Some Quick Updates

1. Viva la mice. After two appointments with two different exterminators were no shows I felt the mouse Gods were trying to tell me something. I was already apprehensive about having all the chemicals around the boys so I did some research and it turns out mice don't like peppermint. We have little cotton balls now with peppermint oil all around the basement. Don't know if it will work but it sure smells nice.
2. We have teeth. John now has two bottom teeth which he actually has had for about a month now. Max is getting ready to break his first any day now. There is lots of drool and gnawing on anything that is around. 
3. We are close to having mobile kiddos. They want to crawl so badly. They're not sitting up quite yet but they are getting so close to that as well. Gosh, this first year is so exciting.
4. We are nanny-less. We are going through the search process for a new nanny. That's a whole big crazy mess of a story that I will have to blog about on another day.

I think that is it for now. I know there was something else I was going to update but can't remember, it's late and it's been a long day.

First Family Trip

At the beginning of June we headed out to California.  Yes, that's right, a plane trip to Cali with two 4.5 month old boys.  Erik's brother was getting married so we made the trip.  Erik does not like to fly...period...he would rather drive.  I love road trips so this usually works out well.  Unfortunately due to having the two boys and taking my full maternity leave, I really have no time to take a road trip to California.  In fact me being able to go to California at all was due to an amazing boss.  We felt it was important to make the trip.  After telling Erik several times why I would not be willing to leave the boys behind for a long weekend he gave in and it became a family trip.  It was that "thing" in our future that neither of us were looking forward to.  Let me make myself clear here though.  We were looking forward to the trip and the wedding, we were actually very excited to see everyone and be at the wedding.  It was the plane trips to and from California that we were dreading.   As Erik put it he did not want to be "that guy".  I get that too, I didn't want to be "that lady with the fussy baby" or worse "babies".  I had to suck it up and play Mrs. Pure Positive Energy for several months.  I found myself saying to Erik on a weekly basis, "It's going to be fine", "We can do this", "they're going to do great", "I need you to hold it together if it gets bad or I'll start crying".  Yes, I used the "I'll start crying" card.  That one came about the week before we left. 

With all of the anticipation we made it through the 3.5 hr flight to California just fine.  The gentleman that sat next to us actually volunteered to do so.  We thought it was going to be the poor sap who was last to get on the plane but this guy actually offered to sit next to us.  I knew he was weird at that moment...I mean he volunteered to sit next to two babies.  He actually was a very interesting person...weird but interesting weird, not just weird weird. 

When we got there, of course the part we weren't worried about, that's we we had a bit of baby trouble.  Poor Max got sick, 102.6 degree fever sick.  I know you other mother's out there are saying, "that's nothing, he's fine".  Please note these are my first children and they have been perfectly healthy up to this point so it freaked Erik and I out a bit.  Your heart just breaks for them.  Luckily I was surrounded by family and many mothers.  The really high fever broke after 24 hrs and then completely by Sunday.  Our happy little man was back. 

The wedding took place in a very scenic part of California.  They live outside of LA in Valencia.  We had to drive just a little bit to get to this breath taking scenery.  I have to say the mountains outside of Los Angeles always look so fake to me. They are so pretty but look like someone drew them up as the backdrop.

The wedding was beautiful.  They got married on a mountain and it was really very pretty.  It was immediate family only at the ceremony and then they had a reception at Erik's father's house.

We made it back fine too.  The plane trip back was not a packed flight and both of the boys did awesome.  I sat next to this wonderful woman who actually had twin 19 year old girls.  One of her girls was at Columbia and the other at Princeton.  She definitely did something right!  I still think of her because we had such an intimate conversation.  I felt like I got to know both her and her family.  She had been through a lot in the past 18 months including losing her husband unexpectedly due to a heart attack. When we were talking it was never a pity me conversation, just a matter of fact conversation like we were old friends catching up.

