Choking on a Biscuit..

Its been an interesting couple of weeks around here.. 

First off, I ate a biscuit from Popeyes.. Which I love by the way.. but it somehow managed to get lodged in my throat..Not enough to choke me, but enough to make it painful to try to get anything else down.. like Water.. or other food.. And it made it hard to swallow, but I could still breathe.. This is all happening at work. It was pretty ridiculous. It got so bad that I thought I would try to go into the bathroom and throw it up.. Didn't work.. So I came back out, tried to swallow some water.. Didn't' work.. It was still lodged there.. So my co-workers are looking at me like I'm crazy..and about to die. My eyes are watering now.. And of course I'm psyching myself out thinking I'm going to die because my throat is going to close up..  This is obviously not true, because I can still breathe.. So finally Deana, My fabulous co-worker comes in and says..

"Listen.. This happened to me at Golden Coral once with a piece of steak.. It was just sitting in my throat.. and it wouldn't get out.. I couldn't swallow it.. So I had to go throw it up. You gotta do it.. You gotta just go in there, put your hands down your throat, and throw up that biscuit.. So go ahead, and take your sunglasses off.. Take off your necklace.. and get in there!"

Well I took her advice..and did this.. It worked. But the moral of this story is: Chew your food, or you look like a weirdo with a biscuit lodged in your throat thinking you are dying and can't breathe at work. I mean really.. who does this.. geez. 

We've had our house on the market for a few weeks and its not as bad as I thought it would be keeping it clean. We took so much stuff OUT of the house that its easier to keep it clean now.. but its still hard with Toddlers.. b/c they just want to take everything out and throw it everywhere! We have had some showings, so we'll see what happens. We have found some other houses we like, but we can't really buy anything else until we sell ours.. So we are in a waiting game. I did chase mowers the other day.. Found their truck, chased them down some roads, and begged them to come to the house.. This works.. but remember it puts you at a disadvantage on negotiating price, so I don't recommend it. 

Girls are doing great! Cross is talking so much now. She strings together complete sentences. Its pretty awesome. LL is still working with her speech therapist and doing really good too. She started saying 'hello' and 'here' and 'thank you'.. I honestly think LL can say whatever she wants.. but doesn't. Like the other day she came up to me and asked for "ice".. she had never said that before.. So I honestly think she is just fooling us all.. But she is just doing things on her own time. She loves working with Suzanne, so we will keep doing it. People keep telling us she looks like Shirley Temple.. I mean we can't really be mad about that, since Shirley is like.. the cutest. 

The girls have been swimming this summer.. the love it! They swam at my mom's house and Aunt Lex got them Puddle Jumpers.. They are awesome, and they keep them from drowning.. so bonus. LL is pretty brave in the water.. she will jump off the size, and she swims and swims.. kicks her little legs till we think they are going to fall off! Cross likes someone to be by her, and she likes to float around as opposed to swim..but they both really love being in the water. Cross also loves picking corn.. right out of the field.. and eating it.. right off the stalk.. She loves corn! Both of my girls are such good eaters.. They eat everything! I made cabbage the other day..baked it in the oven with EVOO & Parmesan on it, and they ate it up! They eat squash, green beans, spinach, sweet potatoes, cabbage, carrots.. I swear its because I did Baby Led Weaning..

Everything else has been good.. MJ is still doing good at his job, I still enjoy my job, and we love our Small group and Sunday School Class. There has been some hot topics going on here lately in the news.. Its hard to debate who is right and who is wrong, so I just choose to spend some time in the bible and in prayer with God and pray that he is able to heal all the crazy things that are going on in this world. I'm just proud to have such great people around my girls in family, in small group and in church. The World is a rough place to raise kids right now. I honestly don't see how people keep their marriage together, or their families together without God at the Center.. I'm so thankful for my walk with him daily, and the fact that I married a great man who also walks with the Lord. We can only pray for him to keep us in his hands and watch over us, because its just ugly out there without him folks. 

They just can't get rid of me..

So I've heard comments from a few of you that have heard me back on the radio.. Before you get too excited.. its just on commercials.. But.. It still counts! I'm actually doing spots for All Star Moving. I met those guys when I worked at Chesapeake and he called me a few weeks ago, and I was happy to help. I'm sure the folks at the old radio station were just thrilled with this news.. They just can't seem to get rid of me.. which does cause me to smile just a bit.. PS, if you need movers, seriously, All star is the BEST. Call them. They do it all.. Storage, boxes, moving you, etc.. And they are truly awesome people. 399-3004 or  go online to allstarmovingandstorage.com. 

I still miss the radio business.. I don't think I really miss the Concerts & Events that much.. I just miss being creative everyday. Making people Laugh.. Creating Art in some form. I'm meant to be creative.. and while I love my current job, my boss, and the folks I work with.. it doesn't require me to have a ton of creativity. Although.. I did get to write a new parody song, which you guys know I love to do. I wrote it for our Customer Commitments Challenge.. Its to "We are the Champions" and its awesome. i can say that, because It is.. If there's one thing I know I'm pretty good at, its writing parody songs.. So when the competition is over, I'll post it and you guys can listen. Its about the daily IT life.. its funny.. and true..

