It's our 100th post!

I started this thing in June of 2008 and I've already posted 100 times! I think the blog is working a lot better than sending out emails. I know it helps me to be able to get online and brag or vent about my day.

What's new around here?

-Jackson and Aiden are getting better at sharing.
-They no longer throw fits. They throw tantrums.
-Most times, Jackson is the more reserved of the duo. Aiden's the loud and boisterous one. -Jackson likes to sit back and take it all in. Then he likes to join the fun but it has to be on his time and his time only. Do NOT rush him!
-Aiden is fascinated with older kids and loves chasing them around.
-Jackson likes to play either alone or with his brother.
-Aiden marches to his own beat. He doesn't like to hold hands and is very hard to control while Jackson lets you take the lead.
-Jackson is far from being a pushover though. He doesn't really let Aiden get away with much.
-They are both becoming more and more loving. Not just towards me but to one another, too. Aiden's been known to give other kids hugs. heehee
-I'm having a real hard time making them TELL me what it is they want rather than just pointing and grunting most times.
-Our new nap schedule (I lay them down anywhere from 12-1 and they sleep for about 3 hours. I love it.
-They are now repeating words left and right. Just today they learned how to say, "One, Two, Three!"

Here are some pictures from our day at the park. I hope you enjoy.


Check out Jackson. He's really giving someone the evil eye. He's always checking out the territory.


They are now pros at the little mini slide. They walk up the stairs and slide down all on their own. Such big boys!

Ohhhhhhhhhh Nooooooooooooo!!!!!!

What are we going to do?

What are we GOING to DO?

I walked in J&A's totally cool outer space room this morning to give them their Dink of Milk and much to my surprise, Jackson was standing at the door to greet me. And his crib was empty. And he was eating his organic apple puffs that I hand out as a reward for good behavior during story time.

What gives?

This isn't the first time either Jackson or Aiden has made an escape but it IS the first time one of them has done it unknowing to me, meaning he's crawled out of the crib rather than falling out of the crib. Meaning he's getting smarter. Meaning I'm really in for it.

June 6, 2009 SAVE THE DATE

Because you are invited to a Pirate Party!!
Jackson and Aiden will be turning 2 on June 9th and we will be celebrating their birthday on June 6, 2009 at our house from 2-6pm. More details to come soon!

Post Valentine's Day Surprise

Jason and I thought it was about that time to get the boys their own Big Boy Potty so they could get used to it. We tried it out the first time and while I'm sure it's just a coincidence, THEY BOTH DID IT! They BOTH went pee-pee in the Big Boy Potty. It's the cutest little thing. I has a handle so they can "flush" the toilet and it also has a toilet paper holder (which is more of a distraction than anything for them) and it sings a little song when they go pee. You could see the pride in their eyes after we cheered for them and told them what good big boys they were.

So we went out and bought them Big Boy Undies (Jason won't let me call them Big Boy Panties). They have some elmo briefs and we even found a few boxer briefs.

I'm not putting much effort into potty training them yet. I still think they are a little young but I'm all for it once they start showing more of an interest. Jason and I figure that on a good month, we spend $80 in diapers. They have sensitive butts and can only wear huggies during the day and the ever so expensive huggies overnights at night. Now I'm starting to think about cloth diapers. I've heard that cloth diapers really help when you are trying to potty train.

Laow Too!

I was rough housing with the boys on the floor just now and Jackson came running up to me for a BIG ole hug so I automatically said, "I love you!" and then I heard the sweetest words ever:
"Laow too" and it moved me to tears.

No man has ever made me cry just by simply saying, "Laow too."

I LOVE BEING A MOM!

He did NOT learn that from ME!

And guess what set of twins now knows how to SPIT?

They haven't yet found the humor in spitting AT one another yet, thank God. But now that I've jinxed myself, I'm sure they'll be launching spitballs by lunch.

Circus Auditions

What do you think? How long is it going to take us to find a talent scout?



I should really get them enrolled at The Little Gym.

It's a PJ PARTY!!!!!!

Aiden looks terrified but have no fears! It's only because he knows it's bedtime!

Aiden's been passing out hearts for Valentine's Day. Anyone want a heart from this adorable little guy?

3 Miracles and 2 Blessed Mama's

My friend Jaime was in San Marcos visiting today from La Grange. Some of you might remember, I took Jackson to her baby shower a few months back. Today her, her husband and baby Ella were in town doing some shopping to we met up with them at Chili's for lunch.

Jaime and I went to the same doctor who told both of us that with the extent of our endometrosis, we would be unable to conceive a child without his help and undergoing IVF. Jason and I trusted him and went with what he said. Most of you know that Jason and I went through the IVF with Dr. Silverberg and it failed. We were so devastated because we truly believed this man. We believed that we would never have children. Obviously, 4 months later without the assistance of anyone other than ourselves, Jason and I conceived Jackson and Aiden. Jaime wasn't ready to go that route so she found another doctor who was able to do a surgery on her that has seemingly removed all of her endometrosis and she was then able to conceive Ella nearly one year later. So here we are. Jaime, Ella, Jackson, myself and Aiden. Three TRUE miracles and two very proud and blessed Mama's. And we PROUDLY say that it is without the help of Dr. Kaylen Silverberg and the Texas Fertility Center.

And on another note, don't you think I look fabulous holding a little baby girl? Come on! You can't deny it. I'm a NATURAL. ;o) It sure doesn't hurt that Ella is such a beautiful little girl!

Ella slept through lunch (GOD I miss those days!) and Jackson and Aiden finally got a little interested in her when she woke up towards the end of lunch. Right now they don't have much use for her because she's still a baby (and I think they know she's not going to play with them)....give her another few months and they will be fighting for her attention.

