So long, Farewell...

Are you singing yet?  Are you twirling around pretending you're Julie Andrews running through fields of grass and wildflowers in Austria?  Well, I am!  I was a few days ago!  Crap, I'm so fired up about my news I'll be humming this tune for a while!   Might even run through my backyard with my top off!!!  Maybe not the backyard top off part but possibly through my house with no top!  You'll understand as you continue reading.  You might even want to run with no top after reading this!  Wink, wink!!

Let me start out by telling you about a few very exciting marks that I have always soooo looked forward to with each baby.  These are all things that weren't life or death.  These are things that just plain made me flipping happy.

1. Sleeping on my stomach!
I'm not a stomach sleeper.  I like my side.  My right side to be exact.  But, when that option in taken away from you for about 7 months of a pregnancy because of a human growing in your belly, and then for another 12ish months because of huge boobs that are full of liquid gold, you can't help but feel a little pissed about the loss of that flip.  I never really dreamed about this sleeping position with Adda or Ella (I thought very fondly of it though!!!), but with the twins I longed for my face in the pillow.  So when that day came, that my boobs were like cannons, I was like a sack of potatoes only moving to take a breath.  I had already spent the last two months of the pregnancy so big that I had to be moved out of bed and I was ready to do somersaults.

2.  Sleeping without a bra!
Some ladies are different than others.  Some need a bra early in a pregnancy.  I never locked my ladies up until I absolutely had to.  That means that until my milk came in, I let them roam freely!  Once my milk arrived I had to wrap em' up to prevent a spray down every few hours.  I always nursed longer than 12 months, not because I thought I was a supermom, but because I just made lots of milk and I was home and in a good routine and very much enjoyed nursing my girls.  With the twins I did it longer because I was trying to save us from having to purchase a cow to graze in our backyard and supply our family with a constant flow of dairy.  I found a rhythm and stuck with it.  When I did start to think about quitting I knew I had to very slowly take myself off so that I wouldn't get mastitis again.  After having it 5 times I had nothing in me that wanted to try for a sixth.  It literally feels like a good mixture of a really bad flu and a boob job.  I haven't had a boob job but seems like that's what it would be like! 

3.   My body back! 
With Adda I stopped at 18 months.  By that time she was only nursing morning and night and it was obviously a comfort thing.  I had a 4 month break and then found out I was pregnant with Ella.  Ella was 8 months old and I was pregnant again.  This time a total shocker.  I was fully nursing and had not even had a cycle yet and thought for sure we were protected.  Ha ha!!!  I decided I would try and nurse Ella as long as I could as long as the twins were growing like weeds in my belly.  I stopped nursing Ella at 16 months, 3 weeks before I had the twins.  I just couldn't fit her on my belly anymore and she took to milk in a cup very easily, much easier than Adda did.  I nursed and pumped with the twins for the first 3 weeks and then pumped exclusively up until a few weeks ago.  I finally decided it was time to close the book on that very long chapter of my life.

I don't say any of that to get accolades or pats on the back.  I only say it to give you a GOOD picture of how excited I was to say goodbye to The Pump.  

The first night I didn't pump I laid in bed and took these selfies and sent them to some friends and family members.  My caption read, "These are the faces of a very happy lady who for the first time in almost two years is going to bed without getting her nips sucked down a funnel over and over and drained for my little varmints!  I'm finished...unless all of the sudden I become engorged and need some pain relief!  Ahhhhh!"  We jokingly talked about making a slo-mo video of me beating it with a bat.  Something kinda like this! 

We also talked about videoing Gonzo with the pump on.  I really tried to make that happen!  He wasn't so fired up about trying it out.  

In the end I didn't practice my gold swing on my pump.  I didn't tie it to a raft and send it across Lake Arlington.  And, I didn't pretend I was a National Champion in the weight throw heaving it across the sky.  (I should have done the weight throw one...I know a National Champion in this event and could have gotten some good coaching tips from her.)  I actually haven't even gotten rid of it!!  All this talk about how glad I am to say goodbye to this pump and I still have it.  It's zipped up and on a shelf in the twin's closet.  I've learned to never say never to The Lord.  By that I mean...if something happened and somebody needed breast milk for a baby and I was asked to help and The Lord laid it on my heart over and over and over...and over and over and over again I would get that "sucker" back out and pump again.  Although, my fingers are crossed that I'm done!  Never say never!

