Tali's Trials and Tribulations

Day 6: What They Love

2011-02-06T13:38:00.000-08:00

Easy peasy. Took me 2 seconds to know what to take a photo of for day 6. Although Jacob and Boden fight like crazy sometimes, they really truly love each other and it is so, so special. Look at these 2 sweet dudes!!!

Day 5: Love to Hate

2011-02-06T13:35:00.000-08:00

I struggled with this - couldn't think of my I love to hate. :) But, Eric does tend to leave cabinet doors open, and I got this shot this morning after he started the coffee and left the cabinet open.

Day 4: What They Wear

2011-02-06T13:29:00.000-08:00

Ella had to wear her school mascot tee to school on Friday. They were having a Super Bowl party. They could have worn a jersey, but, as we don't give a crap about sports in our house, she doesn't have one. :)

Joy of Love - Day 3: Then and Now

2011-02-03T20:49:00.000-08:00

Today's was a little harder for me. I worked until 4:30, got the kids, came home, made supper, yada yada, then I realized it was 10 pm and I hadn't taken a photo.

This series is what happens when the kids are in bed, the house is a mess, we are both tired from lack of sleep the previous night (still not sure why) and I tell my hubby, "Ummm, we gotta take a pic, yo!" I guess it's a testament to how much he loves me. Not all dudes would be down with posing for this shit.

I grabbed this old pic of us. Actually our first photo together. We'd been dating maybe a month. My mom took it. :) I was 20, he was 25. 10, almost 11, years ago. We look like babies. Ahhh the days.

So, here you have it. Day 3.

Hit a snag, perhaps.

2011-02-02T12:56:00.000-08:00

So, as I blogged yesterday, we are in the middle of adopting a puppy, more or less. We're approved with our local boxer rescue group, and there are (were) 2 pregnant mama's that had been rescued from a puppy mill. One is being fostered in Omaha, which is 2 hours from us. The other is being fostered only 25 miles from us. Obviously, the closer mama would be perfect for us to choose our puppy from. We'd be able to go and visit several times and take the time to really choose a puppy that fits our little family.

Well, I found out today that the mama being fostered close to us is either no longer pregnant, or never was. :( That's a good thing from the perspective that there are already way too many dogs out there that need homes, but that also means that our chances of getting a puppy are narrower. The mama in Omaha is having 4 or 5 puppies, and there may be more families than that waiting for their adoption. Also, it will be harder for us to go see and pick out our little fur-man.

So, I'm a little worried. I am still hopeful but I made the mistake of getting my hopes up super high, and I just need to chill out and remember that if we don't get one of Katja's puppies, there will be others and we just need to be patient.

Have I mentioned that patience is not something I get into?

Day 2: How They Look

2011-02-02T09:36:00.000-08:00

Day 2: How They Look.

Ahhh the Jake. He and his silly grins just get me. I love this kid!

There is still time for you to sign up for the series if you aren't already. Or, just swing by and check out some of the awesome photos being submitted. It is so cool to see everyone's taken on the daily themes. Check out the Joy of Love page for more info!

Snow Day Part Deux

2011-02-02T07:38:00.000-08:00

Homebound again! Monday Ella got out of school at 1:30, we headed home and got out the pj's. Yesterday, no school. Today, no school. Our wind and snow is done but the temps are frigid (-18 or so overnight not including wind chill) so the school district decided to stay closed, which is fine with me. I hate thinking of all the kiddos waiting for school buses and out on the roads in that cold!

So, when the school is closed I don't work either, and we've been home together. Eric was home yesterday as well. We took that opportunity to finish our taxes (Hells yes!!!). Today he's back at work but the kids and I are pretty lazy. Lots of games, Wii, and some cleaning for Ella's birthday party on Saturday.

Also, grocery list making. I've started planning our menu for the whole month and doing one big shopping trip (not including stuff we run out of, fresh fruit, milk, etc). So, I'm working on my menu and list today. I may just get on the elliptical again.

And, I've got it in my head to do 2 half marathons this summer. WHAT?

Stay tuned for Day 2 of Willette's Joy of Love series.

Joy of Love

2011-02-01T18:52:00.000-08:00

For anyone interested in joining or just learning more about Willette's Joy of Love photography challenge, click on the image below. :)

Joy of Love - Day 1: What They Do

2011-02-01T08:26:00.000-08:00

For day 1, they chose the theme "What They Do." For today I chose to photograph Eric. We have had a chunk of snow the last few days along with some heavy winds (which is why we are all home today - Snow day!!). So, he is out shoveling and plowing our road.

I thought taking his photograph out doing this stuff was pretty much perfect. He loves to get outside, during the winter he does a lot of budgeting at work and he gets so sick of being cooped up in his office. So, even though it is freezing cold outside, he loves getting out there and clearing the snow.

My man, what he do. :)

So, the news.

2011-02-01T07:58:00.000-08:00

For most people it isn't big, but for me it is.

We are adding to our family.

Not a skin baby. I'm done with that whole thing.

But, a furbaby. A 4-legged, canine offspring.

I am SO excited.

I have long wanted a dog. I grew up with a bazillion of them. Eric did not and has kind of been anti-dog. Not because he doesn't like dogs, but because he didn't want to deal with the responsibility. And, I get that. And that is why we haven't had one.

But, in the last 4 months or so, he has started wanting a dog, so I jumped all over that.

My mom is active in the rescue community and I know how many dogs out there need homes, that are put into rescue (thankfully) instead of just being put to sleep when they are abandoned or abused. So, we are getting a puppy through our local Boxer rescue group. Yep, we are getting a Boxer. :)

Our boxer rescue (check 'em out here) recently helped when a nasty puppy mill was busted. They took 5 Boxers and are giving them a wonderful new life. 2 of the Boxers (a mother and daughter pair, actually) are pregnant and due to have their puppies in the next 2 weeks or so. Since we already have been through the application process and have had our home visit and have been APPROVED!!!, we are at the top of the list, along with a few others, of people that will get the first chance to pick a puppy. The moms and the father (both mother and daughter were impregnated by the same male) are brindle, so chances are we'll get a brindle, although we could get something else.

I'm just so happy. Happy that we will be adding to our family. happy that we could take part in taking another sweet dog that would have been used for breeding his whole life, and putting him somewhere where he will be loved.

PS. His name will be Guster. :)

Joy of Love

2011-02-01T07:40:00.000-08:00

For a long time I've been wanting to expand my photography skills. I'm never going to be anything more than a mom with a camera, but that doesn't stop me from wanting to take beautiful photos of my family and friends.

This time of year is totally frustrating for me in that regard. The days are short and dark. If we do go outside, we are bundled up and I'm wearing thick gloves and not really able to take photos, and if I do, my kids mostly have runny noses and squinted eyes. If I take photos in the house, they include my messy floors and low light.

Recently I got myself a Zeh Bounce. It's a flash bounce. It set me back about $12 and I LOVE it. It has actually done wonders to allow me to still use my flash and get some stability to my shots, but eliminate the nasty things flash does to faces and objects.

Anyway.

I decided to join the Joy of Love thingie Willette has going on. I will be posting my pics here each day. My poor, neglected little blog. I might actually blog once in awhile aside from posting pics. But, let's not get ahead of ourselves.

OH WAIT. I do have news. Post later.

Remembrance

2010-10-15T15:09:00.000-07:00

Today is Pregnancy & Infant Loss Remembrance Day.

