The laundry hamper

Question-Where should I look when we are missing items?  Answer-the laundry hamper!  I don't know why I don't just look there first when I am missing something.  Emilynn's pink croc has been missing since last week.  Just one....and it was driving me crazy b/c I broke my normal rules and actually bought croc brand ones, of course on a deep sale.  But still......
Last I saw the shoes was before I left for Eric's surprise party last week....Dustin was going to take the kids riding to calm them down.  I swore he must have lost it somehow.  Then, as I was emptying their hamper, there was the pink croc.  I don't know why I hadn't looked there.  I have found sippy cups, toys, just about anything in the hamper.  Good thing they can't reach the trash can.....it's no telling what all we'd lose that way.  Speaking of crocs, I let both kids wear crocs to church Sunday.  Emmy wore Carson's orange pair and Carson wore his alligator ones on the wrong feet.  Is that bad?  Honestly, we were running late and they can put them on themselves.  They are so proud and it saves me time.  I think I'd rather they be independent and proud of themselves than have on the "perfect" shoes to match their clothes.  Wouldn't it crush them if I re-did them as if they didn't do it right?  That's what I'm gonna go with!  They are starting to learn to take care of themselves and I need to be supportive.  So, if you see my babies in mismatched clothes and shoes....you know why!!!!  :-) 
On a side note-today was Abbey's 16th birthday!  I feel so old!  I was 15 when she was born.  Anyway, we had a yummy Mexican dinner and the kids behaved so nicely!  I was proud of them.  And I got to eat!  A success all the way around!
Today is also day 4 of Dustin working 16 hour days and I think he's working overnight tonight.  That means it's me and the kiddos.  I honestly haven't been too tired or stressed, which is amazing to me.  I think the key has been NAPS!  For all 3 of us!  Even on Sunday & Monday when we got home at 3 pm, we still did naps.  Normally I may scrap them and just say we'll go to bed earlier.  But I knew I wasn't going to have help in the evenings so that wasn't even a thought in my mind!  Also, Dustin is great about giving me breaks here and there but it's been fine.  The twins are keeping me company.    Poor kids are missing Da-Da though.  I've let them stay up to see him every night except tonight because I knew he wasn't going to be in.  It's nice to be able to adjust our schedule since we don't have anywhere to be at any certain time.  I love being home with my twins!  Hopefully a couple more days and everyone will have power restored.  I'd hate to think we were without power for this long.  I am very thankful for my electricity!  I don't take it for granted! 

Miracles

It's amazing how God is performing miracles every day and yet we don't always take the time to see them.  This weekend, our family had a huge miracle.  My brother-in-law, Wayne, had a really bad wreck and he walked away from it with only cuts & scratches.  Amazing.  Everyone who's seen his truck can't believe he is still here.  God is good.  Basically he was driving down the road when a tree fell onto his truck, right on the driver's side.  Luckily, either the truck and tree pushed his head to the passenger side, or it was instinct on his part.  Either way, he is fine and we are blessed.  Hunter said the truck was "broke". 
We weathered the hurricane without incident at our house, we never even lost power.  Thank goodness since my new generator that is supposed to come on automatically when the power goes out is sitting happily in the garage, un-hooked up.  I sure hope the men in my life get it going before winter, snow, and a new baby! 
We went by Amanda & Wayne's house after church to see his truck and everyone (mom, Blake, Aunt Debbie, Uncles Dale & Jimmy, Dawn, the girls, and then my grandparents came as well) was cleaning up their yard because of the tree damage they had.  Carson decided he was going to help put brush on the trailer and he'd get a handful and throw it on the trailer.  Problem was, he's too short to reach it at all, so it would just fly back behind him.  He never knew the difference though and was so proud of himself.  He was beaming and giving himself a hand.  Cute. 
This week was going to be a quiet week, or so I thought. Dustin's working until further notice because of storm damage so I'm on my own for the immediate future.  Which means I have to do baths.  :-(  It's not that I hate doing them, but it is so hard to do them without the extra hands.  We have a system to do them together.  They are just "his" thing with the kids.  I just wait and dress them after.  Last time I did them alone, Emmy got away from me and took off across the bathroom, slipped and fell on the floor cause she was soaking wet, luckily she wasn't hurt.  They know I don't run as tight of a "bath ship" as Daddy, so I think they try more with me. We'll see how it goes, I'll pray beforehand.   We have a volleyball game tonight if we go, Abbey's 16th birthday dinner tomorrow night, dance sign-ups for Emmy on Thursday (more on this later..), and something on Friday that is slipping my mind right now......oh, my doctor's appointment.  We are 15 weeks along now and in the 2nd trimester.   I can't wait to hear "peanut's" heart beat again, the sweetest sound on Earth.  :-)

