Thanks Aunt Tiff and Uncle Tom!

Today we went to Aunt Tiffany and Uncle Tom's house for a big BBQ to celebrate Aunt Tiff's birthday and the Labor Day Weekend. I didn't get a chance to take any pictures because Brian and I were on Twin-Toddler-Patrol every minute but Aunt Tiff and Uncle Tom got the boys these new toys....a giant ball for Zack and a new soft bat for Jake.

Thanks for the BBQ guys and the toys!

The boys love them!

Oh my.....

"WEEEEEE!"

"Uh oh.....I think I gave myself a hernia"

The Collector!

Right now Zack's main love in life is balls...Balls...BALLS...but we've noticed that he likes to "gather" collections of things and hoard them to himself....sometimes he even hides his collections....I assume from Jake. He gathers up all the balls, blocks, cars, cups, pacifiers, coasters, or shape sorters that we have and either carries them around in his arms or his man-bag or he hides them under a corner of the couch, behind the curtains, under the couch pillows, inside his rocket seat or inside the Ugly Spider-man couch. We joke that he might have OCD but hopefully not....hopefully he just likes to keep his treasures to himself and it's a faze of not liking to share and he'll get over that soon.

"Don't even think about taking these cars from me Mommy."

"Hey Zack! Lookie at what Daddy has!!"

"Wow! A collection of redneck monster trucks....perfectly lined up! EXCELLENT!!"
"Let me take these off your hands Daddy."
"One at a time....slow and steady."
"OK...I'll just hide these away for safe keeping....but where?"
"DAG!!! Dropped them....lets start over."

"Gotcha!"

"Now over to the couch where you'll be safe."

"I love you collection of redneck monster trucks. I'll take good care of you.""Too hard to try to carry you guys.....into the man-bag you go! Much easier!"

~

And here is further evidence of Zack's collecting and hiding hobby.

:)

Good Eats!

We decided to try the boys with bowls and spoons for the first time on their own

and what better food to try bowls and spoons for the first time??.....None other than re-fried beans and Spanish rice mixed into a concrete paste of course!

We paid for the rice and beans big time though.....

"Andale Mommy! I need a diaper change! Arriba, Arriba!!

~

The next night it was American food on the menu.....steak, mashed potatoes, and green beans.

"I've still got the grippers from the beans and my steak is too rare.....

I'm gonna skip dinner tonight."

Happy Birthday Aunt Tiff!!

Lots of Love, Hugs, and Sloppy Kisses!

Zack & Jake!

(OH, and from Brian and Jenny too....minus the sloppy kisses though.)

Meeting Jake
Feeding Zack
Comforting Zack
Chillin with Jake
Hogtying JakeCuddling with Jake

Flashback Friday....One Year Ago This Week! :)

Introducing Flashback Friday Jake!
Now introducing Flashback Friday Zack!....displaying signs of being hungry.
Tipping over and loving every minute of it!
Zack looks like a vampire (with no fangs) to me in this picture....

and Jake looks like his latest victim.

Looking sweet again.....thanks to the calming effect of the feast.

She One-Up'd Me!

My sister and I have always been best friends. Well....maybe not when we were very little because then we fought like cats and dogs.... we were the poster children for sibling rivalry! When we were in high school we became very close and when my parents moved away after we both graduated we shared an apartment and were roommates until my sister got married in 1996.

Fast foward 10 years...

I found out I was pregnant with my boys in June of 2006. On 12/23/06 I developed severe swelling in my left leg and went to the hospital where they found that I had a DVT or blood clot in my leg. I spent the 23rd, Christmas Eve, and most of Christmas Day in the hospital on blood thinners to avoid the clot breaking loose which could have resulted in a Pulmonary Embolism. I was on twice daily injecitons of blood thinners from Christmas until the boys were born on 1/23/07 and then continued the injections for 6 months after delivery which is standard protocol when a person develops a clot. Along the way I was diagnosed with several blood disorders that predispose me to developing clots. Swell. So no more BC pill for me, I have to be careful on long plane or car rides, and if I become pregnant again, I'll have to be on blood thinners to prevent clots....possibly for the rest of my life.

Now back to my sister one-uping me!....Again with the sibling rivalry!

When I delivered the boys via c-section, being on blood thinners posed a problem that came to fruition a few days after the boys were born. After my c-section I experienced internal bleeding and lost more than half my blood volume into my abdomen. (Class IV Hemorrhage involves loss of >40% of circulating blood volume. The limit of the body's compensation is reached and aggressive resuscitation is required to prevent death.) I was in terrible pain and my internal organs were irritated from the blood and had started to shut down. I had surgery again to remove all the blood, repair the leaks, and had a blood transfusion. ALLLL BETTER! PHEW!!

When I found out about my blood disorders, I told my sister to get tested for the same things since she was taking BC pills which could be bad. She was tested and did not have the same disorders that I did. Phew!! When my sister became pregnant, I believe she discussed my situation with her doctor and might have been tested again, but no blood disorder so no worries. My sister had her baby girl this past Saturday via c-section. My Mom flew up on Monday morning to spend 10 days with my sister and my new niece. On Monday night my sister was released from the hospital and went home to start her happy new life. Tuesday she was experiencing some swelling in her legs but Wednesday it got worse and she was having chest pain and difficulty breathing. My Mom knew the signs of blood clots since she'd seen them before in me and told my sister to call her doctor. She did and was advised to go to the ER. After lots of tests she was finally diagnosed with TWO CLOTS that had already traveled to her lungs....a Pulmonary Embolism. She spent last night in the hospital, and probably a few more nights to get therapeutic, and she will have to be on blood thinners like I was for at least 6 months. I talked to her last night on the phone and she sounded really good.