I'm one of the thousands, maybe millions, of women that grieve the loss of a baby they didn't get to meet or hold, name or bring home from the hospital, see alive, celebrate the first birthday.

It's something that will stay with me forever.

I don't talk about it to anyone. Not my husband, not my mom, not my friends.

I keep all of the feelings for this loss locked inside or here.

They are mixed up, ugly, jumbled feelings.

I can't say I wish I'd never suffered this loss because if I hadn't, I would not have Jacob and Boden in my life.

I think about it at odd times. I remember what my sister-in-law brought me for supper after I lost that baby, when she came to keep me company because Eric left me alone to attend a meeting. I remember calling my sister first to tell her, because I didn't know how to tell my mom. I remember calling my mother-in-law and asking her to come and get Ella because I had a fever and was too sick to take care of her.

I still have a little t-shirt that i had bought Ella, that said "Big Sister to Bee" with a super cute picture of a bee on it. I took photos of her in the shirt and emailed them to our family. I don't know what to do with that shirt. I can't bring myself to throw it away.

It's hard to grieve a miscarriage. No one met this baby. No one saw this baby. No one loved this baby aside from me. There is little evidence that I was even pregnant. It seems silly to think about it, 4 years later. But I do.

On my medical records it says I had a spontaneous abortion. I wish there was a way to change that. It feels very wrong. As if I had a choice in what happened.

Food

2010-09-26T12:06:00.000-07:00

I love food. I'm a person that gets very excited about going out to eat. Trying a new restaurant is right up there with a super fun night out for me. I also love to cook. I love trying new recipes. Thankfully, my family is totally down with guinea pig status and there have only been a handful of recipes in the last 5 years that have gotten a big fat thumbs-down from them. Not including Ella, of course, because half the time she is impossible to please.

New recipes can be found anywhere. I love allrecipes.com. I love Pioneer Woman. I've made several of her recipes several times over. My favorites are the Sherried Tomato Soup, Chocolate Sheet Cake, Beef Tenderloin, and Brisket. Today I'm making the Chicken Spaghetti again. Yum. Makes a huge batch and my family loves it. Not healthy, though. Not even a little bit.

I'm trying her Angel, Sugar Cookies for the first time. Hopefully they turn out well. I decided that at the last minute, so, my butter wasn't softened. Found a trick online to try out - grated the butter into my metal Kitchen Aid bowl. Voila, soft butter! Sweet tric.

It's like I don't even know myself.

2010-09-21T19:15:00.000-07:00

I did something pretty crazy a few weekends ago.

Hold onto your seats. Your hair. Your thong.

I ran, and completed, a 5k.

Say WHAAAAAT?

I know. Me too. I still can't believe I did it. If it weren't for the photos, number, and chip (which I'm keeping on my shoe, to remind me) I wouldn't believe it myself.

I ran it with my sister. It was the Miracle 5k - benefiting the Children's Miracle Network. When Jacob & Boden were just tiny tots in the NICU for 6 & 7 weeks, respectively, the CMN helped us a ton. Not only did the help pay for a large amount of the lifesaving, top-of-the-line equipment in the NICU, but they gave us support and meal tickets. The meal tickets were such a help for us - I was there every single day for 7 weeks, and the cost of eating every day would have been insane. The meals were just one less thing to worry about, and it allowed us to focus more on the boys.

I ran in honor of the boys. I had originally designed a logo for a shirt for my sis and I to wear, but time and money

ran out. Then my stepdad and mom surprised us with matching shirts bearing the design I'd made. :) Talk about super fly.

It was an incredible experience. My sis flew by me but it was all good. She's done 3 5k's and is a crazy person, so I was happy for her and when I could see her turning corners in front of me, I knew I was that much closer to the end.

I did have to slow to a fast walk a few times, and I'm ok with that. I surpassed my goal of 13 minute miles (made 12:04 minute miles) and that was a really great bonus.

I'm just so proud. This is something I never, ever thought I would be able to say I'd done. Now I want to do more. There's one at the end of October I want to do for sure, maybe 2 more in October. Not sure yet. But, you can be sure this was not my last!

Me and My sis.

Me.

Life upside down

2010-09-08T15:37:00.000-07:00

One thing I've learned in the past 2 days is that 3.5 years of staying at home with my kids has not prepared me for rising at 6:30 a.m., preparing breakfast for Ella, doing my hair and makeup, Ella's outfit and hair, getting the boys up and dressed, and all of us out of the house at 7:30 a.m.

It has left me exhausted and wishing for hours and hours of sleep. But I have stuff to do. So I don't nap when I can. I catch up on laundry and lists. My scrapbooking is nonexistent and it kills me because 3 of my designers have absolutely amazing kits out right now, and I'm so tired that all I want to do tonight is snuggle my hubby and go to bed.

Dang. Work is tough, yo.

On the upside - the job is good. Ella loves riding the bus, and the boys adore their daycare provider, Trisha. Thank you Trisha for coming into our lives. I don't worry when I drop them off in the morning, and that is kind of an incredibly big f'ing deal.

It's a big deal.

2010-08-25T08:24:00.000-07:00

Ella's first day of kindergarten is upon us. Eric and the boys and I dropped her off this morning. Lots of photos, a few tears (but only after I left). Just a few. Like, 1.5 tears. I'm so stoic.

She was one excited cookie. Made her waffles for breakfast. She requested "Maneater," and "Despicable Me" on the mp3 player for our drive in.

Class is dismissed early today, at 2:30. I can't wait to pick her up and find out everything about how her day went.

My lady.

Hands Across the Gulf collaboration

2010-08-14T12:50:00.000-07:00

Tomorrow, August 15th, an amazing collaboration will go up for sale at After 5 Designs. This collaboration is entitled Hands Across the Gulf and is made up up 100 papers, 200 elements, 2 full alphas, 18 templates, and 4 photo actions from 45 very talented and giving designers across the digital scrapbooking community.

For more than 90 days, oil gushed into the Gulf of Mexico before the leak was finally "capped" in late July. It is estimated that approximately 4.9 million barrels (or 205.8 million gallons) of oil spilled into the waters. It has been one of the biggest environmental disasters in decades. Hundreds of miles of beaches, wetlands, and estuaries along the northern Gulf Coast have been impacted. The spill, though temporarily "capped", continues to cause extensive damage to marine and wildlife habitats as well as the Gulf's fishing and tourism industries. Families are without work and marine and land animals continue to suffer. And there are still many unknowns about the long term effects of the oil and of chemical disbursements used in attempts to curtail the flow and impact upon the regional coastline and waters.

Participating designers include: Aja Abney, Amy Martin, Biograffiti, Boutique Cute Dolls, Createwings Designs, Deena Rutter, Designs by Cindy Schneider, Designs by Crystal Livesay, Dido Designs, Dunia Designs, Emily Merritt Designs, Fiddle Dee Dee Designs, Fizzy Pop Designs, FruitLoOp Sally Designs, Laurie Ann (Heaven's Gate Designs), Holliewood Studios, Holly Designs, Holly Spring Designs, Jazzmin Designs, Jennifer Barrette Designs, Jacque Larsen, Juliana Kneipp Designs, Kay Miller Designs, Kaye Winiecki, Kitty Designs, Kristin Aagard Designs, Lauren Grier, Leora Sanford, Loreta Labarca, Micheline Martin, Nikki Beaudreau, Paislee Press, One Little Bird Designs, Sabrina Dupre, Sahlin Studio, Sarah Cornish of My 4 Hens Photography, Shabby Miss Jenn, Studio Basic Designs, Sugarplum Paperie, Tickled Pink Studios, Tiny Toes Designs, Tracie Stroud, Vera Lim, Vinnie Pearce, and zinnias and swallowtails.

