One of God's cruelest jokes on a parent: Teething

Wouldn't it be easier to just be born with teeth?   That way, babies don't have to go through excruciating physical pain which causes their parents excruciating mental and emotional pain.  This week has been ROUGH.  The twins are popping teeth left and right so it seems, and I am seriously about to rip my hair out. Between the crabbiness, the lack of napping, the screaming, I am about to pack my bags and head to Timbuktu for a couple of days.  This would be the place my mom promised me we'd go back in the day, I don't even know, is it a real place?  I'll put that on my list of places to google.  Thank goodness for the tv! I know the golden rule is not to let your children watch tv until at least two years of age.  Well, let me say this, the person that came up with that rule did not have multiples.  Today, tv has been the only thing to keep them focused and quiet on something.

On a happy big note!  Liam is almooooost a walker.  So close!!  Still working on a few balance issues, but in a week, Em and I will have two one year old walkers on our hands!  I will say this, Lena is covered in bruises now that she is walking.  They fall at the tip of the hat, into each other or into something.  I feel terrible!  Nothing else new in our house, but I'll share this week's quieter, happier, non teething moments!!

Watching toons in our P.J.'s

Lena's first pig tails!

This boy sure loves his Momma :)

Liam & Lena's 2nd visit to the fair!

Excited to see Sheep!

So excited, she clapped :)

Last year's and this year's caricature!

Spent some time outside, helping Daddy

He likes to push the car, and she likes to drive it, it works out!

Who stole the cheddar bunnies from the cheddar bunny box!

Like a lil' old man and his walker :)

Confessions of a Seasoned Waitress...

After going to college, working my ass off, and completing my degree in elementary education, I was incredibly heartbroken when the teaching career didn't come as easily as I'd imagined.  I grew up with the mindset that you graduate high school with good grades, get into a good college, graduate with good grades, get a job, get married, get the dream house, and then have kids.  Ha, WRONG.  God does not work according to your timeline.  Although I did graduate high school, college, all with good grades, and got married to my high school sweetheart, the time line of my twenties has been incredibly skewed in a completely unexpected direction.  It's been four years since I graduated, and I have not had the opportunity to put my degree to use.  Shortly after deciding that we wanted kids, I was diagnosed with PCOS (I've blogged about it before), and we decided that job or no job for me, we should probably start a family sooner rather than later.  Then.. we got the two for one deal, and that in so many words, completely changed our plan.  Now, I'm a stay at home mom, and my husband works.  To bring in extra cash, I became a Thirty-One Consultant, which I love to do.  I also started waitressing back at the restaurant I grew up working at. The same one my mother and sisters have worked at in the past.. So here comes the "point" of my blog.

Confessions of me, the seasoned waitress...

1. We are not here for fun, we are here to work and earn money to help support our families.  We make $4.75 an hour, some waitresses in other states makes much less than that.  We depend on the money you give us. We don't serve you b/c we feel like it.  Although I do like chit chatting and getting to know my customers, I do appreciate the money you give me too.  That means I can bring it home and put it towards good use.  
2. We are human, we have feelings and emotions.  How dare you be rude to me?  I am not your servant, I am your server.  Don't run me ragged and then walk out with leaving a dime.  Don't say rude things and expect them to bounce off, b/c I, like you, am human.  You can hurt my feelings, sometimes you've made me cry.. Do I walk into your place of employment and do that to you?  Didn't think so!
3. I am not deaf or blind.  I can see you roll your eyes when I ask you to help me grab your plate to keep me from dropping the four others I have on my serving tray.  I can hear you rudely exhale and whisper.  
4. If the food is bad, please tell me.  Ugh, don't eat it and then complain and expect it to be for free.  And don't stiff me, take it up with the cook, he cooked it, not me.  Oh, the prices in the menu, I had no say in them.  My boss did, would you like to speak to him?  
5. My title as a waitress does not take away from the smart, intelligent, kind, caring, funny person that I am.  It does not make me any less than you, it does not mean I don't have brains.  I have a college degree that I worked hard for.  It does not mean I'm a failure, my mom practically raised us on a waitressing paycheck, and I think she did a great job.  The women and men in this profession come from all different backgrounds and they are no different than the customer at the other end.

So there you have it, after a long shift full of rude customers, I had to get that off my chest!  Thanks for listening!

We have a walker!

Lena took her first steps awhile back, but now she is walking everywhere!!!  This will be a lifestyle change for sure! I'm looking forward to being able to go outside and letting them run around, oh and putting Lena is dresses without having to tuck them in her bloomers so she can crawl! :)  I have already learned quickly, that getting them out of a room or something they aren't supposed to be in is going to be a rotating chore!  Take her out, she walks back in, get her out, Liam crawls back in!  Liam has taken some steps, but I really think it's a matter of inconvenience for him!  Why walk when you can just be carried?!  When that kid gets his balance down, he is going to run.

Thirty-One has been going well, slowing down a bit.  I love doing it, keeps me busy and connected with adults :)  I've been enjoying some family nights, which I equally enjoy :)

What I'd do with a million dollars...

