Cover to Cover

Today I accomplished one of the great goals of my life.

I have many goals in life. Some are certainly attainable, others will be a long shot. Some of my goals in life are to author a book, climb a mountain, go to Jersusalem (the Mount of Olives in particular) and to go on a missions trip to Africa. I have many goals in life...these are just a few.

But today I accomplished one of the easier goals: I finished reading the Bible from cover to cover. It took me 2 years...a little longer than the original one year time frame. Over the course of my 27 year relationship with Christ, I've read all of the New Testament (not sequentially), Psalms thru Malachi and Genesis thru Deuteronomy. I've set out to read it all the way thru twice before, but failed. I've read, studied, memorized and preached on most of the other books, just not read them cover to cover.

I learned so much throughout this endeavor and my eyes were opened to the reality of the life of Christ that I am living. I gained a world view that's changed my perspective. I also gained an over-arching vision on how God operates. I also picked up on minor things life how Paul thinks and his perspective in Acts and then his corresponding letters to God's people.

This past year, we went to a lecture on campus and heard a traveling pastor share that he had read the Bible one time for each of the year's he's been alive but he didn't start until he was in college. That's making up for lost time! Even Zig Ziglar reads the Bible and other books and prays 4 hours each morning when he first wakes up...could I?

I'm not sure what my new goal I'll start working on. Maybe tomorrow I'll start with Genesis 1...again.

Sucking a thumb

We recently got a flip video camera, which is really fun and easy. (It has a flip USB drive that plugs directly into my brandy-spankin new laptop). Essentially, I'm trying out the device. This video was pretty fun as Sam offered his thumb for Hannah to suck on.

The Blessing of Handmade Things!

Over the past few years we've been blessed with some beautiful handmade things from some extremely close friends of ours. Madalyn has been the lucky recipient of some awesome scarves and sweaters... and even an adorable hat the first winter that she was born. Hannah has since inherited that hat and Samuel received a matching one in blue!

About 2 weeks ago the babies were given super adorable Christmas hats - so cute that I had to show them off. Hannah's is a candy cane and Samuel's is a Christmas tree! They look adorable in these hats. I'm so thankful to our dear friend for making these for us! They are even "stretchy" so we'll be able to wear them again next year! THANK YOU!
Madalyn with her pink hat on - a month old!
Hannah with the pink hat - 6 months old! (isn't the resemblance amazing just with the girls' eyes)
Sam in blue! - 6 months.
my handsome Christmas Tree - 7 months.
a super sweet Candy Cane - 7 months old.

The Babes' 6 month appointment

Let me start out by saying that I'm a little behind but I have many good excuses :)

About 2 weeks ago we had the 6 month appointment for the babies! Wow! 6 months! I can't even hardly believe it. In one sense it's flown by but in another sense it feels like the days have dragged on at points. It is different because for 2 months I wasn't able to have both babes at home with me as they were still in the hospital. So, I've only had them both home for 4 months. I just can't believe that my babies are 6 months old already. Jeesh!

I headed to the appointment by myself as Mark had to be out of town that day for work. Madalyn stayed at the house with Mark's mom and I braved the doctors office by myself. Let me just say that I wasn't looking forward to it at all. I have no problem taking the babies places by myself - the issue was just the with going to the doctor. I knew they would both have to go through the routine of undressing, getting weighed, getting checked out and then getting vaccinations. It was just a lot to think about doing by myself and I was SO nervous.

The nurse helped me to get them undressed and she took one and I took the other. We weighed them and then took them back to the room to wait on the doctor. While we were waiting on the doctor, both babes were extremely cheery and happy (which helped!). Samuel did decide to spit up all down the sleeve of my shirt which was rather disgusting. It's a good thing I had another shirt on underneath. I played with both kids on the table until the doctor came in.

Samuel's weight - 11lbs 14oz
Hannah's weight - 13lbs 1oz

The exam went well. Dr. H said that both babies are doing extremely well. He put both babies on their stomachs and they are both very strong for their age (their adjusted age is 4 months - 2 months behind - so for developmental stages and what not we go by the adjusted age). Both are developmentally right on track... they are beginning to reach for things, they can sit up when held (good head control) and they are rolling from their bellies to their backs. Hannah is a little bit stronger but that's understandable as she's bigger. Both did well on their bellies - Sam even was a little stronger on his belly. Dr. H said that by next appt (2 months) they should be able to sit up on their own. He then talked to me about getting them flu vaccines and the RSV injection. Because they are preemies, they are recommended to have the RSV injection - which isn't a vaccine but rather an injection of antibodies to help build up their immune system. If they were to catch RSV it would be rather bad as their lungs are less mature than a full term baby. They will each get an RSV injection every month until March.

The bad thing about the injections was that they each got their regular flu shot in the office and then I had to bundle them up and take them upstairs for the H1N1 vaccine. They both were very much upset by the time we got upstairs and I made it worse by having them get another vaccine. I was super stressed out with two screaming babies but I did well for being by myself. At one point a nurse came over and said, "we've been over at the desk trying to figure out who needs the hug more - mom or the babies." I sure was glad when that was over!

I'm so thankful that both babies are doing extremely well. I was given the go ahead with feeding them cereal which the Dr. said should help with Samuel's spitting up. So far it's been going well. They are doing great with it! It's so fun to watch them - I love that they light up when they see each other, that they light up when they see their big sister, and that they are extremely happy babies! They love to hold hands and touch each other when they are laying next to each other. Having twins is definitely a blessing and I'm so excited to be on this journey. As hard as it's been in the past, I'm so thankful for my two beautiful, healthy babies!!!

**As a side, I took them in last week for their RSV injections. I took Mady with me this time so it was me and the 3 kiddos. I had the babies undressed and laying on the table. Mady climbed up on the end of the table to watch them receive their injections. Samuel got his first and let out a big ole cry. I think Mady was surprised because she then began to shed a couple of tears. She kept saying "hold me mommy." I had to remind her that it was okay and that I couldn't hold her right then because I had to hold the babies. She went and sat on the chair on the other side of the room so she didn't have to watch when Hannah got her injection. Samuel had calmed down by this point and then Hannah got hers. She let out a cry, Samuel let out a cry as well (maybe a sympathy cry) and Mady again said "mommy, hold me." So I had 2 babies crying and my Mady just about in tears. The nurse was chuckling and all I could do was giggle. I felt bad but to keep from losing my mind I just had to smile. In the end the babies settled down and Mady got a sticker --- yep, she got the sticker but the babies did all of the "work!"

Happy 5th Anniversary!

Yesterday, November 13th, was our anniversary... FIVE years! How exciting. There's something fun about hitting the 5th one. I am so blessed to be married to such a wonderful husband and such a wonderful dad! I couldn't have asked for anything more. I love you babe... SO much! Thank you for loving me, protecting me, and believing in me. You are awesome!

About 2 weeks ago we were sitting in our Sunday School class at church and we had no idea what we were doing for our anniversary. We had thought about going to Chicago for the weekend but that just seemed to be a little "too busy" for me. In our class we were studying a DVD lesson on Love and Respect by Dr. Emerson Eggerichs and his wife Sarah. It was fascinating. That morning, the leader told us that Dr. Eggerichs was actually going to be in Peoria the weekend of the 13-14th! We both looked at each other and knew we wanted to go! We went home and registered and then realized... we should probably find somewhere for the kids to go!

Long story short, a small group from our church volunteered to help us out by watching our kids for us! What a blessing! Two ladies (one of which had an older set of twins herself) watched the kids from 6pm until 10am the next morning at which time one of the ladies switched out duties with a husband! It was a pure blessing. We are so thankful for church family like that! It was so encouraging knowing that our kids were being cared for and even more encouraging that one of the moms did have twins so we knew she wouldn't stress out too much!

