys to death if we were all in a fire. It's funny to say this, but she's the most selfish dog I've met. Of ANY breed. And that's saying a lot!

Peanut, on the other hand is one of the most loving and selfless dogs I've ever seen. Now, she's not the smartest crayon in the box, that's for sure! She's a bit of a doofus, we she's Our Big Goof.

Peanut is always cautious of where the boys are and even seemed to watch over them, in her own weird way when they were younger. If I'm in the other room doing dishes and one of the boys cries, Peanut is usually on her way over there to see if she can't lick a face. This can be quite annoying at times.

It doesn't matter if I say, "Jackson, come here," or "Aiden Michael, come here NOW," Peanut always assumes it's HER you want to come. And she diligently comes over. She's always hovering right over my shoulder, as if to make sure I don't make a mistake. Thanks, Peanut. I've got it covered.

This is just to show you how docile she really is! Jackson had crawled up on her and started jumping up and down! You can see the worry and stress plastered all over her face, but she not only let Jackson have his fun, she let Mama get a picture!!

I just wanted to let you guys know that Jason's birthday is on Sunday so we are heading out of town this weekend. We are going to visit our good friends Bert and Miranda plus we are going to spend lots of time with the boys. I'm sure you've heard me rant and rave over the Museum there....well, we're going baaaaaaack! I'll be sure to take tons of pictures.

Lessons Learned

What are the important lessons you've learned in life?

Please feel free to leave a comment with them! I'd love to keep a blog about lessons we've all learned. I will also keep updating this as I add more.

1. Choices for toddlers = picky eaters. Just keep giving them the same thing (for example, green beans) until they shake their head "no," and then you move on to the next item (for example, pasta) until they are done.
If you just give them an assortment of green beans, meat, pasta AND bread...they will pick up the meat, pasta AND bread and throw it over to the dogs. I owe Aiden for this lesson learned.

2. Two toddlers + one garden tub + only one parent = A Very Bad Idea
Back-up is NEEDED! They are far too rambunctious.

3. Just because you put your toddler on a leash does NOT mean you are treating him like an animal! It's a safety issue!

4. Life isn’t fair. It really isn’t. Not “he got a bigger cookie ” unfair, but rather “people can die in the blink of an eye” unfair.

more to come soon! Please add your own in my comments!!

J & T + 2

Jason & Teela + 2.

No Spa-Day here.

No free hair plugs, either.

Not that Jason needs them. LOL!!!!!!!

What's the TRUE reality of a day with multiples, you ask?

Welcome to our wonderful hectic life. We couldn't be happier or ask for more!

7:00 am

Wake Up Time!

I bring the boys downstairs where they have a sippy cup filled with milk waiting on them (it's just worth it to have it ready for them, trust me).

I let them suck down their milk while I get all the diaper changing stuff together.

When they are done with their milk, they get a diaper change and then it's off to play with one another while I start getting their breakfast ready.

8:00 am

Yummy Breakfast

Today they had, eggs, cottage cheese, bananas, strawberries and goldfish crackers. Yummy!

After they are done eating, I'll do a quick wipe-down, dust off of all the crumbs off both them and the highchairs. Plus change them out of their PJ's and into something for the day.

Then it's off to play with Mommy! We spend out time rough-housing, reading books, practice walking, talking, singing, playing with toys, problem solving, ect. until...

(also, another diaper change)

9:00 am (sometimes 9:30 am)

Night Night Nap Time!

and I then takes my "break" to update blogs and return emails.

***this is the BEST TIME TO CALL ME*** (This is when I'm able to tap into and reach out to the "real world." After that, I'm dedicating 100% of my time and attention to either Jackson, Aiden, or Jason until sometime after 10 pm.)

I usually need to do a load of laundry or two during this time or start to prepare dinners for the week (we cook a lot of chicken ahead of time so that it takes less time to cook during the week, thus not going out to eat much and saving money.)

Sometimes I'll sneak in a shower, most days it has to wait till after the kiddos go to bed though.

11:30 am (nearly on the DOT)

Wake Up!

and another diaper change. I let them play amongst themselves while I start making lunch.

