Day 51

Sunday

10.23.16

People: We got to see a friend of mine today who I haven't seen in a while and it was lovely to spend a little time with her this morning.

Places/Activities: D took Squeak to Whole Foods this morning. All the kiddos had baths at various parts of the day. We played a lot. I build block towers and the babies knocked them down. We all went to a local park and enjoyed some fresh air outside. It was a lovely day. We also all watched Room on the Broom. It's SUPER cute. It's the second time we have watched it in a week because Squeak likes it so much. I had thought the book was adorable, but the animation in this video is AMAZINGLY adorable. I also noticed that Amazon sells the plush toys too. Not that the kids need any more stuffed animals, but that kitty cat is SUPER tempting…


Good Deeds: My godson is away at college. I remember being away at school and being very lonely (I only lasted 1 semester and then came home to commute to and from school. I also knew that my grandmother was very bad off, and wanted to be home and closer to family). So, I figured it might be nice to send a little care package of food and a book. He's a very avid reader - or at least he was before college, so I'm hoping that he hasn't read the book that I purchased for him yet. He can always return it for free and exchange. Just a note. I have sent him care packages before and typically shop at the store and then mail him a box. Shipping is usually not less than $10. D suggested that I send him a packaged through Amazon Prime Pantry this time. That was an awesome suggestion! I had a 5.99 shipping credit, so it cost me nothing to send. Win!


Chores: Just picking up the mess the children leave behind! Although I was pretty impressed with Puff tonight. I sang the clean up song, and as I was putting the blocks back into the container, she started to help! She's such a smart cookie! Avy quickly turned and crawled in the opposite direction. Ha!

Reading: As I warned, I put down my other book and picked up a new one. MUCH better. I already feel the relief. Though not for long… I'm reading The Beekeeper's Lament by Hannah Nordhaus. Dang. So messed up. So heart breaking. I love the description and how informative the book is about bees and beekeeping. If I wasn't so afraid of being stung and going into anaphylactic shock, I'd be game for keeping a hive. I have a friend who is a beekeeper. I think I'm gonna pass this one over to her when I'm finished (if she hasn't read it already).


Squeak and I also finished reading Magic Tree House #31 - Summer of the Sea Serpent. Not only are these Magic Tree House books getting longer, but they are also getting scary! So far she doesn't seem bothered by it, but good grief! I wasn't expecting the scary fantasy.


Random Thoughts: I'm very lucky that all three of my babies seem to love books so much already. It makes me so happy to see those little darlings crawl over to the book bin and grab out books to look at. They are so happy. Squeak sits and looks at books for hours. Tonight while we were reading, she pointed out words randomly and told me what they said. I was shocked when she pointed several sentences ahead of where I was reading and said, "that says Merlin, right Mama?" Um, yes. Why yes it does. D and I usually spell things out loud to talk "in code" so the kids don't know what we are talking about. Well, that might work for the babies now, but not for Squeak. It won't be long before they outsmart their parents.


Recipes: This morning I tried a new recipe. While I am always making overnight oatmeal and pancakes to keep in the freezer for the babies, it's also nice to have a few other quick microwaveable items. So, I tried an egg and cheese mini muffin from The Seasoned Mom. It worked out pretty well. They are quite tasty. However, even though the prep and cook time only totals 20 minutes, plan for at least 20 minutes for clean up. Good GRIEF! It took FOR-EVER to scrub out that mini muffin pan even though I sprayed each compartment with cooking spray. It was ridiculous. I modified the recipe a little bit, so here is my version.

Egg and Cheese Mini Muffins

- 6 large eggs
- 3 tbsp milk (use whatever milk you would ordinarily use)
- 1/4 tsp salt

Egg and Cheese Mini Muffins. They are like
bite sized omelets!

- pinch of pepper
- 1/2 cup shredded cheddar cheese

whisk all ingredients together (except cheddar cheese)
fill mini muffin pan 2/3 of the way (be sure and spray with cooking spray first)
top equally with shredded cheese
bake for 8-10 minutes
cool in pan for 3 minutes and then transfer to a rack to cool
These are great for the freezer!

Everyone was completely mesmerized by
watching Room on the Broom.

Snuggle Puff in the swing.

Showing off his cheesy grin!

Such a happy boy!

A swing for two!

He seems excited to eat the donut… but
he wasn't a fan. Puff on the other hand...

Enjoying the lemon donuts I made yesterday.

