I'm back to school!

Well, cake decorating school that is!  Ha!  My Grandparents signed me up for a cake decorating class, and I'm so excited!  I had my first class last week and learned the basic information.  No decorating at that class, just learning how to do things, the recipe, what we will need, etc....  However, last night was the first class that we actually decorated our cakes!  I had issues with my frosting being too thick when I initially frosted the cake, so I have learned to thin it out.  But the consistency was perfect for frosting.  So we actually practiced, and practiced, and practiced on our practice boards.  Then, we were told, "Ok. Now decorate your cake!"  So I did!  Here is my wonderful work of art! Ha!  I will be practicing like crazy, so I should have many cakes to pass around and you just may get one dropped off at your place of employment or your home!  We shall see!  I brought this one to work with me today and it was devoured in under 15 minutes!  Everyone said it was very good and said I did a great job!  And nobody has become sick yet, so that is a bonus!  Ha!  It was a Cherry Chip cake mix with vanilla pudding in the center, and basic cake frosting! 

And today is Wednesday and I haven't seen my kids since Sunday night!  I can't believe it!  And I am missing them very much right now!  With my in-laws out of town, my parents have been watching the kids every day while Bry and I are at work.  Well, we dropped them off on Sunday night to stay the night (so we don't have to drop them off at 5:30am).  On Monday, my parents said they would keep them again for the night, and Bryan and I ran errands after work, and then hurried home to get the lights up on the house before it got dark out.  Then yesterday, I had my cake class, and my folks said they would keep them overnight again.  Now I assumed I'd be picking up the kids tonight, but they want to keep them overnight again tonight!  So that way they sleep in the next morning.  But since I miss them so much, Bryan and I are going over there for dinner and we'll spend some time with them before we go home!  How weird to not have them at all this week, and even weirder that I haven't seen them since Sunday!  As a bonus, my parents have been WONDERUL about consistently working on the boys potty training!  So maybe this means that they will be potty trained before we bring them home!  (I could only wish!)

Have a good day everyone!  Stay warm out there!  It was 14 degrees outside this morning!  Brrrrrrr!!!!!

My Angel Cake!

 

Side view of my cake! (not perfectly even)

Little visitors!

I know it may be kind of hard to see, but check out a pic of our little visitor we found in our yard this morning!  While Bryan and I were getting ready for work, he went to open the front curtains, and hollered for me to come look at something!  We have decorative deer in the front yard for Christmas, and they had a little friend visiting them!  A very large, white goose!  She was checking them out and was pretty close to them!  We got some pictures at home on the camera, but this was my cell phone pic as we were leaving, and we aimed the head lights at her.  She just looked at us, and went back to checking out the deer!

This comes right after another little visitor we encountered last night, while Bryan was hanging up Christmas lights outside!  He heard rustling in the brush at the abandoned house next door.  He took his flashlight to check it out.  He hollered for me to come look, and it was a HUGE skunk bedding down in the brush and leaves!  Now, if you are from this area and grew up around here, many of you know that the area we live in is called Skunk Hollow.  Well, that would be exactly why!  I have only seen one once, since moving here, but it was at a distance.  This sucker was about 50 feet away.  Hopefully he stays that far away! 

And here are a few pics that my folks sent me of the boys at their house! Enjoy and have a good day!

Daniel popping his head out of the awesome fort!!!

 

Snack time in the Awesome fort with flashlights and lanterns!

 

Well, who needs a bed when you got comfy stairs to sleep on!

 Grammy was all tuckered out, so she took a nap on the couch with her

two favorite Grandsons!

Multiples & More - Question of the week! Holiday Traditions!