Today it was turkey, cheese and whole wheat bread, green beans & white grape juice.

12:00 pm (ish)

After they are done eating, I'll do a quick wipe-down, dust off of all the crumbs off both them and the highchairs. Then they go off to play amongst themselves while I:

Wash the dishes.

Vacuum the front and living rooms.

Straighten up toys.

Mop.

(basically misc. chores that need to be done)

This would normally also be the time we would run errands, doctor's appointments, shopping, going to the park, ect. Before it was deadly hot, this would be the time when we would go on our long, long stroller walks. Gosh, I can't WAIT for the weather to cool off again!

1:30 pm

SWIM TIME!

We bought a little blow-up baby pool (wonderful advice from my Dad) and I take them out front in their little swimmer diapers and let them wear themselves out. Jackson loves to crawl in and out of it while Aiden much prefers to wander off and do his own thing. Just keep in mind, not all who wander are lost!

Or so they say.

2:00 pm (sometimes 2:30 pm)
Nighty Night Nap Time!


This is when I do catch-up. I finish the chores that I wasn't able to get to that day to to whatever reason it was I had to stop (or wasn't able to get to).


3:30 pm
Daddy's Home!


Sometime the boys are still asleep, sometimes not.

But as soon as they are up and after Dad's home, it's 100% hands on, play time with Mom and Dad. (Not before a diaper change, of course!)

Sometimes we have to go run errands as a family, like grocery shopping, Sam's trips, ect.


5:00 pm-ish
Start making dinner for boys


5:30 pm
Nummy Din-Din Time!


They had cheesy pasta with chicken, green beans, cottage cheese, and some shredded chicken.


After they are done eating, either Jason or I will do a quick wipe-down, dust off of all the crumbs off both them and the highchairs.


6:00 pm
Bath Time (for one)


I'll either take Jackson or Aiden upstairs for their bath. They are far too rambunctious to take a bath in the garden tub together!! Two toddlers in a BIG OLE TUB is a very bad idea. And nothing I advise any of you to try alone. MAYBE if you have backup and you think you want cute pictures....but not alone!!!


While I'm doing this, Daddy is entertaining the other one downstairs. They are normally reading books, practicing walking, talking, ect.


I bring down the clean, fresh baby boy and Jason and I will start getting the boys dressed for bed and change their diapers.


6:30 pm (ish)
"Dink of Milk"


Or their sippy cup with milk.


6:30 (ish)-7:00 pm
Bed-eee Bye-Bye Time!


And then...it's Mommy and Daddy time aka Adult Time aka Sanity Time.

This is when we finally get to really talk while making dinner and then eating. Due to doing most of the actual prep work of making the dinner during the DAY, it doesn't normally take us more than maybe 30 minutes to cook our meals.


blah blah blah.


So that's about it!


Trust me, I don't have this schedule posted up on our fridge. It's actually tattooed down my entire back and Jason is getting his matching tattoo done this weekend. Just kidding!! But it IS tattooed in our heads.


We've also been asked by many people what our typical day is like, so waaaa-laaaaaa! I hope you enjoyed. And if reading it was too boring for you, I at least hope that you enjoyed the pictures! haha


Now...it's nearly midnight and I'm beyond exhausted so if some of this sounds like jibberish, I apologize. I bid you all a very goodnight!

Jon & Kate + 8

Anyone who has cable has certainly heard of the show, Jon and Kate Plus 8. Most people I know just assume that I like this show because like Kate, I'm also a mother to multiples. I'll admit, at first I found the show cute and eye opening. Not to mention that each of her children are BEYOND adorable! I started watching it when I was pregnant with my twin boys and so I thought I'd get some really good ideas from her. Shortly after watching it, I found out that this definitely wasn't the place to get advice or ideas from. Kate is absolutely insane.

I'll first start off by stating the obvious. I have twins. Only. Not twins and sextuplets, like J&K (Jon and Kate). I understand that I have 6 (SIX) less children than they do....so in no way am I comparing apples to apples.