A Few Very Good Things...

I have two bits of information to post about today.  Both of these things are exciting to me.  One is very exciting!   In fact, it's not just good, it's great!

Because October is almost here, because it's cool and cloudy outside, and because everyone needs to know about pumpkin spice pudding mix, I decided to make pumpkin bread.  Nothing puts you in the mood for Fall like the taste of pumpkin (well, besides football)!  I got this recipe from a friend I used to teach with before I had Adda.  I taught second grade here in Arlington for three years.  I was apart of a great team who I became very close with.  The three years I worked at Williams, were the three years we were trying to get pregnant.  There were countless times that the ladies on my team listened, cried, and prayed with me.  I will forever cherish the friendships I formed with those five ladies.  I will forever be grateful for the time the Lord provided with each of them.  Roz is who I got the recipe from.  She is a fantastic cook!  It is truly her passion.  This first time I meet her I knew she was someone I would become great friends with.  I did check with her about sharing this recipe before I posted it!  Everytime I make it I think of her!

Roz's Pumpkin Bread

 2 cups of flour

1 3/4 cups of sugar

1 - 3.4 oz. package of Jello brand pumpkin spice pudding mix 

(This pudding is only sold during the Fall months.  Stock up on it!  It's delicious!  If you can't find it Roz uses vanilla instead.)

1 tsp. baking soda

1 tsp. salt

2 tsp. ground cinnamon

1 tsp. ground ginger

1 tsp. ground nutmeg

5 eggs

1 1/4 cup vegetable oil

1 small can of pumpkin puree

Preheat oven to 325 degrees.

Grease 2 loaf pans (I decided to make mine in the bundt pan today).  In a bowl combine flour, sugar, pudding mix, baking soda, salt, and spices.  In another larger bowl beat eggs until combined.  Add pumpkin and oil and mix well.  Mix dry ingredients with wet ingredients just until combined.  Do not over mix.  Pour into pans and bake for 55 minutes to 1 hour or until a toothpick inserted comes out clean.  She said she has also made this in a jelly roll pan.  

Today I made a maple glaze to drizzle over it.  I used powdered sugar maple syrup and a little maple flavoring because I had it in my pantry.  I mixed them together until I got the consistency and flavor I wanted.  I also added a little milk.

 While the pumpkin bread was baking I went out to the sunroom and put together our new DOUBLE STROLLER!  The capital letters are my attempt at letting you know how stinking fired up I am about this!  I looked all over the internet, read tons of reviews, and talked to a bushel of people about double strollers before Ella was even born.  We planned on getting one and then she got RSV, was put in the hospital, and we had a few thousand more dollars of hospital bills that were unexpected.  I kept telling myself that I could do it without one.  I have done it for almost 8 months without one!  Most of the time it was no big deal.  Adda was responsible enough that I could let her walked beside me.  The only times that I longed for one were times when I wanted to go exercise (Letting Adda ride her trike while I pushed Ella in the stroller burned about .483 calories per hour), or times when I was in a huge hurry and the store we were in was really crowded.  I finally threw in the towel on Saturday afternoon when I took the girls to the mall by myself, in the rain, during the big Dillards sale!  I was almost in tears before it was all said and done.  Adda had already cried many tears from falling (more than once) because I was pushing the stroller too fast.  My toes were bleeding because she stepped on them about twenty times!  I know I wasn't very nice to that poor girl!  Listen, I'm not a perfect mom by any means.  I don't keep my cool 100% of the time.  I get a little tense at times.  None of that changes how much I love my girls.  My mom still apologizes for things that she did (all of which we think are really funny).  I will apologize for some things too some day!  I do know this...a double stroller will make things sooooo much easier on us all!!!!  

I walked out in the sun room and found Sissy asleep on the stroller.

 Here are all the parts. 

 My handy helper Sissy is back, but this time in the basket.

 Complete!  Oh, this makes me smile!

 Ready for a walk when the girls wake up from their nap.  Notice the basket is sagging on one side.  That's Sissy again!

 Rotten Cat! Notice the really large basket under the seat!  Huge perk!

 Sleepy Cat!