Well, our family tradition started when I was a little girl by my parents! Every Christmas Eve, my sister and I were given a new pair of pajamas that we would wear to bed and wake up on Christmas morning with! And also a new ornament for the Christmas tree! It would have our name on it and the year it was given to us! And it usually tied into something we were into at that time of year.  Like the year we went to Disneyland, we got Disney ornaments.  And the year I started playing the Clarinet in band, I received a Clarinet ornament!  When my sister and I grew up and moved out, my Mom gave us our box of ornaments we received over the years! Then we had them for our tree as adults!  I still have my ornaments and use them on my tree every year!  I love the memories that come back as I hang my old ornaments!

And we have continued the tradition with my boys! Every year, they get a new pair of pajamas and an ornament!  I hope to continue the tradition as they grow up, and then give them their ornaments when they are grown and move out on their own! 

Merry Christmas everyone!
Jen

Fun at Disney On Ice!

We had a fun family outing on Sunday at the Rose Garden seeing Disney On Ice!  So this was the first time that we have ever taken the boys to something like this! A big huge event and it was a last minute offer to us! A friend of a friend wasn't going to be able to go, so we got her discounted tickets! Only $8.00 per ticket and we were only 12 rows up from the ice! The boys were watching in amazement at all of the things going on around them and were so cute! I usually talk about things we are going to do a few days in advance so that I'm not springing something on them.  We talked about getting to see "Lion King" since that was one of the mini shows of characters that were coming out that they were familiar with.  That is all Cameron kept talking about! "We going to see Simba"!  Yep! We were going to see Simba and all of his Lion King friends, as well as characters from Little Mermaid, Cars, Mickey, Minnie, Donald and Goofy! And they were doing a new presentation of fairy characters from a new movie called Pixie Hollow!

So out comes Mickey, Minnie and the other characters and the boys were doing fine! Daniel was on Daddy's lap, and Cameron was sitting like such a big boy on the edge of his seat!  We found that if they sat back in their seats, the seat would start to fold up on them, or they would come close to kicking the person in front of them in the head! So sitting on the edge of the seat or on our laps was the best way to sit!  Then out comes "Cars" and along with that came a really loud "BOOM", which scared the bajeezies out of Daniel and made him cry! Poor little guy! I thought that was the end of the show for us.  But Daddy did a great job of calming him down and distracting him with what was going on in the show.  Cameron was so adorable to watch just sitting so intently watching the show! He clapped when everybody else clapped (always with a HUGE grin on his face) , and turned to me to tell me (in such an excited voice) what was going on and who just came out!  AAAHHH!!!  I have to admit, I don't know why, but I started to get a little teary when we were first sitting there and the show started!  I didn't actually cry or anything, but felt like I was about to.  I was enjoying watching my boys experience something new and amazing! Part of me thought about how I always wanted these things in my life. To take my children to events and out for new experiences and watch them enjoy themselves and have fun!  And for a fair amount of time in my life, I didn't think these days would ever come.  So I treasure each and every special moment along the way because it is a miracle that we were blessed with such amazing little boys in our lives and I couldn't be happier to be there Mommy!  So one more special moment down, a zillion more to go!

So question for all you mommies out there.....Do any of you get emotional or teary at new and special times you spend with your kids?  Or those "firsts" that are pretty special too?

Have a great day everyone!
Jen ;-)

Please go to sleep!

Yes, it is 11:22pm and Cameron is still awake! I tucked the boys in at 9:00pm, and they were noisy until 10:00, and then pretty quiet.  Bryan came home from work about 10:30, and found Cameron standing at the doorway. I didn't even hear him get up! I do not know why he is still awake, but knowing him, he will still be up by 8:00am and be Mr. Cranky Pants tomorrow and will need an extra long nap!  Good thing I have a massage scheduled for 10:00am and Daddy gets to deal with it!  Then hopefully I'm off to meet my Mom and sister for lunch and then we have a surprise for Mom!  She has been spending tons of time helping take care of Grandma and we felt that she needs a little R&R and time to herself for an afternoon! I can't say what the surprise is because she reads this blog and I don't want her to know what it is!  I'll tell you about it tomorrow!  Hopefully Grandma will be moved back to the facility tomorrow where they can get back to working on the Physical Therapy with her!