I think at the end of the day I just miss making people laugh. I still try to do that as much as I can. In fact I challenged a co-worker the other day to a "Whistle-off".. which reminding me of my radio bit "Stump The Whistler".. He got scared and refused..but it still made me laugh. I miss playing the Accordion and doing those stupid Polka's.. I miss the interaction and everyday life with listeners.. Sure kickin it with George Strait and Garth Brooks was a definite Perk, but that is not really what I miss. I miss making people's days better with a laugh. But... I know, for now, this is what I'm supposed to be doing. God has always taken care of me, and I know he has a plan for my life now, just like he always has..

One of the best things about right now.. is that Crosslee thinks I'm the best thing that's ever happened. I know she won't always feel this way..but she wants to be with me from the second I wake up till the second she goes to bed. Sitting with me, chatting with me, playing with me.. She hugs and kisses me all the time. She loves her daddy too, and she will "Pet" him, lol.. but right now, her mommy is #1. I'm enjoying this time.

 

So We have had a good Summer so far. We got the girls a little pool and they have been little
water worms.. They love going down the slide and sunning. They get in it in their PJs in the am if we don't catch them! They just love being outside. Since it has been raining, they really love splashing in puddles.. its their favorite thing. We are going to the farm this weekend and they will get to ride on their horses..

We are thinking about selling our house.. I say thinking because when I "THINK" about staging a house, and getting rid of 2/3 of my stuff with twin 2 year olds.. it makes me want to punch myself in the face.. But..we are out of room in this one. It would have been fine had we not had twins, but now we are overflowing with toys, and crap.. So we are going to think about doing that.. The task sounds daunting. I mean can you imagine? No. Blargh. Yuck.

We have been having so much fun with our small group. Last night we had a BBQ and we had Six kiddos' running around all 3 and under.. they had a big time. They just run and share drinks, & food.. Pushing each other, hugging each other.. I mean living life as a Toddler is hilarious. Its all about you.. and you have no patience for anyone or anything that doesn't want to make it about you.. I mean learning how to be a human is hard.. They are like little dictators walking around.. but they are all so cute and its awesome for them to have friends to play with all the time. We always have a blast together.

We took the girls to the Jenks Aquarium a few weeks ago. Cross loved it.. and all the "Bish" that she saw.. LL just loved running down the isles.. Thats our life story pretty much. Running and Running! I know I've been given an important job. Probably the hardest one I'll ever do, so I'm going to try to not screw it up. When I look in the faces of my girls I see such curiosity, and happiness.. My only hope is that I can always see that when I look at them. That the fires that burn within them always remain bright, and that they always know they have 2 parents that love them so much and a God that loves them even more. Everyday I pray to NOT screw this up, and on the days that I do, that they forgive me, just like God forgives me. It truly takes a village.. but its a fun village. God is good!

Girls 2nd Birthday Party--Noah's Ark 2 by 2!

Well.. We successfully had the girls 2nd birthday party. I can't believe they are Two already! The first year of their lives felt like it took a long time to get to 1.. but from the first to second it just flew by!

I picked out the theme about 6 months ago.. The girls love animals, and I knew the party was going to be at the Crossings Playground, so we decided on "Noah's Ark, 2 by 2".. because that was of course the cutest and most fitting for the girls. 

I will try to provide info on where everything came from..but I've been collecting it for 6 months, so my apologies if I miss some of it. 

The fabulous Cake came from Chubby Cheeks Bakery in Edmond. It was awesome. She did an Ark "Cake" and then we added the animal Cake Pops to the center of it.. She even made a Noah Cake Pop! It was the CUTEST.. 

The girls wore super cute outfits that we found on Etsy. A Shop called Lillybellasboutique.https://www.etsy.com/shop/LilyBellasBoutique She designed the shirts for us, then Mom found matching pants from Mis Tee V Us. They turned out super cute.. Ironically, I left it to their dad to get them dressed while I went to setup for the party, and he put Cross's Shirt on Londyn.. lol..

Their Chalkboards were one of my favorite things. We found a shop on Etsy who actually put the pictures ON the chalkboards which I think makes them so much more personal.. and cuter.. Her Shop is Called My Three Charms, and she can do just about any Theme. She's super sweet and easy to work with.

The Cute Vinyl Sign came from Oriental Trading too.. they had one we hung on the gate, and they had another one that stabbed into the ground. They were cheap and they do a pretty good job with those..

The Big Ark, Giraffe and Zebra were ordered from Oriental Trading. Now.. these things do not stand up very easily..they are kinda flimsy, so we ended up putting ours up on the fence. Plus is was kinda wet that day, so it was better that they were kept under the Awning. The first Giraffe we ordered had been shot.. (had a hole in him) so we had to send him back, but they were quick to send out another one.. However, they wanted me to send the old one back.. They paid for shipping, but it was a pain in the butt, so just keep that in mind if you order from them.

We ordered Masks for the Ark from Melissa & Doug.. "Put em on, 2 by 2, wearing Masks is what we do!" and had all the kiddos pick one, put it on and take off! They were pretty easy to put together (I pre-assembled before, but if you had older kids this would be a super fun birthday activity to do while they are there). They were awesome. The kids really enjoyed them. 

