Recap

The boys are almost finished with their nap so I will have to post this quickly. Here is a recap of our last few months:

September/October: We (the boys and I) got to spend a whole month at my mom's place in Washington and saw the children's museum (several times) and went trunk-or-treating and rode on buses (this was particularly exciting to the boys) and had fun at the pumpkin patch and played with my mom's dog, Gracie and, and, and..... There were lots of adventures while we were away. Most of them at Nana's house and some on the way to and from. They went swimming in a big pool at the hotel (this was their first time) and LOVED it! Seeing family all the time made it hard to leave and the boys didn't quite understand why Nana and Papa and Cobee (Colby) weren't at our house in the mornings after we came home. The boys also had a language explosion at this time. They talk and talk and talk and amazingly easy to understand. They pick up on things they hear very quickly so TK and I have been VERY careful about what slips out of our mouths when we're frustrated or excited or anytime really. It has been extremely cute to hear Tucker say "ah donnit" (oh darn it) when something doesn't work or gets lost or broken.

November: We came home from Washington after Veteran's Day so instead of putting up fall decorations we jumped right into Christmas. Shortly after arriving home, I was released from my Relief Society calling and am now teaching the Marriage and Family Relations class in church. I loved taking this class, but I must admit that it is so intimidating to be the instructor. Luckily, it is mostly a forum for discussion so there isn't a lot of "teaching" to do, which I appreciate because I definitely don't have all of the answers regarding this subject and at times am not even a good example of success in this department. It has been a very enriching calling one that I enjoy a lot more than I thought I would.
Speaking of family, we spent Thanksgiving with family in Idaho Falls and it was a nice laid back holiday. I've been itching to have a super casual Thanksgiving and even be a little unconventional with the menu, but I'm having a hard time persuading others to share my opinion. I think a pajama party with comfort food on the menu like pasta or along those lines with cupcakes for dessert would be fabulous! There would be no need to get gussied up in you best duds and worry about spilling on them while cooking or making children behave like their in church because they're not wearing play clothes. All of the ingredients for the meal would still be in stock on the shelves at the store so if you forgot something you wouldn't have to worry about where to find some. And no one would get tired of eating the same meal every time. You could even turkey alfredo for the traditionalists in the family. Change it up! I recently saw a recipe on a friend's blog for cranberry salsa. Perfect! You see my point!? Okay, I'm done ranting.

December: This month was full of snow and playing outside and spending time with our neighbor (the boys' favorite buddy) and former co-workers. There was also a lot of baking and exchanging of delicious goodies so I decided to postpone my exercise/weight loss goal until after there was not an abundance of fattening foods in the house. It was silly of me to think that I, queen of the treats who would be right at home in the real life version of Candy Land, possessed the will power to avoid over eating during the holidays. What was I thinking? That may have been a little ridiculous. I was definitely defeated before I even began. So, with resolution in hand, I will start out 2011 slowly weening myself back into a healthy lifestyle. I feel better when I'm healthy anyway. One would think that would motivation enough to stay in shape, but alas my biggest motivation is my own reflection in the mirror (the fact that all of my clothes are getting uncomfortably tight also helps). I used to love getting dressed and looking nice because I had a body that I liked dressing. Now a days it's just "throw on a baggy shirt and some sweats" to avoid dealing with what's underneath and get to it later.
Moving on, Christmas was wonderful! Lots of video chats and smiles as gifts were opened. We had a relaxing day and our friends the Hendersons came for dinner and hung out which we haven't done is such a long time! It was great to see them again and our kids had a good time playing together. We will see them again tomorrow for our New Year's celebration! It will be fun as always. I look forward the this food all year and I'm going to enjoy every bite! Inari sushi, teriyaki chicken, fried rice, party meatballs, tempura (batter dipped and fried veggies), stuffed eggs, broken glass cake (I think some people call this stained glass cake).....oh yum! Today is for prep work and tomorrow will be full of cooking and spending time with friends. It doesn't get much better than that!

See you all next year!

Something to tide you over...

An update will come soon. Promise. (and I don't break my promises)

Busy

This is why:

Did you know?

...that a plastic toddler fork makes an excellent apple chunk catapult when enough pressure is applied with a slight flick of the wrist? I do now. This learning experience is brought to you by Tucker and Cooper Stokes and by the letter 'A' which stands for annoyed. There are apples everywhere!!!!

