The perfect shoes...

Don't all well-dressed little girls need appropriate shoes for hunting easter eggs??
Happy Easter!

Such dedication....

It's currently 10:30pm and Matt is practicing violin in the garage amidst our toys and construction equipment (we're re-doing the dining room). You just had to see the picture...

Texas Recap

After making it home safely from Land of the Stomach Plague, I was able to recover and contemplate on the success of our trip. Crazy, I know, especially after reading the post below. It is amazing how things never go according to our plan but yet, they are just what we need.

Lots of time was spent "just hanging out" with a sickly Aberdoodle on my hip and watching G play with his cousins. More time was spent relaxing on my inlaw's backporch in the beautiful Hill Country. It was "forced" downtime which was a good thing. I tend to overplan, trying to cram too much into too little time, running to see this person or eat there. I end up back home after the trip more exhausted than when I began, though I love seeing old friends and old stompin' ground.

This time I came home with a full soul for different reasons...watching those I love step up to the plate with a grace-filled spirit...get lost searching for snakes, turtles, fish, and a bunny rabbit in the middle of H-town with my precious nephew, nieces, and sister at the Bird Sanctuary...lovin' on the newly engaged Ames and Drew...watching G learn how to blow bubbles with Grammy...seeing A beam with pride as she begged for "more" water to be added to her watering can to water the plants with Grandpa...watching G blow kisses to his Oma who was thrilled to see her great-grandtwins...watching G open-mouth kiss the Morris' dog Jack (yuck, G came up with a mouth full of brown fur!)...watching G&A master going up and down the single stair off the backporch...sliding and climbing at the park...first trainride at San Antonio Zoo and second trainride at Landa Park in New Braunfels...chasing A all over the McKenna Children's Museum in New Braunfels...staring at the zillion stars in the Hill Country.

I thank God for the blessings found amidst the chaos...

Georgie meets Mr. Shell

So, we're in Tejas for Spring Break. Big plans....beautiful warm sunshine, playing with cousins, Houston Rodeo, visiting fam and pals, bluebonnets...you get the pic. As all good plans unfold, revisit our new plan. Double ear infection, spewing antibiotics, massive projectile vomit resulting from stomach plague, cold temps and rain, more vomit, no Rodeo, explosive diarrhea x 2. Not exactly the relaxing fun-filled vacation we hoped for. After 3 days of contaminating my sister's household with bugs and fussy little ones, we sent Daddy packing home on the big "air-pee" (A's rendition of airplane) while G&A and I ventured out to the Hill Country to spread more germs at the in laws.

This is where the story gets funny. Yes, it's another poop story so keep reading if your stomach is strong.

This was my virgin voyage into the wild-blue-yonder with my little beings, so I was a bit anxious. The vomiting ceased but I felt confident to hit the road. We made one last attempt to do the Rodeo that morning, and much to my sweet nephew and neices' distaste, had to abort the plan due to G&A's continued ill health. So we decided to infect the people at the mall instead.

After three completely gross diapers and poop down my skirt at the mall (thought we were past those days of having to pack extra outfits for me), we loaded up and off we went. Trip went well until I "heard" G's production. Pulled over at the beloved Shell gas station, gassed up the wag, and went to unload him from his carseat. Upon opening the door, he was sitting in a POOL OF POOP!!! Literally, I had to SCOOP it out with the paper towels I purchased inside. The logistics of the rest of the story were baffling and probably only interesting to other moms or my mother, but make a hilarious vision.

Got A out first, at which point she began screaming and velcroing herself to my leg, attracting lots of attention....she did not cease crying until much later in the saga, so as you picture this, remember her wailing in the background and my peg-leg walk. They both waddled into the store with me, poop dripping down G's legs. Found the diaper change area...in the foyer next to the Subway dining area. Apologies to the sweet family eating their cold cut combos. G had poop from the tips of his sweet brown hair..on his paci...down to his newly brown-shaded socks. My only choice was to strip him down, which he thought was HILARIOUS!!! Imagine my precious boy laughing hysterically and galloping away from me while buck-naked in front of the dining area!! Ended up having to take him into the bathroom, sit him in the sink and start scrubbing. Yes folks, another first for the baby book...George's first Shell station bath!

Got him dried, dressed, and donned with new couture. Then it was my delicate little princess's turn to clean her also ill-soiled bottom, which was a breeze compared to the Streaker. Made it back to the car where I did my best to rid our ride of the evidence. G sat on plastic bags for the rest of the hour-long smelly ride to Grammy and Grandpa's and we kept the windows down....

I must brag on myself for a moment. Never lost composure other than laughing and apologizing to the dining patrons. Tested my problem solving skills in assessing where to begin...built new brain synapses to shield from dementia, woo hoo!!! And G&A did not have to walk out to the car barefooted in only their diapers! Took two days for the Wag to air out and an engineering degree to wash the carseat cover. The babies are much better now after 6 days of nastiness. At least we will have two days of vacation to enjoy!!

BTW, BIG KUDOS to Aunt Laura who earned her Brown Badge of Heroic Victory over the Northern and Southerly Baby Twin Spew. Couldn't have done it without you...

Happy Half Birthdays!!

My sweet angels are eighteen months old today!
I cannot believe they are 1 1/2...it sounds so big.
They enjoyed the day by going to "chuch" (church) for Children's Day Out and played this afternoon in the "aut-siiide" (outside) on the "siiiiide" (slide).
Happy day, George and Abigail!

p.s. happy 17 months to E&Q!!