Hurricane Irene

I must admit it...I am a weather channel nerd.  I love watching the weather channel and when a storm is coming, I hvae it on non-stop.  I guess I get caught up in the excitement of it, I don't know.  So, I've decided we need to do a few things to get ready for this storm, as the path is a bit close for comfort to us in my opinion.  I'd rather be prepared and not need it, than to be unprepared.  When Hurricane Isabel hit here in "03, we were not prepared.  I remember my sister and I riding all over trying to fill gas containers and get food for the grill.  We all pooled our food and cooked at my grandma's on the grill which was fun, but I wish we had been more prepared.  So, for this storm I am going to get a few things at Walmart we will need, gas up the car, and get cash in case we need it.  That's it..that's all I'm doing.  I just want to be prepared with food for the kids to eat, stuff for Dustin to take with him to work, etc.  I guess I worry more too because if we have bad weather, Dustin has to work.  Which means I am responsible for the kids by myself, which is why you probably won't find me ever driving a vehicle without 4 wheel drive.  I don't like to be stuck anywhere, and if it snows I need to be able to get out of my driveway and be able to take the kids to the dr., etc. if they need to go.  Anyway, just something to think about in the coming days. 
For now, I'm off to get ready to go to a meeting. 

A Memorable Day

Well, I am happy to say I am writing this blog post from my living room on my NEW laptop!  I am SO excited to have a laptop to finally use our wireless connection we've had for a year now.  We had been wanting a laptop but kept putting it off because it would be a frivilous purchase since we had a working computer.  Hence the word "had".  The computer crashed this morning, beyond repair.  I mean, I'm no expert, BUT we've had it a while and it has been messing up for a while.  So yes, we flew right out this evening and got a new one!  :-)  Actually I was on there this morning looking at the camera I was going to buy during nap.  Dustin gave me money for a camera last Christmas and I just hadn't gotten it yet.  I got a laptop instead.  :-)  I will get the camera soon though because I want to have it and be used to it before our little peanut arrives.  Anyway, the laptop is going to be SO much nicer because we can be in the living room, I can have it on the island during the day, etc. to use it.  It is an hp and I had a long discussion with the Best Buy girl about it and it's ours.  I am amazed I could set it up on my own! 
We had dinner at Olive Garden..which was crazy.  Carson was not good.  He wasn't really bad, but I wish he had been better.  Finally Dustin took him out because nothing was making him happy and he was being loud.  Although several older people told me as we were leaving that he really wasn't bad and he was the cutest thing they'd ever seen.  :-)  I thought that was sweet.  He is a charmer, that's for sure.  Emmy ate well, I think she was sad we had to go.  We boxed up ALL our food and left.  I mean salad, bread, entrees, kids' food.  None of us got to finish.  Oh well...you win some you lose some right?  I have to say, their kids' meals are nice.  For only $5 the kids got mac & cheese, grapes, and apple juice to drink.  They loved the food and especially their big kid cups, that's the big thing right now with them, to have a straw! 
Secondly, the earthquake was memorable today.  The whole house was shaking and Emmy started crying, she was scared.  Poor girl.  Carson was just looking at me like "mom, what's going on." 
Lastly, we found out today that I will have a new neice in January!  Mike & Marie (my brother-in-law and sister-in-law) are having a girl.  Riley Marie will join us in mid to late January.  Now we have to see if she will be joined by a girl or boy cousin.  :-)  We will reveal that at the gender party.....more on that later!!! 

A Birthday party, a Baptism, & a ball game...

