simply ME

Merry Christmas & Happy New Year

2009-01-06T13:56:00.001-08:00

I know it has been a long time since I last posted, but the holidays were a busy time for us (as I'm sure it was for everyone else) and also a very emotional time. I had a very rough December, the first since my mom's passing, with my birthday and Christmas. We made it through, and got to share some wonderful times with my sister and her family for two weeks from Christmas to New Years.

I was also working on a surprise present for my siblings, a scrapbook of photos of my mom & dad. So, I couldn't really mention it on here until after the fact. I also sent DVD slide show copies to all of my aunts and uncles.

Halloween

2008-11-08T22:16:00.001-08:00

Maybe My Coolest Bag Yet

2008-09-11T14:06:00.001-07:00

In my opinion, this may be my coolest bag yet. Maybe because I love the fabric and colors, and also, I did lined pockets this time, much nicer than the basic patch pockets on the other bags.

This material was a little challenging to work with because it was REALLY stretchy (side to side). I didn't inspect it that closely when I bought it, so I was surprised when I went to iron it and it was so stretchy. But I think it turned out well, anyway.

I made two of these bags, as I have all of my reversible bags, and I think this one is so cool I am going to keep one for myself. Added bonus, it matches the new jacket I recently purchased. :)

Polkadot Bags

2008-09-05T23:02:00.000-07:00

These bags are 15" long x 12.5" wide, with a 4" flat bottom. The straps are 26" long, and are reinforced for strength. The bag is fully interfaced, and has an interior and exterior pocket. The pocket on the blue/red bag is about 5.5" x 7", the pocket on the black/green bag measures about 6" x 6". Very cute, sturdy, versatile bags.

A Break From Bags

2008-08-14T23:29:00.000-07:00

I took a break from sewing bags for the sale and made some bucket hats for my boys. It was a lot of fun to do, but also a lot of work! I don't think I could ever make apparel for sale, but only for love. It took me approximately 10-12 hours to make two of these hats, and that doesn't include shopping for supplies. I decided on the theme by picking out the buttons first, then finding fabric to match.

Ray thinks his new hat is pretty cool, and will wear it outdoors - once we get inside, he tears it off his head.
Uh, Dario doesn't much like wearing hats I guess.

I also made the sign for our booth, and sales tags for my items. I plan to write the price and washing instructions on the back of the tags. Since there are going to be 4 of us selling in the one booth, we all decided we needed to put our name or "business name" on our stuff.

New Beach Bag

2008-08-07T10:44:00.000-07:00

Made of sturdy outdoor fabric, great for taking to the beach or just out and about. Measures 11" deep, has a flat square bottom measuring 12.5"x 6". Handles are 25" long. Inside view of bag - unlined, but quality craftsmanship. All seams are finished so the fabric will not fray! Corners of bag and handles are triple sewn for extra durability.
Eye catching gold-tone rings at the handles.

Lacey Community Market

2008-07-29T22:56:00.000-07:00

I have been sewing up a storm because I am going to be selling my handmade items at the Lacey Community Market on Saturday September 13th. I am collaborating with a bunch of other moms in a moms group I belong to, we are going to be selling hand made crafts together. Here are some more items I have made in preparation of the market. Please let me know what you think!! :)

12.5" x 13" reversible tote bags with 22" straps. (11" drop) Fully interfaced, including straps, for strength and durability. Machine washable.

12.5" x 13" reversible tote bags with 22" straps (11" drop) Fully interfaced for strength and durability, including straps. Machine washable.

Striped beach bag. Bag has 6" x 12.75" flat square bottom, and is 9.5" deep. Straps are 20" long (10" drop). Straps are interfaced for added durability, made of "outdoor" fabric, spot clean with a damp cloth or hand wash.

In bag: towel, paperback book, wallet, sunglasses, swimsuit, bottle of water, and a granola bar - with lots of space left!

Reversible Tote Bag

2008-07-16T11:43:00.000-07:00

I've been sewing a lot lately, here are a few reversible tote bags I made. They measure 12 1/2" x 13" with 22" straps. They are made with home decor fabric so they are pretty heavy weight, sturdy bags.

Digital Scrapbooking Again

2008-07-05T09:20:00.000-07:00

I reinstalled my digital scrapbooking software onto our new computer and decided to start making pages with pictures of my mom & dad. I started with this really nice one of the both of them at my cousin's wedding in 2006. I also switched from making 12"x12" pages to making letter sized pages so that I could more easily print them out and put them in a "paper" album later. I thought it would be a nice gift for my siblings, too. Here's the 2nd page I just completed tonight (July 5th) from Christmas 2005.

