My New Hobby

I have rediscovered my love of riding a bike! You know when you are young and you want to ride your bike all day long? That's how I feel again! Scott bought me a pink beach cruiser, and I am having so much fun going on bike rides with the girls and by myself after the kids go to bed. It is so relaxing, but it is also a good workout. Today I went and bought a bike trailer/jogging stroller combo, so now the twins can come with us on our bike rides. I'm so excited because my sister Lisa is moving in right down the street from us this weekend, and now we can go on rides together. It will be so fun to live by her!


And of course some cute pics of the twins. Jenna is stretching out and Ryan is just being cute.

Twin Kisses

I am so glad that I just happened to be holding my camera when this happened! They melt my heart...

Home

We are home, Scott's surgery went very well, and we are glad to have it over with. He is definitely in some pain, but the girls and I are taking great care of him. Thank you for all of the text messages, emails, and phone calls. I will make sure that Scott gets all of those messages. Things can only go uphill from here!

Waiting...

Right now I am sitting in the waiting room at Scottsdale Shea Hospital while Scott is in surgery. It has been a long day already! We didn't get in bed until after midnight because we were assembling my new bike (I'm so excited about it, but more on that later), and then we had to leave the house at 4:45 to get here by 5:30. So needless to say, I am pretty tired. Hopefully the surgery is going well, my poor sweetie.

Yesterday was one of those days where my heart was so full of love that I thought it might explode. You know those days, where you husband and your kids just melt your heart with everything they say and do. Days like that make all of the rough days worth it. I am so lucky to have Scott as my husband. He has made so many sacifices for me and our family, he is such an amazing man. So dedicated, loving, fun, happy, and caring. I honestly don't know how I got so lucky to have him in my life. My goal every day of my life is to let him know how much I love him and how much he means to me.

Macey is one of the sweetest and most caring children I have ever known. She is so sensitive to other peoples feelings. I love her silly little giggle, her hugs and all of her custom-made kisses that we have to do at bedtime every night. I love her creativity. Every time something is missing, it has most likely been turned into a craft or an invention by her. I love that she loves to read, she's my little reading buddy. I love that she watches The Ellen Degeneres Show, The Biggest Loser, and American Idol with me. She is the best big sister in the world, the best little helper, and I am so thankful that she made me a mommy.

Heidi is my snuggle-bug. It is non-stop hugs and kisses all day long. She tells me that she loves me at least 10 times every day. She loves to play dress-up, and always has on a princess dress and high heels, or a leotard with high heels. She loves to help me cook and bake, and she loves to help me feed the twins. I love that she likes to snuggle up to me and watch cartoons or read books. She has such a sassy little attitude, and you can't help but smile when she walks into the room. She has such a vivid imagination, she loves to role-play. We play games, My Little Pony, Littlest Pet Shop, and do puzzles together all the time.

Ryan is my little man. He looks at me like I am the sun, moon, and stars. I was so scared to have a little boy, I didn't know how to take care of one. But he has made it so easy to fall in love with him, I am so thrilled that he is my son. I love his little laughs, and I love that he is already into everything and getting everywhere- he is all boy already! He loves the dogs, and he will chase them around and steal their toys. He steals Jenna's toys, too. And he thinks that it is hilarious when he does it. He has the sweetest little spirit. I had no idea what I was missing out on without a little boy. You haven't lived until you get one of Ryan's little open-mouthed kisses.

If you want to feel loved, get Jenna out of her crib after her nap. She puts her little hands on your cheeks and smiles at you with the biggest, sweetest smile, like you just saved her life. Her chubby little cheeks and adorable dimples make you want to just kiss her face off. She is the snuggliest baby that I have had, and she will hug you and let you hold her for as long as you are willing. She loves to talk, and she lets you know when she needs something that you aren't giving her. She is always so happy and content, and she loves to sit on the floor and just watch her older sisters. She is so sweet, I am so lucky to have such happy babies.