Time to Vent

Just to let you know, this has nothing to do with the boys or our family. It's just going to be a super long vent session about something that really touches a nerve with me: The Octuplet Mom. So feel free to just skip over this if you want.

Since all of you have Internet access of SOME sort, I'm sure you've heard of the single mom of 6 who lives at home with her parents who just gave birth to octuplets (EIGHT babies).

First.
Single mom.
Second.
Living off her parents with no means of ANY financial support.
Third.
Recently filed bankruptcy and abandoned a house (a year 1/2 ago).
Fourth.
She already had SIX kids.

There is just SO MUCH about this story that deeply bothers me. Let's just start with the fact that this woman is 33 years old living in a 3 bedroom house with her folks. Before she delivered her newest litter, the living arrangements were:
Bedroom 1: Grandma and Grandpa
Bedroom 2: Mom
Bedroom 3: SIX kids.
Mom just HAD to have her own room, right? That's really sweet of her to stick SIX children, ranging in ages 2-7 (including a 3 year old autistic son) in ONE SMALL ROOM. Before we even talk about the new litter of 8, how is this not child abuse? How are the school age children able to sleep? Now she's got EIGHT more babies. EIGHT! That's a total of FOURTEEN children in a three bedroom house (I believe I've read it's a 550sq foot home but that could be wrong).

My next issue is the Grandma has been quoted as saying that she was not at ALL supportive of this pregnancy and she's so sick of her daughter's crap that she told her when she gets released from the hospital, "I'll be gone." The Grandpa has been on television saying that he was now going to go to Iraq for contract work to help support the family. That means that all fourteen kids will be under the sole care of this one mentally unstable woman. How unfair. How completely and utterly selfish. My blood boils with the rage I feel for this woman and what she's putting her children through.

I would NEVER fault a first time mom who went through infertility treatments and somehow got pregnant with higher order multiples. Does this sound hypocritical? Maybe. You judge.

When you don't have any children, I can honestly say I know how it feels to be willing to lay your life down at just a slim chance at getting pregnant with a child. I understand the deep desire and drive to want your own child. That being said, once you are fortunate enough to have a child or children, your life forever changes. It is no longer about you anymore. Everything you live for is for your children. Not potential future children.

NEVER should a woman put her desire to have more children come before her own living children. She is a SINGLE mom. Those six children of hers have no other parent. She knowingly put her life in extreme danger by getting pregnant with so many children. This is the most appalling thing to me.

It's also upsetting to me that this woman has no financial income and still put her desire to have more kids before that. She didn't care that her own SIX children are being forced into sharing a small bedroom together....no. That didn't stop her. The fact that when her youngest set of twins were just 6 months old, she abandoned a home and filed bankruptcy over a bad business investment.

The Grandmother has said that her daughter has been obsessed with having children since she was a teenager, "but luckily she couldn't." Each of these children has been conceived through IVF with the same sperm donor. The stress of her daughter's obsession drove the Grandmother to talk to a psychologist who told her to order her daughter out of the house. But she didn't. She sat back and enabled her daughter to have more and more children. And now she's sick of it. She said she warned her daughter that when she gets home from the hospital, "I'm going to be gone."

I'm really saddened for the older six children. To say that this woman "is going to have her hands full with eight babies" is the understatement of the year. I had my hands full with twins. My friend, Nikki, had her hands full with triplets. These older six children are going to be emotionally abandoned. Their mom has been away in the hospital on bedrest for MONTHS now. Soon there will be EIGHT very needy premature babies. The older children are better off with foster families for the next few years if you ask me. This woman isn't going to have time to go to the bathroom, to take a shower, to eat, to sleep...quite frankly this woman isn't going to be able to care for herself at ALL let alone care for her other six children, one of which is a special needs child.

I really hope from the bottom of my heart that CPS steps in to evaluate the mental health of this woman. Is she even fit to care for one child? I'm absolutely not an advocate for tearing apart families but something about this woman screams extreme mental illness.

This brings me to another point. Something I've been ranting and raving about for a long time.
I refuse to watch TLC anymore because I feel they glorify life with higher order multiples.
I really feel that it started with John and Kate + 8. And now it's been reported that this new mom is getting TV show offers, book offers and all kinds of other incentives. Just watch....more and more Americans are going to go across the border to get cheap fertility drugs. More and more American women are going to order fertility drugs online and abuse the drugs to try and get pregnant with a litter just like the octuplet mom.....because if she can do it, why can't we?!? If John and Kate can live in the HUGE house and able to afford all these lavish vacations, brand spanking new clothes, ect, ect, ect, on just one income, why can't we?!?!?!?! We just have to sell our souls and our children's privacy to a television network. No biggie! And what happened with John and Kate? They didn't live as nice as they do now before they had their litter of six. Now they are living like celebrities. And none of their eight children have a normal childhood. They are not allowed to run around and act like kids. They are tv stars. And the rest of America just eats it up. They tune in each week to watch Kate belittle and berate her husband and refuses to allow her kids to get a smuge of dirt on them. Cause THAT'S reality, right? Well, the bitchy mom part, maybe. Not the endless supply of wealth.

And here we go again.

I flat out refuse to watch anything where she will be getting financial compensation.
I absolutely refuse to watch the new TV show of hers that bound to happen soon.
I swear I will never read any book she publishes.

I don't need to know how to cross the boarder to get free fertility drugs so I can add a litter of babies to my SIX needy children at home just so I can either get me a TV show and my 15 seconds of fame or hey, if that fails....there's always welfare!
It's a win, win. How can she go wrong?
She's a sorry excuse for a woman and an even sorrier excuse for a mom. She's a complete waste of a fully functioning uterus.

And I'm done. I feel a lot better, too. Thanks.