Saturdays at home...

George is such a big boy...

Abigail's all wrapped up in Oma's quilt.

















We are so blessed to have a warm roof over our head on this blustery Saturday. With windchills in the teens, I am thankful to be inside my cozy home. As of current, my husband and GSP are outside on their nightly run, braving the brisk freeze.

We have recovered from the land of respiratory funk, passed through A's sleepless and deafening nights, and have settled if only for the past few days into calm. G's ears are great---after a visit to the otolaryngologist, his tubes look great and are working well! Praise for that! Matt's Granny has been gravely ill but has yet pulled through again to remain with us here. Not sure what she and God talked about, but she is apparently not ready to go. We hope to see her later in March during Spring Break, and hopefully her great-grandtwins can give her some much needed lovin'.

We have made a few changes in our lives lately that impact us greatly. On top of living through RSV, we had more biggies. First on my mind, the twins ceased nursing. G weaned himself (which was surprising) and A followed my lead. They transitioned well to full-time soymilk and I have my body back to myself!! I will miss nursing (we made it to 17 mo, over my original goal of 12 mo), but it was time for us to move on. They are independent little toddlers now, growing like crazy. In fact G weighed in a 26.2 lbs and A weighed in at 22.4 lbs; he is at least 3 inches taller (what we could tell through the wiggling) than she! We packed up the last of her 9 mo. clothes and she wears 12 mo. clothes though the legs are a bit long. She has a long waist and short legs like her mama! G wears 12-18 mo. clothes consistently and physically looks just like his daddy.

Second major change is we sold my Camry, which was a tearful day for me! Why do we get so attached to material things? Ridiculous!! We replaced it with an '05 Volvo wagon which will be GREAT for roadtrips. Matt laughed at my comment the next morning..."Guess I really am a mom now." Ha! I love my new grocery-getter!

Third major change is canceling cable. Our bill went up to $90 per month...do you know how much I could buy with $90 extra every month?? Matt hooked up the antenna on the house and we haven't looked back. Bummer is we had to get rid of our faves like DVR, Food Network, PBS Kids, and Noggin. Good news is our budget is better for it and we can catch shows from the internet on our TV using our new HDMI cable attached to the computer, which is really cool! The twins love watching Sesame Street on the big TV.

We are happy to be the land of calm for the next few weeks prior to the South/Central Texas Tour. We pray comfort for Granny/Oma and thanks for the blessings God has bestowed upon us.


a few sweet pics Nana took while they were here...
this was after G&A had to have an impromptu bath in the sink due to more "baby ruth" appearances

Coming Out From Under the Rock...

We are still alive, despite lack of posts. What a couple of weeks we have had! Started out with the ice storm two weeks ago, which shut Norman down (and schools were closed for nearly the whole week). Then G&A got sick the next week with respiratory stuff...croup, bronchitis, and sinus infections. They were home from school as they coughed, and coughed, and coughed...which sent us back to the doc with another diagnosis of suspected RSV (it was too late in the virus process to test and the treatment was the same as what we were doing anyway). So the twins were at home all week this week again (third week in a row) and we are up to our necks in breathing treatments, antibiotics, etc!! According to our pedi, they have a month of compromised immune systems and respiratory stuff...argh. On top of the respiratory issues, G's tube in his left ear fell out and he has another infection. We are trying an iodine ear drop and will return to the otolaryngologist at Children's in 10 days. Prayers for healing for G's ears again!!

Nana and Pop (C's parents) came to our rescue and have been here for 10 days now so I wouldn't get fired from my job! They have been awesome with G&A and have handled the crazy duo very well!! From staying inbound for many days in a row, cabin fever finally set in, and on good breathing days, they enjoyed playing in the backyard and going to the indoor playscapes at local malls (wiping down head-to-toe afterwards of course!). G&A love having their grandparents wrapped around their fingers--Pop even scrubbed a poopy cloth diaper with his hands! That's true love! G&A have also loved having Tori here...she doesn't run away when they pet her as our three animals do.

We had to cancel our trip to Austin this weekend for Matt to run the Austin 1/2 Marathon and to see family and friends. With G&A's health, we felt it was better to stay home as to not infect others or risk more complications. Matt was disappointed until yesterday when he and Dad decided to take advantage of the rains in Arkansas and go kayaking! Mom and I happily stayed home with the twins so they could spend time on the river. (I was thrilled that I had help while he went paddling!)

Grammy and Grandpa are coming up tomorrow to keep G&A this week so we won't have to send them back to school until their immune systems are stronger. G&A will have another week of grandparent lovin' (I feel sorry for their school teachers once we go back!). Hopefully G&A will continue to perk up and will be able to have fun playing lots while their bodies heal on the inside!!

Being a working mom has been very challenging through this...the mommy guilt of "I need to be at home with my sick babies" and "I don't want to intentionally expose them to any other illnesses while they are already compromised" battling the "I can't keep them at home forever" ideologies. I am EXTREMELY THANKFUL to Mom, Dad, Bill, and Debbie for supporting us through this rough patch. My guilt would be even worse if I HAD to send them back to CDO when they weren't completely well. It has been wonderful having help around the house!!

G&A are seventeen months now and changing everyday to our amazement! I will update on their development in another post.
G loves to sweep outside!!

Playing with Pop on the swingset; A climbed the slide ladder all by herself!


HOP ON POP!
G&A love to read with Nana!