Our Heart's Journey

Annual Superbowl Picture!

2012-02-09T08:54:00.001-05:00

Superbowl through the years! Click here to see the first 3 years, and now adding to that post!

2010

Bonus, we added our good buddy, Van to the shot!

2011

So big! Ack!

And now 2012

With a bonus add of Van's little brother, Zak!

;-)

I love seeing them "grow" like this, the time stamp of it.

I do NOT like my boys growing up, though!

;-)

Are they alike?

2012-01-08T22:36:00.001-05:00

Austin had a project for school, to decorate/embellish a snowman (and tell a story). Logan wanted to do it, too. So, both boys worked on their snowman tonight.

I wish I could capture these two images and carry them around with me....and show it in response to the, "Are they alike?" question that I am often asked with them being identical twins. Because I always laugh, and go, "No. No they are not alike at all!"

Austin is God's answer to my mothers prayers. That I would one day know what it was like for my mother to have to deal with my careless ways. Austin's pure lackadaisical ways make my carefree spirit look like OCD! Every marker the boys own are dried up because to put a cap back on would require way too much focus! Austin leaves a trail behind him wherever he goes - "Mom, where's my drink?" -The one that I had just given him two minutes before. He's been sitting watching tv and yet the drink is gone and the three of us have NO clue where it now is! We will find next month in some total random location. Poor Gary cannot keep his electrical/duct/packaging tape drawer stocked at all. Austin is always in there raiding it for some great invention! Building a motorcycle with his bike, the motor from the a lawn mower and duct tape. Austin will constantly leave the house for school with no shoes on. I get in the car and have to check for bare feet! But...he does it all with a mile-wide smile on his face. He sings. He dances. He giggles like none other! It is music to my ears.

And Logan? Logan is The Pleaser. The Follow All the Rules guy. He does not step out of line. He is Mr. Cautious. Don't get me wrong, he's still is a wild man. He does front and back flips. He pushes his physical limitations, or lack thereof to the limit. He is an amazing athlete. He has a mind for the game. He has always reminded me of a 15 year old athlete trapped in a little kids' body. And he is tuned in. Every minute. He is listening to everything. Taking it all in. He hears. And he is the first... to right a wrong. To ease the suffering. To give in...so that someone else is happy. He is a giver. And I have to watch him more closely, to make sure that his needs are getting met. He will suffer quietly rather than take away from someone else (Austin). He is also my little non-truth teller. ;-) Because he always wants to be perfect and to be doing "the right thing" - because to do the wrong thing...goes against his inner being.

So....the snowmen. Here are their two completed projects.

Upon closer inspection, we will observe Austin's generous glue usage.

The ribbon and mittens even have extra glue stains from where they were placed in several locations and moved around before landing in their final residing place.

I love his creative, free spirit. It may look a hot mess, but it's beautiful to me! It represents everything that he is! Colorful, going in a 1,000 different directions an once, a big red shiny smile, and layers of drawings/color underneath it all!

Logan's - couldn't be more "perfect" than it is.

Everything lined up, right where it should be. Nice and neat. And it was his idea to put a heart on the snowman. (Then, Austin wanted a BIGGER heart on his). He asked me to cut out the hat, and he was thrilled when I handed him exactly what he wanted! He told me I was a very good scissor cutter (Whereas Austin yelled at me, for not giving him even MORE glue!).

Logan has no mess. His paper is clean. It is simple and it is to the point. And it is beautiful. And just like my with Logan, this is what you see when you first see him. A perfectly, well-behaved child. Aiming to please others. I know his layers though. I know that this is just a face he gives the world. He has trouble with his emotions. With his sense of security. He fears so much. And I am so grateful that he knows he can show that side to me. That he feels safe enough to lash out at me. And (even though he feels SO remorseful), he knows that Mom will still be there after the rage leaves. This is going to sound silly to those from the non-adoption world, but the other day at ice skating/hockey, Logan was working on a new skill - skating backwards, and I was cheering him on. He skated over to me, I leaned down and through his little mouth guard with gritted teeth, he scowled back at me, "Shut UP, MOM! Just Shut. UP!" I was taken aback, didn't know what was gong on. This is the point in my life where other parents/strangers look at me like I should yank my child into the next century for speaking to me so rudely. I attempted to calmly explain to Logan that I was just proud of him for working so hard - to which he just kept yelling at me. A few minutes later, when we were off the ice, he said - "Mom, I know I was doing good skating backwards, but I was REALLY, really nervous about it!" And being nervous, and having trouble dealing with his emotions - he took it out the only way he knew how, by lashing out at me.

Yes, this sucks. I don't always take it well. But I do try. And this time, for the first time - he was able to identify an emotion! This is HUGE to me. For us. It means, we are making progress!

I started out this post to be carefree - but I felt like Logan's struggles and monumental mile-marker needed to be acknowledged! It's such a huge progress for us - and I don't often talk about our struggles, but I do want to document them for us.

Now - back to our snowmen.

I love everything about their differences!

I wish it was so easy for other people to see.

Or I wish it was easy for me to try and explain their differences as clearly as these snowmen do!
For now, I guess I'll just stick with:
"Yes, they are different. They are very, very different!"
And I wouldn't have it. any. other way!

Christmas Morn'

2012-01-01T08:59:00.000-05:00

The Christmas Musical

2011-12-30T21:56:00.000-05:00

It's a little blurry, but here the boys are during their Christmas Performance.

Make a video - it's fun, easy and free!
www.onetruemedia.com

As always, the little performers loved every. minute. of their. show!

Austin even thanked God for "Miss Anne and ALL the wonderful songs she picks out for them every holiday!....and Please don't. ever. let her. stop!"

;-)

Christmas Eve, they performed with the handbells, were two of the Three Kings and sang again.

What a great Christmas!

2011-12-26T09:27:00.000-05:00

We didn't rush.

We didn't run around.

We didn't worry about hitting up every tradition we've ever participated in.

We just sort of took it all in.

And did what we could,

and it turned out quite perfect.

Daddy has a new job and was gone for the first two weeks of December for training.

Nonnie stepped in and helped this Momma manage things.

But we were still. both. quite. exhausted!

And it turns out when you are not busy running around,

you have more time (and energy) for cool crafts!

I made the boys these fun little Advent calendars.

They are matchboxes. With a little scrapbooking paper and some ribbon, they made an adorable little "chest of drawers."

I filled them with little treats, scrolls (with scripture verse or things to do, like make cookies). Once they opened the box, they turned it around created a picture on the back!

And we made some awesome ornaments!

I bought clear glass balls. We poured paint insideof them, shoke them up and voila...

As much as I wanted to keep them all, the boys handed themout to their teachers, their friends, and of course, everyone got one Christmas morning!

When Daddy returned home, we celebrated by making gingerbread houses!

No kit this year, it was much, much better using graham crackers and melted chocolate!

I had one, too...but Austin's broke.

So, he used mine.

Oops!

The "snow" was my idea, but I left Daddy in charge when this epic mess went down.

Daddy's masterpiece!

(What he was creating instead of being on Snow Patrol!)

We also snuck a few Tacky Light Tours.

Dressed appropriately, of course!

Nonnie and I made it to both boys Christmas parties at school. Fine. They were called "Winter Parties," but we know what they reallty were! ;-)

Austin

Logan

And we attempted a Christmas card, but it never happened.

So, here's our pictures!

Mason, Lory, Amanda and Evan

Austin, Logan and Tinkerbell!

Watch your extremities...

2011-12-20T22:56:00.001-05:00

This is a tough place to be an ornament.

Guess what Logan wants to be?

2011-12-19T22:43:00.000-05:00

"Mommy, I need two pillows and will you help me tape them to my legs?"

Yes, baby.

Add some leaf bags. Some chalk.

I actually had to really try and score on him.

He's good.

And he had a ball!!

I LOVE seeing him this excited about his passions!

(Which would be sports!)

Totally worth sacrificing my pillows for.

And for the record, when Daddy took over, he somehow managed to break his own taillights.

I'm not taking the heat for that one!

Road Trip to NYC!

2011-12-03T13:02:00.000-05:00

We recently had to head to a family wedding up in Connecticut and we decided to travel by train.

Best.

Decision.

Ever!

Although having Evan arrive home hours before we left.

Not such a great decision!

haha

So, after playing with Evan and going to bed at 10pm,

the boys were woken up at 4am....

Luckily all-out enthusiam and excitement were aplenty!

We broke the trip up with a four hour stop in NYC!

The boys remember that Nonnie and I had gone there and couldn't wait to see it!

We took in sites...but not a lot of pictures.

Ya know, for obvious reasons,

like trying to make sure we didn't loose our children amongst the hustle and bustle of the city!

Along the way to Toys R Us,

we somehow ended up in a commercial and had to sign a waiver release.

Hysterical, right?

I'll let you know if we made the final cut for TV.

Just keepin it real...somewhere in the store, both boys LOST it completely!

That whole missing 4 hours of sleep may have finally caught up with them.
On the way out, they basically staged a sit-in and refused to walk 10 blocks back to the station.

So, we splurged on a cab ride.

And they were thought that was the coolest.

Then, we sugared them up for the last leg of the trip.

PENN station, for families, is a NIGHTMARE!

For security reasons,

they don't tell you which track your train is at...

...uintil FIVE minutes before departure time.

WTF?

They make the announcement,

my family of four (each with our own rolling luggage), along with 15,000 NYC commuters,

line up single file to head down an esclator .

(pausing for that to sink in)

HOURS later, we still have our children,

and the conductor is yelling

"empty seats in the rear cars"

Each car we looked in is PACKED...

So, we keep heading down the length of the platform trying to find an empty car.

From behind me, I hear Gary yell:

"Donna, the train is going to LEAVE without US!"

I turn back at look at him.

He has look of panic on his face and he is standing next to a conductor who looks equally stressed!

There is NOT another soul on the platform!

WTF!

Gary is at one entrance. The kids are between us and I'm closer to another door.

The conductor yells,

"GET ON NOW!"

I yell to the kids to go back to daddy.

I head to my cars' door - only to find it shut.

The kids (as usual) had chosen me over their dad and were right behind me.

Amidst more panic shouts, we scream at the children to haul butt back toDaddy.

He and the conductor are throwing luggage on the train.

The train is so packed, Gary, the kids and our luggage are all in the little boarding space once you step ontp the car.

There is no room for me to step up on the stairs as luggage is everywhere!

The conducotr behind me, is yelling "NOW! Now!!"

I mean - don't they have Safety precautions!?!

Gary starts throwing our children to clear out some space.

The kids are screaming!

They are scared I'm getting left behind and now their Daddy is throwing them.

I jumped on, standing on top of our luggage.

Lights and sirens are going off everywhere.

And they door shuts behind me, practically

WTF!?!

And it is not the end of our ordeal.

Because the 15,000 commuters have every one of the seats taken.

Gary and I are stressed from the NYC trip and keeping up with the kids.

Now, we have reached maximum non-productive, exhaustive,

"I cannot even SPEAK to my spouse" level of communication.

(Think of the worst five minutes you've ever seen on The Amazing Race.)

Gary yells at me to take the screaming children and he'll manage the luggage.

I spot a place on the floor.

Yes, the floor.

I dropped down, pull the children on me.

And we sit and have a good cry.

;-)

15 minutes later, half the people exit at the next stop - and we find some seats together.

The children fall asleep 30 seconds after that.

And power nap for the next hour!

The rest of the weekend went great!

We got to see family.

Austin and Logan got to see their cousins and uncles and aunts.

And of course, their grandparents!

And they slept a good 4 hours of the 6.5 hour train ride home.

Austin had laryngitis from talking and shouting so much...a true sign of a successful party weekend!

All in all, a great experience, another little scenario to add to their almost-guaranteed need for therapy in the coming years, and some much loved time with the other half of their family.

(Oh and there was that one little incident where Logan hit the STOP button the elevator,momentarily trapping and panicking the groom hours before his ceremony, but I thought the post was long enouigh without that whole stroy!)

