Helloooo Indian Summer!

We have been dry and warm in my neck of the woods since July. For Western Washington that is amazing. No measurable rainfall since then. Here we are in the second week of October and it's been well into the 70's almost everyday. In fact last week we hit 80. Carazay!

Enough about the weather...The girls are getting extra outside playtime with this nice weather. They have a new playhouse at my parents house. We've been spending a lot of time over there this summer. With it being so dry they get awfully dirty. We seem to leave there with them looking like dirty little orphans.

They love the dirt, rocks, grasshoppers, Grandpa's tractor, picking apples from their trees and driving their little power wheels vehicles. Actually, they don't like to drive them by themselves. They seem to only enjoy it when they're both in the vehicle.

My dad recently dug out a go-kart track in their field. The girls love running laps around it. That seems to be more fun that driving their car around it.

Kaitlyn has been in the "Momma, Momma, Momma!!" phase lately. I can't take my attention away from her for a second with out her tapping me and repeating "Momma" until I pay attention. It was cute for the first day or two, but now it's been at least a month and my patience really wears thin sometimes. I'm trying to teach her to wait until I'm done talking, but she still to young to get it. She has caught on that a lot of the time I try to brush her off with a "Ya...uh huh...wow..." she isn't satisfied with that. Now Natalie is seeing how much attention Katie gets with that so she's starting to do the same thing. Oh boy!!

We've tried breaking the pacifier habit recently. It is going okay, but not as well as I'd hoped. Kaitlyn is obsessed with hers, but she is improving. We've tried taking it away when they get up and they can have it back at bedtime. Natalie is usually cool with that, but K wants hers more often. She'll get so hysterical asking for it, I admit, we give in. She is, however, really good about not leaving the house with it. She'll leave her "wower" as she calls it and her blanket inside when we go out or when we leave. Natalie only really wants her when she's really tired, but during the day she doesn't care.

We transitioned into toddler beds about a month ago. That has went extremely well. Some nights they fall right asleep and we don't hear a peep out of them. Other nights they may play around for a bit, but generally they do really well. They still haven't completely grasped the idea that in the mornings they can get up and I don't need to come in and get them. Kaitlyn will sit up and whine until I open their door. I wish she'd just get up when she was ready...

Another change (wow, I'm realizing we've done a lot lately) is potty training. I actually just started that with them yesterday. I guess, they are actually doing okay. I'm having a hard time relaxing about all the accidents. I swear it's easier to potty train a puppy. Natalie goes to the potty chair on her own and pees a little then stands up and goes the rest on the floor. We started out the day with underwear and no pants. After they went through like 6 pairs in no time flat, we skipped the undies and they ran bottomless. Natalie loved it. Kaitlyn is still a little apprehensive about sitting on the potty with no clothes on. She eventually refused about 10am and we put a diaper back on. When she's got bottoms on, she'll sit on it all day long. Weird.

They had diapers on a nap time and actually wore a diaper until about 6pm yesterday. I took them off again for about an hour last night and they had a successfully couple of goes, but Natalie still wet the floor a couple of times. I don't think Kaitlyn has actually pottied in the chair yet, but I keep encouraging her.

I think this is the hardest thing we've had to do with them since they were born. I think I'd rather deal with getting up in the middle of the night than following them around with carpet cleaner and paper towels. I know today is only day two, but I'm over this training thing already. My friend, who is a mother of three, says the first week is the hardest. I want to cry.

Well, I think that's about all the updates lately. Wish us lots of luck...and lots of patience...in getting through this potty training business.

As always, here's some parting pics:

Three years ago, today...

...I found out I was pregnant. How time has flown by!! I had no idea then how much more of a roller coaster our lives would be for the next couple of years, but we've survived!

Our girls are happy and healthy full-blown toddlers now. My stresses now are what kinds of foods they are eating. Making sure they get their fluoride and vitamins each day. Being a referee - which, by the way, I never thought I'd have that job so soon!! Who knew...

My body is back to the way it was before all the fertility treatments...plus a few pounds and stretch marks (boooooo!!). I'm back on "the pill", back to PMS, and cramps, no libido and all that fun stuff. I'm happy to report my beard and mustache seem to be going away, which is a bonus.

I really hope that PCOS is not hereditary. I really, really, would not like to pass this on to my girls. Life can be hard enough without the challenge of getting pregnant. And really, it's not just the fertility, but having balanced hormones are so important. Our body chemistry is amazing and if one little thing is "off" it can disrupt the whole system.