I'm looking forward to a special last minute plan for on Sunday afternoon!  We were offered the opportunity to purchase discounted tickets to see Disney On Ice!  We agreed to get the tickets! We have never taken the boys to something like that before, so I'm looking forward to it!  It is featuring the Little Mermaid, Lion King, Cars & Fairies!  Our seats are pretty good and I'm just hoping the boys will sit still long enough to enjoy it!

Well, I'm to bed!  Sleep tight everyone! And have a wonderful weekend!

Jen

"Mommy! You're my best friend!"

The most wonderful words to ever leave my child's lips, other than "I Love You"!  "Mommy, you're my best friend!".  Oh how I wish that they would always feel that way, but alas, I know those moments are limited.  So I will enjoy these little things they say as long as possible!  This one was so dearly shared with me by Daniel while I was laying on the couch yesterday.  I stayed home sick and wasn't feeling well.  And when I could, I would lay on the couch while the kids played around me.  Daniel climbed over the side of the couch behind my head and grinned down at me with his huge blue eyes and big childish grin and said "Mommy, you're my best friend!".  I grinned the biggest grin I've grinned in a while and said "You're my best friend too!".  What a sweet little boy!  Then he just became a little goofball and said really funny things like,  "You're Cammy?".  I said nope!  Then he said, "You're Daniel?".  I said, "Nope! You're Daniel!".  Then he said, "You're Caillou?".  I said "Nope! I'm Mommy!"  What a silly little boy!  Then I hear the newest little thing he says to me a lot.  "Mommy!  You're a princess!"  What a sweet, adorable, playful, silly and loving little boy I have!  Cameron in the mean time, was laying at my feet on the couch.  Even though they were loud and noisy and fighting at times while I was home, this is my favorite time I will remember with them!  Curled up with Cameron at my feet and Daniel looking over the back of the couch and saying I'm his best friend!  Do you think I can get that in writing?  I'd love it to be that way forever!  Made my sick day at home just a bit better!

Ready! Set! Aim and Pee!

Yes, we have begun trying to use the potty....while standing up!  Well, I'm not trying since my aim isn't very good! But the boys are trying and think it is funny!  It seems they are more willing to go potty since they get to stand and "aim"!  Hopefully this will get the potty training going in the right direction!  They still won't tell us they have to go potty!  I have stopped buying diapers and we are only using pull-ups now.  I have bought new "nummy" treats for using the potty in hopes to entice them to go more.  Now we'll try the standing and peeing thing and see if this helps them go more often!  However, it is much messier now! 

And have you ever thought about what you sound like and what you say to your kids?  Well, my boys have recently decided to start talking to us, the way we talk to them and acting like the Mommy & Daddy!  Such as, "You go night night now.  Don't get out of bed!"  or  "You be quiet Mommy!"  It is actually quite hilarious when they start telling us what to do!  Makes me think that maybe I say that too much!  Either way, I didn't think they could talk more than they have been talking, but they are proving me wrong!  It is pretty much non-stop talk from both of them!  It is pretty much never quiet in this house!  Unless they are sleeping! 

Daniel is quite the little ladies man!  We were at the mall yesterday and the boys were playing in the kids play area, and Daniel kept following this little girl around!  Now I'm not kidding when I say that Daniel is usually chasing the girls that are older by 2-4 years!  This little girl was about half his age!  He was totally robbing the cradle!!!  She was only about 18 months old!  Most of the little girls have ignored him or ran from him.  Not this little flirt!  She tried to KISS him!!!  Her Mom told me that she had been learning how to give kisses and this was the first time she ever tried to kiss someone other than family!  It was hilarious because Daniel actually shyed away from her and shook his head!  It was hilarious to watch!  Boy oh boy will we have our hands full when these handsome little men are older!

Well, I better get to bed!  Sleep tight all!
Jen

Multiples and More Top Question of the week: Top 5 things all parents of Multiples need

Here is the question of the week from "Multiples and More" website.  As a busy working mom of twin boys, here is what I found I couldn't have lived without in the very beginning.