;-)

Kindergarten Recap

2011-11-13T17:31:00.002-05:00

So, as life would have it...as glorious as Day 1 of Kindergarten was....
Day 2 was just the opposite!
We did nor prepare well the night before.
(Rookie mistake, I KNOW!)
So, the morning was an automatic rush job -
finding clothes -

suitable clothes

Well, clothes we could all agree on.

We waited until morning to pack lunches - midway through this step, about 2 minutes before we are supposed to be at the bus stop, Gary discovers Austin's lunch pack lasted all of one day and has a broken zipper.

So, he did a scramble to find a substitute.

After we got the boys off on the bus,
we found their uneaten breakfast bananas at home.
;-(
And later, I realized I had not signed Austin's reading journal.

This can be excused with having two kids, but the teachers don't really know that the child in their class has a twin yet - so I look like loser mom not doing the "super easy" homework on Day 1 of the school year.
After the boys got off the bus that afternoon, we discovered more fun facts about their 2nd day of school.
Logan left his lunch box on the bus - so he had no snack and no lunch.
Luckily, his teacher provided a snack.
And the cafeteria allowed him to purchase lunch at the school.

Logan came home wearing his "back-up" pair of shorts.
Apparently, he had an accident.

Not a biggy, but while trying to remind him where the bathroom is in his class and reminding him to go several times, he rolls his eyes and explains that it happened when the policeman came into the classroom.

Ahem, confession time.
I *may* have used the whole "policeman" thing as a little extra parenting tool in times of need.
Lets just say that when Logan saw the policeman enter the clasroom, friendly smile or not,
Logan, well......Logan reacted like he was in DEEP trouble!
;-)
Happy to report that Logan went on to exclaim,
"And Mom, he was a REALLY, REALLY nice policeman!!"

So...well, there goes that whole little *technique*!

Here are some additional highlights from the Week 1 of Kindergarten:.

First day of school,

M: Austin what was your favorite part of the day?

Riding the bus and rest time!

Evan: Logan, did you have fun today?

Well, I didn't go the principal's office, so I'ld said it was a good day!

Isn't Kindergarten fun?

Logan: "Well, we lost a girl today. So, that's pretty bad, huh?"

(On the bus ride home, a little girls mother was looking for her on the bus and they had sent her to daycare, instead. Austin missed this whole scenario, but Logan delivered the news to Daddy and I like, See - this is definitely not a good idea to send me to these people to take care of me!")

Austin got a "smiley" face for day 2, but a nice little written note that the teacher, "Had to speak to Austin several times today about his chattiness."

(Yeah, she aint seen nothing yet!)

Logan came home in his back-up clothes again,
This time the Firedrill had gone off and where that scared that the ....well, ya know, out of him!

~~~

We just had our first parent-teacher conference and both boys are doing great!
Right on par - and ah, well, both are continuing to adjust their "energy" levels!

As for us,Gary and I have seem to have gotten into our groove, too!
8 weeks down!
11 3/4 years to go!
Whoop! Whoop!

And I will finally admit that this is the first time that the whole twin thing has been a challenge for me - for the life of me I cannot get each kid and their perspective teacher straight!
I cannot remember who has "Popcorn Words" and who uses "Cloud Words."
Or which one reads the Scholastic Reeder and which one reads the Weekly Decoder.
Basically, my head spins a LOT!
And packing backpacks is a challenge.
"Which one of you needed to take the apple to school today?"
(sidenote: they both took apples because we couldn't figure out who was supposed to take one for a science project!)
Luckily the teachers are right next door and are now well aware that there is a twin in the next classroom, so they *may* have had to walk things between each other to get it all straight!
;-)

Fall 2011

2011-11-01T12:52:00.000-04:00

I need to blog! I need to blog! I need to blog!

But instead, I'm just going to upload a bazillion pictures!

Enjoy, Evan!

(Sorry - they are out of order!)

Zombies! As painted/created by our friend, Grace!

Power Rangers!

We Skyped a birthday with Evan!

The birthday boy and Amanda!

We got a new puppy!

She's 2.5 years old. Her name is Tinkerbell.

It's a love match!

School had a "Career Day" Dress up

Logan went as "Michael Jordan."

Which is pretty much who he goes to school everyday as.

So, he wasn't too excited or into it.

Plus, he was irritated that his teacher wrote, "I am a basketball player." When what he wanted was "I am Michael Jordan!"

On the other hand, Austin was beside himself excited because he made went as a school bus driver and he made a bus!

And according to him, "Dad helped a little."

Halloween night:

The Power Rangers came out!

And created Power Ranger Symbol pumpkins!

(Logan)

Austin and his Green Power Ranger symbol.

(They don't make Green Pwr Rngr costumes! boo!)

Mommy was a chaperone on Austins field trip!

(And Nonnie went with Logan!)

And they dressed up as Mummies at the Nutzy Squirrelleen Party!

Hope to be back soon with a "real post!"

Day Trip To DC!

2011-10-11T11:04:00.001-04:00

Really - it's quite embarrassing that we haven't done this sooner,

but alas, yesterday was a "No School Day"

(thankyouverymuch, Mr. Columbus)

So, we packed up the kids and headed to DC for the day.

(What follows will be 1,000 pics of our trip.)

First Metro ride.

Logan already showing the "Mom, you are so not cool taking our pic everywhere!" and Austin uber excited about the train!

First stop - The National ZOO!

Notes on the zoo trip:

Poor Austin spiked a fever mid-way through.

He was SO hot and pale, and exhausted.

Of course, we had no medicine, so Gary purchased some out of the bathroom vending machine (nice, eh!?) It was adult version, so we had to break it up for him.

It was this beautiful weather-wise day and my poor baby was all cuddled up inside the rented stroller, arms inside his sleeves with my sweater over him. He was awesome though, no complaining - he hopped out and looked at animals when he wanted to and we had to carry him ALL the way back to the Metro (Ka-yilled MY back!), but sweetie did not complain.

After that, we went ahead and got the car out of the parking garage, rode around for 45 minutes, "sight-seeing" (read: trying to find a freakin' parking space to visit the National Mall), Austin power napped in the car and woke up ready to par-tay!

(Side trip to China town, when Austin was still feeling bad and Logan was ready to PLAY ball!)

Lincoln Memorial!

And then we spent the rest of the day answering questions about his death:

"But why did they shoot him?"

Was it a movie theatre?

Did an ambulance come?

Was it a REAL gun?

etc. etc. etc.

:-)

Gary "holding" the Washington Monument!

Logan

Austin

Not much of a reflection pond, huh?

I kinda built it up, too.

;-(
Needless to say, Austin and Logan were not impressed!
But considering they probably would have attempted to go swimming in it, I guess it was a good thing!
;-)

Mommy and the boys on the steps.

Can you see the excitement!?

This is what Logan wanted to do ALL day long - play soccer!

Ahhhh - little rocket pop night cap!

Moon. White House.

Good Night, DC - hope to see you again SOON!

Tidbits

2011-09-25T08:15:00.002-04:00

Time for more funny, interesting and precious comments/actions by the Darling Duo!

Watching a movie on TV one day, the hero dog "dies" at the end, (I was quite PISSED!), but he (thankfully!) comes back to life! Both boys were cuddled up into me, when Austin lifted his hand up to his face/eyes and wiped away tears. I've never seen him cry at a movie before and when I said something, "Awww, Austin were you sad that the puppy died?" I got a loud, vehement, "NO. NO - I'm NOT crying, Mommy!! There is just something in my eye!"
~~~~
At their check up this year, both boys had to get 4 shots. Logan wailed like no tomorrow! The nurse promised them no more shots until they were 11. As my life would have it, though - school called and said the boys were missing ONE shot and could not start school without it. Logan was beside himself with this news! He started screaming in the parking lot at the doctor's office and didn't stop for one second. He even tried to "trick" me by saying, "Mommy, PLEASE take me back to the car. I...I left something in there and we need to go get it." Austin went first, got his shot. And stayed in there with us while Logan got his. While watching Logan cry in Armageddon fear, I once again saw Austin wipe away tears. Logan was on my lap, but I pulled Austin over to me and kissed his cheek. "Oh, sweetie - are you crying for Logan?"
Austin: "NO, NO - I'm NOT crying, Mommy! Your KISSES made my eyes WET!"

What is this? What is it that a 5 year boy feels like he has to DENY crying? Ugh, MEN!
~~~~~
Logan begs me for a Baby Girl Sister.  He is living his life as if this baby sister will be arriving any day - He has asked me to rearrange the car seats so that she can sit in the middle. He has named her, Ally. He asks me several times a day when/where she is coming from.

What does Austin say about this?
Austin says he wants a puppy instead of a sister. He has named him, too - Buster.
~~~~

Random comment from Austin: "Mom when you die, can I get your Ipad?"

~~~
The boys "pray" to Santa, "Dear Santa, Please bring me/us a motorcycle for Christmas."

(And on that note, I have told them that Santa listens to mommy's and daddy's and that if we say "No motorcycles" then, he won't bring them.   They still insist he will and they "pray" harder and more often!)
~~~~~

Cuddling in bed one rainy afternoon, Me; "Ugh, Austin! Did you just fart?"
Austin, "No, Mommy - it's just your breath."

~~~~

After a long, exhausting, power struggling day - Logan said on the way home, "Mommy, you've been awfully mean today."
And since they always complain when I leave the house to do anything by myself, "Well, then - so maybe you won't mind when I go to work tomorrow?"
Logan: "No, Mommy, we still LIKE you!"
Austin, "Yeah, it's just your attitude that needs fixin."

~~~~

My facebook status one day:
Future girlfriends, be warned!! I just downloaded pictures from my camera and discovered that Austin and Logan hijacked my camera one day and took great joy in snapping pictures of their behinds. If you are familiar with my household, you know that the same 5 year old boys do not like clothing, so these pics were of the x-rated variety!

~~~~
One night, as we were saying our prayers, Austin and Logan began (once again) inundating me with questions about Heaven.  "Will we bounce around on clouds all day, Mommy? "Mommy, if you go to Heaven first, will you visit us? "Will we really, really get to see God in heaven, Mommy? And Jesus?"
Logan asked, "But if you die, who will be our mommy?" "Oh, baby, I will always, always be your mommy, even in Heaven, sweetie!"

This went on for awhile, until Logan was obviously becoming a little more concerned about things.  "Honey, mommy's not sick, I'm pretty healthy, I'm not (that) old. I plan on being around for a long, long time. Okay?" Logan: But, Mommy.....?    "Logan, I will be here for as long as you need me, baby." Suddenly, his face lit up, he sat up, threw both arms around my neck and squeezed super hard, "Yay! Because I'm gonna need you forever, Mommy!"

~~~

The day after hurricane Irene, the boys and I were driving to a park. I told them to look out the windows and see who could spot fallen trees. I saw a HUGE tree down, the roots were easily 15 - 20 feet wide. "Look, boys - there's a HUGE tree down! Wow!" Austin yells, "JESUS!" and I almost wrecked the car! Nonnie had been staying with us during the hurricane since she had no power and I immediately figured he had picked up the language from her! "Austin, sweetie, why did you yell 'Jesus,' sugar, when you saw the big tree?" Austin: "JESUS!, Mommy! Jesus!" "Well, I know, honey...but um, WHY are you saying that dear?" "Mommy, Jesus!  I saw THREE crosses back there.  Jesus! Remember, Mommy? He died on a cross for US. JESUS!"

**Updated to add, In Nonnie's defense, she does not actually ever take Jesus' name in vain! I can't say the same thing about his father, but she doesn't mess with Jesus! ;-)

~~~~
My dear friend Karen and her family taught us "Yellow Car!" on the way to the beach this summer.  Since then, Austin and Logan have been relentless shouting out "Yellow Car!" every. time. we see one on the road. Relentless!

~~~

The boys and I were playing baseball in the street the other day. Austin dropped his ball. "Dammit!"
I looked at him. He looked at me.
Austin: "Nonnie says 'dammit." He explained.
Logan chimed in, "Yeah, our whole family says dammit!"

