A busy month

More and more these days it seems our weekends are eaten up by a trip here, a trip there, and all sorts of activities that keep us from being able to just "BE". Here's a short synopsis of our month.

The first weekend in April Sr & Jr went on a father/son trip to New Orleans. We rented them a vehicle and they took the 10 hour drive down on Thursday. They stayed right in the French Quarter and ate their way through New Orleans. We're raising such a foodie!!! They ate Gumbo, and Etouffee and just generally had a good time. Sunday they made the long trip home. They really had a great time.

Then back into the weekly routine....

The second weekend in April was Easter weekend. I drove Jr to spend the 3 day weekend with his mother in Greensboro. Luckily, my parents are only 1 1/2 hours from there, so I was able to go spend the weekend with them. On Easter, I left for Greensboro. Then my Land Rover pooped out on me. So what started out as a 6 hour trip turned into about 14 hours. Jr & I sat in the Rover for about 2 hours waiting for my Dad & my uncle to come rescue us. We kept ourselves occupied by bouncing babies on our laps and laughing at those goofy kids. Once we got back on the road, it was a constant worry about when it would overheat again. We're pretty sure it is the Thermostat. We got home at about 2 am and Sr re-heated Easter dinner for us (Lamb & Potato soup - DELISH). Overall, I enjoyed spending time with Jr. No video games, no chores, just us chatting it up about everything under the sun.

The third weekend in April has just passed and we were actually able to spend it at home. Sr had to work, though; catching up on all the work he's got pouring in. We went out for Sushi on Friday night. The guys went to the movies Saturday night and Sunday evening I spent on the couch with my honey watching a movie. Once again, back to the weekly routine.

This week is going to be the busiest of the month.

On Wednesday I leave, babies in tow, to head to Virginia for yet another court proceeding. I'll drive to my parents home and spend the night. Then back on the road for the remainder of the trip on Thursday. Court is at 3:00 pm on Friday. Depending on the outcome will depend on when I head back. If the babies stay in Virginia, then I'll drive all the way back on Saturday. If they stay with us then I'll drive to my parents on Saturday morning, then the rest of the trip on Sunday.

Its been a very stressful time for us, as I'm sure you can imagine. Not knowing whether the babies are staying here or not has been hard on all of us. You try not to get too emotionally attached but then they smile at you and the walls you tried to build around your heart just melt away. Its been a great joy to have them in our home for whatever time they stay here. They keep me on my toes and they keep us looking forward. Sr's gotten as attached as I have, I think... even though he won't admit it. Its hard not to. Jr seems to be showing signs of attachment as well. He's started picking them up and walking around with them. He's a good role model. I'm very proud of the young man he's becoming.

Well, so there's the synopsis of our month. Hoping next month is a lot less busy but just as full of love! - KEEP ON MOVING!

Playing dress up

Ok, so I'm going to admit something.... part of the joys of having the babies here is dressing them up in all the cute outfits that are out there. Quite frankly there is much more out there to dress a little girl in than there is for a little boy. Thanks to my mother & father, I've gotten a few new outfits for the babies lately. This one was especially cute on Zack. I had to share!!!

He's such a goofy boy when he smiles....

One long night!!!

Yesterday was Sr's Birthday. I spent the majority of the day running around trying to make things just right for his day, even though he said he'd prefer that I didn't. By the end of the day, I'd managed to get birthday shopping done, leave cards on his desk at work, make a New York Cheesecake (from scratch), get dinner prepared, take care of babies (with the help of MIL, Thank God), get last minute report covers for Jr, and even talked to Mom & Dad multiple times throughout the day.

Wow, what a day!

It never ends, though!

So after the babies are down for the night, I snuggle in next to Sr and begin to watch a movie. I don't quite make it through the movie (neither did Sr). Next thing I know, it's 1 am and there's a screaming baby in the crib. After calming her and getting her back to sleep, I snuggle back in. Now, keep in mind, she's not sleeping through the night yet, so I'm completely accustomed to being woken up at least twice a night. Tonight, however, is a completely different story. From 1:30 am til 5:45 am she woke at least once an hour. It would take me a little while to get her calmed then back to sleep. I calculate that I was able to sleep about 20 minutes an hour. All in all I think I've gotten about 2 hours of sleep. Poor baby had nasty gas. *note to self--no more bananas and pudding baby food*

Now she's sleeping peacefully in her swing and I'm wishing I could snuggle in there too for a nap. Alas, the day must go on. Maybe I'll sneak a nap while the two of them are napping this afternoon. Nope, too much to do!

• Ironing


• Dinner Preparation


• Laundry


• General House Cleaning


• Lunch for Sr

I think I've got enough to fill nap time with being productive. Hopefully she'll rest a bit better tonight and I can too.

Keep on moving!!!

When a 6 hour trip turns into a 14 hour trip

Yesterday I was expecting to spend about 6 hours on the road. Well, it turned into 14 hours, roughly. The trip from Mom & Dad's house to Greensboro was supremely uneventful. Then from Greensboro to home - my Rover decided to poop out on me - REPEATEDLY! My Dad & my uncle Tim came to my rescue and followed me home to make sure we made it back okay. Lets just say that the babies were not happy - but we made it without trauma!