It was a successful calorie burning walk!!!!  At one point as we were going up a huge hill and I was breathing very heavy Adda said, "Mom, we need to go much faster than this!"  I told her I was going as fast as I could!

   

  

A chewing problem! No judging!

I have decided that both my girls have a chewing problem. I'm pretty sure (actually, positively sure) that I passed this trait down to them. As a kid I chewed on everything. I still find myself chewing on stuff. I don't know what's wrong with me. I probably need some sort of counseling for it. Adda does the same thing. Everything, and I mean everything, goes straight to her mouth! It's like she needs to explore things with hands, eyes, and tongue! Listen, I totally remember thinking those thoughts as a kid! It's a problem!

The other day my cousin (Suzanne Shipp Green) posted this picture on instagram. Her caption was that her mom found her old Barbies. I replied to her asking if any of them had chew marks on their feet. I used to chew her most prized possessions. She also had an amazing eraser collection, and I might have chewed a few of them up. I know, I know, I am shaking my head right now too! Again, it's a problem!

 Poor Ken! You would think by looking at these teeth marks it might have been a puppy. No, just a little cousin named Jocelyn! Love you Suz!

Adda is crazy in love with her paci! She has always loved it! Before she turned two we made her keep her paci in her bed. She could only have it when she slept, either nap or bedtime. She had no problem with this at all. When she woke up it stayed in her bed. We didn't feel like it was hurting anything for her to keep using it while she slept. It wasn't affecting her speech, she didn't use it in public or around the house, and she never threw any fits about wanting it. In February (when Ella was born) she got RSV and we noticed that one of her pacifiers had a hole. She had four Avent brand pacifiers. These were old and I just thought this particular one was just plain worn out. I threw it away and she started using another one. Then Ella got RSV and we were at Cook's Childrens Hospital with her for 3 days. During these three days she stayed with a few different people. When we got home I noticed that the two pacifiers she had in her overnight bag both had holes. I honestly thought that maybe the dogs at both house she stayed at might have gotten a hold of them. I threw them away and gave her the last pacifier. A few days later I noticed it had a hole. I realized that we had a piranha on our hands, and her name was Adda!  Gonzo and I talked about it and decided that with a brand new baby who was getting over RSV, Adda getting over RSV, and Gonzo and I both getting over being sick, I didn't care if she had one more pacifier. We had a bag of extra ones that were gifts or free ones we got in the mail. We let her pick one more and told her that was it. She of course picked the pink glitter one that said "Princess" on the front. She knew that if this one got a hole it was going in the trash and she wouldn't have another one. Well...yesterday she talked and played during her nap. I didn't think too much about it because I had given her Zyrtec that morning and thought maybe that was just keeping her awake. When I went in to get her she asked where her paci was. We found it and she said, "Mom, I gave paci a hole." It wasn't just a hole! The whole tip of the paci was gone! We took it to the trash and she had to toss it in.

There it goes!!! We made a really big deal about it last night and gave lots of high fives! Surely, she would sleep good! She had no nap, swam, and jumped on the trampoline! She did! Slept great! This morning we went to get donuts and chocolate milk (after she told me that's what Papa gets her) to celebrate saying goodbye to paci!

Her nap wasn't great today, but she did sleep! 

Ella might also have a chewing problem! Maybe not, I do think she is getting her top two eye teeth right now. I went in to get her after she woke up from her nap the other day and this is what I found.

This is what it should look like.

She could reach the ruffle with her mouth and she chewed and ripped it during her nap. Really!!! Wow!  It's a problem, I know! 

Babysitting!

Tonight my brother and Andrea had to go to a dinner for the Elders from The Village.  They asked if I would mind watching the kids while they were gone.  I decided it would be easier if we went to their house!  Even thought I was outnumbered 5 to 1 until Gonzo got there, it was not a mad house at all! 

We played some worship music on the ipad during dinner!

 Leah eating dinner!  She said, "CHEESE!"

Ella during dinner.  Chewing on come goggles from the Home Depot work bench in the playroom!  Forget the exersaucer, these goggles are amazing!

Adda, Abel, and Luke eating dinner!  Poor Abel kept getting pushed off the bench from his cousin Adda!  She was being a seat hog!

Everyone clean, in pj's, and sitting with milk watching Bambie! 