Austin, "Except Daddy. And Daddy says we shouldnt be saying it."
M: "Yeah, well, you shouldn't.
Austin, "Dammit"
Me: "Austin, please stop."
Austin: "I just wanted to get my last one out, Mommy."
~~~

One day before school started, I was explaining to Logan about collecting "Box Tops" for his school. Next thing I knew, he had pulled out about 1/2 the pantry's content and ripped up boxes were strewn about my kitchen floor.
*Note to self, explain "collecting" AFTER the item has been consumed!"
~~~~

Logan threw an all out, full on force melt down at the mall. The boys are getting too big for me to "man-handle" and/or carry them during their episodes, so it took us quite a while to get out to the car. Nonnie and Austin were going to run to one more store, and I was supposed to move the car to a closer spot to pick them up. I could not get Logan strapped in, so he just rode in the front seat beside me, screaming, yelling, kicking and thrashing.   While we were driving through the parking lot, he yelled something else to me. "What baby? Mommy can't understand you." Between hyperventilating, he yells it again, "Mrmphcrhgh!! Mommy!" ?? Logan, I'm sorry. I know you are frustatred, but Mommy just cannot understand you." "Yellow CAR!!! Mommy!"
Can I tell you I was speechless!?! This is how obsessed they are with the "game!" In the middle of a complete mess of emotions, He still needs to get the "yellow car!' I thought it was hysterical!
~~~~
Mixing up phrases a little bit:
Logan walks up to me one day and hands me a piece of paper, Mommy this will break you heart!
I open it up and it was a note to me, "I heart Mommy."

~~~

You know that kid in tv show, The Middle? The one who whispers to himself all the time? Well, Austin does this thing where he strikes a karate stance and "whispers" Tae Kwon Do. I dont know why, but I absolutely cannot stop laughing when he does it. He tells me it's because he is sneaking up on his enemies and he wants to surprise them with his fight method ;-) One day as I was having fits of laughter watching him do this over and over again, he asked me, "Mommy, are you all cracked up?"

~~~~
I hesitate to write this one, but this is our live. So...here goes.

In the car, Logan says: "Mommy, I really, reaaly, really, really, really, wanna go home and snuggle-up with you and your big, fat, ginorous boobies!
Austin: "You're not supposed to say "fat" Logan."
"BUT, Austin - They ARE! They are SO big and comfy!! I just LOVE Mommy's boobies!"

I just chose not to even respond to the conversation.
~~~~

And if you hung around this long, here are a few pics of my precious, cursing, boob-lovin' kids:

Their first real, official sleepover at their best buds house (the neighbors that abandoned us!)

(I'm still working on my feelings on that issue!)

They always seem to find each other in the middle of the night!

;-)

Some call it a basketball hoop. We call it a launch pad!

Ever jump on a wet trampoline? It's really loud, gives a whole different kinda bounce!

My love bugs!

This is the Big ONE!

2011-09-13T07:45:00.003-04:00

With the twins as active as they are,

I've been sort of forced to remain calm with their constant jumping, leaping, non-walking always running lifestyle.

I have always, always been afraid of heights, though.

Not for me, but for them.

We always rent beach houses that are 3 stories high and lined with decks and built-in benches.

I'm always freaked out that the twins are going to go over the ledge.

Malls, hotels, baseball games, bleachers, everywhere there are balconies - I see "danger!"

The twins favorite ride at the amusement park near us, is the "bucket" that you take across the park.

It FREAKS me OUT!

Because it's not an enclosed cage - and I always fear one of the boys standing up, leaning over too far -

and falling out.

God forbid!

Needless to say, skiing and those death defying ski lifts will never, ever be a part of our lives!

And then,

The other day,
on a random,
nothing special happening day,

Logan flipped over off the side of our backyard deck.

And I thought, "Dear Lord, THIS is the Big ONE!"

We have been spared numerous, upon numerous injuries.

We have only had two trips to the ER - one netted a staple in the head and one cost us an emergency room issued $100 tube of neosporin!

The other day, as we began our backyard fishing from the deck.

I was getting Austin set up, when I heard Logan
scream
from the corner of the deck.

He was standing on this bench and he had just leaned too far over.

His belly lay flat on the railing and his feet were still on this side (and he wasn't smiling like the stick figure is).
And as my heart dropped, I screamed his name and took a step towards him to grab him...
....only to see his feet go all the way over the edge...head first.

I screamed his name again and ran down the steps.
In those 2 seconds, I tried to prepare myself for a broken arm, a broken leg
...and prayed that he had not landed on his head or his back.

I came down, rounded the corner and became instantly confused
as my child
was
not
on the ground.

??

I heard him screaming, looked up and bless his little heart, he was clinging to the outside of the deck.

God only knows how that child went head over heels over the balcony and had enough foresight and ability to grab the rail, hold on, plant his feet on the ledge and cling on for dear life.

I had to pry him off and together we both fell to the ground in a heap of crying mess.

And of course, his first words to me were,
"Mommy - YOU did that! YOU put the fish TOO far out!"

And who can argue with that!
Yes, I had expected him to wait for me, but this is my child and he is gonna forge ahead where there is potential fun and adventure!

I play the scene over and over again in my head.
And I still don't know how he did it!

It could have been so much worse!
And all he had was a scratch was where he had grabbed onto the rail during the flipping over.

And.
I. THANK. YOU.
GOD!
And any and all guardian angels involved in that save!

Later that night, at bedtime,
he told me very seriously, "Mommy - I'm soooooo sorry I fell off the deck."
"Oh baby, it's okay. You don't have to apologize. Mommy thinks you are a hero because you saved yourself. I am sooooo, so very thankful you held on to that railing! You are one smart boy!!"

Kindergarten!

2011-09-06T07:41:00.001-04:00

Yep - it's HERE!

First day of school for my little ones.

I do believe they were more excited today than they've ever been on Christmas - or at least it was darn close to the same amount of enthusiasm!

I had barely said, "Good Mor'...." when Logan threw back the covers, hopped outta bed, and was half-way dressed before I finished my greeting.

He ran to the window. Confirmed that it was "dark" like Mommy and Daddy said it was going to be.

And ran to wake Austin up.

Austin, too - flew outta bed, ran passed me, got dressed, ran downstairs for his backpack.

Time elapsed since waking them:

45 seconds.

;-)

Stall time!

I had prepared for at least a good 30 - 40 minute spread.

So, we filled the extra minutes by calling our Grammy and Grampy in Maine.

And snapping some pictures:

Logan, left. Austin, right.

We woke up to a very, very rainy morning.

So, we drove the van to the bus-stop.

Two over-the-top excited boys!

I'm not proud to admit it, but they did CUT in line BIG time, to load that golden mecca of a school bus!

And I attempted to snap a picture of them on the bus, but that didn't quite come out.

I heard them tell the bus drivers, "But we're brothers."

And she said, "Well, just for today, sit where you are and then we'll make sure we put you together."

They seemed very agreeable to that.

;-)

Their bus comes extra early. It's a first run.

So, we've signed them up to eat breakfast at school.

Then, on the way down the kindergartener hall,

Austin will drop Logan off and then head to his classroom!

Action pay day, snacktime, recess, lunch -

Where none-other than NONNIE-The-Great will be volunteering as a lunch lady!

Woo-Hoo!

Can't wait to hear about their day!

Austin and his teacher.

Logan and his teacher!

No tears....yet.

for me.

Gone Fishin'

2011-09-04T13:48:00.000-04:00

In the backyard, that is.

With magnets!

;-)

I find it's way less messy!

Austin casting!

Magnet man fishes!

With Nonnie's help, Logan catches one!

And for the record, the very next day, Daddy took the boys real fishing.

But sadly, no fish were caught!

;-(

We miss our buds!

2011-09-03T13:48:00.002-04:00

This summer, we have not spent nearly enough time with our best buds,

Van and Zak as we would like to.

But no matter when we do get together...

it's all energy,

it's all fun,

all the time!!

Introducing the latest world-reknown Unnamed famous baseball team!

Van, Austin, Logan and Zak!

Team Pose!

Tracey and I met at a new park, one not affected by Hurricane Irene!

As we discussed how much of a "A Mommy Who Governs by Routine" we are not,

we had to laugh as at 4 o'clock the playground instantly became packed with families.

And by 5 o;clock , it instantly emptied again as those clearly on a schedule went home for dinner.

;-)

With the start of Fall and full-time school for three of our four pack, not to mention various sports activities,

Tracey and I sure hope we come up with a way to increase our playdates!!

Earthquakes and Hurricanes!

2011-08-28T22:38:00.006-04:00

Without going into too much detail about our exact location, we'll just say we were very, very close to the epicenter of the 5.8 earthquake that shook most of the East Coast last Tuesday.

I was at work, 2nd floor, in a rather older building and we shook for a good 40 - 50 seconds.

In fact, longer if you count the good 20+ seconds we were still shaking once we ran out into the streets.

Which was really weird because everyone else emptied their shops and came running out of the buildings, too...

(I know, you are supposed to stay IN the buildings, but these are really, really old buildings! lol)

and once we hit the streets, the pedestrians and the people in cars all looked at us like we were crazy...

because they hadn't felt anything.

Which apparently is true - if your ever in an Earthquake and walking on the street or driving, you won't feel a thing....you can file that away as completely un-useful information.

Anyway, I raced back upstairs to start calling all my kids, my family, etc -

and the phone lines were DOWN.

And of course, the news wasn't reporting anything 5 seconds after the earthquake, but we had NO idea if any parts of the area had had any structural damage, or any other disasters that can come with an earthquake.

Eventually, all people were present and accounted for.

Nonnie was at our house with the twins - when things started shaking up there.

Logan was on the stairs and bless his heart, flew down them, slipped off the last step and started crying just out of fear. Austin was upstairs in his room with the two 14 year old baseball players we were hosting for the week (hopefully, future post coming about that great experience!). Austin stayed calm, because I think the two ball players stayed calm - because they had no idea what was going on!

Evan was across the street at his girlfriends place and lots of shaking and things falling off the walls over there.

Nonnie said she spent the rest of day answering questions about earthquakes and that Austin and Logan were afraid the earth was going to open up and eat them. ;-(

Within the next 24 hours - we had about 4 - 6 aftershocks. One basically felt like another earthquake at 4.8.

It's weird some people feel the aftershocks, some don't.

I have felt them all - even if it's just my stomache getting flipping and whoozy, like I'm on a roller coaster. Then, I turn on the news (read: check Facebook) and see that we've had another aftershock.

I can't begin to describe how weird it feels to have the earth rumbling and shaking you around.

How loud it is!

How unrattling to your senses and nerves it is.

It's just yuck!

All of it.

Hope that's the last of it for another 100 years or so!

Last week, basically went like this,

Earthquake.

Aftershock. Aftershock. Aftershock.

Our beloved baseball players leave.

Evan leaves for college.

And Hurricane Irene arrives.

We were not in an evacuation area.

But we were a direct hit.

So, 14+ hours of rain, rain, rain.

and wind, wind, wind!

And then no power.

And then trees bending, bending, bending.

And falling.

Thankfully, we ALL survived.

And other than lots of tree branches and leaves down,

all is well.

No picturees of the earthquakes, but I did take a few during Irene's visit!

We left to get Nonnie because she lost power really early. I think her power lines just heard "Hurricane" and fell or something. ;-)

This is how we roll during a hurricane: carseats, table stands, blankets, noodle bowls and a movie.

We kept discussing the fear of trees falling into our homes and ever the practical and creative solution duo - they donned helmets to protect themselves! Smart thinking, boys!

Irene's debris.

Boo Irene!

But the next picture shows just how much my hubby loves me!

Because even without power, he knows...

"Baby needs her coffee in the morning!"

Bed for five!
We had to sleep downstairs, hoping that the roof and 2nd floor would "stop" a tree if it fell on the house!

Some of the trees that fell around town:

This one luckily fell away from a house, but it blocked a road for days!

This one fell BETWEEN two houses!

Many, mnay houses were damaged during the storm, but amazingly not as many accidents or deaths.
God is Good!!