We had a magnificent time at the conference. I would definitely recommend it to anyone if it every comes to a town near you - definitely worth the time. I have a whole new outlook on my marriage. The basic premise was Ephesians 5:33 where it says "However, each one of you also must love his wife as he loves himself, and the wife must respect her husband." We, as women, are commanded to respect our husbands and our husbands are commanded to love us, their wives. Isn't it interesting that we are commanded to do this? We are commanded to do things that usually don't come natural to us. We as women speak a different language than our husbands. We are looking for love. Our husbands speak the language of respect. They want our respect. The model that Dr. Emerson Eggerichs has built is that a wife's respect motivates her husband to love her more and the husbands love for his wife in turn motivates her to respect her husband more.

I could go on and on... That was just a tiny bit of the conference. He also talked about love and respect in regards to our sons and daughters which was just as wonderful. It was just really good! Dr. Emerson Eggerichs has written a couple of books that I would recommend checking out!

It was so fun to celebrate 5 years! I'm looking forward to many more!!! We had a wonderful weekend of rejuvenating our marriage and getting on an even better track for the future. Oh, how important that is! Thank you to our friends for watching our kids and Thank You Lord for the truth and power of Your Word!
This is my anniversary present... a diamond anniversary ring. it's a little hard to see but absolutely perfect! It's almost like my wedding band but has 15 diamonds across it instead of 8. THANK YOU babe! I absolutely LOVE IT!!!

There's never a dull moment...

Tonight, my friend and a I shopped at our favorite baby / kids sale, One Week Boutique. We look forward to this big sale twice a year and even volunteer by delivering promotional items to daycares so that we can shop early. The public can shop on Friday and we were able to shop today. I can't even explain how awesome this sale is.... everything you could think of for a baby or kiddo is for sale... and usually there are multiples of each item. I usually get birthday and part of Christmas taken care of when I shop. Some of the things I purchased this year: Unopened packages of diapers for the twins at a greatly reduced price, unopened complete dress-up kit including gloves, rings, dress, tiara, necklace and shoes for $5, a princess jewelry box for $1, a unopened power toothbrush with matching dora toothpaste for $2, cans of formula for $0.50, a carseat that goes in our van for Mady's baby.. and the list goes on.... (by the way, she's going to absolutely go nuts when she gets the carseat as she's been hauling her deer around in the van with us wherever we go in her infant carrier). Anyway, I love this sale but back to the point of my story...

My friend and I both sent our kids off to church before we got home. Her dad took her son to church and Mark took our kiddos to church. She had called me on the way and said, "You'll never guess what Dad let "J" out of the house wearing... shorts, a long sleeve t-shirt, and his bright green rain boots!" (Mind you, it's freezing outside!). I giggled until I arrived at church and saw what my daughter was wearing... pants that were too short for her so everytime she sat down or bent over her... well, her dad would say "say no to crack!" ... if you follow me... She also had on flip flops, her hair was a mess, both pockets were inside out and hanging down, and she was wearing her bright blue flowery spring coat!

I stuck my head in her class to joke with Mady's teacher about what she was wearing. She said, "yeah, I knew you didn't dress her because her hair wasn't done up all cute... and everytime she bends over we get a show!" We both got a good laugh out of it! Poor Mads! We love Daddy so much though! I learned later that Mark had fallen asleep on the couch and woke up right before he was supposed to be leaving for church. They were in a hurry to get everyone fed and to the church and not be late so I suppose he has a good excuse..

On another note, Mady said the funniest thing tonight. Mark was in a small fender bender on Monday (not his fault) and he was telling me that his Dad had called and asked about the accident. Here's how the conversation went at our table tonight...
Mark: "He (dad) asked about my accident."
Mady: "Daddy, did you poop your..."
Mom: (cutting off Mady pretty quickly) "no, Mads, we're talking about a different kind of accident."

can you tell what has been talked about in our house lately? And speaking of accidents, Mady is on her 3rd night of wearing "princess panties" to bed in the evening and not having any accidents! She's been wearing a pull up only to bed for about a month now and they are always dry in the morning so this week I decided to get rid of all diapers! I love it that she's not even 3 yet and she's completely potty trained... and she did most of it herself! Praise God that I'm not changing 3 little bottoms.... well, 2 little ones and 1 big one :)

A Salute to a Fallen Hero

I just got back from a long trip to Cleveland to visit some clients. I don't mind the trip as I enjoy the people at my facilities out in Ohio, but I just don't like being away from my family.

On my way back today, I followed a van into a gas station. He very slowed pulled off of the interstate on the off ramp, onto the frontage road and into the gas station. As each interminable second passed, I got more and more agitated. He was driving so slow. He pulled into the gas station and I zoomed around him. I pulled into my slot, popped open the gas flap, filled completely up, ran inside and used the restaurant, ran back outside, figured out my gas mileage for my trip, started up my car and started to pull out. And that's when it hit me...

I looked up and saw this seasoned gentleman still putting gas in the same van that I followed into the station. I realized that he was taking his time, enjoying himself (unlike some of us). He has learned to slow down, to enjoy life and take a deep breath every once in awhile. So what if I broke the gas fill-up speed record? Who cares that I can run into the restroom, do my duty before most guys even make it to the stall? I want to take a page out of this guys book...to slow down and enjoy life for a few minutes.

I was still contemplating this situation when way down the interstate, I beheld an amazing site...

As I drove down the interstate, I saw all kinds of red and blue lights flashing coming from the opposite direction. As I watched, I saw 16 cop cars followed by literally 200 motorcycles w/ the American flag on their bikes, followed by a black van...followed by a hearse. As I gazed, this hearse was followed by literally several hundred cars all in a single file line on the interstate, and then it dawned on me that this was the procession for the local soldier who recently was killed in Afghanistan and today was his funeral. I pulled over along with all of the other cars going in my direction. I looked up in my rear view mirror, and I saw the most amazing site...the guy behind me slowly got out of his car and with all of the world watching, in his formal fatigues, he stood erect saluting this unknown comrad, a fellow soldier. His intensity was undeniable. His attitude unyielding. His loyalty a proclamation and his passion unparalleled.

Several hundred cars passed with their lights on and a funeral sign attached to their window, and then a I saw a great site: 2 cop cars were following this entire procession with their lights on, not allowing anyone to pass this 5 mile long bereavement ceremony. I can imagine that someone way back in this holdup was getting irate that the speed on the interstate was so slow. They wouldn't realize that they were following a funeral procession, but that they were just going slow. Hopefully the firetrucks and policemen at each overpass on Interstate 74 would give it away, but if not, I learned something today: slow down and enjoy life. Enjoy the life that I have that has been earned through the scars and stripes of these fallen heroes. The American flag that was waving in the wind of those motorcycles stands for a freedom that I've taken for granted but today my perspective has been changed. I want to thank those that have helped make my life possible. My level of gratitude for them is difficult to communicate but is nonetheless very real.

One Year Anniversary!

I just celebrated my one year anniversary with Usborne Books and so I thought I would blog about it!

On October 20, 2008, I signed up to be an Usborne Book Consultant and I've loved every minute of it! I initially signed up so that I could simply build Madalyn's home library but the more I got involved with Usborne, the more I just couldn't stop.

My family and I love books. Mark and I have implemented a weekly reading night - usually on Tuesday evenings - where we all (minus the babies) spend the evening with a few good books and no distractions. Mady even looks forward to these evenings. I love promoting literacy in my own home and in the homes of others. I'm extremely passionate about sharing my take on literacy and with Usborne I have the opportunity to do just that with many different people in many different circumstances.

Since starting a year ago, I've had many opportunities with Usborne. I am currently doing fundraisers with two different schools in the area in which 100% return goes to the school and the students! Awesome! I've also done home shows and various booth events! I love it! I get to meet new people and introduce them to some great books!

Our books are 85% educational and non commercialized. We have over 1500 titles in our Usborne catalog. 80% are non-fiction and under $10!!! We also acquired Kane Miller Publishing this summer... Kane Miller books are multicultural stories from all around the world. We have about 100 titles in that line. We are also coming out with a new 12 book series later this month. It's called Conspiracy 365. Usborne has the exclusive rights to this series. There was even a big write-up about it in the magazine, Publishers Weekly. It's supposed to be magnificent!

