On the Road to Florida!

Traveling with six month old twins has been interesting if not entertaining. After being on the road for 17 hours I definitely ready for a hot shower and a hotel room. We left our house at 3:30 Friday morning. I presumed this would be a good idea thinking the twins would go to sleep once we were off and sleep until their usual 7:30 AM wake time. But they were having none of it! They thought if we woke them up then we should be willing to play with them. So my idea proved to be a bad idea. They finally went to sleep around 6 for an hour. When they woke we 7:30 we stopped for breakfast and spread a blanket out so that they could have play time. Back on the road at 8:30! The rest of the day was spent alternating between feeding, singing, and trying to entertsin the babies that really just want to be home!! I have to say the teenagers did an amazing job being patient with the babies as well as helping out a little. We spent the night about and hour past Montgomery, Alabama. Ordered pizza and enjoyed each others company before going to sleep. Roman slept all night. However, Renley really missed the rocking chair. I didn't realize how much we enjoyed and used the rocking chair until I don't have one. All in all it has been a pleasant trip! Just really ready to reach our destination!

Today I am preparing for our 20+ hour road to trip for our vacation in Sanibel Island, Florida.  I am not sure if I am crazy or not but thinking this vacation may prove to be an adventure!!  Wade will not be joining us on this vacation but the seven girls and twins will be traveling in our van to enjoy a week at the beach!!
We chose to go in May since the babies aren't crawling yet.  I thought this would be easier. After our trip to Branson last week, which is about two hours, I have realized I don't think that will matter.  It is just going to be interesting to find ways to entertain them and keep them comfortable in the vehicle.  We did purchase Roman a larger car seat.  He is a big boy weighing in at 19 lbs 12 oz at this six month checkup.  Renley weighs 14lbs 12 oz and likes her car seat.  The hard part is at this time they have toys that are meant to hang from the handle of the car seat and they love playing with them  Roman;s bigger car seat doesn't have a handle.  I came across an interesting toy that creates a bar and clamps to the bigger car seat or stroller at diapers.com.  I will let you know if it is a success.
I think my husband thinks I am mad crazy to want to try such a trip but being the good sport he is, has agreed to drive.   We will make the trip in two days.  Trying to cover twelve hours the first day leaving around two AM to hopefully take advantage of baby sleep time!!  I told my husband that if it was just horrible I am sure I could find bring the babies back on a plane and he could enjoy the ride home with the girls!!

I am so unsure of what to pack. I almost feel like taking everything in their dresser's!  LOL!  I am sure I will figure it out once I actually begin the packing.
This picture was taken on Mother's Day.  It was one of the best Mother's Day I have had. We attended church and then went to Silver Dollar City.  But what made it so special was spending the day with my daughters!  It was so much fun!

May 18, 2012. I am back!

It's been awhile since I have added to this blog but life has been busy. Well, that's really an understatement! Life with twins is exciting, adventurous and exhausting all at the same time! I will try to bring you up to date. Roman and Renley are six months old and of course the two cutesy babies ever! They are full of smiles every day. Roman is sleeping through the night and Renley wakes up once. At their six month check up Roman weighed 19lbs 12oz and Renley weighed 15 lbs 12 oz. Yes, he is a big boy!! Today is a mile stone in our adventure. They will be spending the night with Grandma while Larry and I go to the state track meet to cheer Ashton and Madison on to hopefully rank in the top ten at state. What an exciting time in our life!

My parental bucket list!

Bucket list of things I want to do with my twins:
As I read over my last blog I realize how it sounds like I regretted the way I raised my other children. I don't think it is so much that I regretted how I raised them as the things I didn't do with them. Some of the things I think about doing with the twins I did with my older children and I want to make certain I do those things with the twins. So I thought I should write these things down. When I make a list I feel like it is real and I tend to stick to it more than if those thoughts are randomly floating around in my head. So here goes; my bucket list of things I want to do with my twins:
1. Read to them every day.
2. Always be the first to let go in a hug.
3. Tell them they are loved and special every day.
4. Play with them every day.
5. Instill in them a love for God through my words and actions every day.
6. PRAY!!! Pray for other people, thank for one new thing each day, and rely upon God for everything.
7. Cook with my kids.
8. Expose them to culture; the theatre and numerous types of music from Christian to jazz to classical.
9. Visit Yellow Stone National Park and Glacier National Park in an RV
10. Take them to see the ocean.
11. Go on a cruise with the twins.
12. Go fishing
13. Play ball in the front yard.
14. Go hiking.
15. Learn to play an musical intsrament.
16. BELIEVE IN THEM!
17.Go on a picnic.
18. Play at the park.
19. Fly kites!
20. Build a city out of cereal boxes covered with paper.
21. Make tents out of sheets and chairs and leave them up for days!
22. Make crafts together.
23. Ride bikes.
24. slide down the stairs on pillows.
25. Make our own Christmas ornaments.
26. Make Christmas presents to give to others.
27. Remember its not about the kind of clothes we wear or the kind of toys we own but about spending time together.
28. Finger paint.
29. Plant a garden.
30.Sing as loud as we can driving in the car!