When we got off the plane I was rushing around and don't feel like I gave her or the conversation we had the proper good bye.  She pulled up a holiday card of her family on her laptop to show me some pics while we were talking so I have her last name.  I think I may send her a little card to let her know how much I enjoyed talking with her.  I'm not sure if that's too stalker-ish weird though.  I mean I don't want to freak the poor woman out, she's been through a lot lately.
 
As soon as we got off the plane I think Erik and I both gave a sigh of relief.  We made it, we survived, and we are better for doing so.  We are so glad we made the trip, what wonderful memories we will have of his brother's wedding.  We are happy though that the flights no longer lurk in our future.

Summer Bliss

There are so many things I love about summer.  In all truthfulness, I really love all of the seasons.  I love living in an area where they are all so pronounced.  You really experience all four seasons even though some years it feels like you go straight from winter to summer or summer to winter.  But summer, ahhh summer.  The warm sun on your skin, the smell of sunscreen, fire flies, sweet tea, and for me one of the major loves is locally grown fresh fruits and veggies.  I have to say that farmers markets are one of my most favorite things.  They make me feel all warm and fuzzy inside.  You pick it farms are right up there too.  I love knowing that the produce I'm eating is from where I am living.  I love supporting local farmers, I love talking with the person who grew the food.  With you pick it farms, there is something so satisfying about going out and picking something and then either eating it there or bringing home the bounty for later.  Of course I have a garden but I'm not very good at growing things other than weeds...yet.  So far we do have a few tomato's, I think we are going to have lots of zucchini, and a few cucumbers.  The okra, jalapenos, and bell peppers are debatable.  This is my first non-planter true in the ground garden, so it's a start.  Watch out next year, I'm already planning that garden and how to do things.  I'm a trial and error girl & not much of a planner the first go around.  I have to do something to see how it turns out and then go at it from another angle. 

After we went to the farmers market last Saturday we went blueberry picking.

We have LOTS of blueberries.

I think we ended up with around 15 pounds. I'm going to be like Bubba in Forrest Gump. We have blueberry pancakes, blueberry pie, blueberry jelly, blueberry smoothies, blueberry cobbler, etc., etc., etc. I'm so excited to make all of those goodies. We have frozen the majority of the blueberries so we can enjoy them all year long.  I just bought my first canning kit so we can make some blueberry jams.  Erik is just praying I don't poison us...I am too!

Cowboy Boots & Flip Flops

So a few weeks back it was my birthday. I turned thirty something...of course I shouldn't tell my age for privacy reasons on the internet. Yeah, that's why. Anyway, my parents were in town and watching the boys for a few days for me. It was really nice having them here. They were taking us out for my birthday dinner. I decided to get dressed up a bit. Since I work from home my wardrobe is pretty much jeans and whatever shirt I can find. Makeup is optional. Since I've had the boys usually there is a bit of spit up somewhere on my attire. My footwear is pretty much cowboy boots and flip flops. I used to wear heels all the time, not kidding, everyday. Even my flip flops would have some sort of heel. Every year I have one pair of black boots with a thick heel. They pretty much had become a staple of my wardrobe. When I was pregnant I wore my black boots to the Dr. and was told that I should not be wearing heels of any sort while pregnant, esp with twins. Great, so I just became very short and very round. My cute black boots sat by the back door for at least a month looking very lonely. They then got moved to the closet. They sat there for many months. So on my birthday I was getting all fancied up and decided to pull the black boots out of retirement. I slid one on thinking about how much skinner I was going to look with that inch or so added to my height. I slid the other one on and my toe stopped at something in the toe of the boot. I jerked out my foot and didn't want to but had to turn the boot upside down to see what fell out. A DEAD MOUSE!!! I shrieked, jumped around a little bit and then ran in the next room to tell my parents and husband my horrible discovery. My husband took away the corpse.
How did that mouse get into my boot you ask? You see, my lovely cat, little Miss Daisy has been bringing up mice from the basement and letting them go upstairs. I guess she just likes to have something to play with or giving the dog something to play with. Trust me we have had much unwanted entertainment chasing mice up here. I've decided that it's really a form of entertainment for the cat. When she is not getting enough love or is just bored she probably thinks "I'll bring a mouse up to shake things up a bit." Although it really didn't bother me at first now with the babies, it's driving me crazy. So crazy that the poor mice in the basement are going to have to go elsewhere, we are having an exterminator come today.