That's what we've been doing the past 3 days.  Saturday we rode 1 1/2 hours to my Uncle Carl's surprise 60th birthday party.  I love surprises!  My dad, Dawn, sister Alyssa, Hunter, Carson, Emilynn, and myself all rode together.  Yes, the car was packed with car seats!  It was a pretty drive to the mountains though.  We enjoyed the party and seeing family we don't see often.  The kids got tired though, there wasn't much for them to do there.  Emilynn almost cut the cake twice before the party began.  Other than that, they did okay.  Another little girl knocked over the American flag there...it was loud.  I was glad it wasn't my kids!  :-)  It made me feel better. 
Sunday I went to my cousin Kristen's son's baptism.  Dylan is 5 months now.  Hard to believe....anyway, I left the kiddos at home and went with my grandparents.  We had a nice day together.  I will say, the baptism service at their church is beautiful.  I love going, makes me tear up.  The actual building is beautiful as well, and I've seen lots of pretty churches.  It is even prettier than ones I saw in England, known for it's beautiful sanctuaries. 
Tonight I went to Abbey's volleyball game.  Again, Daddy kept the kids.  I was going to take them and he volunteered to give me a break.  He's awesome like that.  :-) 
I always feel so refreshed after a little outing by myself.  They needed to go to bed early anyway.  They didn't get a good nap today, as it was Monday and we always get milk on Mondays.  We have been meeting my sister Amanda and our friend Joyce for lunch every Monday.  It is a lot of fun....we have a good time.  I got the car serviced while we were eating, so that is something off my never-ending to-do list.  :-)  Now I just need to call the man to clean it. 
The rest of the week is shaping up to be busy as well.....we have a VDOT meeting Wednesday which I MAY have to take the kids to.  Good thing they aren't formal, at least the last one wasn't.  Thursday is a concert in town we may go to, since the twins LOVE music & dancing.  And Saturday is our trip to the "water park" as Hunter keeps saying.  Although Hurricane Irene may have other plans for us...so we'll see.  I certainly don't want to have 3 toddlers in a water park during a storm.  I guess we'll stay tuned to see what happens with that...

Our Week in Review

My Dad is doing better-that is good news.  He isn't out of the woods yet though, he goes back to dr. on Tues to check his finger.  Last I saw of it, it was still gross.  He got out of the hospital Tues. morning.  I think they were scared if they didn't let him go, we'd take the twins back.  We went to visit him twice on Monday.  I don't think the kids did too bad at the hospital.......Dad kind of helps them get rowdy.  He made latex glove balloons for them and pretended like they were shaking him out of the bed.  Anyway, we're glad he's on the road to recovery.  :-) 
I must say, it's made me a bit on edge as far as watching for snakes.  Emmy always kicks her shoes off in the yard so I'm a nervous wreck when we are playing. 

We haven't done a lot this week, just ran a few errands here and there.  Cousin Hunter made the twins lunch on Wed.  He knows how to cook eggs in the microwave (at my grandma's).  He pushes the numbers and all.  He was so proud.  I took the babies to play with him because we had a bit of cabin fever.  After chasing all 3 for a few hours, I was cured of my cabin fever and ready to go home!  :-) 

Today I finally, finally cleaned out my car.  Well, I cleaned out everything that didn't belong in the car.  The car is something......the kids started eating in the car in March when we were going back and forth to take my grandpa several days a week to radiation.  It just snowballed from there.  Toys started showing up in the car then too.  My sister offered to pay someone to clean it for me.  I am going to have it professionally cleaned....but that couldn't happen until I got our "stuff" out.  The twins "helped" me clean the car by hopping from front to back, pretending to steer, etc.  Here is just a little of what came out of the car:

• 4 cases of toilet paper (I love a bargain!)
• 4 pairs of kids' shoes
• flip flops for someone-they don't fit me....maybe a sister?
• 3 bags/boxes of toys
• 1 large black garbage bag of trash
• 1 sippy cup-gross!
• a bag of goldfish-the kids thought this was awesome
• 3 bags of clothes & Christmas gifts (again-bargains!)
• 2 kids' bag chairs (xmas gifts-don't tell the twins)
• 8 dresses on hangers for Emmy & a big bag of clothes for her that someone gave us
• 2 strollers
• 6 blankets-in case we get stranded you know.....
• 3 coats- again....stranded.....may need them
• 2 containers of bubbles-kids again thought this was awesome
• our pool bag-with swimsuits and towels for everyone-for an impromtu swim

I think that was about it....or about all I can remember! 
Oh, and there were about 1 million goldfish and cheerios in the car.  There are about 1/2 of that still in there.  Once it's cleaned-no more eating in mommy's car!!!!!  