I hate blasting Kate (or any other mother, for that matter), because we moms of multiples KNOW what it’s like to go for days on end without sleep. To go to the grocery store only to be stopped by people every single aisle asking a billion different questions thus spending an HOUR just to get three things on your list. To go without a shower for a week and not even realize it, and when we do get a shower we cut it back to less than 5 minutes because it's either that or a cold soggy dinner. I feel we MOM's (mothers of multiples) have a tighter bond and deeper understanding for one another simply for the "simple" things we go through.


I've got a few problems with not only J&K, but also with the show. Let me try and explain.



I feel that this show can be very dangerous to desperate couples out there looking to infertility treatments to grow their family. J&K went through infertility treatments (IUI) the first time around and were blessed with twin daughters. Very beautiful and smart daughters, I might add. Speaking from experience, twin pregnancies are DANGEROUS. Extremely so. It should go without saying that a sextuplet pregnancy is even more so. Not only to the mother, but to each of the babies as well. Then, knowing this (Kate is also a nurse) they attempted yet another IUI. This time, they didn't just get two babies, they got SIX. All I can say, is that it's a true MIRACLE that each of the sextuplets are alive and healthy. I know they said that they wanted "just one more" but let's not stick our heads in the sand and act like we don't know anything about pregnancies or infertility medicine. They KNEW they were taking a HUGE risk and yet they took it anyway.



I don't feel like the show ever showed how truly dangerous it is with a multiple pregnancy. As a mother to twins, I have all sorts of friends come up to me telling me how they hope they get pregnant with twins. While I understand what they are saying...I also warn them that it's not as easy as a singleton pregnancy. You have a MUCH higher rate of preterm labor which can cause so many devastating complications. I've had friends go into preterm labor and they lost each and every one of their children...one at a time. I have friends who's children have long-lasting health issues due to being born prematurely. I personally had to leave the hospital with empty arms because your children are too sick and have to stay in the NICU. I know what it's like to have such fragile babies that you are not even allowed to HOLD them for weeks! The list goes on and on and I don't ever remember them showing this side of the story.



The show simply isn't showing the REALITY. The TRUTH. It's supposed to be a reality show, so why aren't they showing all the help that Kate really gets? When I do catch a show, all I see her doing is complaining about having to wash clothes, mop the floor, ect. What isn't being told/shown is that she doesn't do their laundry. She has separate people who come in and wash, fold and put away her clothes for the family. I also found it strange on one episode where she made a BIG deal about how they "only ate organic" yet she was dishing out paper plates to make her life easier. That seemed like a contraction to me. Come to find out...it's because the show has paid for her to have a PERSONAL ORGANIC CHEF! So, not only does she not have to cook, clean or do laundry, she gets to go to spas and on vacations. LOL!



To add to it....they make it seem like Jon is the only one supporting the family. Like it's a one income family where Kate is afforded to stay at home with the kids. I can promise you, if it weren't for the show, they would be living in a cardboard box under a highway living off his salary alone.



I think the show also gives a false impression as to what life with multiples is like. And I think that is irresponsible. I don't think it's any secret that J&K get money from their show but sadly, I don't think all the viewers take this into consideration and they obviously NEVER mention it on the show. I think most people see a couple with eight children getting to go on all these lavish vacations, seeing Kate go to a spa (HA!), Jon having the added money to get hair plugs, ect. and they think, "Hey! This isn't half bad! If they can do it, so can we." WRONG. J&K get so many handouts that it isn't funny. It's the SHOW that pays for them to go on the vacations. It's the SHOW that pays for Kate to get to go to a freaking SPA, it's the SHOW that pays for them to hire a cleaning lady.



So what's wrong with hand-outs? What's wrong with getting money from a TV show?



Exploitation. To take it a step farther, exploitation of your own CHILDREN. That's what makes me most sick.



Her children aren't allowed the basic privacy's that everyone should be given. They are filmed showering, getting dressed, being potty trained. Each and every slight mistake is aired on national TV. The kids can't catch a break. I can't imagine going around, always feeling the need to be perfect for the cameras. Knowing that if you do something that makes your Mom mad, (and let's be honest, it doesn't take much to set off Kate) it's going to be aired on TV for the world to see.



