Friday, August 31, 2007

Chores

There is a funny thing about going home for an extended visit to your family, there comes a point when you stop being a guest and are considered to be living there, at which point you are required/expected to act like a family member and participate in the daily chores. I guess for my family over a week is considered the time limit for guest and chores have been re-instated into my life. I can't really complain because we have kind of taken over, but at the same time it is funny when you are expected to help do the dishes, vacum and keep the bathroom clean, it is almost like being in high school again. I share a bathroom with my sister and our stuff is everywhere, spread out across the counter. Hairspray and face cleanser, make up and nail polish. My parents thought I should move into the basement, into my brothers room, this weekend when Tom comes so he doesn't have to share the bathroom with my sister, but I said, how about he just uses that bathroom so I don't have to move all my stuff and the girls stuff, so that is what is going to happen. It really is intersting though how the family dynamic falls right back into place after a very short time and even though I have a family of my own now, I am still expected to participate in my "original" family...just some interesting thoughts.

Thursday, August 30, 2007

Proud

Last night after the girls went down I started messing with my template...had I known they were going to wake up at 3:30 pretty much for the day I wouldn't have, but oh well. Anyway, what you see is what I came up with, and honestly I am pretty proud of myself. I have no design experience or anything graphic, but I really like this. The picture I must give credit to Tom. He took it sometime when we were on one of our Maine trips and I love it. It is of the gardens where we were married in Camden, such a beautiful place and one of my favorite places ever. I thought this was a fitting picture for that reason and because it is green :-) I hope you enjoy the new template as much as I do and hopefully it adds a little more originality to my blog!

Wednesday, August 29, 2007

Template transition

Please bear with me as I explore new templates and try to come up with something more original. I loved my old template, but have seen several others with the same one, which means my blog had no originality. I am hoping Tom can help me develop something a little better or at least a little more creative! So please bear with the weird changes for now!

Tuesday, August 28, 2007

Look Out World

I have decided that within a few short weeks I am going to be in A LOT of trouble as far as the girls and their mobility goes. These week it seems like they have advanced a lot. Natalie waved good-bye to my mom this morning for the first time and she even attempted to let go of the couch and took a step. I could see the wheels turning in her head that she wanted to just walk, but it was to much for her. Maddie has discovered how to open every cabinet my parents have...their house is not very child proof to say the least, but I am seeing how imperative it is going to be to ensure that the apartment is when we return. We have the standard outlet covers, but we are going to have to put those cupboard locks on and stuff like that, because they are simply getting into everything. They have also discovered the wonderful world of Sesame Street. I put it on last night when I was feeding them dinner and Maddie was completely mesmerized. She even began talking to Elmo when I went into the other room with Natalie. It was pretty darn cute, but brings forth reality that my little babies are growing up way to fast. It will be nice to have them walking...my back will thank them...but at the same time it will be crazy to have them running off into two different directions and having the ability to get where they want, when they want, at their own speed. Look out world the twins are on their way and their momma is going to be in trouble!

Monday, August 27, 2007

Fresh Air

The past week the girls and I have been in Ohio. It sure has been refreshing to say the least. Getting out of the "city" and into the country and out of the stank, humid, hot air. Last night we even got to open the windows and hear all the bugs outside while we were sleeping, it was so nice. Being able to go for walks, using my parents garage to get the girls in and out, not hearing the door slam a thousand times from the guy upstairs or the garage going up and down while the man who has it sells goods in the middle of the night. It sure has been nice to get away, even though it has been hard on time to have the girls away from him for so long...we are staying an additional week and Tom will be joining us for the long weekend, it has refreshed me and given more strength to move forward with the whole house fiasco. I hope one day soon I am not afraid to open my windows and we can get some fresh air of our own in our own house...ahhhhhhh here is to fresh air!

Thursday, August 23, 2007

Feet

So the girls are finally starting to get over the fear of my dad and they actually like his feet. He was sitting in his chair tonight and they were playing on the floor when Maddie noticed his shoes and she went right up and took them off his feet, they were indoor clogs. Later Natalie even got up enough courage and was pulling on them and whacking them with a spoon. Glad to see they are having some bonding moments, since my dad has really been trying hard to interact with them! In other news Maddie's fear of the big ball spread to the basement today. My parents have a huge finished basement that would be great for the girls to roam around so I took them down there. I carried them down in an Llbean bag and they were just laughing hystrically, but as soon as I pulled Maddie out she saw the long hallway and totally freaked again and wouldn't let go. Finally, she got down and started playing, but kept looking into my dad's dark shop and would freak again. Finally I just got sick of her freakin every couple of minutes and we went back upstairs. Natalie of course paid no attention to the "demons" in the dark, but she came up with us anyway.

