Sisters

I had to take the babies to the pediatrician for a sick visit yesterday afternoon. They were sitting side-by-side in their stroller. I took Brie out first for the doctor to check her over and Cami was okay until she saw the doctor use the otoscope to look in Brie's ears and mouth. She flipped out. She kept screaming at the doctor. Brie was unphased by what was going on, but Cami must have thought he was dong something to hurt her. She was very protective of her. When I buckled Brie back into the stroller Cami reached over and patted Brie's hand. It was so cute. Isn't it sweet how that bond is so strong already?

Eight months!

The girls are now 8 months and one day old. Incredible. They are doing so well. They're both scooting all over the place and pulling themselves up to a sitting position. They're quite proud of themselves! They are really starting to interract with each other and had several people laughing at church on Sunday because they were giving each other slobbery kisses all during Sunday School. Brie's first tooth broke through yesterday and she was one unhappy little girl. It was so out of character for her, she kept setting Cami off. It left me feeling overwhelmed and outnumbered! I'm sure that won't be the last time!!! She's back to her content happy self today so she must be feeling better.

Maddie is loving her dance class. She does very well, she enjoys it all but seems partial to the tumbling part of it. She's at least a head taller than every girl in her class, but I'm almost certain she's almost a year older than all of them too. She can move up to the next class in August when she turns 5. She loves preschool and she's so excited about Kindergarten this fall. Registration is just over a month away, I can't believe that we're almost there! She's just growing up too fast. I love spending time with her, she's a fun and spunky little girl and she adds so much light to my life.

Aaron's work schedule has changed a little bit and he's back to rotating weekends. He's really enjoyed having them off. We'll adjust to the new schedule, it just takes some time.

My back seems to be getting better. I'd say it's at about 75%. There are still days where I have a constant dull ache, but there are many days where it doesn't bother me except when I move the wrong way - and the pain usually disappears quickly.

I spent the afternoon having a long lunch with my friend Stacie and I haven't done any housework yet today...I better get going! I have more pictures to upload and I might get to that tonight.

Cami's scooting!

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Brie Giggles

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Cami Giggles

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100 things that make me happy

Every holiday season my mom challenges us to do something the following year. Thanksgiving 2005 she challenged us to make a list of 100 things that make us happy. It wasn't always on the top of my list of things to do, so it's somewhat sporadic. I thought I'd share it here.

Aaron
Maddie
Cami
Brie
Mom
Dad
Brandon
Chelsey
My marriage
Summer thunder storms
Peanut butter m&ms
Popcorn at the movies
Maddie saying "good morning"so happily when she wakes up
Baby smiles
Date nights
Quiet
Giggles
A good deal
Kisses from my girls
Ordering plzza
A clean house
Spring rain
Watching movies in bed
Gummy grins
Naps
Lazy days
Getting over strep
Bringing cami & brie home from the hospital
Snuggling with my girls
Maddie telling me i'm her bestfriend
Being home with my kids
Seeing maddie accomplish something and being proud of herself
Finding money in unexpected places
New tv season - no more reruns!
Good music
Supportive family
Lunch with girlfriends
Seeing other people happy
Central air
Finishing a big project
Conference Sunday
Dinner in the crockpot
Wireless internet
Tivo
Hearing Maddie sing
My ipod
Hearing from a friend
A new haircut and highlights
Late night chats with aaron
Seeing Amy happy
Making new friends
Watching the babies learn new tricks
New shoes
Being able to make other people smile
Parties with friends
Knowing someone has been thinking about me
Yummy smelling candles
Making a good meal
Grandpa
Living the gospel
Getting into bed at night
A new day
Finding a cute outfit
Sandal weather
Not having to cook dinner
Aaron passing the NCLEX
Seeing two baby girls at my ultrasound
Watching Maddie play with her sisters
Seeing the babies adore Maddie
Feeling appreciated
Hearing thank you
Spending time with extended family
Beautiful scenery
Chocolate
Going to the movies
Dinner out
Learning something new
New pillows
Being able to help someone
Seeing Maddie so excited about Christmas
IM'ing friends who live far away
Memories
The quiet snow brings
Spring mornings
Holiday parties
Michael Buble concert
Hot chocolate on a cold night
Famous Dave's bread pudding
Laughing with family and friends
Me time
My relationship with my sister
Losing all the weight I gained with my pregnancy
The twins growing off the charts
Electric blankets
Finding my inner strength
Spending time with my parents
Vacations
Finishing my pre-req's for nursing school
Getting all three girls to sleep at the same time
Oreo shakes
Long scenic drives

Goals

It's a new year so it's that time again. I actually have some things that I've been working on a little bit, but I need to hold myself accountable for them, so I decided to write them here.