I love selling books part time. I love that I can promote something that is so important to me... and I can do it whenever I want.

If you are interested in seeing some of the books that we have you can visit, www.ReadingGeneration.com

Thanks to all of you that have supported me in this past year! I love what I'm doing (in my free time) and I love introducing parents and grandparents (and even schools) to great books!!!

Happy Reading!!!

Kids say the darndest things

Jenn's folks came over yesterday to watch the kids while we went to a funeral of a good friend. When they got here, they had brought Madalyn a new minivan for her "loving people" set (goes with her dollhouse). It's actually kinda neat (except for the fact that it makes all kinds of noises = not cool.) It's got 2 little car seats in the back, one's pink and the other is blue. I sat down next to Mady and I started asking her questions. I said "who sits here?" Her response was "Sam sits here, Hannah sits here, the little girl sits here." (herself) I asked her, "well, who is driving the van?" Her response was "Mommy." And I said "well, who's in the passenger seat, here?" Mady's responded back, "That's for the new daddy."

JENNIFER!!! COME HERE!

Apparently, there's not a new daddy in town. I learned that Mady is getting a new mommy and daddy figurine for her new minivan. I still don't buy it...

The "Hiney" Vaccine

Ok, so I must start by explaining why I call it the "hiney" flu (H1N1). My good friend, who works in healthcare, mentioned that there was a call received at her office the other day asking if the "hiney" vaccine had been released yet. Apparently this particular person on the other end of the phone somehow got the "1's" confused with "i's" and therefore called it the "hiney" flu. I must say that once it's called that - it's hard to go back to H1N1... just because it's so funny. So, in our family it's now referred to as the hiney flu.

Last week, after much prayer and consideration, I took Madalyn to the public health department to get her H1N1 flu vaccine. I have a friend who lives down the street that told me about the public health dept giving them out for free. Mark and I had talked about it and we had agreed that yes Madalyn would be getting the h1n1 vaccine this year. We couldn't afford not to with infant twins in the home and someone who has a lung disease. It would be dumb of us not to get the vaccine.

The easy part was knowing that we were going to have Madalyn get it... The hard part for me was whether to give her the shot or the nasal spray. She received the flumist nasal spray for the regular flu but I was a little more nervous about the h1n1 flumist. Now, I know that it's definitely a weakened "live" virus that's in the nasal spray and I know that it was fine when she received the first nasal spray for the regular flu but something didn't sit right with the H1N1 flumist. I was simply a little worried about the fact that it was a "live" virus - with having the babies and Mark. The chance of something occuring from the flumist is slim but I just wanted to be careful. On the other hand, the shot that the public health was giving out did have thimerosal in it and that made me a tad nervous as well. All of the ones that Carle has are free of thimerosal but they aren't giving them out yet. So, I was in a predicament and I had to weigh the options.

I called Mark's CF doctor and asked what they thought about the flumist and they said that Mark would be fine if Mady got it. I know everyone has opinions on both and I know I probably was making a bigger deal out of it than I should but in the end neither Mark not I felt comfortable giving Mady the flumist when the shot was available.

Mark headed over one night last week to see if he could get one as well but the place was packed and they wouldn't give him a vaccine (only the mist which he can't have!) so they headed home. Mady cried on the way home because she couldn't get a shot. Most kids cry because they have to get a shot and mine cries because she wasn't able to get one!!?? I'm positive she didn't know what was coming. The next day I headed over with her before they began giving the shots. We were already #17. She stayed pretty close to me when we were there and you could tell she was a little hesitant of her environment. When it was our turn I wrapped Mady's arms around me and held her close as they stuck her in the leg. She didn't make a peep! I was so proud of her! She was so proud of herself all day telling everything that she got a flu shot and she didn't cry! She loved showing off her sticker!
On another note, today Mark was able to get his shot as well. I have been praying for days that he would be able to get his somehow because I've been worried about him. He's at higher risk because he has cystic fibrosis... that coupled with the fact that we have infant twins and he works in healthcare just makes it an all around scary situation. So, I've been praying that somehow he would be able to get his vaccine. Today he was in Pinckneyville, IL and he was making some cold calls for work. He happened to step into a doctors office where they told him that they had all just gotten their H1N1 vaccines. The lady said they were free for those who worked in healthcare. He jetted out and headed over to this particular church where he was supposed to be able to get his vaccine. At first she said he couldn't have his because he was over 24 years old. Mark told her that he was high risk and gave his story... twins, CF, works in healthcare. She passed him along to the nurse and he was able to get his vaccine for free! I'm so thankful! I know it's something small but it's definitely an answer to prayer for me. With him visiting doctors offices and health care offices all day every day the risk for him catching something is very high and I am just so thankful that he was able to get his vaccine to hopefully protect himself!

(Mark's additions: Ironically enough, as a Laboratory Sales Consultant, I sell the H1N1 confirmation testing. I'm riding a pretty high wave right now that will probably be crashing down after the turn of the year, but business is business. I also got a boost when the Health Dept stopped doing the testing about a month ago because they were overwhelmed. Interestingly enough, they publicly nominated my lab to do the testing, so I get phone calls all the time to sign up hospitals for this particular testing. I'll do anything to get my foot in the door. Thank you Lord)

I love my programs!

I have to admit, I love to sign up for programs where I can earn free coupons and products. I'm always looking for a good deal or for a way to get free samples. Last week I got a box in the mail with a free stick of deoderant and coupons for $3 off that same brand of deoderant. Today I signed up via an email that I got to be part of a new toothpaste launch program. For signing up, I will get a free - full size - tube of toothpaste and coupons for that same brand. It's exciting.

My favorite site that sends great packages is VocalPoint. You just become a member by signing up and then every so often they'll send you something new along with some great coupons. The coupon books usually include one coupon to get the product for free which is always nice.

I am also into Swagbucks and MyPoints right now. I'm saving up my Swagbucks for some Starbucks gift cards for Christmas. I haven't decided what I'm going to do with my MyPoints... most likely some type of gift card as well. (if you want to sign up for either one, let me know so I can send you my referral link!)

When we do it, we go all out!

All three of us (Mady, Mark and I) had the stomach flu or something just as nasty this past week. A week ago today, Mady spent 4.5 hours vomiting - about every half hour - and woke up the next day with it coming out of the other end. This is the first time she's ever really been sick so it was really hard for me to watch her in that state. We nursed her back to pretty good health on Saturday and then Sunday evening around 5pm it hit me. I went to bed early and heard Mark running for the bathroom about 5 hours later. It was awful... We had chills so bad and we were so weak and achy.. not to mention the obvious thing of stuff coming out both ends. We were miserable! The doctor put Mark on Tamiflu but mine said there was nothing that I could do except rest. A HUGE thanks to one of the couples at our church who took all 3 kids for us on Monday evening so that we could rest. That was a huge help! Having 3 kids to take care of when both you and your husband are sick is the worst!!! We are all fine now and thankfully the twins never got sick at all! I am not looking forward to the rest of the cold/flu season. I'm just praying that my family can avoid all the yuckiness out there and stay healthy!!!

Monday Night Football

This past Monday night, Mark and Madalyn cuddled up together on the couch to watch the Dallas Cowboys play the Carolina Panthers. Football is pretty much on all day Sunday and Monday nights now that the season has started up again. Mady actually likes to sit down and watch the game... sometimes getting up to cheer and always asking "what are they doing, Daddy?"

At one point during the game on Monday, she was "reading" a cooking magazine that I had out. A huge play was made on the screen where a touchdown was almost made. Without either Mark or I saying anything regarding the play, Madalyn looked up at the tv and very seriously said, "N i i i i c c c ceeee." It was so funny! Then she told Dad, "That was a nice play, Daddy!"

