23 months old today !

Our Christmas tree

I love these present bags! Very well made, great personalization and only 7.99 with free shipping!

The new toy chest.

Much less of an eye sore than the former toy holder...the changing table.

The boys turned 23 months today. We took them out to dinner to celebrate and they were great. Anderson ate till his tummy distended and turned hard....Kevin was actually worried. You know it had to be a buddah belly if Kevin took note.

Yesterday we had a busy evening. Last week we ordered a leather storage bench and it arrived yesterday. We ordered it because I am so tired of looking at the changing table/toy shelf in our living room. It was such an eye sore and after two years I was finally coming to terms with the fact that the toys aren't going away. They are here to stay and they live in our living room. They are big, ugly, obnoxiously colorful and stubbornly obtuse.

The leather bench is huge, which is great. I can stuff lots of junk in there in a pinch and we've also added some seating in the living room. Once we had the bench set up, we purged through the toys on the changing table. The changing table is now residing in Jake's room and with any luck will be bought off of Craigs list this weekend. Fingers crossed.

Once that was all settled we finally had some room to put up our Christmas tree. The boys were bulls in a china shop. They managed to break one oranament, pull several apart. and Jake was chucking them around the room like a baseball. The funniest part is that they don't even think to touch the presents underneath the tree. I noticed last week at Claire's birthday party they never touched her presents. Let's hope they don't figure things out before Christmas.

Just some pics...

A and J dancing together.

Dancing the Charlie Brown with Daddy.

Jake this past weekend.

Awww, Jakey

Sweetie pie Anders

6 days and counting...

Jake and his trains

Anderson full of cheer right after waking up (note the train in his hand)

Good Morning, Jakey!

Anderson says "cheese"

It has been six days since we gave the boys their trains and they are still obbessed with carrying them around everywhere. Life moves slowly when you constantly have to switch the hands that are holding the trains to put your arm in your sleeve, eat, or take a bath. They just won't put them down, its ridiculous! One day they were fighting for the same train, Henry, so I asked my parents to pick up a second Henry. No one wanted Murdoch. Now that there are two Henrys wouldn't you know that both boys now fight over Murdoch. I refuse to buy another Murdoch. Those stickin trains are 8 bucks a piece!

The boys had a great Thanksgiving spent with their family. We started the day off with having Grandma and Auntie Sara over for brunch, heading to Great Grandma Edgar's house for dinner and then our final stop was at the McBride's house for dessert and a b-day celebration for Claire. I wrote up a long huge post complaining about some dumb and insensitive comments made by family members but have since deleted it. It just didn't seem right to complain on a day that I was so very grateful for my boys.

Yesterday we went with the McBrides to downtown Rochester for some Christmas festivities. It was cold but they had fun. Afterwards we ate dinner at Famous Daves and the boys were so good! They munched on baked beans, corn bread, chicken, mac n cheese, and whatever else they could get their hands on.

Pillow Talk

Last night after we put the boys to bed, Kev and I could hear little Anders talking. I muted the TV and we were delighted to hear him giving loud wet smooches to his bear and telling him "love yoooouuuu, love yoooouuu". Then he began to recite some lines from Frosty the Snowman. They have been watching it in the evening before bed and they love the "No Money, No Ticket" line. We wanted to go in there and give him some HUGE hugs and kisses but we're not crazy :).

It is apparent that they are learning love just like they learned their abc's and counting. While sitting next to eachother yesterday, Jake started to rub the top of Anderson's head and kissed him on the cheek. Then he looked at us and said "brothers" and smiled. When Kevin was hugging and giving me kisses after work the other day they both were so excited and had huge grins. It is my hope that they will be compassionate and loving people. Unfortunately it doesn't come as naturally for me (with the exception of my bubbies) but in teaching them love I am learning a lot about it myself. Another one of the countless gifts they have given me.

Meet Henry and Murdoch

Anderson and his new train friend Henry

Jake and his new train friend Murdoch

Friends of ours recently gave the boys a hand me down Thomas the Tank Engine speciality track. It didn't come with the trains so they have been foaming at the mouth for the past few days wanting to play with it but couldn't. Today we bought them some trains for it and they played with it non-stop from 10 a.m till they just went to bed. Meal and naptime were a huge struggle because they didn't want to stop playing even for a second. Jake threw such a fit, which is so out of character for him, that finally we relented and just let him have it when he ate and napped. You would have thought the world was ending. Thankfully we managed to talk him down from the ledge before bed and he left the trains in a safe place till tomorrow.