It's a jungle in here!

I live with two monkeys. They are happy monkeys most of the time. They love to eat fruit, and they really love to dance and be tickled, but what do these monkeys love most????

Climbing of course!!

I wish I had a better picture (I think there are some on the camera now) of their climbing skills. This is more an example of play than climbing. They climb up the side of the couch, over the recliner, onto tables and into cars. They even scale brick patio walls. This is especially terrifying for me, but they have not fallen yet. I'll just keep holding my breath and having small heart attacks while they discover their world how they see fit.

Another picture.

Cooper has been learning all about his body parts. You can see how thrilled his brother is about this: Tuker --"Thanks for asking where his ears were, mom."

Gotta love 'em!

P.S. Becca Rowberry-I haven't been able to see your blog for a while now. Can I bee re-invited? Pretty pretty please? Thanks.

Growing and growing and growing...

These little guys are growing like weeds! I now know exactly how fast that is too, because my front yard is made entirely of weeds. They have overtaken the grass in a brutal battle for control of the curb appeal, and thus there isn't any. :-p Anyway, here is a picture to satisfy cravings to see the twins:

Oh. Wow.

I love my cricut. I mean LOVE it.........but.....check this thing out! Holy moly, jeepers creepers and oh golly gosh 'ems! I want one so badly!!! Seriously folks. I need to go clean up a drool puddle. **sigh** be still my heart.

Sorry

To those of you who follow this blog. I'm sorry I have been terrible about posting. I can't say that I'll get any better. The boys are so curious and active and always seeming to go in different directions so I rarely have time to hold still until it's time to sleep. Nap time is almost over and I need to eat something before I have to share it with the twins. They have hollow legs, I swear!

Okay, so I said I would put up some sewing projects if they weren't "dreadful." Well, I guess they're not dreadful, but they are not great either. Here are two dresses that I made for my nieces. Their mommy was nice enough make them wear them for a photo shoot. (Thanks Dianna!)

Poor Samantha (first pic) is my sewing guinea pig and I do a lot of learning on her. I guess she's too young to care, right? Well, I have also hemmed my husbands pajama pants, so they are now shorts. He tells me they are his favorite things to wear. I'm glad they were a success. I shortened sleeves on his dress shirt and I'll be re-shortening them. Didn't quite get it right the first time. He wore it to church and to work so it can't be that bad. And I have also made an apron for Samantha that I finished in record time only to find out I made a huge mistake. It is now fixed and I will try to get a picture of her in it. 'Til next time, friends.

Samantha's front and back...

Ashley's front and back...

Still learning.

Whew!

It's over. I didn't think I would really be too nervous when I sang on Friday, but it has been a while and my body reacted with a HUGE surge of adrenaline just as I lifted the mic to my mouth. It was a little hard to remember proper technique and breathe deeply. All my lungs seemed to want to do was gasp for air. Fortunately, years of training kicked in and about half way through the song a sort of auto-pilot engaged. It was nice. I now feel the need to write a big thank you letter to every voice teacher or coach I've had in the last 14 years. And though I started a little rocky and had no warm up or sound check, I don't think it went all that bad. Of course right after I finished I wanted to say, "wait! Do over!"

Those in the audience seemed to enjoy it (or that was courtesy applause...) and at least I finished well. With a song like the national anthem, that's all anybody really remembers anyway. :-p It felt good to exercise the ol' pipes again. I've kinda been bitten by the singing/performing bug again. I guess I've never not wanted to be performing (isn't that a double negative????), but now that the boys are getting older it seems like it might almost be a real possibility. If anyone knows of any community theater opportunities or choirs for people who are not students at "the Y" I would love to check it out. Well, gotta run for now!

Later.

P.S. I'll be putting up sewing pictures soon, I promise.

Out of Shape!

Okay, okay, before any sarcastic comments or verbal eye rolling occur: I'm not speaking about my physical shape. Although pear-shaped is not the shape I would ideally like for my body, I also haven't been terribly motivated to put in the abdominal workouts to change that. I am reaping what I sew in that department (she says as she bites into her third fudge striped cookie since beginning this post...).

