A GIRL

We joke that it is a girl. Since we first found out I was pregnant I named it, Cynthia. Now it is Cynthia Louise and nicknamed Cindy Lou. It is natural that we would want a girl next, but if it is a boy, we will be so happy.

Last time we had a girl, we named Brenna within minutes. With boys names it took us months and months and then daily pressure in the hospital. We named them 4 or 5 days after they were born. We have no ideas yet.

A GIRL

We joke that it is a girl. Since we first found out I was pregnant I named it, Cynthia. Now it is Cynthia Louise and nicknamed Cindy Lou. It is natural that we would want a girl next, but if it is a boy, we will be so happy.

MORNING SICKNESS

I have had a hard time believing I was pregnant...until today. Life seemed just as it always has been. I have been able to have enough energy to tend to my children and my home, and still run 5 miles three times a week.

Last night at dance practice I noticed that my husband was extra stinky...I thought it was something he ate, that was not sitting well. Then today the nausea, the lack of energy, the dizziness set in...and now there is no doubt that I am pregnant.

I have decided that God is very gracious that he lets us forget the past pregnancies. If I had known what I know now...I would not have been so excited about it. It is not THAT bad. Probably a 3 out of 10 compared to most, but just uncomfortable enough to notice it and change my lifestyle a bit.

***As an addendum...it is getting worse by the minute. I am miserable...

BRENNA

Brenna is the cutest, sweetest, funnest, funniest girl I know.

She carries around a little stuffed horse, which she named, "Spot". Spot is with her at all times. They play, they sleep, he sits on the table next to her as she eats. It is adorable.

She is so affectionate. She is always telling me, "I just love you so much". She also says it to anyone else that plays with her for longer than five minutes. She is always trying to hold hands. She chases after anyone, and everyone to give them a goodbye kiss and a hug.

She is a little show off. She loves dancing and singing in the center of the room. Her and Tucker will practice a dance downstairs and then come up to show everyone.

She has this beautiful, wild, and untamed curly hair.

She just has the funnest little personality. She is soo playful, and such a joke-ster.

PREGNANT

I am hoping for a girl. We have already been calling her Cynthia. Shane is rooting for twin girls and then be done. I told him that Heavenly Father knows me better than that.

I have been severely baby hungry for about a year but I figured that I was just a little off my rocker. As soon as I began to get over it and focus on running...Shane got baby hungry.

Shane is in charge when it comes to baby making because I am not on any form of birth control. He went from begin VERY careful to being very careless. After a few months of timing it just right, I finally asked him if he was intentionally trying to get me pregnant. He said I am not "TRYING" but I am not opposed to it either. He says that we are good parents, who can raise our children right and with the gospel and if we want another we should go ahead and have another.

Last month when I had my period he was really disappointed. So when I was a week late this month he is OVERJOYED!!! I am too. I love my children.

LITTLE TERRORS

What happened to my little angel boys??? I think that terrible twos has arrived.

Landon says, "NO", to everything. He says it also right after I say it to him. Drives me bonkers.

Jackson hits if he doesn't like something you did or said. I just flick him back and then it turns into a wrestling match. He does like to hit his brother though, which is the biggest problem.

They are extra whinny and opinionated. Heaven help me survive this time.

MY PARENTS

Dawn posted this picture online. I am blown away. Now I can see where I get my good looks ;)

LOVE, LOVE, LOVE BABIES

Over the weekend we spent time with a old friend and his wife. They have been married for 5 years and are just beginning to think about starting a family. The wife said that she has a lot of friends who married and had children right away and they have really struggled...she did not want to do that. This theory sounds very enciting.

I waited a year after marriage to begin a family. I am soo glad I had that year with Shane to learn and grow together. For the most part having children was barely a struggle when it was ONLY Brenna.

I would be lying if I said that adding twins to the mix was a cakewalk. It has been rough...but amazing and fun and brought SOOOOOO much joy to my life. Yes, there are days that I want/need a break. That the crying and constant needs are exhausting but I ADORE spending time at home with my children. We play all day and laugh and snuggle and love. It is GREAT. So great that I constantly hunger for more children.

SELF POTTY TRAINING

Brenna always goes potty before getting in the bathtub. For a few months now the brothers try to do it also. They just sit there for a few seconds then say "all done".

Landon seems like he is going to be the first out of the twins to use the potty full-time. At first he would stand in the tub and pee. He would aim for something floating the the water, or try to fill a toy with urine. But...at least he recognized when he needed to go...Right?!?

