Procrastination

Sooo...I had all of these grand plans at the beginning of my summer break. Since we moved in last November, and I had surgery in December, and started school in January...I wasn't able to get stuff done the way I wanted to. This summer I have cleaned out the garage (which needs it again) and cleared out the excess stuff in the pantry. I would still like to organize the girls' playroom. This might be a moot point because we may be separating the twins and moving the majority of the toys down to the basement. (Cami and Brie are not kind to each other when the door to their room is close for bedtime/naptime). I also need to find a better system for the girls' clothing. Oh, and then there's the painting and decorating we would really like to do. It looks like we're putting that off a little longer.

Well, I have two weeks, and they're busy ones. I think I can get it done if I really focus. But man...what have I been doing all summer? Oh, that's right...I have the three precious destroying princesses running amok.

The right place at the right time.

My mom mentioned today that two weeks ago she was at a wedding reception for someone in the ward I grew up in. She ran into the mom of the lady that watched my girls for me last semester. During their conversation she mentioned that I still didn't know who I was going to use as a sitter for the twins. Amanda, the lady that watched them last semester, has since moved from EM to stay in her parents' basement while they wait for a move several states away. She had said she wouldn't be able to help me with the girls this fall because of the move and because of her pregnancy.

This whole childcare situation has been a HUGE source of stress for me this summer. I haven't had the details of my schedule, I don't know anyone here in EM very well. I did find an add and spoke to someone who was available to work with our crazy schedule but I haven't met her yet. I fasted yesterday and one of the things on my mind was childcare for the twins. I want it to go smoothly and I want someone I know I can trust with my girls. I thought about it again this evening while I was looking at my calendar for this fall.

While I was looking at my calendar, my doorbell rang. It was Amanda. She stopped by to offer her babysitting services. Her pregnancy is going well and she has talked about it with her husband. She offered to drive here from the south end of the valley if I'd pay her $10 for gas on the days she came out. The only issue was that her daughter has preschool the same day I need her. As we talked some more I asked where exactly she was living, because maybe I could drop the girls off at her place. She lives right by campus. I was in a state of disbelief. How could it end up working out so perfectly when just minutes before she rang my doorbell I was wondering what we were going to do?

I am feeling very humbled tonight. Very grateful for this answer to my many prayers.

Some inspiration for a Monday Morning

I'm having a hard time getting going this morning, so I thought I'd procrastinate just a little longer and put these two quotes on my blog. I wrote them down on a sticky note years ago and just came upon it in my scriptures the other day.

"Fill your minds with truth. Fill your hearts with love. Fill your lives with service." President Thomas S. Monson

"The greatest battle of life is fought within the silent chambers of your own soul...It is a good thing to sit down and commune with yourself and decide in that silent moment what your duty is to your family, to your church, to your country, and to your fellow men." President David O. Mckay

Enjoying the last few weeks

My summer feels like it's coming to a screeching halt. I was done with spring semester by May 1st so I've had some time. It's been nice. I have been a little oblivious to the craziness that will come once fall semester starts, mostly because we have not had many details about our schedule until this week. Final details about my clinical schedule came yesterday. On paper, I am taking 11 credit hours. In reality, most weeks I will be at the school from 8 until 3 two days a week and then clinicals are another day a week - some weeks we have clinicals two days a week. That doesn't include the time that I will be spending on my online OB class when I'm home. Add in driving time and I'm easily putting in 35 hours a week where I'm not home because of school, and at least another 20 hours a week of studying (but probably more than that). Good times. :)

Maddie's school starts on August 18th. She's very excited. We are starting her back-to-school shopping on Monday with Grandma and Great-Grandma. We are trying to decide between school lunch or sack lunches, and she is looking forward to meeting her new teacher at the school's open house.

I am working on finalizing childcare for the twins. Miraculously, in spite of Aaron's work schedule and my school schedule, we will only need a sitter 4-5 hours one day a week. This is a huge blessing for many reasons. It will save us quite a bit of money and the twins have really grown *more* attached to me this summer. It will be good to only have that separation from both of us once a week.

I am sure we will get through the next several months just fine and then really enjoy the winter break before the chaos starts again in January. In just 4 more months I'll be HALF WAY DONE with nursing school. I had no idea I would be able to say that a year ago. :) I have to say, it feels really great to be working on this life-long goal.