So what do you do to fill the adrenaline void after survinging two natural diasters?

Well, I'm afraid the worst of all is coming our way!

It is now T-minus 7 days of attempting to get the twins down to bed earlier than....

(oh, lets keep it ra'yeel here, peeps)

"11ish"

and try to migrate them to a more respectable bedtime of

what, 8ish? 7:30?

What the....?

But my sleeping beauties, who normally don't rise and shine until 9ish,

will find their cute little butts at the bus stop at 7:05am next Monday morning!

Now THAT - I'm very, very AFRAID of!

Baseball!

2011-08-17T09:26:00.000-04:00

Oh Boy! Do we LOVE going to root our local baseball team on!

Here's a "not the best picture in the world" pic of me and the boys.

(But hey, as like with all moms-who-are-usually behind-the-camera-and not in-front,

I'll take my pics when I can get them!)

We were DRIPPING in sweat!!

Notice Gary behind us drinking a CAFFINATED soda!

I think i broke my steadfast rule and let the boys have a sip anyway!

Luckily for us, it rained during the game and after one or two loud claps of thunder, 85% of the ballpark emptied out!

Excellent for us, cuz we scooted right on down smack dab in the middle of the ballpark!

Yep: Dugout. Our (new) seats. Nothing in between! Awesome!

Our new seats even earned the boys a broken bat, handed over the dugout roof from the ballplayer it previously belonged too! Very. Very exciting!

Our very own matching-the-mascot capes, a generous gift from Van and Zak's Nanie!

My handsome little boys!

Oh Lawd!

2011-08-10T12:43:00.003-04:00

Logan is currently obsessed with babies. Or rather with pregnant women! Specifically the BELLY!
He inundates me with questions daily - how can the babies eat in there? How does the mommy sleep? do the babies get squished?

The other night, Van and Zak's Aunt Christina joined us at the ballpark. Aunt Christina is about 8 months pregnant! So, during the game, Logan was loaded with questions!

While we were walking around the stadium stretching our legs, he was holding my hand and looked up at me, "Mommy, but how does the baby GET IN the belly?"

Oh LAWD!

"Um, well, it takes a boy and a girl, honey, to make a baby. That's the way God does it."

Looking up at me, he grins and says, "I KNOW how it happens, Mommy!"

Oh LAWD!

"Um, okay. How Logan?"

"Mommy, I think the boy and the girl just have to hug for a long time and that's how the baby is made."

Um, okay - yeah, I'll go with that.

"You know what baby? I think you're absolutely right!"

(Me, swiping brow in a "I just dodged a bullet on that one!" sigh of relief!)

;-)

Later, back in our seats, we were cheering on our team. Me standing. Logan standing in his seat with his arms around my waist. He squeezes me tight. I look down, he's smiling at me. I leaned down to give him a kiss and in my ear, he whispers....

"Mommy? Did we just make a baby!?"

OH LAWD!!!

Oh - the joy!

2011-08-08T15:54:00.001-04:00

You would think by now that I would be used to my childrens' wild ways and wild antics.

But, I admit....I did not see this one coming.

Maybe because I only had one child (Austin) with me,

Maybe my defenses were down.

Anyway, here's the story:

Austin and I were shopping at a wholesale club. And I don't know what it is about shopping (anywhere), that seems to generate the need for my children to use the restroom - multiple times!

But, three pee trips later - the last one being a mad dash AS we were being CHECKED out, we were finally headed to the parking lot.

Austin - who still doesn't fully p*ll down his p*nts, but only pulls the front down in minimal effort, states that he peed on himself some.

"That's okay," I said, "We're heading straight home."

He hopped in the back of the car and I loaded all of the groceries in the trunk.

We start heading home.

Austin chatting away - sometimes to me. Sometimes, just chatting in general.

This child is especially fond of potty talk.

So, most of what he says - I ignore.

The trip home is about 5-6 miles.

As we pull onto our street,

Austin says, "Hmm. I wonder why me belly button looks like this?"

This is where I become curious

- potty talk I am used to, but exactly what is going on

that he is looking at or can even see his belly his in car seat.

So, I turn around....and see

a N*KED BOY in my car!

Yes, Austin had decided he did NOT want to ride home in wet clothes.

That he would rather ride home N*KED!

Did I mention we were not in my big ole' van, the one with the tinted windows?

I was actually driving my mom's Camry -

you know, a nice little four door without tinted windows

- that everyone can clearly SEE into!?!

Lord knows what anyone thought

at any of the THREE stoplights I hit during our drive.

It's a wonder the police didn't follow us home!!

Do I really need to add:
"Make sure children are wearing ALL of their clothes"
before I drive anywhere!?!

;-)
Oh, The Joy! The Joy!

Random'ness

2011-07-30T10:44:00.001-04:00

Logan picked me flowers one day!

Because I'm beautiful.

;-)

(I don't even care if he did steal them from the neighbors yard and not ours!)

We are still working on Logan's "smile"...

The above is what I get everytime I pull the camera out!

Austin is a bit more of a rockstar with his poses!

Summah Mohawk boys!

Rainbow toes!

They still "find" each other throughout the night!

And notice on Logan's shoulder is a worry doll.

Austin is obsessed with putting a worry doll under his pillow every night!

He also hands one out to everyone else at night. He takes one for everyone on sleepovers, too.

;-)

His version of their power:

"If you put one under your pillow, and tell it your worries, the worry doll watches over your bad dreams and protects you. She makes sure the bad dreams don't get you. She makes them happy dreams."

It's in the eyes!

2011-07-22T07:45:00.000-04:00

My photographer llbff, (Life-long bestie from when we were like 1 years old!) took some amazing pics of my duo on a recent trip to the beach. She made it her mission that day to capture their lashes!

(Austin)

(Logan)

(Austin)

(no clue!)

(Logan)

(Austin)

I just LOVE, LOVE, LOVE these pictures! I LOVE having these precious little faces "frozen" in time for me. It seems they are changing and growing daily!

Studs!

Logan

Austin

Logan and Mommy

Austin and Mommy

Other than all that cuteness, I'm pretty much getting my toucsh kicked on a daily basis!

And if it's not me, it's Nonnie or Gary getting their tousch kicked while I'm at work.

However, like kryptonite to Superman, the heat does seem to have some effect (some) on their never ending energy supply.

Of course, we mere mortals are usually way depleted from the heat long before either of them are effected, so...sadly, we are still no match for them.

;-)

And it seems, rather than blogging this summer, I'm am throwing all of my (remaining) energy into holding onto every ounce of pre-kindergarteness I can get.

I know it's just a mere seconds-away from 5th grade and graduation.

My "You're a big boy, you can walk" has been long tossed and replaced with

"Come here. Who needs some Momma-huggin?!"

Ice Cream in a Bag

2011-07-08T09:45:00.000-04:00

Anyone else heard of this?

I was pretty excited when I discovered it out there in blogland somewhere.

And truthfully, I really did not think it was going to work.

But...I couldn't resist putting science to the test.

So, we followed the instructions. Mixed our ingredients.

It's so simple, add sugar, milk and vanilla extract in a small ziploc. Then put the small ziploc inside a big one with ice and salt.

Then, the boys added a variation, our own twist to Step 5: Shake Well for 5 minutes.

The bags do get really, really, really cold. Some suggested wearing mittens.

But the trampoline seemed to work well for us.

We then opened the bags,

added bananas,

and voila!

ICE CREAM IN A BAG!

;-)

No kiddin!

It really worked!

And it was really yummy!

Cept - it was a little too salty - next time, we will double bag the inside one.

Thought this would be really cool for a picnic, too!

Yay for trying new things!

Below, the boys are on the trampoline mixing their ice cream.
And at the end, if we were the kinds of parentswho let their kids take "baths" in the springlers, well, then, we may be the kind of parents who also videotape that.
And you may, just may get a for real, truly raw, unedited proof of just how extremely crazy my boys are.

Make photo slide shows at www.OneTrueMedia.com

The 4th!

2011-07-05T13:15:00.001-04:00

Wow!! 4 day, crazy weekend!

Friday, we went with our church for a fun day at the water park!

Never in a million years, thought my guys would be interested in going on this!

It's DARK.

Um, it's REALLY HIGH up.

Oh yea - and it's DARK!

They begged and pleaded.

And I said, yes.

Figuring once they got up there, they'ld realize the enormity of the slide and back down.

Yeah, that didn't happen.

They went down it!

LOVED it!

Went down it 1,000 times.

Cah-razy!

Friday nite, we headed off to the Drive-in with our buddies, Van and Zak.
Double feature, Cars 2 and Mr. Poppers Penquins!
They surprisingly made it until 12:30am before falling asleep in the back of the van.

Saturday morning started off slow,

Lounging around the house watching a movie.

'Cept that movie was (one of the) Mighty Ducks.

So, somehow we conned Amanda's (Evan's girlfriends) brother

into taking us/teaching us how to ice skate.

Amanda's whole family has grown up with ice hockey, so the boys were well suited up.

Amanda, Evan, Matthew, Austin and Logan

(see video below!)

Sunday, we had our picnic over at Nonnie's.

The boys got their special Homecoming Day Cake!
4 years ago we all landed at the airport and finally completed our family!

They caught fireflies...and then let them go.

;-)

And on Monday we went blueberry picking, again with our buds Van and Zak.

And we have a long list of items we are going to make: Blueberry Pie, Blueberry Jam, Fruit Smoothies and Blueberry pancakes!

Then, another family picnic,

Where my "wild" and crazy" boys drew lots of attention
(jumping off of lawn chairs into the 2 foot wading pool)
and when I mentioned to my uncle (not known for his gentle ways as a child either) that the boys might benefit from a stint at boot camp,
he laughed and said, "Shoot - they'ld throw them out. They'ld offer you your money back and an extra ten to come get them!"
;-)

Once we finally got back home, we made our blueberry pie,

(in our Christmas pj's, of course!)

The rain canceled our fireworks plan, but Dad set off a few sparklers and blaster in the front yard for us!

Make an on-line slide show at www.OneTrueMedia.com

All about Daddy!

2011-06-19T00:04:00.000-04:00

HaPpY FaThEr'S DaY, DaDdY!!

Mommy asked us a bunch of these silly questions and well, it's our gift to you!

;-)

1. What is something Dad always says to you?
A: We can’t build our tree house. ;-(
L: We can’t get the (basketball) hoop really far, far, far, far, far up in the air. (The one near the trampoline so that they can jump off of it onto the trampoline!)

2. What makes Dad happy?
L: When I give him a big squeeze hug
A: No, he always likes it when we say , “I love you “ ….okay, and when we give him hugs.

3. What makes Dad sad?
L: To say "You’re not in our family."
A: Jumping on him and kicking him.

4. How does your Dad make you laugh?
L: When he does silly knock knock jokes
A: When he makes silly faces

5. What was your Dad like as a child?
L: He was like a baby brother.
A: He was very athletic.

6. How old is your Dad?
A: (doesn’t answer)
L: I don’t know

7. How tall is your Dad?
A: (shows me by standing up on my bed and reaching very high up in the air!).
L: How tall are you, Mommy?
M: I'm 5'5".
L: Okay well Daddy is that plus 19 more inches.

8. What is his favorite thing to do?
A: He likes to fart.
L: He pretty much likes to go to rafting.

9. What does your Dad do when you're not around?
A; He goes like this, “Austin! Austin?”
L: Work and work so he can be off the next day to be with us.

10. If your Dad becomes famous, what will it be for?
A: Being the best fry cook
L: Basketball

11. What is your Dad really good at?
A: He’s really good at hide and seek and staying on the bottom of the pool.
L: At playing softball.

12. What is your Dad not very good at?
A: Dolphin diving.
L: Standing on his tippy toes and batting.

13. What does your Dad do for a job?
L: Arbys
A: He gets people food. Really, really good food.

14.What is your Dad's favorite food?
A: Pretty much everything
L: Yeah – he eats anything, don’t you think so, Mommy?
M: Yes, I do. daddy's a very good eater.