Over the past week Landon has really shown signs of interest. He has gotten out of the tub FOUR TIMES and done pee-pees in the potty. Most of the times he even climbed on the toilet and did it himself.

Am I ready to potty train twins??? Absolutely not. Diapers are not breaking the bank and it is going to be very messy trying to clean up the mistakes of two children.

VOMIT

Jackson has ALWAYS had a weak gag reflex. Whenever he is near me while I change Landon's poopy diapers I can predict a dry heave or two. Sometimes if he cries hard he can vomit also.

Well today proved how weak his reflex is. I knew that I was a REAL nurse when I could hold the vomit bag for a patient and not vomit myself. Jackson has a lot of practicing to do...

I babysat Ashley's kids while she spent the afternoon with her mother. Tucker kept complaining of a upset stomach but then would say, "It is better now" and play a little until he was back lying on the couch again. Two minutes before Ashley returned Tucker vomited EVERYWHERE. Jackson thought it was gross and vomited in THREE different spots while I was cleaning up Tucker's mess.

Heaven help me!!!

HALF MARATHONER

Wow!!! What a rush!!! I had a blast. I ran 13 miles in 2 hours 16 minutes. I was very timid with my speed because I was not sure if and when I would hit a wall. I took it easy and seriously think that next time I could do a little better.

I ran with a friend from work named Jewel. She ROCKS!!! She is like the energizer bunny and shared her energy when my was low. We laughed and joked as we ran. It went a lot faster then I thought. Miles just breezed past without even realizing it.

There were quite a few hills around Henery Hagg Lake. We nicknamed one of them Everest and brag that we ran to the peak WITHOUT supplemental oxygen.

I am already planning the next few that I want to run. I LOVED it.

GERMS

I dread all of my children being sick at once. It is exhausting. Since I am a nurse my germ phobia comes into full force when they are contagious. I try to avoid it from spreading but inevitably...it does. So after the last illness, I decided to try another approach and I vowed that if any of them got sick again I would make them all drink out of the same cup, or use the same spoon just to get it over with instead of it dragging on for weeks.

They actually haven't been sick so far this winter. And it is my fault for bragging out loud about it because Landon got sick. I woke up from a nap after the night shift and Karen said that Landon had a fever and would not swallow. I took him to urgent care on Shane's lunch break just to assure it was not strep and not pass it around.

On a side note. As a nurse I feel extra silly bringing my children to the doctor at the first sign of illness. I began to feel, as I sat in the waiting room, that all eyes were on me saying, "isn't she used to this as a nurse? Why is she so quick to bring him in? He doesn't even look sick." I felt like turning around and taking him back home. I audibly cheered when the MD told me that he DEFINATELY had strep, and he was glad I brought him in.

Anyway...I called Shane with the news as soon as I left the MD's office. Then when I walked in the door I found Jackson lying in Landon's blankie drinking out of Landon's sippy cup!!! I fully predicted another trip to the urgent care the following day for Jack Jack. Shane was fired from babysitting for... a half a day.

ENDLESS CYCLE

We have subconsciously been doing this for months but it just clicked. Shane is VERY likable and fun to be around. He has always been the life of the party and had friends swarming around him. I like him too and when he is home I try to be near him but I have begun to feel that he was avoiding me. Whenever I enter the same room as him...I realize that within the matter of minutes he has moved again.

I had to really ponder on it. Does he like me? Did I shower today? Is he just tired from work? Then I realized the "cycle".

He moves away from the noise of the kids
I move to be near him
The kids realize I am gone and move to be near me
Then Shane moves to get away from the kids again
...

NEW LOOK

I have regressed back into comfort and neglect when it comes to makeup and clothes. Since I have been hardcore training for the half marathon it seems worthless to do my hair only for it to get sweaty or rained on. I also put on my running clothes as soon as I get out of bed to prepare for a minute that I might be able to squeeze in a run.

I came home from work early one night and Shane shyly confessed that he found a program online and was giving a picture of me a makeover. I have to give my husband props. I fully expected to find me with bigger boobs and a smaller tushy. When he revealed the picture it was me with makeup, new hair style and jewelery. I had various types of hairstyles and colors, but the one he settled on loving the most was my natural color with highlights.

Brenna got into it also and there was one with bright pink hair and lipstick. She told him that it looked SO BEAUTIFUL!!!