Lush Makeup Bag

2008-06-27T16:50:00.000-07:00

This is my first project out of "Sewing 101" a beginner's sewing book I purchased at Half-Price Books. The flower is hand sewen on, and the lining is also hand stitched into the bag. Everything else was done with my sewing machine. This is the first project I have done with a zipper! If you sew, you know that zippers can be challenging and intimidating, especially for a beginner.

~~~~ UPDATE ~~~~~

Northwest Trek & Sewing

2008-06-26T10:57:00.000-07:00

Timo and I celebrated our 5 year anniversary this last weekend. As part of our 4-day weekend celebration, we took the boys to Northwest Trek Wildlife Park for the afternoon. Here we are riding the tram checking out all the free roaming wildlife (mostly hoof animals). Dario really isn't that fat, he is just leaning back in my lap so he looks like he has a huge double chin.

This guy was NOT in the free roaming area, he was in one of the "caged" areas (like at the zoo). It is really nice because the animals here have a lot of space, even when they are in a closed off area.I took a beginning sewing class on Tuesday night, designed to help familiarize us with our sewing machines and learn how to use them, and explore different stitches available on our machines. I finished this denim pillow last night. Timo thinks it looks like the Matrix. I used a varigated embroidery thread (on a spool) to create this look. My sewing machine has alot more decorative stitches than I thought it did! This was a great project for me to do to see all what my sewing machine can do.
I am really enjoying getting into sewing, it is a fun release and I feel closer to my mom when I sew. She never taught me to sew, but she did sew when I was very little, and my sewing machine was a gift from her for my bridal shower. It's funny, I was talking to my sister-in-law (my brother's wife) earlier this week about sewing, and she said I used to make barbie clothes on my mom's sewing machine when I was young, and that is why my mom bought me my own sewing machine when I got married. I really miss my mom a lot. Sewing is also a great way for me to become closer to my mother-in-law, who is my on-call sewing expert. Keep your eyes peeled for more sewing projects to come.

I don't remember if I posted about the tag blanket I made for Dario, but here's a picture of it. I did this about a month ago.

He loves to chew on a tag that is on his blanket, so I thought he might enjoy a tag blanket. He basically ignores it! But, it was fun to make and maybe he will fall in love with it soon. I'm thinking maybe the tags are too large, but he does like to stick his finger through the tags and swing it around sometimes.

On a comletely unrelated note, I have my first mental health appointment today. I finally decided to see a counselor about the depression I have been experiencing and help dealing with the grief of losing a parent and having another parent with a terminal illness. I'll try to post later with how that goes. Please pray for me.

Kids & Birds

2008-06-18T17:41:00.000-07:00

I decided to blow up the boys' little pool, because I bought some ball-pit balls at the store, and I wanted to make them a little ball pit in their pool. Well, I haven't gotten around to putting the balls in the pool yet, because the boys enjoy playing in the dry pool so much just by itself! I can't believe this treasure of fun has been sitting in the closet all year. I just wonder how long it will last before they (or the cat) pop it. Until then, let the fun continue! The boys are climbing a lot now - on the futon, all the chairs, into the rocking chair, etc. They enjoy sitting in mama's rocking chair with books like big boys.
So, over the last month or so a smallish bird had been spending a lot of time on our patio. A few times I noticed it was sitting in my fuschia plant I had bought myself for mother's day. One day, I went out to water the plant, and the bird flew out - and I looked in - to find a nest and three little speckled bluish eggs! I called my friend MC who is a bird expert (in my opinion) and she said the bird was a junco. It takes 12-13 days for the eggs to hatch, and then about 9-12 days for the birds to "fledge" meaning leave the nest. After that, she said to remove the nest and hopefully they will go find a new home. I have had to be very careful about watering my plant, lightly around the edges, as to not disturb the eggs or birdies. Two or three days ago, I heard birds twittering and going crazy on the back porch - the baby birds had hatched! I don't have any pictures yet of the babies, but they are really cute and alien looking. I have never seen just born baby birds before. So cute! So I went out and bought a few bird feeders and different wild bird seed, to keep the adults happy and fed, and also because my cat is LOVING watching all the bird activity out our sliding glass door.
I believe this is the male - I got a picture of him today sitting on our patio furniture. It's so cute, he will come back with a bunch of wiggly little grubs in his beak to feed his little babies. What a dedicated daddy! It is crazy how much I have gotten attached to these silly little birds. I just hope my plant doesn't die in the meantime!

Here's a little video of the boys for your viewing pleasure.

Dario Sings

2008-06-01T20:34:00.000-07:00

I was lucky enough to catch Dario on video playing the piano and singing. He started doing this all on his own, unprompted. Kids can be really cool and amazing.

Boys on the Futon

2008-06-01T20:16:00.000-07:00

Both of my boys are now climbing up onto the futon by themselves. Dario has been able to do this for about a week or two, but now Ray is climbing up too. He has been seeing brother climbing up all week, and has been so jealous wanting to climb up himself. I finally decided to start helping him (a little) getting up onto the couch, and now he's figured out how to do it by himself. My cute, cute, adventurous boys.

A Really Good Day

2008-04-27T15:06:00.000-07:00

Yesterday was a really good family day. We woke up, had breakfast together, and got things ready for swimming. We woke up from morning nap and headed for swimming, which is at a later time this session, which helps while the boys are still taking 2 naps a day. We went home, had lunch, played for awhile, then the boys (including Timo) went down for their afternoon nap. Meanwhile, I got things ready for us to go out that evening for the Procession of the Species parade, which is part of Spring Arts Walk in Olympia. Neither Timoteo or I had ever seen the parade from start to finish. I picked up dinner at the deli, and went home to wake up the boys. We all got up and out the door, found free parking, and walked down to the parade route. We were a little bit late, but as we were about halfway along the parade route, we didn't miss a thing! It was really great! By the end of it (we were standing up the whole time with the boys in the backpack carriers on our backs) we were very physically sore and tired, but we went back to the van, switched the boys over into their stroller, got our dinner & picnic chairs, and headed over to the state capitol campus to eat dinner while looking at the fountain. We had a nice dinner together, then let the boys out of the stroller to run around and play on the grass. They had a blast! We got home at little after 7pm, got the boys ready for bed, read stories, and down they went. They slept the whole night and didn't complain once. It was a wonderful, wonderful day. And, I don't think Timo and I argued the whole day. Now that's something to be happy about.

Pt. Defiance Zoo & Aquarium

2008-04-12T21:09:00.001-07:00

Today we took the boys to the zoo for the first time. It was a learning experience for us, that is certain.

Lesson #1: Don't go to the zoo on the first sunny Saturday of the season.

Lesson #2: See lesson #1.

I think everyone was at the zoo today. We at least got some experience with taking the boys on outings during this toddler stage.

My Sunday Hat & Language Explosion

2008-04-07T19:43:00.000-07:00

So, my sister-in-law (Timo's sister) is pregnant, and is due in May. Her baby shower was this last Sunday, and the theme was Garden Tea Party. Everyone was encouraged to wear their "best" Sunday hat - and there would be prizes for best, and most outrageous, hat. Well, I figured since it was a garden party, I would wear a garden on my head. Making this hat was a lot more fun than I thought it would be, and the greatest part about it is that the pinwheels move when I walk. I actually tore it apart today and made a flower arrangement in a basket out of it for my table. But, it was really fun to make, wear, and just to look at it on my table.

Dario & Raymond are now 17 months old. We haven't done professional pictures since their birthday, but we plan to do more pictures in a month when they turn 18 months. They have changed so much in the last 5 months, I was looking at their 12 month pictures last night. They are having so much fun, and they are really developing. Raymond is finally saying some words and learning new signs. He is having a language explosion - if you call 2 new words and 2 new signs in 2 days an "explosion". I do, at least for Ray. He of course knows mama, dada, and bye bye, but he is now saying "shoe" and "amen" and "ball" (he also signs ball). He also signed "cracker" for the first time today, and has been signing "book" this last week! He is regularly signing "milk" when he wants to nurse (after looking down my shirt, that is), and signs hat, and sleep. He also signs more, that was his first sign around 12 months. What a champ.

Darios words include mama, dada, daddy, he sings e-i-e-i-o when he looks at the Old MacDonald book, amen, shoe, cracker, bucket, duck, he knows the duck says quack quack quack, cheese, and he knows the signs for shoe, cracker, milk, please, cheese, more, ball, waves (and says) bye bye. He has also been mimicking words these past few weeks. Timo said "football" and Dario said "foo - ba", Timo said "pocket" and Dario said "poc-ket". Our amazing boys. Now I really need to watch my language before mommy says "sh*t" and Dario says "sh*t", or some other bad word.

Anyway, here's a recent pic of our boys.

Snow in March & Other Tidbits

2008-03-27T21:50:00.000-07:00

I couldn't believe it yesterday - I was writing in my (paper) journal, and I stopped a moment to think, looking out the window, at big fat snowflakes dropping in mass quantity from the sky. So wierd! It snowed some today too, and the weather forecast says it will continue (intermittently) through Sunday. This is a strange world we live in, for many reasons, including the weather.

Yes, I have started journaling (again). I have kept a journal for much of my life, typically when things are not going well. I still have many of my journals from the years, it is always interesting to read back through them to see what I thought was significant to write down or what heartache I was going through at the time. This time it is the death of my mother and the illness of my father that is my impetus for journaling. I think that this will be a good way for me to grieve and hopefully find healing.

I am also focusing on trying to eat more healthfully (not sure if that is proper grammar) and try to lose some weight. Right now I am focusing on not eating junk, trying to limit snacking, to have healthy snacks when I do snack, and to drink a lot of water. I am also focusing on keeping up on the household duties/chores, like dishes, laundry, and general picking up. We are really bad about clutter - clutter, clutter, everywhere. Once we clear the clutter, it just accumulates again. I would like to change that. At my deepest core, I am a lazy person. I have to chastise myself every time I ask Timo to do something for me that I could easily do for myself. I want to tell myself "Get up off your (bottom) and do it yourself!" As the weather gets better, I want to get out with the boys and walk a few times a week, and I also hope to do a yoga video during their morning nap a few days a week. My sister-in-law is going to email me a great website that she has used to aid her in losing 40 lbs!! Way to go SM! I'm really proud of her and I want to turn my life around. I don't want to be a lazy person anymore. Chasing around my two 16 month old boys just isn't going to be enough, especially when I have the fridge at my beck and call 24-hours a day, 7 days a week. I would love to get into shape where I could start playing volleyball again, and maybe even go snowboarding next season.

Timo and I have always been self-portrait artists. Most all of our self-portraits were taken during positive, happy times. But, I think that we should mark sad events, too. I thought it fitting to take a self-portrait to mark my mom's passing. We took this picture the day of her viewing.

And how could I end a post without posting pictures of my boys? Here they are during their very first Easter egg hunt, on Saturday before Easter, at our apartment complex.

A lot has happened in 2 months.. update

2008-03-18T00:10:00.000-07:00

This is my mother's casket being lowered into the ground. She had a stroke and did not recover. Her internal carotid arteries were blocked 70% and 99% (then 100%). She deteriorated quickly, and passed from this earth on Monday, March 10, 2008. We buried her last Thursday.

In the month preceeding my mom's death, my dad was hospitalized for two weeks, during which time we found out that he has a disease called myelodysplasia syndrome(MDS), bordering on conversion to AML (leukemia). He was home for about 2 weeks, and now he is in the hospital again after suffering a 104 degree temp and flu like symptoms. We don't know how long he will be in the hospital this time, or how long he will be with us overall. He is currently undergoing treatment for the MDS but we won't know if it is at all effective for at least another month.

How am I dealing with all of this? As well as could be expected, I suppose. It is a difficult time balancing between spending enough time with my family (Timo & my boys) and also spending time with my ailing parents (now just my dad). Timo has been great through this all, and I expect he will continue to be great. We really need prayer, though.

It's late, and I need to go to bed. Here's a picture to lighten things up a little bit, though.

Happy St. Patrick's Day.

Am I Lucky or What?

2008-01-29T20:19:00.000-08:00

.. and don't say "or what"

This is one of Timo's 30th Birthday pictures.

Sewing, Silliness, & Snow

2008-01-29T19:20:00.000-08:00

While Timo was gone for a week long work conference, Mom-K came to stay with us and taught me how to use my sewing machine, how to read a pattern, etc. Following are my projects we completed that week. Pillow covers for our couch pillows that were falling apart.
Timo kindly models my new apron. I borrowed the pattern from my friend Michele.
Cute tush.
One fine day, Timo forgot to unload the boys booster seats from his car before leaving for work. So the boys got to eat breakfast strapped to the dining room chairs with my belts. Fun!
A self-portrait. Aren't we cute?

Grandma-K brought the boys a present from Ellensburg - SNOW!

30th Birthday Pictures

2008-01-07T21:38:00.000-08:00

As a gift for my 30th birthday, good friends of mine gave me a photo sitting in their photography studio. We have been friends for 11 years now, and I have sat for a lot of photos in their studio, but this time it really made me reflect on where I am in my life, and the things I have gone through in my life, even just physically.

I did these photos on the same day I got my hair cut, but I also chose not to wear any makeup for the pictures. I probably would have if I owned any makeup that was less than 3-5 years old! I just don't hardly ever wear makeup. Usually, just for pictures or special occasions. The last time I wore some of my (old) makeup, it made me break out all over my face the next day. A sure sign it is time to buy some new stuff. I just can't bring myself to make the investment seeing how infrequently I wear it.

I am also reading a book that I received as a gift from my loving mother-in-law. I don't know if she read my recent blog post before or after she bought this gift for me, but it seems very fitting considering my stated new years resolutions. It is written by a Christian author, here is what is written on the back:

Feel like you need a vacation? Sometimes in the midst of the demands of motherhood, you become worn out. You can't imagine how you can give anything more to anyone else. You may feel like you're "going south" physically, emotionally, and spritually.