I am unbelievably out of shape vocally. My diaphragm is weak and tired, my vocal chords are puny and dry (in some part thanks to whatever is in full bloom here in Idaho...cotton?), and someone could drive a semi-truck through the spacing in my vibrato. I could not believe that I got winded after singing to the radio in the car the other day! It just goes to show that you have to use it or lose it. Now now, I haven't lost it entirely. But it used to be so much easier. **sigh**

The reason that any of this has been brought to my attention is because of me and my stupid mouth. When my husband and the rest of the Relay for Life committee were in need of someone to sing the national anthem at this year's event, I cheerfully said "sure" upon being asked. It sounded like fun to perform again and I wanted to help any way that I could. Why oh why didn't I just bake something to be sold at the event or used in a cake walk?! And the national anthem?! Such a hard song!!! It may not sound hard, but man oh man, it takes some vocal gymnastics that this body hasn't done in a LONG time.

Now it's back to basics. I'm putting myself into a self imposed vocal boot camp. The boys have already noticed some strange behavior out of mommy lately. Lots of water, lemon and honey, and all these weird sounds she makes with her hands (well, hand....I injured the left one) on her ribs. Yawns, funny laughs, hissing like a snake, occasionally a siren or two to identify problem areas.... I'm sure the boys think this is all for their entertainment. They giggle like crazy at some of my vocal warm ups and exercises and usually try to "help" while I'm on my back with a large book going up and down on my stomach. They love that one. I'm not loving their attempts to lift my shirt and see what's going on under there, but I have to admit it is probably a little curious from their point of view. This is going to take some discipline, and hard work. Relay is in a week and a half!!!!! I feel like a marathon runner who took three years off and is now attempting a five mile race.....into a strong opposing wind. YIKES! I can do this, I can do this, I can do this. (It does strike me as odd that I am better at working out my voice on a regular schedule than my physique. Where are my priorities??) Here goes nothin'.

A New Adventure...

For my birthday, my grandma - who is one of the kindest, most loving women I know - purchased a new sewing machine and serger for me. Not even a used one. Brand spankin' new. I know, can you say intimidating?! (Don't break it on the first try!) But also so wonderful and exciting at the same time! I have always wanted to have a sewing machine and can't wait to begin a wonderful new era of do-it-yourself-ing. I am a little nervous, and will proceed with caution. Luckily, this machine also comes with lessons for the life of the machine from the store where it was purchased. I will be attempting my first project soon and will post pictures if it is not entirely dreadful. Cross your fingers for me!

Serenity Now!

C'mon, Dad. Another gate?

"The Brain" is at it again.

The boys are sleeping, but for who knows how long? Quick, hurry and update the blog while you have a chance. There will be no mercy once they're awake! Lately the boys have been unbelievably needy lately. All they want is mommy all the time. I know this sounds like all I ever wanted according to the last few posts, but let me tell you, now that they are downright HUGE and love to push one another....not great. My lap just isn't big enough for the both of them and they have quite the showdown for it almost hourly. Their stranger danger has also peaked recently. Poor Tucker screams bloody murder and almost makes himself sick whenever someone comes to visit. I don't even leave! He just knows that if he takes his eyes off of me for a second that I will...he's sure of it. Grr. He has also had some tummy troubles lately and they are both teething so there is a lot of whining, crying, screaming, biting, fighting, competing, and pouting in this house. Sometimes even from me. :-p Well, not the screaming and biting, but you know what I mean. (though they do now know that if they bite mommy, she will bite them back)

The boys hear the word "no" a lot lately since their curiosity is just so un-containable. I try really hard to find things they can do that are okay and actually interesting to them, but they are bored with safe. They prefer to balance precariously just this side of stitches, electric shock, and body casts. If I thought I needed four arms before, boys was I mistaken. I need eight! I am on the verge of complete meltdown at the end of every day. Serenity now, serenity now, serenity now!!!!!!!!!!!!

On the bright side, family is coming to visit and I will have eight arms, and then some. Just in the nick of time. Whew!

Just Pictures:

Really.

I'm pouting...