Those delicious looking Pretzel animals came from another Etsy Shop Called Sparklesbaby that is UH. Maze. ING. She did the pretzel animals, Chocolate Covered rainbow Oreo Cake Pops, and Choclate rainbow drizzled Rice Krispy Treats. They were all so freaking good. She is super easy to work with and ships them in plenty of time. You can store them in the frig.. We are still eating the stuff a week later and its just as delicious. 

 The super Cute Treat Bags came from Jettabees.   These were one of my favorite things at the party because they are soo soo cute, and an awesome little hand-crafted touch. They were also super affordable. She let us pick which 'animals' we wanted for the bags and they were so cute. We used these as the goodie/take-away bags for the kids at the party. We put a LED light Stick in there, (Compete with a sticker of Cross & LL from Sticker you. They make great stickers for anything,a nd we just loved them.) LED bracelet, Hershey's kisses (complete with Cross & LL 2 by 2 stickers stuck on the bottom of each Kiss. Those little cute stickers were from Party Games. They can make them for little candy bars, or whatever you like. Its just a cute little Unique Touch.

We also put a plastic Ark Animal, and some really cute little Noahs' Ark Rubber Duckies. A rainbow Crayon, Rainbow Swirl Lollipops, and on the back of the sacks we had little Thank you Stickers from Treasured Moments. There are literally a million things you can do as little personal touches. Etsy and Pinterest will dominate your mind with these things.. but these are just the ones I chose that didn't require a TON of money or effort. 

I made Butterly Treat Bags from an Idea on Pinterest. I put Rainbow Goldfish in some of them, and then I put assorted fruits in other. They are pretty easy.. Clothes pin, pipe cleaners, googly eyes and hot glue.. Here's the Pinterest Pin.. 

I also got the Cheese brella Idea from Pinterest. These are super easy. You take Babybel cheeses, cut off the tops of them and stab a bendy straw in them. You can also leave some straight. They make super cute cheese treats, and the cheese gives everyone a break from the Sugar rush!  I also made a fruit Umbrella that the kids could munch on.. complete with baby Marsh mellow Clouds. 

I also made Rainbow Bars.. but there was so much other stuff to eat that it wasn't really worth it. I bought Fruity Pebbles and mixed them with Marshmellow cream (Like Rice Krispy Treats) and put them in a pan with sprinkles. 

Now lets talk about the Cookies. OMgosh. If you have not been to 1 Smart Cookie in OKC you are missing out in your life. People look at these cookies and think "There's no way they can be that cute and taste good".. Um, I'm here to tell you that you are WRONG. Those cookies are the best cookies I have ever had. Everyone raved about them and they are so so good. They can make about any shape you want, and I still have the left-over Donkey on my desk.. he's so cute that I can't bring myself to eat him.. yet I know if I bite into him, he will be delicious magic. The struggle is real folks. She did Rainbows, Raindrops and animals for me. Everyone loved them and they are still asking about them now.. 

The Invitations were one of my favorite things too.. We ordered those from Sara Janes Studio and they were adorable. Took no time to assemble and fit in a square envelope. I also could not send out the invitations without the personalized Stamps from Stamps.com 

You can also order the thanks you's for this at the same time.. Which I should have done, but waited till later.. so be smart and order those when you order the invites. 

Plates, Cups, Napkins, etc.. I ordered those from Birthday Direct. They have cute little bundles you can get. I ordered Rainbow Tablecloths, and more napkins and cups from Amazon. They were cheap, so save the money for the cute stuff. 

These were a nice little touch.. "Flood Water". Got a Printable from Etsy, cut them out, and then Put them on mini water bottles with Packing Tape.. that way they wouldn't bleed in ice, or if the bottle sweated. They were cute and I put them in a big bucket on Ice. 

This cute little "Photo Op" came from Shindigz.. Its a Lion, and you put your face in it to take Pics.. however, it was a little Breezy, and once again, if you do this outside, you'll need to make sure you have a place for it to stand up because its kindof a pain. The Kids didn't care that much about it, but a few parents did get some cute pics.. 

So as I'm writing this.. I realize its way more elaborate that I had firs thought.. Because we also got animal balloons from Party City, Cupcakes, Rainbow Twizzlers, Rainbow Gold Fish, and probably a bunch of other crap I can't think of.. But.. if you start hoarding 6 months before the party, it doesn't seem that bad. I do think the little personal touches make the party great.. So I tried to do as many of those as I could without going broke, and going crazy. 

Everyone had a blast, and everyone enjoyed the food.. so yes, While I did go a little crazy, it was totally worth it! Except now I feel like I have some big shoes to fill for next year! Still loved that it was outside at our church.. kids loved running and playing the whole time, and we loved the big Pavilions for shelter and food. It was a great trip on the Ark! 

Mommie Dearest....

Have you ever had one of those days where you feel like you have just kinda failed at life? I kinda had a WEEK like that last week.. It was a rough week.