I told her, "So you're trying to one-up me with two clots to my one huh?"

She laughed and said, "Yep, I guess so!"

I love, love, love my sister and wish her a speedy recovery and hope that she gets home soon so that she can start her happy new life.....AGAIN!!

I'd Like To Thank My Twins For All My Material.....

I received this blog award from my sister a few months ago but I guess life got busy and I forgot about it. (Sorry Brun!!) Well, I got another one from my BBBFF Webbmania this week so I figured I better accept it with much thanks before I forget again!

Thanks to both of you for the award!!

I met Webbmania (Aka: Peggy) through the blog world. I started writing my blog in October of 2007 and Peggy (another twin mommy) was the first "stranger" to comment on my blog shortly after I began. We've become fast friends and I look forward to checking her blog daily for updates about her boy/girl twins Brandon and Faith. I hope we have the chance to meet in person someday. For a good time, check out her blog!!

OK, here's the deal......there is NO PRESSURE from me to participate. I'll nominate my blog buddies to let them know they're special to me and to thank them for reading my blog!! :)

Here are the rules just in case you want to nominate others too:

1. The winner can put the logo on his/her blog.
2. Link the person you received your award from.
3. Nominate at least 7 other blogs.
4. Put links of those blogs on yours.
5. Leave a message on the blogs of the people you’ve nominated.

Here are my nominees: Joanna, Jill, Shelley, Jennifer, Ashley, Kristen, Krista, Lisa, Brooke, and Katie! I love your blogs girls and of course thanks again to my sister Brenda, and Peggy for the award!

Wordless Wednesday!

You Might Be A Redneck If......

You watch TV with a cooler at your side....
Or on your lap....
You think an egg carton is a cool place to store your hot wheels cars....
(Zack TOTALLY thinks this is a cool place to store his cars....HeeeHawww!)

You try to make snow angels on the carpet and hardwood floor...

You have a Scooby-Doo lawn chair that your Mom got at a garage sale in the house.

Shiner Update

Jake's shiner is still hanging on strong. I'm hoping it will be gone by this weekend....

because I'm tired of looking at it and it makes me sad.

:(

It looks like I have him in a headlock with my forearm and a book just to get the picture.....

because I did......

..........NOOOOO, just kidding.

He was trying to climb onto my lap so I could read to him at the same time I was trying to take the picture.

Poor Jakester.

Zack Is Cute....That's All....

Just video of Zack being cute....I love it when my guys smile. :)

Did You Take Out The Deviled Eggs Or What?

Let me preface this post by saying two things......

1.) I married it....

2.) I made 24 deviled egg halves for a BBQ we went to yesterday....and came home with said deviled eggs because the hostess also made a batch.

Any who.....

The boys each had 2 deviled egg halves with dinner last night and I cut each half into 4 chunks. Jake swallowed his chunks WHOLE. I mean, who needs to chew with the 4 first year molars they have painfully earned?? Not Jake I guess.

Brian and I each had a few eggs but needless to say we were still left with close to a million.

So today is Sunday....I tried chopping some of the deviled eggs up and making egg salad sandwiches for the boys for lunch but they were not having it so down the disposal they went.....no more eggs.

Fast forward to approximately 6:30 pm.....Dinner is over, Brian is sitting on the couch and Zack is playing on the floor in front of him.

Brian: "Did you take out the deviled eggs or what?" (Sorry Ladies, he's taken)

Jenny: "Huh? No....they're all gone."

Brian: "It smells like deviled eggs."

Jenny: "Well, could one of your spawn be a stink butt??"

Brian lifts Zack and sniffs his butt....and yes, Zack is a stink butt....and I got to change him.

Alllll mine! Sweet!!

But the best part of the revolting job was he (Zack, not Brian) said "Ice cream" for the first time! More like, "IIII Ceeeeaaammm" but still. Not sure where that came from....other than the Baskin-Robbins Reese's Peanut Butter Cup Shake I had at the mall today.....but maybe if I give him Ice cream for lunch tomorrow he wont be such a stink butt after dinner.

I'm on it!

Name That Movie Quote!

"Fresh breath is a priority in my life."
Name the actor and/or the movie.....good luck!

Lady Bug Is Here!

My sister had her baby girl early this morning via C-Section!

YIPPEE!!

She was born at 1:47 am, has blond hair, weighs 7 lbs 11 oz, and is 19 inches long!

Brian, the boys, and I are flying to meet Lady Bug in September for my birthday. I can't wait! What a great birthday gift that will be!!

I'm an Auntie again! I'm an Auntie again! :)

Happy Birthday Lady Bug!!

(Click here for a link to my sisters blog and the birth story.)

Happy 19 Month Birthday Babies!

Only 5 months left to plan their next birthday party!

Yikes!

She's In Labor!!

My sister is in labor as I type this! YIPPEE!!!

I just spoke with her and she's feeling much better after getting her epidural! Phew! Her water broke at home this afternoon and she headed right to the hospital because her contractions were close together. I wasn't able to talk to her for very long because the nurses came in but I'll write more when I know more! Looks like Lady Bug will most likely be born tomorrow...on her due date.... and that she will share the 23rd with Zack and Jake as their birthday! :)

It's No Secret....

...that Zack likes high heels... ....but now he walks better in them than I do!!
I'm going to have to put a lock on my closet.