Lindsey O'Connor reminds you that you don't have to feel depleted. With God's help you can change the direction of your life - from the southern hemisphere of lost potential and discontent to an intentional life rich with growth.

Besides, you only want to go south if it's Aruba!

Lindsey O'Connor, mother of five, speaks at national conferences such as Heritage Keepers and Hearts at Home. She is often featured on television and radio as both guest and broadcaster. She is the author of several books, including the best-selling If Mama Ain't Happy, Ain't Nobody Happy.

I'll let you know later if the book is helpful and inspiring. I've only read chapter one so far.

Christmas Fun & 1st Haircuts

2008-01-02T15:29:00.000-08:00

We bought a little foam couch for the boys as a late Christmas present. Our futon frame is currently having work done to it, so our futon mattress has been on the floor for the past few weeks, and the boys LOVE it. I was thinking that once we put the futon back together, they'll be sad not to have a couch to play on. So, I bought them their own (to share). Dario is our big ham when it comes to pictures, he poses and smiles, scrunches up his face in anticipation of the flash. Ray, however, is more serious and difficult to get to smile.

Grandma K got the boys their very first baby dolls for Christmas this year. Grandma Great used to buy baby dolls for all of her grandkids, including the boys, and now Grandma K is carrying on the tradition. It was so cute to watch the boys play with their dolls, and figure out on their own what to do with the bottles, not only trying to "feed" themselves, but to feed the baby doll as well.

Here's a little video clip of Raymond walking.

And, I finally gave the boys their first haircuts. Their hair was getting really shaggy, with curls around the back, little baby mullets in the making. I felt really sad while cutting their hair, not because I really loved their mullets, but because they are old enough to need a haircut. They are growing up! They will be 14 months in 2 days.

Look how far they've come & New Years Reflections

2007-12-28T22:58:00.000-08:00

Yes, this is a picture of the boys as day 3 embryos. You can do that when you conceive your babies through IVF. This is their "first" baby picture. Aren't they cute? haha.. I was just looking through some pictures, trying to find some shots of me with a haircut that I liked (more on that later) and came across this printout from the microscope right before these embryos were transferred to my womb, where they would implant and grow into our babies. It's crazy to think we have come so far.

When I look back, I don't look this far back much anymore. I think about the weeks the boys spent in the intensive care unit, and how crazy that was. I think about the delivery, so unexpected 6 weeks early. I try to remember my pregnancy, what it felt like to feel them moving inside of me. But it has been a very long time since I sat down and thought about the process it took us to get pregnant. The shots, ovaries the size of grapefruits, egg retrieval, embryo transfer, then the waiting. I remember, the day that we did the embryo transfer, the one that was successful, was the day that Timo and I went and saw Spamalot afterwards. We had bought tickets way in advance and spent a lot of money on them, and were so afraid that we wouldn't be able to go because of the IVF schedule. We ended up getting to go, and had a great time. I think of all the fun things we did - the trip to Atlanta just days after getting the positive pregnancy test result - buying a stuffed animal "present" for the baby, then buying another one because "well, what if we're having twins, hahaha" and then, the ultrasound at 7 weeks, seeing a second little sac pop into view. Wow, that was surreal.

And here we are now, the boys will be 14 months old in another week. Ray is walking without any difficulty - he is so expressive, his facial expressions are varied (and often scowling) - he really lets you know what he is thinking and how he's feeling through his facial expressions. Dario is always giggling at something - he just seems so genuinely excited to walk - he's taken maybe 5-6 steps at a time so far, and spends more time standing alone than ever before. Both boys are still very attached to nursing, it's funny when one of them has to wait, and he tries to climb all over the other one (and me) to interrupt and have his turn sooner.

What a journey it has been thus far, and we've still got a long way to go. I just hope that we are good parents, that we are able to be good role models for our kids, that we can figure out how to discipline effectively yet gently. I don't typically do the whole "New Years Resolutions" thing, but I think I really need to this year. And I understand these are things that I need to work on long term, it's not going to be the first time I mess up I say, oh well, better luck next time. I know I will mess up and I need to give myself some grace and try again.

1) No more swearing!
2) Have more patience.
3) Less sarcasm, more love in communication.

Please pray for me! I really want to make some changes this year, and I know I can't do it on my own. It seems like the above 3 things are all symptoms, but what is the root disease? My relationship with God is not strong - I need to spend time in prayer, reading the bible, meditating on His word, talking to Him daily. Timo and I need to start doing family devotions, and figuring out ways to introduce Him to our children, yes at this early age. The most we do together spiritually is to pray at meals, attend church on Sunday, and bible study on Wednesday nights. It's not enough!

Please pray for us, pray for Timo that he would feel confident to take the spiritual leadership of this family in 2008. Pray for me that I would humbly let him lead me.

*************
Oh, and about the hair. I'm getting my hair cut tomorrow at 2pm. It's gotten pretty long again, down at least to the level of my bra strap. I'm thinking I'm going to go pretty short again, but it depends on what the stylist (someone I trust) has to say. I have been getting a lot of short little hairs around my hairline, lots and lots, and it makes me think my hair has been breaking off. Some folks I have talked to said maybe it is new hair growing in. I don't know which it is, but if it is breaking off because my hair is too long and I pull it back too much, putting stress on my hair, I'm definitely going to cut it shorter. If not, then I still might cut it shorter. I'll post pictures of the new "do" soon.

Birthday Party Pictures

2007-12-20T22:05:00.000-08:00

I was just looking over some old posts and realized I'd never posted pictures from the boys' birthday party. Here's a few:

5 Days until Christmas

2007-12-20T21:46:00.000-08:00

I feel pretty prepared - all the presents are purchased and wrapped, we haven't gotten all of our Christmas cards out yet, but they'll be out by Saturday, so may be a day or two late. We're waiting on some photos of the boys to be printed, which will be ready on Saturday. I guess all I have left to do is some grocery shopping. I'm responsible for green bean casserole & pumpkin pies for Christas eve and for another dessert for Christmas day. We'll be spending Christmas eve - evening with Timo's family, and Christmas morning with my family, then Christmas evening with some good friends who are family to us.

The boys are doing great - Raymond is walking all over the place. Yesterday, for the first time, he figured out how to clap his hands! He was so excited to learn this skill. Dario has been clapping his hands since about 6 months old. Dario has been trying to walk, but he is still working on his balance. He has taken up to 3-4 steps max so far before falling over happily. Dario has been such a happy little dude lately. His face just lights up all the time, and those dimples of his are just so cute. I think Raymond is getting ready for his upper teeth to come in. He has been a bit cranky lately, and he has big swollen lumps on his upper gums. It was really hard on Dario when he got his first 2 upper teeth in, so we are just hoping and waiting for Ray's to come in soon.

We have made a solem vow to get to bed no later than 10:30pm tonight, and I still have yet to get some vital tasks done (ie. pumping). Yes, after 13 months I am still nursing our boys. I'm not sure when we will wean, but definitely by the time they turn 2. They are down to just 5 nursings a day, once before each meal, and before their morning and afternoon naps. We haven't nursed before bed since October, and they rarely nurse in the middle of the night. Ray has been waking up around 4am lately, and I have nursed him then, but often they sleep all the way through from 7pm until 6am or later. Well, they likely wake up, but they just talk to themselves a little bit, or look around their room, roll over, and go back to sleep. Part of me can't believe we waited so long to really do CIO but we did try when they were younger, about 3 weeks before we moved home from Boston. It was just too hard with all the transitions going on, moving from Boston, then living in the trailer at Timo's family's house, and moving into our apartment in September.

Anyway, sorry it's been so long since my last post, and I'll try to get some pictures or video up soon!

When an Infant becomes a Toddler...

2007-12-04T17:09:00.000-08:00

The day after Thanksgiving, devoted Grandma K was here, and Timo was home after working a half-day. Ray has been standing on his own for a few weeks now, and with a little encouragement from Grandma, he took his first steps! Wow! We were all so excited, and I was so happy that both Timo and mom got to share in the special event. Now, a week and a half later, he is walking quite a bit - cruising a little, then letting go to walk a few feet, holding onto something again. Yesterday I counted him take 17 consecutive steps in a row! Granted, he only walked about 6 feet total, but that was great to see!

Always about a week or two behind Ray in the gross motor skills department, Dario took his first couple steps last night! He positioned himself in his bedroom with his back against the door, then took a couple steps toward me before launching himself head first into my arms! I think Dario still has some work to do in the balancing department, but I think he sees Ray doing it and all the praise he is getting, and that encourages him to do the same. I just can't believe how my babies are "growing up". I don't know when the official transition is between baby and toddler, but it feels like they are going to be going to kintergarten soon!

P.S. Timo and I turn 30 in 2 days..

The Salsa and The Poop

2007-11-11T20:43:00.000-08:00

Ever have one of those days where if you don't laugh about it (in the midst of it), you will just cry? Today was one of those days. Overall, it wasn't a horrible day, but some things happened today that really test you as a parent. Things that fall into the "stuff" happens category, the things that you don't have much control over, and if you get upset about, you will just eventually make yourself crazy. These are the things I am learning to just let go about, which is good considering I am such a control freak.

First: The Salsa

We were at a friends house (thankfully they have hardwood floors in the area where the incident occurred) visiting. I was trying to eat some soup, so Timo had Raymond and Dario was on the floor playing. Dario made to head for the cat food, so Timo tried to lean down and get him away from the food while holding Raymond. This put Ray within reach of a nice big bowl of - you guessed it - medium salsa. Tip - right over all over brother and Daddy. Ray only got a very small spot of salsa on himself. Thankfully, Dario didn't get much on his head - but his back, and pants were completely covered. What did Mommy do first? Go grab her cell phone to take a picture.

Now: The Poop

Boys have been in their seats eating dinner. At one point during dinner, Dario's face turned a nice shade of crimson and he uttered some "rrr, grr, grrunt" sounds, indicating some bowel action. Post-dinner, Daddy takes Dario to his room and sets him in his crib while he gets diapering supplies ready. Dario stands up in the crib, and POOP falls out of his pants leg. Oops! How did that happen? Mind you, I'm on the phone with my sister in the other room at the time. Somehow, poop got in BOTH of the boys' cribs, BOTH boys stepped in the poop with their Robeez shoes on, and Ray jumped around in his crib with poo on his shoes for awhile, making little poo shoeprints all over his cribsheet. Did I mention I just changed their sheets 2 days ago? My first notice of the situation is Timo coming into our bedroom, saying "I NEED YOUR HELP. Please get off the phone. Now." Boys are stripped down, put in the bath, Daddy supervises them playing while I dispose of poopy diapers, set aside poopy (and seperate, salsa filled) clothes for soaking later, change crib sheets, and put crib sheets in the wash. Then it's to the bathroom to wash boys and get them ready for bed.

After all that, they were an hour late getting to bed, and they didn't even utter a whimper before falling straight to sleep (after storytime).

Too much to post about

2007-11-04T20:15:00.000-08:00

The birthday party is over - it went as well as could be.

Got an email Saturday from my prospective childcare provider to say they can't actually work for us, and I start work tomorrow (Monday). Grandma drove from Ellensburg to watch the boys for my orientation and another good friend is going to step in to watch the boys (at her house). Perhaps this is for the best. I'm so past being stressed about anything, because I'm so tired right now.

Will post pictures of the party as soon as I get them from friends - I didn't even get the camera out once. We did get some video, and a good friend took plenty of pictures to share.

Party Progress?

2007-11-01T21:38:00.000-07:00

So, how do you like my lopsided cake? And no, it's not done yet. The yellow frosting is just a "crumb layer" - a thin layer of icing that will crust over, and then I can really ice the cake without worries of getting crumbs in my icing. At least that's the theory anyway. It is a spice cake with Nutella filling. It's about 4" high and 14" across. I've never made a cake of this magnitude before from start to finish, all by myself. So, however it turns out, I'll still be proud of myself for doing this project. Elmo! Elmo is no longer going to be on top of the other cake, but a freestanding cake by himself. We probably won't even need him but I guess he'll give us another cake flavor for people who don't want the other kind.
Now this is a candy plate that was made in the same Elmo cake pan. This is now what is going to go on top of the 14" round cake. This was the brain-child of my sister.

Weaning from the Nighttime Nursing

2007-11-01T10:30:00.000-07:00

Three nights ago we started what we have been dreading doing - weaning the boys from the right-before-bed nursing. The thought is that with me going back to work a couple days a week, working evening shift, that we need to make it easier for Timo to put the boys to bed by himself. So we have been sleep training the boys with the eventual goal that they would have a regular night-time routine that anybody could put them to bed.

The first night (Monday) we replaced the nursing with a bottle. They both drank just a little bit, played with it some more, but didn't cry when we gave them the bottle. Then did story time and quiet time, like we normally would, and put them in their cribs with a kiss goodnight, and closed the door. That is when the screaming began - Dario was the worst - it was like he was saying "WHAT?!?" whereas Ray was crying more like, he had hope that I was going to come back and nurse them. They finally did fall asleep, but it was hard listening to them cry.

Second night went a little better. They still didn't drink much from the bottles, but when it came time to put them down to bed, they maybe cried for 5-10 minutes then went to sleep.

