Way back When-esday!

My way back this week goes back to February 2003. This is right after we got our oldest fur baby! This is Sophie Jo shortly after we brought her home! Todd is the one who fell madly in love with her little face, and to this day they have something VERY special!!! Here he is with his new baby:


And a close up of that face he fell in love with!!! She was, and still is so cute!!!!

For more way back fun, visit Twinfatuation!!!

Mommy moment Monday.

So, as I wrote about last Thursday, I went to get a massage. Todd was with the kids while i went and Kaleb had messed his pants. This is a recurring problem with Kaleb. He REFUSES to be potty trained. So he and Todd had a talk, and Todd told him he HAS to stop. And Kaleb says "ok daddy." I told Todd I'd believe it when I saw it.. .. .



But.. . ..






Guess what Kaleb has done???? Been TOTALLY potty trained since Friday!!!! He's only had two accidents. He peed his pants only twice. And I think that is because he held it too long!!!


WOO HOO!!!!!!! Other than a pull up at night for Kaleb we're OUT of diapers! WOO HOO!!!!!!!

What a fantastic, wonderful, glorious day!!!!

Yes, you did just hear me utter those words! ME! The one who's been so down and out and in the dumps lately! That was until yesterday. The day that still has me beaming today!!!! It was AMAZING. Seriously AMAZING!!!!!

The day started out like any other. I got up and got the kids to school. But when I returned home, my mother in law was here (per our plans) and Todd and I were able to head off. We were heading for the discount home store again (mentioned in previous posts) in search of tile this time. The ride down was wonderful, and quiet. Just he and I! When we got there we were able to walk around, look at all the new deals and figure out where we wanted to start. We picked out some tile samples and headed to their "mock kitchen". It just so happens to be set up with the exact cupboards that we purchased from them, so we were able to look at how the tiles would look. We found one contender and headed off to get the rest of our stuff. The entire time we were there the atmosphere between Todd and I was very playful and happy. It was so nice to just be there together!!!!

After a very hairy time loading the tiles onto the trailer (read as them putting 500 sq feet of tile on the trailer with a fork lift and having to nudge it on all the while the back wheels of my van kept lifting off the ground because it was so heavy!!!) we headed off to Menard's to look at lighting and some smaller tiles for the bath tub surround and tile surround. No luck on the tiles, but we did get lights for the kitchen, dining room, master bedroom, and also under cabinet lighting!!!! What could be better! Some big things checked off of our "need to get" list!!!!

There just so happened to be an Applebees right across the parking lot from Menard's, so we headed over there for a quick lunch. And you know what??? I was able to eat my food HOT! It wasn't room temperature, or even bordering on cold. It was HOT! That NEVER happens! I usually have to get kids food ready first and I end up eating cold food! It was AWESOME! I got to have spinach and artichoke dip which I love. They have the best around in my opinion!

After lunch we headed for home so that I could go get the boys from school. I hooked back up with Todd at the house after that and we decided to head over to home depot to get the rest of the supplies that were on his list, and to seriously look at their tiles again for the tub and shower. I brought along snacks for the kids, knowing it was going to be a lengthy visit, and off we went! We got all the rest of the tiles we needed, the rest of the hearty backer, the rest of the mud, the rest of the tile supplies, the grout, just EVERYTHING!!! I was so happy!!

On our way home from there I got a text message from my cousin Jessica. She asked if I had any plans. I told her I was heading to the new house if she wanted to come over to see it (she goes to a local college and I knew she was in the area). She told me that she was actually at class with no one to massage. . . .oh yeah, did I fail to mention she's going to school for massage therapy?? Yep. She is! So I offered the chance to go to Todd. He passed on it, but told me to go. So I asked if there were two spots open, which there were, and I took my sister in law Sara up there with me. I figured since she just had the baby a few weeks ago that she could use the massage too!!!

We got up there and found out that we would each get a full ONE HOUR deep tissue massage! It was nothing less than amazing! Sara went first while I hung out, and once it was my turn, holy cow! I'd never had a massage before and I have to admit I might become an addict! Especially since I know the school does them for FREE! You just need to call for an appointment!!! Ummm, yeah. Sign me up!!!

When I got home the kids were all tucked in their beds, the house was picked up and my hubby was laying in bed watching TV. So all I had to do was to crawl in and spend some time with Todd. What a perfect end to a perfect day!

I feel so refreshed, so stress free, and so AMAZING today!!!! It was wonderful!!

Way back When-esday!!!

I've been thinking all week about what picture I want to put up this week for my way back. And there is one picture that has popped into my head each time.

This was from February 2005. Dallas would have been just 3 months shy of turning 4, and Gabe would have been just 2 1/2.
It amazes me looking at them in this picture. So much of their looks have remained the same from this point on. They have more baby chub in this picture than they do now, and they of course have gotten a little bit "older looking" faces. But still. Its my boys.

If you'd like to play along head on over to Twinfatuation.

Its not snowing, its snowBALLing!!

Today was a busy busy day!!! The twins and I headed out on the town today to do some grocery shopping. We had a little bit of extra money to get some food that was very much needed. Its seriously been around 2 months since I've gotten any other food than bare necessities. And by that I mean milk and bread. We've been living off the stuff we had stocked up in the pantry. So it was WONDERFUL to get some fresh food!!! Anyway, after being out all day shopping I got a call from Walmart that Mr. Gabe's lenses were in and we could come over and get them. Well, considering I was only 45 minutes from the kids being picked up, and the fact that said glasses were on Mr. Gabe's FACE, I had to wait.

When we got home we had to get dinner made so that we could head over to take dinner to the guys. We weren't home but maybe an hour and half and we were back out the door with dinner in hand. And what a shock we got walking out the door! HUGE snow flakes!!! I stuck my hand out to catch one just to see how big it actually was and it took up a large majority of my palm. The kids started giggling as they got in the car saying "It isn't snowing, its snowBALLing!!" And then the giggles erupted.