Hands Across the Gulf is our heartsong for this cause. This gorgeous kit representing the varied styles of the scrapping community, is positively overflowing with beautiful papers, unique elements, templates and Photoshop actions. All told, designers have contributed more than 100 papers and 200 elements, 2 full alphas, 18 templates, and 4 PS actions to Hands Across the Gulf.

Available for sale for one month only, 100% of the proceeds from this kit will be donated to the National Wildlife Federation and to the United Way's Gulf Recovery Fund.

I was lucky enough to be able to create a page with this amazing collaboration, and I can tell you that it is beautiful. The designers put their all into creating this kit. Check out After Five Designs tomorrow and purchase this collaboration.

Friday the 13th? Gonna go with a yes.

2010-08-13T14:36:00.000-07:00

Took the miracle twinks to the ENT today for hearing tests. Their doc suggested this at their 3-year appointment last month. I took them a few weeks ago myself, not realizing it was a huge no-no for one mom to take 2 children to have hearing tests done. You didn't know that either? Interesting.

So, Eric came along today to help wrangle.

Boden did fine.

Jacob's left ear has severe hearing loss.

This is a shock to me and I'm pretty f'd up about it. His speech delay is more severe than Boden's so I guess it makes sense.

He is being referred for an ABR test soon to find out the extent of the hearing loss.

The audiologist actually mentioned hearing aids.

I'm sick.

Resume Time.

2010-08-12T09:00:00.000-07:00

Ugh. I need to write a resume. Yes people, it's that time. It's time for this mama to go back to work.

Do I want to? No.

Do I feel employable? No.

Am I scared shitless? That would be a YES.

But, one salary isn't cutting it anymore with this family of 5. School shopping this year is limited. Have only been able to get one pair of shorts and 2 shirts and sneakers for Ella for school clothes (plus all her supplies). And, so far nothing for the boys. This has to stop.

So. That means I need to get a job.

You know what the problem is? I am not motivated to start a big important career. I just don't have it in me. Eric isn't impressed with that attitude and I think he is going to be disappointed with the job options in our small town.

It's tough stuff, people. Staying home for 3.5 years has made me realize that I don't really care about having a career. And I feel like this time at home has really killed my employment options. So, job hunting is going to be gruesome and stressful.

But hopefully at the end I will find something that I don't hate, something that helps buy groceries. And hopefully I can manage a household and cooking and cleaning and laundry and 3 kids, while working full-time. And NOT become an alcoholic in the meantime.

Despicable Me.

2010-08-11T10:03:00.001-07:00

Go see this. It is the cutest dang movie. Ella loved it, Eric loved it, I loved it. Totally awesome.

Took Miss E. to McD's for supper before the flick. That girl loves her some nuggets, yo. And they had Littlest Pet Shop toys in the Happy Meals so, yeah. I wanted to go to Mexico Viejo but it was E's night, so, you know.

Super fun night, all around.

The countdown.

2010-08-10T09:22:00.000-07:00

Miss E. starts kindergarten in 13 days, yo. It's crazy up in here. She is so excited, it's just ridiculous. We are counting down the days every single day, sometimes hourly. We got her supplies on Sunday. Glue sticks, pencils, markers. Oh my! And we got a little haircut for her to start those ends off right.

15 days. Whoa.

Am I ready for this? I know she is.

I'm not an emotional mom. I have a heart of stone. I have friends crying over this "first day of kindergarten" shit. Not me.

But.

Will I get a little weepy on her first day? Could happen.

If it does, I'm not telling. ;)

Piccies

2010-08-10T08:09:00.000-07:00

Some shots I'm proud of, from the last few weeks. I'm a total hack but you know. I love my kids, love my camera.

The handsome little man in the pics is our nephew, Witten. He is 2 months old now, and it's so fun to have a baby in the family again! I'm so excited for our kids to have a cousin. It took Ella a full 2 months to finally want to hold him, but look how damn CUTE she is snuggling him!!

What the truck?

2010-08-10T08:03:00.001-07:00

Get this, party people. I decided to start running.

Weird.

Even weirder if you know me. I'm totally unathletic. Lazy. Not a big outdoorsy-type chick. This running thing is so far away from my comfort zone, I'm calling international collect right now.

But, I'm doing it.

Even weirder?

I *love* this shit. LOVE it. I just started week 5 of the Couch to 5k program. Did day one yesterday. And I actually completed it!

I've lost weight doing this crazy stuff. I'm down at least 2 inches in my jeans size, down at least one size in shorts, down a size in shirts. AND! I bought a new bikini yesterday (Hellooooo Target!) and the bottoms are a size smaller than my other bikini. Bonus??? I look GOOD in it. I an say that honestly and without embarrassment. I look good! It's nuts.

I credit some really special ladies for the motivation for this. Peppermint and Christine totally inspired me to start running. And a handful of other ladies (Renee, Sarah, Lex, Becky, Dana, Lauren, Som, Lizzy) are all motivating me along the way. They be speshul, yo.

Super awesome sneaky peak

2010-07-28T14:01:00.001-07:00

My girl Liz (of Paislee Press) has an amazing new kit coming out July 30th. This sucker is chock full of gorgeous papers, amazing elements, and some beautimous wordart, including a submission from yours truly. Do we expect anything less?

Here's a sneak peek. Lucky dogs!

And, here's a layout I did with the kit. :)

Liz is running a little giveaway on her blog - you do NOT want to miss this sucker people! Check her blog HERE.

Neglect much?

2010-07-28T13:50:00.000-07:00

Whoooopsie! Sorry little bloggity blog. I kinda sorta forgot about you.

Lots going on. This summer has been just nuts. We have had so few weekends where we could just sit and hang. We've had vacations and parties and birthdays and appointments and swimming lessons and whatnot. It's just been Cuh-RAZY. We went to Milwaukee, my parents' house, camping, Omaha, IL's. Way busy.

Jacob and Boden turned 3 years old this month. Whaaaat? I know, I know. Just crazy. Their speech therapist wants them to go to preschool one day a week this fall, so we're making that leap. I think it will be good for them, for their speech, for their social development, and (hopefully!!) potty training. It's a big deal for me though. My little boys, in preschool. Scary shit.

Then, Miss Ella. Kindergarten in less than a month!! Freaky. She is so, so excited. She wants to start tomorrow. Eric and I plan on taking her on a little overnight jaunt in a few weeks to get school supplies and have a little fun time - movie, museum maybe, dinner, shopping. Now this, my friends, is a BIG damn deal.

As for me. I started running. Ummm, I'm sorry, WHAT? I know. Me, doing physical exercise? Me, running? Here's the really f'd up part. I love it. LOVE to run. I started the Couch to 5k program and I am on week 3. I'm only running in short spurts according to the program, but, it's so great. I get out there, just me and my thoughts. And the occasional roadkill. I even signed up for a 5k in September!!

Big Day, Yo

2010-04-06T09:37:00.000-07:00

Tonight Eric and I take Ella to get registered for kindergarten.

WHAAAAT?