While the boys were in a Thomas fog, Kevin and I spent the day cooking. We made potato soup, chicken enchilada soup, a HUGE batch of chili, pretzel crusted chicken and oreo truffles. The truffles are for Thanksgiving and they are so yummy. I got the recipe from Jodi and thought I would share. Here it is.....

Oreo Truffles-3 1/2 dozen

Ingredients

45 Oreo cookies, divided (1 package)

1 (8 ounce) package cream cheese, softened

2 (8 ounce) packages semisweet baking chocolate, melted

Directions

1) Crush 9 of the cookies to fine crumbs in a food processor; reserve for later use. (This can also be done in a resealable bag with a rolling pin.). 2) Crush the remaining 36 cookies to fine crumbs and place in a medium bowl. 3) Add the cream cheese and mix until well blended. 4) Roll cookie mixture into 42 balls, about 1" in diameter. 5) Dip the balls in the melted chocolate and place them on a wax paper covered baking sheet. (Any left over chocolate can be stored at room temperature for another use.). 6) Sprinkle the tops of the truffles with the reserved cookie crumbs. 7) Refrigerate until firm, about 1 hour. 8) Store leftover truffles, covered, in the refrigerator.

Catching up

Wow, it's been almost a week since my last post and I have no idea where the time went. The boys had a much better week than the week before, everyone was healthy and feeling good. Today we did a lot of running around and the boys enjoyed getting out of the house. We headed to the mall and started off with some muffins and egg souffles from Panera. The boys had already been fed a huge bowl of oatmeal before we left the house, but they still devoured half of our breakfast.

Santa was already set up and taking customers at the mall so we thought why not? There wasn't much of a wait and the boys seemed interested. When it was their turn we took them over to see Santa. Jake was compliant, he seemed neither scared nor impressed by Santa and willingly sat on his lap. Anderson wasn't having it. He didn't want to sit on Santa's lap but he did sit on my lap next to Santa. As soon as the picture was taken, Jake was off to touch the ornaments and other props. Anderson and I stuck around while Santa asked him what he wanted. Anderson rolled his eyes at Santa and completely ignored him. It was very naughty of him.

After our time at the mall we brought the boys home for a nap. I headed to the salon for some grooming and gossip. When the boys woke we went back out to Whole Foods to pick up some groceries and the boy's Artic Cod Liver Oil. The boys love their fish oil and I'm so happy because it is SOOO beneficial to their growth and development. It smells, looks and tastes pretty gross but they don't seem to mind so I'm taking advantage for as long as I can. We also strolled around Parisian and the boys sat in the double shopping cart. Jake sat up high and Anderson below him. Several times Jake rubbed the top on Anderson's head and leaned down and kissed him. It was so sweet and Anderson just had a huge smile on his face.

I had my second phase of braces put on this past Thursday. It was pure hell. My teeth were so sensitive and sore already and they were made even worse when they removed my spacers in order to put on these freakish metal rings that encase all of my molars. I couldn't hold back the tears, they were just streaming down my face as the orthodontist used any force necessary to fit these dang things on. The spacers were supposed to have created the "space" necessary between my teeth to fit the brackets on, but they weren't on long enough and I suffered dearly because of it. Let the record show that I feel I have a pretty high tolerance for pain.

I've been pretty emotional about it... wondering why I'm torturing myself like this, wondering if it will all be worth it, thinking of a bazillion other things I could have done with the money. Having braces as an adult is a much different experience than the first two times I had them. No authority figure telling you that you must wear them, no peers to share war stories with, and lots of pain. I feel like a huge whiney baby and I fear that since I'm having such a hard time with this how will I ever survive the jaw surgery. I'll be on a liquid diet for 8 weeks following the surgery and part of that time I will only be able to drink from a syringe. And the pain.....I don't even allow myself to go there yet.

Popcorn Time

Jake in a popcorn frenzy.

Anderson enjoying it while watching the 6 o'clock news.


Yummy, yummy

The boys tried popcorn for the first time a couple of weeks ago while we were shopping at Target. Jake loved it but Anderson wouldn't really even give it a try because he was too obbessed with trying to get a sip of our Coke. We found these cute little plastic popcorn tubs for them, so today we filled them with some popcorn and the boys loved it! They were so quiet for at least 20 minutes just munching on popcorn. They didn't even move off the couch. Now I know what to give them when I need to get something done around here.

Just a couple pics...