Third night was Halloween, so it was all screwed up as far as routine goes. We decided to go trick-or-treating with my niece SRC, and we didn't end up getting out until 7pm (their regular bed time). They did great, though! They stayed up the whole time, didn't complain at all, and seemed to enjoy going around in the stroller being admired by people. Obviously the candy isn't for them - it was a fun time, and I'm glad we went. In the car on the way back to my brother's house, they fell asleep in the car. When we got home and brought them inside, got them ready for bed, and laid them down to sleep. Ray fell asleep almost immediately - Dario was screaming so loud and hysterically that we finally decided to just nurse him for fear he was going to make himself throw up (he's done it many times before). We figured the night was shot already as far as their new routine went, so hopefully it won't hurt that much.

So tonight should be interesting. It's hard to remember not to nurse them, since it is such a habit. They start climbing all over me on the floor, pressing their faces to my nightgown, opening their mouths like little birds. And I feel bad knowing that they really want to nurse, and I'm giving them a bottle instead. But I also know that it will be better for everyone involved when I am working that they can go down to bed with less fuss with me not there.

I'm a little behind on the party preparations - yesterday I was supposed to make and color all the icing - I just got it made. I also did another set of the Sesame Street candy molds. If we had stayed home and not gone trick-or-treating I could have gotten the icing colored in the evening. I think I'm still doing alright with my "schedule". Today I'm baking cakes - my first 2" deep 14" round layer is in the oven as I type. I'd be sleeping but it had 20 min left to bake and I didn't want to miss taking it out of the oven. Once it's done baking, I'm taking a nap! I'm so tired, I'm really running myself down this week. I feel like super mom, except without extra energy. I'm going to wish I had extra time to relax after the party, but then I start work on Monday. Maybe it will be like a break since I will be away from home. I hope things work out with our sitter.

Gotta go, somebody just woke up.

Tonight's Project (1/2 done)

2007-10-29T23:45:00.001-07:00

It is 11:45pm so I am actually calling it quits for tonight and I'll make another set of these tomorrow night. It shouldn't take me as long to do because I have all the candy colored and in bags, ready to go. I set up a little workstation right next to the microwave as I have to melt and re-melt different bags of candy as I go. Good thing I'm not making 50 of these detailed ones!

101 Dalmations Halloween

2007-10-29T11:47:00.001-07:00

My MIL is the greatest. She loves us and she loves her grandbabies. I think we are really lucky to have her nearby (well, in Ellensburg). We had decided to be 101 Dalmations themed for Halloween this year, and mom obliged us by making dalmation puppy costumes for the boys. Raymond loved wearing his puppy hood. Which is funny, because I can't get him to keep a hat on to save my life (or his)! Maybe this winter he'll have to wear a warm hat underneath his puppy hood to stay warm.
Here we all are, at our yearly Halloween party with some special friends. I've had this Cruella DeVil costume for awhile now, and have gotten good use out of it. It was fun to wear it again as an ensemble crew. My MIL is in the middle, she is dressed as the maid to the couple who own the dogs, and Timo is dressed as Horace Badun, one of my henchmen.
We also celebrated Mom-K's 60th birthday this weekend. Happy birthday, Mom! Grandma-D surprised all of us by showing up on Saturday to visit with us and celebrate Mom's birthday. Here are three generations of the family, all together. Grandma-D is 83 years young!
And finally, late last night, I carved our pumpkin. I can't take credit for the design - my sister emailed me a bunch of cool carved pumpkins, and this design was one of them. But even though I hate talking about or hearing or watching (on TV) people puking, I really wanted to carve this pumpkin. It was the easiest, quickest carve I've ever done. I didn't even cut a "lid" but just carved the design and then reached in through the mouth to make it "puke".

We also filled the favor bags last night. Today/tonight's project is making detailed Sesame Street character candies to decorate the birthday cake.

Sleep Issues

2007-10-29T05:09:00.000-07:00

After months of rocking, bouncing, shushing, nursing, etc. to get the boys to sleep (or back to sleep in the middle of the night), taking hours on end at times, we finally broke down and said "I can't do this anymore" and we are letting the boys cry it out (CIO).

Now, for those of you who feel strongly against CIO let me just say now that I don't want to hear it.

The first time was in the middle of the night, both Timo and I had been rocking and shushing a boy for an hour or more. We were both very tired and simply had to put them in their cribs. They had been nursed, changed, temp in the room was good ,etc. They just didn't know how to fall asleep. Ray cried for longer than I know, cause I finally fell asleep. Dario only cried a little.

The next night we put them to bed (after their nightly routine), Ray cried for 45 min, boy was that hard. Again, Dario cried for much less time, but we always knew he wouldn't have as much trouble as Ray because Ray seems more dependent on me in general.

Now, most nights, they hardly cry at all going down to bed. My MIL was here the first weekend when we "gave up" two weeks ago, and was the one who went to check on them that first night of CIO, and found Ray sleeping slumped in an upright position at the end of his crib facing the door. That was heartbreaking and hilariously funny at the same time. Now, she thinks I've traded my boys in for new babies, because they went down so easily this weekend.

But there are still times that I struggle with myself, trying to decide, do I go in there? Do I soothe him, reassure him? Sometimes I do, sometimes I don't. If I know his basic needs are met (fresh diaper, warm milk in belly, good temp room, clean bed, comfort blankie ready at hand) I'm most likely to let him figure it out on his own. The "he" I'm talking about here is Ray. Because like I said, Dario hardly makes a peep anymore either going down to bed, or back down after a middle of the night waking. But Ray is my Mommy's boy, for better or worse, and I love him for it - but I also ache at his apparent heartbreak at having to be apart from me to sleep.

But I feel really liberated and I get a lot more sleep now since we made this decision. And, it's crucial with me going back to work a few days a week, working evening shifts. Timo will have to put them to bed by himself, and he never could have managed it alone before.

400 some meatballs later..

2007-10-27T22:57:00.000-07:00

Update: Timo was awarded the champion meatball roller award for the day. Look at those beautiful, uniform meatballs all lined up in rows and columns! You the man, sweetie!

Today was a very long, busy day - but a good one. We got a lot accomplished toward our goal next week Sunday of the boys' first birthday party. My parents, niece, and mother-in-law came here today and we made 400 some meatballs for the party. I don't really think we need this many, but that's just how it turned out. I gotta get some sleep. But - they're really yummy. I don't think that there's a day this week that I don't have a project to work on for the party. Let's see -

Sunday - make colored, detailed Sesame Street candies to decorate the cake
Monday - fill favor bags
(funny, I forgot Tuesday in my original post. I guess Tuesday's task is to watch Beauty and the Geek with my hubby. Sssh, don't tell him I told you, he's addicted to this show!)
Wednesday - make and color icing
Thursday - bake cakes
Friday - fill layers and ice cakes
Saturday - decorate cakes, Timo shops Costco for rest of food items
Sunday - arrive at location early to decorate

We'll have my 15 year old neice over the Saturday just prior to the party to help watch the boys while I get all the final stuff done.

Wow, I'm so tired. Gotta go.

4 Hours of Candy Making

2007-10-26T00:50:00.000-07:00

Candy lettering for the cake to make decorating the cake "easier"

50 Sesame Street Candy Lollipops for the favor bags at the party

Peanut butter & Chocolate
White Candy & White Candy layered with Chocolate

Solid Chocolate

What I do know is, I am not my sister. She is amazing with this stuff. You should check out her website at http://www.cakesadorned.com/ to be completely amazed by her cakes, candies, cookies, and other confection creations.

Is it worth it? I guess we'll see when the kids open their favor bags, and see if they even notice the two little themed lollipops along with the mass merchandising candy in there.

Dario amazed me today

2007-10-25T13:23:00.000-07:00

This has been the boys' favorite toy since they were about 6 months old. They play with it A LOT but up until now, they have not shown any interest or understanding about the shape sorting feature of this toy. Well, this morning, Dario was playing with this toy all alone (I was nursing Raymond) and he took the circle piece and tried fitting it through the square hole in the lid. Nope, doesn't go through, what about this other hole? Yup, he put it through the circle hole. I was such a proud mama! I was amazed that he did this on his own, without any leading or encouragement from an adult. I mean, I have showed them before that you can put the shapes through the holes, but that Dario figured it out on his own and shape sorted that toy, I was just so proud.

They're growing up already. I can't believe it's been nearly a year.

I remember when they were in the NICU, and it's hard to imagine that we have come all that way. I wouldn't wish that upon any parent, to have their baby or babies in the intensive care unit, for any length of time. But I do remember it, and it's hard to believe that was part of our journey now that we're here.

First Birthday Extravaganza (aka Headache)

2007-10-24T14:08:00.000-07:00

The boys will be one year old in just a few short weeks. We have fallen into what I am calling the 1st birthday big party trap. I'm hoping that everyone (including myself) will have fun at their party but I am a little skeptical. It seems like stress on level with our wedding - and although I will be glad to see everyone that comes to the party, this will likely be their one and only really BIG party. We have invited aunts, uncles, cousins, great aunts, great uncles, great cousins, great cousins kids, and friends too. We didn't rent a hall, although I'm starting to wonder if we should have. We're having the party at my brother's house. Did I mention I'm making the cake? I'll post pictures when it's all said and done. Thankfully we are getting some labor help from family with the food prep. In the future, I think that we will only invite the boys' aunts, uncles, cousins, and a few friends. How did I think that I should invite all of my and Timo's aunts, uncles and cousins too? Probably because they were always invited to my parties when I was a kid, so it seems to make sense that they should be invited to my kids' parties. But with two large families, well, you see what I mean when I say it's stress like my wedding. Not really, though. I mean, it's only a birthday party, right?

Here's a few choice photos I took of the boys in the last few days. Sorry for the red-eye, we don't have any image editing software on the computer right now.

Gotta love Dario's dimples - he loves smiling for the camera. What he really loves is chasing after me when I am trying to take his picture, trying to grab and eat it!

Raymond is a little trickier to try to get to smile. The camera flashes the pre-flash orange light at him and he doesn't quite know what to think of it. I'm sure I was playing peek-a-boo with him to get him to smile like this.

Daddy is tickling Dario while I sit in the rocker with Raymond. We really love this picture because it shows all of Dario's teeth!

I thought that Raymond looked like a little mini-college professor in his corduroy pants and turtleneck, so I had to get some pictures of him like this. I also realized by taking this picture that turtlenecks really show the fact that our little Raymond has almost no chin, but is all forehead. Perhaps someday his face will grow to catch up with his huge noggin.

Love Affair with Q-Tips (and other good stuff)

2007-10-22T23:49:00.000-07:00

I know I shouldn't use them - and every time I run out, I go another 6 months or so before buying more. It's like an addiction, especially after showering and I just feel the need to dry out my ears really well. I probably have hearing problems because of wax buildup from forcing it further into my ear from using cotton swabs. But no matter how much I tell myself it's bad, it feels so good.

On a less disgusting note, I have decided to attempt to blog for 15 minutes each day, to try and record some of my thoughts and also any accomplishments or other fun stuff I'd like to remember about the boys' day.

Dario has learned how to drink really well from a cup. When I put just a very small amount of water into his cup (a regular, plastic drinking cup, not a sippy cup) and hand it to him, he will put it up to his mouth, drink, drink, drink, until it's all gone, swallow it, and then play with the cup.

The boys love to chase each other around the living room, laughing the whole time. They also love to steal toys from one another, pull each other down from a standing position, stand on top of one another or crawl over one another to get to where they want to go, wanton disregard for each other's presence or safety. I try as much as possible to let them work things out for themselves and intervene when somebody's safety is at stake. Regardless of all of these types of interactions, I am so glad that they have each other. I think that their relationship will make them stronger people, in the end.

We have been watching a show on TLC called "Jon & Kate + 8" about a family that did infertility treatments, had a set of twins, and tried one more time for another, and ended up with sextuplets! It is a great show for us because it makes me feel like less of a freak as a mother of twins. And, it's a really funny show. They have been doing this show since the sextuplets were babies, apparently. They're now 3, and the twins are 5 or 6 I think. If you want to feel really humbled as a mother, you need to watch this show.

We left the boys with a babysitter on Saturday night for the first time. We have gone out before and had their grandma watch them, but never a non-family member. We went to a good friend's wedding, and it was totally worth it. I am so glad we got a sitter instead of trying to bring them along with us. I didn't really know anybody at the wedding except for the groom and one other friend of Timo's, but we met some people at our table I got to talking with, and the best thing for me about the night was that my kids weren't the center of conversation. It just felt really good to have a conversation that wasn't about kids, questions about twins, etc. I feel like when we are out together, I am just the nice lady driving around the star attraction. It doesn't seem like anybody ever wants to talk to me anymore, or if they do it's just questions about the boys. Don't get me wrong, I love my kids and I love sharing about them, but I don't think I realized how much I needed to be more than their mommy until I got to spend 3 hours with adults who don't have kids yet.

I'm starting work on November 5th at the local hospital in a per-diem position. I'll be working 3 days a week for about a month for training, and then I will pick up shifts on an as-needed basis. It's a great situation for us because that way I can bring in some money but not have to work all the time, or anytime that I don't want to. I'll be working evenings 3pm-11:30pm so we'll be using a babysitter from 2pm-6pm on weekdays that I work. We have been trying to sleep train the boys to make it easier on Timo to put them to bed by themselves. I am still nursing them so that might make things more difficult at bedtime with me away. But I am excited to be going back to work, knowing that it can be as little as one shift a week, or less, if I choose (after training is complete). I am excited about the chance to have some "adult" time and keeping up in my profession, while still having most of my time with my boys (this includes hubby).

Well, it's been way more than 15 minutes and I ought to go to bed. I hope there are still a few of you out there who haven't given up that I would update my blog. I hope you are all doing well, and I'll try to read your postings soon.

P.S. The boys 1st Birthday is coming up (Nov 4th). I'll post about that tomorrow.

9 Month Photos