Yeah, that's right. Somewhere along the way I became old enough to have a child starting kindergarten in a few short months. So weird.

She is so excited that I can't help but be excited right along with her.

Check this child.

Meetup

2010-04-05T11:23:00.000-07:00

While we were in Minneapolis, I had the opportunity to meet my girl Som. I've "known" her pretty much since I started digital scrapbooking, and I was so excited to finally meet her in person. She picked this awesome Thai joint for us to eat at, and it was just super cool to talk to her. She is so sweet. And HOT!!!

Me, Sara, Melissa.

Chelsea Herself

2010-04-05T11:21:00.000-07:00

Blogger is being silly and it is giving me huge fits when I try to add photos to my posts. Whatevs. Here is a photo of Chelsea signing my book.

Minneapolis + Chelsea Handler

2010-04-05T11:07:00.000-07:00

Me, my sis Sara, and my sis-in-law Melissa headed to Minneapolis on Saturday. We had tickets to see Chelsea Handler's stand-up show Saturday night on the U of M campus. We stood in line for 2.5 hours that afternoon for her book signing. Here we are, passing the time in line.

Moi.

Sara.

Melissa.

Ice Cream

2010-03-24T19:46:00.000-07:00

I don't really like ice cream. It makes me feel full too quickly. Few flavors are super delicious. I do love me a pb cup Blizzard from DQ (provided it is made with chocolate ice cream).

So, since I don't like ice cream, someone explain to me why I keep eating this stupid cookies & cream?

Tomorrow is so nauseating

2010-03-19T13:31:00.000-07:00

I am doing a cooking demo tomorrow at our local coffee shoppe.

My stomach has been vomit-worthy all damn week.

BarF.

I'm just happy that my ma and sister, and Ella, are coming to watch and root me on.

If I burn down the joint, they will probably help me put out the fire.

After, we are going to SF and having a girls' day. Wellsters needs a new bikini and we are going to go to our favorite bakery and have some cupcakes.

Wonder if they serve tequila there.

Home on the range, yo

2010-03-18T13:44:00.000-07:00

Well, Jacob's surgery went pretty well. He had a hell of a time coming out of it, he coughed and fought and cried for quite awhile. BUT, this time he did not puke at all so that was pretty huge. We were able to get him calmed down and the rest of the day went well. He snarfed Jell-O and popsicles like a champ all day and took a nice long nap. We are home now and I'm so happy to be sleeping in my own bed tonight. :)

ZOMG!

2010-03-16T12:04:00.000-07:00

I'm adding another amazing creative team to my list ... One Little Bird designs by Peppermint!! Wowsers, yo! I'm SO excited. Not only is she an amazing designer and slightly cool person, but, she likes trashy reality TV and the girls on her team are wicked fun.

YAY!

Check her out HERE at Catscrap.

Comin' up

2010-03-15T21:32:00.000-07:00

Jacob is getting his tonsils & adenoids out on Wednesday. I'm a big old pile of crazy right now. Ugh.

Memory Lane

2010-03-01T13:57:00.000-08:00

I get super sappy this time of the year, for the past few years. It's going to be years before everything we went through with Jacob and Boden has healed enough to not be a sappy mess.

I'm not normally sappy. I like to say I have a stone cold heart. I don't watch chick flicks. I don't cry at Pampers commercials.

But, when it comes to these memories I am mush. Straight up mush.

January 29, 2007 - we found out we were having twins.
March 12, 2007 - we found out that they were boys, identical, and sick.

So, those 6 weeks in between were our 6 weeks of happy bliss. The only 6 weeks of my pregnancy that we could fully enjoy the fact that we were going to be blessed with twins, without the incredible heartache, paranoia, and constant worrying that came with their TTTS diagnosis. Of course, during those 6 weeks I was sicker than sick, but, we enjoyed it nonetheless. It was 6 weeks of telling friends and family, "We're having TWINS!!!!!" without having to follow it up with "They have TTTS and it is often fatal, and we don't know what is going to happen."

So. 3 years later, we have 2 little boys that are amazing and fun and gorgeous and crazy, and honestly I do have trouble disciplining them. Too often I look at them and think of how incredibly blessed and lucky we are to have them walking with us on this earth, and instead of telling them no-no and sitting them in timeout for getting into the fridge or whacking each other on the head, I just want to cuddle them up in my arms and never let go.

Jeez.

A few photos.

I think this is Jacob. (Yikes. Yes, I admit that I don't know).

Jacob. Boden. Me. I know Boden is on the right because his kangaroo bed was on that side.

Jacob and Boden. No idea who is who in this one.

Sister needs a vacation

2010-02-25T06:56:00.000-08:00

Eric and I are going to Tennessee in 2 months! **happy dance**

We are going to go hang out with my pal Amber and her fam. They aren't going to know what hit them. I am so excited, it's a little ridiculous. Trying to find plane tickets, arrangements for the kids, all that. Yippeee!!

Whoa Nelly

2010-02-23T08:26:00.000-08:00

I cut my hair last night. Well, *I* didn't cut it, my stylist Crystal did. I had her chop about 8 inches off this sucker.

I'm scared.

Reaaaaaal scared.

Sunday Funday!

2010-02-21T11:34:00.000-08:00

Eric is off with Ella at a children's ice fishing event. Jacob and Boden are napping, so I'm doing a little scrapbooking and catching up on my shows: Ghost Hunters International, Private Practice, Tosh.0, CSI:New York. All the shows Eric doesn't want to watch with me. :)

Tomorrow I have an appointment to get my hair fixed. Not sure what I'll do yet. I am in the mood for change and that could be bad! HA!

It is looking more and more like Jacob will need his tonsils, and maybe adenoids as well, taken out. His tonsils are "huge" according to our doc, he is a mouth breather and he snores a little. So, I'm taking him to the ENT on March 3rd to see what he thinks about it.

Happy Tuesday!

2010-02-16T07:59:00.000-08:00

I think it's Fat Tuesday. I don't know. All I know is it is freezing cold so that doesn't feel very Mardi Gras to me!

Ella has no school again today. Since she only goes to preschool during the am hours, if school is 2 hours late her preschool is canceled. That would be the case today!

Eric is off to Pierre for a meeting and won't be home until at least 9 pm. So, we are having Chinese for supper. Ella's request, of course. That child is addicted!

Today's Happiness: My new travel coffee mug. My old one had a few cracks in it. I love on my coffee mugs a little too much. I don't drink out of regular mugs, I carry around my travel mug all morning. I prefer at least 20 ounces of coffee before noon. It's how I roll. Eric drinks double that. It's a wonder we can focus at all in this house. Anyway, my new mug is gray, which I love, and the bottom is thinner than my last mug, so it will fit in the cup holder in my Envoy AND my car, which my previous one did not.

Do you know how hard it is to drive a 5-speed with a mug of hot coffee between your legs? I don't recommend it.

Thankful: 2/11/10

2010-02-11T13:38:00.000-08:00

I'm thankful for our dust buster. Without this little gem, we'd live in a crumb-filled wasteland.

I love you, dust buster.

Our dentist

2010-02-11T12:48:00.000-08:00

I absolutely love our dental office. The dentist (husband/wife team) and their staff are the best. They actually make going to the dentist fun and relaxing.

Ella is a total champ. She sits perfectly still and asks a ton of questions and is totally involved. She got xrays for the first time this session and she did great with that. Her bottom 2 front teeth are loose so we are keeping an eye on those in the next 6 months or so.