On Monday we (MJ and I) went to a funeral.. those are never fun.. The girls had a playdate with a sweet little girl that ended up having Hand/foot/Mouth, so we have been super paranoid that they were going to get sick (so far so good, 6 days later, fingers crossed, and I swear its because I oiled them) and then we tried to go to a fun event at church (Volopulooza), didn't bring the stroller, and ended up chasing the girls across a soccer field.. #Parentfail. Drove the girls to Tulsa to visit MJ's Grandma and to go to the aquarium.. But by the time we had driven up there, visited, ate lunch, and they didn't take naps, they were losing their minds.. So..we didn't get to go to the aquarium. #parentfail. Ran out of Cross's "Juice" (pediasure), Diapers, and Wipes.. #parentfail. So as you can see.. I have had a week in which I just kinda feel like a big fat failure at life..

The girls have had allergies and its just not been easy for them.. Cross makes it much harder because she refuses to take medicine.. LL does too.. so I was thinking.. "Why don't I get those dissolve tabs and then it will be like candy?".. Yes, KC, great idea! So I did this..and it was a hit with Londyn. She loved hers.. so success.. Cross? NO. She spit it out. She knew immediately.. and even though it tasted like Grape Shasta.. she was having no part of it.. I tried to sneak it in gummies, cheese, meat.. Nope. She spit it out every time.. then started questioning the authenticity of the gummy.. Spit it out.. Leslie also tried to give it to her. She looked Leslie square in the face and said "NO" and threw it down.. Sometimes that Kid is too smart for her own good.. Thankfully she will still take the liquid form, so that has been helping with the coughing at night.

I have realized that a lot of things change when you become a parent.. and they should.. Your life is not your own anymore, and the days of doing what YOU want to do are over.. so if you are one of those people thinking you will have a baby and nothing will change.. Think again. It should change, because when you become a parent, you should be thinking of your Kids as the first priority anyway.. but that doesn't make it any easier for your former, selfish self to deal.. Right now Cross is still in the phase of clinging to me. I can't get more than 3 ft away from her or she starts yelling "mama! Mama!" and if I don't' go back (because I'm walking to the bathroom) she lays in the floor sobbing.. I know there will come days when I wish she would WANT me to be around her.. so even though sometimes those moments are trying, I try to just stop and sit with her, because I know the one thing she is really wanting is ME.. Well, and maybe a Popsicle..

With kids comes so many magical moments.. Moments that you would never trade, but there are also crap moments.. Moments in which you feel like you don't get it right.. that they will end up in therapy.. that you could have made a better choice.. that you shouldn't have said that.. that you got dealt a poor hand.. Its hard. There are weeks that you feel like you just don't measure up as a parent.. And there are days when you feel like you just need a break.. but then you feel guilty for feeling you like need a break! Guilt as a mom is huge. I have guilt for not using the words "So in love" with my newborns when they were born. I think the words that I used were like "Scared to death".. But everyone else will have babies and post these heart-felt pictures.. "We just had a baby..and we are so in love".. I was thinking "I just had 2 babies, How will I keep them alive?".. I have guilt that sometimes I just want to sleep till 7:00, or go to 3 movies in one day, Or sit at Barns & Noble by myself...

Its not that I don't enjoy being a mom.. I do.. but I think most people don't realize when you have kids, you are breaking up with your former life. All the things you formerly did, that basically revolved around what YOU want to do have to change. That can make you feel bad, and feel guilty, So its a wake-up call.. I read this.. and it was great.. So enjoy.. and feel less guilt.. and Celebrate your kids.. And realize that even when you screw it up, your kids are still going to love and forgive you.. much like Jesus does.

To The Mom Who Yelled at Her Kids Today (Thanks Brooke!)

I'm going to remind myself of this when Cross kicks me.. because she has diaper rash... and when I try to wipe cream on her.. it ends up on my eyes, my work clothes, and everywhere but..her Butt...And the next time she spits blueberry advil at me... lol.. Gotta love it!!!

A little less Action.. and a lot more talk.

So for those of you who have never had the pleasure of taking your kids to their 18 month 'well baby visit'.. here's some knowledge I'm about to drop on you..

Being that I have not had kids before.. I didn't really know what to expect as far as baby 'milestones' are concerned.. I mean I figured they eventually learned to crawl, walk, hold their bottle, talk, etc.. But I didn't really know there were hard limits on when they were supposed to do those things.. Everyone will tell you that there isn't hard limits on these things..BUT.. then when you say that your baby isn't walking by 12 months they will say "Oh really? Little Jimmy walked at 6 months".. Whatever.. Move past those people..

Anyway.. When you go into your 18 month appointment you will get the "Autism Screening".. Now, you may not know this is what this is.. for example, it might just seem like a normal questionnaire in which you are answering basic questions about your tot.. but its not. Its a screener for early signs of Autism. I think this is a fine practice.. I'm not mad at the questionnaire.. I think early detection is awesome, and a great idea.. But I will tell you, when I'm in the pediatrician's office with two HEALTHY babies.. trying to keep them from picking up stale puffs on the floor, running their hands all over germy toys, and trying to keep sick kids from hugging them and sneezing on them.. My mind isn't always in the right place to think about every single thing they are doing developmentally and physically..