I think my parents and husband still get a chuckle every time they think about it. I still get chills when thinking about it. Unfortunately the boots didn’t make it either. There was a bit of a stink in them so they have been thrown away. Back to the cowboy boots and flip flops...they are much more my speed these days anyway.

Mother's Day

Sunday was my very first Mother's Day. It was a good day, nothing too exciting. Little J was not feeling well so we stayed in all weekend and just got things done around the house. Erik made me breakfast and then gave me a gift that has been getting me out of the house every Monday night for the past three weeks and a couple more weeks to come. I will write more about that at a later date.
Motherhood has been everything I thought it would be and more. I look at my two beautiful healthy little boys and thank God every day. Every single day. People always say, "I don't know how you do it with two". I really can't imagine my life without two. I sometimes think how easy it would be with just one but would NEVER trade my twins for anything. I get everything double. Double smiles, double excitement when reach a new milestone, double the love and eventually I have no doubt double the trouble. Bring it on my boys, bring-it-on.
I have to say that watching my husband with them makes me love him more. He tries so hard and is so hands on with them that I find myself loving him in a way I hadn't before. It's amazing how that happens. How these two little beings have made such a profound impact on my life. They say "kids change everything", isn't that the truth!

I look at my life and feel so blessed. I look around and just feel overwhelming happiness. I've never felt such a quiet in my life where I'm just at peace.

Does this mean we're country?

Erik and I are both from large cities.  He was raised in a Chicago suburb and I was raised in a St. Louis suburb.  We are both city mice with country mice hearts.  I think because of living in the city we are both a little bit jaded.  I mean just watch the first five minutes of the news in any large city for a few years and crime just becomes another day in the life.  We live outside a small town now, population 20,000 (that's small for us).  We're on five acres but close to a local highway. 

Last night around 2am someone came a knockin' at our door.  The dogs went crazy and woke us up.  Erik and I (after watching too much 48 Hours Mystery, Criminal Minds, and Dateline) know that nothing good can be knocking at your door at 2am.  I think the parental instinct of protecting our young kicked in for both of us.  I stayed in our bedroom with the boys (they sleep in a bassinet next to the bed) and Erik loaded his shot gun. At that moment I felt country. 

It turns out it was a young girl who was on her way home and wrecked her car at the bottom of the hill next to our house.  Her cell phone was dead so she needed a phone to call her parents.  Even after her story we thought it could be some sort of scam.  See...jaded.  I mean after all haven't I gotten an email about this sort of thing before?  Erik walked out with the dog and saw that the parents got to their daughter okay and could see where the car went off the road.  Poor girl was so shaken from the accident and then has to knock on the door of a strangers house at 2am. Then to have it answered by a guy with a shot gun.  I thank God it was our house and not someone who may have done her harm.  I think about that poor mother who received a phone call at 2am from an unknown number while her daughter is out and can't imagine what went through her head.  We called a bit later to follow up and were told all was okay. 

As for me, I will be cutting back on the amount crime shows that I watch.  I don't think this will cure me because I believe I will always be jaded but as long as we have the shot gun can I just call it being country?

Spring Scrimmage

Last weekend we took a family trip to Columbia, MO and went to Mizzou's spring football scrimmage.  It was a gorgeous day and there was quite a turnout.  The boys are turning into quite the little travelers.  I think it's easier to take them places at this age because they are not mobile yet so they are fine being strapped to Mom & Dad.  As long as they get fed and their diapers changed, they are happy campers.  Who says there is no life after twins?!?!?  Erik and I have decided that we are not going to push football (his love) and horses (my love) on the boys.  We will support whatever their interests are...but I think we both hope they have an interest in our loves.  It's such a big part of our lives that they will be surrounded by both.  I have noticed lately that Erik puts on ESPN when there are old college games on.  He sometimes watches it with them but also leaves this on when the boys are sleeping in the living room and we are not in the room.  I think it's a good thing to have in the background for them because TV is so crazy these days that it's a safe choice.  I do think he may have an ulterior motive though, I tease him that he is using osmosis on the boys.  It will be interesting to see if this little trick pays off.