The boys didn't love it as much this year. Last year they smoked it but this year they are more skeptical and they both kinda freaked out. Oh well. I just held them down as they cried. I mean, it didn't hurt. They only had their teeth brush and fluoride applied. No big.

They do so much that is kid-friendly. They have TV's tuned to whatever channel the kids want, scented latex gloves, several flavors of tooth polish and several flavors of fluoride, a ton of toys, awesome toothbrushes and toothpaste and flossers, plus a toy for each kid when they are done.

Plus, our dentists have a son that is a week older than the boys, so we have a lot to talk about.

Piece of cake.

Sometimes

2010-02-10T12:16:00.001-08:00

Sometimes I have a bad day. Sometimes, that bad day turns into a bad week. This is one of those weeks.

I'm feeling down. Damaged and easily hurt by people that most likely have no idea they have hurt me. I am taking things personally, being easily offended and my feelings easily hurt. Better to withdraw a little than overreact I guess.

Eric and Ella have been talking a lot lately about how they wished we had a 4th baby to add to the family.

I usually go along with the talk, knowing it will never happen.

Today it hit me. We do have a 4th baby. We are a family of 6 even if I am the only one that remembers, the only one that cares. Ella of course was too young when it happened. She was only 20 months old. She will never know unless I choose to tell her.

There are days when this baby creeps into my thoughts and I usually try to push those thoughts back out. I can't rectify my feelings. Losing that baby brought Jacob and Boden into our life and I can't wrap my head around feeling such sadness for that tiny life lost with the extreme joy that Jacob and Boden bring me.

I push the thoughts out because thinking about it and the way I was supported hurts too much. I carry the burden of a grudge against the person I love most in this world for how the weeks following the death of this baby were handled. For how I was handled. I am still angry.

I have friends that have suffered the death of a baby much further along in their pregnancy. They held that child, named him or her, have photos. They have proof that their baby existed. I do not. On my medical records it states that I had a spontaneous abortion.

Is there an uglier term for the loss of a baby? A baby that I loved even though I knew about his presence for only a few short weeks?

I don't think so.

Blog? What blog?

2010-01-29T14:12:00.000-08:00

Good grief. It's been forever.

So, Jacob and Boden were sick dudes, and Eric was gone. That's my recap. What happened last week after I last blogged is a bit of a blur. By Thursday Jacob was totally fine, but Boden was still a mess. My mom left on Thursday as Eric was supposed to be home by supper.

Boden woke up from his nap and was not acting right. His breathing was fast and he was pretty lethargic - not just like, lying around type of thing, but truly lethargic - rarely opened his eyes, that kind of thing.

By 7 pm I was freaking out. I had wanted to take him in to the clinic but the roads were shit and I'd have to take Ella and Jacob, so I didn't know what to do.

Finally Eric got home. We assessed Boden together and I loaded him up and went to the ER in Vermillion. I was concerned about dehydration and his fast breathing.

By the time I got there, he was not doing very well. He was pretty much immediately admitted and was getting oxygen, they started an IV and we did chest Xrays.

Basically, he had so much mucous in his lungs that it was preventing his blood from becoming oxygenated, and it was depriving his heart of oxygen. One night turned into the next and the next, and before we knew it, we'd been in the hospital for 5 days. He was a sick little man.

In the middle of all this, the weather was awful with ice and horrible winds/blizzards that shut down most of our state. Eric's grandma Tillie passed away Saturday morning and Boden and I were unable to go and be with his family as Boden was still in the hospital. Our family was separated and it was very hard on all of us.

Boden finally was able to keep his oxygen levels high enough to be discharged on Tuesday. We went home and were able to spend a few hours together as a family before Eric took Ella and Jacob to his hometown for the next day and a half for his grandma's visitation and funeral. It was so hard on all of us for Boden and I to have to stay behind, but he was needing more recuperation, and he was my priority.

He is finally back to his old self, eating, drinking and playing like crazy. We have to be cautious for the rest of the winter as the next few times he gets anything, even a cold, he will likely have some issues with breathing, so we have to be very careful. Other than that, we are SO happy to be together again as a family!!!

I have some exciting CT news for tomorrow ... a new shoppe is opening up and I am super pumped to be on the CT for a totally amazing new designer ... this girl has been scrapping kickass pages for awhile and I can't wait for her unveiling tomorrow!

Sick, sick, all around!

2010-01-18T19:50:00.000-08:00

So, I took Jacob and Boden in to the doc today. We'd had pukies this weekend, lots of fevers, tons of yucky coughing, little eating.

Both boys have RSV, and Boden has a double ear infection. Ick man.

Giving Back

2010-01-17T12:22:00.000-08:00

We are all so blessed, and there are times that we realize it even more than usual. Seeing the devastation in Haiti is one of those times that makes you sit back and think that I may not drive a brand-new car or own an expensive purse, but I am very, very lucky. I have a safe home, plenty of clean water and food. The people in Haiti have none of those things right now and they need our help.

Some amazing designers have come together for this cause. Please keep your eyes and ears open for this kit in the near future!

Busy busy!

2010-01-15T21:34:00.000-08:00

Yeesh. Since Monday night and our subsequent trip to Mayo Clinic and Rochester with Ella, it seems like I am so behind on everything! Laundry, cleaning, CT layouts, you name it.

Eric leaves in the morning (5 am to be exact - sucks to be him!) for West Virginia. He has State Park Leadership school for 5 days. Man alive. We miss him so much when he is gone.

Luckily my mom is coming tomorrow to hang out with us and help keep my sanity present. Should be loads of fun!

Jakers is sick. He woke up from his nap today with a 103.8 temp. Out of nowhere. Crazy. Eric took him to the clinic, and they are treating him for bacterial pneumonia. Egads.

13/365

2010-01-14T09:52:00.000-08:00

We finally got Ella's room painted and back together! She loves it and we are all happy with the way it turned out. Her room is so clean right now. HA! We just need a nightstand, lamp, and bookshelf.

12/365

2010-01-14T09:48:00.000-08:00

On our way to Rochester on Tuesday, we saw wind turbines everywhere. We left early that morning - before the sun was up. It's been a long time since I've seen the sunrise!

11/365

2010-01-14T09:46:00.000-08:00

Ella got some cute new princess monkey earrings!

10/365

2010-01-10T20:44:00.001-08:00

Self-portrait time. I edited this with a preset by Christian O'Dell that is in the Retro Christmas collab at Catscrap.

9/365

2010-01-09T21:17:00.000-08:00

For Miss Ella's 5th birthday, instead of buying her more crap (the girl has a lot of crap) Eric and I decided to redecorate her bedroom. We picked out a really cute bedding set, and we are repainting. Eric is also building her a new bookcase, and we'll get her a nightstand and lamp.

We started painting today, covering up all the green walls and pink and purple flowers. Goooooood riddance crazy clown nightmare! Ella wanted to help - so, here she is priming the walls. :) She was a crazy mess at the end but she loved helping.

8/365

2010-01-09T17:48:00.000-08:00

My Jakers. :) This kid is cuuuuute, ya'll.

Shout out

2010-01-09T16:29:00.000-08:00

I'd like to give a little shout out to my girl Cheryl. Thank you SO much for helping me fix my blog after I killed it!!

All supplies used in my blog design and header are from Shen, the amazing talent behind creashens. This kit is called Three Little Birds and can be found at Catscrap and Two Little Pixels.