A quiet weekend until.....the copperhead incident!

Yes, you read that right.  My dad was moving something outdoors today and was bit by a copperhead snake.  He immediately killed it (to bring with him to the E.R.) and got a friend to drive him to the E.R. (he was working at someone's house).  They took the snake with them in a bucket.  Gross, huh?  Anyway, he is in ICU for observation.  I'm guessing they'll let him go tomorrow.  We were with him for a while today and he is in pain.  Dad has a big pain tolerance....this is the same man that my hot water heater blew up on 3 times and singed his eyebrow, eyelashes, and eye.  He is always getting hurt, but nothing ever seems to hurt him.  Until Mr. Copperhead came along...... His hand is huge, his finger that was bit is blue-ish, and he has been on antibiotics, pain meds, and of course the anti-venom.  I feel bad because school starts tomorrow, so I know Meme's stress levels are high because she won't be there.  Keep them in your prayers that he makes a speedy recovery!  He should be fine....they worry your body will have a reaction to the anti-venom but it didn't seem to be doing that.  On a side note, one dose of that is $5,000.  Isn't that crazy?  Praise God for insurance! 

Other than that, our weekend was quiet.  The kids and I played in the rain a bit yesterday, which they loved.  It didn't start out that way.....but I kind of promised them we'd go out before the rain.....and then I didn't look out and realize it HAD started raining.  I couldn't go back on a promise, for fear of a toddler riot.  So......we played in the rain and then Daddy had a warm bath ready for the twins when we came in.  Fun.....then we jumped on the bed a while.  We broke all kinds of rules yesterday for some reason.  It was a fun, quiet day. 

Today was a bit more hectic because I went to church, then everything started with Dad.  We slept late, so there wasn't time to get everyone ready for church.  Dustin is great about giving me chances to get out of the house, so today was one of those times.  He's an awesome Dad & hubby!   Those little bits of time keep me sane, that's for sure. 

Tomorrow is errand day, we have to get our milk, we may meet Amanda for lunch, may go see Dad-depending on when he's going to get released, may run in the little deli here for some lunch supplies for Dustin.....Abbey starts volleyball this week-I'm excited.  You know how our family loves a ball game!  Hunter is 3 now so he's going to play soccer.  He's so cute....Amanda asked him if he wanted to play on a team and he said...."Me, on a team?".  He's asked everyone in the county to come watch him play-he's so excited.  It should be interesting!  :-)

A busy start to the week....