1. Boppy pillows - I had 2 regular boppies and 1 double boppy.  The individual ones worked out well for seperate propping feedings when I wasn't by myself.  And the double boppy worked out nicely for when I was feeding them by myself.

2. Extra carseat bases - My husband and I had 2 carseat bases in each of our cars, since he usually dropped the kids off at the Grandparents house to be watched for a few hours and I would pick them up.  It made it much easier to just snap in the carseats when it was time to go!  It is also safer, as it is recommended to not keep taking out the bases and re-installing them.  We bought all 4 bases brand new for about $25 each.  Worth the money for the safety and saved time.  As a side note, my parents bought extra bases for their van as well, since they took them places sometimes when they had the kids.  However, they got them used from friends!

3. If you are a working mom and will return to work, but plan on pumping, I recommend 2 breast pumps. I had 1 that I kept at work and used during the day and would simply bring the cooler with the milk home with me.  I had the other pump for at home or when we went places.  Be sure to check with your insurance plan, because many will cover the purchase of a pump.  If you need a doctor's prescription for a pump for your insurance, you shouldn't have a problem getting that from your doctor.  I got one of mine free using my insurance and the 2nd one I bought outright. 

4. Two changing areas in the home.  We had one in the boys bedroom and one in the living room.  Now, I'm not talking 2 changing tables.  In the boys room, we didn't buy a changing table.  We used a low 6 drawer dresser and bought a changing pad for about $25.  My mom made 2 different changing pad covers.  But I also bought 2 packs of cloth diapers and would lay one right under the babies bottom area.  Since squirts and leaks and messes happen, it is easier to change the cloth diaper, than to take off and wash the entire changing pad cover.  Plus we had a blanket or towel in the living room with a basket of diapers and wipes.  When you are by yourself (and sometimes you are), you don't want to leave one baby un-attended to go to the bedroom to change the other one!

5. Friends and family!  It is difficult to survive without your friends and family by your side to help!  Don't refuse help with cleaning your home, or making meals.  You will be doing it yourself the rest of your life!  Accept the help when it is given, because it will allow you more resting time, and more time to enjoy your little additions!  And don't forget about us Twin Mommy Buddies!  We've been there, done that and have the experience to tell you what works and what doesn't!  I still take in new ideas or methods from other Twin Mommies and probably always will!

Hope this helps a few of you mommy's out!  Take care!

Jen
* proud twin Mommy to 3 year old boys, Daniel & Cameron 

Getting into the fridge = Time Out!

Question of the night...How do you discipline with your kids?  Especially stubborn little ones that don't listen and continue to do wrong things over and over again?

Yes, Cameron always seems to find something new to get into, climb on, take off the counter and simply, gets into trouble!  Lately, he thinks he should get into the fridge and take things out!  It does not matter what we do, he keeps doing it!  So tonight, he got into the fridge 3 different times!  First time, he took the juice out and set it on the floor!  We have one of those cool Pampered Chef pitchers that has this thing you spin and pull up and down to make the juice fresh and stir it up.  He was doing that while sitting on the floor!  So Cameron had a date with the timeout rug!  Which in turn means, he must fling himself on the floor and scream like it is the end of the world!  A few minutes later, it is time to get out of time-out.  If any of you watch Super Nanny, we use her timeout method.  Ask "What did you do wrong?".  Which can then lead to us being ignored or answered.  Then we talk about it a moment and remind them what they did wrong.  Then they need to say sorry and give us a hug.

So the 2nd time in the fridge, he got the grapes out and started eating them.  Problem was, he didn't pull all the stems out, so I'm not sure how many stems he ate before I caught him!  So back to time out again!  Then the 3rd time was the doozy!  His most recent "favorite" thing he pulled out of the fridge was the carton of eggs!!!  And so far, he hasn't broke any of them.  Well, not this time!  This time, he broke 2 eggs in the living room!  Well, that meant it was time to go back to time out AGAIN!!!  And then, it meant it was time for bed!  Which could not come soon enough tonight! 