Follow along!

2010-01-08T14:52:00.001-08:00

I decided to follow a few cool chicks' leads and start a little 365 tracker at 365 Project. My username there is talivstouwe so if anyone wants to follow me - you can find me here.

7/365

2010-01-07T19:50:00.000-08:00

Another freezing cold day here in beautiful South Dakota. Ella had another snow day, and Eric stayed home as well. Tomorrow the high is going to be -8. Amazing!

Took this out my kitchen window today. I think it's pretty cool. I used a freebie Lightroom preset on this sucker, I think it was one of the X-Equals presets, Summer Holiday probably. That's my favorite. :)

6/365

2010-01-06T19:06:00.000-08:00

I took this with my new lens - out the window of our house. More cold, snowy weather today!

Another snow day!

2010-01-06T09:09:00.000-08:00

We can't get away from the snow this year. I know, I know. I live in the Midwest - why does this surprise me? But, we got 24 inches in 3 days over Christmas, and today we are getting another 5. Ella's on her 5th snow day of the school year. 5 inches of snow isn't much, not around here anyway, but with the major freezing temps (we have a high of -3 today) and the high winds (50 mph) they canceled school. I'm glad for it. I don't want to travel on the roads today, especially not twice since Ella would have had dance practice as well. So. Another snow day. Movies, snacks, maybe an art project if I feel crazy. Angela over at Catscrap, my fellow lovely MSA loser (she's ok with me calling her a loser, by the way) shared a super fun craft involving a frying pan, tinfoil, paper shapes, and crayons. I need to dig up the link, but, it is pretty cool. Trust me.

I'm excited for lunch as I made Peeeee Dub's Sherried Tomato Soup last night for supper and I have a feeling the leftovers are going to blow my mind.

5/365

2010-01-05T13:01:00.000-08:00

Jacob and Boden messing around with their blankies.

4/365

2010-01-05T09:01:00.000-08:00

Ella and MK. By the way - MK is *not* an inside cat. Can't you tell? This is the first time MK was up on the furniture. These 2 are quite the rebellious pair.

3/365

2010-01-05T08:51:00.000-08:00

My new camera bag!

2/365

2010-01-04T22:25:00.001-08:00

Two of my favorite people - Allison and Quincy:

1/365

2010-01-04T21:55:00.000-08:00

The sushi I feasted on at Kona Grill on January 1st. Truly momentous for me!

3 Years Ago

2010-01-04T21:51:00.001-08:00

About 3 years ago, I was pregnant with 2 special little people. I didn't know yet that I was pregnant, and didn't yet have any idea how they would change our lives for the better. I didn't find out until about January 14th or so that I was pregnant, and didn't find out until January 29th that the baby we were expecting was actually twins.

From this:

To this today:

We are blessed.

Welcome to 2010!

2010-01-04T19:48:00.000-08:00

We spent New Year's Eve, as well as Friday, Saturday and most of Sunday, in Omaha with some very good friends. We had a great time - eating, laughing, just hanging out. It was a really perfect weekend. I also tried sushi for the first time! Allison and I went out for lunch and she took me to Kona Grill. I was pretty stoked.

Anyway, I'm kinda gonna do Project 365, but make it more of a weekly thing. I don't know. I hate being "forced" into this kind of thing, I like to think I'm a big ol' rebel and set rules freak me out. So, I'm going to try, but I'm not making any promises. I've taken a ton of pics so far in 2010, mostly because we were in Omaha. I'll start posting them later.

Also. I have some pretty rad news. I was asked if I'd guest at Catscrap for January, February and March. What????? I'm so excited. The chicks there are pretty cool and they have amazing designers. Word.

Omaha bound!

2009-12-30T20:18:00.000-08:00

We leave in the morning for Omaha and I could not be more excited. We are staying with some good friends until Sunday. It will be fun and relaxing and we NEED it. So stoked.

A few pages before 2010 hits!

Project 52

2009-12-28T08:56:00.000-08:00

So, last year I started Project 365 - you take a photo each day of the year and blog it or scrap it, or just take the dang thing. I think I made it 2 whole weeks.

We are a boring group. I rarely go anywhere other than picking Ella up from school and maybe to the grocery store once a week. So, it's hard to find things to photograph. I can only take so many photos of mundane objects around my house, or photos of the kids.

But I love the idea of it - journaling your life is something really important. One day we'll find all of this crap interesting, right?

So this year I'm going to try Project 52. I'll pick one photo a week. I should be able to find one interesting photo, right?

A few new pages

2009-12-23T11:18:00.000-08:00

I've done more than a few pages since I last blogged, but, I'm only going to show a few here now. Since then, I've been invited to be on Leora Sanford's new creative team, and participated in the MSA Ultimate Artist competition. I placed 4th or 5th in that competition, and was very proud of my pages for it. Two of my buddies placed well in the competition - Cheryl won title of Ultimate Artist and Sara got 3rd. I am so proud of them and honored to call them friends.

Piccie of necklace

2009-11-08T08:13:00.000-08:00

Here's a piccie of that necklace I really, really want from The Vintage Pearl. Just had to share in it's beauty. There is one from some chick on Etsy that is a little silver nest with eggs in it, but I think I like this better.

Going out today!

2009-11-08T08:05:00.001-08:00

I could not be more excited. I'm meeting my sis for lunch and then shopping today. Man, do I ever NEEEEEEEEED this. Sadly I have been thinking for days about where we will eat lunch. The possibilities are endless when you don't have a trio of monsters in tow!

Also sadly, my cat is eating a mouse right outside my patio door. I kindly asked her to do so in private but she refused. iPuke. Jacob and Boden are finding it fascinating. At least it isn't a snake this time, I guess.

So yeah.

Anyway, I have a nice list of things to buy. The train table we want for the twinks is at Target on sale and I got a nice coupon in the mail yesterday. Score! I want a down vest for Ella from Old Navy, and need to get the kiddos their Christmas jammies from Old Navy as well. Need to get books for Ella and Boden (already got Jacob his). And some other stuff. Stuff for my mom and Brent as well.

Eric informed me this morning that we are getting gifts for each other. Yay for me! I am really, really hoping for a necklace from The Vintage Pearl. In particular - this one. But, Eric is so hard to buy for. Like, really hard. Last year I was so excited, so proud of myself. I got him a Blu Ray player. He returned it a week later and we bought my laptop. So f'd up.

PS. My cat has now consumed all of the mouse except a small portion of intestine and a foot. There is blood on my outside rug. I am not happy, and I actually gagged while typing that. I have a strong stomach, it takes a lot to make me gag. Believe me. When you go through the nasty c-section experience I did, you learn to deal with things like this. But I dunno. A mousey foot gets to me.

Happy Sunday.

Can finally share!

2009-11-07T21:07:00.000-08:00

So ... awhile ago, here on the bloggity-blog, I said that I had some surprise CT news. I have been able to share Lizzy's new designing gig, and I can now share my other new designer - Som Chea of Designs by Insomniac!

Som is a completely amazing, beautiful, talented scrapper (and even better ... she has actually heard of Sioux Falls and lives only a handful of hours from me!) and now she is designing. Awesome!!!!! I am so completely honored to have been asked to create for her, and to go on this journey with her into the design world!

Check out her blog for a freebie and other news.