Oh, what I'd do... I've been thinking a lot about this.  What would I do if we played the lotto and won millions?  How would that change our lives?  I can tell you the first thing I'd do with a million dollars is pay off everyone we owe, house, car, student loans, credit cards (the root of ALL evil), ect, and never owe anyone ever again.  never..ever..ever..ever.. NEVER AGAIN!  Then, I think we'd start with a house, we'd buy a big house with a big yard for our kids and our pets, one that they could spend all day in and be content.  Then, we'd go with a bigger car, so that getting around and going on trip wouldn't be so cramped!  I'd pay off my family's debt, and make sure they were taken care of, of course.  Start a wonderful college fund for our kiddos...

And then.. I jump back to reality.  I remind myself, I probably won't ever win a million dollars, we are probably always going to owe someone money, and no matter what, our children will be taken care of.  I think of all of the things a million dollars couldn't buy me.  The sound of my kids greeting me in the morning with a huge grin (which is usually way too early, but that's life), the stability I have in my relationship with my hubs, the inside jokes and years of laughter with all of my close friends.. The family I have around me...Money couldn't buy me these things.. these things are (Cue the Visa commercial) priceless.. 

"My favorite things in life don't cost any money. It's really clear that the most precious resource we all have is time."

Money couldn't buy me these memories, or the ones I have had or will have...

Seeing lots of MoM's and Twins in my Future!

I am so excited that in the next year, I am going to have a few opportunities to meet other MoM's!!  In October, I am hoping to go to the State Convention for my MoM's group!  Masquerade and all!!!  I can't wait! It will be my first weekend away from the twinnies, which will be bittersweet, a time for me, but a time I will miss them of course!  Then, in November, I am planning on spending a day in Chicago with some other MoM's from all over the country, including a few from my Facebook MoM's group!!!!!!!!!!!!!  AND THEN!! I'm planning it already, but next year, we are taking Liam & Lena, and my sisters Sarah & Rachel to the Twin's Festival in Twinsburg, Ohio!  How fun will that be?!  I'm already looking up hotels and stuff, and can't wait until they announce next year's theme!!

My Twin's Festival 2013 Crew!!!!  

Sick of Sickness!

For the past three weeks, the kiddos have been sick!!  Fevers, coughs, snot, and now a rash have all made their way into our house!!  One is enough, but two, good grief!!  I'm looking forward to when my kids feel back to their normal selves.  They are for the most part, still can be a little fussy, and a little more tired than normal!!  

Early bedtime!

Watching Bubble Guppies with "Bankie"

Snuggles with Momma makes everything better!

This is how I feel this morning.

Relaxing in the morning

Today we dealt with a rash on Lena's upper body.  Possibly allergic to the amoxicillin she was given for her sinus infection, not sure!

MoM :)

God has blessed me with the challenge, the joys, the up's, the down's of having multiples.  While there are so many "up's", there are a lot of "down's" that I have battled.  Not only am I a first time mother, I'm a first time mom with two babies.  That's not exactly standard!  I have battled with the questions regarding whether or not I give each one of them enough of me.  Do I split my time equally?  Do I hold them the same amount of times?  These questions are emotional questions for me.  Many first time Mom's have one baby to hold and to bond and to cuddle with, while I got two, to hold, cuddle, and instead move onto the needs of the next one.  And that's hard!  It's something only another multiple mom would understand.  God blessed me with the most amazing man to stand by me, to be strong when I'm not, to be positive when I'm negative, and vice versa.  We are the perfect team.  God also blessed me with an amazing group of women, women who for better sake of terms "get it"  My friend Beth and I were pregnant together, delivered our twins just two weeks apart, we've shared joys, we've shared exhaustion, we've shared frustrations, and we've shared triumphs.. But I was also led to a group of amazing women in my area and funny enough, a group on facebook :)  I feel like this connection we have, this mothering multiples connection, makes us special.  I feel like not only do I have instant friends, my kids will too.  Today, I was reminded of this blessing at my MoM's (and if you do not have a clue what this term means, b/c I'm sure I will use it often, it stands for mom's of multiples) family picnic.  Seeing my twins with other sets of twins is soo cool, they are instant friends, and I hope they will have them for years to come!

Levi & Lucas, Summer & Poppy, Liam & Lena.  It's fun to be one!  MMORE Picnic, July 22nd, 2012

Whether near or far, wherever Drew & Trey are and wherever the Army takes them, always best friends!  June, 2012

It's upside down, ha, I know, but I couldn't resist this one.  I forget how small they were, and how easy it was to take their picture!!!  February 3rd, 2012, shortly before our friends moved to VA.

That's all for today :) It was a fun day, kids went to bed early.  I sat down and caught up on DVR'ed shows, had a drink, and now I think I'm calling it a night.  Em is working, and I'm looking forward to when he crawls into bed, so it's not so cold!!  Our new bedroom, downstairs is freezing!!!!!!!!!!