After the popsicles

I gave the twins a bath. We went downstairs to get diapers on when Maddie came home, she had been playing at a friend's house. She came home to see if she could play for a little bit longer and I said yes. The twins watched her leave from the window and then were intrigued by the neighbor mowing her lawn. I just had to take a pic - again, this is with my cell phone, sorry.

Popsicle fun

I gave the twins popsicles so that they would be content and out of my way while I got dinner started. What was I thinking? It's a really good thing I decided to put off mopping the kitchen floor until after the kids are in bed tonight. This is Cami in the pic - sorry for the quality, I took it with my cell phone.

Maddie loves to draw

She has gone through nearly an entire ream of paper since May. I'm cleaning today and found a few of my favorites.

"Lots of books for Belle"



This one she cut out to use as a paper doll of me. I'm flattered. :)

Lagoon

Aaron and I took Maddie to Lagoon on Thursday. We'd been planning it for two weeks. My sister and cousin watched the twins for us so that we could really enjoy the day. Maddie was so excited! Once we entered the park Maddie decided she didn't want to go to Lagoon-a-beach so I had to run our swimming stuff back to the van. Aaron took her on the terror ride while I did that. Once we joined up again I took her on the old white roller coaster. She wasn't sure what to think of it. Maddie's funny when she's on rides - even at Disneyland she has this face with no emotion on it until the end when you get her opinion of the ride - either "that was fun!" or "I didn't like it!" The big roller coasters brought on a new one though "When is this going to be over?" She decided she wasn't a fan of the white roller coaster but she did like Spider. She also liked Tidal Wave, the log ride and Rattlesnake Rapids. She *hated* the big ferris wheel but loved the miniature version. Some rides she opted not to try and I didn't push her to do anything she didn't want to do. Towards the end of the day we spent some time in KiddieLand and she enjoyed the rides there. I think I'll take her back with the bounce-back passes and spend some time at the water park.

I have never seen Lagoon so un-crowded. It made the day more pleasant, but it was HOT! Maddie really enjoyed having a day with Aaron and I to herself. She deserved it! It also gave me a glimpse into the future when the twins are a bit older and more portable. I mentioned to Aaron that one of my reservations about having another child is that two years from now we will be able to go and do things without worrying about naptime and who is going to have a meltdown when (for the most part) which will make outings much more enjoyable. Am I going to want to throw myself back into baby and toddler mode? Maybe I'll be more open to the idea when the twins are no longer two. :)

I've been tagged

Thanks, Kirsten...I think this is a first for me!

Need to do list: 3 joys, 3 fears, 3 goals, 3 current obsessions/collections, 3 random surprising facts about myself. Tag 5 people at the end of your post by leaving their names. Let them know they are tagged by leaving a comment on their blog!

3 joys
1. My girls
2. The quiet in the house once my girls have gone to bed for the night
3. Ben and Jerry's Cinnamon Bun ice cream

3 fears
1. Losing what I love most
2. Not being good enough
3. Deep water

3 goals
1. Finish nursing school and pass the NCLEX
2. Lose some weight
3. Make better use of my time

3 current obsessions/collections
1. Coke Zero
2. Reading
3. Lost - I'm not so patiently waiting for Aaron to catch up to where I am so that I can finish it! I'm somewhere in Season 3.

3 random surprising facts about myself
This is always hard for me. I have no idea.
1. If you've never met me, you might not know I have a birthmark on my neck that some have mistaken for a tattoo, a large bruise, a hickey (gross) and even a vampire bite. Seriously.
2. I expected to hear I was pregnant with twins with my first pregnancy, could NOT have been MORE shocked when I found out I was twins with my second pregnancy. The thought hadn't even crossed my mind.
3. If circumstances allowed, I would love to be a traveling RN for a bit. Somewhere tropical or maybe even foreign. This might have to wait until we have an empty nest. How's that for planning ahead?!?

Duct tape

After countless episodes of poop fingerpaint in spite of every effort I made to avoid it, a roll of duct tape caught my eye and it has been my best friend ever since. A good wrap once around the diaper seems to deter Cami from stripping down to her birthday suit. This girl does not like to keep her clothes on. She prefers to run around in just her diaper at home and last week at church she took her dress off 3 times, exposing my duct tape solution to the anyone who was watching. I was surprised at how many people shared my frustration, it was a conversation starter!