1. My health. This includes diet, exercise, and emotional/mental. I started Weight Watchers on Tuesday. I've done it before and I like the program. It's going well so far. My ultimate goal is to lose between 61 and 66 pounds. I also need to get an exercise routine down. My neurologist has recommended water aerobics, I have an appt. to check out Golds Gym on Friday. Emotionally and mentally I am doing fine but I need to work on taking time for myself and finding ways to challenge my brain. I will most likely review my physiology and anatomy textbooks periodically since I'm on hold for the nursing program.

2. My family. I need to find ways to keep Maddie entertained and happy without relying so much on the television. This is easier when the weather is good...hurry up spring! I'm still feeling like a newby at being home full-time so I am constantly finding things that are working (and aren't) for us.

3. My marriage. It's not bad, just an ongoing project. That won't change, but there are some areas I know I can personally improve so I'll be working at them.

4. My faith. So many areas here to work on!

5. My house. I have set up a loose schedule for household chores. My biggest thing is keeping on top of the dishes and laundry. Those two things left undone for a day can cause a huge mess which seems to have a domino affect on the rest of the house.

I think that's it. LOL.

Getting the hang of this

Preschool started up again on today. Life is back on schedule after the holidays. I sent Aaron off to work and took Maddie to school, put the babies down for a nap when we got home. The house was quiet and I had time to do the stuff on my list. I have found it most helpful to make a list of the things that I want/need to get done the night before. I got out of the habit of doing it and I've been a big slacker lately. I guess that's mostly because of my back pain but I need to just deal with it and make myself get up and do things.

I got everything done on my list by 5:00, and it was a long list! My mom came over at 6:00 so that I could run to the store sans kids. That saved me so much time. It was a 10 minute errand (roundtrip) by myself, it would have been at least 30 minutes with the kids in tow. When I got back I fed the babies and then sat down for dinner with Maddie. All the kids were in bed by 8:00. How nice it is to have the laundry folded and put away before 10:00 at night!

Maddie started dance Monday. She has wanted to "ballet" for months. We promised her she could start once we moved, but everyone was getting ready for holiday performances when that happened. She was so excited to be there yesterday, she had a grin from ear to ear. It's an intro to ballet, jazz and tumbling for 3 and 4 year-olds. She spent most of the hour running laps around the girls who were practicing their leaps and skips, but she was sure ready to go to bed last night! It will be fun to see how this goes. As long as she enjoys it, it's a good thing.

The latest

It's just pain. It really is. I can deal with this. Lots of people do. My dad is the first person to come to mind. He has struggled with back problems since his early 20's. He is so upset that his bad back genes have been passed on to me. Dad, it's not your fault! I love you!

I found out last week that I have degenerative disc disease. The good news is that now that I know, there are things I can do to prevent future flare-ups. It doesn't do me any good right now. I'm currently on a prednisone pack, the doctor told me that it is effective in approximately 50% of his patients. If this doesn't work we will try the injections. If that doesn't work then I'll have to consider surgery. I am really hoping that the pills or the injections will take care of the problem. I'm on day 4 of the pills and haven't noticed a change, so we'll see how it goes. I have a follow-up on the 17th.

A New Year

I know it's just a difference between 11:59 p.m. and Midnight on one day, but it's so significant. 2006 was such a rollercoaster for me and my family. Full of life-changing events, mostly for the better. Many of my previous posts have already talked about this, so I'm not going to go into it again. I will say that I feel like I have grown a lot, learned a little about myself and done my best to support my husband and my daughters in the challenges we have faced. I think we are all stronger because of it.

There are random moments throughout the week that I look at my girls and think "WOW!" So much of my day is filled with the same diaper changing, feeding, soothing, cuddling, entertaining...it is easy to let the big picture fade a little. Tonight I was watching Cami and Brie roll around on the floor and had one of those moments. They were smiling at me and playing with each other and I realized how quickly they are turning into little people. They are so much fun (and so much work!) and we are loving it.