15. What makes your Dad proud of you?
L: When we win every soccer game.
A: When I jump by myself on the trampoline

16. If your Dad were a cartoon character, who would he be?
A: Bugs Bunny b/c he’s he’s good at hopping.
L: Blue Ranger, because he’s pretty good.
A: Oh, well, then maybe the Green Ranger, too.

17. What do you and your Dad do together?
A: Make music.
L: Play softball.

18. How are you and your Dad the same?
A: We dress the same.
L: Cuz he got a new haircut like me.

19. How are you and your Dad different?
A: Me and Dad are different because we have different belts.
L: Cuz we don’t do the same thing. Like, he works. And we play. So that’s different.

20. How do you know your Dad loves you?
A: He plays with us.
L: Because he’s a part of our family.

21. What does your mom like most about your dad?
A; That they’re both married and that they’re the same people.
L: Uh, she likes that they’re married and that they get to be with their two little boys.

22. Where is your Dad's favorite place to go?
A: Rafting!
L: Raftng!
(It's true - Daddy likes to go White Water Rafting!)

M: Okay, boys. Anything else you would like to say about your Daddy for Father's Day?
Logan: Daddy likes to play with us and he likes to do his jobs. I think that’s pretty much it.
Austin: I love Daddy because he’s in my heart.

;-)

There you have it, Daddy! I think you look pretty good from your children's viewpoint! And I sure do appreciate everything about you, too! You work so hard for our family. And when you are off, you play just as hard! You set such a good example for all of our boys.

LOVE you TONS!

True Male Bonding!

Is summer over yet?

2011-06-16T23:25:00.000-04:00

;-) The kids have been out of school for about 3 weeks. It's been hotter than a pig in a blanket and lordy, my boys are going full steam ahead! I haven't pulled the camera out since the last post. I even went back and tried to find some old pics to make a post out of. But nothing.

So, here's a verbal recap of what the camera is not showing.

Austin and Logan's last soccer game of the season - and they got TROPHIES! Austin was beside himself proud (Last year he got a medal.) Logan was all sophisticated athlete grabbing his trophy like a pro. ;-)

Austin tried to drown Logan.   Right in front of me, too. They were "playing" in the water, except the game was "Don't let Logan come up out of the water." Logan said Austin pushed him down three times when he was trying to come up for air. It scared the crap out of him. He was crying and shaking and very, very mad at his brother. 10 minutes later they were best buds and right back at it. I guess so much for hoping "traumztizing" events teach them lessons.

Nonnie and I took the boys out for Double Date night last night. We had a GREAT evening, even renting paddle boats and going around the lake (I know, can you believe, NO pictures!!). We had a fantastic dinner down in the really, neat, beautiful part of the city. And then we pushed out luck by taking the boys out for ice cream. Details, details, blah, blah, blah. austin had a meltdown o EPIC proportions! EPIC! And he is getting too big or me to physically restrain him during an outburts - but traffic and all, I really needed to "keep ahold of him." Lordy - he is BIG. And STRONG. and LOUD. And has a TEMPER that I know my Daddy just loves! At least - he always told me how much he loved my red-headed hot temper! Austin makes my childhood fits look like Shirley Temple having a bad day. And his more resemble a scene out of "Possessed!"

The ice cream truck is still driving by my house 2x a day. Thanksfully, Nonnie made the boys Ice Cream money containers and every time they earn money, they put it in there. If they have $ for ice cream they can get it. If they don't have the $ - no ice cream. No fussin'. It's worked out GREAT! Mom and Dad's pockets are much fuller thanks to not having to pay the crack dealer his exhorbirant prices for his store bought goodies!

Logan is having a certain (private) behaviour/issue that I strongly believe is related to adoption issues. However, he surprised me by saying almost just that the other day. "Mommy, I think 'Logan' makes me do this. Maybe we should go back and start over." Me; "Huh? Start over?" Logan: "Yeah, you know, like go back to where I was before you and Daddy came. What was my name then?   Maybe if I was HIM, I wouldn't have this problem."    Pretty intelligent kid, huh?

The boys are still great eaters! They are willing to try anything. Although, I'm pretty sure onceAustin learns what a "Vegetarian" is - he will demand we adhere to that lifestyle for him! ;-) Logan's taste are developing too - We'll ask him, "Did you like the Salmon, Logan?" his response is, "Well, I ate it. It's okay, but I'm not really a fan of it."

Austin begged and begged me to buy a sugary cereal at the wholesale club. Neither boys drinks milk, but we can get a bowl of cereal in about 3 to 3 times a week, if we're lucky.   So - whatever vessel it is, if it's gonna carry milk, I will probably buy it. However this one - was chocolate and peanut butter - two things he doesn't normally like. I did inform him that the GIANT size box was going to be all consumed before I bought him anything else at the grocery store. He kept exsiting he LOVED it (and I didn't know when he had ever had it before.) I was still grumbling putting it in the car while I was talking to Nonnie about it and finally I guess he felt the need to defend his breakfast choice, "But Momma! Peanut Butter C*ptain Cr*nch is a BALANCED breakfast!" Don't ever doubt advertsing does it job! Happy to report that we discussed the all important term "PART o a balance breakfast." and also happy to report that he has made a huge dent in the box over the last month!

Back around their birthday, Logan came home rom school with a piece paper and stuff scribbled all over it. He informed me it was his "Blueprint" for a Power Ranger WipeOut Birthday Cake." ;-)

That's long enough for now. Hoping to get my camera out soon!!

Boys will be boys!

2011-06-01T22:54:00.001-04:00

Tracey and I waited until the temperatures reached about 125 degrees
(yes, that's Farenheit!)
(no, I am not exaggerating!)
(okay, maybe by 5 degrees or so, but jes'sayin, it was H-O-T!)
to take the boys out to our local Mini-feeding-zoo-that-has-lots-and-lots-of-hills-and-a-creek Park.

;-)

This was Zak's first time to Maymont!

Yep, ONE seed. That's ALL you're gettin, buddy!

;-)

This next photo had both Mommies in near tears!

What could be more precious than two sets of hand holding best buds!?!

(Austin and Van in the lead, and Logan ever by Zak's side.)

Some were ready to JUMP right in the fun...

And others weren't quite sure!

Hmm, looks like a set-up!

Payback!

;-)

Water rolling over rocks.

That is the image in my dream that I believe my brother sent me the night before Nonnie and I went to choose the location of his memorial tree.

;-)

And just in case you need/want to HEAR happy, happy laughter, click below:

Make video montages at www.OneTrueMedia.com

More Pretty Poses

2011-05-30T09:41:00.000-04:00

And that wraps up Beach Trip 2011!!

What a great trip!

What great memories!

Pretty Poses!

2011-05-25T23:43:00.000-04:00

A boy and his beach (Austin)

Austin and Logan

Brothers

Sunset on the Sound

Pretty Lady!

Me and my Mom!

Austin

The twins have been planning a Beach Ultimate Frisbee Game

ever since we visited Evan and watched himplay at college.

Team 1

Team 2

We didn't really keep score. Everybody played hard. Nobody got hurt. And we had a lot of fun.

(And if you know me and how competitive I am you know that one of the above statements is a lie!)

;-)

(One more post and I should have Vacay 2011 all wrapped up!)

More Pool Fun!!

2011-05-24T00:32:00.000-04:00

Evan helping the twins "waterski!"

Mason and Lory!

Evan and Amanda

Mason and the twins "water dunking"

Nonnie gettin' in on the action!

The twins' sunbathing!

Float Olympics!

More Float Olympics!

Logan being tossed "onto" the orca/whale thing.

Austin tossed just a wee bit higher "onto" the orca/whale thing!

;-)

Vacation - All I Ever Wanted!

2011-05-23T13:15:00.000-04:00

Vacation!

Happy To Get Awayyyyyyyyyy

(You should be singing that!)

;-)

We just returned from a fab-U-lous week at the beach!

Don't we all look like happy, beautiful people?

In the line-up:

Mason and Lory, my brother Mitch, his better half, Patsy and her son Frankie,

Nonnie, Gary, moi, Evan and Amanda

Frick and Frack

(a.k.a Austin and Logan)

;-)

Poor little Austin gets minor car-sickness, and both boys do NOT stop asking, "Are we there yet? How much longer?" Despite all the toys/movies and games we had within their reach, nothing occupied them longer than 3 seconds. The 3 hour car ride seemed like 10. Not. Even. Kidding.

However - once there!

The Fun, FUN, FUN began!

The boys discovered they can "carry" each other in the water!

Austin clearly is happy!

Frankie tosses Logan!

Daddy tosses Logan

Daddy tosses Austin

Mid-air high-five!

Logan serious about his battle!

Austin

Happy Logan!

Mason and Austin!

Mitch and Logan

Logan, Austin, and Evan!

Chicken Fight!

Austin celebrating his victory!

We are so, so, SO blessed to have so many brothers and uncles to play with the boys!

And can you believe with ALL this play, ALL this pooltime, ALL this sun,

that the boys remained in non-cranky mode most of the week and in high spirits

and high-energy 90% of the time (not that the adults did!).

The boys stayed up late, woke up early every day and only took

one mid-week 20 minute nap!

Of course, they crashed hard for 2 1/2 hours on the way home

(making for a much easier trip for Mommy and Daddy!)

More pics to come!

WipeOut Power Ranger Party!

2011-05-09T23:00:00.000-04:00

Take this:

And these guys:

And you get lots and lots of this:

And....

ONE RIDICULOUSLY CRAZY WIPE OUT COURSE!

Make photo slide shows at www.OneTrueMedia.com

Why I can no longer hold a conversation

2011-05-03T13:45:00.000-04:00

I suffer from major, major brain fry!

These boys have finished what college started.

I try not to miss church, but every once in awhile,

a morning home with no rushing around

sounds like a good idea.

My mom always asks me why I'm always go, go, going with the kids and below is why.

This is how my "relaxing morning" with the boys went.

We are all three cuddled up in my blankets.

Windows open and the morning cold air feels awesome!

I turn on the tv for them in the hopes of getting some more shut eye for me.

Round 1: Austin v. Logan

"I wanna watch Power Rangers!!"

"NO, CURIOUS GEORGE!"

More yelling, then some kicking, I threaten to turn off tv.

Fight resolved.

But now I"m wide wake.

I come down for coffee.

Round 2 & Round 3 are simulataneous

Mommy v. Logan
and

Logan v. Austin

Logan wants to help me with the coffee. I try and explain that I don't want to clean up a mess.

Austin wants Wii, Logan wants tv.

I get my coffee and clean up the mess Logan made.

We all agree on Wii.

Non-twin mommies always tell me how lucky I am that they have each other to play with.

I smile, but think, "bull-shitake!"

Austin and Logan have maybe played by themselves like 10x.

Otherwise, Daddy or I or Nonnie or Evan

are expected to play WITH them.

So, visions of computer time and coffee are gone

as I have to cheer on the Wii players, play Wii and fight to keep them off of my computer because they want to play the Power Ranger computer game.

The rest of the morning,

all 3 goody bags from the weekend's parties are emptied.

And while I am playing the Wii, they snuck in and shared an entire sleeve of crackers, leaving enough crumbs

to fill the city's current ant population.

My living room is trashed.

They are ready for outside play,

but despite my desperate pleads,

my presence is required out on the trampoline.

And in truth, I need the exercise, so I go.

We play for an hour.

I am sweaty.

I have gotten attacked and beaten.

And every chance they get, the jump on my back

which is sunburned for soccer and outdoor parties.

We come in.

I peel clemetines, and rehydrate the children.

And I convince them to let me take my shower by myself.

They were watching TV when I went in, but when I come out

they are jumping off of my bed, each using a bra as a parachute.

I am in my towel, but they immediately want my assistance in implementing several of their thought-out contraptions. They have my curler clips, hangers and pillow cases that I am supposed to construct a "real" parachute out of.

The end result is never quite as glamorous as they expect,

and I took several blows to my self-esteem before I presented them something close to acceptable.