On top of our time out moments this evening, Mommy had an oopsie moment earlier today!  I thought the boys dentist appointments were today at 3:00.  So I got off work early and met my Mom and the boys at the dentist.  They are major handfuls at the dentist, and Bryan was working, so my Mom came along.  She had to wake the boys up from their nap to get them there on time.  So they were a bit cranky already.  We get into the dentist, and the boys start playing and watching this train that goes around the room up by the ceiling.  I go up to check in and find out that the appointment is in 2 weeks on Thursday the 29th!  OOPS!!!  Well, the boys were having TOO much fun and it was hard to get them to leave.  Daniel eventually was ready to go, but Cameron just SCREAMED and ran in circles in the waiting area because he didn't want to leave!  I eventually caught him and carried him to the car.  Needless to say, Mommy's oopsie, turned into meltdown's.  Sorry boys! 

Well, I think the boys are finally asleep now, which means I can get ready for bed. I am exhausted!  Sleep tight all!

Jen

A trip to the Pumpkin Patch!

Cameron in the hay bale maze!

 

Cameron jumping through the large tire in the hay bale maze!

 

Cameron & Daniel on the hay bale pyramid!

 

Cameron sitting so cute on the hay bale pyramid!

 

Daniel climbing on the hay bale pyramid! He is more daring than Cammy!

 

Feeding the goats! Auntie Am got food to feed them!

 

 Petting the pretty and soft white bunny!

 

 Cammy feeding the goats!

 

 Daniel riding a pony for the first time!

 

 Cameron riding a pony for the first time!

 

 Family photo! Yes, this was the best we could get! They just

don't sit still!  Couple of little wiggle worms!

 

Cameron found a pumpkin! Such a cute face! 

Daniel kept picking out the green pumpkins!

Sorry buddy! Try finding a different one!

 

 Daniel finally found the perfect pumpkin!

Actually, Daddy found it and Daniel said,

"Oh! That's a cute pumpkin! It's MY pumpkin!"

 

 Daniel and Cameron sitting on OUR pumpkins while they

held THEIR pumpkins!

 

 Say Cheese!  It was very hard to get 1 good family pic

this year!  Daddy closed his eyes for this one! Silly Daddy!

 

Finally a good one of Daddy and Daniel is saying "CHEESE!"

 

 As everyone came up the hill, I turned around and told

everyone to look! I love this pic, but need to photo shop

myself into it!

(Papa Larry, Dustin, Auntie Am, Daddy, Cammy, Grammy & Daniel)

 

 Daddy & Mommy (AKA: Bryan & Jen)

 

 Another funny pic while the kids say "Cheese"!

And Grammy too!

  

Daddy & Daniel scrubbing the pumpkins clean!

Cammy & Daniel with their pumpkins!

So these are the pics from the pumpkin patch!  We had tons of fun and I can't believe how big the boys are getting each year!  They did so much more this year and were able to climb up into the wagon like big boys!  My parents and my sister and her boyfriend all came, even though Amber wasn't feeling very well.  Cameron actually climbed higher this year on the hay bale pyramid than every before!  Daniel has never had a problem climbing to the top.  And Cammy actually crawled into one of the tunnels in the pyramid!  We couldn't find him at first or find which exit he was going to come out of!  I didn't care for that much and was being a worry-wart Mommy!  But he made it out just fine!

Then we went over to the hay bale maze and the boys just ran like crazy through it and through the tunnel as well!  They didn't care for the tunnel last year!  We just kind of held back and let 'em run this year since they are a little older and not as fearful.  Such big boys!

Then off to the petting zoo to pet and see the goats, sheep, rabbits, chickens, pigs, turkey's, cows and donkey!  Auntie Am got food for the boys to feed the goats and that was lot's of fun of course!