Despite all of the crazy medical issues, I really do feel so blessed and that I am the luckiest woman in the world. Life is good!

Last Day of School

I cannot believe that school is out already. This year just flew by! I think that the fact that I had the twins the day after school started made this school year seem more like a blur to me. I craziest part of it all is that Macey is going to be in first grade next year! I can't believe that we have a kid old enough to be going into first grade. Her Kindergarten teacher was awesome. She has twins too, so she totally understood how things were at home for us, and she was able to help Macey in so many different ways. We are going to miss her. Macey's Kindergarten Graduation was on Tuesday night, it was so adorable. Today is her last day of school. She learned so much this year, it is so neat to see her reading to her brother and sisters, and she teaches Scott and I cool things that she learned in science.






Heidi's preschool graduation was yesterday. Next year she will be in pre-k. Her teaches were amazing, too. Heidi is a completely different little girl now then she was before school started. She is so much more expressive and outgoing, and she is able to communicate with us so much better. Her teachers tell us that she is "Little Miss Popular", and that she has total control over the boys. She tells them where to stand, how to stand, who's aloud to stand by her, who's aloud to play with her, and she's not afraid to tell them when they are standing too close. All of the boys love her. To say that Scott is terrified is an understatement.






I am uploading videos from their graduation performances, follow this link to see them: http://www.youtube.com/user/shelley549

Our last surgery is tomorrow. Scott is having his rotator cuff and labrum repaired. It will not be fun for him, but he is excited to get it fixed so that it will quit falling out of place. His shoulder is in bad shape. The smallest movement makes his shoulder fall out of joint.

Ryan is doing really good. His incision looks great, and he is feeling pretty much back to normal. I am glad to have that behind us. I really hope that everyone stays healthy for a while, the copays are really adding up! The only thing that I can see in the future is possibly another surgery for me. I have been having a lot of pain still, so my dotor sent me in for an ultrasound and my ovaries are covered with cysts. My right ovary has a cyst that is twice the size of the ovary itself. There is a possibility that I will have to have my ovaries removed, but hopefully the cysts will just go away on their own.

My sister Summer is coming to visit this weekend, and I am so excited! We always have so much fun when she is here. Also, there are some UFC fights on Saturday, so a combination of Summer and the fights makes for an amazing weekend. I will definitely post pictures of the fun!

Pets On Parade

I love having pets. Anything that is cute and small and needs to be taken care of just melts my heart (that's why God let me be a twin mommy and a mommy to four kids). If I had my way, I would have a house full of animals. Goats, pigs, bunnies, cats, dogs, mice, monkeys, you name it, I want it. Scott, on the other hand, does not share my love of small furry and scaly creatures. But being the sweet husband that he is, he compromised, and I have several sweet little pets. Here they are, in order from largest to smallest:

Zoe, a 2-year-old Havachon (Bichon Frise/Havanese mix):


Carly, a 1-year-old Jack Russel Terrier:


Chocolate and Uniqua, our little mice:


We also have a Betta fish named Lava Girl. Sadly, Roxy the Betta fish passed away earlier this week, so we had a little fishy funeral.

Having pets is not only fun for me, but the kids love it, too. It has also been a great and fun way to teach them responsibility. Scott has put me on a 3 year hiatus from pets. I'm not even allowed to ask for a pet during that time! It's okay though, that just gives me more time to decide what I want next...

Ryan is a stud!

Little Ryan did so amazing today. That was a lot for a tiny little boy to go through, but he handled it so well. Of course he couldn't have any formula or food after midnight, so he was a hungry little boy. His surgery was scheduled for 9:30, but they didn't get him back until about 11:15. He didn't start getting fussy until about 10:30, so we were relieved that he wasn't screaming the whole time. I am so glad to have this surgery over with, I have been so nervous about it. One more surgery, and hopefully we will be done!