Austin runs out of the bathroom with his, and I start on Logan's.

I hear Austin shout in the hallway, "Is anyone downstairs?"

"OMYGAWD! Austin - do NOT try and fly down the stairs with the parachute!! It Will NOT work!"

He is looking at me like, clearly I do not have as much faith in his engineering skills as he does.

I usher him back him, pick up my towel and try my dangest to get ready.

Except they will not stop baggering me to improve their hanggliders.

Austin wants a real one. He comes back in the room after a long period of silence.

"Mom, where are the kites? If I hook my hanger up to a kite, I can have a real hangglider."

I've been calm up to this point, but as my firiend, Cheryl likes to say,
scream-free parenting is not for everyone.

"BOYS if you do NOT leave me alone, we will NEVER get READY!! ARGH!"

Logans pops out, "But Mom what did I DO?"

"Nothing, just, please both of you -
GO get dressed. And nobody. ask. Mommy. for anything. while I try. and get ready please?"

Except I think they heard, "Do what you'ld like and ask mommy for whatever you need."

;-)

So, this is why I can no longer hold a conversation.
I haven't been able to complete a single thought or a single action without interuption in over 4 years!
I truly think my brain has forgotten how to function!

And also, why my bras are littering the entire upstairs area.
Why I invite dogs into my living room to lick up cracker crumbs.
And why I left the house the other day - with not a lick of make-up on and my shirt on inside out.
A look I usually reserved for gym acitvity
and not a friendly gathering of families.

Yay me!
(And you can bet, I'll get my butt back to church next week!)

We are FIVE!!

2011-05-01T10:45:00.000-04:00

On Friday, Austin and Logan turned FIVE years old!!

They are waiting until Big Brother Evan comes home for college for their birthday party (awwww),

so instead Mommy and Daddy BOTH took off of work to spend the day with them!

(Truly, this never, ever happens! When Daddy's off during the week, Mommy works and then poor Daddy has to work EVERY weekend.)

The boys woke up early and came running down the hall, flying into our room,

"It's our birthday!! We're Five! Where's our presents?!"

;-)

Nonnie, Daddy and I got them a Wii!

We immediately came downstairs to plug it all in and as we were descening our stairs,

the Royal couple were descending theirs!

We took our annual Birthday tree photo,

(you can see previous years, here)

Both, the tree and the boys are growing beautifully!

Happy and handsome boys!

Happy 5th Birthday, boys!!
How you have enriched all of our lives TENFOLD!
We love you, love you to pieces!

Dirt Cake!

2011-04-29T23:34:00.001-04:00

The boys are always handy in the kitchen.

This day, they pitched in to make their very own dirt cake for their preschool birthday party!

Lining the cups with dirt and worms!

Clean-up's always a CHORE!

Precious Pose!

Dirt cake!!

Logan during the singing of Happy Birthday and that's "their" girlfriend, Anna!

Logan never looked up and seemed so serious and quietly proudful during the whole song!

I think Anna was concerned that he wasn't happy!

And Austin was happy and bashful!

;-)

It was Austin's day to lead the class in the Pledge of Allegiance!

They. Look. So. BIG!

Sweet, sweet (and cah-razy) boys!

This was actually Thursday, the day before their birthday,

but Nonnie and I still took the boys to Chucky Cheese for a pre-big day celebration.

The Dreaded Call!

2011-04-29T08:15:00.001-04:00

During Spring Break, my friend Tracey and I pulled the boys together to share a sitter for one day while we carpooled to work. This was the first time that this sitter had all four boys.

(Austin, Zak, Logan and Van right after silly stringing the monster at Van's birthday party)

(The monster is Van's dad in a cardboard constructed suit!)

Back to the spring break week, about 20-30 minutes earlier than I expected, Tracey called my cell phone. I started packing things up assuming she was on the way. But the way she say, "Have you talked to Erin?" immediately had my Mom-hunches up, and I responded with, "No, why? who's hurt? What's happened?"

Thankfully, Tracey pretty calmly said, "Van hit Logan in the head with a rock. Apparently there's lots of blood. And she's called the ambulance. I'm on my way to get you now."

...

I packed up my stuff even more quickly, thankfully Tracey stayed on the phone with me, and I ran out the office to wait for her. Tracey and I do a stellar job as co-mommies. She totally gets me, and together she and I "talked" through the possibilities of it probably just being a "10" on the accident scale of 100. Head injuries bleed so much. I was too afraid to talk directly to Erin (and hear Logan), but there had been no mention of him being unconscious or throwing up. My kids are at the stage where any sight of blood sends them into fits - they think they are going to die. So, right away, I knew Erin had her hands full with 4 boys, and at least one, if not more of them, screaming their heads off. Believe me, there are many days I want to call 911 myself!

While talking to Tracey, it suddenly donned on me that if Logan did require medical attention,

they might just be rushing him off in the ambulance

....without his brother or his friends

....and without his Mommy.

And that thought KILLED me!

I begged Tracey to call Erin back and if there was any possible way (bar life threatening situation) to have the ambulance wait for me. Ultimately, I knew I would have to trust the paramedics to make the right call, but if there was anyway possible, I wanted to avoid a trauma that would surely put Logan in therapy until at least highschool!

Despite her incredible Mario'esque driving skills, Tracey couldn't get to my office fast enough. But she did arrive and riding together was great - I don't think I could have made that drive by myself, without freaking out. She broke every speed record there was and got us home in 18 minutes from the time she called my phone - normally it's at least a 30 minute commute!

On the way, I did manage one phone with the parametics, who had to confirm a parent was on the way.
He said, Logan might need some stitches, but it wasn't worse than that.
Once we arrived, the parametics and the sitter met us at the front door.

And I think 3 out of the 4 boys.

Not seeing Logan in traction on a gourney did wonders for my state of mind.

And the fact that they were at the front door and not tending to his bedside helped too.

The babysitter's eyes were about to pop out of head, she looked so stressed!

I immediately hugged her and told her she did a fantastic job and made the right call.

I then spent way too long filling out forms denying the need for a ride in a vehicle with blazing lights and a blaring horn.

I still have major Mommy guilt for not rushing to Logan right away.

;-(

He was sitting on the couch in Tracey's living room and didn't say a word as I made my way to him.

He just cuddled up into me with a sad face.

I truly can't believe that was NOT the FIRST thing I did upon arriving!

;-(

I should also mention that I constantly say, "We might need to call the ambulance" when they get hurt.

My children seriously have no fear and no concept of mortality with all of their death defying stunts - so I do try and implement a little bit of fear in them.

Therefore, when Logan heard that an ambulance was coming, his screaming quadrupled!

Later that night, Tracey and I compared stories and learned that a policeman had responded to the call as well. Now, if you're Van at this point - who is one of the MOST empathetic children I know! - and feeling horrible about the accident as well as thinking you're in trouble - having the police show up does not do wonders for your physche!

In the end, Logan did not even need stitches.

He did have a little bump and a good little cut - right at the back and top part of his head.

His outfit had a good amount of blood on it..and Erinn also had some on her.

Austin and Zak cannot get enough mileage out of this story!

And Van and Logan just sort of walk out the room when the topic comes up.

For the most part, none of the children seem to have any residual scarring for this emotional event.

And for the record, sweet Van threw the rock UP, UP in the air and it came down, down on Logan's head.
Had my guys been the culprit, it would have been a direct aim and hit!

Amazingly, the sitter even says she'll come back, if we'll have her!

And we will - we all agree that she did an incredible job in a very scarey situation!

And on the bright side, Tracey and I now have a GREAT real-life story to remind the 4 boys of

- whenever they are attempting to do something dangerous!

{insert sigh of relief}

First 911 call survived!

Easter Best!

2011-04-25T14:00:00.000-04:00

Despite ALL the outfits gone wrong,

these boys do appreciate looking good!

(Love, love their hand holding!)

They just couldn't resist ONE pre-church bounce on the trampoline!

Yes. Yes, they did keep their hats, ties and vests on for the WHOLE morning!

After church, we headed over to Nonnie's

Where the Easter Bunny had left lots of eggs!

Austin

Logan

Lory and Mason!

Er'vrybody!

(Mason, Lory, Mitch, Patsy, Nonnie, Gary, Me, Austin and Logan)

We missed you, Evan and Amanda.

:-(

We had a wonderful Easter Day and sure hope you all did, too!!

Favorite Foto Friday

2011-04-22T00:15:00.000-04:00

Sorry

2011-04-20T23:07:00.000-04:00

Rough day at the ranch this week.

Daddy and I high-5'd a hand off this week as I was coming home from work and he was heading out to a ball game - a ball game that the twins had lost the priviledge of attending due to a series of unfortunate decisions on their ends.

Honest Abe would be proud - my little jailbirds sang like canaries.

They dictated, I wrote and then they added their own words.

Bu-yah!

2011-04-17T22:35:00.000-04:00

Despite my er, "adventureness" tendency as a mother,

(read: letting the boys cook despite the mess, run around in the rain despite getting soaked, etc)

I admit the ONE thing I have never done (with the older boys nor the little ones)

is dye Easter Eggs.

The pans, the dye, the vinegar

it's just a disaster waiting to happen

and I know that I would be yelling the whole time.

Besides, my church does it EVERY year, so the experience is not lost to the boys.

This year, however....

I stumbled upon a FANTASTIC way to dye eggs and Nonnie was just as into it as I was.

First, I give you: the RESULTS:

Bu-YAH!

I think we ROCKED it out!

;-)

This is by no-means a tutorial,

(just google and you should find several step-by-steps)

In short - the above eggs were created with men's neck ties!

We cut them up and wrapped the eggs in the pieces of fabric.

Boiled the eggs (with the wraps on).

And then, have a TON of fun unwrapping them to see what treasure awaits inside!

Logan showing off a peeled egg!

Austin showing off his boiled egg!

;-)

We LOVED this activity!

And I'm sure it will be making an annual appearance at our house!

"You can sell all our toys, Mom!"

2011-04-14T09:45:00.000-04:00

All we need is the SpinSword!

Well, and the Samurizer (that we don't have yet)!

Last we left off, the twins were on week 3 of workin'

hard to earn their overpriced toys!

Big Brother (and mega Twin-Hero) even got in on the donations.

After my last post, Evan applied his hard-work, dedication and exacto-knife skills

to put together this neat little gift for the boys:

A SUPER COOL note from The Red Power Ranger HIMSELF!

Addressed to both the Blue and the Green Rangers.

Isn't that PRECIOUS!?!

So, how did they earn the rest of the money?

Well, you know - I. Am. Such. a. strict. mother and rule enforcer. It went down a little like this...

On the way out the door one morning, I was trying to squeeze another round of laundry in.

The boys were playing (read: rough housing) and in fact, had been ALL morning long.

I got my serious tone on and told them to head downstairs and get their backpacks.

Of course, the rough housing continued.

On the way.

Down the stairs.

And before I could yell out a warning,

I HEARD the crash, the thump, and more and more thumpin'.

I raced down the stairs before I even took in what had happened...

But, I eventually saw Austin on the floor, both hands up to face and wailing like there was no tomorrow.

Turns out, Logan had tripped up Austin's foot and Austin (I think) fell face first on the stairs and then slid

All the way down. on. his. face.

And I think, the actuall fact of falling (understandably) scared the living shitake out of him.

After eventually ascertaining that the child was okay, we left the house about 10 minutes late -

Even though Austin kept telling me that he didn't want to school.

And that he wanted to stay with me.

And he started crying again, so..

Well, I may have whispered in his ear that I maybe, would, um, er

sorta "pay" him to go to school.

I'll pause for the gasp/intake of breath.

"What, Mommy?"

Trying not to let Logan hear, I said, "um, a dollar.

If you go to school like a big, brave boy. Mommy will give you a dollar."

My skilled negoiator immediately stopped crying and SHOUTED out,

"TEN DOLLARS! I want TEN DOLLARS to go to school, Mommy!"

Of course, Logan wanted in the deal.