2007-09-22T22:19:00.000-07:00

The boys were 9 months old on August 4, 2007.

Quick Post

2007-09-15T21:48:00.001-07:00

This is going to be a short quick post but I just wanted to say we are all moved in, although we are still working on unpacking. Our computer is up and running but we won't have internet access until Monday Sept 17th after 5pm. After that I should be able to post more thouroughly and also catch up on reading all of the blogs of the people I love and miss. Take care!

Photos and Updates - Sorry for the delay!

2007-08-16T20:42:00.001-07:00

Still in Boston, Ray is sporting this shirt that I bought for him.. so any of his "aunties" reading, this ones for you.

In Boston on a "play date" with our friends who also have twin boys, 3 months older than ours.

The night before we broke down their crib for the move, this was one of the last times that the boys had to share a crib.
After crib breakdown, likely a naptime, and we swear this was not posed.
Shortly after arrival in Washington, Dario likes to back himself up while trying to get to sleep, and often ends up with his legs sticking out the crib slats.
If you look closely, Dario's first tooth is poking through his bottom gums! He has 2 now and is working on more.
Ray with his Great Aunt on a visit to my parent's house.

Dario doesn't much like to eat peas, but he apparently doesn't mind wearing them!
Ray will eat just about anything we give him, but often ends up looking like this anyway. They just can't seem to keep their head still while eating.
This is one of our favorite pictures of Dario. Look at that face! He did have a bit of sun in his eyes, and we thought initially that was what made this face happen, but actually we noticed that he does make this face - just not as pronounced - and likely the sun made the face worse.
Enjoying a family picnic with KFC and carrots for the boys on the 4th of July at Marathon Park in Olympia.

Dario & Daddy at the laptop computer likely surfing the net.
Dario with his Grandma Great.
Dario with Grandma K.
Raymond with Grandma Great.

Boys with their Aunt Becky on a surprise visit.
Both boys love to wear and eat their Daddy's hat. This is Ray when we went to visit Grandma K in Ellensburg.
Ray & Dario playing in the infant pool Grandma got for them during our visit to Ellensburg. It was really hot and sunny outside so we set it up in the kitchen so we could avoid having to apply mass amounts of sunblock. The boys had a blast splashing water all over the place.
Happy boys with Grandma K!
Grandma K got out some of Timo's old toys from when he was a baby, including this little wooden rocking horse. The boys loved it!

The boys favorite part of meals is the end when they are finished and we give them the lids to their trays to play with.
We especially love it when Dario flattens out his face causing us to laugh out loud.

Here is Raymond putting his finger up his Grandpa J's nose and apparently also poking out his eye.
The boys are modeling their new bibs from Grandma K who works at Central Washington University.

Dario loves to smile! Look at those teeth.
Happy boys!
Dario & Raymond playing around with their Grandpa N.

So now the update:

Things are moving along finally. When it rains, it pours - all in one week Timo got 3 different job offers, 2 with the VA (different campuses). After much consideration, we decided we will settle in the Olympia area and he took the job at the VA nearby. We secured an apartment, and we'll get the keys on September 7th. We are so excited to finally be getting our own place and that Timo will be starting work. He's sad that he'll be away from the boys so much, he has been home with them for 5 months now! As for me, I'm hoping to stay at home with the boys. We hope that we will be able to afford for me to stay home and plan to try a 3 month trial to work out a budget.

Well I guess that's it for now. I'm working on the computer in the house because the laptop is painfully slow out in the camper. I hope you've enjoyed the photos and I'll try to post more often.

Home Again

2007-06-17T21:44:00.000-07:00

Sorry to all for the delay in posting. We arrived in Washington safe and sound on May 30th around 9:30pm. We have since gotten settled in with family for the time being until Tm finds a job and we can figure out what we can afford (and where we'll eventually end up living in the long run, depends on where he finds work).

Some updates:

Dario cut his first tooth last Monday, June 11th, 2007!

Both boys are working hard on learning to crawl and to sit up unassisted.

Solid foods are a fun experience for both boys: Dario seems intolerant to oatmeal, they both don't like green beans very much, and we are continuing our adventure with peas.

Tm has had one interview thus far but has a few job leads and we are hoping that something will happen soon.

We have gotten back in touch with plentyh of family and friends here in Washington and are very blessed to have great family support.

We miss Boston, Brookline, and all the folks/friends there.

Will post pictures as soon as possible.

Cute & Handsome

2007-04-14T14:17:00.000-07:00

I find myself frequently telling Raymond how cute he is - and apparently, as Tm points out, I tell Dario how handsome he is. Well, here's lookin' at you, babe. My cute and handsome babies, now nearly 5 1/2 months old. This last week (Ray on Wednesday, Dario on Thursday) they both rolled from their backs to their bellies for the first time. And the second time, third time, and on and on. They soon will be adept mobile rollers. Not crawling, not walking, not scooting, but rolling. Today we just took the bumper out of the crib because Dario likes to grab it and stuff it into his mouth.

The transition back to work has gone well thus far. Daddy is doing great at home with the boys - pumping is going well - and I miss them all during the day. I try to make the best of the 2 hours I have each night with them before the boys go to bed, and weekends too. We're starting something of a bedtime routine, and trying a little bit of CIO (cry it out) when they don't go right to sleep. Parenting is a hard yet rewarding job. We love it.

No longer a SAHM

2007-04-01T18:46:00.000-07:00

(SAHM = Stay At Home Mom)

Wednesday, April 4th I will be returning to work - just 3 days away. This last Friday, March 30th was Tm's last day at work, and he is going to be staying at home with the boys. I'm anxious about my return - being away from the boys for so long, pumping at work, how long will it take me to get back into the swing of things at work, will Tm have a hard time at home with the boys, will he have the support he needs, will I continue to produce enough milk? So many concerns, I just have to trust God and pray about it. Could you please pray for our family? It would mean so much.

Photo Update

2007-04-01T16:55:00.000-07:00

So, I haven't updated my blog lately, so here are some pictures to share:

March 7, 2007 - Dario is wearing one mitten because he really likes to shove as much of his fist into his mouth as possible lately, and has developed a skin irritation as a result. Here he is shoving the mittened hand into his mouth. Not sure if that is an improvement or not!

March 12, 2007 - Dario & Raymond chillin' in the crib.
March 18, 2007 - The boys are baptised! We got the cake at Costco.. Do you see the mistake? There was no-one in the bakery to fix it so we left it as-is. It was very tasty, however!
Here we are up front of the congregation with Pastor Um.
Dario receives his baptism.
Raymond receives his baptism.
Dario was so worn out he was conked out after the service.

Grandma K. came to town for a weekend visit, and to see the boys receive their baptism. What a proud Grandma!

March 29, 2007 - Raymond & Dario chillin' in our crib.

April 1, 2007 - Daddy comes out of the bedroom with Raymond to show me this cute sight. He also enjoys making Raymond "fly" like Superman with his bib on backwards. Custard's mommy calls this "Mr. Shirthead".

Ray's News

2007-03-14T05:31:00.000-07:00

I totally forgot that I was supposed to post about "Ray's Big News". Thanks for reminding me, SKF! It may not seem like big news to non-parents but for me, it is a BIG DEAL.

Raymond has always hated baths from his first bath in the NICU. Once you start washing his face, he starts getting the fussy face, then you start washing his hair and the screaming starts. Short break while you dry his hair and take off his diaper for the whole body wash, but once he hits the baby bath sling (or actually IN the water in the bath) he goes nuts - hysterical crying. And yes, our bath has a thermometer and the water was not too hot, and I thought also, not too cold.

Well, while we were on a trip out of town, I had to bathe him in a baby bath that did not have a thermometer. So, I just tested the water on my wrist - I think it was a little warmer than usual. Well, with the warmer water and with mommy singing to Raymond the whole time, he hardly fussed at all. Once we got home and he got his next bath, he DIDN'T CRY AT ALL. That was in the sling (only his bottom is in the water, kind of a sponge bath). The next time, I put him directly in the water and again, he DIDN'T CRY AT ALL! I also made sure I fed him right before his bath so I was sure he wasn't hungry.

I wanted to call every single mom I knew and share the news! I would dread giving him his bath because he would cry so hard - I would be giving him a speed-bath, apologizing the whole time. I would give Dario his bath first, then wait awhile kind of pumping myself up for giving Ray his bath. I'd undress him, cuddle and flirt with him cause I knew that soon enough, he'd be wailing. Well, no longer! This is one happy mommy!

Pre Bath photo:

Post Bath Photo:

He's actually happy!!

Cutie Patootie

2007-03-02T21:44:00.000-08:00

I took some pictures of Dario right after his bath yesterday, he is such a cutie! I gave Ray his bath a little bit later in the day and there's big news for Raymond to share - but I'll do that once I get a chance to put the pics on my comupter and blog about him. :) We also took a last minute trip back home last week due to family emergency (everyone is alright) so have some pics of the boys with their grandparents to share. Later, though. For now, I need to get back in bed.

Sad..

2007-02-11T01:16:00.000-08:00

My SIL's neice had 9 month old boy/girl twins - I just found out that a few days ago their little boy died. They woke up one morning, and he had died in the night. They are doing an autopsy to find out whether it was from an illness or SIDS. This is so extremely sad to me. At what point in a child's life can you stop worrying about SIDS? I just can't imagine the horror of waking up one morning to find that your child is gone, just like that. You'd think you could get past a certain point and stop worrying about it. Life is so terribly fragile.

3 Month Portraits

2007-02-10T17:34:00.000-08:00

Enjoy!

Scrapbooking Again?

2007-02-03T16:07:00.000-08:00

I had a few extra minutes today while Ray was sleeping and Dario was sitting on my lap at the computer, and thought - why don't I start a scrapbook page? It's been a long time since I did any scrapbooking, even digital, but here it is - my first scrapbook page after the boys have been born. I think the last page I did was when I was 18 weeks pregnant and we found out we were having boys :)

3 Months Old in 3 More Days

2007-02-01T04:49:00.000-08:00

Look at these handsome boys! Mommy and Daddy have fun making them laugh and smile these days. Raymond really thinks it's funny when Daddy makes big eyes and a big "O" mouth, and we suspect that Dario is ticklish.

Gone are the days of screaming on the changing table, they don't mind those cold wipes anymore. Ray could be inconsolably crying, but once you put him on the changing table, it's all smiles now. They go tomorrow for their 3-month pediatrician appointment, and Sunday they will officially be 3 months old. Dario has started wearing 3-6 month clothes, and Ray has a little while yet to go in the 0-3 month stuff.

I have two more months off from work before Tm and I switch and I go back to work while he stays at home to care for our boys full time. I really think he's looking forward to it!

Norovirus Sucks

2007-01-25T23:13:00.000-08:00

Well, the Yepes clan will be quarantined to home for about a week until we are no longer contagious. Yes, that blasted Norovirus has struck our household. So far I'm the only one to exhibit full symptoms, but we figure Tm brought it home from work as his unit is basically quarantined with the bug. I'm just now starting to feel a little bit better, but last night and yesterday were hellish. Tm stayed home to help take care of the boys, who are not yet showing any symptoms. It's my hope that the magical properties of breast milk will keep them from getting sick.

Please pray for our family and we'll see you again in about a week and a half. It's my understanding that even after symptoms go away, that the virus can be passed on for about a week.

My Birthday Present

2007-01-24T15:36:00.000-08:00

Well, my birthday present from my hubby finally arrived today. Yes, my birthday was back in December but it was well worth the wait. It feels good to have a ring on my finger again. My wedding ring still doesn't fit (yet) so I am wearing my present on my wedding ring finger and when that hand slims back down the 1/2 size, I'll wear it on my other hand (that has always been slightly bigger sized than the left). I'm so happy! The boys names are inscribed in the ring (silver) with their birthstones (November).

The Time it Takes to Make Toast

2007-01-21T21:02:00.000-08:00

I'm writing in the time it takes to make toast, so who knows how much I'll get to write. I guess it depends on my thought processes and how fast I can type. Being a mom is an amazingly difficult and rewarding job. Taking care of these two little babies is certainly a full time job - I really look forward to when Tm comes home to assist with our little ones. They are growing every day, in size and in development. It's wierd to think that even though they are 11 weeks old now, they are only 5 weeks old adjusted for their prematurity. They've been home now for about 9 weeks.

Ding - toast is done.

Recliner x 2

2007-01-19T03:51:00.000-08:00

Dario had to get into the act as well. This is at 6am when the boys decided they were hungry.. again! I bet they are going through a growth spurt. No rest for mommy!

Lounging in my Recliner

2007-01-19T01:33:00.000-08:00

This picture was taken in the middle of the night / morning (about 4am) after one of those late-night feedings. My son was completely content, lounging in his boppy with his feet up. I had to take a picture. You're so cute, Raymond!

Scrubs

2006-12-20T19:27:00.000-08:00

Merry Christmas!

2006-12-08T05:57:00.000-08:00

We had a "fun" time taking pictures for our photo Christmas cards. Last year we took about 50 pictures of us with Hershey, trying to get the ideal photo with the cat in the picture. This year we only attempted to get the babies in the picture, and that was tough enough! Here are some of the pics that were super cute but didn't make the "cut" for the card. Enjoy!

At Home

2006-12-04T15:03:00.000-08:00

Blessedly, Raymond came home the Monday before Thanksgiving, and Dario came home just 2 days later, Wednesday evening before Thanksgiving. Here we are at home taking a little rest..
These boys are really thriving! They had a pediatrician appointment today - Dario went from 6 lbs 9 oz to 7 lbs 6 oz, and Raymond went from 5 lbs 10 oz to 6 lbs 7 oz! They are doing great, and Mommy & Daddy are sleep deprived but happy to have them home.

Sorry I haven't posted lately, I'm sure all you other new parents out there completely understand. I hardly get 10 mins a day on the computer to check email, much less catch up reading other folks blogs and posting to my own. I'm starting to get nervous that the boys have been sleeping for so long - what's the likelihood that we'll get any sleep overnight? I'd better go take another nap.

Handsome Boys

2006-11-16T06:36:00.000-08:00

The boys have graduated to a shared open crib :) Aren't they cute? I guess I'm a bit biased but honestly, they are doing great. We still don't know exactly when they'll be coming home but hopefully soon.

The Yepi Boys Have Arrived!!

2006-11-09T12:37:00.000-08:00

Yes, they are early. Yes, it was a surprise. :) They were born Friday night / Saturday morning (November 4th) at 12:30am at 34 weeks, 3 days gestation. Everyone is doing well, including Mom who was discharged from the hospital on Wednesday. The boys will be spending some time in the NICU as they are premature and have some skills to learn before coming home.