I had all the kids in bed for about 45 minutes until Cami decided she needed some one-on-one time with me. She is a horrible sleeper. I am fairly confident that if Cami would sleep all night Brie would follow suit - she usually wakes up only after Cami has. I am clueless about how to fix this. I own The Happiest Baby on the Block and I used a moderated Ferber technique to get Maddie to sleep when she was an infant. First problem is I can't find the book, and if I do find it, when would I read it? The other problem is that all three girls are sharing a room. Kind of hard to Ferberize without waking up the other two. I am sure I am setting the twins up for horrible sleeping habits and I am trying so hard to prevent that! Any suggestions would be greatly appreciated!

Oops, I got side-tracked. Cami was playing on the floor while I was working on a new menu and grocery list. She kept looking at herself in the mirror and she thought it was the funniest thing. She laughed and laughed. So cute!

For some reason it is really easy to get giggles out of Cami and Brie when they're in their highchairs after they've eaten some yummy (?) baby food. I'll get them started and Maddie will come running in from the living room to take over. She loves to make them laugh. Tonight Maddie offered to feed Cami for me while I put dinner together and I took her up on it. That was a mess! I should have taken pictures. Eventually she managed to get most of the food in Cami's mouth. She was so proud of herself. She loves being the big sister and she really shines when she's doing things to help them (and me) out. It's great!

Take a look!

I opened a dropshots account and hope to update pictures fairly regularly. Check it out here! I am LOVING my new camera. :)

The day after - an update on a few things

I'd post pictures of our Christmas, but our house is a gift disaster right now. The amount of empty boxes and garbage bags full of wrapping paper is unreal. We'll have to make a trip to the dump...literally. That was the nice thing about living in an apartment, having a dumpster that was emptied several times a week. We're hosting the New Year's Eve party this year so I guess I better get busy!

Now that Christmas is over I can focus on some things that haven't had top priority on my blog. I had an MRI last Thursday and the results came back on Friday. I have three herniated discs; L4, L5 and S1. Not good. I called today to schedule an appointment with a specialist and I'm a little disenchanted with the whole thing. I don't want surgery until every other possible conservative treatment is tried. The lady who took my call was telling me surgery would be necessary (who was she, anyways...a receptionist? Give me a break!). I know that she has probably been instructed to say some things, but she does not have a med school background, or I don't think she would be answering the phone to schedule my appointment. The place I called came highly recommended, too. I just feel a little lost about the whole thing. I have an appointment there next Tuesday. I am also calling two other places tomorrow, it is something worth getting a few different opinions on. I want things fixed, but surgery just seems next to impossible. Recovering while taking care of my girls would just be a nightmare, I am sure!

I received some awesome Christmas gifts! I think some of my friends and family must be reading my blog. Thanks Mom and Chels for the awesome package at the spa. I also got a gift certificate to the same spa from Aaron and my brother-in-law. Yay...some alone time - with pampering included! Aaron got me a new digital camera with lots of fun features that I have no idea how to use. I'll figure it out. I also got an external hard drive for all of our media files, Adobe Photoshop Elements 5, a few gift certificates to the movie theatre and local restaurants we like. Aaron had to work yesterday and my mom offered to watch the babies while I took Maddie home for a nap. That was great! We slept for 2 1/2 hours. Maddie needed it as much as I did. The babies actually slept through the night last night, too. Merry Christmas to me! :)

I am meeting up with some friends for lunch tomorrow, I'm looking forward to that. I also have a friend from high school who is in town (from Iowa) for the holidays, we're getting together later this week. We had breakfast with a bunch of our friends this morning. It's a somewhat unique group of friends - most of us grew up in the same neighborhood together. We have a lot of childhood memories in common and know many of the same people. It's really fun. They are like family to us and we love them so much! I love that this time of year allows so many opportunities to spend time with the special people in our lives.

Merry Christmas!

It was a great day - weekend, actually. I am so grateful for what we have been blessed with - amazing family and friends. It' s been nice to spend time with so many of them the last little bit.

Maddie has been so excited about Santa Claus this year, it's been a lot of fun. She was thrilled this morning! The babies had a lot of fun with the boxes and wrapping paper, they were even amused by some of the toys they received.

I hope everyone had a wonderful day!

Our Christmas Tradition

Each Christmas, starting with our first, we have purchased a Christmas book. We use the books as a sort of advent, this year is our our 9th Christmas since we were married and so we have 9 nights of books to read. Some are traditional Christmas stories like The Polar Express and The Night Before Christmas. Others are more religious in nature like When Jesus Was Born In Bethlehem and my favorite, The Last Straw.