I kicked myself and sort of ssh'd them/ignored/distracted them, dropped them off at school and prayed that I hadn't just pulled a(nother) bad-mommy move like sending my kid to school with a possible concussion.

Fast forward three hours, Nonnie calls me from her cell phone after picking up the kids from school.

When I answer, instead of Nonnie, I hear the precious tiny voice of Austin

(ya know the one that sounds like they are much smaller and younger than they look in person)

"Mommy, can I have my 10 doll-wars to go get my Samuri SpinSword today, Mommy?

I was a big brave boy and went to school like you said."

And that was that.

Knowing how obsessed they were.

Knowing that Nonnie shouldn't have to deal with the repurcussions of a "No" for the rest of the day - I caved.

They both got the money to get their SpinSword.

Just hoping that the BIGGER lesson and hard work of EARNING the money overshadows the,

"Hey, if I push my brother down the stairs or if I take a really big fall, I can CASH in BIG time to get toys!"

I'll let you know in 5 years which lesson stuck.

Any bets?

They don't light up.

They don't make noise.

The tips are made of soft rubber that bends.

They do allow us to make super cool poses, though!

And that little disc thing spins. Apparently that's SUPER cool!

Next life lesson:

If it's 8:00pm and Mom forgot to feed us dinner, we get the Happy Meals with the toy

and not just the dollar menu items!

Go MOM!

;-)

Busy! Busy! Busy!

2011-04-06T12:35:00.000-04:00

Birthdays, park trips, a 10k, picnics and the arrival of the beloved,

hard-earned Power Ranger Samurai SpinSwords!

That's what we've been up to!

Nonnie turned 70!

And of course, the boys wanted her to wear a very regal-looking Princess Crown!

(Logan left, Austin right)

"Attack the bad guy with Silly String" event at Van's birthday party!

(Logan left. Austin right)

Battle-swords at Eli's birthday party!

Zak, Logan, Van and Austin at the park.

As you can also see from the wardrobes, we are having high/lows with the temperature as Winter makes it's exit.

Me and my college homegirls after the 10k!

More to come! I hope!

SpinSwords!

2011-03-25T13:49:00.001-04:00

Austin and Logan have been moaning for weeks about

some PowerRanger SpinSword they want.

It just so happens to cost $15!

Which is about $14 over our

"We'll buy it for you just because" budget

we may occasionally spend on the boys.

It's even about $6 over Nonnie's

"I'll buy it for you cuz I love you" splurge purchases.

So, after exhausting the list of household chores:

dishes, extra cleaning

and some yardwork:

picking up acorns, bagging leaves

And one entire day spent "being good boys for Nonnie."

They've got about $5.00 each.

;-(

Yet - they have not forgotten how badly they want that SpinSword.

After being told, once again, that

they don't have enough money to buy it yet,

They came up with a solution:

"Mommy, can we PLEEZE sell Lemon-lade? Puh-LEEZE?"

Great concept, boys!

But they picked a cold, windy day

at about 3:00pm -

So, not a lot of traffic.

Between Mommy and their best friend neighbor, Sarah -

they each earned another $1!

A++ for effort!

And with their drive and determination,

I have a feeling that SpinSword will be making a presence in my house real soon!

Make photo slide shows at www.OneTrueMedia.com

Road Trip!

2011-03-22T08:10:00.000-04:00

We went to COLLEGE!

Nonnie and I took the boys to Radford University to see

Evan play in an Ultimate Frisbee tournament.

Austin traveling in style!

Logan chillaxin'!

5 minutes into the trip, Logan began his "How much longer, Mommy?"

And he pretty much kept it up the whole 3.5 hours!

Everytime we stopped to pee or eat,

Austin and Logan introduced themselves (to anyone within ear shot)

and told EVERYONE they were on vacation and were going to COLLEGE!

Luckily Evan and Amanda met us at the hotel -

so that the boys could JUMP right into the POOL!

(Austin)

(Logan)

Then, we headed to the park for more playtime, dinner out and then back to the pool!

The next morning, Austin woke up, sat up in bed and said, "Pool, Momma?"

So, one more quick dip and then we headed off to campus!

Austin, Amanda, Logan and Evan

Nonnie and Evan!

Me, Evan and Logan

Me and Austin!

The boys loved cheering for Evan!

It was the first time I had watched an Ultimate Frisbee game

and it was pretty darn entertaining!

Our visit was over WAY too soon,

but we had SOOOO much fun!

On the way back, Nonnie and I started planning a FALL trip!

;-)

Rock Star!

2011-03-15T08:20:00.000-04:00

Well, it took me 2 1/2 weeks to recover from running the twins' energy into the ground in that last post!

Just kiddin'!

We have been thoroughly busy and entertained by our beloved ROCK STAR of a brother, Evan!

Sure - he could have spent his Spring Break on the sandy shores of some beach,

but instead, he chose to lavish his brothers in

some unforgettable one-on-one time!

In anticipation of the BIG ARRIVAL,

Nonnie helped us create a Countdown to Evan calendar!

But, Surprise! Surprise! He rang the doorbell two days early...
...and that set the tone for 10 day party right off the bat!

While Evan was home, there was lots of trampoline time:

Some advanced mathwork:

Some special storytime readings:

Evan and his girlfriend, Amanda took the boys to their first evah- big ticket event:

The Harlem Globetrotters!

(Inadvertently, this trip may have also sunk
any hope I ever had of future grandchildren from Evan.)

Evan also stood side-by-side his brothers and joined rank among them as the head leader

Red Samurai Power Ranger!
(An honor, indeed!)

He invented cool games like, Wipe Out Trampoline:

and

Sumo Wrestling Trampoline:

Alas, Sunday arrived, and it was time for Evan and Amanda to return to college.

Imagine my shock, when the boys told me they were going to college with Evan.

No amount of talking or rationalizing could persuade them.

"But, you're going to miss your birthday."

That's okay, Mom. Maybe you could just wait and have it when we get home.

"But you'll miss soccer.."

That's okay - we can play frisbee and basketball with Evan.

"But you'll be all alone when Evan goes to class."

That's okay - we can take care of ourselves and Evan says we can eat water and noodles.
We LOVE water and noodles!

Yeah, and we can just sit outside his class in the hallway.
We'll go get some quiet toys to take to occupy us.

It wasn't until I refused to talk to them anymore that they finally felt enough guilt to stay home.

Nice, huh?

Lucky for all of us, we'll be re-uniting very, very soon

as Nonnie and I will be taking a roadtrip with the boys to Evan's college!

(Austin, Amanda, Logan, Lory, and Evan)

(Mason, Lory, Austin, Amanda, Logan and Evan)

Eureka!

2011-02-28T08:14:00.000-05:00

Cue the choir of heavenly angels!

For years, I have waited for this moment in time

when I finally, finally find a way to exhaust the twins' never-ending supply of energy.

I've tried before.

Like during our first snowsotrm

when they were 1.5 years old

I made them carry their own sleds UP the HILL

EVERY. TIME.

Results: Still no nap that day.

We threw them in the ocean and pool when they were 2 years old

for HOURS

of play in the HEAT.

Nope. Didn't seem to even touch their reserves!

Two straight hours of hard core gymnastics.

Nope.

A day at the amusement park?

Nope.

You get the picture.

So, imagine my surprise today when I seem to have stumbled upon a potential solution.

Sit back and watch, "How to run my twins into the ground."

Start them off with less than 10 hours of sleep.

Fill em up with lots of food for breakfast and lunch.

Suggest a bike ride at the park.

Key point: Bring their neighborhood 10 year old friend along.

Bike ride on a really cool never been on before trail.

Stumble upon a rope swing!?

And let the fun begin!

(Austin above, Logan below)

Logan doing some crazy death defying crawl across a log, above the creek!?!

After 40 or so minutes, continue on path until we stumble upon a baseball field!

Imaginary pitch from Logan.

Imaginary hit from Austin!

Logan heading to catch imaginary ball.

Austin mad and walking off the field because of his imaginary out!

Logan slid into home base, but wonders where the other "team" is!

40 or so minutes later, leave the ball field.

Hit some incredibly scarey hills on the bikes!

(No pictures of this!)

And then spend another hour or more on the playground.

Come home, spend yet another hour on the trampoline and playing basketball.

Boys were so tired they cried and blubbered their way through the rest of the day.

Dinner at 6:00pm.

Bath at 6:30pm.

In bed and ASLEEP by 7:15pm!!

A NEW world record for US!!

Unfortunately, I too won't be far behind them!

YAY for warm weather,

children who can run harder than ever before

and for precious 10 year old neighbors who help out!

{Copy} {Paste} for the next 10,000 weekends!

You didn't really think...

2011-02-26T09:53:00.001-05:00

....that just because the last three (and a half) posts
(I'm counting the picture of the picture included in the Vday post!)
showed my children wearing normal,

nay, ADORABLE outfits -

you didn't think they had given up their autonomy in making their own clothing choices did you?

Here is proof that they are still making me take them out in public lookin' like fools!

(FYI - we got quite a warm front in last week!)
(It's gone now.)

Photo and video editing at www.OneTrueMedia.com

More Conversation Piecees!

2011-02-23T21:30:00.001-05:00

Logan: "Look, Mommy. I just drew my WHOLE family!

Mommy, Daddy, Mason, Evan, Austin and Lory and Amanda!"

Austin: "Nut-uh! That's not your WHOLE family, Logan.

You forgot God!"

Logan: "Oh yeah. Oops!"

~~~~~~~

On a a particularly sunny day, Austin pulled his mittens out of the mitten and scarf box,

doing so created lots of particles in the sunlight.

Austin: "What are all these things called, Mommy?"

Me: "Um, dust bunnies"

Austin: "Oh"

and then he lets out a big sigh,

"Mom - when I'm a Dad, how will I EVER know ALL the answers?"

Later in the car, sunlight is still pouring through the windows.

Austin: "Logan do you know what all these little things are called? They're dusk'a-nies."

Logan: "Huh?"

Austin: "Dusk'a-nee-nies."

Logan: "Dusk'a'ni'nies?"

Austin: "Yep! Duska-ninny-na-pees"

;-)

~~~~~~

Daddy: "Austin, USE your napkin, please.

Stop slurping up the noodles.

AUSTIN!"

Austin: "Just relax, Dad. Calm down buddy, okay?"

~~~~

Austin bosses Logan around to no end

"Logan, go get my water."

"Logan, go get me a super hero costume."

We constantly tell Logan that he does not have to do everything his brother tells him to.

One night at bed time, Austin was laying on my bed watching TV and says,

"Logan, will you go get my jammies for me?"

Logan who was getting his jammies on like I asked,

rolls his eyes and looks at me.

I stay out of it, but give him an encouraging look.

Logan says to Austin: "No. You go get them. I don't have to."

Austin: " Yes, you do because I'm bigger than you. So that makes me the BIG brother!"

Logan looks at me again and looks defeated.

Breaking my 4.75 year silence claiming that I do not know who's the oldest,

I quietly say,

"Nut-uh, Logan was born first."

They both look at me.

Me: "That means he's older."

Logan grins from EAR to EAR!

Austin shouts - NUT-UH! No fair!

Logan never says a word, still wearing a smile, he just climbs up in the bed to watch tv, too.

And Austin goes and gets his own pajamas.

And I don't know why - but that was over two weeks ago, and I have not heard a peep about who's older since then? And Austin is still ordering Logan around.

~~~~~~

Valentine's Day was Mommy Day at preschool. Knowing what went down for Daddy Day, I kept pestering the kids. Are you making me a surprise? Are you learning a new song for me?