Adorable

We have received some pretty amazing baby gifts.  Some of my favorites are from my very dear cousins in Florida.  Simply adorable. Erik's brother is getting married in June so I already have plans for these outfits.

I would have never thought of these and think they are so cute and clever. I know they will get a lot of wear.

 My cousin also gave me this wonderful book.

 I've only read a little bit of it but can't wait to pick it up and read more.  There are so many wonderful tips in there.  I plan on asking Erik to read it also because I have connected with everything I've read so far and feel that it offers amazing philosophies and tools to raising kids.  One of my favorite things so far is the five principles of raising your kids and one of them is based on the quote from Maya Angelou who I believe is one of the most wise people of our time.  The quote is "The past is the past and the future is perfect".  I love, love, love this.  I've already been thinking of what I can get this engraved/painted/etched on.  Something for the kitchen, the kid's room, or just something where we can be reminded of this on a daily basis.  It will be now on the side of my blog for a reminder for all.

First Family Hike

We went on our first family hike this past weekend. We were going to go the horse races in Hot Springs, AR as we used to love to do pre-babies. We decided that it would be a lot of time and expense and if one or both of the boys was having a rough day, so we decided to go hiking instead. We went to the highest point in MO at Taum Sauk State Park. That was not much of a hike. There is a waterfall that we would have liked to see but it was a three mile hike and with the boys and the dogs we decided that since this was our first time out with everyone it would be our trial run and not to push it. We then went to Elephant Rocks State Park and walked around. That was a mile trail but you can walk on the rocks so it can take awhile. It's a really cool place. I think Erik is very excited for the day where he will be able to climb and play on the rocks with the boys. We had a great time and everyone did really well, including the crazy dog Buckeye. The dogs were so excited to go with us and they were completely worn out when we got home. I think Sebastian was smiling the whole day, you can see his smile in the picture below. Unfortunately it was too crowded to let him go off leash something we did frequently on the isolated trails in AR. I think he was still pretty happy though. Sunday, we just got things done around the house. This is my last week of maternity leave so I'm trying to do my best to get organized. It seems there is always something. I'm excited for next weekend when I plan on planting our garden and some flowers in the front.

Birds of A Feather

My parents brought a bird feeder down with them when they visited in February.  We set it up and can't seem to keep the bird feed in it.  It's wonderful when it's full.  There will be almost a dozen birds on there at a time.  One will fly away and another will come, perch and eat.  I love it because I can see the feeder from the kitchen window and while I'm sitting in the couch in the living room.  While cleaning the dishes and/or bottles (there seems there is always a bottle to be cleaned in this house now) I can completely zone out while watching the birds.  I remember as a child my parents had a bird feeder outside our kitchen window and they had a bird book.  Whenever there was a new bird or something they had not seen before they would look it up.  I saw the most unusual bird the other day.  It was so pretty it was black with a red and yellow stripe down its wing.  I've never seen a bird like this.  We don't have a bird book but of course we do have the internet so I looked it up and it was a Red-winged Blackbird.  He came back the other day, I get so excited when I see he is so pretty.  I really hope he makes our house a regular stop. 

Easter

Easter weekend was a really nice one this year.  Erik's mom came in town and spent a few days with us.  On Saturday I made some pecan sticky rolls from a recipe that I found in Better Homes and Gardens.  I changed it just a bit and next time I would make another slight modification.  I will post the revised recipe soon.  They were wonderful though.  We took them to my sisters otherwise I would have eaten them all.  We also painted Easter eggs.  Of course the little guys are too young to enjoy this but the little kids in Erik and I enjoy dying the eggs and eating the eggs the week following.  On Sunday we went over to my sister's for Easter and had a wonderful time.  We took the dogs with us since they live an hour and a half away so we wouldn't have any guilt.  Also, my sister has three little dogs and my dogs love to run around and play with them.  It was great food, great company and great weather...what more can you ask for?