It was just cute because she obviously had no idea what was going on except that one guy was running really fast down the field.. Or maybe I'm completely wrong and she understands more about football than I do :)

She made a few more comments throughout the evening - copying things that the announcers would say. Every time she was completely serious just like she was an announcer herself. That kid sure cracks me up - she's got her father's sense of humor, that's for sure!!!!

Meet "Cheese"...

In my last post, I introduced you to Matt, the praying mantis! I was sad that me, the camera fanatic, forgot to take a picture of Matt. However, I do have pictures of our newest addition... Cheese, the Beta fish!

A few months back we had told Mady that if she starting using the potty all of the time then we would buy her a fish. It didn't work and I had honestly put it to back of my mind. When I'm busy with 2 infants, potty training my 2 year old is the last thing on my mind. Monday night of last week she decided that she wanted to wear big girl underwear so I put her in them. We had done this a few times off an on and she would use the potty sometimes, but it made me nervous to let her run around in underwear so I would always end up putting a diaper back on her. This time she kept the underwear on all evening and told me every time she had to use the potty.

Two days later she was still wearing underwear (except naps and bedtime) and had had no accidents. I was so proud of her! She would go potty and then get all excited! She found it necessary to always yell at us from the bathroom saying, "Mommy/Daddy, I went pee-pee" or "Mommy/Daddy, there's poopy in the toilet!" It was pretty cute. She was doing wonderfully. She had her own routine too, which was cute to watch (she wouldn't let me help - little miss independant!). She would turn on the light, pull her stool over, put on her potty seat, go, then close the lid, wash her hands, and turn out the light.

Now, almost 2 weeks later, we're still going... only 2 accidents... and sometimes she's not wearing a diaper during her nap! We're so proud of her as she basically did it herself! It's so true that kids will let you know when they are ready!

Anyway, back to Cheese... Monday night we went to Wal-Mart to get Mady her very own fish! She picked out a purple Beta and named him Cheese.

We got him a bowl (or a "cave" as Mady calls it) and we put some shells in the bottom for him. Mady loved him! She held him all through the store and kept saying, "Hi little cheese!" We had to take him away at one point as we were sure he was going to suffer a heart attack from all the shaking by the time we got him home! She showed Cheese to all of the neighbors when we got home and then Mady and Daddy went in to feed him! She knows she feeds him 4 pellets every night.

Mady is in love with Cheese! She's constantly talking to him and the last two mornings the first thing she says when she wakes up is, "Mommy, is Cheese awake?" It's super cute.

On the flip side, we have to constantly tell her to be careful as she likes to try to pick up his bowl (not good because it's glass AND full of water) and push his bowl around... I'm sure the poor fish is going to have a heart attack!

Just this afternoon I ran upstairs while Mady was finishing up lunch. She was awful quiet so I came downstairs and started cleaning up the lunch mess. I went to wipe off the table and looked down into Cheese's bowl... And what did I see..... 3 goldfish crackers floating in the fishbowl and Cheese was trying to eat part of them. I took a picture first (cause it was pretty funny) and then sternly told Mady that she can't put anything in Cheese's bowl except his food because it will make him sick. She made a sad face and said, "I'm sorry mommy. I'm SO sorry!" The rest of the afternoon she was constantly asking me if Cheese was okay!


It was so funny and I wanted to laugh so bad but I also had to keep a straight face so that she understood that it wasn't good for things to go in Cheese's bowl! Oh, the things kids do....

I LOVE BEING A MOM!!!!

This is Matt...

Saturday afternoon Mark found a praying mantis on our screen on the sliding glass door. We put it in a jar with some grass for Mady when she woke up from her nap.

Mark and I left for the Illini game and when we got home we learned for the sitter that Madalyn had named the praying mantis "Matt" and she had requested that he "sleep" in her room for the night. I went in to check on her and Matt was sitting in his jar on her play kitchen.

The next morning she was telling someone that she had a "praying grasshopper" named Matt. It was really cute. She was carrying Matt everywhere - showing him to everyone, including the babies on numerous occasions.

This morning we heard Mady introducing Matt to her dolls and little people. She had the jar with Matt in it sitting in her dollhouse and she was saying, "Matt, this is Mia." "Mia, This is Matt." It was hilarious. I love the her imagination.

Matt wasn't looking so well this afternoon so we let him go in the window well in our basement. Mady goes down frequently to check on him. I can't believe how involved she is with this crazy bug! I wonder if she'll want to catch bugs all the time now??

Throwing Marshmallows

I guess you could say this is a *Tradition* in our home... well, if that even makes sense. Ever since Mark and I have known each other we've always thrown marshmallows at one another before eating them. It's like a prerequisite to eating them. Weird, I know... but there's just something fun about pelting someone with a marshmallow!

The other day, Mark decided to share this little known fact with Madalyn... so, needless to say, I was hit numerous times that day (glad it doesn't hurt!).

This morning I was craving smores so I pulled out the ingredients and got ready to put them in the microwave. Madalyn came over and wanted a marshmallow so I willingly gave her one. The next thing I know she's telling me, "Mama, I can't eat this marshmallow until I throw it at you." We had fun running around the kitchen, me dodging marshmallows. She got a good laugh out of it anyway :)

It only adds to the craziness that is life here at the Bettinger house.

My Kite! My Kite!

A few weeks back, we were driving home and someone was flying a kite at the ball diamond by our house. Mady saw it, asked what it was and we told her. After hearing about it, she commented that she would like a kite. Every kid should fly a kite, so last week, we went out and found her one.

Apparently it's not entirely easy to find a kite in August in Illinois. Jenn had to go to several different stores to obtain one. She finally found one, believe it or not, at the dollar store. (for $2). It was some pink and blue one. I don't know.

We got home and I was asked incessantly about flying the silly thing in the back yard. A couple of days later, we unwound it, and away she went! Mady and I had a blast flying a kite for her first time. I was reminded during this little period that this is one of the joys of parenting. She had a blast and the smile on her face was priceless.


Cautiously I let her hold her kite. It was a fairly breezy day, so it flew very well. She loved it. I reminded her constantly to hold on tight to her new kite. I reminded her constantly...


About 20 minutes later, I look over and as she is switching hands, she accidently lets her kite go. She started screaming, "MY KITE! MY KITE! I've never run so fast in my entire life. This thing didn't fly up, it just flew away about as fast as I can run, about 10 feet away from me. I ran around the house, across our front yard, across the street, over the neighbor's flower garden, around a fence and I finally caught up to it on the next street over. I must have looked ridiculous, grasping at a kite string barely out of my reach.

I brought it back and she was thoroughly happy (I was sucking on my inhaler for at least 10 minutes afterwards). We continued to fly it again, but in the front yard this time. Cars drove by, neighbors waved and we were having a great time...until it happened again. This time it didn't go as far and I caught it in our neighbor's yard. Jenn saw the whole thing unfold this time around and laughed hysterically. She also made fun of me, saying that I run funny. Way to bruise the ego of an asthmatic still trying to catch his breathe.

We put the kite away for another day. It was an awesome memory making experience that we can ALL laugh about today.

Thank You...

I posted a while ago about some different multiple birth programs that I had sent letters to and some that I had called about. I got my first box in the mail two days ago. All I can say is Thank You, Gerber!

In my box were two "I'm a Gerber Baby" onsies, 10 Thank You cards, a bath package for mom, a coupon for a free can of formula and a coupon for free baby food.

It sure was a sweet surprise!

13 Weeks Old

Wow, it's hard to believe that my babes are 13 weeks old - technically they are only 3 weeks old if you use their "corrected age," as they say in the medical world. Wow! 13 weeks ago we went through a very scary time where we learned that our doctor wanted to take the babies early. I was terrified. Then they were born and they were sent directly to the NICU where nurses told us they would probably be until their due date (10 weeks later) - Hannah was in for 5 weeks and Samuel in for 8 weeks. Now, they are home and doing perfectly fine! Praise God for miracles like my babies. What a testimony they are to His goodness. The time that they were in the NICU was SO HARD but now I look back on it and it seems like only a blip on the radar... We would have never have made it through that time on our own strength... it was only by HIS strength that we made it. And now it's only by His strength that we make it through each day. I'm so thankful for the two precious babies that we have to add to our beautiful family and I give God all the glory!!!