Day 50

Saturday

10.22.16

People: We went to visit our friend's new house. It was gorgeous. She hired the same person we had used to finish our basement to do quite a few odds and ends around the house. If you are looking for someone who is honest, does fantastic work, and is a very hard worker, send me a message. I'd be happy to share his contact information!

A rare moment when they are next to each other
and not crying, tackling, or biting. Enjoy those
bottles babies. You're getting cut off of them in
a couple of weeks! It's straw cups all the way!

Places/Activities: Other than visiting our friend in the morning, we hung out at home for the most part today. I was able to get in a much needed nap, read a bit, and work on my online class. We took a walk this evening around the neighborhood to look at Halloween decorations. It was quite chilly! The weather has definitely taken a turn this weekend. Which I'm very happy about. I love sweat pants, hoodies, and soft snuggly socks. I could be perfectly happy snuggled up under a blanket all Fall and Winter long. Tonight we had a little family movie night. Squeak really wanted to watch a Halloween movie and when I went onto Netflix to see their recommendations the 1975 Disney's Escape to Witch Mountain popped up. So I picked it. I can't believe how into it Squeak got! She was telling us what the kids were going to have to do next and sitting on the edge of the couch the entire time completely engrossed in the movie. I'm still shocked by her attention span at this point. I have to keep reminding myself that she only just turned four. We didn't quite get to finish it tonight, so we will finish it tomorrow night. Squeak is very excited to find out what is going to happen to the kids who "can see and hear things in their mind." What she said.

Good Deeds: See here? It's the itsy bitsy spider. Well, technically it's a young wolf spider. Probably a male due to the smaller size abdomen and larger pedipalps. Which is a good thing, because that means there aren't a bazillion baby wolf spiders roaming around in the house. Unless… he was one of the babies. Best not to think about that. Anyway, Itsy Bitsy was safely rescued and moved outside to find his family.

Chores: Just some laundry today and emptying the trash bins/taking out the trash. I'm a bit behind on cleaning things at this point. It was a rough week.

Reading: I read some more of Billy Lynn's Long Halftime Walk. It's SO not my style. But it is cramping my style in that it is taking me a long time to get into it and it is very slow going. I'm getting behind in reading because I just don't want to pick it up anymore. Which brings me to random thoughts.

Random Thoughts: I don't think authors should ever get offended by a bad review or critique. Well, unless what you write is completely unedited and horribly written. I don't think the book I'm reading is necessarily horrible in general. It's just horrible to me. Maybe if I had a better understanding of the military. Or maybe if I could sit down and read it from start to finish. Or maybe if I wasn't distracted by 5 million other things. Maybe I would like it. Or maybe if I picked it up and read it in another ten years and had different experiences under my belt. Maybe I would enjoy it more. But not today. Today I just can't get into it. I'm giving you a warning now. I've been known to read up to 5 books at once for this very reason. So don't be surprised if tomorrow I start something else and pick this one back up in a few days.

Lemon mini donuts

Recipes: Today I made mini lemon donuts. Not terrible for my very first time with donut making. Though I was surprised that after I dusted them with powdered sugar, they looked like they had no sugar on them when I woke up this morning. They are pretty delicious with a glass of milk.

Here is the recipe I used for the Lemon Mini Donuts.

Puff sporting her Adidas and new pigtails!

"Can you please stop taking pictures and get me
strapped in so we can leave already??"

I just love this pic of the little Puff! I think
she is going to like Halloween this year!

Day 49

Friday

10.21.16

I think I've mentioned before that it's getting harder and harder to contain babies. I think the pic of Puff below pushing over an entire 6 panel gate is a pretty good sample of what life is like right now. It's SO hard to contain them. They like to bust into anything and everything. They would rather play with expensive and breakable items rather than baby toys. It's overwhelming at times! Yes, we survived the first year, but I'm wondering how we are going to survive the second!

Puff is a POWER PUFF!

People: D is HOME! Thank goodness. We missed her so much. I think each time she is away, it's a little bit harder instead of easier. Not sure why that is. Of course starting things off with no sleep didn't help much. I also usually don't sleep well when she's gone either. The day before she returns I usually get a fairly decent night of sleep I think because I'm feeling a bit of relief in knowing that she will be home.

I got to see my friend today and meet her brand new baby - she's so sweet!