Which brings me to my next point.



Let the poor kids be just that. KIDS! Her children are always dressed up like they are going on a photo shoot. Well, DUH! Everyday IS a photo shoot for them! No wonder Kate is so neurotic about not letting them use WASHABLE MARKERS! Are you kidding, Kate? The youngest set of kids are almost 4 years old! And I know we all hate doing laundry...but the markers ARE washable. And since she has other people to do her laundry, WHO CARES? Kids should be kids! They should get to go out and play in the dirt and mud. They should be allowed to use washable markers and make a mess. They are KIDS. Either she doesn't realize or she doesn't CARE, but one day they are going to be grown-up. They aren't going to want to spend time with her drawing or playing in the dirt. Maybe that's what she wants. Maybe she never wanted children...maybe she just wanted little Nazi Cleaners like herself.



Some of the BEST advice I ever got while I was pregnant came from my wonderful mother in law. She told me, "Teela, don't stress yourself out worrying about keeping the house clean. There will be a time for that later in your life once the boys are grown. Don't care about what people think about your house, just spend as much QUALITY time with your sons as you can." What wonderful advice. If the people in my life are turned-off by what a dirty house we have, don't come over. I can proudly say that while my house isn't the cleanest on the block, my children are most certainly the happiest on the block. And I wouldn't change that for the world!

Everyone's Opinion

Everyone's Opinion
It takes a village -- a nosy, busybody, opinionated village.
By Jennifer Grissom

Deciding to have a child is certainly one of the biggest decisions that a person will ever make in their lifetime. Few, if any, decisions have the same impact on your life that bringing a child into the world does. But deciding to have a child is only the beginning of the decisions and uncertainties that will come along in the next few years. I was thirty when I got pregnant the first time. I was so excited and couldn't wait to tell everyone. I knew everyone would be happy for me and they were. What I didn't expect was that whereas before I went on my way making decisions all the time for myself with no comments from anyone, suddenly every decision I made went under a microscope. And everyone knew what was going to be best for my baby and myself. How confusing everything became when people started giving advice! No one had the same idea of what I should be doing. Some said caffeine was okay. Some said it was harmful. Some said I should be planning on having an epidural as soon as possible. Others said it would harm the baby. My favorite comments would come from my mother-in-law, who would say something against what I was doing and then would say "Oh...well...I guess you know best." If she really thought so, then why the comments? What is a new mommy to do? I did what most moms in this day and age do, I went online and looked up information for myself. Even when I made my own decisions that I thought would be best, sometimes other circumstances would arise and I would find myself having to go in a totally different direction than what I was hoping for.

I personally wanted a home birth. I liked the idea of having my baby in a relaxed environment. Even my husband thought I was crazy to want to have a baby at home. "Babies should be born in the hospital where they belong." I soon found that my natural desire to have as little medical interference as possible wasn't going to be fulfilled when complications set in. Suddenly I found myself on bed rest with preeclampsia and going to the hospital twice a week to be given non-stress tests to make sure that the baby was doing okay. All at once my home birth idea had to be put to rest because I would need monitoring during labor to check my blood pressure. Then when my water broke, I felt my head-down baby flip around and end up in the transverse position. Now instead of a home birth, I found myself in the operating room being prepped for a cesarean. Everyone told me "See? What would have happened if you hadn't listened to us?" As though my baby, sensing my desire for a home birth, decided to turn sideways just to spite me!

I was determined to breastfeed immediately after birth. I had read about how babies will seek out the breast and actually attempt to crawl up the mother to find the colostrum. My baby went to the NICU due to breathing difficulties and must have missed the crawling instinct because when he came out of the NICU, he didn't want to latch on at all. My mother told me that some babies don't nurse and that formula would be okay, too. Way to be supportive mom! My milk came in with a flood at two days postpartum and with a lot of work from a lactation consultant, I finally started nursing him fully a week after his birth. I was so proud to be finally breastfeeding and wasn't prepared for people's reactions. Some people told me that my baby wouldn't get enough from my milk. Others told me that they only needed my milk for the first six weeks. Immediately the uncertainties came back and I started to doubt myself. And when he got reflux and seemed to be spitting up all the milk he drank, I really wondered if I was doing the right thing.