I finally broke them one day and they sang they're cute little song for me. As soon as it was done, Logan said, "Okay, Mommy - but BUT DONT TELL OUR TEACHER that we sang it for you, okay?"

~~~~~~~

After an evening playdate, the boys donned their pj's for the long ride home, but insisted on wearing their superhero costumes over them.

Once we arrived home, Gary carried both sleeping boys to bed.

Then next morning, I opened my eyes and saw The Blue Power Ranger next to me in bed. I fell back asleep. The next time I opened my eyes, I saw the Green Power Ranger had joined us. As I rolled over and drifted back to sleep, I thought how surprising it was that Gary left all those layers on, knowing our boys usually sleep in just undies. Much later, I feel Logan moving around and assume he's removing some of the layers. A few minutes go by and obviously not satisfied with the speed at which he's cooling off at, asks me to turn on the ceiling fan. I pretend not to hear him, hoping he'll fall back asleep. I'm almost back asleep myself, when he asks me again. "Mommy, will you please turn on the fan?" Desperate for my Saturday morning sleep, I get up hoping that the fan will provide him enough comfort to get another 15 - 30 minutes sleep out of them. After I turn the fan on, I turn around to head back to the bed and my eyes about pop out of my head when I catch sight of Logan, stripped down to his birthday suit, legs and arms spread out as far as they will go. "Logan!" I gasp in shock! But as the fan blades have started going, Logan blissfully responds (as he fans his nether-regions) "ahhhhhh - it's sooooo hot down there! Thank you, Mommy!"

Needless to say, Mommy did not go back to bed to that morning. I let Nature Boy get his airing out and went down for some much needed coffee!

~~~~

Me: "Austin, you can either watch Curious George now, and then we'll watch Power Rangers or you can go to your room now and loose the chance to see Power Rangers. It's your choice, but you are not going to sit here and fuss while Logan and I try to watch it."

Austin doesn't say a word, but hops up on the couch with us.

Logan: "Good choice, Austin"

Me: "Thank you, Logan."

Logan: "And good point, Mommy!" and then gives me a smile and a thumbs up!

Me: "Well, thank you, again, Logan. I do try, you know?"

Logan: "I know, Mommy. And most times you get it right."

~~~~~

Me: I need to go to take a shower.

Logan: Why?

Me: So I don't stink.

Logan: You don't stink.

Me: Thanks, baby.

Logan: You just smell like mommy to me.

~~~~~

Austin (shouting to me from downstairs): MOMMY?

Me (on the upstairs landing bending over and doing laundry): "Yeah?"

A pause and then,

obviously not pleased with my one worded response:

"'Yeah's' not gonna get me a bowl of cereal, Mommy!"

~~~~

Going to bed and having just spoken to their brother on the phone:

Austin: Mommy, will you go get me some of Evan's cologne? Because I miss him and I want to smell him?

;-(

~~~~~

After discussing dinner options with the boys one night, we decided on eggs. I went into the kitchen to start making them. The boys were in the living room. Austin suddenly ran and opened the back door and then went back to watching tv.

"Austin! Please shut the door. Why in the world did you open it in the first place?"

Austin: "I thought you said you were going to start making dinner, Mommy."

Me: "I am, baby. But why did you open the door, honey?"

Standing beside the open door he looks at me like isn't it obvious,

"Uh, for the smoke, Mommy."

Okay, stop laughing! In my defense, two nights prior I had made popcorn from kernels, and oil and kernels got all over the burners and filled the house with smoke. The following nights dinner netted the same results as the oil was still on the stove. But still.......

;-)

A Day at the Theatre!

2011-02-21T22:30:00.000-05:00

Lured by our favorite baseball team Mascot, Nutzy

Nonnie and I joined forces with

Tracey and her mother (a.k.a Nanie)

and took the 4 boys to a Satuday matinee performance of

"The Big Friendly Giant."

Van, Austin, Logan and Zak

Check out little cutie-pie Zak's tentative expression over in the corner!

;-)

The boys LOVE themselves some big ole Squirrel!

And we all survived the production of "The Big Friendly Giant."

Austin and Logan were a little worried about wether or not there would be a REAL giant on the stage.

They had several questions they whispered to Nonnie and I at the beginning of the show.

However, I was SHOCKED to have a nasty ole bitty turn around as she was preparing to move from her seat in front of us and rudely say,

"YOU'RE children are SO noise!"

gasp!

Really!?!

Cuz, I would NEVER expect CHILDREN to attend a Saturday MATINEE of a CHILDREN'S play especially one sponsored by the local sports mascot targeting their KIDS CLUB!

I don't take my children to fine dining or to regular dining for that matter.

But I do NOT expect to get YELLED at when I take them somewhere they are EXPECTED to be!

I am the first to say my children are crazy and hyper.

But even I will admit (and Nonnie will back me up) that our boys were behaving exceptionally well and were again, whispering their questions to us.

As you can see, I am still working on my anger over this incident!

;-)

But, hahaha on her - I got the last word in!

Okay, climbing down off the ledge,

I will say that the boys "enjoyed" the play..

...especially the parts when the Giant FARTED!

;-)
You can take the boys to the culture...
But you can't take the culture..
...to the boys!

Cupids

2011-02-18T08:00:00.002-05:00

On the Great Holiday celebrating LOVE,

my little cupids dressed up and we hit the streets to hand deliver several of our valentines!

Nonnie and I took the boys to my work where we were having "Craft Hour" and making valentines

- workin' in an agency certainly has it's benefits!

In the car on the way there,

the boys told me how excited they were about "buying" Valentine cards.

"Do we need money, Mommy?"

No - we are going to MAKE Valentines.

"Do we need money?"

After a few more exchanges,

Slueth Mommy determined that the boys were remembering when they SOLD "LemonLAID" for my office!

They thought they were going to get to be store clerks SELLING Valentine Cards!!

They were a little mad once I informed them that was not happening,

But - still, they had lots of fun handing out their cards to the ladies and then hey got busy making some more - using glitter glue pens and stencils to make some very unique cards
that they then ran around the office handing out to the ladies again!!

No pictures.

You can imagine I was busy managing the chaos.

(Right? Who am I kidding? There's actually no such thing - managing all THAT energy,
but I feel like I need to put on a good show of at least pretending that I do have SOME control over them, even when I don't!)

After my office, we headed to Nonnie's (pre-retirement) work place.

Here, one little Cupid (Logan) got mad at Mommy!

I forget why - obviously I think I said something horrendous like,

"No, you cannot take your Happy Meal toy inside,"

Here is my punishment:

Refusal to look at Mommy!

Determined to b mad at me...and WALK without holding my hand, TWO feet away from me!

;-)

Once at Nonnie's workplace,

The boys immediately went to work.

Apparently, to Austin, "work" means being "very, very serious!"

(He's typing.)

Nonnie's office is the BEST!

All her friends cheered on our adopton and walked the whole path with us.

My boys are LOUD wherever they go,

and her office just sort of goes with the flow when we invade!

Plus, they all miss Nonnie - and want her back.

Which Austin and Logan will never allow to happen!

Um......unless, maybe they got to come to work with her!

We also delivered some Vday cards to Gary's office - to some special people the boys just adore there.

But again no pictures!

Being Cupids is a hard, hard job.

But....

...Somebody's got to do it

Happy Valentine's Day!

2011-02-14T07:15:00.000-05:00

Me and my boys headin out to church!

We had just spent the night at Spa de la Nonnie's!

She makes breakfast for us!

And had the COMFIEST beds ever!

Valentine's Day Card REVEAL:

Check out these snazzy little Valentines!

I found the idea on-line and thought it was too cute to pass up!

Plus, I had some really willing participants!

Can you handle anymore sweetness?

...

Are they not the MOST adorable little love bugs ever!?!

You know....when they're not fighting, being stubborn, stomping around and breaking my nose and all, that is!

Very, VERY adorable!

Mighty Morphin Power Rangers!

2011-02-09T23:09:00.000-05:00

Our latest and greatest obsession is POWER RANGERS!

New Drum Sets!

2011-02-07T11:15:00.002-05:00

Creative boys + tolerant Daddy
+ a few miscellaneous odds and ends and a hockey stick or two
and

Voila - you've got instant drumsets!

(Austin in the back in red. Logan up front in the white!)

You MAKE the mess...

2011-02-03T13:30:00.000-05:00

YOU clean the MESS!

They fuss about cleaning it up...

...but they have yet to master the art of NOT messing it up in the first place.

I don't get it!

It's a pretty BIG circle.

And it's one tiny stream!

WHY can't it make it ALL into the circle?

WHY must it GO ALL over the lid, sides, floor and WALLS?

why

whyyyyyyyyyyyyyy?

Daddy Day!

2011-01-31T22:15:00.000-05:00

Last Wednesday, it was Daddy Day at preschool!

Both boys took much delgiht and glee sneaking around the house
(peering around corners for Daddy)

and filling me in on all of the special activiteis they had planned for the moening:

doughnuts, juice, a special song!

Austin - ever concerned about fashion,

declared he was DRESSING uP that day for his DADDY!

and Logan easily followed suit:

(Logan, left. Austin, right)

Aren't they the most handsomest things you've ever seen?

The boys with "their" girlfriend:

(Logan, left. Austin, right)

We didn't even plan that amazing coordination between our ties and her dress!

Meant to be!

(Austin, left. Logan, right.)

Austin and his"construction" for Daddy.

Logan and his creation.

Singing their song for their Daddy!

(Can't wait, Mommy and Nonnie get to go to Mommy's Day on Feb 14th!)

Superhero Sunday!!

2011-01-30T08:00:00.000-05:00

What could be better than an afternoon spent with good friends (Van and Zak),

good snacks (cheese puff balls!),

a good flick

and wearing your favorite (of the day) Superhero Costume?

Ironman (aka, Van), Spiderman (aka, Zak), Blue Ninja (aka, Logan) and Green Ninja (aka, Austin)

Notice in both pictures, Zak and Logan

are front and center, paying attention and posing!

And check out Zak's fashion forward pairing of some Car slippers with the Spidey suit!

Logan - 2, Mommy - 0

2011-01-28T15:08:00.002-05:00

I was raised with boys.

I grew up between my two brothers.

Seems to me we just always wrestled.

I wrestled with Evan, too.

Mason, not so much.

He was always bigger than me!

;-)

So, I wrestle with my boys now.

I throw them around a lot.

and tickle them to pieces.

And it's all fun and games until someone gets hurt.

Like me.

;-)

Two years ago, almost to the day,

I posted about my black eye compliments of

a head butt from Logan.

This time around,

it was

a broken nose.

Yes, I'm serious.

It went down like this.

I was on my knees,

at their level.

Grabbing 'em and throwing them down for tickles.

I went to grab Logan

from behind

And as I wrapped my arms around him

he pulled one heckuva karate chop

and then head butted me into the next state.

Pain was instant.

I screamed and went down.

At which point, Austin saw Mommy's was down

and jumped on my shoulders

(declaring victory, I think!)

It took an hour (okay, maybe all of 3 seconds)

for Daddy and the boys to realize Mommy was hurt.

Really hurt.

Ice was brought.

Apologies were made.

Reassurances were given.

Boys went to bed.

Mommy went to Urgent Care.

I came back with an x-ray documenting the break.

Some pain killers for the night.

And a referral for a nose doctor.

yay!

Saturday both boys "cuddled" me into feeling better.

Thankfully, I never got black and blue around the eyes.

It was not an upwards hit (which I think would have made me all black and blue)

It was more of a side ways hit.

I got hit on the right and the nose went left.

See it?

It wasn't "that" bad, but with the way it could have healed and the nose being

kinda an important thing, I was really urged to fixed it.

So, off to surgery I went for them to "scooch" it back over.

Nonnie, Gary and the twins have been wonderful in aiding in my recovery.

Both boys have a hard time being away from me.

And both boys are extremely wild and active.

You should see how gentle and soft they are being with me.

Holding my hand. Helping me walk.

Bringing me pillows.

Too sweet!

I may have to "fake" a few more injuries!

(Side note: Logan felt really, really horrible about the accident. Especially after my surgery, he kept saying, "Mommy, I'm soooo sorry I broke your nose." Austin's not helping much because he gets telling Logan and everyone else "YOU did this to her!" I keep telling Logan it was an accident and he aplogized and that was all he could do, he doesn't need to feel bad about it and that Mommy's going to be just fine.

We also have added a major "No throwing rule in the house." And both boys have asked if I'm ever gonna tickle them again. And in short, "Yes dear, I will, but with a really long pole or something from now on. K?")