So because I'm a dumb mom.. I answer truthfully to the questions.. I'm saying 'truthfully'.. because I did answer them to my knowledge.. but sometimes my knowledge is not that accurate.. I'm a mom of twins. I am sometimes losing my mind..and don't know if I'm coming or going.. So sometimes I have a hard time remembering If Crosslee does this, or Londyn does that.. I'm sure all of you moms and dads realize that if you aren't expecting something to be important, sometimes you don't remember it. So Jordan and I end up answering NO to 3 or 4 questions on the questionnaire.. and boom! Londyn has to go and be evaluated for Autism and learning disorders..

I guess the reason why this is annoying to me.. is because all of this is based on what I say.. Like not on what Londyn actually does.. So I felt like I had failed her.. Mainly because after we got home we realized that she does do a lot of the things we said "NO" too.. but oh well.. Now we have an appointment with Sooner Start for her to be evaluated.. I do think its better to be safe than sorry..its a free program, with really great specialists.. and if she does need help, then I want to help her for SURE.. So we go.. and we realize that you will get dinged if your kid doesn't do the following things by 18 months..

1) Eat with a spoon.. Well my bad on this one. My girls did baby led weaning, so they have always eaten with their hands and have never been spoon fed, so they had no concept..and I had no clue that they were supposed to be doing that. My bad. They know what a spoon is..they know what to do with it.. so I thought I was winning. I wasn't.

2) Take their shoes off.. Um, why would I want her to take her shoes off when I had just put them on?

3) Playing pretend.. Cross has played pretend since early on. Every morning she gets all her animals out and pretends to feed and water them.. But since I had never seen Londyn do that I assumed she wasn't 'pretending'.. Little did I know that pretending can be a lot of things..It can be taking your phone and pretending to talk.. it can be taking the tv remote and pointing it at the TV..So Keep that in mind. Londyn DOES do the remote thing..Again, My bad.


4) Pointing. Pointing is BIG to them.. They don't want them to just touch pictures, they want them to POINT at them.. They want them to POINT at their cups and ask for them. They can't just ask for them.. they must point. POINTY POINTY POINTY.. When we got home, we realized that Londyn also pointed..she points at her Pa in the hallway and says "PA".. but we didn't realize this because we didn't know it was such a big deal. It is.. so watch for them pointing. Woops. My bad.

5) Playing with other kids.. No. LL could care less about this. She's not anti-social.. but she's got better things to do in her mind.. like explore, or read a book, or build with blocks. She likes to go and check on the other kids..and sure, she and Cross chase each other from time to time, but Londyn is fiercely independent and likes to do her OWN thing. I don't think this is a weird thing..I just think she likes to do her own thing for now.

Now.. I will say..Londyn does not, and has not ever said many words.. she chatters all the time.. speaks weird languages we don't understand.. but she only has a few words.. Mainly "Mama, dada, Pa, Oh, Wow, and Hey".. Other than that..she doesn't say that many words. LL is not a demanding child, so she has never really asked for things.. We usually just give her something when Cross is asking for
it b/c we figure she will want it eventually anyway.. But she never throws a fit for treats, a drink, a toy, etc.. She's just a pretty mellow girl, like her daddy.

But either way.. Sooner Start came over.. and they are amazing. Sooner Start is a free program provided by the state for early Intervention.. They are great. Its a great program. They had a speech pathologist and a Physical therapist evaluate Londyn and they did a great job. Londyn is not autistic.. She is extremely independent, and strong willed though.. We found out that Londyn was behind in her speech so they setup a person to come out to the house and work with her whenever we requested. (We decided to do every other week).. A lot of parents would feel threatened by this.. but listen, if someone offers your kiddo free help.. take it. LL has her first session this evening and I'm excited to see how it goes. We agreed on 3 goals for her progress:
1) To learn 25 new words or phrases
2) To engage in group play
3) To complete simple tasks upon request.

We thought those were great goals..and I'm excited to see how it goes this evening..

The moral of the story is.. 1) Don't freak out if your kid has to be evaluated.. 2) Don't freak out if someone offers assistance to help you parent or teach your kid how to learn. I'm smart enough to know I don't know much about parenting.. so if someone smarter and more qualified than me agrees to come help..thats awesome.. and they are coming to my house to help? Even more amazing.. So don't worry too much about things. At this stage they are little people and everyone catches up.. Its hard to learn how to be a little human! So give them a break..they will catch up..

If other parents are telling you how "Advanced" their kids are.. its just to make themselves feel better.. Because I'm pretty sure the other Toddlers aren't judging each other for not knowing their multiplication tables at this age..

Master this.. Do that.. and quit doing this.. Blog

So I came across this post that everyone was pinning on Facebook..and I thought it was pretty good. It talks about 10 Life Lessons to Master in your 30's.. Master is a pretty strong word.. but Here's the list..

1) Start saving money for retirement now, not later..
   Ok, for me, this one was easy.. Why? Because my mom's a stock broker and has drilled this into my head from a young age. Anytime I have been offered a 401k at my job, I've contributed. I usually try to contribute up to what my employer will match.. except for at CHK.. because Big Aubs matched 15%.. which is amazing, but I couldn't do 15% at that time.. but it is important. Saving is also important.. because you never know whats going to happen.. especially when you are a home-owner.. Heat and Air System, giant hospital bills, Car dies.. etc.. So Save. Here were a few other things listed:

• Make it your top priority to pay down all of your debt as soon as possible.
• Keep an “emergency fund”—there were tons of horror stories about people getting financially ruined by health issues, lawsuits, divorces, bad business deals, etc.
• Stash away a portion of every paycheck, preferably into a 401k, an IRA or at the least, a savings account.
• Don’t spend frivolously. Don’t buy a home unless you can afford to get a good mortgage with good rates.
• Don’t invest in anything you don’t understand. Don’t trust stockbrokers.