I was going to breastfeed for at least a year, but found my milk supply almost disappear overnight. I went from oversupply to no supply. Someone suggested I take a pregnancy test and sure enough, that's why I had no milk. Apparently some women lose their milk when they get pregnant. After a week of pumping like a woman possessed, I finally accepted that my milk was gone and went to formula. Of course, some people said that eight months was more than enough to nurse my son anyway, and others said I should have tried harder to keep nursing, after all, they nursed when they were pregnant, so if I wanted to bad enough...... When my doctor and I discussed how we would deliver my second child, we both decided that for me, a vbac delivery would be too dangerous. When I told people I was going to have a repeat cesarean, most of them thought I shouldn't do a cesarean. They all knew someone who had had a cesarean and went on to have successful vaginal births, and the recovery was so easy! I always felt strange when they would say that. Do I tell them about all my personal complications? I doubted that anyone really wanted my medical history. Or do I just ignore them? I found myself justifying my decision to perfect strangers, who really had no business making a judgement anyway. When I went into labor on my own at 37 weeks, I was actually tempted to go through the vbac, even though I knew it would be dangerous, just so that these people wouldn't make such judgements about me. Luckily my doctor and husband brought me to a more rational frame of mind.

I am coming to the conclusion that I need to stop listening so hard to other people. If I breastfeed my daughter until she is two or older, it is only me that is doing it so no one else should be able to decide whether or not I wean. If I have a cesarean, no one else will go through the recovery but me. I have decided that I am the one that knows my child the best and I am doing a good job, even if some of the things I do may not be the same things that other people might choose to do. At the same time, I pray that I am becoming less judgemental myself of the choices that other parents make and more sympathetic to the struggles that they go through as they also make decisions about how they will raise their own families. I have come to realize that listening to everyone else doesn't make us good parents. We are not good parents when we decide to have a medication free birth, breastfeed, or make our own organic baby food. We are good parents when our decisions are made with love and concern and the desire to do our best for our children and our family. Even if our moms or the stranger in the grocery store line may not agree.

The Mastermind And His Puppet

Which would you think? Who is the Mastermind? I'll give you two guesses. Just think about it.

Here's a pretty funny video of Jackson and Aiden eating pancakes for breakfast. Check out all of those funny faces Jackson makes. haha. I don't know what was up with that. It had been a while since they had pancakes and they sure did miss them. Together they ate 7 mini pancakes with strawberries and cottage cheese. Plus pineapple juice! Yum-O!

I was washing dishes this morning when I heard a strange not-so-normal noise for a house with toddlers. This got my attention so I went to see what they were doing. At first, all I saw was Jackson sitting on the floor with a spiral notebook and a hammer. Then, at closer inspection, Aiden was hiding in the corner next to the table, pulling things down and handing them off to Jackson.

Then....while I was cleaning in the other room, I hear a banging sound coming from the kitchen. Now, I knew I moved the hammer from earlier, but that's exactly what it sounded like. I came around the corner and this is what I found:

That's right, family and friends. Aiden is the mastermind and Jackson seems to be following right behind him, soaking it all up!

Jackson has started becoming more and more brave when it comes to walking. He's realizing that while he might be faster crawling, Aiden is now able to grab things and then while standing, hold them out of Jackson's reach and RUN AWAY. Jackson isn't so happy about that! Needless to say, we think he will be walking in no time!

I foresee many more bumps and bruises on their head and falls in their future.

Cabin Camping and Foundation and Framing Photo's

Waa-Laa!!

Here is what one phone call and a few short days will get you!

Not too shabby, huh?

We can't wait to get back out there and see what's been done since Sunday. Although the weather hasn't been the best for building houses.






And here we are at Bastrop State Park. It was such a wonderful stormy night, with lots of thunder and lightning. We stayed in the cutest one bedroom cabin. Here's Jackson and me up at 5 am for Jackson's snack. Jason wasn't feeling well so I didn't want Jackson to keep him awake or worse yet, wake his brother.