On a super side note!  Today our microwave went out.  I'm not sure what's going on with our luck on appliances but I'm starting to get concerned.  First the refrigerator, then the oven/cook top, and now the microwave, all in a little over a month!  Yikes!!!  The only appliance left if the kitchen is the dishwasher!  Hopefully it will continue working like a jewel!  Someone from GE is coming tomorrow afternoon to look at the microwave.  A whole lot quicker than stinkin Sears!  It just took them over three weeks to fix the oven.  I guess I shouldn't speak too soon about this microwave.  We could be back in the same boat! 

School Time!

Today our "school" started.  I started curriculum with the kids!  We did a little calendar time, checked the weather, sang some songs, read a book, and had some play time.  They had fun, and so did I.  I do miss the "teaching" part of teaching.  I do lots with Adda, but this was an organized lesson!  She totally loved it!  When Gonzo came home for lunch she started singing the songs and showed him the weather chart.  I am looking forward to doing this with her.  She is smarter than I give her credit for!  She gets that from her Daddy!  I love watching her little mind tick away!  I got my curriculum a while back from a blog called Confessions of a Homeschooler.  I learned about her from my cousin Suzanne.  If you haven't checked it out do!  This lady was a genius to put all this together and sell it!  I am using it as a basis and then added and taking away a few things.  Here are a few pictures from our morning!

A little bit of pretend play after circle time.  They stacked the boxes and sang happy birthday.  Then ate the pretend cake!

We had a friend stop by today to play for a while!  Thanks Becky for bringing Ibbie by!  We enjoyed him very much!  

Today we shall CELEBRATE!

Today is a great day for so many reason!  It's Sunday, my house is clean, it's cool and rainy outside, and today is my mamma's birthday!  This lady is a great lady!  Great doesn't even begin to do her justice.  She the best mom I know!  If I can be half as good a mommy to my girls as she was to me, I will be happy!  I wasn't always the nicest to her!  I think back to some of the things I said and thought about her getting all up in my business and it makes me sad.  Being a mom now I wish I had listened to her.  It would have saved me some time, some heartache, and some mistakes!  Today we celebrated her birth.  We celebrated who she is and all she sacrificed through the years to be the mom she was and still is.  I love you so much Mom!  Your not only the best mom in the world, but your the best NanAnn in the world.  We love you so much!

In honor of Mom's birthday we ate cake after dinner!  It doesn't take much for us to have an excuse to eat cake!  I made an Apricot Nectar Cake.  This recipe came from our family cookbook that my Nana made for all of us a few year ago.  I love this cookbook!  She put so much time and effort into it and I will cherish it forever.  This is one of Gonzo's favorites!  In fact tonight he said that he likes it so much it could be his birthday cake!  Usually he asked for a coconut cake, but I guess he changed his mind after eating it tonight.  

 My Nana made copies of the recipes and put them all together in the book.  I love that they have her handwriting on them and are dirty and torn.  

 The ingredients are: lemon cake mix, lemon pugging, apricot nectar, eggs, and oil.  This is a super easy cake and takes no time at all.  You don't even have to use an electric mixer. 

 While its baking you make a glaze with powdered sugar, the extra apricot nectar, and fresh lemon juice.

While its still hot you pour some of the glaze on it.

It was delish!  Gonzo already got into it again before bed.  He will snack on it all week (so will Adda and I)!

Happy Birthday Mom!  Wish you were here to eat Apricot Nectar Cake with us!  Miss you and love you so much!  Hope your birthday was a great day!

Apricot Nectar Cake

Duncan Hines Lemon Supreme Cake Mix

Small box of lemon jello (I like to use lemon pudding)

3/4 cups oil

1 cup apricot nectar

4 eggs

Apricot Nectar Glaze

2 cups powdered sugar

the remaining apricot nectar

juice of 1 lemon

Mix all the ingredients in a bowl and add eggs one at a time.  Pour into a bunt pan and bake at 325 for 1 hour or until a toothpick inserted comes out clean.  Allow to cool in pan for 10 minutes.  Invert onto a cake plate and pour the glaze over the cake while its hot (I like to put half of the glaze on the cake right away, and then let it cool another 10 minutes and put the rest of the glaze over it.  It creates a crust when you do this rather than it all soaking in.)