It has really sunk in the last few weeks just how big the boys are getting. My little babies are disappearing right before my eyes! So, guess what?! They walk! They got tired of relying on me to get them around and decided it was high time they did so for themselves. They just get up and go wherever they want! Unless they're tired of course and then they just want some snuggles. I relish snuggles when I can get them. I'm so proud of them and yet so sad that my little men aren't just content to sit in my lap with their heads on my chest and be held anymore. **sniff, sniff...sigh** It is quite bittersweet indeed. I think more so because they are my first children. It may not be quite as shocking with the next ones (hopefully one at a time from now on...) because I'll need them to keep up with their siblings. :-p They started cruising in February, then walked in March, but fell down too many times so they went back to cruising, but now they have their guts back and these little guys are fearless. Look out world! Here they come!

30 More Days....

...until my family is here! I'm getting so anxious!

Looking Back...

For some reason the photos loaded completely out of order on this one so this may get a little interesting. Anyhoo, as I was realizing how close the twins' birthday was I started thinking about all of the milestones and such we've been through in the last few years. Our lives have changed a lot and just keep on changing. So, here are some old photos as I wax nostalgic:

Our little ones not so little anymore.

This is from our first apartment right after we got married. I was considerably smaller then. **sigh** I don't even remember what we were fighting about, but this was TK's apology. It was so sweet, literally. The roses are surrounded by a heart made of caramel kisses. As you can tell by my face, I couldn't stay mad. It was too cute.

This is a picture of us when we were dating. I believe it was Thanksgiving at his house. He popped the question just two months later. Disclaimer: we dated off and on for almost two years before the official proposal.

As you can see I said yes.

After living in the apartment for almost a year, we bought a house in Rexburg, Idaho. That was an ordeal and quite a move!!! (we are formerly from WA)

Sorry out of order. Our honeymoon was to whistler, BC Canada. It was so much fun!!! Good food, great landscapes and the weather was perfect. I highly recommend it as a fun vacation spot. Even for families. Beware the rocky mountain chocolate factory. I think they knew us on a first name basis by the time we left. They serve the BEST gelato (sp?) I've ever tasted and the chocolate delights in every nook and cranny of that place will satisfy any sweet tooth. I think we gained five pounds before our trip was over.

TK thought it was funny that there was snow in July on the mountain top. I almost remember having the kind of energy required to go hiking. I need to get back into shape!

More apartment life. I let TK do my hair and he wanted to take a picture. I do not miss that TINY kitchen! We were busting at the seems in that little place.

Again, out of order. This phase of our lives took place after living in Rexburg almost two years. We had a lot of drama trying to conceive and once we finally did (no fertility drugs or anything like that, just a surgery to remove a giant cyst) we got two! I was really lucky to have good health for almost my entire pregnancy, only needing bed rest a month before they were born (at 36 wks 4 dys)

They were big then and still are. Below is a (fuzzy) picture of our calendar to illustrate all of the appointments I had while on "bed rest" in April. The Dr. visits are in red.

The second to last ultrasound before the boys' arrival. I spent a LOT of time in this ultrasound room. Things got a little risky right near the end of pregnancy so the boys were looked at almost every day. Sometimes I would have appointments at two different clinics in one day. Talk about some serious medical bills. :-p

Our sweet angel babies. Cooper (the oldest by less than a minute) is on the left in this picture and Tucker (who has always been the bigger of the two) on the right. They couldn't be more different for being twins. They are nothing alike. They like different toys, different foods, they have different temperaments and they look like they have different parents. I'm often asked how I "got so lucky to have two so young." I had them at the same time! I think people assume I adopted one of them or that they are extremely close in age. They just don't realize how close. :o)

There hasn't been a lot of sleeping since then. Parenthood is not for sissies.

And now the little guys are almost a year old! I just can't believe how quickly it went. I'm sure there are more milestones to come and new adventures to be had. Thank you for indulging me on this trip down memory lane.

Easter Project!!!!

Isn't this just lovely?

I found a cheap project that I can do for Easter that will last for a long time and be easy to repair. I'll have to save up for the supplies (we're penny pinching right now), but that won't take long. Check it out HERE.

Falling Behind!

