New Ride

Well, we bought a motorcycle. Yep, I finally gave in. I have always said, "No, no, no. Don't even think about it!" But that was before we were driving 100 miles per day with ridiculous gas prices and a Suburban that gets 14 miles to the gallon on a good day. And I hate to even say this, but I kinda like it! I rode it a little bit yesterday after we bought it, and I was surprisingly comfortable on it. I haven't had a ton of experience on street bikes, but I have spent hours upon hours on dirt bikes. Not only is it fun to ride, but it gets 120 miles to the gallon! And when we filled it up yesterday, it cost us a whopping $4! I am not making that up! So I am going to a motorcycle shop tomorrow to pick up my helmet, and yes, it is pink. This is what it looks like:

Actually, the shop that we bought the bike from told us that they are coming out with a pink version of the bike later this month or next, so I am pretty sure that I am going to have to get one, and then Scott can have the black one all to himself. I can ride it to and home from school, and then only have to use the Suburban when I am going out with the kids. Or if I only have Macey and Heidi, I can just take the Mercedes and save even more gas. This whole gas thing is getting ridiculous, I really hope that it ends soon!

We were going to get a new computer, but that money went to the motorcycle, so I had Scott copy all of our pictures onto a memory card because I am so scared of losing them. Our computer is still in good shape, but you just never know when something will happen and you could lose everything. But I was looking through the pictures after we copied them and I found this adorable picture of my mom with the twins right after they both came home from the NICU.

I was also looking throught the belly pictures I have of my twin belly, and I started to cry because it really hit me that I am never going to be pregnant again. Even though I was huge and miserable, there is absolutely nothing to describe the feeling of having little babies in your belly. These pictures were taken a few days before Ryan and Jenna were born. Can you believe how huge I was?!


I know that I am crazy for being sad about that, especially after I see those pictures, but women have a built-in mechanism that helps us forget how miserable we were. And its a good thing too, or no one would ever do it again!

Happy Anniversary to Us!

Wow, I cannot believe it has been 7 years! It has been the most fantastic ride though. We have definitely had our ups and downs, but our relationship is better because of it. We have had tons of fun, too (4 kids in 7 years should prove that!). Even though we have been married for 7 years and together for almost 10, I still get butterflies in my stomach when Scott smiles at me, or calls me, or walks into the room. He has done such a great job of making sure that the spark is always there, and letting me know how he feels about me.

We are entering a new stage of our life now; we are done having babies, so now we can just focus on enjoying our kids and watching them all grow up. I absolutely cannot wait to see what the future brings, we have so many exciting things going on in our lives right now.

When I was young I made a list of all the qualities that I wanted in a husband. Scott not only has all of those qualities, but so many more that I could not have even imagined I could have had in a husband. Scott, thank you for surpassing my expectations , and thank you for choosing me! I am the luckiest woman in the world! I love you so much!

Tim Mcgraw

Here's just one more reason why I can't help but love him.

AMAZING

Amazing is the word that I will use to describe my first night of class. My instructor is awesome, the curriculum is above and beyond expectation, and there are 7 other girls in the class who are as excited about school as I am. This is going to be such a great experience, I am even more excited than I was before! I got to go to the store after class and get all of my school supplies, and I felt like a little kid in a candy shop! I never thought that picking out pens and binders and post-its could be so exciting! I think I spent way too much money on my supplies, but it was so fun I don't even care.

I CAN'T BELIEVE THAT I AM FINALLY IN AESTHETICIAN SCHOOL!

Hilarious!

Macey came running up to me this morning and said, "Look! I'm the Statue of Liberty!"

Christmas Eve!

Yes, I know that it's not really Christmas Eve, but it sure feels like it! I start school tomorrow! I cannot wait, I hope that I can sleep tonight! I feel like I am getting ready for my first day of Kindergarten. I went shopping for clothes, got my hair done, got a cute Juicy bag to use as a book bag, and I have butterflies in my stomach! As I said in a previous post, I have been wanting to go to Aesthetics school for a long time, but the timing was never right. Now I am glad that I had to wait because this summer is the school's 10 year anniversary, so they are giving all of the new students diamond tipped microdermabrasion machines! I cannot believe that I am going to have my very own microdermabrasion machine! They are also giving us tons of Dermalogica product, which is an absolutely amazing skin care line. It just seems too good to be true. I would pay for school just to get the things that come in our kits! And to top everything off, I already have a job for when I graduate! It seriously does not get better than that. I am so excited!

I also have to share this picture of Macey at gymnastics on Saturday. She is getting so strong, her coaches are really impressed with her. She was picked for an invitation only level, and she is definitely the most talented in her class.