The big question that we are constantly asked is this, "So, how is it with TWO?"

Well, the answer is that it is going well. They were on a schedule when the came home from the NICU (both on the same schedule) so they eat and sleep at the same times. I do have many periods throughout my day where both babes are sleeping at the same time and during the afternoon I have a period where all 3 kiddos are asleep. Now, they are *those* days where things don't go as I would like but overall I can't complain. They are only waking up once during the night (around 1-2) so I really can't complain about that either.

However I must admit that when things get hairy... they REALLY get hairy. This doesn't happen often (thankfully) but there are times where they both are needing attention as well as the 2 year old, as well as my dinner prep, as well as the husband coming home, as well as the laundry, etc... you get the idea. I have mastered picking up two infants at a time, feeding two hungry infants at a time, and I've mastered the art of wrapping the paci in the mouth... it's those little things in life... :)

I wouldn't trade this for the world... as hard or as easy as it is. Having twins brings a joy that you could never experience with a singleton. I'm so blessed to have two beautiful, healthy babies to share the love of Christ with and to share my love with. I can't wait to see the little people that they will grow into and how their personalities will evolve.

Here's some small known facts about my babes:
*Both babies loved to be swaddled. If they are fussy and not swaddled, I'll wrap them up and it usually does the trick.
*Samuel is our laid back baby. He can be swaddled and put in his bed wide awake and he'll lay there until he eventually closes his eyes - not a peep. Hannah is definitely our more "high maintenance" child. She just likes to let you know when she's not happy and then when you fix it for her - she's content again. It's funny because this is what I concluded from their time in the womb... Sam was laid back and Hannah was always the one that was moving in every direction and kicking every square inch of my belly!
*Samuel has a soft, raspy cry that breaks our heart... You can hear Hannah's cry in the next county!
*Hannah hates to sleep on her back while Samuel loves it.
*Hannah loves her paci. Sam could take it or leave it.
*Hannah loves to be held up over your shoulder or in the "sitting up" position. Sam doesn't mind being held like a baby.
*Samuel is still in NB clothes (even those are big on him) and Hannah is pushing to the top of the 0-3 size. They both are super long so we're in 3 month jammies.

Mady is having a ball with two babies around the house. I am always finding her "little people" next to the babies and she likes to read her books to them. Whenever we see pregnant ladies around (we have a few friends that are pregnant), Mady always makes it a point to say "they are having just ONE baby mommy." Yes, Mads, most people have just one baby at a time but God decided to bless us with two. What a privilege to be the mom of 3 little blessings.... ALL under the age of THREE!

Please call me Belle, Mom...

This is what I hear just about daily from Madalyn lately. My daughter thinks she is the princess known as Belle. She has not seen Beauty and the Beast nor has she been formally introduced to the Disney Princesses. But, her name is Belle and that's that.

A couple of weeks ago a friend sent me an email that there was going to be a princess social at a local church in town. Girls ages 2-6 were to come dressed as princesses and they would get to spend the evening eating pink cupcakes, making crafts, and meeting a princess and her prince. I knew Madalyn would have a ball (as she loves to dress us) and so we planned on going. I got a babysitter for the babes, Mark went to softball, and we went for some mother-daughter time at the "Princess Party" as Mady called it.

I was right - she had a ball. We met up with about 8 little other princesses that go to the same church as us. The girls colored, did a craft of decorating their very own crown, got their picture taken with a princess and her prince, ate pink cupcakes, got Princess tattoos, and watched a brief Princess movie. It was the perfect activity for my little girl... she was having the time of her life.

One of her friends from church, whom she loves to play with, came dressed as Belle - complete with the yellow dress and all. Mady had heard her say that she was dressed as Belle, I'm sure - as I never told her. The next day I asked Mady if she could do something for me. Surprisingly I heard her say "Mom, I'm not Mady... I'm Belle." I politely said "okay, Belle. Could you go do so-and-so" - the whole time I was laughing inside. To this day (3 weeks or so after the princess party) she's still telling us to call her Belle. Sometimes she even says, "You're not mom, you're Cinderella. And Daddy is the Prince." It's super cute. She's into everything Princess right now as well. I love that she gets to excited. Just tonight she said, "these shoes are not Mady's they are Belle's."

So, if you see us out somewhere, make sure to tell "Belle" hi!

Here's my little Princess... Belle.
P.S. A random story from the Princess Party. They had a room set up where they were taking pictures of each girl with the Princess and the Prince, two young college kids dressed up accordingly. Mady was all excited until it was her turn and she wigged out. She held onto my leg and wanted nothing to do with getting her pictures taken. So, we went and did something else and came back later. We had talked it over and she said she was going to do it this time. A couple of the little girls in front of us asked if they could get their picture taken with just the Princess - no Prince. They did that and I explained to Madalyn that she could just sit with the Princess if that would make her comfortable. She said "no mommy, I just want the Prince not the Princess." Oh boy... So, mom had to explain to the photographer that we wanted just the Prince. And then, of course, she gets scared again. She's holding onto my leg not wanting to move. I hear them say "mom, you can go up with her." So, I headed up hoping that it would make her feel more comfortable. Next thing I know they took 2 pictures. Whew... glad that was over. I didn't think too much about it until we got the pictures in the mail a little while ago. I had to laugh as I showed it to Mark... a picture of Mady, A young Prince, and Me. Had I not told the Mark the story and he opened that picture I'm sure it would have been really funny. It's definitely not a picture that's on display but it is one that will go in Mady's scrapbook for many laughs down the road....

Multiple Birth Programs

Most of you know that I'm always out to find a good deal or to find some good coupons. I love bargain hunting. When I was still pregnant with the babes, I did some research online on "multiple birth discounts." I came across a few sites that had companies listed that participated in and gave multiple birth discounts. I wrote them all down and saved them for a rainy day... or a day when I would have *free* time.

About a week ago I decided to sit down and call some of the companies listed on my sheet... Proctor and Gamble, the makers of Tylenol and Motrin, Beechnut, Enfamil, Similac, among many others. I gave them my information and waited to see what they would send me. Yesterday it was like Christmas at our house... ok, maybe not like Christmas but it was still exciting. I got 3 super thick envelopes filled with coupons for money off and coupons for free products. I have coupons for free bottles of adult and baby tylenol and motrin, coupons for a free bottle of mylicon drops (a $11 value), and coupons for free band-aids, among other things. I also got a ton of of money saving coupons as well as a free samples of baby cereal and 2 free feeding spoons. I am excited to see what else will be coming our way.

As well as calling different companies, I also sent out some letters. Some places required copies of the babies birth announcements from the hospital in order for me to quality for the multiple birth program. We'll see what arrives from those companies. From what the descriptions said on the website that I checked, some of them send free baby products like rattles and teethers and some even send coupons for free boxes of diapers and free cans of formula.

It pays to check into things like this. I know that most of these companies send out coupons for moms who have singleton babes as well. You just have to call and inquire. It's definitely worth the time and effort if you're into coupon-ing.

I'm due today!

Sam on right, Hannah on left
Wow. Today is my due date for the twins! It's crazy to think that I've had one home for 4 weeks and both home for 2 weeks - they were born 10 weeks ago! I'm praising Him today for His goodness. My miracle babies are doing great and growing like little weeds. When we had their appointments on Friday, Hannah was 7lbs 1oz and Samuel was 5lbs 12oz... a far cry from 3lbs 12oz and 2lbs 11oz! Just think... if I were to deliver today I would have almost 13lbs of baby inside me - ugh! Scary! Haha!