Needless to say, Aiden can sense when Jackson is awake and apart from him so Aiden got up extra early. It actually was nice spending extra quality time with Jackson and Aiden while Jason slept. It was special because we didn't have high chairs so they got to run around and have fun.

Here's my man "Slap Jack" showing off his awesome eating abilities. He was growling and laughing at the same time. He just melts my heart!! Look at that face! Aiden was a little cranky overall but I think it's because he wasn't feeling too well. We can't wait to go back there with the boys. It was just PERFECT!

I wish we would have got more pictures but like I said, it rained most of the time we were there. Great times with great company.

And here's AidAid and Mama after unpacking.

It was a long weekend and we are still getting over not feeling well but we had such a wonderful time. Next weekend Nanna and Grandpa Mark will be in town. Jackson and Aiden can't wait!

To All Mothers

I found this on someone else's blog and since I don't know how to share that way, I'm copying and pasting it.

This is for the mothers who have sat up all night with sick toddlers in their arms,wiping up barf laced with Oscar Meyer wieners and cherry Kool-Aid saying, 'It's okay honey, Mommy's here.'
Who have sat in rocking chairs for hours on end soothing crying babies who can't be comforted.
This is for all the mothers who show up artwork with spit-up in their hair and milk stains on their blouses and diapers in their purse.
For all the mothers who run carpools and make cookies and sew Halloween costumes.
And all the mothers who DON'T.
This is for the mothers who gave birth to babies they'll never see.
And the mothers who took those babies and gave them homes.
This is for the mothers whose priceless art collections are hanging on their refrigerator doors.
And for all the mothers who froze their buns on metal bleachers at football or soccer games instead of watching from the warmth of their cars.
And that when their kids asked, 'Did you see me, Mom?' they could say, 'Of course, I wouldn't have missed it for the world,' and mean it.
This is for all the mothers who yell at their kids in the grocery store and swat them in despair when they stomp their feet and scream for ice cream before dinner.
And for all the mothers who count to ten instead, but realize how child abuse happens.
This is for all the mothers who sat down with their children and explained all about making babies.
And for all the (grand)mothers who wanted to, but just couldn't find the words.
This is for all the mothers who go hungry, so their children can eat.
For all the mothers who read 'Goodnight, Moon' twice a night for a year. And then read it again, 'Just one more time.'
This is for all the mothers who taught their children to tie their shoelaces before they started school.
And for all the mothers who opted for Velcro instead.
This is for all the mothers who teach their sons to cook and their daughters to sink a jump shot.
This is for every mother whose head turns automatically when a little voice calls 'Mom?'in a crowd, even though they know their own offspring are at home -- or even away at college -- or have their own families.
This is for all the mothers who sent their kids to school with stomach aches, assuring them they'd be just FINE once they got there, only to get calls from the school nurse an hour later asking them to please pick them up. Right away.
This is for mothers whose children have gone astray, who can't find the words to reach them.
For all the mothers who bite their lips until they bleed when their 14 year olds dye their hair green.
For all the mothers of the victims of school shootings, and the mothers of those who did the shooting.
For the mothers of the survivors, and the mothers who sat in front of their TVs in horror, hugging their child who just came home from school, safely.
This is for all the mothers who taught their children to be peaceful, and now pray they come home safely from a war.

What makes a good mother anyway? Is it patience? Compassion? Broad hips? The ability to nurse a baby, cook dinner, and sew a button on a shirt, all at the same time? Or is it in her heart? Is it the ache she feels when she watches her son or daughter disappear down the street, walking to school alone for the very first time? The jolt that takes her from sleep to dread, from bed to crib at 2 A.M.to put her hand on the back of a sleeping baby? The panic, years later, that comes again at 2 A.M.when she just wants to hear their key in the door and know they are safe again in her home? Or the need to flee from wherever she is and hug her child when she hears news of a fire, a car accident, a child dying? The emotions of motherhood are universal and so our thoughts are for young mothers stumbling through diaper changes and sleep deprivation. And for mature mothers learning to let go. For working mothers and stay-at-home mothers. Single mothers and married mothers. Mothers with money, mothers without. This is for you all. For all of us...Hang in there. In the end we can only do the best we can. Tell them every day that we love them. And pray and never stop being a mother...Please pass along to all the mothers in your life. Home is what catches you when you fall - and we all fall.