The conversation on the short 6 block drive consisted of talk of the size of the snow flakes. They were coming up with any words they could think of to substitute for the word BIG. And out of the blue a little voice from behind me chimes in rather non chalantly "They're GINORMOUS" I got the biggest giggles just then. Because the person that little voice belonged to? My sweet little Kaleb. He actually came in with that word all on his own. And yes, I realize it may not be a technical word but I knew just what he meant. And he was right. They were GINORMOUS!!!



Oh, and the snow only lasted about 45 minutes. But due to the size of the flakes we have a light covering on the grass. Blah. I was ready for the more spring like weather to head in!!! Back to cold temps this week though. Bummer.

Two for Twos-day

This week I'm going with the newest picture of Todd and I. I look kinda wierd in it, but all in all its a good picture of the two of us! This was taken on Christmas eve!!!!

If you'd like to play along head on over to Eight is great!!!

I just can't seem to catch a break!!!

The stress here has just been really high this week. And things have been nuts. Its been eye doctors, and dentists, and plans, and UGH!!! I'm just beat!!! I'm ready for a nice vacation on a warm beach somewhere!!!! Ahhhh, nice day dream!!!


First up was Gabe's eye doctor appointment. We got there, and they took his glasses to check out the prescription. Just to make sure that they're the right one. As they're walking us back to the room they tell me that where ever I got them messed up and that its wrong. So now I'm fuming. I just spent 150.00 bucks on those things two weeks ago and now they're not right? And they're telling me that they didn't know if she'd change the prescription today or wait another 4 weeks to get the RIGHT prescription and start over. Well, I got his glasses from Walmart. And they only allow changes for free within 60 days. We've already gone 30. If they did that I'd have to pay for the second change and that isn't cheap. So I'm sitting there stewing. And they come in again. They informed me that they misread them and that they actually WERE correct. OH THANK GOODNESS!!!!! But still. You know that feeling of anxiety that you get when you get that kind of news, the one that doesn't go away quickly? Yep. I was on edge the rest of the appointment.

It turns out that Gabe's right eye (aka- his good eye) has improved with the glasses. The glasses have lessened its load like they should have and he is seeing better out of that eye! AWESOME news. Gabe's left eye (aka-his bad eye) hasn't changed any. They were really worried about it teetering on the verge of being a lazy eye. And its starting to look like it may be. She's opting for upping the prescription and giving it 4 more weeks. At that point we'll reassess and chances are I'll be having to go through the patching thing with Gabe. I know its not a fun road, we did it for 7 months with Dallas. It works, and it helps. But its hard. So for now, we're just waiting to hear from the store that his new lenses are in.


Next up was Dallas's dental appointment. I've been dreading this one all week. He's TERRIFIED of needles and I knew they'd be using one. They had to pull out a tooth that was mostly dead. Its one that he wouldn't normally lose until he's 12. So on top of all that he'll have to have a spacer placed to keep the hole open. And if all that wasn't enough. . .he also has two cavities. Small, but still two. Yesterday's goal was the removal of the tooth, and an impression for his spacer. I asked to speak to the tech a head of time so that I could warn them of his fear of needles. Its seriously so bad that you watch Dallas step out of his body, and the fear step in. I've never seen anything like it before. As soon as its over you can watch it fade away as he realizes it wasn't so bad. But I wanted the heads up. Good thing too. Because the woman who as supposed to have us was due to give birth any day. And she didn't want to risk having him if anything could happen. TOTALLY understandable. SO we got someone else. They opted to give him laughing gas. And this is where the fun began.

They went to put the mask on him, and he flashed back to his eye surgery last June. The panic started to set in. He didn't want anything to do with it. I had to calm him enough that they could put the mask on. Then he refused to breathe with it. I had to kneel next to him and talk him into it again. His nose was stuff. He was scared. He had a million questions. So it became "in through your nose, out through your mouth." Slowly you could see the meds working on his body. His muscles were loose, his hands floppy. But his brain never gave in. At that point he asked me to take a picture of him with my cell phone so that he could see what he looked like. I happened to have my regular camera with though because I'd just taken pictures at the new house. So I did. ..and this is what he looked like:


They gave it a while longer and then inserted the Novocain swab to pre numb his gum. This again started the freak out. He didn't understand why it was feeling that way. His tongue was half numb. He didn't like that. His cheek tingled. He didn't like that either. And then came time to do the Novocain shot. The dentist had been pre warned about the needle phobia so she hid it, and told him it only worked well if he squeezed his eyes super tight. THANK GOD! He never saw the needle! It was wonderful. He complained about the whole thing all the way through though. They gave him time to numb fully. And then she asked him to open his mouth so she could see how numb he was. The lock went down and there was NO WAY he was going to open his mouth. I wound up hunched over the chair, holding his hands, and talking him into opening his mouth. It took me about 5 minutes, but I got him to do it, and once he did, it only took about 5 more minutes to get the tooth out. And I had a front row seat. It was pretty interesting actually! Only two tools involved. And ALOT of pressure and tugging!!!!

Beyond that, I just got a call from the school. Dallas's glasses just broke. We got the ones that were supposed to be virtually indestructible. Yeah. . .right. They broke. And he's only had them for 6 months. So I'll get to go to the store and talk to them to see what needs to be done now. I don't think I should have to pay for new frames when they broke this soon. And apparently broke without aggravation. We'll see what Dallas says when he gets home as to how they broke. But either way we'll have to figure something out. He needs his glasses.

Expenses, doctors, stress, house, family, time, energy, you name it, and its piling up lately.