So what Wednesday

Hello my pretties!  It is Wednesday and time for another installment of So What Wednesday, my favorite blog day of the week.

 

So what if I decided to keep the kids home before they cancelled school this morning.  It is nasty out there and I didn't want to mess with hauling the kids to the hard surface road bus stop.  No way. I might have done a little happy dance when I jumped on facebook and found out school was indeed cancelled.

 

So what if I am practicing holding my tongue as we speak.  I am not a fan of those vague facebook. Not today my pretty friends, today I could type out a passive aggressive, angry facebook status bitching lashing out at the people who are driving me to the point of wanting to scream.  But instead I found a bible verse about holding my tongue, because what I have to say isn't that important, and I have already thought of a way to fix this problem next season.  So, it isn't worth any more of my time or energy stewing about it. 

 

So what if I had to google how to spell tongue... twice because it just doesn't look right.

 

So what if one more person suggests meeting once a month I am going to blow my top.  There are some things I like doing once a month, but once a month is awfully demanding of someone's time for crying out loud.  Scott and I struggle to have a date night once a month, let alone manage 2 sets of extra curricular activities for the big boys, and other "stuff" we have to do.

 

So what if I have a huge crush on Brian Williams and Andy Fales. 

 

So what if I sliced my hand on a can of pineapple on Sunday and nearly passed out. I probably should have went to get stiches but Scott called my dad and he came over with a first aid kit and taped me back together.  I love my dad, he has been saving my day since 1984.

 

So what I was ready to put the boys to bed at 6pm last night, they have just had a knack for being sooo loud lately.

 

So what if I made the best chocolate chip cookies the yesterday.  I found the recipe here.  I made them even better by sprinkling a little sea salt on top of the cookies before I baked them.  They are heavenly!

 

So what if cant not wait to paint my house, the problem is I found this awesome color I love, and I kind of want to use it everywhere.  Like all over my entire house.

 

So what if one of my hidden talents is that I can rap almost anything to the tune of the Fresh Prince theme song.

 

So what if I would love to just go for a really really really really REALLY long walk.  I can not wait until spring so I can get back in the swing of going for a walk at night.  I am hoping to find a double jogging stroller at a garage sale this spring so I don't have to push the red5000.  It will really kill me now with 55lbs of babies inside.

 

 

That is all for now, sweet cheeks!
xOXo! 

 

 

 

Let it snow!

There has been lots of snow this winter, and the boys have had fun playing in it.  I just wanted to share some pictures of my snowbabies.

 

 

 

 

36

This last weekend was Scott's 36th birthday.  Since I know there are 36,000,000,000 things he would rather do than read this blog its pretty safe to say I can write whatever I want about him and he will never know the difference. Muhahaha!

So for his birthday I thought it would be fun to start a tradition of the 36 things I love about my husband, like....