5:30 am: If I hide under here, maybe they won't find me and I won't have to go to the hospital!





Taking a little ride in a wagon trying to pass time.




Taking a little nap.


Trying to wake up and so so hungry!!!

Little Baby Ryan

His surgery is at 9:30 tomorrow morning, and I'm starting to hyperventilate. Can you just imagine handing over your little baby to a nurse and watch them disappear into an operating room? It's kinda making me nauseated just thinking about it. Please keep my little Bubba in your thoughts, and I will update when we get home and settled.

Happy Mother's Day!

I hope that all of you Mommies had a great Mother's Day! I am so thankful for my Mom, I would shrivel up and die without her! And I am so thankful that I am blessed to be the mom of four beautiful children. I LOVE being a mom!

Also, Happy Birthday to my sister Summer. You are one of the most amazing people I have ever known, you have no idea how much you mean to me and how much I love you. God definitely made us sisters for a reason. You are so beautiful, smart, funny, sweet, caring, and kind-hearted. Thank you for being who you are. I LOVE YOU! HAPPY BIRTHDAY!

9 Months As A Twin Mommy

I cannot believe that my babies are 9 months old today! Where has the time gone? I am so glad that they are getting bigger, but I am sad at the same time, especially since we won't be having anymore babies. I look back at the first few months of their lives, and I am amazed at how much things have changed.

- Instead of eating every 2-3 hours at night (each feeding taking 1.5 hours combined), they sleep for 11-12 hours straight.

- No more delicious and free breast milk, now they drink a total of 16 cans of $28/can Nutramigen every month.

- We are down to about 10-12 diapers a day instead of 25+. Yes, that is at least 175 diapers a week, 700 per month.

- Macey and Heidi are now glad that we have twins. They hard a hard time at first since the twins required so much time and attention.

- They sit, crawl, hold their own bottles, smile, laugh, play, "talk", do sign language, eat solids, and hug us.

I miss my tiny twinkies, but I love my interactive babies. I guess I better start planning a birthday party, it is going to be here before I know it!

Jenna then:






Jenna now:





Ryan then:






Ryan now:





Always together:

For All the Twin Mommies

This site has great scrapbooking ideas for your little twinkies. Let me know if you have any other good websites, I love getting new ideas for more scrapbook pages.

Scrapbook Sayings For Twins

Videos

Follow this link to our YouTube page to see videos of the kids. Right now there are only videos of the twins, and there are more of Ryan than Jenna because Jenna is camera shy already. I will have to be sneaky to get her cute little things on film. Stay tuned for videos of Macey and Heidi.

Waterslide!

Scott bought the kids a new waterslide, so we had to have some friends over to help break it in. Here are some pictures of our fun day, plus some others thrown in.

Tag, I'm It!

4 things I was doing 10 years ago...
1. Living in CA
2. Getting ready to graduate from high school
3. Being a teenager (no need to further explain)
4. Unknowingly only 6 months away from meeting my soulmate

4 things I was doing 5 years ago...
1. Just finding out that I was pregnant with our 2nd baby
2. Working at University OB/GYN
3. Trying to figure out what I wanted in life
4. Making frequent trips to San Diego to visit my sister Summer

4 things I am doing this year...
1. Going to school
2. Taking a super nice vacation with Scott
3. Swim lessons, gymnastics, dance, and other fun activities
4. Taking the kids to Disneyland (don't tell them, it's a surprise!)

4 shows I like...
1. The Biggest Loser
2. American Idol
3. The Ellen Degeneres Show
4. The Ultimate Fighter

4 biggest joys of the moment...
1. Macey, Heidi, Ryan, and Jenna
2. Scott, the sexiest man alive
3. My new car
4. NO PERIODS FOR THE REST OF MY LIFE!!!!

I tag Chelsea, Jeanette, Heidi, and Jaime.

Quick Update

Ryan's surgery is scheduled for Tuesday, May 13th. We will keep everyone posted!