Thank you Lord for seeing us through this difficult time of early delivery and hospital stays! We give you all the praise and glory! You are faithful!

Funny Things Overheard This Past Week...

It's been quite interesting watching Madalyn interact with Hannah lately. Mady hates it when Hannah whines (I say whine because she only really makes a sound when she's hungry or when her diaper is being changed) - Mady immediately does whatever she can to try to get her to stop making noise. Mady is also quite protective - she has such a motherly instinct already! It's cute to watch her "take care" of Hannah and make sure she's okay! Here are some cute things she's done in the past week...

*Hannah was whining as we were getting ready to leave to go to the hospital to visit Samuel. I was trying to hold off on feeding her until we got to the hospital. Mady went over to the car seat and said "It's okay sweetie... It's okay!"

*Another time we were in the car and I was trying to push the feeding again so Hannah was a bit whiny. Mady was listening to her favorite song on CD, The 5 little monkeys. She tried giving Hannah her "Ma" (her pink blanket) as she said "here's Ma Hannah, you can have her." After that didn't work, I hear Mads say "What's wrong? You don't like this song?"

Here are a couple of other random things that she said that I thought were pretty funny:

*We were playing outside and Madalyn runs over to me and says, "Mom! I have an idea for you..."

*Lately Mady has had an obsession with her babies and acting like she's the mom - taking care of them. She had asked me if I wanted to play and I agreed. I was told that I was the baby and that she was the mommy. She made me lay in her bed and suck on a pacifier. She took a blanket and strategically placed it around the paci so it wouldn't come out of my mouth (she's watched me do this to Hannah, I suppose!) She tucked me in and then proceeded to say, "If you cry, I will take this blanket away!" I started laughing hysterically. We tell Mady every night before bed that if she gets out of bed we will take her Ma away (that's her consequence) so apparently she was going to give me a consequence if I started to cry.

*A few weeks ago Madalyn got into some body wash of Mark's and had it all over the bathroom (I blogged about it if you're interested). I remember at that time telling her that I wasn't very happy with her. For some reason, this has stuck with Mady because now she always asks, "mom, are you happy with me?" She asks this at least 3 times a day. It's pretty cute.

Are the bad mans out?

Last night, after we stopped by the hospital to see Samuel, we decided to head to downtown Urbana and check out the Blues, Brews, and BBQ festival. Mark is a big BBQ guy and can't ever pass it up so he was especially excited.

We headed over around 7pm and each got our meal (I had yummy BBQ chicken nachos). After walking around, chatting with some people that we knew (we ran into Sam's nurse), and walking through the kids area, we decided to head out. Mark had made a comment - "if we wait around much longer to leave this place it isn't going to be safe for women and children." (Of course almost everyone had a beer in hand and the band was getting started so we wanted to get out of there before things would possibly get rowdy).

Mady was upset that we had to leave and kept asking us why. I didn't really know what to tell her and so I said (not thinking she would really remember) that when it gets dark the people might start doing bad things. I didn't think too much about it and we left. On the way home we started a conversation with Madalyn about why it gets dark and why fireflies only come out when it's dark. Mady then asked a couple of questions about our conversation and then was quiet a bit. She then asked, "Mom, are the bad mans out now?" I asked what she was talking about and she said "the bad mans come out when it's dark and they do bad things."

I guess she was listening earlier when I had told her why we needed to leave the festival. It was pretty funny though and Mark told me that it was "blog-worthy."

As a side note... I've always grown up calling the fireflies "lightning bugs" whereas Mark is the one that calls them fireflies. If you're going to plan on explaining "lightning bugs" to a toddler - make sure that it isn't lightning outside...whew... it was a little confusing there for a second. We did have fun chasing the lightning bugs in the backyard when we got home. I'm glad it was dark because I know I looked like a fool out there! Oh well, Mady had fun and we made some fun memories!

Hannah's Homecoming!

This is long overdue but better late than never...

Our tiny Hannah is home from the NICU! She's officially been home for a week and 2 days and I've loved every minute of it. She was released last Tuesday weighing in at 5lbs 1 oz. We took her to the Dr. on Friday and their scale calculated her in at 5lbs 8oz. I'd say she's doing a pretty good job of eating!!
I was blessed by the fact that she was already on a schedule from being in the NICU. She eats every 3 hours (yep, even through the night!) and then pretty much goes back to sleep. I've been having to wake her up though and she's not been showing a lot of interest in eating during the night - I'm hoping this is a sign of sleeping through the night in the future! I was already in the 3 hour routine as I've been (and still am) pumping milk every 3 hours for both babies. So, nothing much has changed. Mark takes the 5am feeding so that I can have a longer shift of sleep which has definitely been a blessing. Hannah rarely makes a sound and sometimes I forget that we have another child in the home. She's a real joy. Her smiles, her cute little grunts, and her sheep-like noises that she makes in her sleep all make me smile. She's a precious little girl and we love her to pieces - especially her big sister.

Speaking of big sisters... Madalyn has done exceptionally well with adjusting to having a new baby at home. The first day that Hannah was here, Mady barely left her side. I would find her laying next to Hannah on the floor with her arm wrapped around her, she would constantly ask to hold her, and she loved giving her kisses. The couple of times that we stepped out to go to the hospital together, Mady would insist on helping Mark or I carry the carseat, she would tell everyone "this is my sister," and she was always telling people all about her. We ran to one place in particular and Mady sat next to the carseat when Mark put it down. She said, "this is my little sister Hannah. Sam is still in the hospital because he is too little." She was proudly answering questions about Hannah and making sure that people knew that "you can't touch her." I'm very proud of the way she's handled things and the way she has adjusted. She handles change so well. I know she loves her little sister and I know she will be a great big sister!
The hardest thing about having Hannah home is not having her brother here as well. It's so hard to leave Samuel there and it's even harder being able to visit. I can't take either girl with me to the hospital so I usually have to go when Mark is home and able to watch them both or when we have a sitter. It's trying and tiring but I wouldn't miss a day without seeing my little man. I think we're going on 40 days of me being at the hospital at least once a day! God is definitely using this experience to strengthen me. It's been so hard but I couldn't do it without His strength and His grace.

Sam is doing quite well. He's up to 4lbs 4oz and he's in an open crib now which means he's able to regulate his own body temperature. He's eating 6 bottles a day (8 is goal) and he's doing well with it. Once he gets to eating 8 bottles a day and from those 8 he is taking 80% of the milk from them, then they will take out his feeding tube. They will watch him for a day or 2 and if he does well he'll get to come home! The doctor said probably another 10-14 days so hopefully he can come home soon! I know it will be a trying time when he comes home - trying to balance 2 babies - but I'm so ready for it. I've been surprised at how well I feel I've handled things so far and that gives me some encouragement about tackling 2! I was just telling Mark the other day that I felt more stressed and more anxious about having Madalyn at home when she was a baby than I do now... Maybe it's the 1st time mom thing!

Thanks to everyone for your prayers and words of encouragement! You've definitely been a blessing to us! Hopefully soon I can post a picture of us as a family of FIVE!!!

Busted!

Yesterday, Madalyn and I decided to take advantage of the hot weather and we had Daddy put up the pool in the backyard. We had fun splashing around and Mady loved it when I pulled her slide over and put it in the pool. She loved sliding down and splashing into the pool!

At one point we were sitting down chatting (girl talk if you will! ha!) and she looked over at my hand. I had written a tiny note to myself in the crease of my hand and she had spotted it. She asked me, "what's that mommy?" I told her that it was a note so that I could remember to do something. She quickly responded by saying, "mommy, we don't write on our hands. We only write on paper!"

Ouch! Guess I should be careful what I do and what I tell her not to do. She sure is a perceptive little thing!!!