Wednesday, August 22, 2007

The Big Ball is Scary

I realize I have been somewhat MIA this week, but on Monday I drove the girls to Ohio...by myself to visit my family. The drive went pretty smoothly too. We left at 6:00 am and the girls slept all the way to Columbus. Of course they started screaming right when I had to nevigate the city, but we survivied and made it here safe and sound. The girls have been really shy for some reason and Maddie has been super needy. Natalie will either hide behind me or Maddie or lay down on the floor and try to make herself as small as possible when my dad tries to play with her, which is really weird, because she is normally not the shy one. Then Maddie has had serious issues with seperation anxiety. I went to dinner with some of my friends last night and even though I told her I loved her and would be back soon I guess she was crawling around crying and looking everywhere for me after I left. Then my mom purchased a big bouncy ball for them and Natalie loves it, but Maddie thinks it is the scariest thing ever. She went up to it and touched it and when it rolled she scampered back to me as fast as she could crying, then she didn't even want to look at it and wouldnt' stop crying until we had taken it out of the room. I am hoping she is just teething or something, because I just feel like she is so unhappy at the moment. Oh well, life goes on and I can't say I mind all th extra hugs I have been getting!

Sunday, August 19, 2007

It's Like Living in a Fraternity

By now must of the boxes have been unpacked, again and things were starting to settle down, except for the paper and plastic dishes we have been utilizing life was somewhat normal. That is until yesterday when we had our new furniture delivered. We order it about 3 months ago because the couch was going to take 8 weeks to come in, just in time to be delivered to the new joint. Well, after having it sit at the warehouse for an additional month we decided we couldn't have it sit there for 4 more months and we couldn't return it because that would be way to much money sitting as a credit, on our credit cards. The new furniture is a little big for this tiny apartment and we have had to rearrange things to make both the swings fit in the living room, but that isn't the worst of it. We now have the old couch pulled up to the dinning room table, it does add additional seating, we can now serve 7, but it is a little awkward and fratty to say the least! You would think it would stop there, but nope...the love seat is still in the guest room, along with the recliner now. It is like each room you go into there is odd furniture or something out of place. It really isn't a big deal, it is just funny when all we wanted was a "grown up" house, but instead we are regressing. We are not even saying just 4 more months this time, we are just passing the time knowing that some day it will be over and we will have a house to put our new furniture in. At least the cat loves it...she jumps from piece to piece and she has discovered that if she sits in the corner of the over sized chair the girls can't reach her like they can on the couch now...to funny, aren't animals smart! So if you ever come over please forgive us for living like we used to in college it isn't permanent just a temporary glitch in life!

Tuesday, August 14, 2007

Returning to Normal

As I slowly put boxes back into closets and unpack dishes and clothes things start to return to normal around here. It is sad though because even though we didn't physically move the boxes are there like we did. The unpacking and knowing in 4 months we will have to repack lie in the back of my mind. The past 3.5 weeks have been a struggle for us, emotionally mostly, but that wears on you physically as well. We have decided to build another house, the offer was to good to pass up financially, but I hope the price we pay mentally and emotionally isn't too great. Living in an apartment can really take a toll on a person used to their own space. With the girls out of their pumpkin seats getting them to the car has become interesting and fighting for the "good" parking space has just gotten annoying. When the dude knows that we have twins he still parks there and I just want to slap him. Then the ants are still out of control, I moved boxes and it was like opening an ant farm behind them...gross. Then the guy who rents the garage attached to our apartment has taken to selling things again out of said garage and he does this late at night, usually between 9-midnight...do we think these are hocked goods...you betcha! He even asked me one day if I wanted to buy a washer and dryer...I mean he had three pairs in there. One day he even had a three door refridgerator. I don't know where he gets the stuff, but I am pretty sure it is his business because he is home at all hours and leaves at all hours of the night. In the end we will get the house we wanted, nice, new clean, basement, upgraded carpet, etc and it will all be worth it, but after 9 months I hope we aren't to exhausted to enjoy it...whew what a time :-)