2) Start taking care of your health now, not later.. (I'm also going to add SKIN to this one too for the ladies)
This one is hard for me.. because I. Hate. Exercise. And when I say exercise, I mean like going to the gym, jogging, lifting weights, that kind of crap. I just hate it.. However, I've found that by having 2 toddlers I don't have to work too hard for exercise. For example, yesterday I earned 6 activity points (I'm currently on weight watchers and wearing an Active sync tracker) by just walking around at work, and chasing the girls.. I can handle that kind of exercise.. So I think its mainly about just moving.. I dance at my desk (My Co-workers love the Milli Vanilli Channel with me) and try to just keep moving.

I think its also hard for us to eat Healthy.. Especially in Oklahoma where Steaks, Chicken FRIED Steak, and fast food are dominant. I love food. My whole family loves food.. we celebrate around food.. and that food does not include tofu, radish burgers, and quinoa.. Sorry. That sucks. Even on Weight Watchers, I don't think I eat "healthy".. I just eat "less" crappy foods. I mean I know that's not a great answer.. but I'm trying to make little changes day by day.. For example, I've started ordering a Bountiful Basket 2 or 3 times a month.. It has a TON of fresh fruit and Vegetables in it.. and then I make Smoothies for us every morning. I have to force MJ to drink them, even though they are delicious..he eats VERY few fruits, vegetables and never drinks water.. So I'm working on him too. The girls, thankfully, are really pretty great at eating a good variety of foods, and healthy foods at that..

I also mentioned skin.. because I think if you wait TOO long to start taking care of your skin.. your skin doesn't forgive you. I've always been pretty good at this.. although my 'regimen' is not that impressive.. I wash my face at night in the bathtub.. take my makeup off with Vaseline.. and usually rub some essential oils on my face at night with Primrose oil, or a Giant tub of Vitamin E Cream from Sams. Its been good to me so far. I think I look pretty good..and I think (for the most part) I look younger than I actually am.. I think its just important to at least put some kind of moisture back into your skin.. It will appreciate it.. Plus you won't look 60 when you are 30. So there you go. You're welcome.

3)  Don't spend time with People who don't treat you well.
Sometimes you just have to step back and realize that you are not going to tolerate people who don't treat you well, or bring joy to your life. If you constantly hang out with negative, miserable people, you will eventually also start to feel negative and miserable..

You want to surround yourself with people that make you better, make you happy, and that love you. Learn how to say NO to people, activities, and obligations that don't bring joy to your life. I know people struggle with boundaries because sometimes its hard to say NO, or you are afraid of hurting someone's feelings.. but if you keep hanging out with people who always hurt your feelings, there's really no payoff. I really liked this quote
         "By our 30's we've learned that good relationships are hard to come by, that there's no shortage of people to meet and friends to be made, and that there is not reason to waste our time with people who don't help us on our life's path"

4) Be Good to the People you care about.
This one had some really good points.. Be the Person others can count on. Be the person others look up to for guidance, help, support, etc. I remember when I found out my grandma Leona had cancer that I wanted to make sure those last 6 months I had with her were completely full of HER. Me just being with her, waiting on her, loving her.. because that is what she had done for me my whole life. And I loved those last 6 months we had together. So now I really try to show the people that are important to me that I love them, I'm there for them, and I support them. I hope I can always be that for my girls. Every night before they go to bed MJ and I pray for them, and we say "If you get scared, sad, or sick, just call us and we'll always be here" and we mean that. Forever. We have friends that are going through tough life circumstances and we always let them know we are here. And even if we don't see them everyday, we'll always be here.

5) You can't have everything, so focus on doing a few things really good.
This was a hard lesson for me in my 30's.. because I did exactly what I loved in my 20's.. and into my 30's.. Radio. When that career was taken from me, I had to accept the fact that I could find appreciation in other things.. Now that is my family, but it took a bit to change that mind-set. But I've also realized I cannot be all things to all people. Sometimes I don't make it to Women's bible study because I'm home with the girls. Sometimes I don't make it to co-worker happy hour, because I have to cook dinner. Sometimes, my house looks like crap because I don't have the will, or want-to to clean it! Such is life. It was hard to take the risk of getting OUT of radio.. getting married.. having babies.. But it was a risk worth taking. I once had a friend tell me that your life is in 3's.. Your Family Life, Your work Life, Your Social Life.. Very rarely do all 3 stack up. Usually one is lacking.. but 2 outta 3... ain't bad... (thank you Meatloaf).. So its a trade off.