New pics

2009-11-07T11:19:00.000-08:00

I took this yesterday. Don't know why this appeals to me, but it really does. I used Lightroom and a free preset I found on Preset Heaven to edit it. :)

I also took this shot of Jacob. He is such a little studier, he can play up close with things forever. His little cards, puzzles, this little shovel. I love him.

Eric is gone, left yesterday. Hoping he will come home tonight. He went to Iowa, to his parents' farm, to help with harvest. Ella, for some reason, has been having a hard time of him being gone even though it is only for 2 days.

Become a subscriber!

2009-11-07T09:37:00.000-08:00

Ya'll gotta become a subscriber to La's shoppe (Lauren Grier at Sweet Shoppe Designs). All new subscriptions are entered into a drawing for a $10 gift code, along with exclusive freebies! Check it out! http://scrapfasticdesigns.com/lists/?p=subscribe

New kit - new template!!

2009-11-06T08:31:00.000-08:00

This page is made with a new collab from creashens and K Studios - Count on Me. I love it. The colors are amazing and the papers and elements in this sucker are FAB! I also used a wave template for the first time ever ... my girl Lizzy of Fizzy Pop Designs released 2 sets of wave templates so I had to try it out. I'm hooked! Check out both products at Catscrap!!

Eeeeeeeeee!!!

2009-11-05T21:18:00.000-08:00

In the morning, get yer rear to Catscrap, asap. My girl Lizzy is debuting her new designing skillllz. Her templates are way, way cool. I am not ordinarily a template girl, they get me all woozy in the gut. However, Lizzy's templates are EASY to use and fab. I mean, the girl can scrap, yo! So of course she can make some amazing templates!!!!!

Here are a few layouts I've done recently with her templates:

So, yeah. Check out Catscrap in the morning and take a peek at Lizzy's shtuffs. You won't be sorry! She is running contests and whatnot as well!

Big Bang Theory

2009-11-04T06:22:00.000-08:00

Have I mentioned how much I love that show? LOVE it.

Also, new this season, Glee. I adore Glee. The dance numbers are awesome, and the dude with the mohawk is just too hot for words. The fake pregnancy story line is kinda stupid but, whatever. I can deal with that.

Scrappin'

2009-11-03T13:06:00.000-08:00

I've been so busy with some business stuff ... 2 big albums, and I haven't had as much time to scrap as I like. But, I got the 2nd album done this weekend, so I have been catching up. My style lately has been really like, bold, I dunno. Like, straight lines crap. I dig it. These 2 pages are from a new collab by Liz (Paislee Press Designs) + Leora Sanford. You can get it at Oscraps. I love, love this kit. The colors make me wanna roll around on them. And, also redo my living room to include that blue and that green. I'm nuts for it.

Anyway, yeah. 2 recent pages with that kit:

Catching Up

2009-11-02T13:08:00.000-08:00

I should catch up. I haven't blogged in forever. I have zero interesting things to say.

So, a recap.

Jacob got tubes put in, and a chunk of extra tonsil tissue removed from his left tonsil. Glad that is over. He puked a lot but otherwise did fine.

Halloween came and went. Another rainy crappy Halloween here in lovely South Dakota. Jacob was a dragon, Ella a fairy princess, and Boden was a monkey. Fitting, no?

Ummmm, what else. We are having some kinda scary medical stuff going on with Miss Ella. Hoping to find out more this week, by Wednesday I hope. Send some positive thoughts her way if you can spare one or 2.

I have 2 exciting CT secrets, but I can't tell ya yet. HA! In yer face.

Big Brother 11

2009-09-08T12:50:00.000-07:00

I love Big Brother, and this season was no exception.

Until, that is, Jeff got evicted.

I really wanted him to win. Plus, he's way hot.

If Natalie wins I will lock myself in my room and cry for days.

Back update

2009-09-08T11:47:00.000-07:00

So. I finally gave in and went to my doctor today, after 4 1/2 weeks of pain and 2 chiropractor appointments.

He said my hips aren't out of place - that isn't even really a diagnosis, from what he said. He said if my hips were "out of place" they would be out of socket, and I wouldn't be walking. So.

He thinks I might have a fracture in my pelvis, but he isn't sure. He said for sure I have a bruised or fractured tailbone and strained/sprained ligaments and muscles in my butt and hip area.

He gave me some drugs (wooooo hoooooo!) and I'm going to be doing physical therapy 3 times a week for the next month or so.

If I'm not better in 2-3 weeks he will have an MRI done.

Woooooo!

2009-09-07T19:06:00.003-07:00

I totally forgot a few important chunks of info!

I was asked to join 2 stellar CT's in the last week or so - Lauren Grier and Darcy Baldwin - both at Sweet Shoppe Designs!!! SO exciting!

And some of my boys

2009-08-31T08:43:00.001-07:00

I had to take some of the boys as well, even though they are a little harder to get a decent photo of. Man, they run fast! ;)

A few photos

2009-08-31T08:38:00.000-07:00

I took some photos during our picnic Saturday night after our family photo shoot. :) I can't believe how big Ella is getting. People have said that she looks like me and if that is true, I take it as a huge compliment. This child is beautiful!

Family photos

2009-08-30T08:24:00.000-07:00

We had our family photo shoot yesterday! It was really fun working with Sarah. She graduated a year (I think!) behind my sister in high school, so I knew her for the most part. It was a really, really gorgeous day - not too hot but warm enough for the kids to wear shorts. Eric picked Palisades State Park for the location - it has rock walls, a river, a big bridge.

I kinda wished I had asked him more about it - I wanted a little more room for the kids to roam free so Sarah could capture some free shots, and this place was a little dangerous, with all the cliffs and stuff. But, I am positive she got some good ones anyway. The first shot in particular I am hoping came out - she had us sit and hang our feet off a little bridge, and I think that will be a good one.

And, we got to see where Eric, in his college days, climbed a rock cliff named The King and jumped into the river below. It's illegal for a reason! My gosh.

Anyway - this is Sarah's shop. She does a great job and I am so excited to see what she has for us!! The really great part is that she will give me a disc so I can scrap the photos like crazy! I'm thinking of having stretched canvases done for the living room as well.

http://www.sarahstormart.com/

An amazing chiropractic experience

2009-08-27T18:47:00.000-07:00

So. I finally got to the point of no return with my back, and had to make a chiropractor appointment. I've never been to one before, so I was scared pantsless. Turns out I had a reason to be.

She was a totally normal looking chick. 35-40 years old, I'd say. Dressed in nice black capri pants, dressy little black and white patterned shirt.

Things went well at first. She did a little poking around and found that both my hips were out and had rotated back. No wonder I was in pain. Damn slip & slide.

So, she tells me she is going to pop them back in place. Commence being scared even more pantsless.

She lays me on my side, crosses my leg over and bent up. She pokes around my back and then does a full-on body slam onto my hip. Scared the ever-loving hell out of me. I started laughing hysterically. I just wasn't expecting that. Then, she has to do the other side, and by this time I am ready to run for the door.

Good grief.

Anyway, I'm still in pain. Eric is home with me today and my amazing sis is coming tomorrow so I can rest my back and not lift the chunk-a-dunk twins, so that hopefully my ligaments will heal and hold my hips in place where they should be.

Chiropractor - 1; Tali - 0

Home sweeeeeet Home

2009-08-22T21:17:00.001-07:00

Man, do I love my bed. Seriously. There is just nothing better.