Saturday, August 11, 2007

Squeak, Squeak, Squeak

For the past year or so our bed has squeaked unforgivingly, when you lie down, roll over or get up and it has been driving me insane. So insane that I thought we were going to have to get another bed, this is the 2nd one that I have had that did this, cruddy box springs. Well, yesterday I was so fed up with it I decided I didn't care if I ended up ruining the box spring I was going to get to the bottom of the squeak. So I got a pair of scissors and started cutting the top of the box spring. Do you know what I found? I found a huge thin piece of cardboard, no springs. Wood and cardboard. I am sure most of you out there already knew that a box spring actually has no springs, but I didn't. So I started leaning on the card board, squeak, squeak, squeak. I leaned on the wood alone, nothing...aha I had found the problem. I cut a little more and pulled the cardboard out. Put our mattress back on and jumped onto the bed...silence, no squeaks. I had solved the problem. I was to excited, almost giddy when Tom got home and I was able to show him what I had done. Now we can sleep peacefully no more squeaking and we didn't have to spend money on another bed...yippee!

Friday, August 10, 2007

Come On

As I age in years, yes I am 2 away from being 30, I expect that my body will age as well and I will appear to be over the age of 21, at least that is what one would think. However, I am constantly reminded that I still look like a 16 year old. Everyone always tells me that when I am older I will love looking young, but now it is just annoying. I have always been carded going into bars, the Claddagh included, and when purchasing alcohol at the store, which I used to think was fine and I would be prepared for it. But now that I am almost 30 and have 2 babies I find it very annoying to get carded anymore. A few months ago I was carded buying a lottery ticket, that's right a lottery ticket. Not cigarettes, not beer or wine, but a lottery ticket. Something you have to be 18 to purchase. Then when we went to test drive the mini van, the sales guy asked if I was 18...seriously, if I wasn't do you think that I would want to test drive a mini van...come on. Then today, I was once again carded buying wine at the grocery store, Natalie hanging off my hip screaming because I had taken my car keys away from, Maddie screaming because I had to take my purse away from her to get out my id. I understand carding and the point behind it, but give me a break, when I am almost 30 and have 2 screaming kids. I know my frustration comes through sometimes because the sales clerks will apologize and say sorry you don't look that old, but seriously, when I can't even look 18 it is simply annoying. So here's to hoping I age gracefully, since I still look my sister's age, who is in fact 16 :-)

Thursday, August 09, 2007

To good to be true?

Yesterday after informing the builder that we were no longer going to pursue the house I felt like a weight had been lifted and we were ready to move on. I had contacted our realtor and had her doing searches for houses again. Then later in the afternoon our sales rep called us, she is out of the office on medical leave but had heard we were walking away. At this point she asks if we were sure we wanted to walk away completely or if we wanted them to build us another house, at the discounted price, with the upgraded carpet, etc on a different lot. I told her I hadn't realized this was an option and she said if that is what we wanted they would make it happen. The close date would be in November and to let her know. I was completely surprised by this, why were they being so generous? Tom and I talked it over and went to look at the open lots and found a couple that we liked and I went in to talk to the assistant to make sure the lots we liked were available and low and behold she tells me the lot that we originally wanted, right across the street from our old house is available, the deal had fallen through and that is were our rep though we would build. What?! How can this be, aren't you concerned about having 2 identical houses next to each other? I asked her, oh we talked about that and we will either give you a side load garage or a porch or something to make the houses look different if you want it, she replied. I was totally astounded by this fact, once again why so nice? So I went out and told Tom, at which point we decided this is what we are going to do, of course, how can we pass it up. We have a call into our real rep, she has more power and knowledge than the assistant to confirm all these details and to make sure they really are willing to do all this, but it looks like we will have to wait 4 more months, but in the end we will still get the brand new house we wanted...I will believe it when I see it in writing. My hopes aren't completely back up, because I can't handle that, but there is light at the end of the tunnel!

Wednesday, August 08, 2007

Cutting the Strings

Today, after 5 months of heartache and emotional roller coaster Tom and I have decided to cut the strings on "our" house and to move on. This has been a hard, hard decision for us, but we feel in the end it just won't be worth it. Yesterday they did their moisture and mold testing and they found mold in the basement. Our biggest concern since this all happened was mold and there it is, clear and present. They say that it can be treated and everything will be fine, but that is to much of a weight on our shoulders and it would have to be disclosed upon the sale of the house in the future, which will scare some buyers away, I am sure, because it scared us when we were first looking and still scares us now. So there you go, it is over. We are now back to square one, but who knows hopefully things will all work out and we will be happier in the end! Here's to hoping again :-)