Beth Israel Deaconess Medical Center is pleased to share with you some wonderful news.
We've had a new birth and you have been invited to meet the new baby online!

To visit the baby's WelcomeSite, please click the link below.
You will need to know the mother's last name and her secret word, which appear below.
Mother's Last Name: Yepes
Secret Word (for Dario): twins
Secret Word (for Raymond): twins2

You can find this WelcomeSite at any time by visiting www.welcomenewborn.com and entering the Mother's last name and secret word into the fields provided under the Friends and Family section.

Pic of the Day

2006-10-29T18:14:00.000-08:00

This is our friend, Boston. He has his own blog at http://babyboston.blogspot.com/ I purchased this coat as a gift for Boston's "Happy Homecoming" and now it finally fits him :) DJ & PJ were kind enough to wait around for us after church so that we could see Boston sporting his coat. You think he looks cute now, you should have seen him heading down the stairs into the T station, with the hood flopping over his head the whole time! What a cutie!

Baby Shower Recap and Other Fun Stuff

2006-10-29T01:08:00.000-08:00

What a blessed woman I am! Such thoughtful friends I have! Our nursery theme is Sesame Street, as you can see the cake and napkins were a perfect fit. One of the things I have really wanted during pregnancy, but can't have, is sushi - so the menu was hand crafted with a no-fish sushi theme. Everything was excellent! Kind of funny - I was visiting with ladies in the entry hall and hadn't even gone in the dining room to see the food yet. And I could smell the spam-musubi! I asked, did you guys make spam musubi? Yup! KM was amazed that I could smell it especially since it had been made the night before. Great job, ladies :) You really know how to make a gal feel special and loved.Here's our good friend CY playing one of the shower games "Multi-tasking Mommy". She was the champion of the game with a time of 1 min 35 seconds. In this game you had twin babies to care for (one was sleeping at the beginning of the game), talk on the phone (without the aid of a speaker or headset), and fold baby laundry. When all the laundry was folded and socks matched up, you were done. Everyone who played did amazingly well, and the rest of us had a great laugh. It was especially fun to hear them have a pretend conversation on the phone with another one of the ladies in the room, then to have our hostess start making baby crying noises, that the other "twin" had woken up and needed attention too! Great game!!Here I am with KR, who was the creative genius behind it all, with the help of CM and all the ladies of our community group. Thank you to all of you, but yes KR, you are deserving of a special thanks, especially since you yourself have reason to be tired and low on energy - growing a baby is hard work! I feel especially blessed by all of you, thank you so much.
And, a belly update. This was the same day as the shower - 32 1/2 weeks.

Now, you may be wondering why I'm writing to my blog at 4am. Well I was finally "lucky" enough to catch a real cold. Everything leading up to this was simply congestion and post-nasal drip due to pregnancy. Now I'm convinced I have a "real" cold. My sore throat does not go away, I have a scratchy throat (on the right side especially) that induces coughing fits that make me feel like I'm going to either choke or cough my pharynx right out. Even though the nurse at my OBs office said I could have certain medications, and I went out and bought some, I haven't opened it and I feel uncomfortable taking it because I looked it up and it's a category C drug. I just feel like unless I'm dying that I should just deal with the symptoms instead of putting my babies in any potential danger. It does mean for even more interrupted sleep, however. I'm sitting up now writing this as I am drinking a cup of tea, trying to soothe my throat a bit. And, it's not like I'm not tired either - I could fall asleep right now on this keyboard. But I think my sore throat or coughing would wake me up pretty quickly - so I drink this tea with the hope of at least some relief. Any of you moms (or doctors) out there have advice for me, what is safe to take, what non-drug remedy I could try to make me feel better? I did try gargling with warm salt water last night and that did seem to help for a little while, but it definitely is not a long-term fix.

Okay, now I really am starting to nod off at the keyboard. Time to finish my tea and try for a little more sleep.

Thank You (in advance)...

2006-10-20T17:06:00.000-07:00

... to all of the wonderful ladies who are planning to attend my baby shower tomorrow. I know we are going to have a wonderful time, and I am so excited to see all of you and celebrate with you. Thank you especially to my best friend KR and also to CM for planning & hosting this event. You really know how to make a lady feel special, and loved. Thank you, my sisters, for this wonderful gift.

One Step Closer

2006-10-16T04:40:00.000-07:00

After about 3 hours of construction & frustration, shifting furniture around, and reading assembly instructions, we finished assembling the crib, complete with bedding, crib tent (to keep the cat out), and Sesame Street mobile. I think Tm was about to cry when I wound up the mobile and it started playing "Sunny Days".

Today I'm touring a childcare facility to get on their waiting list (just incase) and Wednesday I have another checkup in the ATU with ultrasound & monitoring to see how the boys are doing. They were really shifting around a lot this weekend, so it will be interesting to see what position they're in now. :)

My Greatest Fear

2006-10-13T17:46:00.000-07:00

Some would say that this is my greatest (irrational) fear. I'm certainly not one of those people in this case however that is convinced that "it couldn't happen to me." I think about lying to random people who ask about my pregnancy - telling them I am due later than I really am, that I don't know what I'm having, withhold the information that we are having twins, and more regularly carry around my pepper spray (yes I have a license for that).

http://www.cbsnews.com/stories/2005/10/13/national/main940646.shtml

It was even scarier to me that as I was searching for a news story to post in this blog entry that there was a story dated TODAY that took place in Pittsburgh.

Little Miss Sunshine

2006-10-01T19:17:00.000-07:00

Today Tm and I went to see Little Miss Sunshine.

You've got to go see this movie before it's out of theaters. If you happen to miss it in theaters, then put it on your Netflix list right away so you'll get it as soon as it's out on DVD. This was a GREAT MOVIE if you haven't already figured it out from how I'm telling you to go see it right now.

From the official website:

"LITTLE MISS SUNSHINE is an American family road comedy that shatters the mold. Brazenly satirical and yet deeply human, the film introduces audiences to one of the most endearingly fractured families in recent cinema history: the Hoovers, whose trip to a pre-pubescent beauty pageant results not only in comic mayhem but in death, transformation and a moving look at the surprising rewards of being losers in a winning-crazed culture. A runaway hit at the Sundance Film Festival, where it played to standing ovations, the film strikes a nerve with everyone who's ever been awestruck by how their muddled families seem to make it after all.
No one among the Hoovers quite has it together, but it's not for lack of trying. Father Richard (GREG KINNEAR), a hopelessly optimistic motivational speaker, is desperately attempting to sell his 9-step program for success -- without much success. Meanwhile, the Hoovers' "pro-honesty" mother Sheryl (TONI COLLETTE) is constantly harried by her family's eccentric secrets, especially those of her brother (STEVE CARELL), a gay suicidal Proust scholar fresh out of the hospital after being jilted by his gay lover. Then there are the younger Hoovers with their unlikely dreams - the four-eyed, slightly plump, seven year-old would-be beauty queen Olive (ABIGAIL BRESLIN) and Dwayne (PAUL DANO), an anger-fueled, Nietzsche-reading teen who has taken a staunch vow of silence until he gets into the Air Force Academy. Topping off the family is the grandfather (ALAN ARKIN), a foul-mouthed pleasure-seeker recently kicked out of his retirement home for snorting heroin.
They might not be the picture of perfect mental health, but when a fluke gets Olive invited to compete in the fiercely competitive "Little Miss Sunshine" competition in California, the whole Hoover family rallies behind her. They pile into their rusted-out VW bus and head West on a three-day tragicomic journey filled with madcap surprises and leading up to Olive's big debut - which will change the entire misfit family in ways they could never imagine. "

From us:

It was often laugh-out-loud funny (and not just us, the whole theater), clapping, hooting, applaud at the end quality of movie. I would say this is the best movie we've seen in a long time. Go. Now.

Pic of the Day

2006-09-29T04:04:00.000-07:00

Just having a little fun with Picasa..

I just gotta say, I really love my husband.

I hadn't really thought about until now that our legacy of self-portraits might go out the window when the twins arrive. At least, I doubt I could get all 4-of-us in a shot together, but who knows. One could document our lives together with self-portraits. We'll really have to try taking one in the hospital when the babies arrive :) I know, we can always have others take a pic of us together, but even when others have taken a pic for us, we always STILL take a self-portrait, I guess now because it's tradition, because we like how it looks - because it says something about us - it all kind of started on our honeymoon. I thought, we aren't going to have any pictures of us together because wherever we go, it's just the two of us! Well, we remedied that right away and perfected the skill of taking self portraits while still including interesting background in the shot. My nephew is 6 years old now, and my sis' has been training him to take pictures so I suppose when the twins are older we can put them to the task sometimes, but I think we will always cherish these "self-portraits" and continue the legacy for years to come. :)

Twins Update

2006-09-26T14:48:00.000-07:00

29 weeks!!!

Twin A (measurement by ultrasound): 2 lbs, 15 oz.
Twin B (measurement by ultrasound): 2 lbs, 11 oz.

Both boys are doing great, growing well, moving well, etc.
Twin A is currently head down, so it was hard to get a good image of him.
Twin B is currently breech (head up) so his picture is a little prettier as it was easier to get.
(Their current positions are not necessarily what their positions will be at birth.)

No Apples, but..

2006-09-24T05:01:00.000-07:00

Our CG was planning on going apple picking yesterday at Marino Lookout Farm but due to the rain, we decided to postpone the outing. So - instead of picking apples & asian pears with our good friends, we got a lot done at the apartment (with the help of our good friend SH, thanks Mountie!)

I found and purchased a dresser for the babies this week, which we picked up yesterday in the Mountie-mobile.

The cool thing is that the top folds out to be a changing table! And, I only paid $40 for it.

We rearranged the living room so that 1) the RCA cables would reach from all the electrical/entertainment components to the receiver (and) 2) we have room for both the pack-n-play and the new dresser. The corner where all the misc "stuff" is right now is where the pack-n-play will go when the babies come. The pic is a little dark and the room is still a little messy, but you get the idea.

We actually picked up the dresser in Charlestown, got all of the speaker wire run and speakers hung for the surround sound, hooked up all of the components, and got the cable internet and phone back up and running all before 2pm. Then we ate some lunch and watched disk 5 of Lost: Season 2 before putting the books back on the bookshelf, setting up the pack-n-play to be sure it would fit in the space we saved for it, and unpacked newborn and 0-3 month clothes into the dresser. What a day! My feet and ankles are huge from all the work we did, but it was worth it. We still have a long ways to go to get completely settled in but we made a lot of progress yesterday and we are both really pleased with how it turned out.

Pregnancy update: I'm trying to keep positive despite the physical difficulty of being pregnant in the 3rd trimester with twins. I wake up in the morning with hand, knee, and foot pain. I'm waking up more during the night not because I have to use the bathroom but because I'm uncomfortable with pain (rib pain last night) that wakes me up. Granted, I don't get the rib pain if I sleep on my huge pregnancy body pillow, but it is huge and sometimes I just want the opportunity to cuddle up to my husband before I fall asleep. Anyway, the babies seem to be doing great, they are kicking me all the time and moving around. It is so strange when they move into a certain position where either their head or their butt is pressing against the outside of my belly and that one spot is so hard and even raised up a bit. Aliens, I tell you.. Aliens :)

Tm and I are having a little bit of a reality check thinking that these kids will likely be here within 10 more weeks. I really should get all of my Christmas shopping done early this year, cause you know I'm not going to be doing any shopping in November or December! We do want to put the babies on our Christmas cards this year, so that will have to wait at least.

We recently got new cell phones, complete with a camera (and flash!) Here's some of the pics I've taken with it in the past few weeks, just for entertainment sake.

Aches, Pains, & Aliens

2006-09-10T16:55:00.000-07:00

It seems a bit silly to blog (read: type) about how much pain I am experiencing in my fingers / hands. I feel like a person with arthritis (which, I'm sure this could be classified as so, since arthritis just means inflammation in the joints). It's the worst in my finger knuckles, not so much in my thumbs, although there is some pain in my toes as well but I'm not trying to pick things up, grip, and function with my toes as I am with my hands. Ouch.

Heartburn is back - I wonder if it is here for good or just for the day. I've read that as the babies grow larger and take up more space, that heartburn will come back in the 3rd trimester because of this (if it ever went away to begin with). I must say that I have NOT missed this during the 2nd trimester and am quite sad that it seems to be returning.

Aliens - yes aliens - are living and growing inside my belly. Or so it might seem when I recline a bit and the babies are moving. I'll notice my shirt move out of the corner of my eye.. It's really strange to watch when I pull up my shirt and look directly at the skin, especially if they are really active. It is just wierd to see your body moving of its own accord, jumping and swirling.. Other folks had told me this would happen but now that it is happening, I still need to make note of it. 'Cause really, it is very very strange. But oh so cool at the same time ;)

Oh, and if you'd like to see my belly gallery, you can check it out here.

Keeping Pace with Multiple Miracles

2006-09-09T04:33:00.000-07:00

www.keepingpace.org

I have posted before about the wonders of freecycle, for the ability to get and give great free stuff, however, I never realized the potential power of connecting people through this site.

A few weeks ago I posted a WANTED ad to freecycle, saying I was expecting twins, and if anyone had any of the list of items I needed laying around, could they contact me. Well, I didn't get any actual stuff from that post, but I did get to meet some really great moms of multiples and get introduced to a great support group - "Keeping Pace with Multiple Miracles" or KPMM for short.

Now, I'm getting a little sucked in, but I think it's good. Their headquarters is down in Bridgewater but I attended a meeting in Roslindale this last Wednesday (instead of prayer summit, sorry folks) and got to meet a bunch of really great ladies with twins & triplets ranging in age from 7 years old down to 5 weeks old, and everything in-between. They also have a store that is open every Saturday morning in Bridgewater, where they sell all kinds of baby stuff (and maternity clothes) to members, and the general public, for garage sale prices. So if any of you new moms (of singletons) or pregnant friends with a car want to drive down there sometime and take a look around, I'd be happy to go with you!