6) Don't be afraid of taking risks, You can still change.
I'm not a big risk taker.. Well I say that.. then remember I moved to Corpus Christi for a radio job where I knew nothing and no one.. but USUALLY.. I am not.. I do think one benefit of being in your 30's is you are pretty good at knowing who you are.. what you like.. what you don't.. and what you want to do.. What MJ and I consider a 'risk' is sitting at a different table at Sunday School! But I get what the article is saying.. You have to be ok with change.. you have to be ok with not having all the pieces in place.. Lord knows when I found out I was having twins, we were ROLLING THE DICE and hoping for the best! I had no clue about parenting, parenting twins, babies, feeding babies, keeping babies alive.. etc.. But I read, talked to people, joined groups, and we were just winging it for the first 6 months.. Like most new parents.. But thats ok.. the babies are ok. We all are ok.. So don't be afraid to roll the dice.

7) You must Continue to Grow and Develop Yourself.
I always firmly believe this. I think there is always a 'better' version of me that I can be working on.. A better mom.. a better Christian.. better wife.. a better friend.. I am always working on myself and trying to be better. Trying to be more patient.. trying to show more grace. I feel like you should always try to be better.

8) Nobody (still) knows what they are doing.. get used to it.
I watch people make dumb decisions everyday and think to myself.. man.. we learned nothing there did we? But no.. the answer is you cannot convince people to do the right thing.. you cannot convince others to be better.. You cannot convince someone to make better choices.. So just do what you can do.. offer help when you can.. and be ok with that. But realize that people around you are going to continue to do stupid stuff and there's going to be nothing you can do about it 98% of the time. People like to make their own mistakes and you just have to let them. I've also learned that not everyone is on the same path. Especially moms.. you will have to listen to moms who think they know everything and try to make you feel like boot if you don't do certain things a certain way.. Its very much like this commercial:

There's always going to be a kid that knows more than yours.. says more than yours.. has cuter clothes than yours.. Was breastfed till they were 6.. Potty trained at 9 months.. So just get ready for it..And realize that they are probably full of it.. and then look at your own kid, watch their face light up, and pat yourself on the back for being awesome.


9) Invest in your Family.. Its worth it. 
I've realized the funny thing about having kids.. is that my parents want to see the kids all the time.. but they also still want to see me.. Sure, they like seeing the girls MORE.. but they do still like seeing me.. I do miss doing things "just with my mom" because now that I have the girls we both want to take them with us.. But having kids changes the relationship with your parents.. but in a good way.. so still spend time with your parents. Plus, you are past the point of thinking your parents are fool, and realize that they have pretty good sense about stuff.. so now is the time to pick their brains about things you've always wanted to know. One of the other really cool things about having kids is watching your own parents LOVE your kids.. form relationships with them.. say their name for the first time.. and watch how they both light up when they see each other.

The other cool thing is that now I have my own little family to spend time with.. and I love it. I love our time with the girls, the dogs, and just us.. We can get excited about the "Seek a Boo" game.. or a silly puzzle.. Play Dough is also huge right now. But its fun to just go home, and be with my family. Every day its something new with the girls.. (Yesterday Cross was Bokking like a chicken) and I don't want to miss any of those moments. I also really love my husband and going home to him.. So I enjoy the lame-ness of my little family life.

10) Be Kind to yourself.. Respect Yourself.. 
I also add Forgiving yourself to this one.. yeah, I'm not a stay at home mom.. yeah I don't weigh 100lbs.. yeah I didn't get married till later.. Yeah, my kids eat Cheetos sometimes.. Forgive yourself. Don't Sweat the small stuff.. or.. Don't sweat the Petty stuff, and don't pet the Sweaty Stuff.. lol.. Either way. Its all going to work out. So don't beat yourself up because all the other kids are saying their ABC's and your kid isn't even talking.. When I look at my girls, they are full of joy, so I know I am doing something right.. None of that is going to matter to you in 50 years, so just enjoy your time and be kind and forgiving to yourself..

Here's the full article if you want to read all the comments, etc.. 

We are headed to the farm this weekend. And we get to meet my new nephew, Luke.. Grant & Jenny's new baby. The girls will get to play with Cousin Ava & Joe.. it will be like a giant circus.. but fun.. I'm excited for the girls to have cousins their age that they can run around and have fun with. Its a special time.

Oh, and if you are looking for a delicious Valentines Idea.. Get One Smart Cookies. I know we are supposed to eat 'better'.. but these are worth the calories, and worth the exercise. Dang good cookies..and they are doing a valentine special.. and they are on groupon. Boom. You're welcome.

Its Christmas time Pretty baby..

Well we had a great Christmas. We aren't even all the way done with it yet.. but so far its been awesome.

MJ and I were both most of the Week of Christmas. I worked on Monday, but that was it. We had a great Holiday Luncheon at Loves and it was a lot of fun. I work for a great company.

On Sunday Mom came up to get the girls for a little 1 on 1 Grandparent time.. She took them to Canute and MJ and I finished up some last minute shopping on Monday and Tuesday. We also went to see "Exodus".. which was NOT great. It wasn't even as good as NOAH, and Noah wasn't that great either.. But In Exodus.. he doesn't even part the red sea.. and the burning bush doesn't talk to him, instead a weird little boy does.. Not cool. The Story of Moses is so amazing with all the CGI and Special effect they have nowdays they could have hit an home run.. but they didn't.. Lame. But.. the popcorn was good, so there's that!

