Garbage Pickup

To my neighbors - those in Madison County, we are being screwed. I am so pissed off - our trash pickup is being taken down to once a week. We have five people living in my home! How am I supposed to keep the trash down to only enough to pack up my can once a week??? THIS SUCKS!

Click Here for the Story

In Desperation... it is Dora

Tomorrow I become a single mom for a week. Tim is off to a CISCO conference in San Francisco and I will be all by myself!!! To be honest, I am not that worried about it. There have been plenty of days where Tim's worked 16 hours and I had to do everything all day long. This is just an extension of those kinds of days.

But tonight, Tim is with TJ to watch Transformers the movie. I got the girls home, fed them... too early for a bath, no second nap today... and what? If I sit and play with them like I normally do, they will fuss and cry. Katie will fuss because she wants to sit in my lap, Lauren will fuss because she is just plain tired.

Dora.

Dora the Explorer.

I said I wouldn't do that with these kids. I can't stand Dora. I had ENOUGH of her AND DEIGO when TJ was a toddler.

But that's all that was on Noggin and I don't think our recording of the Backyardigans is going to work again. They already watched Sesame Street today, we've had it on kids music for background noise.

They needed a distraction to keep them going until bath time.

Dora.

Then.... DIEGO!

Awwww Lawd! What the hell... it could be worse. It COULD be that stupid show with the bumpy plastic fallic looking fellow with the disco dude and the strange singing and dancing that not even this dork can enjoy.

sigh....

Dora :(

The party is over...

... and I am officially done! No more party planning for me anytime soon! Although we are all exhausted, we had a blast! We had about 20 guests plus children and JUST enough room for them all.

I've posted a lot of pictures on Facebook HERE.

Katie and Lauren made out with gifts! They got a few outfits, pajamas galore (thank goodness - they needed them, always), lots of books and lots of toys. They seem to be a bit overwhelmed a bit right now with all the new stuff - but I am sure they will get into everything as time passes. We also got a gift card to Michael's and I purchased some wall decorations for their room. I will post those pictures later. I am still working on it - I got a LOT - but it's looking pretty good!

We played a little bit of Mario Kart towards the end of the party and TJ was quite the challenger! He whooped Cedric's booty a few times (see pics in the photo album linked above). He was really full of himself (TJ) and man... he sure is OUR child, that is for sure!!! I fear what he will be like behind the wheel of a real car 10 years from now! LOOK OUT!

The party was quite the success and Tim and I feel so very blessed to have the kinds of friends and family that care enough to come out and celebrate Katie and Lauren's birthday. We really had fun, even though we were busy busy busy, it was well worth it. Our friends are the best!

The Squirrel Lives On!

Last September, I came home and found an abandoned baby squirrel hiding out in our carport. I felt so badly for it, so I called my animal rescuing aunt Nancy. She said she would come by an pick it up - you can read more about it HERE.

Well, she got an email on Thursday (June 11):
Hi Nancy, l recently joined the group. l was wondering though, if you are the same Nancy Luna who brought me squirrel a year ago. She was a baby girl squirrel very thin. If so, she was raised successfully by me and released two weeks ago in my yard. She lives somewhere close because she is in my yard daily for nuts and treats. l just wanted to say thank you for bringing her to me and saving her life. Sincerely, Tobie P.S. l had named her Luna and she's a little sweetheart.

Needless to say, this MADE MY DAY! Here are a few pics of Luna then:


And here is a picture of her now:




YAY! I am so happy to hear that little Luna the squirrel is a happy little thing!

It's official!!! The girls are ONE!

Gerber calls them Toddlers. They're walking, kinda-talking movers and shakers! I call them my little babies! Can you believe a whole year has passed??

I uploaded pics of them eating their celebratory birthday cupcakes: CLICK HERE

We've got a LOT planned for their Birthday party on the 13th. We've got hot-dogs GALORE, 8 pounds of wings (hot and BBQ), loaded baked potato salad (a Towle Creation), TowleSlaw (Towle House version of Cole Slaw), Spinach and Veggie Dip, a Cheese Ball, and all the fixings!

I can't wait!!!!!

Tomorrow, my babies turn ONE!

I can't believe a year has flown by. It really has been all a blur! The girls are so much different today than they were when I first laid eyes on them. Katie, the child I didn't think looked much like any of my other children, turned out to look like her daddy! Lauren, the big baby has grown to be the smaller of the two. What fun it has been to experience the magic of twins.

I've looked back at the blogs when I first started and am amazed at how I managed to pull through. I went a couple months with only 2 and 3 hours of sleep at a time. Tim was amazing during that time, and still is. I feel like he and I have accomplished so much together. We really teamed up to go into this twin-parenting ordeal with the goal not to fight, and enjoy every last (however miserable it may have been) moment. We've had so many magical moments that were filled with elation and laughter. We've been so tired we were brought to tears, but we did it as a family and we are so much stronger because of it.

As of today, both girls are walking. Lauren is a pro and is learning to walk fast enough to play games where she runs away when we say "I'm gonna getcha!" Katie is still learning, but her will and determination shine when she does walk - you can see it in her eyes because it's like the Little Engine That Could!

Where Lauren is great at walking, Katie is great at talking. Katie knows how to say TJ, Mama, Dada, duck, and has actually said Elmo on a few occasions. She also has her own words for Bell Pepper and doggie. Lauren says Mama, Dada, duck and all done. Katie is better at verbal skills, but I am still very pleased with where both of them are with talking.

It is bittersweet. No more first smiles... no more first tooth experiences (Katie has three broken through, Lauren has eight)... but at the same time, we are DONE with bottles. Last night we gave them their last bottle. They've done really well with strawed sippy cups, and we are going with those for all the meals. I will miss giving Katie her nighttime bottle (Tim gave Lauren hers) where she would rub my arm while she sucked down her full eight ounces.

Like I said, it is bittersweet. On Saturday we will have the last first birthday, but the first girlie birthday.

Needless to say, I never, ever, ever plan to have any more children. At this point, between a tubal and endometrial ablation, my reproductive system has been obliterated. Next up - Tim's getting a snip-snip. We don't want any small percentage working against us!

It's been so much fun! I can't wait to see what the next year has in store for us!

Fun at Dublin Park

We had a lot of fun at what TJ called "Dumplin Park." I've promised him we would go back sometimes after the girls' birthday party. He spent most of the three hours running and playing in Kids Kingdom!

This was Tim's work group summer picnic and I really enjoyed seeing everyone there! I think out of all the different places I've worked (I know, it has been a while) and places Tim has worked since I met him, this group is the best! It really feels like a family in a way. It's great fun to see his co-workers, their spouses and better-halves, and their kids. It feels so familiar and comfortable.

I didn't take as many pictures as I wanted to. Although, my goal for our upcoming beach vacation is 10K pictures in 7 days. LOL But if you are interested in seeing what pictures I did take, click here.

Enjoying the sunshine while it lasts

Despite what you see here, we enjoyed the sunshine this morning!

You can see the fun in the sun in our album on Facebook.

Also, you can see a short video (I hope).