In other news... we've had a pretty good summer. It's been a little warmer than I'd like, but I can't complain. The girls love to be outside and play in the water. We've spent many days at my parent's house running around, playing with sprinklers, watering cans, pools and...dirt. They have been very dirty girls this summer. Do you know how hard it is to get clumps of dirt out of a girls long hair? Ugg. They love it though, and I really don't mind them being dirty. Soon enough we will be stuck indoors while is pours rain for the next 9 months. This is western Washington...

I am (semi) looking forward to the holidays this year. I still have the battle with scheduling when my parents get to see the girls on the holidays since the whole my husband vs. my dad fiasco. My mom has made Thankgiving easy on me, since she will be out of town. That just leaves Christmas. I think I'll think about that later. Double ugg.

Other than that, things are quiet for our little family. The girls aren't potty trained yet, but we will try again soon. The first attempt didn't go well at all. Neither of them wanted to sit on the potty. We also have decided to keep them in their cribs for a while longer. They aren't trying to climb out yet, but we don't want them to hurt themselves either. Mommy and Daddy do enjoy being able to contain them at nap and bed time...so we are going to hold out a while longer :0)

And because I can't help myself...here are some pictures...

 

Where has the time gone?

Hi All!!

I can't believe it's been almost FIVE months since I've posted!! I am still here and we are all doing well!

Geesh, since I've posted we've all had a birthday, plus Easter Mother's and Father's day and the 4th of July...crazy!  Mommy and Daddy's birthday's were nice. I turned the big 3-0 *gasp*. I don't feel any different, but it's weird to be out of my twenties...

The girls had their SECOND birthday. Can you believe it??? This birthday party was much happier than their first. If you remember, Ms. Kaitlyn did not have a good day. She was grouchy from an interrupted nap. They had a blast this year though. We had just family and a couple of close friends over for punch and cupcakes. I made a cupcake cake in the shape of a butterfly. It turned out pretty cute (pic below). They girls loved having their own cupcake and K devoured hers in a heartbeat. Natalie chowed down too, but she's always a little slower to eat...truthfully, I think she does it to taunt her sister.

They were, as usual, spoiled by all with all the gifts they received. They got two play tents, a wagon, cell phones and more.

They 4th was quiet this year. Normally we go to Hubby's mom's house and watch fireworks on the lake, but this year me and the girls went to my parent's house. They live out in the country, so the noise level would be down, plus my favorite auntie was in town so we wanted to spend time with her. It was hot that day. We BBQ'd and played in the sprinkler. The girls even had a couple of play mates (a 1 yo and almost 3 yo) They loved playing with them.

We finally have a couple little talkers on our hands! Natalie has been saying a few things for quite a while, but Kaitlyn didn't pick it up until just about the day of their birthday. Now she won't be quiet. They can both count to ten (usually) we are working on our letters and colors. They surprise me every day at how smart they are!!

Life is good right now. My job is excellent, the girls are happy and healthy, and Hubby will be going back to school full time in the fall. I couldn't ask for anything more. I'll leave you with a few pictures of my precious, not-so-little, little girls!

21 months old

I cannot believe the girls are almost two already!! The are really growing up fast. They are finally saying some words, not a whole lot but some. I heard a long time ago that twins are slower to talk because they have their own language and babble to each other.

Kaitlyn is a master at puzzles and putting different shaped blocks through their appropriate holes. She also has figured out how to clip buckles together, like in their booster seats.

Natalie learned how to blow a whistle yesterday she is pretty proud of herself whenever she does it. She is the best at holding hands when we go for walks. She loves any kind of fruit we give her.

I really wish they would not throw their cups and plates on the floor when they're done eating. It is really annoying to pick them up along with their scraps of food. The both really hate having their diapers changed and getting their jammies on. They have also discovered jumping in their beds. I don't think a night has gone by in the last month when we haven't put them to bed and they spend 15-30 minutes jumping and giggling. It is actually funny to listen to.

There are so man y other things they are doing these days, I just can't think of them all. They are really changing a lot.

I haven't started the pill again yet. I really need to. I think it's been around nine months since I had a period. Not healthy, I know. My moods have seemed to stabilize, which is so nice. I'm sure it has a lot to do with the fact that my life has calmed down a bit too. There is not nearly the stress or drama.