Time

I have spent a lot of time looking at pictures of the twins since their birth and find it hard to believe how much they have changed and grown. Both babies have doubled their weight in the eleven short weeks they have blessed our family. It seems impossible that they have only been here eleven weeks because it seems they have always been a part of us. They smile often and love to be talked to. The most precious moment of the day for me is when the twins awaken and I greet them with a "Good Morning!" and they each greet me with a huge smile as they wave their arms and wiggle their body! They also love to play "Patty-Cake." They can't clap on their own of course but when I hold their hands and recite the rhyme the give up a continuous smile. They love when we read them nursery rhymes. I am sure its the sound of our voices
I have noticed that the babies have united our family. Most of you know that we are a family of yours, mine and the twins make ours. We weren't certain how a baby or two would affect our family but they really have been a blessing. All of the girls really enjoy interacting with the twins and they help out so much; from changing diapers to talking to them or helping feed them. it really has been nice to share this experience with this family.
I feel like I have been given a second chance to correct the mistakes I made the first time around as a parent. I hope I take the moments to appreciate the small milestones in their lives and not take one second for granted.....

Two babies go through so many clothes in one day! I do a large load of baby laundry every morning. So it has been necessary to have more things than I thought they would need. Thankfully we had a lot of things given to us. I thought we had too many things but I have been glad for those items. The babies are ten weeks old today and we already have a tote full of clothing they have outgrown. I haven't had to purchase much. I do a lot of sale shopping, second had clothing shopping and I love online ebay shopping for the babies. I have purchased some really cute name brand clothing at bargain prices on ebay. The outfit in the picture on today's blog is one I purchased on ebay. I love the challenge of finding things at a really great price and it makes me feel good to be able to find cute and stylish things at a bargain.
I am excited that the babies are only getting up one time a night at this age. I am sure my older children didn't sleep this well when they were ten weeks old. Their day time schedule is pretty sweet, as well. They usually wake up for the day between six and eight and are up for two hours then down for an hour or two and up again for an hour and then they take a long afternoon nap of two hours. They wake again for two hours and sometimes go back to sleep but often they are awake until its time for baths at seven then around eight thirty we try to start reading a book to them and feeding them so that they will be asleep for the night by nine at the latest. I feel pretty lucky to have babies that sleep so well. I am sure this will change many times in the future but for now I am just thankful!

tots n teens

It hard to believe today is my daughters fifteenth birthday. I think about how it seems like only yesterday she was the size of Renley and it reminds me of how quickly they grow up. Needless to say this morning I have spent extra time holding the precious babies in hopes of making it last a little longer.
I enjoy the teen years, most of the time. Last night was a particularly memorable moment....Abby and I spent a lot of time just chatting. The hard part about having teens and babies is making time for them....as any mom of teens know they only talk when they are in the mood which is usually when you are busy doing something else or very very late at night..which was the case last night. I think our chat began at eleven thirty and ended somewhere around one, just in time for Roman to wake up for his middle of the night feeding. When we began talking I thought of how I would need to get up in an hour or so and my first intuition was to tell her I needed to get some sleep but I didn't and I am so thankful I stayed up and spent that time with her...this morning I am tired but it was worth it.
Then there is the fun of taking the babies to ballgames to "cheer" on their older sisters. As you can see, Roman and Renley are sporting onsies with the last name of their sisters and their basketball jersey number. In my opinion they were too cute!! I look forward to seeing how they interact with there siblings!
Today, for the first time since the twins were born, I actually sat down and ate a lunch that didn't consist of a handle full of cereal or chips. We are actually getting some kind of routine going.
I do love being a mom!!!!!!