MY NICKNAME

I have had various nicknames in my time but the latest is not my favorite. Shane calls me his "baggy woman". After having twins I have to really think about his meaning before I react. He calls me his "baggy woman" for another reason. I love to keep things organized and one of the cheapest ways I know is with zip lock baggies. They are in every room and every drawer of our house.

MOM IS A BAD EXAMPLE

Out of all of my children, Jackson is my mimic...possibly the reason that I find him the most hilarious. ;) But it isn't always a good thing.

On Sunday, during the quiet part of sacrament, Shane said that Jackson found a scratch on Shane's arm. Jackson quickly started looking for one on himself. He finally found one, and then very loudly said, "Oh man...shoot....crap".

As if that wasn't bad enough. The speaker, as a natural part of her talk, mentioned that we as parents have to be a good example because our children will mimic us...the people in the next pew turned around and said' "Are you listening to this?'

I am glad that I was not there, I would have died with embarrassment. I had no idea that I was so uncensored. I am going to have to work on that.

BRENNA IS 4!!!

WOW...does time fly!!! For birthdays I always make a special cake. Brennas this year was more difficult...possibly because she was helping. It is lop sided and not to my liking. But...she LOVED it.

CHAIR REDO

Shortly after we were married we got a free table and chairs. It is the ugly rod iron base with the glass top. The chairs were in serious disarray, so we redid them. After 5 years...the chairs needed help again. So with a little more pain and some cute fabric...whalla.

MR POTATO HEAD

I made these for Ashley as part of her Christmas present and just now got my set done. The kids LOVE them. They are made out of fleece/felt. There is a cowboy with boots and a gun; man with glasses; woman with earrings and a purse; boy with a baseball; and girl with earrings and a doll.

LOST JACKETS

Since birth Jackson wears blue and Landon wears brown. One day I was looking for their jackets and could not find them anywhere. I checked both cars, the laundry, all rooms...I was stumped.

I woke up the next morning with a faint recollection of looking in my rear view mirror and seeing a blue and a brown piece of clothing in the road. I sent Shane out before work and sure enough he found a brown jacket and a blue pair of pants.

As if that is not weird enough. Where was Landon's blue jacket? Shane found it the next day about a half a mile away in the road also. They had probably been out there for a week.

Laundry did the trick and the brothers are now warm again.

MY BODY TYPE

I hope that this is not one of those, "you just had to be there" moments, but I cannot resist posting it...I want to remember and relaugh about it later.

Since I was young I have been trying to pick out people who may have my body type to see if my view of myself is the same as the truth. Silly, I know. I have not done it for YEARS.

Valentine's Day I pointed out a girl from behind as she walked to the bathroom. Shane looked just in time to see her disappear around the corner. We all waited for her to come back to see if indeed she did have my body type.

When she came back we ALL burst into tears because from behind it turns out I am thinner...but from the front she is OVERLY endowed and I must have high hopes for myself!!!

NEW CAMERA

I know that my blog is sorely neglected. My camera was trash and since our move and new computer Shane did not want me to install the old software but to buy a new camera instead. It has been a few months but I finally got one. Nothing overly fancy but at least I can begin adding pictures to my blog post again.

TRAVEL TRAILER

I know how no one likes to hear about the doom-n-gloom but it remains in the back of my mind constantly. Since we sold our condo I feel liberated. I feel that if something huge were to happen we could pack up and move to where family is up the hill.

One of the huge things that I did recently was allowed Shane to buy a travel trailer. It is 21 feet and has a bathroom, kitchen, heat, refrigerator, sleeps 5-6. I figured that it was warmer to camp in but also a place to live if we had to move up the the house...if we became desperate. Shane and Jayson are actually in the process of destroying (that is what it looks like at this point) their parents land and building a shelter for the travel trailers. They had a "back hoe" (or whatever that thing is called) leveling it and taring out tree stumps. They found some old telephone poles on craigslist for cheap and are in the process of building the roof. Quite the project.

It is AMAZING though. We hit the jackpot. I cannot wait the camp it up this summer.

MESSES

I am afraid that I am a failure. Raising twins you have to neglect a few areas in order to survive. The area that this is most prominent is in meal time. It seems to have been the only time raising the brothers that I get a moments peace. I let them do their thing and it is easier to clean them up afterwards then watch/feed them.

It is not pretty. Jackson eats a lot like the Beast does in the movie. It is very messy and very comical. He has discovered that it is easier to use his hands rather than the spoon.