We had such a great time in Okoboji. Decent weather (for the most part) great food, sun. I golfed for the first time ever! WOW!

I filled a memory card (should have taken 2). I have been deleting and editing pics for hours. I think I broke Facebook uploading!

For now, I'll put a few of my favorites here. :)

Age ain't nothin' but a number ... right?

2009-08-15T12:49:00.000-07:00

Last weekend my parents got a Slip & Slide for the kidlets. They just loved it. Sunday my sister and I decided we should try that sucker out. It had been about 15+ years since my butt had slid down one.

Now, 6 days later, I am still in pain. My lower back is totally wrecked and I'm making obscene noises when I bend over.

I am thinking that 29 is a tad too old for the slip & slide. Lesson learned.

Blood Diamond

2009-08-14T14:17:00.000-07:00

Eric and I have been crazy with Netflix since January. We have been watching a ton of movies that passed us by when I was in the hospital and the boys were tiny and we weren't doing anything other than eating, sleeping, and feeding babies.

Last night we watched Blood Diamond. Amazing movie. I'm so glad we watched it - and more people should.

T - 3 days

2009-08-13T13:53:00.000-07:00

Yikes. We leave for the lakes in 3 days. I have 4 packing lists going and I've packed almost a full suitcase of crapola for Ella so far. I haven't started packing for myself yet.

We'll be gone from Sunday through Friday. The worst part of this kind of thing is that we gotta pack like all of our summer clothes since we won't be washing stuff and we aren't the Hiltons with a crazy huge wardrobe. So, unless we all wear junk clothes on Saturday, I'm gonna be doing laundry at midnight Saturday night.

Meh.

Let the "change of location of craziness" ensue. I'm hoping to get a tan on my pasty behind. August isn't too late to get a tan, right? ;)

Mmmm

2009-08-06T12:21:00.001-07:00

I bought some Emerson brand Cocoa Roast Almonds today in the dark chocolate. Holy shamoley. I recommend them!!

2 Years

2009-08-05T21:35:00.000-07:00

Two years ago, Jacob and Boden were 20 days old. They looked like little old men, wrinkly, skinny, little to no hair. Flippin' cute.

Today, they are 2 years and 20 days old. They have full heads of curly hair, no wrinkles (except those caused by excess chub), and they look like little dudes. Even more flippin' cute.

I'm blessed.

I love my kids, even when they are bat shit crazy and I feel like running screaming from the house. All 3 are flippin' cute.

And, I really, really love my husband. He puts up with me. And, you may not know me, but that is saying a lot. I'm a total pile. And ... (yep) he's flippin' cute.

Yay!

2009-08-05T16:52:00.000-07:00

My blog has a sweet new design, courtesy of Nikki Beaudreau Designs! I won my choice of awesome blog templates from Nikki today on Facebook. I chose this design, from Tangerine Sky. My favorite kit by her to date!

Chasing the Sun

2009-08-03T21:52:00.001-07:00

I really, really love Liz's new kit. The colors are amazing, the papers are way yummy, and the ribbons are just perfect. You would not believe the layouts the other ladies are creating with this. Total "I'm not worthy" moment! Check the kit out here: Chasing the Sun

But - anyway - here are 2 I did on Friday:

Caught in the act

2009-08-03T21:42:00.000-07:00

So. Ella likes to pretend she hates it when the boys sneak into her bedroom. But, the reality is - she loves it. In fact, since her room has a doorknob cover on it, she has to let them in her room in the first place.

Anyway - they have these little Strawberry Shortcake movie parties. Every so often I see her dragging one of the boys by the hand, into her room. Then ... "Strawbuh-buh-buh-buh-berry, Strawberry Shortcake!"

So, tonight Ella had left her room open, but was in the kitchen with me, making supper. Soon I heard that fabulous theme song, and I peak into her room. Sure enough, I see this:

I mean seriously. How flippin' cute is that? So, then I say, "Boys!" And I see this:

Some new pages

2009-07-31T15:47:00.000-07:00

Here are a few recent-ish pages. :) I've made several others recently, but, they are awaiting kit release, so keep your eyes open!

Oooooh yeah!

2009-07-31T15:46:00.001-07:00

So, so happy today. :) Liz of Paislee Press Designs asked me to be on her CT last night. Over the moon? Me? I'd say so!!!!

Check her stuff out, if you haven't already. She is one talented lady.

She has an amazing kit coming out on Monday, and I can't even begin to tell you how much fun it was to play with today!

http://paisleepress.blogspot.com/

New pages

2009-07-17T14:34:00.000-07:00

Here are some recent pages. :) Check out my My Scrapbook Art gallery for credits. The July Faves page is a lift. :)

New recipes this week

2009-07-15T12:15:00.000-07:00

I love to cook. I love trying out new recipes. I'm pretty lucky because Eric is a great taste-tester, and is relatively open to new stuff. So far I've only made like 2 recipes that failed.

I adore www.allrecipes.com. I have found some killer recipes there. This week I'm trying a new enchilada recipe. I have a recipe for chicken enchilada casserole, using creamy sauce. I prefer red sauce, and this new recipe - Layered Chicken and Black Bean Enchilada Casserole - uses it. We are trying that one out tomorrow night.

Tonight I'm making kabobs. I haven't made them in forever. I'm using chicken, whole mushrooms, and cherry tomatoes. Yuh-to-the-UM. Now ... what to marinate the chicken in? My favorite marinade is Yoshida sauce, but, we're out, and it is only sold at Sam's Club and Costco. So, I need to find a new one. Maybe just olive oil and salt and pepper on the chicken tonight.

Also, I made stromboli last night. We love stromboli at our house. Last night I made it as usual: Frozen bread dough (thawed, of course!), a little pizza sauce, pepperoni, black olives, shredded mozzarella. Then melted butter and garlic salt on top. But, I added fresh mozzarella as well. Holy crap. SO good, so worth it!! I am in love with that stuff. I'm making salad tonight and gonna add fresh mozzarella and tomato slices. Yum!

Still unhappy

2009-07-14T11:36:00.001-07:00

Why, why can't I make a decent blog header? Why does it look blurry and distorted and pixelated and silly?

Why?

Bleh.

2009-07-14T09:45:00.000-07:00

So, seriously. What is wrong with people sometimes? Why would you take your kid to the pool and let him wreck havoc on other people and their children, while you sit on the bench in your nice little suit and watch? Why would you sit by and not say a word while he splashes little kids, takes their toys, and pushes little girls until they go under? Ugh.

We took the kids to a public pool yesterday. We rarely do this, mostly because we have our own pool, and it is kind of a hassle to drive 1/2 hour to another pool. But, Eric wanted a change of scenery, so we did it yesterday.

This kid was obnoxious. His mom pissed me off. Eric ended up yelling at the kid after the 3rd time he pushed Ella and made her go under. This kid took our kids' toys, splashed us, threw our own beachball at me several times (smacking me in the face each time) and then started hanging on Eric's legs. Ridiculous. Finally his mom made him apologize to us. But, it was too late. We left early, all because of one kid and his pile mother.

Randoms

2009-07-10T13:03:00.000-07:00

I am going to hack out a Favorites For Now layout sometime tonight, so I want to keep a quick list of stuff. ;)

Bon Iver
Avocados
Hydrangeas
Brownies
Anything gray
True Blood
Orange toenails
Pepsi on ice
Boden's monkey impression
Ella's stories
Jacob's cow impression
Birthday cake