Well that's about all I have for tonight. I'll try not to be such a stranger...but no promises :0)

Wacky Winter Storm!!

Last week, you may have heard about the crazy weather that hit western Washington. Normally we'll get a day or two of a dusting to a couple inches of snow that usually melts within a day or two. Last week we got a few inches in about two days then overnight we were hit with at least 12" of snow. Some places got 18"!!! After all the snow hit it got cold. Then the freezing rain started and clung to all the trees. The next thing we know branches are falling off trees and entire trees are toppling over! Nearly everyone in our county lost their power on Thursday. Thankfully, we are right in the middle of town and right next to a school. We got our power on within 28 hours.

Those 28 hours were a little crazy though. We didn't have any source of heat in our place. I assumed we'd get through the night (power went out at 7:30pm) and figure out what to do next in the morning. Well around 1:30am, Katie woke up from a nightmare. It was cold in the house. We snuggled in the recliner with a blanket and tried to sleep. Around 3am, we were still up, I went to check on Natalie and cover her up and she woke up. Hubby was awake since Natalie was crying. The four of us tried to snuggle in our bed...but the girls thought it was time to play. The thermostat was at 58* and the girls hands were cold. I didn't think we were going to get back to sleep any time soon and I couldn't put the girls back in their room. Hubby stayed in the house with the girls and I went outside to dig our car out of the driveway. With all my adrenaline pumping it didn't take too long to do. After multiple attempts at backing up and pulling forward I got the car out of the driveway. We loaded up the girls and I was headed to my parent's place. They didn't have power either, but they have a generator and a wood stove. I realized just after I left that I might not be able to make it to their house in my van. It was now 4am and I called their house. My dad finally answered and by 5:30am he and my mom got through mess and met us in a parking lot. It was a treacherous drive, swerving to miss downed branches and trees. Their road that comes off the main road to their driveway hadn't been plowed. My van dragged the whole way. Their driveway was even worse. I got about halfway down and had to stop. We unloaded the sleepy girls, jumped in my dad's 4x4 SUV and got up to the house.

We stayed there that whole day, overnight, and until about 11am the next day. We got our power back and were so happy to get home. My parents were out of power for 4 days, my MIL and BIL were out for 5 days. Some people still are out of power. Crazy stuff. My girls were troopers. I'm glad they adjusted well to the change.

I'll leave you with some pictures of the girls playing in the snow (when we only had a couple inches) and some pics of our house with the "big" snow.

Happy (belated) New Year!

Hi all! I feel like I say this each time I post, but man, it's been a while! Where to begin...

Christmas was nice. The girls actually liked opening gifts this year. Kaitlyn especially liked tearing the paper. We had a Christmas party at my cousins house with my dad's side of the family (minus the hubby). It was so good to see everyone. We all lived semi close, it's too bad we only get together once a year. The girls did fabulous! They were dressed in their cute holiday dresses and played so well. My cousin has a nice big house complete with a rec-room. They played in there mostly. For a lot of the family, this was the first time they'd seen them since the Christmas party the year before.  Here they are in their dresses before we left the house:

We spent Christmas eve at my parent's house (minus the hubby, again). We were there all day. We had fun watching the girls open their gifts and play with their new toys. Among the favorites is a tea set and some maracas. Natalie loved the noise makers and Katie loved the tea set.

My brother wrestling with the toy packaging...

My mom helping Natalie open her stocking...

Maracas!

Natalie chillin' with her noise makers...

 
Christmas day we spent at home. Hubby and I just got the girls a few things since they are still oblivious to the holiday, and we knew the rest of the family would spoil them. The morning we spent by ourselves, then in the afternoon Hubby's family came over for a couple of hours. It was sure nice not to have to go anywhere that day. That's the first year in a long, long time we haven't had to leave the house.

Here's the girls with Hubby's fam...

The girls loved their new blocks, because they make a big mess...

The crayons were a big hit as well. There were big tantrums thrown when it was time to put them away...

Their first masterpiece...

I don't have any pictures of New Year's particularly because the girls went to bed like any other night, Hubby stayed home, and I went to hang out with some friends. It was a real treat to get away for a while.

So far this year our "luck" seems to be improving. With the last couple of years being so challenging, it's nice to not be stressed out ALL the time.

I hope you all had happy holidays and the new year is treating you well!!