Then it was time to hop on the hay ride out to the Pumpkin Patch!  Last year, it had recently rained, so the ground was very muddy.  Not this year!  It had been dry, so the dirt was kicked up like crazy on the ride and we had to cover our faces!  The boys tried to run through the pumpkin patch, but the boots we had them wear were a little big, plus they kept tripping over all the pumpkin vines!  Daniel kept picking up the green pumpkins or pumpkins still attached to the vines!  Silly little boy!  Eventually, Daddy found a little pumpkin and showed it to Daniel.  He said, "OH! That is a cute pumpkin! That's my pumpkin!"  They kept gathering little pumpkins and piling them up.  It was very cute!

Then we took our ride back with our pumpkins and Daddy had the boys help him clean the pumkins!  They were enjoying themselves and having lots of fun!  Then we got in line for the boys to ride on the pony's!  They have never ridden on a horse before, so this was a totally new experience!  They looked so cute and enjoyed riding their little pony's! 

Then it was time for the pumpkin shoot, where we sling shot tiny pumpkins out into a field!  Cameron had fun and tried it a couple times!  Daniel cried because he didn't want to sling-shot the pumpkin!  Poor guy!

Then it was time to head out and grab dinner!  See you next year Bi-Zi Farms!  Thanks for another fun year!

Happy Fall everyone! Hope you enjoy the pics!

Luv,

Jen

A day at Grandma and Grandpa's!

So this would be a day at Grandma Teri and Grandpa Bud's house!  They make these boys work hard while they are there!  They helped Grandpa Bud scrape the paint off the deck so that he could put on a new coat.  I'm sure they enjoyed making the mess and using the tools!

Then it's time to go look at and climb on all the equipment in the street from the road being worked on!  Those are big tractors and little boys!

   

Then Grandma T makes them earn their keep by vacuuming the house!  They are messy boys, but I'm sure they didn't get the house that dirty!  I can just imagine Grandma T on the couch saying, "You missed a spot!" (Just kidding!)



Then it's time to head back outside and play a little B-Ball!  Look at the moves those boys are displaying!  Future basketball players!  Cameron holds it over his head so Daniel can't reach! HA!



And then it's time to go inside and raid the fridge like every other growing boy that just finished working hard and playing even harder!  Fun times at Grandma and Grandpa's house!  Thanks for the pictures Grandma T & Grandpa Bud!  And thank you for watching them for us!

My kids have Cooties!!!

Cooties? Don't boys get cooties from girls? Ewwww! Well, my boys got cooties out of a box! Remember that game when we were kids? I do! So, I won this huge tub of games last Christmas and put back games that the kids were too little for! I found the Cooties game in the closet and figured the boys were old enough to play with it now! So they did! And they had fun putting the legs on them and the funny eyes and ears! Here are a few pics of them with their Cooties!


Daniel with his Cootie!


Cameron with his Cooties!

And on Saturday, we headed out to finish cleaning up the front yard from our Maple Tree that came down. We still had some wood to cut up and haul and a ton of dirt and sawdust that needed to be raked and leveled out. So the boys helped us a bit by playing in the dirt and helped haul wood! I hope they continue to do this as they get older! We also needed to put together a new mailbox since the downed tree took out our other one! So the boys pitched in and helped! Love the pic of my 3 boys using their screwdrivers! It was a windy day outside, so we were all bundled up! But we had so much fun!

Today we are going to the Pumpkin Patch, so I'll have more pics of that later! Hope you all have a wonderful day!


Daniel playing in the dirt!


Daniel helping Daddy in the yard!


Cameron making a mess on the front porch by
playing in Mommy's flower bed!


Daddy using his ax (and his muscles) to chop
up wood!


Daddy using his chainsaw to cut up the large wood!


The boys sitting on the front porch
watching Daddy use the chainsaw!
(Love this pic!)


My 3 boys using screwdrivers to put the
mailbox together!


Daniel showing me his screwdriver!