Tomorrow is my honey's b-day. I'm trying to figure out what to make him for dinner but not getting help from him on his wishes. The only request I've gotten is that I don't try something new. So far I've decided on a Cheesecake. I'll have to update with the full menu another time.

Keeping this post short and sweet, so I hope to update again later.

Long week

This week has at times flown by and at others crept slowly. For those of you interested, I tried my hand at bread again. It wasn't a flaming success. Matter of fact, I'm pretty sure you could call it a failure. I'm really not sure what it is that I'm doing wrong. But, I'm not giving up. I'm sure I'll give it another go this coming week, at some point. Besides, at this rate, all the birds in the neighborhood know exactly where to go for food, as I'm making sure they get fed.

As for my list of to do's - yeah, still working on a few of those. The babies were EXTREMELY fussy this week; teeth coming in. They're not sleeping like they usually do and they are really sensitive. Someone sneezes and suddenly both babies are jumping and crying. Its strange. Any advice on the matter would be greatly appreciated.

Jr went back to school after spring break. I'm hoping that he's got a better handle on things this nine weeks. Last nine weeks I believe he was too busy concentrating on making sure he had friends and not realizing how much that was taking away from his school work. I'm trying to make sure I help stay on top of what he's got going on and so far, have been met with less attitude than I had expected. Until he proves himself, he's lost computer privileges on school nights. He's not been happy about that, but I guess its our responsibility to teach him that action creates consequence; no matter how difficult that may seem at times.

Sr, myself and apparently the dog were plagued with some sort of stomach bug too. Thankfully it only seemed to last about a day or so. But getting back into the swing of things after that is always difficult.

Well, I think I'm going to run and grab my glass of wine and try to convince Sr to watch a movie with me. When you can't get out for a movie, bring one in.... and I can't have a glass of red in a movie theater.

Take care all!

Taking her lead...

So my friend Shari came and visited a bit last week, as I mentioned in my previous blog. I had such a blast with her and her girls. Shari is my hero! Now that I'm working on being a domestic goddess like her, I'm trying to take it one step at a time. First step was to try to make bread from scratch using her Family Bread recipe.



I tried my hand at it yesterday for the first time. Let's just say that the first batch turned into bird food. I did something wrong and the bread is super dense. I'm not one to give up, so I'm going to try it again today. Stay tuned for the review.



My son made dinner last night. It was very good, I thought. Spaghetti isn't terribly difficult, but its a start for a 14 year old. He's always willing to help in the kitchen. When I asked him if he'd like to do it, he jumped at the chance. Sr came in about halfway through and helped him a bit while I fed the babies. I'm always thankful for a bit of peace.



This morning I was up and back to my daily activities much earlier than I would have liked. Lissa's gotten her clock messed up, I think. 4:30 Monday morning, 5:00 Tuesday morning, and 4:00 this morning. Hopefully she'll take a long nap so I can catch a wink or two as well. Who am I kidding?? I use that time to straighten the living room. Its about the only time that the room isn't cluttered with baby toys these days.



Today I'm hoping to accomplish several tasks.

• Washing the bedding


• Cleaning the master bath


• Balancing the check book


• Making a batch of Family Bread


• If the weather clears a bit, take a walk with the babies

Again, keep an eye out for how much I actually accomplish. My thinking is that with my readers as my conscious, I'll have to stay on top of it.

Take care!

Nothing is constant but change

Since my last blog my life has changed TREMENDOUSLY!

1. We're now living in a home about half the size in another state. Back in September we started considering a move to Tennessee. After much consideration, we took a great opportunity and moved our family west. So far so good. I love it here. The people are nicer, there is less traffic, the cost of living is significantly lower, and its just a better environment for our family all the way around. I like having the smaller home, too. Much easier to manage. Although, you'll see in a minute why.


2. We currently have custody of a set of beautiful twin babies; Lissa and Zack. They are almost 7 months old now and have been with us since December. Any free time I thought I might have once we moved here is gone in the cool winter breezes. Long story short, their parents didn't have the resources to take care of them. At this point, we've got another court date set for April 24th. We should have more concrete details at that time.


3. My son is doing amazingly well here. He's struggled a little bit with school, but I think that's just because he was concentrating so hard on not being the new kid and getting a gaggle of friends. He misses his friends back in VA, but other than that seems pretty content (as much as a 14 year old can be).

My friend Shari and her beautiful 3 girls came and spent a few days with us. I hadn't seen them since the youngest was a baby. Now she's trying her best to run the roost. They were such a blast to have here. "E" has grown into a very beautiful, helpful young woman. I couldn't get over how tall she'd gotten. "M" is a sight! Definitely the girliest of the girls. So I totally relate to that. I think I might have a tea party friend for life. "J" is a pistol, aptly dubbed "the blonde terrorist". But she's got such a sweet heart! Like a cat; when she wants attention, you must dole it out now.

I'm missing some friends from home terribly; Tami, especially. The funny thing is that when I lived in VA we'd go a year without seeing one another and that was ok, because we knew we could. Now that I'm in TN, I feel like I need to see her more. Thankfully, with the court dates and visitation we've been doing with the babies, I've been able to see her a couple more times. I'd like to go back and spend more time than a couple of hours with her though. Hopefully when she takes her vacation.

Well, signing off for now. I hope to find some time to blog again soon. Enjoy!