Tonight Maddie chose The Last Straw as her bedtime story. I just love this book. I can't read it without getting emotional. I would love to be able to give this book to everyone who has made my journey a little easier this year. Since that is not possible, please take a minute to read this book if you ever come across it. I'm sure it will become a favorite for you, too!

The children were nestled all snug in their bed

This sentence baffles me as a new mom to more than one child, multiples even. When is it, exactly, that all three children will be nestled at the same time? The girls all share a room. This is problem number one. All of the tricks I tried with Maddie won't work with Cami and Brie because they will wake each other up. It's just a rough situation. When I ask other moms with twins, I have found very little comfort. "Mine were sleeping through the night around 15 mos." Oh, and then there's the lucky ones that had twins who slept through the night by the time they were 12 weeks old. What's the most frustrating is the fact that I know my girls can do it because they have. They just choose not to.

Right now, it's 10:25 p.m. Maddie went to bed at 8:00 and has actually stayed there tonight. Brie and Cami went down at 8:30, but Cami woke up at 9:45. I am watching her roll around on the living room floor as we speak. If I were to put her in her crib she would laugh at me. Literally -- it's happened before!

The good news is that I got a nap yesterday, even after getting a solid block of sleep on Saturday night. The babies slept from 10:30 p.m. to 6:00 a.m. and I went to bed at 11 that night. Sunday afternoon I told Aaron he was on baby duty and I was getting a nap. Maddie even took one with me. We slept for about 2 1/2 hours. It was great! Someone is looking out for my sanity. It was back to the every 3 hours on Sunday night. Of course!

I can't bribe the babies with the "nice or naughty list" like I can Maddie. There is hope though, it works for 4 year olds. I only have 3 years and 5 months to go. Who am I kidding?

Monster Maddie

My sweet girl has been possessed by a monster. We call her Monster Maddie. It started a couple of months ago, she had more nasty moments than pleasant ones for quite a while. I was at a loss. She is very aware that Monster Mommy is forced to come out of hiding when Monster Maddie is around. I don't know what happened, but about 3 weeks ago Monster Maddie started coming around less, and my happy sweet girl returned. To quote her: "Amn't I such a good girl?" (and yes, I've tried to teach her the correct grammar for that sentence and she just won't correct it). It's been such a relief! Sunday night, however, Monster Maddie returned with a vengence. She was sent to bed. Monster Maddie woke up Monday morning and stuck around most of the day. She had a royal fit on Monday night unlike anything I have ever seen. Wow. Tuesday was a little bit better. I could tell Monster Maddie was getting restless. This morning Maddie got up, cooperated and she didn't talk back. It was so nice! We make a HUGE deal about the positive behavior, of course! Tonight I told her it was so nice to see her being kind and sweet and happy. She said "I used my super powers to make Monster Maddie go away."

Whatever works!

My Grown Up Christmas List

This is all incredibly simple...yet seemingly unattainable! I just looked at it again, it's all free!

• A good solid night of sleep. Preferrably starting around 10:30 p.m. and ending...whenever I wake up!
• A nap that lasts for more than 10 minutes.
• A date night with my husband.
• All of the laundry done: washed, folded, put away!
• The kitchen: floor swept and mopped, dishes done, fridge cleaned out, everything in it's place.
• A nap.
• A day to myself to do whatever I please.
• A night out with some girlfriends.
• A nap.

I think that's about it. I really would take any one of the things listed above. I'm not terribly picky, and my priorities are right...I'm one sleep-deprived mommy!

Christmas time is here!

Saturday night I went to the Glenn Beck Christmas Show with my mom. It was one of the most incredible programs I have ever seen. He related several personal stories to different things associated with Christmas: family, shopping, gifts, snow, peace, etc. There was a lot of humor, a lot of reminiscing and some tears. I actually cried through a lot of the second half of the program.

He told a very touching story about the last Christmas before his mom committed suicide. He said that he was a stupid 12 year old kid and didn't know how poor his family was or how much they were struggling. He recalled going to the tree and finding one gift, it was a sweater. He said his mom kept asking him things like "Do you like it?" and "Does it fit?" He remembered her holding it up to him to see how it would fit, and could almost feel her hands on his shoulders. Two months after Christmas he was in his room and his mom came in to talk to me. She saw the sweater lying on the floor and said "Is that the sweater I gave you for Christmas?" It was then that he kind of realized what a gift that was. She searched for the most perfect gift she could give him with the last $20 she had.