They do not love bibs and know how to remove them. I end up changing their clothes after most meals. Sometimes they get done before I realize and sticky hands run a muck.

I am excellent at keeping my house clean but need to work on teaching my babies how to eat nicely. I think they are old enough to know better by now.

OLD FRIENDS/ENSIGNS

It seems wrong to throw away the words of the prophet and apostles. I had all my Friends stored up from 2010 and had no idea what to do with them. Storing them forever seemed silly. So I got creative...and tore them apart.

I put them in sheet protectors and divided them into sections: Activities, Coloring pages, and Short stories and comics. The sheet protectors allow for the activities and coloring pages to be colored on with dry erase markers and used again and again.

We use it at church and the kids are CRAZY about it. I do have to worry about the brothers and dry erase markers but the washable kind seem to come out in the wash if any "UH-OHs" happen.

DOUBLE SHOWER

If you don't enjoy an intimate peak into my life then do not read this post...TMI.

I LOVE taking showers and baths. If I could justify 2 showers a day I would. Perhaps I still have Arizona blood in me and love the heat of the hot water.

I also LOVE taking showers with my husband...TMI...but I get freezing cold if he has the water, and as thin as we are, we cannot both fit under the shower head. So there was only one solution...get my brilliant plumber brother-in-law and my intelligent husband to make a removable double shower head. Since we are renting, we cannot tare into drywall and re plumb, so as ugly as it is...we LOVE it. It screws in and screws out for when we move to a new place.

DIP, DIP

My new secret to getting my kids to eat is to give them food that we call, "dip,dip". Anything that they can dip; grilled cheese in tomoato soup, veggies in ranch...they LOVE it.

PERFECTION

You may not tell by my abundant manners and gracious personality ;) but I am not perfect and was not raised in a perfect home. Actually is was extremely dysfunctional. I am no where near perfect as a result, with some help of my own. I have embarrassed myself on more than ten occasions. I have been difficult to be around at times and even harder to love. I am not the most spiritual person in the world and even have to go to the bishop (my papa) at times.

But...the Rowley's on the other hand are perfect. It is not some act or that they are different when others are not around. They really are good, wholesome, god-fearing, bridle their passions kind of people (with a few exceptions in a few family members at times;) If they do make mistakes they repent and repair the damage. They treat me as though the times I have embarrassed myself do not exist. They are not easily offended. They are mild, even-tempered, no guile or back biting. They are amazing and I would be even more of a mess without them.

Karen and Kim are the BEST in-laws in the WORLD!!! I loved them before I joined the family and have only been more amazed now that they claimed me fully as one of their own. They are helpful, loving, easy to be around and converse with. They become your best friends. There is no wonder why we see/or talk to them daily.

RENTER NOT OWNER

I am afraid that I am unable to remember how to be a renter. I have a hard time remembering that it is someone else's house and that they may not approve of my changes. I made a big mistake which kept me up all night.

The owner said that I can paint but I excitedly began on the baseboards and trim before I realized the work that it would take to redo it if they did not like it when we moved out.

I believe that it looks amazing. I tried to be very perfectionist and overly careful but last night I got scolded when my family found out that my landlord did not know in advance. I think that I got an ulcer worrying about it. I sent her a message to come over and I showed it to her. She was not mad but I still feel awful about it.

I have learned my lesson and will try to behave myself.

HALF MARATHON

Since I am now a runner...and feel that I deserve the title, finally...I have decided to further prove it by running a half marathon. There is an AMAZING family, with an AMAZING daughter who has been struggling with cancer. Her oldest sister put together a run to raise money for her medical bills. A 5K, which would be way too easy; A half marathon, which is doable if I train a little more aggressively; and a marathon, which I will NOT even attempt...yet.

I am VERY excited and when I tell runners that I already run 12 miles a week, they tell me I am completely capable of pulling it off. I run it on my treadmill and feel that out in the open, watching the scenery instead of the clock, it will be much easier.

SOFT PANTS

Most of Shane's childhood he was very particular. His mother complains that one of the main things he was strict about was his pants. He thought most pants were uncomfortable and spent the majority of his childhood only wearing sweat pants.

Brenna hit a new stage recently. She will only wear "soft pants". Spandex or sweat pants only, no jeans or else it is a fight. It is possible that it is because the #T are too small and the 4T are too big but stretchy pants always seem to fit.