Yesterday I went to lunch with a friend. Maddie was at Chuck-a-rama with her great grandma so it was just me and the twins. Cami and Brie were happily eating their macaroni and cheese. At one point Brie was distracted by something going on in the room and Cami noticed that Brie had more mac & cheese than she did. She nonchalantly switched the bowls and started eating Brie's mac & cheese. So funny.

It's a good thing they're so cute because they seem to find a lot of joy in making me crazy these days. :)

Camping

What a nightmare. The girls had fun, so that's good. We went to a Camperworld near Kamas with some friends. There were a total of 8 kids - two 5 year olds, one 3-year-old, two 2-year-olds, one 1-year-old and a 3-week-old. Our twins were definitely the problem children. On Saturday night our friend commented to Aaron "I haven't seen them sit down voluntarily the whole weekend!" That was the truth, too.

We arrived at camp on Friday afternoon about 2:00. Aaron started setting up camp while I wrangled the kids at the playground. The girls LOVED it. Aaron took them all swimming around 4. Brie wasn't a fan so I got her out and tried to get her to take a nap, it didn't work. We had dinner around 7 and tried putting the twins down around 8:30. It didn't work, which didn't surprise me. We got them up and everyone enjoyed s'mores and sitting around the campfire until about 10:30. The twins went to sleep with little protest but they were both up by 1. We nestled them in between us and tried to get them back to sleep. Brie just wanted to play. Cami fell asleep in the crook of my left arm and I tried to get Brie to fall asleep in the crook of my right arm. Instead she fell asleep using my face as her pillow. Nice. They slept until a little after 9, but it was not a restful night of sleep!

We went to lunch in Kamas on Saturday and then spent the afternoon watching the kids run around. We had bbq'd ribs that Aaron had smoked before we headed up the canyon, they were really good. Saturday night went much better as far as sleep was concerned. It was warmer, the girls were familiar with where we were and they had exhausted themselves. Sunday we had breakfast and packed up camp.

The twins still say "mountains" and "CAMPING" with a lot of enthusiasm but I don't think we'll be doing this again this summer!

Quote of the day

Maddie: "Mommy, you are prettier than a cake!"

Umm...thanks!

It's a love/hate thing

The twins are so funny. They have discovered they can be friends and play together the last several months. However, a problem arises when they both want to play with the same toy or sit on my lap or one wants to watch Diego and the other wants to watch Dora. Brie is most often the culprit of any disagreement, she likes to provoke Cami. We're working on this and consequently Brie spends several minutes a day in her highchair for timeout. If they can't work it out and stop fighting over something I take it away. Then they're both mad at me. I can deal with that, I'm trying to teach them to be nice to each other and learn how to share.

The other day Aaron and I were in the front yard and the twins were playing on some toys. Cami pulled Maddie's old tricycle out of the garage and Brie HAD to have it. She pulled Cami off. I ran inside and brought out a ride-on toy hoping Cami would be happy with that. It worked for a minute. At one point Brie stopped and leaned over to Cami with a kissy face and they kissed and hugged each other. I think that was Brie's way of apologizing.

Tonight they had fought over another toy in the playroom upstairs while I was making dinner. Maddie had intervened (she is so great with them) and straightened it out as best she could. Cami came downstairs crying and Brie was almost right behind her. Brie leaned in to give Cami a hug and they embraced and kissed each other. They are increasingly aware of others' emotions and will comment when one of the their sisters is upset: "Cami sad" or "Bee sad" or "Manni sad."

I think they're learning!

Hello again

We are back online! After several attempts at getting our laptop in working order (without paying someone to do it) we decided to go looking for a cheap replacement until we could get what we really wanted - the iMac with a 24" HD monitor. While we were looking at Best Buy we saw the Apple display and I was checking the iMac out again. The sales guy said that it was a floor model on clearance because they have upgraded the processor and they were discounting the existing stock with the old processor. Long story short, it was a good enough deal that we decided not to pass it up and we have the computer we really wanted. Now to make the transition from PC world to Mac world. So far it's been simple enough. It's nice to be back!