Good And Not So Good News

I'll start with the not so good news, because overall it isn't that big of a deal but it is so very utterly frustrating and annoying. Let us know if any of you have any ideas??

My computer has crapped out AGAIN! again.again.again.

For those of you who don't know, this is a brand new (less than a year old) Dell! We bought it for a few reasons.

1) It's large storage capacity

2) At the time, it was a very high end computer and

3) Jason and I have both owned Dells for years and have never really had a problem.

Well, Dell has really, really gone down in customer service and we are honestly thinking about forever changing to apple.

This is the second time in less than 2 months where our harddrive has crashed!! The main thing I use that computer for is storing pictures. And I'm sick to my stomach as a write this but I lost 2 months of photo's!!!!!! I should have learned the first time!!! I'm just so upset over losing so many photo's! I stupidly assumed that my computer would be as good as gold because it just had it's harddrive replaced! I've learned my lesson.

And we paid a LOT extra for their best warranty. All for what? To have to restart everything every few months?? The second technician who came out blamed Dell, saying he didn't work for them, that if he replaced the entire computer he'd lose his job...blah blah blah. Well, we have in writing where a Dell employee TOLD US that we wouldn't lose our "data" (pictures) from before this technician was sent out.

Now all of a sudden, the harddrive is gone meaning we lost everything again and while we don't have to pay for any of this....they are not saying that this will fix the problem. WHAT??

Am I crazy, or is there something wrong with this picture? I feel like we are on candid camera and the next technician who comes over is going to bust out the hidden cameras!

Does anyone out there have any advice?

On to the good news!

There has been a boat-load of progress at The House! I'd show you with pictures...but this computer is another Dell with it's own set of flaws. One of the biggest is that it won't allow us to upload photo's from it! So go figure. LOL Now we have not only foundation...but the FRAMING too! It's amazing what one little phone call will do.

I'll post more pictures of the house and our first family camping trip just as soon as I'm able.

Life is GREAT! We love and miss you all!

Good News on the Home Front

We got a call today from the builder to let us know that yesterday afternoon the foundation was poured! YAY!!!! (no, I didn't rush down there to take a picture or write our names in the concrete)

Jason told them how Rob, our sales guy, told us that it would be ready in 2-3 months, which was a month & 1/2 ago and we were informed that Rob has quit. What a shocker. I guess we shouldn't expect a call back from him!

The builder also told us that the framing for the house would be delivered sometime this weekend so they will get started framing the house by the end of the weekend or early next week. Jason voiced our concerns on the rising interest rate, expressing that the sooner the house is done, the better chance they will have for US to move in. I'm not sure the builder cares at all, being that he doesn't get commission. He does his job and he gets paid for his job, if we move in or not. But he did tell Jason that by his estimation, the house should be done and ready to move in by the end of October.

We shall see......

The House

Today I decided that the boys and I needed to get out of the house for a little bit so we took a drive to San Marcos to see where our house is being built. The last time we went by was right before we left for Houston, almost 2 weeks ago and this was what was done.








And today....this is what we saw...




Notice the difference? Yeah....us either. Other than them adding the rebar, nothing has changed! We were told July 1st that with the wonderful Texas weather, we should expect our house to be built and ready to move in, in 2-3 months! Yeah RIGHT! Meanwhile, the housing market just keeps getting worse and worse and the interest rates keep rising.

Well, I've got news for you, K.B. Homes...you might want to start looking for a new family to buy that house because we are not going to sign the mortgage if the interest rate isn't something we are happy with.

Now the plan is to not worry about it. We are going to wait until the house is closer to being finished and see what the interest rate is. If it's not something we are happy with, then we are going to back out and find another older home. We refuse to get into something that we aren't comfortable with. We want something to just fall into our laps, like it was meant to be, ya know? Naive much?