Check out their website - and especially if you know of any moms of multiples out there, or folks expecting multiples, give them the info too. We are trying to organize a Brookline meeting for folks who need a T-accessible meeting, it's very exciting - more coming on this soon.

Make Way for Ducklings

2006-09-04T18:20:00.000-07:00

My 6-year-old nephew came to visit with my sister this weekend, and the only "touristy" outing we had to do, was to go see the "Make Way for Ducklings" sculpture. It was a really nice outing - especially since Tm and I had not yet seen it or even seen the Swan Pond.

It was a drizzly day, but somehow it seemed perfect weather for walking around the pond, visiting with the ducks, swans, and other city dwelling birds, and taking in the scenery. It is good to do these things, to see the "sights" within the city of Boston, that has been our home for 2+ years now. I hope we get the chance to do and see more within this city, without the help of having out of town guests come to visit.

Make way for ducklings!

Another Day, Another Cake

2006-08-27T06:20:00.000-07:00

So, most of you have probably experienced my Chocolate Pistachio Bundt Cake- it is typically the only "party" cake I make, because it's so easy and I typically just keep the ingredients around the house so that I can throw one together on a moments notice. The recipe for that cake comes from The Cake Mix Doctor. I received the book as a gift from my sister at my bridal shower. She would make the Chocolate Pistachio Bundt Cake from it as well, so I knew it was a good one. Well, another recipe she used, but actually used in our WEDDING CAKE (she slightly revised the recipe from a bundt recipe to use as a layered cake) was this one:

The Fuzzy Navel Bundt

Last week I just made two of the Chocolate Pistachio Bundt Cakes (CPBC for short) - one for a work party, and another I brought to community group. Well, tonight is the party at PJ&DJ's place for KW's going away party. How could I bring another CPBC to a community group / church gatering less than a week later? The answer is, I couldn't. Well I could, but Tm and I have been wanting a taste of the Fuzzy Navel cake ever since I rediscovered half a bottle of Peach Schnapps when we were unpacking. This is left over from the last time I made this cake.

Now, don't worry here - the alcohol bakes out of the cake, so I'm not going to be getting the babies liquored up by having a piece of cake. But - I am looking forward to cutting into this beauty, and I hope everyone else likes it as well.

I must note, that my dear husband put a lot of work into this cake too. The recipe calls for fresh orange juice, which usually I just replace with some from the carton (store bought). But it also says for a more flavorful cake, to add the zest of 1 orange. Well, if I was going to buy an orange for zest, I might as well just buy 3 oranges to make make fresh orange juice. Which, in our household, juicing citrus is Tm's job. (He also had to juice limes in the same day for our dinner, Pan Seared Pork Tenderloin with Garlicy Lime Cilantro sauce, YUM).

All that said, we didn't get as much done around the apartment (unpacking) that we would have liked to yesterday, but we did get a lot accomplished:

1) I found a Sesame Street mobile on craigslist the day before, we arranged a meeting time and met to exchange the cash for the item. So cute!

2) Went to the Verizon store to check out new phones. I then spent 90 minutes on the phone with Verizon signing up for a new contract (we've been with Sprint for the last 3 years) and following up with paperwork to prove where I work for the awesome corporate discount we got.

3) Tm did the dishes, which doesn't sound like much, but there was about 3 days worth of dishes in there.

4) I unpacked ONE very large box containing towels and linens. We put clean sheets on the bed.

5) Cooked a yummy tasty dinner out of Cook's Illustrated - which, it just so happens that they featured the same recipe on their show "America's Test Kitchen" yesterday, I caught the 2nd half of the show while eating a late lunch. Some of you might be familiar with this recipe, I made it way back when for a Welcome Team event (Spring Thing - Guess Who's Coming To Dinner). Yum!

6) Tm went to the store to pick up the ingredients we would need to make the Fuzzy Navel Cake.

7) I baked some cookies (from a mix) and washed up the dinner dishes.

8) Tm returned with the wrong pudding mix for the cake and without complaint went back out to get the right thing.

9) I did some more dishes.

10) Time to make the cake! Tm got a great arm workout juicing the oranges, I slightly injured myself grating the zest, but we got the cake into the oven then relaxed the rest of the night. So you know there's a lot of love put into this cake!

When I put it that way, we got a lot done! Time to get ready for church and eat some breakfast.

The Amazing Disappearing Bellybutton!

2006-08-18T16:20:00.000-07:00

Let me give a little back story here.

I have always had an innie bellybutton (BB for short), and quite a deep one at that. In September 2001 I had a laparoscopic surgery which resulted in a small scar that ran along the bottom edge of my BB. This scar decreased the elasticity of my BB where no matter how much I stretched or pulled, I could not ever see the bottom of my button. I mean seriously, I had to dry it out with a q-tip after showers to keep mold from growing in there (that part was a joke).

Imagine my amazement at 14 weeks of pregnancy, upon looking down to see - what's that? The bottom of my bellybutton!! At that point it was still fairly deep, but more rounded and definitely "open". I'm now 23 1/2 weeks along and what was once my BB is no more than a shallow divot with my bellybutton's private parts exposed. You know, that little nub of tissue in the very depths of your BB? That's what I'm talking about here.

I forgot to mention, I also have a BB piercing, along the top edge of my BB. I've had this piercing since I was 19, and it hurt A LOT to get, so it is my intention not to lose it because I don't think I could ever get it done again. A few weeks ago I purchased a specialty jewelry that is basically a piece of flexible medical tubing with a decorative "stopper" inserted at each end. So - no worries about having a hard piece of jewelry tearing out as my belly grows and stretches, but now it is starting to look like I just had a piece of my belly pierced, as it is indistinguishable as the actual "top" of my bellybutton. And, what was a tiny scar along the bottom edge of my BB is now about an inch and a half long smiley face. I will spare you by not posting a photo here.

I knew I was a smart gal for never getting any tattoos on my belly. Aren't the changes of pregnancy great? Some are amusing, to say the least. Until next time..

Catching Up

2006-08-17T19:14:00.000-07:00

I realize I haven't written to my blog in almost exactly one month. In that time we started (and are soon to finish) our childbirth / infant care classes, went on vacation back home to Seattle, have been working on getting settled into our new apartment, among other things. I of course have the continued job of growing our two baby sons :) I don't have much energy to type tonight so I'm just going to lead you through the last month in whatever photos seem appropriate from that time. Thanks for reading / looking, I'll write more soon!

Hershey found what he thought was a comfortable spot to rest - in the sunshine, on top of miscellaneous odds-and-ends that weren't packed at moving time.

Yes, these are my feet and ankles (what's left of them) resting on my carry on luggage on our way to Seattle, during our extended layover in Dallas. Yes, we had to fly to Dallas to then fly to Seattle. I resolved 1) never to fly that pattern again (and) 2) never to fly pregnant again. It took about 3 days for my ankles to return and for any of my shoes to fit.

The day after our arrival, we spent the afternoon with some friends and had some professional black and white "pregnancy" photos taken. This one was particularly fun to do, although I somewhat resent Tm for having a bigger pregnant belly than me!

These are my parents! It just so happened that the timing of our trip was perfect so that we could attend my cousin's wedding. It was a great opportunity to see a lot of my extended family and to see my parents get dressed up. Don't they look cute?

Here I am at my very first baby shower. The chocolate brown outfit was a gift from my mother-in-law - she thought I should have something sexy to wear while pregnant. The top probably won't fit for very long, as these aren't actually "maternity" clothes, but the pants are super comfy (gauchos) and I think I'll be able to wear for a long time, during and after the pregnancy. We had a great time with everyone, and got lots of cute outfits and baby stuff. It was a lot of fun.

"The Farmboy" is a little restaurant just south of where Tm's parents live that serves GREAT breakfast. We actually went there twice with his Dad for breakfast in the 3 days we spent with Tm's family. The first time I had eggs, hashbrowns, biscuits & sausage country gravy. The second time I had a huge malted waffle with strawberries and whipped cream, and scrambled eggs. Mmmm... Yum! And, the coffee was always hot (more on this later).

I'm lounging at the in-laws place with Isabelle, who is a Devon Rex, just like Hershey. She is an old lady (18 years old!) but she still gets around alright, despite her cataracts and partial vision loss. Just like any other Devon, she loves to spend time on your shoulder. She has always been very skiddish, so it is an honor that she chose to sleep on me. She does interact with us more each time we visit.

This picture was taken at IHOP: International House of Pancakes - which USED to be my favorite breakfast spot. It is tradition that I look forward to every time we go home to visit, that we have a breakfast date at IHOP with our friends JB & DB. This visit was no different. I ordered (decaf) coffee, and of course IHOP brings out a cup and a "hot pot" of coffee. First off, the first cup was cold. So I asked for new coffee - which came out piping hot. By the time I drank the first cup and attempted to refill from the "hot pot" the coffee inside was certainly NOT "very hot coffee". I was inspired enough by the experience (and, I must say it is ALWAYS like this) that I wrote a comment card to our good friend Dave (the IHOP guy). I even included my address, I wonder if he'll write me back..

This is just prior to our leaving Tm's family to head back up north to prepare to fly back to Boston. I thought it would be a great idea to get a picture of the babies with their Grandpa Y while we were there.

That's all the pictures (and time) I have for now. Thanks for looking and take care!

Exhausted and Completely Blessed

2006-07-19T18:55:00.000-07:00

The days are ticking by to our move date - I am exhausted each night - and so completely blessed. So many of you have offered your assistance, given up your weeknight or weekend to help us out - it means so very much. Not only the work you are able to accomplish, but having help spurs me on to get more done than I would get done simply on my own. You keep me accountable to keep going, and honestly, I think you keep me from bickering with my husband (too much) and I can leave him to help do the things that he does best. In the past 2 days he has been carrying over lighter furniture items to the new place, trying to clear out some space as we continue to fill the apartment with more and more boxes. Thankfully, the packing is starting to come to an end. There are still some odds and ends that need to be taken care of, and obviously we have not torn down the computer or internet connection yet (that will happen last thing Friday night, and the first thing to get set-up at the new apartment) but for the most part things are wrapping up. Tomorrow night Tm's going to go get the laundry done while I go to the new place and clean. Friday will consist of getting the last things packed and ready to go, and some prayer in the evening that things will go well on Saturday.

So I must say, once again, THANK YOU ALL so very much. Once we get a little settled in, perhaps in mid to late August, we plan to thank you all appropriately with a dinner party or some such event. Our new place is even smaller than the one we're leaving, though, but I heard ES & SS had over 10 folks in their tiny place, it'll just have to be a "social" format where not everyone gets to sit down at the same time :) You guys rock.

We're MOVING!

2006-07-15T04:26:00.000-07:00

If you have been reading my posts, you know that we are currently living in a mold haven, camped out on our livingroom floor for the past 3 weeks. Well last Wednesday we went and saw a new apartment (in the same building) that is on the front of the building (facing Beacon Street). It's going to be available for move-in probably by next Wednesday, so we are planning our move for the next weekend - we're hoping to get enough help so that we can get it all done on Saturday, July 22nd but if not then we'll be carrying over into Sunday as well. If you can offer any assistance, on either of the actual move dates, with packing the week before, with providing used boxes or packing supplies, we would be so grateful. Thanks for your consideration! We are just so happy to be getting out of our moldy apartment (although it sucks to have to move).

My Ever Expanding Belly

2006-07-13T20:08:00.000-07:00

We've been taking belly pics ever since 6 weeks - every 4 weeks - until now, 18 weeks. I think after this we'll have to take them every 2 weeks because the change is definitely happening more quickly now.

We also had our 18 week ultrasound today, and found out that we are expecting.. two boys!

This is "Twin A"

And this is "Twin A"s boy parts. Can you see it?

This is "Twin B"

And this is "Twin B"s boy parts. This one has an arrow to help you find it.

I'm sure our sons will really appreciate their mother posting ultrasound pictures of their penises for the world to see. I can just hear it now, "How embarrassing, Mom!"

My First Digital "Scrapbook Page"

2006-07-10T20:35:00.000-07:00

So, for numerous reasons I have not done any scrapbooking since April - crazy! I decided to take a break from paper scrapping (which takes up a lot of space and costs) and purchased a digital scrapbooking software program (Art Explosion Scrapbook Factory Deluxe v. 3.0) in the hopes I'd get to do some scrapping. So - all explanations aside, here's my first digital scrapbooking page. It's also the first page I've done about my pregnancy.. Thanks for looking!!

If you'd like to view this page full size, check it out at my Online Scrapbooking Gallery. At this link, if you click on the smaller picture, you'll get a full size view of the page. :) Thanks for looking!

Eww!

2006-07-06T16:11:00.000-07:00

So this is what the inside of our bedroom wall looks like. It smells even worse! Luckily we seem to be making some progress with our landlord - they are calling in the "restoration" people and are planning to tear out our entire bedroom wall and replace it. We should get the call tomorrow with more details.

From a 1 bdrm to a studio

2006-06-28T20:09:00.000-07:00

I must admit I am getting increasingly frustrated with this mold situation at our apartment. Landlord says a carpenter will be coming in tomorrow morning to pull off some of the boards around the window/fire escape to look to find the source/mold. As I was doing some housekeeping in the living room tonight I realized that the OTHER window (the one in the living room) that also leaked earlier this month also smells of mold. Yay.

So, what was our small but spacious 1 bedroom apartment has quickly turned into a studio apartment with a less than comfortable bed (the futon). At least we still have each other, right?

I don't think my family is going to be able to come this weekend. I can't imagine entertaining anyone in this apartment regardless of if we had space to put everyone. It's hard enough to find enough room for me, Tm, Hershey, and all our stuff, much less 2 more adults and 2 nephews. Oh, this just sucks. Really, really sucks.

Moldy Bedroom?!?

2006-06-27T05:36:00.000-07:00