1. He is learning to be a man of God.  When we started back at church we started as baby Christians.  Me, because it had been awhile since I had a real relationship with Jesus and he, because he never really had much of one to begin with.  But almost every Sunday there he is, buttoning up dress shirts and tying shoes so that we can be on time as a family of 6.  Driving down the road with KLOVE on the radio, standing beside me in church singing the worship songs. Listening, praying, soaking it all in.  It blesses my heart when I hear him inviting his friends to church with us. I love praying together with him.  I always prayed for a husband who went to church, now I continue to pray for Scott to grow in his walk with the Lord.
2. He has a lot of "lifer friends."  You know those lifer friends, the ones you have from the time you can remember, who you have been through hell and back with and you cant even fathom ending your friendship because the other person just knows too much.
3. He is an outstanding dad.  I mean our boys are infatuated with him.  He gets down on the floor to wrestle with them, and takes them fun places. He teaches them how to treat a women, and the importance of being a good citizen.  He is a great example of being a hardworking man and I hope our boys grow up to be a lot like him.
4. He doesn't babysit, he parents.  He doesn't mind if I go out for a night, and he has to make dinner, he doesn't complain or make me feel guilty when he has to put the kids to bed.  He is pretty much a rockstar!
5. He is handy!  Oh boy is he handy.  There has only been one thing since we have owned our home that he couldn't fix. From drywall to gardens he has figured it out. All of his knowledge has saved us so much money. 
6. He is my best friend, and I know everyone says that about their husband, but really he is. I can tell him everything, and when I don't, he can pretty much read me like a book.
7. He loves my family as much as I do.  From the first time he came to Christmas he has just made himself at home with us. He considers them his own family and if I were being honest, I think they would prefer him over me anyway.
8. He isn't much of a hearts and flowers kind of guy, now, I wrestle with putting this one here, because sometimes I wish he was a little more of a romantic, but hearts and flowers don't make a relationship work, and honestly sometimes the most romantic things he does is bring home a pizza when I am too tired to cook, lets me take a bath on a Sunday afternoon or when he picks up the living room while I am taking a bath.
9. He can hang pictures.  I have no space relation skills.  So, if I lay out the pictures I want hung in the design I like, he can get them from the floor to the wall.
10. He is just as much not a pet person as I am. 
11. He is a good son.  He takes great care of his mom, and I am thankful for that.
12. I don't have to be his mom.  When the majority of the humans in this house depend on me to function in life, it is really nice to not have to be one extra person's parent.  He can run a load of laundry, wash dishes, cook his own dinner, and make a bed.  At the end of a long day of shuttling kids, planning classroom parties and putting away laundry, I just have get to be his wife.
13. He is pretty good in the sack.
14. He is the best hand holder.  When he holds my hand he rubs thumb over my hand and I love it.
15. Not only do I love him but I am IN love with him even more than the day we got married. I think about all those times in the last 8 years that I have fallen more in love with him.  When he rose his bike up to Blank to help me with Karter when he had his seizures, when he carried me into the emergency room when I had a fever of 105, when he held me up in the atrium of the medical center when we found out we were having 2 babies and didn't bat an eye, when he watched me being rolled into the operating room to have those babies, and carried both those babies in his arm through the halls at the hospital.  He has stayed up countless nights with sick babies, and even cleaned up my puke out of a hotel room after I had a little too much to drink.
16. He will go out of his way to help a friend. 
17. You know those times when my head is spinning, and I can't find a single nice thing to say about anything??  Yea, he loves me then too.
18. He never tells me that I don't get enough done during the day.  It is important to him that one of us is home to raise our children, and so those days when the house looks like a hurricane came through, he comes home and kisses us all and looks past it.
19. He takes lukewarm showers, which means, he doesn't use all the hot water. (so I can)
20. I am the gas pedal and he is the brakes.  One needs brakes, and they are very important.
21. He works sooooooooo hard for our family.  I know his job is not an easy one, and it requires lots of long hours doing some pretty crappy jobs. I am thankful that he does it without complaining and works hard to provide for us.
22. He still thinks "pull my finger" and dutch ovens are funny.  Sometimes I swear I am the only grown up in this house.
23. He gets me.  He just has to look at me to know when I am about to break, and he just takes over. 
24. We still go out on dates.
25. He gives a great backrub... oh wait, no he doesn't.  But he will apply biofreeze to my back and not complain about the smell.
26. We hardly ever fight... now, if I were boasting, I would tell you that it is simply because I am always right....well. :)
27. There is a lot of things he really does end up being right about.  These are usually when I am jumping to conclusions, being irrational, or really really tired.
28. He knows when I need to not be in charge and takes over. Sometimes I have a hard time saying it out loud.
29. He hardly ever calls me "Sabrina." In fact it catches me off guard when he does.  He almost always calls me babe.
30. He always sets my alarm.
31. He tells me *nicely* when I am being irrational and crazy... which takes a lot of balls.  So yea, I like that he has some balls.
32. He doesn't buy me underwear.  I am really really thankful for this one.
33. He cleans out my van and doesn't complain at all about what a mess it is and loves me anyway.
34. Teaches are kids the important things in life... like racing, telling your mom she is the best, and fist bumps.
35. Through all the tough times in our years together, he has always been my rock. He tells me everything will be okay, even though I am sure he is saying it to convince himself as well.  He always remains stable and steadfast. He is so strong for us. When my world feels like it is caving in he just takes care of us.
36. When I was pregnant with Gav he took me out to get a blizzard from Dairy Queen in the middle of an almost tornado.  When I was pregnant with the twins he went in to Hy-Vee to get me some watermelon... in February.

bonus: He doesn't ever say "you are a bad wife" which he probably should be able to say at least once a week, like tonight when I forgot to grab him some supper on my way home from getting groceries.

Seriously though, as far as spots go, him and I are in a good one.  I am so thankful he was born 36 years ago.  I cant imagine a single day without him. God picked a perfected person for me. I am so lucky to be in love with my best friend.

SWW-- the nursing edition

Authors note:  The following post is about my breasts, and how I choose to feed my children. There is no right or wrong way to do that, unless you are giving your newborn Mt Dew in his bottle... so please be respectful. I write this blog to journal about my journey as a mom, the good, the bad and the ugly, I share it on here.   If you think breastfeeding is gross, that is fine, turn around now, and don't continue to read.  Becoming a parent is hard work, it is humbling and doesn't always look good.  But as women, or as parents, we need to meet each other where we are at and support each other.  What is good for you may not work the best for me, and vise versa.

 



It wasn't much of a secret that I nursed the twins almost exclusively for their first year of life. What is becoming more and more of a secret with each passing day, is that I still am.  Yes, 18 months later. I am still nursing Luke and Max. I have written several posts about it, but I haven't finished them, so I am combining them into this week's  SWW dedicated to breastfeeding. Here goes.

• So what if I am only two in a half years away from being on a cover with the lady on the time magazine.  The jokes about be giving the boys a nip before they head to kindergarten are becoming less and less funny. 