I had flower delivery at Church on Tuesday, so I went and did that, and then we went to the First Crossings Christmas Eve Service (I think they had 8 total).. It was so good. We took Brandon with us and he and I cried through some of it, lol.. I'm just so proud of my church, and I love to share it with people.. The choir did "O Holy Night" and it was just great. Makes me so happy to go to a church with a real, live orchestra playing insuruments, and an amazing choir. Love it.

Wednesday Morning we went to Mom's and got the girls and headed to Sentinel to see my dad and all the cousins. We had a great time. The kids are 2 & Under.. Mine are the youngest at 19 Months.. Joe turned 2 in October, (My sister Lexi's boy) and Ava turned 2 in September (My Brother Grant's girl).. so its a madhouse of toddlers crying, laughing, running, falling, flailing, screaming and chasing each other! Its pretty hilarious to watch. They are all to the age now where they know each other and play with each other. There are going to be some pretty interesting brawls that happen in the next few years to say the least!


 They had a great time opening their presents.. Although Londyn didn't care much about it.. Joe's "present" face was the best.. every time he would open something it was like it was the greatest gift that had ever been given! I just wanted to keep giving him stuff! Ava loved her Fur Real Kitten that we got her.. but so did Crosslee and she kept stealing it every time Ava sat her down.. lol..She would take it and run off.. It was funny. The whole situation with Toddlers 2 & under is funny because they have no concept of empathy, sharing, hurting one another or civilization in general! They are self-absorbed little emotional people walking around being crazy! But its so great..

You will go from one minute of happiness, to someone crying, to someone yelling, to someone giggling.. its pretty great. I was never close to any of my cousins, so I'm pretty excited for my girls to grow up loving their cousins and playing together.

Cross has started doing a "CHEESE" face when you point your camera at her. Its one of my favorite things.. because it makes me laugh..  Londyn has also started doing a Cheese Face, except hers looks more like an Angry Goat face..

Her Cheese face was when Gigi gave them Push Pops before Supper to celebrate the fact that they were 19 months old.. and it was Christmas time.. so as you can see, she was very excited about this.. Who wouldn't be excited about push pops for supper right??

They had a great Time at Christmas Day at Gigi & Papa's.. Santa came.. although LL wasn't that concerned with this.. Cross got up pretty early and was excited about her Basketball goal. She grabbed the ball, walked over and started shooting it into the goal.. She made like 3 in a row and I look over at mom and we are like "How does she know how to do that?".. but she did!

Mom also got them a King & Queen Puppet.. Cross was freaked out by them at first.. she would look at them and say "NOO".. but once they started singing songs to her she warmed up a little.. by the last day we were there she was feeding the Queen part of her sausage.. thats how you know Cross loves you.. if she shares her sausage.. lol

Londyn got up a little bit later on Christmas day.. she was most excited about a geometric Stacker we got them. She liked to take all of them off and then put them back on. They both loved that gift. They also both loved the Piano.. they strum on it daily.

They also got lots of coloring books, and art Easel, and these awesome horses.. Sadly, they are not big enough to ride the horses yet, but Cross still loved them.. We will wrap them back up and save them for their birthday. You have to weigh enough to press down on them to make them go.. they can reach the pedals..but can't make them go just yet, so we ended up pushing Cross around on hers, or letting her walk him.. she still loved it. When they are big enough they will LOVE those horses! You steer/drive their heads so it will be so much fun!

We have one more Christmas left, with MJ's dad.. His Grandma got sick on Christmas and went into the hospital, so we haven't got to see them yet, but we probably will this weekend. I know we will all be excited to do that too!


The girls are so much fun right now. They don't play and love on each other a lot..but they are starting to. I captured a picture of them in the chair playing and their faces look so sweet. They love playing Hide & Seek now..

Cross is saying a million words.. the funniest ones are "Heyyyyy" and "byyyeeee".. she sounds Southern. She knows how to ask for things and we understand what she wants 90% of the time. Londyn says fewer words, but she is very sweet and patient, and we can usually figure out what she wants too. I think she will talk more as she gets older. She loves to play with Rocks and Hangers. We got her a Sandbox for Christmas. They also got a slide and Cross loves it. Cross loves all her new babies. She has a Fur Real Panda, Small Toady, her Fur Real Horse, and we got both of them glow worms. They both like them in their beds at night. Cross sleeps with like 5 things now.. but don't worry, JA (the owl) is still the main guy.. He is in almost every picture because he is not far from her heart..

The girls had their 18 month appointments.. They are in the 90% percentile in most things. They weight 26 & 27 lbs and are 34" tall. They are super healthy.. Still really great eaters.. in fact Cross ate Mexican Enchilada dip at Christmas.. we were like "Cross thats spicy".. but she just kept dipping her chips in there and eating it.. lol. They do a great job eating. Not picky at all, which I'm so grateful for.

My next post will probably be about having twins.. because I know several people that are pregnant with twins right now..and they honestly don't know whats about to happen.. lol..But I'll save that one for later. Hope you all had a Very Merry Christmas! I know we are super excited about the New Year and all the New Blessings it will bring! XXOO