Places/Activities: Today we took the babies in to get their 1 year blood draw. I'll be honest. I was NOT looking forward to this AT ALL. D took Squeak when she was a baby and it wasn't pretty. Lots of people had to help hold her down so the technician could draw her blood. I was dreading this day. D took Puff back first. She definitely cried to the point where there was silence because she was so upset. It's so sad to hear your baby cry. I sang to Avy while we were hanging out in the waiting area to hopefully distract him from his sister's cries. D and I switched places and I took Avy back and we sat in the chair together. I sang him my special little song (It's sung to the tune of Frere Jacque but instead is Snuggle Bear, Snuggle Bear). Yes, we make up songs about everything over here. Anyway. He just watched carefully as the tech put on the tourniquet and kept a close eye on everything that was going on. Watched the needle go into his arm. Watched the blood go in the vial. I was amazed. I asked the tech if this was normal and she said it wasn't common, but every once in a while they get in a calm baby that was very relaxed. I hope that he is just as calm in the future! I was so proud of him. As soon as he got to the car and strapped in his carseat, he ripped off his bandaid to show it off seeming to say, "Check it out! I totally rocked that blood draw!" Who knows, maybe he'll be a nurse or a doctor since he wasn't appalled by the sight of blood and needles. I'm pretty sure that has to be a prerequisite.

Such a brave and chill boy!

I also had my own doctor appointment. Fun times. I have an entire series of tests and other appointments to look forward to. I won't bore you with the details.

But things were good because I did get to meet my friend's new family member. And any day that includes seeing a baby is a good day - no matter what else might be going on.

Good Deeds: Nothing to post here today.

Chores: Not really a chore, but I did a ton of work for my online class today. Getting to the end of the first week here (only 7 more weeks to go). The time will fly.

Reading: Still working on my book. No time for reading today sadly.

Random Thoughts: I've been a bit disappointed with myself lately for not getting up to work out in the morning. That really does seem to help me stay focused and keep on task for the day. I'm hoping that I'll feel better health wise soon and can get back to it again asap.

Day 48

Thursday

10.20.16

Puff can now stand up and put her leg over the
motorcycle to get on and ride all on her own!

People: I'm a little behind on the blog posts, and I can't remember this part. Not sure, but I don't think I saw anyone other than my mom today. Which makes me realize that I need to get out more and schedule myself to meet with friends!

Places/Activities: I tried to call and make my appointment with the blood doctor again, and the same thing happened. I got put through to the answering service and the person on the other end just transferred me back to the same message again. So, I'm over it. Called my general practitioner instead. I was booked for an appointment, so at least that's something. I feel like I can get to the bottom of this. And my white blood cell count being 22k… that could be due to inflammation. I don't show any signs of infection anywhere, so inflammation could be a factor. I ate a cupcake that day and a piece of cake the day before. I know I have issues with my body reacting to sugar, so that could be it as well. Regardless, I feel confident that I'll figure it out.

Good Deeds: My neighbor is organizing a pajama drive, so I donated 4 pairs of winter pajamas. I tend to collect them in the spring when they go on sale and save them for this special drive. I know I bought more… the problem is knowing where to look. I think they are in a storage bin somewhere. I'll figure it out in time for the drive deadline!

Chores: Baths for kiddos, 5 loads of laundry (that should hold us for a couple of days), dusting, vacuuming, and cleaning bathrooms. Thankfully the lawn doesn't look terrible, but I imagine I'll have to mow it once more before the end of the season.

Reading: No time today.

Random Thoughts: A friend of mine had a baby late last night. Babies are such wonderful gifts. They look sweet, smell wonderful, and make the sweetest sounds. It's hard not to immediately fall in love. I think this is purposeful on Mother Nature's part. A way to ensure survival of the species so that we will bond with our children and care for them. I remember feeling such relief once I finally got to hold my children. Not just relief that I no longer had all this additional weight to carry around, but relief that they were finally Earth side. All of the waiting was over. The waiting in itself is a magical thing. Like the magic of Christmas or planning to take that dream vacation. It's like that, but better. And then just like that, the waiting is over. And there is this perfect little thing right there looking at you like you are the only thing that ever mattered. I'm sad that our baby days are over. Packing up and giving away all of the little tiny clothes (the babies are in 18 month and 24 month/2t clothing now so not so tiny), saying goodbye to all of the baby equipment. It's sad in some ways. And then in other ways it's wonderful. Saying hello to my babies crawling and soon walking. Saying hello to verbal communication with words instead of grunts and screams. Saying hello to pull-ups and potty training instead of diapers. There's a lot to look forward to.