AIRSOFT ADDICT

I knew this would happen. In my last airsoft blog I spoke about Shane's persuasive nature in getting what he wants. I gave into a high-end airsoft pistol but I should have know that there would be a catch. "Oh hunny, I need a high-end airsoft rifle now because I "just" realized that the pistols don't work in the winter when it is cold."

I tried my hand at the sneakiness too. "Jayson and Josh will never play with you if you are the only one with a rifle...so you can not have one until they get one first." I knew that Ashley would never allow Jayson to get one. She is cheaper that I am...if that is possible.

That VERY night, Jayson had one!!! And within a few weeks Josh and Papa had one too!! I lost again.

ANTI-TOYS

I am also cheap on children's birthdays and Christmas. Gasp!!! Shane is very anti-toys. He does not want to live in a house overrun by them. The kids are allowed one small toy box and if it starts to overflow toys are either packed away or trashed.

I also have very generous in-laws that love to spoil. So Shane and I buy something small and let them do the rest. It works out great. For Christmas they got just enough toys to satisfy the season but not too many to be frustrated.

CHRISTMAS TREE

As if you did not already know but...I am CHEAP!!! Cheap, frugal...boring! I do not decorate for holidays because I am too cheap to buy the decorations. I have tried the after Christmas sales but you have to get there fast to get the goods. This year I discovered that there is another good reason not to decorate...LITTLE HANDS!!!

Our first Christmas with Brenna we got a four foot Christmas tree off of craigslist for about $10. We have used it ever since. I was amazing at being consistent with Brenna and I don't think she touched it at all for the first few Christmases...but the brothers are another story!

I redecorated the Christmas Tree about 100 times and it was only up for a week. Those boys are constant and sneaky. After the first few times that they got to it, it was no longer beautiful, or symmetrical. I just left it that way and hoped people who came over would understand.

BABY TALK

Jackson is a good talker. I can understand everything that comes out of his mouth. He also doesn't seem to talk unless he has something to say.

Landon on the other hand is a bit lacking in the communication department. He repeats what you say and knows how to talk, but most of the time it is gibberish until the last word, which is clear. I think that he does well with words one at a time, but if he wants to say a sentence, he gets so excited that it all runs together.

NICKNAMES

I am the queen of creating nicknames for my children. Each month it is something new and "more creative". Sometimes I just call them whatever word pops into my head at the moment...peanut brittle, cracker jack, fluff n' nutter.

Jackson loves his grandma Karen. Jackson loves even more to call out her name whenever he sees her, which sounds A LOT like, "OBAMA". She does not encourage it...I have no idea why ;)

Shane told me the other day that Landon only calls him "Shane".

Jackson calls me "daddy" still. I cannot break that habit.

SOLD

As of Monday, December 2nd, we no longer own our condo. Very bitter-sweet. It cost us A LOT of money to get it sold. It was not that we could not make our payments, it was just that we do not have faith in the economy and believe that it would take 5-10 years for the value to come back up. We could not squeeze anything else into that tiny place, and could not wait 5-10 years before selling it. We were just about to give up and foreclose, take the hit on our credit, but then the windows of heaven opened.

We had a viewing drought. We did not have anyone come and see our place for a few weeks. Then, I got a call from a Realtor asking to show my house later that afternoon. "Sure" I said, knowing that I needed all the in between time to clean/prepare it for showing. "Oh by the way" he says, "I am at the property right now. I like to do a walk through before I bring the client." I opened the door to find him standing there. I took a quick look at myself. I had a cold sore on my nose medicated with a thick white cream, was in workout clothes with my hair in a high pony tail. I took a look at my condo. I had been slacking off that day and it was a mess. I had a sick husband on the bed in one room, and the brothers trying to take a nap in the other. Brenna was running around being a ham, and asking a million questions. I was SOO embarrassed.

I assured him that he will see a DRASTIC difference in the state of the condo when he came back that afternoon. I guess he believed me because he brought them back that afternoon, and that night they offered us our asking price...in cash...and asked if we could be out in 3 weeks.

We KNEW it was a blessing from heaven and that all the rest would just fall into place. The process was easy and smooth. Now that it is sold we are restful and happy with our decision.

WE ARE RENTERS

WOW, so much harder than owning. You have to search a million places to find the one that you want in your price range. It is just like buying a house but you have to do it every 1-2 years.

I was not too concerned about moving because we are not pack rats and do not have a whole lot of stuff...but I was wrong. It was tough. Karen and I packed it up in 2 mornings...Shane and Jayson moved it in one night...and I spent the next 3 weeks unpacking. The majority of our problem was my addiction to food storage. It made up at least 50% of our move.

