Present and accounted for

Mel made me think of when I took my life, death and dying class many moons ago. My teacher said too many of us live in the past and wonder about the future. He tried to get us to live right in the here and now. Enjoy our present time--as is. I was guilty of always thinking about my past and imagining how my life was going to be. My life was being lived without me being present. I try now to "live in the moment".
Time is going by so fast with the babies. Saturday they will be 3 months old! Holy crap! Now more than ever I take my time and enjoy my babies and family.

Let it snow (again)

It started a little bit ago, the snow. E has a 2 hour delay. Tuesday she had no school, Wednesday she had a 2 hour delay and the past two weeks each included a snow day. Gotta love Pa weather!
I am feeling much better. Thank you for all your well wishes.
The babies are starting to sleep a little longer. It happened the weekend I was sick-they couldn't have picked a better time! I'm hoping they will keep it up because I really want to move upstairs. We are still residing in the living room. We tried upstairs and it was just too hard with them being up every 1-1/2 hours.
We met our new cousin A today. She is gorgeous! A full head of dark hair, long legs, fingers and toes and dainty features. She was born Dec. 20. It was great to see her mom-my cousin S (we grew up together) and catch up. S was excited to have company. The babies and I picked up sandwiches from P.anera. The original plan was getting lunch from S.tarbucks through the drive thru but when they didn't have any sandwiches we went to plan b. I get so overwhelmed and nervous about doing things with two babies. It showed me that I can do things and we will be fine. I needed that push. Peanut and Squeakers were great the whole day. I'm so lucky ;-)

Saturday

I have been sick for the past two days. Sinus headache, chills and sore throat. I'm surprised I've lasted this long before going under. Today it's a slight headache and sore throat.
It sucks because there is so much I want to do: get new bottles (we've been using dr. browns because they are the only company I've found that makes preemie nipples) possibly tommee tippee or dr. browns wide neck bottles (so Squeakers can latch on better), look for a dressier cardigan for the baptism (jan 30) and new nursing bras. I just want to get out of the house. It's been over a week.
Watching the Dis.covery channel there is a new show called Flying Wild Alaska. Pretty cool show about the pilots who bring goods all over Alaska. I have an uncle who lives in Adak and he would talk about how cool the moose were. The moose were so big and beautiful. Sometimes they would come into town. I think it would be quite an adventure to travel to Alaska and see some moose. M and I do plan to travel, not for awhile of course. Ireland is definitely on the list. Taking a tour of the G.uiness plant is a must!

Delightful jewelry

While going through if I wanted something to wear that would symbolize our journey. So my friend got me a hand stamped necklace with the word hope. I wore it everyday. After I found out I was pregnant with two boys I wanted a necklace with all my children's names on it. Enter--The Vintage Pearl.





They are having a contest where you can win a bracelet with a secret message inside the metal band. Mine would be "I love you bigger than the sky" Head over and enter!

Owls

I thought I would freshen up my blog with a new background. I have always liked owls. I can remember learning about them in school. How big their wingspans were, how their eyes are fixed and they would have to rotate their heads to see, their keen eyesight and hearing and how silently they could fly. I also found owl's poop fascinating. Upon dissecting their pellets you can find skeletons and fur of the rodents they've eaten. I was very fortunate one night to see an owl. I had come home in the evening and was walking to my front door when I felt a presence. I looked around to see what it was and there in a tree by my drive way was a big brown owl. Seeing one in person was quite an experience. She was looking around I suppose for food. I very much wanted to get my camera but I thought by the time I did that she would be gone. I stood taking in the sight of such a beautiful creature. And before I knew it she was taking off. Her wings stretched without sound and she flew from the branch into the night. I was very lucky to grow up surrounded by the state game lands and all the beauty within.

2 month visit

Peanut, E and Squeakers taken Nov 18 by my Mom. Everyone's favorite picture.


Peanut and Squeakers had their appointment this afternoon. Peanut measured in at 22" in length and 11 lbs and 6 oz. Squeakers stats are: a hair under 22" and 10 lbs 9 oz. Dr. P was very pleased with their progress. It's hard to believe that they were once so tiny. I remember wiping their bums and there was no padding! Now they are chunking up nicely.
It snowed early this morning. I didn't think it was too bad but E's school went from a delay to a closing. Some side roads were snowy but the main highways were fine. E wants to go sledding badly but we need a good snow for that. We really don't get too many snows like that.

Chili today, hot tamale

We plan out our menu for the week on the weekend. It is easy now to have a game plan for dinner and to have all the ingredients on hand.
Today I made chili. It's very easy, delicious and it makes a lot.

Chili

1 qt tomato juice
2 lbs beef
2 cans kidney beans
1 large onion
2 cans stewed tomatoes
2 green peppers
1/2 cup butter
3 stalks celery
pepper
cumin

Brown meat in large pot. Drain. Add rest of ingredients. Bring to a boil. Simmer (usually I simmer for 2-3 hours). Add pepper and cumin to taste.

We usually have bread or biscuits with it. I have made corn bread and that's a good choice too.