My mom has been helping out a lot while D has been away. Today Squeak asked if my mom was going to pick her up and take her to school again tomorrow. When my mom responded no because her mommy would be home to take her, Squeak didn't skip a beat and responded with, "Then thank you Grammy for taking me to school on Monday, Tuesday, Wednesday, and Thursday." She makes me proud everyday that she uses that little brain of hers. Avy has been a little more daring lately and ripped the door off the hinges in the entertainment center 4 times today. Yes, FOUR. But there was a time when he preferred to not use his arms and legs, so I am grateful that he has made so much progress - even if it means destroying furniture. And Puff is so so so sweet. I NEVER would have thought she could be such a snuggler. And now she makes a sweet little "awwwww" sound as she wraps her arms around your neck and buries her face in your shoulder. It makes my heart melt.

So to my dear friend and all those expecting and new mamas and papas, enjoy those baby snuggles as much as you can. These are wonderful days and times. Deliberately make memories. I remember very clearly one night that was particularly difficult for my babies. I was holding my son in my arms and he had just drifted off to sleep. His head was still covered in that silky soft baby fur. I rested my cheek against his head and took a deep breath. I looked across the room and saw D cradling our baby girl and drifting off to sleep. There is no other word to describe it other than "bliss." The stories people tell you… the books you read… nothing prepares you for what you feel as a parent. The love. The warmth. The ache when you look at that precious child of yours. And the joy you feel when someone else is loving toward your child. You will learn as you go. You will fail, but then you will figure out a new trick and you will be better. They don't stay babies for long, so enjoy all of these snuggles as much as possible. And while the baby stage is wonderful, you have a lot of fun and excitement in store in the months and years ahead!

The balloons from the birthday are STILL a big hit!

Day 47

Wednesday

10.19.16

This is the daily disaster

I'm making life easier. Do you know how many times a day I say the word, "no?" Especially when it comes to my little tiny destructicons and pulling CDs and DVDs off of the shelves. I then spend quite a bit of time putting everything back on the shelves. I'm over it. While Squeak learned the meaning of the word "no" almost immediately, her siblings have yet to grasp the concept. So, I packed up a ton of DVDs and CDs and am shipping them out! We don't have time for that stuff anyway. A few favorites are staying as well as all of the kid DVDs that are safely tucked away in the basement entertainment center. It feels good to say good bye to all that stuff. I also managed to earn $37 in Amazon gift cards for turning in all that stuff. Which will go toward purchases for Christmas this year. Win. Win.

People: My mom was here a little today to take Squeak to school and pick her up. Which was again extremely helpful. Squeak had a play date today with one of her little friends. It's nice to see her play nicely (mostly) with other kids her age. I can't believe how much she is growing up!

Puff is getting pretty good at pulling herself
up these days!

Places/Activities: Playdate this afternoon and that was about all of our activity today. Reading, playing, taking naps. I also sat down and wrote a few thank you notes to our family and friends that came to the twin's birthday party this past weekend.

Good Deeds: Nope. Nothing today.

Chores: Laundry. 3 loads. Fun times. Took out the trash, tidied up the first floor (it tends to get trashed during the day).

Reading: I made a small dent in Billy Lynn's Long Halftime Walk, but not much.

A room full of readers. All is right with the
world.

Random Thoughts: So, I'm watching It's the Great Pumpkin Charlie Brown on television. I figure, what the heck. Anyway, I was thinking about the fact that trick or treating is coming up soon and we hear so many things on the Internet that the whole "people have tampered with candy" thing is an urban legend and completely false. However, I remember being a kid and police officers coming to our school to talk to us about being safe on Halloween and making sure our parents checked each piece of candy before we ate it. I dunno. I mean, if it was an urban legend, would the police have come to our school to talk about candy safety? Anyone else remember this? Especially my elementary classmates? Maybe I'm old school, but I still check Squeaker's candy. Just in case. And you know, to make sure that Snicker's bar is really safe to eat. ;)

Day 46

Tuesday

10.18.16

People: My mom spent most of the day with us again today just to make sure all was well here, which was very nice.