It's been a busy week already, and it's only halfway through!  We have been going every day
this week, hopefully tomorrow will be a stay-at-home day! 
Monday was Monday.....we awoke to Emmy's crib tent zipper being stuck.  Soooo.....I had to call Papa and Aunt Marie to come over and help me get it unstuck.  It's broken.  :-(  I LOVE the crib tents so a replacement should arrive any day.  We are using a borrowed one until then.  Yes, it's that important!  Monday was a no-nap day because of the crib incident so we went and had lunch with Amanda and then played outside a long time.  We got muddy then we played in the water spigot.  Emmy bend her head under it to get a drink....she is a true country girl!  I don't know where she got that because we just got it, so we haven't shown her that! 
Yesterday Meme & Poppy must have really been missing the twins because Meme called and volunteered to watch the babies for us to eat dinner!  When we got there to drop them off, they ran to Poppy like they hadn't seen him in a year.  It was so cute.  Carson didn't even cry when I left.  :-)  They got to swim and we got alone time.  We picked them up ready for bed in jammies, it was great! 
Today my mom and I decided to take the kids shopping for a bit.  We ate at Cracker Barrel and the waiter brought the twins their own kids' cups and they were thrilled!  Carson laughed forever....he's sip, then laugh, sip, then laugh.  He was laughing so loud!  No toy on Earth could've made him so happy.  It was so cute.  Emmy figured out how to get her top off.....so her drink was a mess.  Carson got a haircut while we were out at his "usual" place...divas & dudes.  He's so handsome with his haircut.  He got it "tapered" this time, very mature.  :-) 
We all went in Kohl's to check out the clearance racks for next spring/summer since it's end of season.  I love shopping ahead because it's so cheap and I love hunting for bargains.  It is getting harder to estimate sizes though.....so I didn't get quite as much as usual.  By then it was nap time so the kiddos got restless and we left.  I ran in Target and that was the end of shopping......
That makes two days this week without naps.  I vowed a while back not to do things that interfered with nap.  Well, apparently I forgot (time does that to you) how bad no-nap days are.  They get pretty nasty.  So.........no more no-nap days!  I am back to only doing things before or after nap.  I just can't take it when we don't nap.  The kids are miserable if they haven't rested and it's not fair to put them through that.   So, I will again be turning down invites to things during nap.  It's just not worth it.  If anyone wonders about this, I'd be happy to send the twins over nap-less!  Haha! 
We don't have many plans the rest of the week, so maybe it will be quieter. 
Next week everyone is back in school, which makes me sad.  I will lose a lot of my help.....
my mom, Nicole, and my four sisters.  I still look forward to summer break! 

I must be crazy because....

I signed myself and the twins up for our church Water Country trip.  I checked out the website and they had several kid things I thought the babies would enjoy.  So, we are going for it.  I went back and forth because I am tired and did I really want to wrestle  spend the whole day with 2 toddlers in a water park?  My sister talked me into it and I know the kids will enjoy it.  I am guilty of sometimes NOT doing things because it will be too hard with 2 very active toddlers.  I need to get back into the mindset, "if it can be done with one toddler, I'm doing it with two!".  I kind of gave up on that mantra after my kids started walking.  :-)   I already went online and ordered them lifejackets too, just in case.  So, we are committed now!  Haha!  I've wanted to get them lifejackets anyway because our family keeps talking about another Tangier Island trip and I won't let them ride that ferry without life jackets, no matter how silly we'll look.  Safety is always my priority. 

Yard saling was fun Saturday.  I got a few clothes and a really nice coat for Emmy for this fall/winter.  Carson didn't fare as well but he gets all of Hunter's stuff, so it's fine.  Emmy has a lot of Alyssa's stuff too, so hopefully we are good.  I hope this season coming up to have LESS stuff than we've been having.  Every season we have so many clothes-hand-me-downs, yard sale finds, and grandparent purchases.  Our drawers are usually stuffed and some things don't even get worn.  :-(  My goal is to have less this time. 

My favorite yard sale find was a lovely wooden rocking chair that is about 150 years old.  I just love old, sentimental pieces.  It is going to look great in the nursery and I got it for a great price. The lady said it was in her mother's great-grandmother's home....so I really don't know how old that makes it for sure, she thought 150 yrs.   Dustin had to make me feel all guilty because I didn't rock the twins.  :-(  I don't know that I will rock this baby all that much.  I will definitely put the baby to sleep like I did the twins, by just putting them down to bed and for naps.  That's just what works for me and I don't like fighting my kids to sleep.  On a side note- I got my twins on a schedule and sleeping routines using the "Baby Wise" books.  They have books from baby through teen years and they are wonderful.  I highly recommend them.  A twin mom gave me a copy when I was expecting, and it was a wonderful gift. 
Anyway, I will probably use the rocker more for nursing than anything, but we will see. 