Tuesday, August 07, 2007

Biggest Workout

On Sunday I went on a hunt for the Biggest Loser workout DVD, the first one. I had read some good reviews and figured, hey if they can lose that much weight on television doing this stuff maybe it can help me lose weight too. Let me tell you, honestly it really is no surprise that they lost a lot of weight because man that workout was tough. They have set up a 6 week program where you alternate workouts, low impact aerobics and weight sculpting for the first three weeks and then high impact and boot camp for the last three. Well today I have done the low impact and the sculpting and I am sore....ahhhhhh it was quit a workout and I am surprised. The great thing is that the workouts are short, 20-40 minutes so I can get them in while the girls play or nap, much better than the Taebo...thanks Jeanelle for pointing out that is how long the workouts are...I think this will be much better. Then once the weather cools off I can mix this with running and I should be on my way...AGAIN! Now to get the eating under control, haha. But if you are looking for a workout dvd this is a good one!

Sunday, August 05, 2007

I love eBay

I have always been a little addicted to eBay, ever since I discovered just how great it is, but now I like it even more. First let me re-phrase this, I am not a lover of selling things on eBay, I just am not good at making money, but I LOVE buying things. I re-discovered this yesterday when I started looking for Sarah Jessica Parker's new clothing line Bitten. The only store that sells it here in the Indy area is called Steve and Barry's and it is only located at Lafayette Square mall. This mall scares the living daylights out of me and there is no way I would go there a. Alone or b. With the girls, so I figured I would never get to see or have any of the Bitten line. I then started looking to see if they had them in Ohio, since I am going there in a few weeks, but no luck. Then it hit me, eBay, I am sure there is something on eBay, and boy was I right! So I started browsing and bidding, I love it! Then only catch here and especially on the bitten clothes is that you have to be careful. See the whole concept and point of the bitten line is that nothing, yes NOTHING is to cost over $20.00, the platform is that you can still look good without paying a fortune. Unfortunately you have people, like always on eBay making money and even starting the clothes over $20.00. I know they want to make money, but it is sad. Anyway, I did win a shirt and I am sure even with shipping it is not costing me that much more than it would have been to go to the store and hey it is worth it since that mall scares me so much. I am bidding on a few other things...a pair of flats and another shirt and who knows what I will find next, but I love that you can find almost anything on eBay...happy times, no if only I could figure out how to sell things and make money!

Friday, August 03, 2007

When are you going to learn?

When are you going to learn? Is a question that Tom is continually asking me. See I have this really bad habit of eating things I shouldn't, either because I have a craving or because they are my favorite. Pizza and ice cream come to mind first, now I realize these food aren't good for you, but for me they are especially bad. I have some sort of lactose intolerance, as does my sister and dad. My sister is smart and she doesn't eat these things. I on the other hand can't seem to get enough and I pay every time. Anything from an upset stomach to gasiness to other things I won't mention. One would think that being a grown 27 year old woman that I would stop, but I can't seem to and every time I eat something I shouldn't and feel sick Tom asks me, "when are you going to learn?" I think tonight I might have learned, we had Bazebeaux Pizza followed with ice cream and no my stomach is a mess and I just hate it. I love these foods, but this torture just isn't worth it, aside from that lets talk about the weight I am not losing and want to, so maybe cutting out these foods will help in that endeavor, we shall see! I did order the new Taebo Amped that is scheduled to come out on Tuesday, I say if Billy Blanks can't get me in shape and help me lose weight then nobody can, the task will be to actually get up and do the workouts! So hopefully next time I write I will weigh less and will have given up my vices of ice cream, pizza and fried foods...fingers crossed!

Wednesday, August 01, 2007

Sick People

All the vanadalism and destruction that has been going on lately has really made me mad and upset. Not only did someone wreck our house, but the builders were telling us another story of a house they had on the Southside where the night before closing someone got in and smeared poop all over the entire house. Then there have been the slew of mishaps up north, kids spray painting cars and garages, etc. I think the thing that really made this all hit home and turn my stomach upside down was the break in to Gleaners food bank this past weekend. The thieves were stealing cooper piping or something, but it broke the refrigerators and Gleaners has suffered over $400,000 in loss of spoiled food. It just simply makes me sick to think that people out there are so careless to hurt others, and worse people they don't know to top it all off. I am glad the community is rallying around Gleaners to help them with donations and food and hopefully the thieves will be caught and justice will be served.