Heather, you tried to warn me about how stressful buying a house was and I just nodded my head and said, "I can imagine." I lied. I couldn't imagine it back then. Like having a child, I guess it's just one of those things you can't comprehend until you go through it yourself.

Oh, and it's now called "The House" and not "Our House" because I refuse to fall in love with it only to have to walk away from it in the end. Hopefully it will all work out but if not, we know there are other houses out there for us.

Video!!

Sorry it's sideways. You can either turn your head sideways or flip the monitor sideways.



And watch Jackson come up from behind to out-crawl Aiden walking.

ありがとうございます。Thank you

Thank you.
Thank you.
Thank you.

Thank you, infertility, for teaching me patience.
Thank you, infertility, for showing me that the world does not stop when I'm in pain.
Thank you, infertility, for teaching me that NOTHING in this world is ever guaranteed.
Thank you, infertility, for strengthening my marriage rather than tearing it to shreds like so many other marriages that go though the same thing.
Thank you, infertility, for forcing me to fight with all I have to achieve my dreams for now life is far sweeter.
Thank you, infertility, for showing me who my TRUE friends and family are.
Thank you, infertility, for teaching me a compassion that can only come from experience.
Thank you, infertility, for showing me that even though life doesn't go exactly as planned, it can also turn out better than I'd ever imagined.

Children's Museum

If you are ever in Houston and you have kids of ANY age, I'd HIGHLY advise you to take them and check out the Children's Museum. This place is AMAZING. Kids under 2 are free and it's $5 per adult. They have a Tot Spot where there is a responsible staff member who keeps the bigger kids out and the younger kiddos in. It's 110% safe and both of the boys LOVED it. The other moms there were so very nice! I absolutely loved Houston and can't wait to go back and visit my friend, Miranda. She was so great, meeting us for dinner and getting us directions to various places. (Thank you SO MUCH, Miranda!)

I really had to keep an eye on the boys because, well....I was just too scared to trust the other mom's to help watch them. You hear about kidnappings all the time these days and as a mom to two very mobile and trusting beautiful baby boys, I worry! I took them by myself for a few hours on Thursday and all THREE of us were exhausted by the time we got back to the hotel.


On Friday, Jason got let out of training early so we went BACK to the Children's Museum, we had had that much fun. This time we spent a few more hours there. I've got to tell you, Jackson and Aiden were by FAR more social than most of the other children of all varying ages. I caught Aiden and Jackson crawling up to other moms to give them hugs!! (ouch!) haha

I also did my Good Deed. I had parked our stroller outside of the Tot Spot and when I went back to check on it, someone mistakenly put their bag in with our stuff. It had been a while before I had noticed it but I looked in the bag and it was someone's camera. I know how sick to my stomach I get when I lose a few pictures from the computer, ya know? So I can only imagine how someone else might feel if they lost their entire CAMERA! I turned it in and a few minutes later, a frantic older woman comes up to me, nearly in tears asking if I was the one who turned in her bag. I told her yes and she asked if she could give me a hug. Then she told me that she only gets to see her granddaughter about twice a year and that day was her last day to spend with her and her camera had an entire weeks worth of pictures on it. I gave her a huge hug, told her it was my pleasure and to enjoy the rest of the day with her granddaughter.
Jason and I were just thoroughly impressed with how friendly the people in Houston were. A friend of mine joked about how we were in the richer neighborhoods but the more I think back on it, even when we weren't in the best neighborhoods, people were just always so friendly. The humidity was intense though. There is no such thing as a good hair day there for me. No, Sir.

And this picture makes me laugh each time I see it. It's Lindsey Lohan and Paris Hilton after a night out on the town. HAHA! Poor Aiden in the back looks like he's had 3 drinks too many!! Believe it or not, this is Jackson trying to get OUT of the car. No WAY is my little guy going to let the paparazzi get a look at his diaper! He has too much class for that!

And these outfits were a HIT among the other parents! Haha Thanks, Nana!