The twins will be two next Saturday! I can't believe it. They are no longer babies, but I have neglected to stop calling them such. I'm working on it. They talk n.o.n.s.t.o.p. and are always happy to entertain. I had them in the store with me the other day and I was looking at something when I heard Cami start counting: "1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7, 8....YAY!" They are in love with Diego and Dora is a close second. Our DVR is filled with a million episodes simply because *I* get tired of the same episode. They don't actually sit and watch the TV very often but it seems to be on a lot while they are distracted with the more exciting parts of being a toddler.

Maddie is almost done with Kindergarten. The 30th is her last day. She is reading so well! She's been reading some of the easy-reader type books for several months. The other night she brought The Cat in the Hat to me to read her for bedtime. She decided to try to start it herself and ended up reading the whole thing to me with only a few prompts. We made a huge deal out of that. She's very proud of herself.

Nothing terribly exciting going on right now. Once I find the cord for my camera I'll upload some recent pics of the girls.

Mother's Day 2008

the best Mom's day to date, I think. Kindergarten is a fun place for 5 year-olds to make gifts. I got a cute little book Maddie made about me and a shrinky-dink heart keychain. Aaron took Maddie shopping for my present and she picked out a cute necklace and bracelet and a matching dress (in that order). I got to stay in bed until 9:30 while theyade bread pudding and a breakfast scramble. The girls were good most of the day. Church was nice, the twins needed a nap so Aaron took them home after Sacrament meeting and I got to stay for Sunday School and Relief Society. I enjoyed it. We ended the day at my parents' house with yummy steaks, twice-baked potatoes, salad, orange rolls and better than sex cake. After my mom opened her gifts Maddie took a bow and put it on my head. She said "Mom, you know who you are a present to?" I asked her who and she said "Me and Cami and Brie." she gave me a big hug and kiss and I know that came from her heart. I am always grateful for my sweet girls bit wanted to say it again today. They bring me so much joy and happiness and I am so blessed to be their mom.

Coming up for air

It's over! My first semester of nursing school is done. I took my last final yesterday. I am off for almost 4 months before the insanity starts again.

About 2 months ago our computer crashed just as I was going to print up a careplan. It was 8:00 on a Sunday night, it had taken me about 2 1/2 hours to do it on Saturday. It was due at 6:00 Monday morning when I started clinicals. After tears and trying to get the computer to do anything to just give me my careplan, I started writing a new careplan by hand. Of course my patient had 26 drugs. I finished it about midnight and had fun getting up at 4:15. Oh well. Our computer is still dead. Not sure when we'll get it fixed or buy a new one. I am writing this on my iPod touch. It is pretty cool but i am unable to post on my n54 boards (sorry girls!) and it takes a while to type stuff up.

Maddie is looking forward to having me home and available more, I am happy to be here with my girls this summer. I might be picking up a parttime graveyard shift as an aide to help save up for tuition and possibly a computer. Oh yeah, and to put gas in our cars. Ugh!

I will try to post updates a more frequently this summer, check back! :)

I had one of those experiences today

You know, the ones that make you think how "lucky" you are? It all started as I was getting ready to leave for school. I've been studying like crazy for two tests and I really wasn't feeling good about my pathophysiology exam. I stopped to say my morning prayer before I left for school and felt prompted to pray that I got there safetly.

Eagle Mountain has some major flooding problems right now because of the snow melting so rapidly. I drove through a deep puddle and then hit a patch of ice as I was slowing down for a stop sign. I lost control of my car and slid off to the right side of the road - stopping in a large pool of water that was running down the side of the road. My car was stuck. I was probably parked in about 2-3 feet of water. I turned off the ignition and got out my Allstate roadside assistance card. As I was dialing the number a nice guy stopped to make sure I was okay. I told him what happened and a truck that had passed me turned around to see if he could tow me out. He was so incredibly kind - he got down in the icy water and put a tow rope around the A frame of my car and then slowly towed me back up onto the road.

While this was going on I wondered if I would have been better off turning left into the median that divides the North and Southbound lanes. My car started back up just fine though. As I continued North I passed an accident where the same thing had happened to a truck but it had slid left into the median, hit the sement curb and rolled onto the top of the truck. It was a mess. I'm 99% certain my poor little Neon would not have faired as well as that truck did. I said a prayer of gratitude that my little mishap only made me 15 minutes late for my exam. :)

Here's how my first semester of nursing school is going

5 tests taken, 5 tests passed - I think there's another 16 to go

1 shot given (and I didn't pass out!)