It is still so weird for me sometimes to comprehend that I have a son. He is such a little boy already though, getting into everything and being a little stinker. Today I put him and Jenna down for a nap, and about 5 minutes later I heard a huge crash. I ran back there, and this is what I found:

That is their piggy bank shattered all over the carpet. He was looking at me like, "Oops" and Jenna was looking at him with her mouth wide open like, "Ooooooooh! You're in trouble!" It was hilarious! They are getting so big, they are pulling themselves up on everything and cruising along the couch. Where did my little babies go?

And my sweet, sweet little Heidi. I could just hug and kiss her all day long, and she would let me! At least 10 times a day she tells me she loves me in her tiny little munchkin voice. Music to my ears!

Cari "tagged" me!

Okay, here I go:

my kitchen sink

my fridge, I guess its time to eat some leftovers

my favorite shoes (I am now addicted to Coach shoes); notice the bruise on my right foot near the tattoo, that is from the airplane incident with Shaq!

my closet

my laundry pile

my favorite room, look at those sweet twinkies in their beds!

the toilet

our dream vacation is St. Lucia; we went to Riviera Maya a couple of years ago but I don't have any pics because our camera got stolen :(

my self portrait (Cari, if I can do it, so can you. I want to see one of you on your website ASAP!)


I tag Lisa, Summer and Alexis, Pam Andersen, and Auntie Jeanette!

Dallas

I had an amazing trip to Dallas! I only wish that I could have stayed longer. It was so fun to see my dad and step-mom Karen. We went out to eat at the Galleria, did some shopping, stayed up way too late talking, and just had a very nice time together. My dad also took me to see the place where John F. Kennedy was assassinated. It was really interesting to see that after learning about it in school. Also, one of the huge perks of having a dad who is a captain for American Airlines is being able to sit in First Class. Thanks Dad! There is no other way to travel, now I have been spoiled. The bad thing about the trip is that now I want to move to Dallas even more than I did before! I have wanted to move there for years, but obviously our life is in Phoenix. I told Scott that I WILL own a second home in Dallas one day. :)

Aside from having a great time, I also had the most embarrassing moment of my life. As embarrassing as it was, it is also hilarious enough that I have to share. Shaquille O'Neil was on my flight from Phoenix to Dallas. When I was boarding the plane, I was standing in First Class waiting for everyone to sit down so that I could get to my seat and sit down. I was standing right next to Shaquille O'Neil, he was on the aisle seat in the very first row. I looked over at him and he was smiling at me, so I smiled back. He said, "How are you doing?" I said, "I'm good, how are you?" And then he said, "I'm better now." I was kinda grinning and feeling pretty good about myself (you would too if a basketball star had just said that to you). The people in front of me started walking, so I took a step forward. I was carrying my carry-on bag in front of me, so I couldn't see the rolling suitcase that was being pulled by the girl in front of me. So as I took a step forward, I tripped on her bag and fell right on the floor. In front of the whole plane. Shaquille O'Neil tried to catch my fall, but he was too late. So I'm sitting there on the floor wanting to die, and I look at him and say, "Aren't you supposed to have better reflexes than that?" He just kinda laughed, but I wanted to hide under a rock. And I have a bruise on my foot where I kicked the suitcase. Only me.

My step-mom Karen and me

My sister Lisa, my dad, and me

The building where Oswald shot Kennedy from

The Grassy Knoll

Happy Father's Day!!

I am so lucky to not only have the best Dad, but also the best father to my kids. I couldn't ask for more hardworking and loving men in my life. I wish that every child had a Dad like my Dad and Scott.

Dad, you are one the most amazing people on this earth. You will never know how much you mean to me and how much I appreciate all of the many sacrifices you have made for me. I am so proud to be a Daddy's Girl, your little girl. I always have been and I always will be little little Shel-Mo-Poo. I love you Dad. I am so glad that I was able to spend Father's Day weekend with you. You are also a fantastic Grandpa, my kids are so incredibly blessed to be able to call you that. Thank you for being my Daddy and my kids' Grandpa!

Scott, how do you do it? How do you put all of the stresses of your day behind you when you walk through the door, and you make the kids and me feel like we are the only things in the world that matter to you? Thank you for loving our kids the way you do, and for making life so full of fun and excitement for them. I love every second that I get to spend watching you with the kids. You were a natural Dad from the first day of Macey's life. We appreciate you so much. You are the best Dad that I could ever even dream of for my babies.

For Father's Day the kids and I did some fun things for Scott. First, the girls each painted a blank canvas for Scott to hang up in his office. They had so much fun doing it, and Scott loved the paintings.




We also framed this picture for him to put on his desk.

And finally, I took these pictures of the kids posed to spell out "We Love Dad" and the added framed them for Scott's office. Then I added some little sayings about Dads. Here's the final product. I must admit, it turned out pretty cute!