He said that his mom never understood something, that we have the opportunity to find peace and ultimately, redemption. He used that as a way to lead into the true meaning of Christmas. It's not the birth of Christ, it's the gift that He has given us as our Savior and Redeemer. He talked about what it will be like to meet the Savior and how we will be accountable for what we have done with His gift. He mentioned the sweater again. He said that our lives are Christ's gift to us (and I'm paraphrasing this); "This was my gift to you, and what have you done with it?" He had so much emotion and passion in the message he was giving, it was very powerful. It really touched me and has given me some things to think about the last several days. The line that stuck with me the most was "Become the person you were meant to be and stop being the person you've allowed yourself to become."

Wow. It really was a great way to remind me of what the Christmas season is about, and I have thought so much about it the last few days. I also appreciated his willingness to share his story about his conversion to the LDS church. It was really neat to hear.

My Festival of Trees Experience

It's that time of year again. We got off to a great start with a visit to the Festival of Trees on Saturday. However, I wasn't prepared for getting hit with all of the emotions I've had this year. Each year we go I am reminded of several friends and loved ones that have passed away, but this year I had a few extra experiences to be mindful of.

One of the first trees we walked by was done to thank the NICU at Primary Children's Medical Center for the care they'd given an infant that was premature and is doing great. My heart was so thankful for the health of our twins, and I was reminded of the fabulous care we all received at PCMC. A few trees later was a tree that was done in memory of a premature infant that hadn't made it. My heart ached for that family and the families of the infants that struggle and fight to survive but don't pull through. I was also reminded of my friend who lost her daughter earlier this year, the baby had ancephaly. I just couldn't keep my composure.

A couple of rows down was a tree titled "Grandma's Angels." It was done in memory of an older woman who had passed away this year. My thoughts turned to my mother-in-law, she would just be thrilled to be here with her granddaughters. I am missing her so much right now.

The last tree that really triggered my emotions was dedicated to the staff and volunteers at PCMC. There was a television with a slide presentation set to the song "Angels Among Us." It had several pictures of the staff with words of appreciation that scrolled by. Our experience at Primary's was a positive one. I knew that our girls were going to be fine, they just needed a little jumpstart. I never had to worry about what the outcome would be. Everyone we dealt with was amazing! We had some extraordinary circumstances going on because Pam was so ill while our girls were there, and everyone was so incredibly supportive. It really was exceptional care.

I am so thankful for the knowledge of eternal families, and knowing that this life isn't the all there is. I am also thankful that while we will always miss those who have died before us, that the pain lessens over time.

I thought I would have free time!

I haven't found any yet!!! Life is still crazy, but it's great. I am so happy to be home with my girls. It's nice to be settled in one place instead of bouncing back and forth between the apartment and the house. I use the term "settled" loosely, the house is still not completely put together and we're in a little bit of chaos but we're working on it. I injured my back during the move and have not been able to move ahead at full speed like I want to. I finally got in to see my chiropractor today and I'm hopeful that I'll be on the mend soon.

Thanksgiving was our first big holiday without Pam. We started out with a visit to Aaron's grandma's house. The first thing everyone commented on was the absence of Pam's homemade rolls, they were replaced by Rhode's. We visited with the family for a bit and then headed to my grandparents' house. We didn't eat too much at either house because we ended the day with Aaron's brothers and sister-in-law at Mimi's Cafe. It was good to spend time with them, it's the first time we've all gotten together since July.

My heart was really full on Thanksgiving. I couldn't help but think of the major events this year. I was mostly focused on the babies, how fortunate we are to have them here and healthy. I also thought of the last several months of Pam's life and her passing. I have been missing her more lately and my heart aches for her sons' and granddaughters' grief. The other day Maddie asked me if we could buy a new Grandma Pam. She misses her so much. Her absence is noticed every day. I don't know where she picked it up but Maddie doesn't end a prayer without saying "Please help heal our hearts as we are missing Grandma Pam." Aaron is starting to really feel the loss of his mom and it is hard. The holidays really bring the emotions to the surface. I hope that they are healing in some ways.

Here's some pictures of my girls!

The girls on Thanksgiving day (from left to right: Cami, Maddie, Brie)


Brie and Cami, they lock arms or hold hands every time they're next to each other. It's so sweet!


Maddie and Aaron on their way to the Daddy-Daughter Princess Ball


Maddie helping me out while we were staying in Park City at the end of October