Our bedroom is currently un-liveable, and not because it's a mess (although it is a mess) but because of a strong, permeating moldy smell. If you look at the message archives, we had a pretty big leak along the edge of the window / fire escape in that room a few weeks ago. Now, it is my fear that mold is growing in the wall. I took the trash out this morning and looked at the back of the building, to see a large quantity of green growing on the outside of the building, and I wonder if that is contributing to the smell. All I know is that to enter the room I have to wear a particulate respirator mask otherwise a headache is immediately forthcoming. Last night we camped out in the living room, and the bedroom door is closed until this is resolved. When we got home from doing the laundry last night the whole apartment smelled! Now, after airing out the entire apartment and closing the bedroom door, we can confidently say that the smell is coming from the bedroom. I guess the good news is that part of our apartment is liveable. The bad news is that we are expecting out-of-town family guests this weekend!!! I just hope and pray that this will be resolved by Friday and I don't have to call them and say "don't come."

Happy 4th of July, everyone. Hope yours is better than it looks like ours is going to be!

Hungry like a Hobbit

2006-06-26T15:55:00.000-07:00

Well, I'm now almost 16 weeks along in this twin pregnancy. The sickness is subsiding, as long as I eat whenever my body says "EAT!" which, seems like all the time! They say that newborns need to eat every 2-4 hours, but I think it's the same in-utero! I'm sure all of you have seen Lord of the Rings - remember in the first movie, when "Strider" is leading the hobbits, and they start to break down their gear for "2nd breakfast", and "Strider" freaks out?!? One of the hobbits says "I don't think he's heard of 2nd breakfast, Pip." I feel like a hobbit! Between full meals, small meals, and snacks, I've been covering just about all the "Hobbit" meals: breakfast, 2nd breakfast, lunch, afternoon tea, dinner, and supper. But, I don't have feet like a hobbit! Maybe we'll have to start calling the twins "Pip" and "Merry" in-utero until we come up with real names for them! (on that note, in 2 more weeks we hope to find out the sexes of the babies at my 18 week ultrasound). :)

Let the knitting RE-commence!

2006-06-23T03:44:00.000-07:00

I started this project (a baby blanket) a while back.. with just one skein of yarn. Oops! I figured I'd be able to go pick more up at Michael's next time I went to the store. But it looks like they're not carrying this yarn anymore! So, it's been sitting around doing nothing and since this is currently my only set of knitting needles, I haven't done much other knitting (except when RL was kind enough to lend me her needles to make baby hats).

Well, I finally did some searching online and found the yarn I need, and it arrived yesterday! YAY! Now I can let the knitting re-commence! I'm planning to learn how to crochet a scalloped border around the whole thing (in a different color/pattern yarn) when it is complete.

Gotta love Dilbert

2006-06-19T08:22:00.000-07:00

I subscribe to "Daily Dilbert" which means I get the new Dilbert comic in my email every morning (I don't get the Sunday comic). I just had to share this one!!

Freecycle is awesome

2006-06-18T18:44:00.000-07:00

I am so thankful to MH & LH for telling me about Freecycle. Have you heard of it? It is a yahoo group where you can offer up to others the things you don't want anymore, and of course try to get things that others no longer want. Sometimes you can even post a "wanted" ad so if someone has an item that they didn't even remember they had sitting around in their basement, you can take it off their hands. Here's an excerpt from the main page:

" Boston, Massachusetts Freecycle(TM) is open to all who want to "recycle" that special something rather than throw it away. Whether a chair, a fax machine, or an old door, feel free to post it. Maybe you're looking to acquire something yourself! Everything posted must be FREE, legal and appropriate for all ages. Freecycle is a movement of people interested in keeping stuff out of landfills while building a sense of community."

I wanted to share about Freecycle because I was so immensely blessed today by another Freecycle member. Timo and I took a short, 2/3 mile walk today to go pick up some maternity clothes. Another member had offered this lot of clothes and I hadn't "won" it, but a few weeks later she wrote me to say that the original person who had contacted her apparently didn't want the stuff, was I still interested? I replied in the affirmative and arranged to pick them up. Well, I just got done sorting through the two huge trash bags full of clothes, and I really hit the motherlode!!! I can't even count the number of tops - long sleeve, 3/4 sleeve, 1/2 sleeve, short sleeve, no sleeve - some t-shirt style, some dressier. Also some dresses and skirts, a nightgown, and a pair of shorts. Wow.

Completely, amazedly blessed.

Let's Get Crafty: Scrapbooking!!

2006-06-17T12:05:00.000-07:00

Today was the "Let's Get Crafty: Scrapbooking" event, hosted by yours truly. We met together for a potluck breakfast - yummy pancakes with fresh fruit, scrambled cheesy eggs, everything bagels, cut up watermelon, and Dunkin muffins. Yum! I went through a short talk about the basics of scrapbooking, and we quickly got to work! As always, I forgot to take out my camera until nearly the very end, but here are some shots of everyone who finished a project today.. KR made some beautiful cards..
PM made an intro page for her Ireland photos..

WS made the first page for her wedding album! Great job, ladies! I hope you all had fun!

My Science Fair Project

2006-06-11T17:57:00.000-07:00

So, this is what I have been working on for the past few hours for the Welcome Table at church.

I have had this project in my "To Do" list for months.. It's on a folding board like what you see at science fairs. I've never actually DONE a display for a science fair, so this is my first time making such a thing. Not all of the seams are in ideal locations, and I just hope this thing will last for some period of time, with being folded and re-folded, and being stored in the back store room at the hotel, getting beat up on, etc. Anyway, it's done.

Drip... drip... drip...

2006-06-07T18:55:00.000-07:00

So, two of our windows are leaking at the moulding around the top of the window, the moulding above the window and fire escape door in the bedroom and the window by the kitty tower. Rain is expected to continue through Saturday. We called the management company - apparently they are getting a lot of these calls and can't do anything about it until the rain stops. Oh, yay. I wonder if we'll have any clean towels by the end of this..

Desperately Hungry Pregnant Lady Food

2006-06-01T20:52:00.000-07:00

I guess I have been blogging a lot about food lately, but I think that's understandable from someone who's pregnant.It's 11:50pm and I haven't eaten dinner yet. Now, don't scold me yet - when I got home I was feeling awful - Tm got home and I made him feed me a salad (I felt the need for veggies of some kind). We immediately fell asleep and I didn't wake up until 10pm. For the last 2 hours I've been writing email, reading blogs, and trying to figure out what I am going to eat. What do I feel like eating? What is easy to make? What do we have in the house? Sometimes I feel so much a need for PROTEIN that all I can think about are SCRAMBLED EGGS. This is the 2nd time I have made this particular version for myself - scrambled eggs with cheese and ketchup on buttered toast. And, that's water in the purple glass. People keep asking me, are you craving any foods? And I never have an answer, cause I don't feel like I do crave certain foods but I do certainly crave foods - usually vegetables and eggs (not together!) although I could go for some green beans right now. Um, I gotta go..

More Adventures in Crockpot Cooking

2006-05-29T15:53:00.000-07:00

Crockpots are the ultimate kitchen tool. They've been around just about forever (at least in my lifetime) and it wasn't until just recently that I listened to both my mother-in-laws and started using one. I actually got my crockpot free, that was one condition of the deal, I didn't want to spend $30 on a new crockpot when I knew there were likely crockpots laying around in people's cupboards or attics, not getting used, just collecting dust. I thank the nice lady from Dorchester who offered me her crockpot in response to my request on Freecycle . Anyway, back to my latest adventure - "Souper Beef Stroganoff". This recipe was culled from a cook book I received as a gift (from one of my MILs) a few years back when I didn't even OWN a crockpot. So, needless to say, this recipe is untested. Until now. It smells good and I think it might even taste good. As soon as Tm gets home we'll find out, and I'll let you know....

Rating: 7 on a scale to 10
The flavor was excellent, it's not too salty, just right. Very creamy. My only complaint is the texture of the meat (Tm thought it was fine!), but I did leave it on to cook much longer than the recipe recommends. It's very easy to make! It took me about 30 minutes this morning before leaving home to get it going and 10 minutes after getting home. If you want a meatier version just add more meat. We made it with about 1 1/3 lb. of meat and the meat pieces seemed a little scarce. You could cut the pieces up smaller than I did, also. Here's the recipe:

"Souper" Beef Stroganoff
from Crazy About Crockpots by Penny E. Stone

Prep time about 15 minutes, Serves 6, Cost: about 72 cents per serving

1 lb or more beef round steak
1 can cream of mushroom soup
1 can cream of celery soup
1 can cream of potato or onion soup
2 teaspoons beef seasoning mix or 3 beef bouillon cubes
1 cup water
1/2 cup flour
1 teaspoon salt
1/4 teaspoon black pepper
1 pkg. egg noodles, prepared according to package directions
1 small pkg. sour cream

Combine salt and pepper with flour. Cut meat into strips or bite-sized pieces. Coat meat with flour and brown all sides in a little bit of oil. Transfer meat to crockpot when beef has browned. Dissolve boullion in 1 cup of water, add beef broth mixture and soups to crockpot, and stir together. Cover with lid and cook on low for 6-8 hours. When ready to serve, prepare one package of egg noodles according to package directions, and drain. Add a small carton of sour cream to crockpot mixture. Serve over cooked egg noodles. (I actually mixed the egg noodles in with the mixture in the crockpot as we like our noodles fully coated in yummy goodness. Also, ours was made with cream of potato soup and I cut the meat in bite sized pieces.)

Enjoy!!

The Fenway Experience

2006-05-28T06:15:00.000-07:00

Well, Tm and I finally got to go to a Red Sox game together :) He had gone last season with his friend M but alas, there was no ticket for me then. We bought these tickets from a gal at Tm's work who had extras, so we paid just face value. We're in the right field grandstand, here. I always knew that Red Sox fans were serious fans - but I had never had what I am calling "The Fenway Experience". It was like we were sitting amongst a big, extended family. People were more likely to pick up a chant started at the back of the park, and more likely to carry it on longer - they cheered on the pitcher when he'd gotten 2 strikes on the batter (and 2 outs) and they wanted their team back up to bat. I haven't been to many teams parks - Mariner's @ Safeco Field, and Braves @ Turner Field. The fans at those locations are nothing like Red Sox fans. Now, don't get me wrong, I'm sure they're loyal, excited, cheering fans. But Red Sox fans seem to be a whole different breed. I'm glad I got to experience Fenway, filled with Red Sox fans, during our adventure here in Boston.

Oh, and I ought to say, the Red Sox beat the Devil Rays 6 to 4. It was also Curt Schilling's 200th win. Tm says he's bound for the Baseball Hall of Fame.

Tag

2006-05-22T18:50:00.000-07:00

Tagged by formerly paulinechu

1. Four Jobs:
a. File clerk for an independent insurance agency
b. Video rental store worker (with an "adult" section)
c. Front desk supervisor at a hotel
d. X-ray technologist

2. Four Things I Wish I Had Done Earlier In My Life:
a. Traveled internationally
b. Taken a road trip coast-to-coast with no agenda and unlimited funds
c. Learn to speak Spanish (fluently)
d. Bungee jumping

3. Four Places I Have Lived:
a. Glendora, CA
b. Shelton, WA
c. Seattle, WA
d. Boston, MA

4. Four Countries I Have Been To:
a. USA
b. Canada
c. United Nations (well, it's technically an international territory)
d. - - - - - - -

5. Four Countries I Would Like to Visit:
a. Italy
b. Spain
c. Korea
d. Antarctica

6. Four of My Favorite Dishes:
a. cup
b. plate
c. bowl
d. mug

7. Four Sites I Visit Daily:
a. my yahoo site / yahoo comics
b. blogger
c. scrapbook.com
d. iVillage (pregnancy boards)

8. Four Software Applications I Cannot Live Without:
a. Internet Explorer
b. Microsoft Excel
c. Calculator
d. recently, Picasa

9. Four Things I'll Never Forget:
a. My husband's birthday
b. I've forgotten
c. everything else
d. already

10. I Tag: (revised) I tag SKF!

My First Hat

2006-05-20T19:30:00.000-07:00

Okay, so I'm not sure how many hours I have been working on this hat - it's 10:30pm now, and I think I started on it around 7pm.. Three and a half hours later, wa-lah! Baby hat! I had a little bit of the burgandy yarn and really felt an all black hat would be inappropriate so I added the stripe - I must say it is also my first project using two different yarns and I think it worked out well. Probably not perfect, but I don't think I dropped any stitches either. It also looks really cute on our Coca-cola bear.

Comics are healthy for you! Read one today.

2006-05-20T14:30:00.000-07:00

There are 5 comic strips that I try to read on a daily basis.. They are Fox Trot, Frazz, Get Fuzzy, Pearls before Swine, and Dilbert. I really wanted to put last Thursday's Pearls before Swine up on the blog, but for some reason it won't let me post it here. But, here's a link.. I think you'll enjoy this a lot, I sure did.

I will NOT be held responsible...

2006-05-20T14:12:00.000-07:00

... if any of you folks who helped P & DJ move, and ate my chili, are struck with gas! No pointing fingers at me if you start stinking up your own homes! hehe.. And, please get it out of your system before you come over here on Tuesday night (j/k). Honestly, I was so happy to have everyone over today, glad that I could help in the "move" even though I didn't come lift heavy things. Now I'm wishing I had taken a picture of the crockpot before (full of chili) and after (nearly empty). I'm glad everyone enjoyed the meal and if you want the recipe just let me know! I just love my subscription to Cooks Country magazine. I can be pretty much assured that (as long as I don't screw it up) that whatever recipe I pick out of there will come out good. Otherwise I wouldn't have the nerve to serve a brand new recipe I had never tried on 10 of my closest friends. :)

The good news is: I've been feeling a LOT better these past two days (today and yesterday). I just hope that this whole "feeling better" thing will last. I'm feeling like I did before 6 weeks - needing a morning and afternoon snack, but not nauseated at other times, and just really thirsty all the time. I did get heartburn last night, but I attribute that to the raw onion in the chicken salad I made.

I'm also very excited to get started on my very first knitted baby hat. KR was so sweet to let me borrow her knitting needles necessary for this knitting project. Thank you, KR! Now, I just need some yarn!! Perhaps tomorrow.. I may even do a "test" hat with some old yarn I have, but it's BLACK - is that a little too depressing for a baby, to wear a black knit cap? We could just pretend that baby is a cat burglar! Yeah, black is not really a color you dress up your infant in, traditionally. Anyway, we'll see. My first hat will probably be so ugly with knitting mistakes anyway that the black won't make much difference. I'll post pics when I have something accomplished.

Picture of the Day

2006-05-19T03:43:00.000-07:00

Here's one good reason why I should keep my camera with me at all times.

Kitty Tongue

2006-05-18T03:54:00.000-07:00

Hershey sometimes forgets the tip of his tongue outside of his mouth. We like to call this phenomenon "Kitty Tongue". It's like his super power, that has the ability to cheer up any bad mood or bad day.