30 sets of vital signs taken

5 physical assessments to do

1 more nursing fundamentals lab to complete

6 clinicals starting at 6:15 a.m. (I will have to get up at 4:15 to get there)

10 weeks left! (and one of those is spring break!!!)

10 things - a mini update

1. The twins have a really bad cold. Maddie had it last week, she's getting better. The twins are in the middle of it. I hate that there isn't much I can do to help them feel better.

2. Maddie was in bed and asleep by 7:10 tonight. I cleaned the kitchen and then took two online quizzes; one for pharmacology and one for pathophysiology.

3. I am so thrilled about our arrangements for the girls on Wednesdays. A girl I grew up with lives nearby and comes over with her two girls to babysit. I think it works out well for all of us. The twins have warmed right up to her and Maddie is happy to have a playmate (the sitter's oldest is about 3).

4. I am enjoying school. It is exhausting and my brain is struggling getting back into the school mode but it's going okay right now.

5. Aaron is doing really well on the days that I have class all day long. I really appreciate his willingness to step up at home so that I can do this.

6. I am really proud of Maddie. She is such a good kid. I don't know what I did to deserve her but I am so grateful for her. :)

7. Cami and Brie are turning into little people full of personality. They are so much fun to watch. They adore their big sister and affectionately call her "Mammy."

8. I am looking forward to the three day weekend.

9. I heard some exciting and very surprising news about one of my favorite people last week. I wish her happiness and health and sanity in the next several months...and beyond. :)

10. I have run out of mini updates and need to do some reading for class tomorrow.

Happy New Year!

It's 2008! Inconceivable!

Aaron had to work last night so I was home with the girls. We ordered pizza and watched the Walt Disneyworld Christmas parade that I had on the DVR. The twins went to bed after that was over and Maddie and I played Disney Scene It. Maddie was in bed by about 8:00 and I spent the rest of the evening playing Mario Galaxy on the Wii and watching Waitress. What a party! ;)

I've been busy getting the house in order so that it has room to get out of order when I start school - if that makes any sense at all. We're pretty much settled in, but there's a few odds and ends I need to deal with.

Maddie has really liked having the down time because of Christmas break. She starts school again on Thursday (who thought that one up?). She is doing really well, I am very impressed with her teacher and the curriculum at her new school. She's sight reading and really interested in how to spell and write things. She loves games and received a few fun ones for Christmas, they've been keeping us busy the last several days. Tomorrow is the last day she'll be going to Chuck-A-Rama with her great-grandma until the semester is over, I don't have a way to get her there on Wednesdays when I have class. She really loves her weekly outing with Grandma Nina, we'll have to find something else we can do another day of the week.

Cami and Brie are very entertaining. They insist on feeding themselves - what a mess! Cami LOVES her grandpa and she says "grandpa" about 100 times a day. The other day she was walking around saying "Grandpa?" and then "No." She was looking for him. It was so cute. When we pulled into their driveway on Christmas day Cami recognized the house and said "Grandpa!" I am so happy that they are so involved in my kids' lives. It's a real blessing. Another thing that Cami has been saying the last week or so is "Peek-a-boo." It's adorable. Cami also talks a lot of jibberish that I don't understand, but she really likes it when I act like I do. Brie is a little more verbal, she tells me when she's poopy (like I don't notice!) and she likes to say "cute" and "no." They know when I pull their pajamas out that it's "ni-ni" time and they don't usually fight it. They're also working on their manners and say "n-go" as "thank you."

The twins aren't adjusting very well to the nursery in our new ward. There are about 20 kids between the ages of 18 mos-2 years and I think it's just overwhelming for them. I'm hoping that once the ward splits next week and there's a smaller group of kids that they'll be happy to stay. Maddie has friends in her primary class because she goes to school with several of them. Aaron and I haven't really met too many people - everyone seems to be in limbo waiting for the split. I'm sure that once we know what ward we'll be in we'll get to know people a little better. There also aren't a lot of families moved in to our section of the neighborhood yet. There will be a lot of changes over the next year I think. I would really like a calling that hopefully encourages more personal study, we'll see. We haven't heard from the Bishopric yet (again, I'm sure this is because of the upcoming split).