• So what if I have nursed in way too many places to count.  My van, Incredible Pizza, etc.

• So what if it was so important that I nursed them for their first year, I consider it quite the accomplishment. But I really never dreamed I would still be nursing them as round the corner to year 2.

• So what if I have taken 6 "Last time nursing" pictures on my camera to mark the occasion, and again, we are still very much nursing.

• So what if I really have no idea how to get them to stop.  The big boys nursed until close to 12 months and just kind of weaned themselves. I have tried all of the nice ways, and have even ran away for a weekend. Nothing works.

• So what if they really do climb up on my lap and try to lift up my shirt to nurse,  I promise they wont do it as teenagers.  And really its less pulling on my shirt and more getting into position and whining.

• So what if there are days they nurse 5 times a day, and days they don't nurse at all.

• So what if I had cut back on their nursing to once a day, then I went on a mommy only vacation to Omaha to visit some other MoM friends.  I thought I could stop completely.  I thought I would come home and we would just be done.  No such luck, my friends.  I came home completely engorged, in pain and starting to run a fever.  Mastitis was flirting with my body and I needed to nurse to keep the infection at bay.  So I did. And then we went back to nursing once a day.  Until they got sick, and bumped up to nursing at a whim.  So now we are back to square one, trying to get back to weaning, hopefully in their 18th month of life before they turn 2.

• So what if I really am ready to be done.  I am not clinging to their infancy, just because these are my last babies. If there is one thing that I will miss, it's my boobs. I don't even want to think about what sad shape they will be in when all this is over. 

• So what if Max would probably be done nursing if it wasn't for Luke, who is still not ready to be done. Max only seems to be interested if Luke is nursing.

• So what if the other day, the boys were nursing and playing peekaboo with each other.

• So what if my lactation consultant has been my biggest cheerleader through this journey. She has given me so much support and has taken me under her wing.

• So what if we outgrew my giant twin sized nursing pillow 6 months ago.

• So what if I am not one of those crazy nursing advocates.  I am thankful I could do it, but I understand that others can not.  I don't think nursing does a baby any good if it's mother is locking herself in a closet crying because she is so overwhelmed.  We practiced formula substitution for the babies first few months because I was so tired.  It was what worked best for our family. I think that is the secret, ya know? Finding what works for your family, it doesn't have to work for, or even make sense to anyone else.

SSMT verse 4

I am pretty amazed we are on verse four of the SSMT.


Here is mine:  "Have I not commanded you? Be strong and courageous. Do not be afraid; do not be discouraged, for the Lord your God will be with you wherever you go.” Joshua 1:9 NIV

SWW

I am so thankful to NOT be tapping this baby out on my kindle today! 

So what if I nearly kissed Harold my UPS driver when he delivered my new computer this afternoon.

So what if I made a pizza at 9:30 this morning because I was hungry.  It was so good.

So what if I just bought all of the things needed for the boys' school parties instead of asking others to bring it.  Sometimes it is just easier.

So what if I found the curtains I wanted for my living room at Target, and found out today that they are no longer available.

So what if I have no motivation to make dinner today.

So what if I had the best weekend with Scott last weekend.  We spent Saturday without our children running errands.  I forgot how simple it is to just run in somewhere and not have to haul everyone in.

So what if I decided to stop caring so much about Karter's spelling tests.  Homework time was becoming a huge battlefield every single night and it wasn't making for good juju around here.  Let me explain a little, Karter takes the standard spelling test that the rest of the students take, if he passes it, she gives him a different list with harder words on it.  I was really holding him to some high standards until he told me the other night that he "hoped" he didn't get all of his spelling pretest words right so he wouldn't have to be on the hard words, and that is what did it.  I want him to be smart and he is, but I want him to want to be smart, which is where the trick lies.  So here's my new way of thinking.  He already passed the required words for the week, any words he learns from his hard list are just bonus words.  There is a lot less pressure this way and it has made for less yelling at study time.

Good Day my lovely.

Hello all you beautiful readers of mine, I am typing to you from my brand spanking new laptop.  Nothing fancy, just good enough to type out my thoughts and feelings for you to read.  No more autocorrects and misspelled words, so give your eyes a little kiss from me. Mwah!

Its SWW, so I will post about that and the start of Lent.  I don't think I ever remember being so excited about the start of Lent before, but I am really excited to see what the Lord has in store for the next 40 days.

sww

Heelllllowww bloggies, welcome to another SWW. It's been a busy day!

So what if Luke is currently nursing while watching Wheel of Fortune, and so what if he takes a break to clap. Don't judge me :)

So what if I am headed for bed as soon as the babies go. I am so wiped out lately.

So what if I am still tapping out this bloc via my kindle... I am hoping to get a new computer by the weekend. Any reccomendations?

So what if I taught the babies to blow bubbles in the tub by blowing bubbles in their tub and took video. It is so stinking cute!

Love to all! ,