Commitment Phobe

I really enjoy reading but since the boys have been born I can't seem to commit to a book. I have several lying around the house and I will pick them up and read the first few pages and then put them down. I think right now it's just too much of a commitment. I have always enjoyed reading magazines but got burnt out on the style and relationship magazines. About a year ago I discovered Hobby Farm and Hobby Farm Home. I love these magazines. They also just came out with a Chickens magazine.  A few months ago I discovered Grit and about two months ago I started reading Better Homes and Gardens. The Hobby Farms magazines and Grit come out bi-monthly which saddens me a little but I must say I look so forward to when they come out. I check the website and always check when I go into the bookstore (one of my favorite places) to see if the new issue has come out. I really should get a subscription to all of these to save money but right now I enjoy having the excuse to go to the book store to linger in the isles and see what other books and magazines I will be adding to my reading list. I know nothing of chickens and farming but have a dream of owning five to ten acres for a small scale farm.  Right now I guess I would be what is considered to be an armchair farmer. My friends are baffled about wanting chickens since I have had a long time fear of birds. I love to watch them but I don't want them near me. I have decided I will conquer this fear when the time comes for farm fresh eggs and the hours of entertainment they provide. 

Labor of Love

Well, I haven't been very good about this whole blogging thing. I really hope to get better so that friends and family can see what is going on with the boys. They grow so quickly. The boys have arrived!! They were born on January 30th and both were good weights and healthy. I made it to 36 weeks which from what I understand is an accomplishment with twins. I was so happy they did not have to spend any time in the NICU. Labor was interesting. I ended up being induced because I developed preeclampsia. I had a Dr.'s appointment on 1/29 and was sent directly to the hospital. We got there around 11am. The Dr. came around 6pm to induce me. Once induced I went into active labor pretty quickly. Thank God for epidurals, I was not sure if I was going to get the epidural because I wanted to try the whole natural birth thing. There were some complications and when the blood was drawn I was told if I wanted an epidural they would have to put it in now because my platelets were low (around 112) and if they dropped below 100 then they would not be able to put one in. I decided to go for it and thank God I did. Around midnight I was 9cm dilated so they took me to the OR. They deliver all twins in the OR in case they have to get the second baby out quickly. My little Max was delivered around 1:45am. It was pretty quick and not so painful (thanks to the epidural). Then I started working on pushing for the next baby. Turns out he had other plans. Around 6am the Dr. said it would be best if we did a cesarean. So at 6:43am little John was born via c-section. It turns out it was a good thing she took him because he was stuck on my pelvic bone. I could have pushed another five hours and he wouldn't have gone anywhere. After labor things got a bit crazy. I ended up developing HELLP syndrome due to the preeclampsia. I rec'd a platelet transfusion because my blood platelets had dropped to 20. I was pretty incoherent and exhausted at this time. While in the recovery room from the c-section I remember lying on the bed and I started shaking, I was freezing. My teeth were chattering and I couldn't stop. Apparently my blood pressure was going all over the place too and at one point was over 200. They put some warm blankets on me and that helped tremendously.  The next day I rec'd a blood transfusion. I tell you what that was the best thing; it's amazing how much some blood can help. I think I have an understanding of the whole vampire fetish that is going on now. After that my condition just got better and better. I was released from the hospital on my sixth day there. Luckily since I was trying to breastfeed the boys were able to stay at the hospital with me.  It was so nice to go home. My parents stayed with us for the next week and a half to help out with the boys and cooking. Then Erik's mom came in for a week and after that his Dad and his wife came in for a week. It was so nice to have all of that help. I also think it helped with the boys temperaments. It didn't allow me to get all stressed out which in turn kept them non-stressed. I thank them all for their help.  I would do all of it ten times over again for these precious little boys that have blessed my life.