As a side note, I had the note on my hand to remind me to blog about something. Here's the story...
At naptime yesterday I went up and layed in bed with her and we read a few stories. She chose to read from a book of Bible stories. For some reason she was fixated on the story of Adam and Eve and we probably read that story about 5 times. After one of the times she asked me why they didn't have any clothes on (in the picture they were covered only with the fig leaves). I began to tell her the story about how God had made them and they weren't ashamed and they didn't have to wear clothes. Then we went on to talk about sin (yep, I talked about it with my 2 year old) and how that affected them and their wardrobe. She asked me what sin is and I tried to explain by telling her it is the bad things that we do. She turned to me, looked straight in my eyes, and said straight faced "like when I went in your bathroom and played with your lipstick?"

BINGO!

(Earlier in the week she had decided to play with my lipstick and the floor!) It's amazing how kids are able to understand and pick up on things. She knew exactly what I was talking about when I was telling her about sin. I think that's a pretty good grasp on it from a 2 year old's understanding!

Bubbles, Bubbles, and More Bubbles

Monday evening was supposed to be a relaxing evening for me. Mark was out playing softball and then was going to go to the hospital to see the babes. Mady was put to bed at 7pm, as usual, and I was getting ready to relax and have the house to "myself." I came downstairs and about 30 minutes after Mady went to bed I had this "something isn't right" feeling. I yelled upstairs to ask her where she was to which she didn't respond... the first clue.

To add something right quick... we have a rule in our house that once you are in bed, you stay in bed. If she gets up after we put her to bed, she knows that there will be a consequence for her actions. She's been great at staying in her bed... until this particular night.

I went upstairs to find out what she was doing and I hear her in our bathroom - not a good sign. She hears me coming and starts scrambling. I hear her fall once, cry a bit, fall again, and cry some more. By the time I get to the bathroom I find a mess... of blue bodywash - men's bodywash to top it off. I should've known by the smell as I was coming up the stairs - 2nd clue.

Apparently she had decided to play in the body wash as it was all over her body, all over the floor, and a tad bit in her hair. I guessed from the noise and what I know about Madalyn that when she heard me coming she tried to scramble and fell down in the soap. She got up and tried again and slipped again. When I found her she was laying on her back crying in a glob of body wash. (However, she did smell like her daddy!)

I didn't know whether to laugh or cry. It could have been a lot worse. However, this was the first thing that she had ever "gotten into." I cleaned up the soap (which was a disaster in itself as every time I wiped it up it turned to bubbles), gave Madalyn her 2nd bath of the evening, and put her to bed with a very stern talking to. At one point I asked her if she understood what was wrong and she said "mommy's not happy with me" through a bunch of tears.

I hope that that doesn't happen again, but like I mentioned earlier if that's the worst that can happen then I'll be okay. Oh, the joys of a toddler...

A Day in the life of Dad Part 1

We went to the hospital last night to visit Hannah and Samuel who are doing quite well. Sam is up to 3'2 and Hannah is up to 4'6. Mady came with us and hung out with Jenn in the waiting room since she can't go into the NICU. I went in and visited the kiddos.

We left the NICU and started walking towards the elevators. Mady pushed the button to go down and as she was playing around waiting for it to come, she fell down. We heard a loud "Uh oh!"

Mady flipped over and we realized that when she fell, she had already pooped, and (gross!) it squirted up out of her diaper, all over her shorts, shirt and all over the floor. She stood up, started to reek and we all looked at the pile of poop now on the hospital floor. We managed to clean it up, as people gathered at the elevator waiting to go down.

We all got onto the elevator, and we stood at the very back, praying that no one else smelled the odor coming from my daughter's back side. We tried our best to keep Mady quiet as she insited on telling EVERYONE "I pooped! I pooped!" We also decided not to ride the shuttle to the parking lot, instead, we walked. Of course, it took us 5 times longer to get there as Mady wanted to look at the grass, try to find bugs and overall be very pokey.

We got to the car (a rental car as our new van is getting the control board fixed, which we knew when we bought it). We decided to change her diaper in the parking lot. Well, that turned interesting as there was poop everywhere on her. I finally threw her clothes in the trunk so they wouldn't stink up the rental car. I found a trash can in the parking lot and threw the entire mess in there. As we are doing this, people are continuously staring at us either driving by or riding on the shuttle bus.

When we were finished, I started up the car, and pulled out and my left over mexican food slid off the dash board and onto Jenn's lap (and rental car seat). Now Jenn needed to have her pants changed. Unfortunately, she didn't want to change her pants in the parking lot (that would have been hilarious, and probably illegal)...she wanted to wait until we got home...

Just another day in the life of a normal Dad. And I love it! (Of course, I'm not the one who messed their pants!)

A Day in the life of Dad Part 2

A couple of weeks ago, we tried to get all 3 car seats across our back seat into our SUV. It didn't happen. We lacked about 8 inches. And, it just didn't work. There would be no way for Mady to get into her middle seat. So, we started to do research on a minivan (ala 'manivan'). We absolutely made a pact that we would never buy one, but alas, 3 kids have altered our thinking.

I started to do major research on the stupid things. At first, I thought I would just be able to buy a different SUV (Yukon XL or a Suburban - considering they have 3rd row seating and optional bucket seats in the 2nd row). However, when we looked at them, without going into details, they aren't set up for car seats and they obviously don't have sliding doors, which was a huge plus). Then I started looking at cross overs like the Chevy Uplander and the Buick Terraza. We weren't real hip on these either as there wasn't a lot of room behind the 3rd row seating. So, we started looking at the traditional 'manivan.'

We looked at the Toyota Sienna, Honda Odyssey, Nissan Quest and the Chrysler Town and Country (the Dodge Caravan fits in the same mold). I realized that to get into a newer Toyota or Honda, we would be spending a little more than I wanted to, and even the newer Nissans were a little high. Having realized all that, we started looking at the T & C. Chrylers (along with most domestic vehicles) lose their market value very fast (I learned this when I worked at the car dealership) so I thought I could get a newer one for decent money, and as long as we keep it for a long time, who cares about resale value. I really wanted a vehicle that would fit a family of 5 comfortably in town and on long trips to South Carolina (where we WILL vacation again!).

I called dealerships all over Illinois, Indianapolis and St Louis and found that I could get into an 08. It wouldn't be the top of the line 'Limited' edition. But nonetheless, an 08 with lower mileage and a good, clean body. The 08 also has the new body style, which looks a little less "mini-vany." We test drove a number of them in the area at different dealerships and I searched on craigslist and Ebay. We went over to Rick Ridings in Monticello to drive a nice silver one. I talked to a good friend of ours, Shane York, who sells there and also goes to our church. They had just sold the silver one that morning, but he told me that they had a couple of others, but the one that he showed us just wouldn't fit. Here's how our conversation went...

Shane: I have this 08 T &C over here.
Me: No, Shane, that won't work.
Shane: Why?
Me: Because Shane, I'm already giving you one testicle selling my SUV and buying a van, I'm not going to give you my other one when I buy a POWDER BLUE minivan!

We ended up test driving it.

We left there and continued our research. We found one down at Pilson's in Charleston. We drove down there this past week. It's Crystal Red. Very nice. Great body. They gave us a whale of a deal on it and on our trade in. Even though it took us about 4 hours at the dealership while in negotiations, we were very satisfied with our purchase.

Jenn loves the sliding doors and the 60/40 3rd row that folds down into the floor flat. It gets about 24 mpg on the interstate (a tad better than the 18 we got in our SUV). I'm not sure how it will handle in the snow (prob not as good as the 4 wheel drive we used to have). It is comfortable and looks like it's going to be a good fit for our family of 5. Now all we need is a 'Soccer Mom' sticker on the window...

Sisterly Love

This afternoon I went in Madalyn's room to wake her up from a 4 hour + nap. She was still asleep and when the door creaked she rolled over and opened her eyes. She looked up at me and in a very cute, very sweet, very loving voice asked "Is Baby Samuel and Baby Hannah home yet?"