Places/Activities: Today the babies and I went for a walk around the neighborhood. There are some pretty cool houses around here all decorated for Halloween. This is just one of the many reasons why I love our neighborhood. Very friendly, very fun, and full of great people. Squeak is very excited by all of the decorations. I can't believe Halloween will be here in just 2 weeks! Craziness!! I'm super excited that I'll be able to walk around the neighborhood with the kids this year. Last year I was recovering from the C-section and handed out candy. That was also nice, but I prefer walking around and seeing Squeak get excited about visiting all of the houses :)

Good Deeds: Avy's physical therapist is retiring on November 1st, so today was the last day that we got to see her. She and the OT come together to work with him every two weeks. I swear as soon as they work on a new skill with him, the next day he begins doing it, and by the time they return he has it mastered. Anyway, I wanted to do something nice to thank them both so I wrote out a card and put in gift certificates to The Breadery. It's helping out a small business and it's also nice to say thank you and know you are appreciated. Hopefully they know how much we appreciate all of their help these last several months!

Chores: Today was bath day for all three kiddos. No, I don't bathe the children every day. I used to bathe Squeak everyday when she was a baby and then found out that I was over doing it. So, they get baths three times a week unless they get super dirty or go swimming in the pool. That guarantees an additional bath!

I also spent quite a bit of time working on my online class. It takes a while to read each post and then respond accordingly!

Reading: Tonight I am starting the book Billy Lynn's Long Halftime Walk by Ben Fountain. We shall see. I'm not terribly excited to read it, but it's for book club, and I like to be exposed to new literature that I ordinarily wouldn't read, so I'm giving it a go!

Random Thoughts: So far, I haven't really seen a strong "twin bond" that so many people ask about or discuss when they find out I have twins. Typically when they are in close proximity to each other, one will break into a screaming fit while the other laughs. Or one will bite or tackle the other. No real loving relationship has been apparent so far. However, this afternoon after bath I was sitting and observing them play together. They were so cute as they pulled the curtain across their faces and peeked out to play peek a boo. At one point they both looked at each other at the same time and in that one little moment, both let out a giggle. It was adorable. I hope these kinds of exchanges start to out number the others soon!

Day 45

Monday

10.17.16

Due to feeling crappy, getting over the ER visit last night, and trying to get a handle on my class I am teaching while taking care of three kids, I didn't get the chance to take any photos today. I'm also still not up to exercising, which has been rough and I have definitely noticed a difference in my energy level. Hopefully things get a bit better soon and I can get back into the swing. This is getting frustrating!

People: Thankfully my mom spent the entire day with us. I seriously don't know what I'd do without her.

Places/Activities: Squeak is in school everyday, so my mom took her and picked her up for me today, which was awesome. I was able to take a nap for close to two hours. The babies had their one year appointment. Poor babies had to get 4 shots each. That was pretty miserable. But thankfully they seemed to perk right up after we got home and they had their naps. Puff is still completely off the charts for her height and weight. Avy is in the 84th percentile for his height and 59th percentile for his weight. They are both healthy and doing very well!

Good Deeds: I brought along the rest of the cookie favors from the birthday party this weekend to share with the doctor's office. The doctors, nurses, and staff are SO nice and loving there. I'm so glad we made the switch right before we had the twins. They are very close to home and I couldn't even believe that we are allowed to call and speak to a doctor at any time of the day or night. They are very reliable and always so kind. I couldn't think of anyone nicer or sweeter to take care of my three babies.

Chores: Just trying to keep things halfway together today to be honest.

Reading: Squeak and I finished reading Magic Tree House: Haunted Castle on Hallows Eve tonight. I think I like the original Magic Tree House books much better. They had a little more history to them and I found them to be more interesting. No matter - Squeak seems to enjoy them, and that's what counts.


Random Thoughts: Puff and Avy are getting so much more mobile. Even in just the last day or two, Puff is basically just standing on her own without needing support. I have a feeling walking isn't terribly far away. And then I'm REALLY going to be stressing! It's so hard to keep all of the tiny 4 year old toys away from them and impossible to watch them every second. I have some serious fears about accidents happening with them that sometimes I may be a little too helicopterish. I try not to be, but it's SO hard. How do you make yourself okay with the fact that your kid is likely going to get hurt. Even Squeak, who should know better, still makes poor choices when it comes to safety. Parenthood is one of those jobs that not only never ends, but seems to get more and more difficult.

Day 44

Sunday

10.16.16

I could look at this sweet smile all day!

This morning the babies woke in a  very pleasant mood which was fantastic considering they had a very long day yesterday. Puff didn't sleep very much during her afternoon nap yesterday, so by 6:15pm she was done. Poor baby girl.