I never ever seem to have time to post on this blog! It seems I am a once a month blogger. I have so many great ideas and plans for this blog and then life gets in the way. Well, I just wanted to give a shout out to a new website that my friends brought to my attention. Definitely go check out www.allthingsthrifty.com , but be warned, you might spend a lot of time there. This site helps people with little money decorate their homes INEXPENSIVELY!! I love all of the cute ideas and the fact that they are do-it-yourself projects that I think I can actually do. Their sponsors also have wonderful links to their sites and there is just so much exploring and so many ideas (that they WANT you to copy!) for making your home a little more "you." While you're surfing, you should check out www.sisterswithflair.blogspot.com for some fun ideas as well. A friend from church and her sisters are always putting up some really fun stuff for all occasions. I think I may go there now...

Update: Oh my! I can't believe that I neglected to mention my friend Sarah's blog www.forcedtocook.blogspot.com that she has created as a collaborative effort with her sisters and others. Awesome, simple recipes!

"Pinky and the Brain, Brain, Brain, Brain, Brain!!!!"

It has come to my attention in the last few days that I have given birth to Pinky and the Brain in the flesh. For those of you who did not watch the "Animaniacs" cartoon on the WB in the 90's, I'll let you in on the plot. Every episode (about a 10 minute short in the regular cartoon line up) opens on a darkened research lab, focusing on a cage with two white lab rats in it. Brain is small in stature with an enormous cranium and intense facial features. Pinky, his loyal companion/sidekick, is tall and thin and unassuming with sort of "Dopey the dwarf" facial features. At the beginning of every show Pinky always asks, "What are we going to do tonight, Brain?" To which Brain's sinister response is, "The same thing we do every night, Pinky. TRY TO TAKE OVER THE WORLD!!!!!!" Their master plans are always foiled or thwarted by something or someone bigger than them or out of their control (with a little help from Pinky's lack of sidekick abilities) and thus the premise for the next episode.

Okay, back to reality. A special relationship has developed between the twins (Cooper and Tucker) lately. Cooper has decided that toys are for "babies" and will make an almost immediate dash for the DVD player, sound equipment, outlets, furniture, purse (you get the idea) that is nearest to him after being placed on the living room floor after his nap. Tucker adores his big (older) brother and giggles with delight at the sight of him. He likes to climb on him, follow him around, play with his face and just do whatever he is doing. Whenever Cooper gets caught doing something he knows he shouldn't, he has this delightfully mischievous grin as he tries to get away from the grown up about to thwart his inner evil genius. Well, as you can imagine where Cooper is, Tucker is not far. They are truly "partners in crime." I have a feeling I'm in for a lot of trouble with these two. Of course the person they most want to be like is their Daddy. And the stories he can tell about his childhood.....would make you laugh yourself silly and then silently pray that your kids NEVER attempt anything remotely close. :-p Better brush up on my first aid skills and learn to laugh a little more.

Long time no post.

Cooper nibbles on a piece of "choo choo."

I just love this face. He has three teeth now!

Traffic Jam in the kitchen.

He's so squeezable.

Gotta love that grin!

It has been such a long time since I actually had the time to post anything on here. I don't really have time now, but am letting the boys fuss for just a second. They're not hurt or hungry (just fed) and they don't need a diaper change. They just want their "mama" and they aren't shy about letting me know it. I have managed to distract them for the moment letting them run amok in the kitchen. From their walkers they can open drawers and pull on cabinet doors without getting them all the way open. They think it's heaven! I enjoy watching them too. I enjoy most things about motherhood, though I do have my days. Today I had a complete meltdown after being shrieked at by the boys, "tinkled" on after Cooper fought a diaper change like crazy and burned the cookies I was making as comfort food. All of these things culminated in the perfect storm in a matter of about four minutes. After hours of hearing nothing but whining I had reached my limit. That's why I was making the cookies. :-p
I'd have to say my least favorite things about mother hood would be constantly having "puffs" (snack food) stuck to my socks, unbelievably stinky diapers as we try new foods, TEETHING (this one really is no fun at all with twins), and.....drool/slobber. I have been covered in spit for a while now. Other than that, it's not too bad I guess. Sometimes (like today) I have a good cry and "let it all out" and then put my "big girl panties (as my mom would say)" back on and take care of my kids. I often find myself chanting a line from Finding Nemo: "Just keep swimming, just keep swimming, just keep swimming..."
Well, that's all I really have time to post for now. I will try to find time this weekend to recap our winter. 'Til then!