Last Minute Get-away

I am so excited! I am going to fly out to Dallas tomorrow to spend a couple of days with my dad and step-mom. NO KIDS!! Obviously I love my kids, but a mom's gotta get a break every now and then. It will be so awesome, my dad and step-mom are so much fun. We might do Six Flags, some shopping, pedicures, go out on the town, all sorts of fun stuff. I'm sure that no matter what we do it will be a blast! It will be nice to get a little break from the everyday life, and Scott will get some good bonding time at home with the kids. I'll definitely post pics when I get back!

The Next Survivor Series

Six married men will be dropped on an island with one car and
3 kids each for six weeks.

Each kid will play two sports and either take music or dance classes.

There is no fast food.

Each man must take care of his 3 kids; keep his assigned house clean, correct all homework, and complete science projects, cook, do laundry, and pay a list of 'pretend' bills with not enough money.

In addition, each man will have to budget in money for groceries each week.

Each man must remember the birthdays of all their friends and relatives, and send cards out on time--no emailing.

Each man must also take each child to a doctor's appointment, a dentist appointment and a haircut appointment.

He must make one unscheduled and inconvenient visit per child to the Urgent Care.

He must also make cookies or cupcakes for a social function.

Each man will be responsible for decorating his own assigned house, planting flowers outside and keeping it presentable at all times.

The men will only have access to television when the kids are asleep and all chores are done.

The men must shave their legs, wear makeup daily, adorn himself with jewelry, wear uncomfortable yet stylish shoes, keep fingernails polished and eyebrows groomed.

During one of the six weeks, the men will have to endure severe abdominal cramps, back aches, and have extreme, unexplained mood swings but never once complain or slow down from other duties.

They must attend weekly school meetings, church, and find time at least once to spend the afternoon at the park or a similar setting.

They will need to read a book to the kids each night and in the morning, feed them, dress them, brush their teeth and comb their hair by 7:00 am.

A test will be given at the end of the six weeks, and each father will be required to know all of the following information: each child's birthday, height, weight, shoe size, clothes size and doctor's name. Also the child's weight at birth, length, time of birth, and length of labor, each child's favorite color, middle name, favorite snack, favorite song, favorite drink, favorite toy, biggest fear and what they want to be when they grow up.

The kids vote them off the island based on performance. The last man wins only if...he still has enough energy to be intimate with his spouse at a moment's notice.

If the last man does win, he can play the game over and over and over again for the next 18-25 years eventually earning the right to be called Mother!

Uh-Oh...

And so it begins.

Twin Comments

We get a lot of attention when we go anywhere with the twins, and it just blows my mind the things that some people say. I have heard things as nice as "You must be the luckiest woman in the world" to "I would shoot myself in the head if I ever had twins". I used to just smile and walk away, but I am a bit more vocal about it now. When people say to me, "Better you than me", now I say, "It is better me than you with that attitude." And when people say, "I would never want twins", I say "God only gives twins to people who can handle it anyway." You might think that I am being rude, but it is very insulting to a mother of twins to hear things like that when we wouldn't trade having twins for anything in the world. I also get a lot of really dumb comments. The other day I was at a party and I had the twins with me, and a lady there said, "Are they both yours?" "Um, yeah." I said. Then she said, "Wow, they are really close in age! You guys sure didn't waste any time!" I said, "Yeah, they are pretty close in age. Like, 2 minutes."

Busy Busy!

As usual, things have been busy around here. Scott is still in his sling recovering from his surgery, so that leaves me with the majority of the baby duties. He is feeling good though, but he is definitely not taking it easy enough. Macey and Heidi are enjoying summer vacation. They have been playing with their friends, each other, and going to gymnastics. Heidi got moved up to the next level at gym, so they are are the same day at the same time. That is really nice! The twins are growing so fast. They are crawling everywhere and pulling themselves up on everything. Jenna is completely taken by her Daddy, and gets a huge smile on her face whenever she sees him. Ryan is definitely a Momma's boy. I call him a monkey or a "Cling-on", because he is ALWAYS wrapped around my neck. There is not a moment of the day when he is awake that he is not hanging on me or crawling up me trying to hang on me. They were both diagnosed with asthma recently, and Ryan also got pneumonia. Because they were premies with respiratory distress syndrome, they are more likely to have respiratory problems now. We hope that they outgrow the asthma and can be active little kids. I am getting ready to start school, and I am so excited I can't even stand it. I don't remember the last time I was this excited about something like this. I made a promise/goal to myself that I am going to be #1 in my class and get the best internship they have available. I will definitely try to get a job in Scottsdale/North Phoenix after graduation, so after this next school year we will move up to Scottsdale.

That's about it for now. I hope that everyone is doing well and having a good summer!