We looked at a few places. Shane was STRICT that the place had to have a 2 car garage and adequate parking. At our condo we had to take the car out of the garage, save a parking spot for the vehicle we were using, and then switch back when we got home. I made the mistake of leaving work at 0300 in the morning. There were no parking spots. I had to park in the neighborhood over, and walk a quarter of a mile in the pouring rain. He also believes that he MUST have room in the garage for a ping pong table.

We actually applied and were determined to live in a house in the same neighborhood, but a friend who desperately needed a renter begged and negotiated to have us rent her place. It turned out to be GREAT. There is only one bummer part...they are going to put it back up for sale in the future...I do not want to move again. I guess the only solution is to save, buy it from her and live here for the rest of our lives.

It is so much bigger than our 1060 square foot condo. In hindsight, I have NO idea how we lived there for so long. It was tight quarters.

TWO 2-YEAR-OLDS

This year was way more fun. They are older and more interactive when opening presents. Whenever they opened a present, they would scream, "WOW", before even seeing what it was. As soon as they realized it was just clothes they were on to the next one.

I made them a "special cake" like I love to do for my babies on their birthdays. This year it was a mountain, with a trail and two motocross men on it. It was very cool.

HALLOWEEN

Since this year Halloween was on a Sunday the whole holiday was a waste of time and money. Our ward Halloween party was on the Tuesday prior. They babies wore their Halloween costumes for about a hour and then never again.

Brenna won and was Jessie for Halloween, so of course Landon was Woody and Jackson was Buzz. I had a REALLY hard time finding costumes in their sizes, so I got one size smaller for the brothers...which turned out to be skin tight. Brenna's costume was too big and was folded in the back and then safety pinned.

They were ADORABLE though. As they stopped at each trunk, they would get their treats and then SCREAM "Thank you".

They go enough candy from the church party to satisfy their desires...as well as mom's sneaks.

NEGLECT...

Neglect... creates an overwhelming task. I have not blogged in a month, and have no idea how to begin explaining all that has happened in a few short weeks.

Halloween.

The brothers turned 2 years old.

We moved to rent a bigger place one street over.

We sold our condo to a nice little retired couple.

I had my 27th birthday.

I did not have a single melt down during all the chaos!!! Maybe I am finally growing up!

I will attempt to blog in hindsight about my list of events...hold on tight.

BAREFOOT

I heard that it is the new trend to run marathons barefoot. Experts say that it makes you run with better ergonomics. When I could not find my other running shoe, I realized that it was in the babies room. I had just put them down for a nap and they were finally quiet. I did not want to disturb them.

So I put on some socks and ran on my treadmill for a few miles. It was totally doable on a treadmill but the next day is when I learned of the consequences of my actions. Running barefoot works a whole other set of muscles that do not get used at any other time. I could barely walk for the next few days because my calves were so sore.

DOOM AND GLOOM RESOLVED

I am in remission from "Doom and Gloom" ideation. The fellas at work cannot get to me anymore. I found the faith I was searching for. I knew I had it in me.

Last conference I listened with a keen ear for any hints of "doom and gloom". There were none. There were a lot of talks about having faith and preparing spiritually, but none eluded to economic crisis and the end of the world. There were talks on hope and that this is a choice time.

I realized the importance of having the gospel and a prophet. If you do not there is no one to look to for direction and hope. Fear is all that is left.

As I watched conference, I looked at the prophet and apostles and knew without a doubt that those men are holy and pure to the core and would not do anything to lead us astray. There are no other leaders in the world that I would trust completely. I would pack up a few belongings and walk thousands of miles if they asked me to.

IT TAKES A VILLAGE...

...to raise my children. I can handle them at home just fine. Actually we have a lot of fun. I think that I have it down, and it is totally doable. If we go anywhere except our small, "baby-proof", condo...it takes both of us plus grandma, grandpa, and sometimes even Jayson and Ashley (depending if I just worked a night shift).

A CONFESSION

I am not the best mother. I cut some corners in order to survive raising "triplets". One of my latest things that I do that is not quite kosher is...I love to give feed the babies while they are in the bath. There I said it.

The brothers need the next size up of diapers. They wake up a lot of mornings a little wet. So I put them straight into the bath...and then use the oppritunity to spoon feed them all breakfast while they are in a central location. They eat well and if it spills a little at least I don't have to change their clothing, or clean up a mess.