It was so sweet yet broke my heart. It's hard knowing that Mark and I aren't the only ones who miss our babies tremendously. Madalyn has not been able to see Sam or Hannah as she's not old enough to get into the NICU. We show her pictures quite often, and we hear her playing with her babies and talking about "Sam and Hannah." So, I know she knows something is going on. She will tell you that the babies are in the hospital because they are too little to come home - which is also super cute!

She's going to be a great big sister and I can't wait to be able to bring those 2 little peanuts home to meet her! She'll definitely be mommy #2!

3 + 2 = FIVE!!!

The last picture of me pregnant - 30 weeks.



Life has taken a drastic change since I last posted on this blog. We moved everything from our old house to our new house on Thursday, May 7th and we closed on both houses on Friday the 8th. Monday the 11th I had a random doctors appointment and ended up being wheeled over to Labor & Delivery. I was admitted and our babies, Samuel Charles and Hannah Elizabeth, were born on Thursday, May 14th at 30 weeks gestation. I was released on Sunday and came home to enjoy our new home - sadly, without the babes.

For those of you that don't know the story - here's the basic gist... I went in for my sono / appt on the 11th and found out that I was dilated 3-4cm. The perinatologist said that my Dr would probably want me admitted and the next thing I know I'm being wheeled over to L & D, sobbing the whole way. I was admitted and immediately put on magnesium sulfate to try to stop labor. I went through this whole process with Madalyn when I had pre-term labor with her so I was used to all the meds they put me on and the protocol. I was checked again after being admitted and the nurse said that I was then up to 5cm dilated and 70% effaced. She said I also had a bulging bag of water. Next thing I know, everyone is running around and tensions were high. I actually thought that the babies were going to be making their entrance that day. One of the pastors from our church was there and prayed with us. I was put on more IV fluids and given my first dose of surfactant (steroids) for the babies' lungs. This would help them tremendously if they were to be born early.

I was in the hospital battling with contractions (some very strong ones) until Thursday morning. I was only on the magnesium sulfate for a day but then I was also given a shot of terbutaline. This also helps to try to stop the contractions. I also received the second dose of the surfactant for the babies' lungs. Contractions came and went. I was told that I would be in the hospital until the babies were born. Ugh. I knew it was what was best for me but it was so hard to (1) be away from Madalyn and Mark and (2) not be able to relax and enjoy our new home. At times I was extremely discouraged but I continued to remind myself that the Lord was in control.

Thursday, the 14th, my doctor came in to check me. He said I was still at 5cm but that he could make it 7cm which meant that I could be ready to give birth at any time - my body was heading in that direction. He said he could also feel Hannah's head. He said that at that point he didn't want to just keep feeding medicines into my body if my body was ready for babies to come out. He wanted to check with the perinatologist and he said he would get back to me as soon as he decided what to do. About an hour and a half later, my nurse came in and said that they were going to do a C-Section at 3pm that afternoon to prevent any kind of emergency situation. They wanted to make the birth as stress free for the babes as possible and because they were so small and Sam was breech they were going to have to do a C-Section. I started crying and when Mark came out of the restroom he knew exactly what was going on.

My C-Section took place around 5pm that evening. Everything went as smooth as could be. I didn't freak out too much and I felt absolutely nothing. Hannah was born first at 5:30 and Sam was born at 5:31. She weighed 3lbs 12oz and was 16.5 inches long. Sam was just a little guy at 2lbs 11oz and 15 inches long. Both came out crying as loud as they could (which was an enormous relief for Mark - breathing is key at this point). They were in the OR a little while before going upstairs to the NICU - so we knew nothing was seriously wrong or they would've been wisked away immediately. I even was able to kiss Hannah before they took her upstairs. I was able to go up to the NICU after recovery and see the babies. Both were breathing room air and had only a C-PAP on - this was just to regulate the pressure in the lungs to help open and close. Because they were so small, they tend to "tire" out when breathing so the CPAP helps them with that. Praise that they weren't on any oxygen though. Both were off the CPAP machines by about 3 days old.

Since I've been released from the hospital, we've been at the hospital at least once every day. It's been hard to work around schedules and being with Madalyn as I'm trying not to "push" her to the side but we're making it work. Every day that they've been there has been a step in the right direction.

Just today when we went in to see them we got great news! Both babes are now above their birth weight which is awesome! Praise God! Babies typically lose weight after they are born and for little babies like ours this can be really scary. But today we learned they are beefing up! They are eating every 3 hours now and have even increased the amount they are taking. This is good news because it means that they are digesting well. They both are still under bili lights for jaundice but this is common in preemies. Hopefully now that they are eating more and digesting it better, this will go down quickly. They are doing great and are absolutely ADORABLE! Big Sister Mady talks about them all the time and constantly tells everyone she sees that she is a Big Sister now! She can't wait for them to come home.

It will still be about 4 weeks or so before they are able to come however it could be quicker... we'll see. They will start trying to take bottles here in the next week or so. Hopefully before long they will be moved from the isolet (baby in a box) and moved into cribs - then we can hold them whenever we want (right now we can only hold them once a day during a feeding).

I'll try to post updates more often now that I'm at home and feeling good. I am not feeling any pain right now - just a little tired from pumping every 3 hours. Other than that, I'm doing well. I have to admit that it's good to be home however it's really hard to leave my babies at the hospital. I do know that the Lord has a plan and that they will be home soon. We'll be able to look back on this time as a small blurp on the radar.

Thanks for all of your prayers and encouragement! We appreciate all that everyone has done for us! You are all so special to us!!!

By the way, I wanted to say a HUGE THANK YOU to my husband! While I was in the hospital for a week he spent 50+ hours unpacking and setting up things in our new home so that when I came home I wouldn't have to do anything. Doing this along with taking care of a 2 year old is definitely taxing and so I wanted to thank him! I love you baby!

The first time that Daddy got to hold his SON!

Mommy holding her newest daughter for the first time.

Mom and Samuel
Daddy and Hannah (both sound asleep!)
My baby girl - keeping me company at the hospital!

Big Girl Bed

We've been wanting to transfer Madalyn over to her "Big Girl Bed" for a while now, but with packing and moving it just hasn't worked out. My cousin graciously gave us the twin bed that her son used when he was little (since he has since moved to a bunk bed), and we've been storing it at her house until the last possible minute. We just didn't want to move it twice before we got into our new house.

Anyway, we have the bed now and it's in storage here. Saturday night we were on a packing spree and decided to take down Madalyn's crib. We simply put her mattress on the floor and called it her "Big Girl Bed." She went bananas. The minute we got the crib out of her room and put her blankets and such on her new bed, she started asking "Will you tuck me in, Mommy? I want to go to bed." We definitely were not putting her to bed at 4:30 in the afternoon! ha! She asked the rest of the evening if it was time to go to bed yet. Finally at 6:30 we gave her a bath and the go-ahead to get into her Big Girl Bed. It was so cute. She was so excited. We did explain to her that there were 2 rules that she needed to obey; (1) she was not to get up in the middle of the night - she had to stay in bed (I didn't want her running around playing) and (2) in the morning, when she woke up, she was to ask if she could get out of bed. Mark and I went back and forth on this one and decided this would be best right now. I wasn't too hip on her walking around at crazy hours in the morning.

The first night in her bed went better than we had expected. She rolled off the mattress once at 12:30am to which she was yelling from her room, "Mommy, will you tuck me in again, please?" Other than that she was in her bed the whole evening. Sunday morning Mark heard her asking if she could get up at 6:30. We have a rule in our house that we don't get her out of her bed until 7am so Mark told her that it wasn't time to get up. At 7 she asked, from her bed, "Mommy, may I get up please?" I went in and she was still laying in her bed. Yay! It was a good night.

Sunday afternoon was the second test as it was her first nap in her bed. We again went over the rules and she did exactly what we asked! I'm so proud of her!

If she is this excited about a mattress on the floor, she is going to be super excited when we put up her real bed and get her new bedding and such. I can't wait!!! On the other hand, it was sad to take down the crib - my little girl is growing up!!!