People: Just the 5 of us today (for the most part). Not counting the time at 8pm when my mom came to pick me up and take me to the ER.

Places/Activities: Today we attempted to go to the park and Fort McHenry only to realize that we completely forgot about the Blue Angels and Fleet Week going on today. So, unfortunately we were not able to make it to the park or Fort McHenry. We tried to think of what the babies might like to do since it was their birthday. So, instead we went to the inner harbor. There was a parking spot right across the street from the Charm City Carousel, so we took the babies on their very first carousel ride. Judging by the smiles, chatter, and giggles, I'd say it was a big hit! We then walked up and over a few blocks and had lunch at the Abbey Burger Bistro. The last time we were there was the summer of 2015. It was the first time the babies had been there. It's pretty yummy.


I ended up selling one of our Jumperoos (I gave one away earlier this week and another to a friend, so that left one more taking up a lot of space in the house) today and was glad to get it out of the house. It's kind of crazy how your house gets taken over with kid stuff! We try to keep everything in its place, but that is getting more and more challenging to do! Thankfully Squeak has been getting much better about picking up after herself. Hopefully the babies will follow along as they get older.


Good Deeds: I didn't purchase a large enough parking voucher, so I had to buy another one to allow us enough time to walk to lunch and back. I tried to give away our other one to someone else who might be able to use it, so the remaining hour of time didn't go to waste, but I had no such luck. It's the thought that counts though, right?

Chores: No real chores today!

Reading: I finished reading Nelson Mandela: South African Revolutionary by Beatrice Gormley this afternoon. There were some slow spots, but overall it was fairly decent and full of information about his life. I think I'm going to go for a fiction book next.

Random Thoughts: Sometimes you can't ever predict when things go south so to speak. We had a pretty great day. Ever since having the twins I've been having some trouble with hormones which I just assumed would go back to normal at some point. I've made several complaints with multiple doctors about not feeling "right" over the past year. Difficulty sleeping, nausea, bloating, abdominal pain and discomfort, etc. I've been told it's likely just my endometriosis or indigestion. It's been progressively getting more and more uncomfortable and last night I ate a little more than what I have been used to (as in I ate an entire sandwich) and about an hour later my stomach was so distended I looked 7 months pregnant and I was in so much pain I had to call my mom to take me to the ER (D had to stay home to be with the kids). They are perplexed in that I have very high white blood cell counts but no apparent cause of infection. After about 5 different tests, I was sent home with pain medication at 5am. Just in time to get a shower and 30 minutes of sleep before D had to leave for a work trip. The kids never knew I was gone. Being a parent is definitely by far the hardest thing I have ever done. If I didn't have kids, I'd take a sick day or two to catch up on sleep. But when you are a parent, there are no sick days. Send some good vibes that I can get whatever is going on corrected soon.

Day 43

Saturday

10.15.16

People: Lots of people today! The babies were joined by family and friends to celebrate their first birthdays! I can't believe that tomorrow they will be ONE!

Places/Activities: No places to go today except to Costco to pick up the crazy amount of food needed to host 30+ people at your house! Thankfully D went and picked up the food while I stayed home and put out tablecloths and set up the drink and coffee station, etc.

Good Deeds: I went downstairs in the basement at one point and the basement was a disaster. Later in the evening when I went down to clean up after the kids were in bed and I couldn't believe it. Someone had cleaned up just about all of the basement. I don't know if it was an adult or a couple of kids, but whomever it was, THANK YOU!!! That was so awesome!

Chores: We managed to get just about everything cleaned up after everyone left the party. Now the only trouble is going to be where to put all of the recycling until Friday! We are already out of space.

Reading: I'm glad I was slightly ahead with my reading. I'm very quickly falling behind. Maybe I'll have some time during nap time tomorrow to finish reading my Nelson Mandela book. I hope.

Random Thoughts: Two years ago on this day was a morning of a heavy rainfall, followed by sunshine and a double rainbow over our neighborhood. I took a picture because it was so beautiful. Little did I know that one year and one day later, I'd be holding two babies in my arms. Life is intertwined and interconnected on so many levels. There are signs of beauty everywhere. Sometimes all you need to do is look around. Today when I looked around, I saw the people that loved my babies from the day they were born. I saw the people that held them, kissed them, sang to them, played with them, read to them, and adored them for this past year. And I watched my babies love them in return. Today my heart was full. Thank you family and friends for being there today and always. We love you all so much!