Dr. appointment update

I had another tummy check today and the baby is doing great.  It had a strong heartbeat (I forgot to ask the #-poor third child, right?) and the dr. was amazed we could hear it so well at 11 1/2 weeks, he says we have a "strong baby" to hear it so early.  I think he fully expected we'd have to do an ultrasound.  Anyway, a baby joining our crew is going to have to be strong, right? 
I also did my once-a-month grocery shopping after my appointment.  It is SO tiring but I'm so glad when it's done.  It is REALLY hard to get a babysitter most times so that is another reason for the once-a-month shopping.  Where are all those people who swore they'd LOVE to babysit when I was pregnant????? You know who you are!!!  :-)  I end up buying so much stuff.....last month a man at Target stopped to watch me loading the car and said "Wow, you must have a big family."  I thought about giving a long, chatty answer about how I shop only once a month, live 45 min. away, etc. etc. and then I thought....he doesn't want to hear all that.  So I just said "yes" and smiled and he went on.  It's kind of embarrassing though!  The cashier at Sam's also questioned me-wanting to know if I was going on vacation or something.  Nope-grocery shopping IS a vacation for me!  Just kidding.  I really missed the kids today.  Carson was not feeling well this morning so he was VERY upset when I left.  Emmy didn't take a nap again today.  She skipped it yesterday too.  She just plays in her crib.  I don't know what I'm going to do with her......she NEEDS a nap.  She is raunchy by 7 if she doesn't get a nap.  Like, impossibly raunchy.  Maybe it's just a small phase.  I hope! 
Anyway, I'm off to get some rest.  I am up early tomorrow to do a little yard saling.  I'm excited-I know, I'm a nerd.  LOL>  I love looking for a bargain and it's crazy to buy all new kids clothes-at least for my kids......they can ruin an outfit in minutes.  In one meal basically.  The name brand stuff always last really well if you find that at yard sales and stains usually come out easier.....I think it's the quality of the stuff.  Anyway, I hope we find a few deals. 

Random Stuff.....

Well, it's almost been 2 weeks again since I've blogged!  What a slacker I'm being.  I'm at 11 1/2 weeks into this pregnancy so I'm really hoping the tiredness stops soon.  It is crazy how tired I am.  I'm blessed that my kids sleep later than most kids I know.....then they nap around 1:30 and I have been napping too.  I just can't get enough rest, but hopefully that will soon pass.  Especially since the nursery for our new little one is a junk room right now.  I have lots to get done!!! 
Carson started running a fever last night, so I guess he's getting this junk everyone seems to have lately.  He threw up in his crib sometime this morning.  Poor thing.  He's been puny all day.  I guess in about 3-4 days Emmy will get it. 
We haven't been doing too much, just trying to beat the heat.  The kids have been in their kiddie pool any chance they get.  A lot of times they hop in when I didn't mean for them to, like when they are fully clothed and have their shoes on, or when we are ready to go somewhere and I'm trying to load them in the car.   Carson loves wearing his shoes and he rarely takes them off.  I put them by his crib so he can get them first thing when he gets up.  He promptly puts them on each morning.  It's cute. 
Speaking of cribs.....Emmy's crib is no longer on wheels.  The kids were playing so good in their room today and I was getting a few things done.  I went to check on them and her crib was in the middle of the room and 3 of the wheels were gone.  I guess they decided to do some repairs......you really never know what they are going to get in to. 
Carson has started saying a few more things, which is funny to hear.  He's been so quiet and has only said "momma", sometimes "dada", and "tractor" for so long.  Now he can say "thank you", "shoe", and a few other things.  It's still hard to understand though. 
Emmy talks very clearly and says a LOT!  I can have a conversation with her, which is so weird. 
I've been drilling please, thank you, and you're welcome into them lately.  It is my biggest pet peeve to be around kids who don't use manners, all the time.  I fully think they should use them, even at home, even with each other, etc.  There were only two things my parents really made us do (they weren't very strict :-) and that was use manners & write thank you notes if someone gives you a gift.  So, those are two things my kids will definitely be doing. 
Anyway, off of my soap box......my point in all this was.....
Emmy uses thank you a lot.  That is her favorite thing to say and she says it to us, her brother, other people when they give her stuff.  Today, I wondered if I had been making them say it TOO much......she went over and picked up her sippy cup off the floor and said "Thank You" to......herself???? 
I thought it was so funny. 
We are practicing with our baby dolls a lot too, loving on them, Emmy tries to feed and give them drink, she wraps them up in blankets.  She is really a little mommy.  Carson just loves on them and hands them back.  Typical man-haha!  :-) 
Well, I'm off to get some sleep.  I will try to write more sooner!  I have a dr.'s appointment tomorrow so I'll update after that.