The bubbies lounging around together when they were sick.

I had been sitting behind them and running my fingers through their hair. A little while later I found Anderson doing the same thing to Jake.

If you look closely you can see Jake's hair running through Anderson's fingers.

Just when I feel like eating again..

I had to go and get these damn things on. That's not me by the way :). I haven't been able to eat anything but crackers all week but of course right after I had the braces put on this morning I felt STARVING. Having had braces twice before I knew that within an hour I would be unable to eat anything so I raced to McDonalds to get an egg and cheese biscuit. Just as I anticipated the pain began almost immediately, however I was able to eat my biscuit.

My teeth are aching like someone just beat them with a hammer and the inside of my mouth is already chewed up from all the metal. Talking hurts. I was able to eat some soup for dinner but that didn't put a dent into my week long starved hunger pains.

I contemplated getting clear braces but the orthodontist discouraged it. Apparently they don't move teeth as quickly and break more easily. Kevin said if I was going to get braces I should just "own it" and go all the way with the metal.

On a funny side note... I asked my rambunctious Kindergarten students what they could do to improve their behavior. One of my girls answered she "should follow erections better".

Warning.... another disgusting post

Where do I start? The past 48 hours have been HORRIBLE. When the boys woke up yesterday morning they seemed fine, they were happy, eating, and playful. Kevin had the day off for Veteran's Day so they were happy and excited to have a "bonus" day with Dad. We had a wonderful morning playing, reading together and just cuddling on the floor in one big pile of Edgars.

I went to work for the afternoon and Kevin put the boys down for nap and then things took a turn for the worse. Jake woke up crying, Kevin went in to check on him and he had a massive blowout. Straight to the tub he went and he was hysterical about it. Poop was everywhere and Kevin had to try and get his soiled clothes off without spreading the poop throughout the house. Thankfully Anderson slept through everything.

Then a half hour later, Anderson woke up. It was just a few short minutes till he started throwing up. Every 15-20 minutes for 5 LONG hours. The poor guy was just miserable, he couldn't keep any liquids down and just lifting his head up made him throw up. We decided to take him to the ER down the street that just opened near our house. My sister came over to stay with Jake (who was sleeping) because both of us had to go. Someone had to sit with Anderson in the back since he was throwing up so often.

They tried to give him pedialyte but he couldn't keep down anything and was growing more listless so they did an IV for fluids. He was such a tough guy about it, he was more than cooperative and only cried from the pain. He never fought or screamed, Kevin and I felt our hearts break in two as they made failed attmepts to find his tiny veins. Once they got the IV in he fell asleep and I called my wonderful friend Jodi to come pick me up so I could relieve my sister. It was going to be a couple of hours on the IV for him and it was getting late and Tina had to work the next day.

As soon as I came home I called Kevin to get an update as I knew both of us were feeling yucky at the ER. He was in the room with Anderson and now he was throwing up. I felt just awful for leaving him and I was worried sick that now he was getting sick all while trying to keep Anderson comforted.

Kevin was able to stick it out for the remainder of the time, he was amazingly strong. I would have been a hysterical mess and fell apart. I always fall apart when I throw up, I'd rather endure some sort of crazy torture than throw up. He brought Anderson home, continued to get sick and at around one in the morning I joined him. He and I took turns holding the garbage can for one another and getting eachother water. I love that man, he is the patience and love that holds us so tightly to one another.

Today we are in complete survival mode. All four of us stink, feel like complete sh!t and I for one can't wait till bedtime since we're both running on close to zero sleep.

A HUGE shoutout thanks to Jodi for coming to pick me up, putting her own health in jeapordy(I swear I didn't touch anything), and missing part of her favorite show. I promise to repay you in clothes and toys for our favorite Baby Simon.

Mondays...blech (Warning TMI)

Sensitive stomach? DO NOT READ


We had the Monday of all Monday mornings around here. How does puke in the crib, hair, jammies and forehead, di di in the diapers, and a complete stripping of clothes and bedding all before 7:30 a.m. sound?

I heard the boys chattering away at about 7 this morning. I usually let them chatter and play for about 15 minutes before I go and get them. This gives me time to throw in a load of laundry, pour their milk cups (which they demand the very minute they wake) and if I'm lucky check my work email. This morning I heard a strange gagging noise but it isn't unusual for Anderson to gag himself while sticking his fingers in the back of his mouth due to teething pain. I listened to make sure they were both okay and continued with my business. THEN I went to get Jake out of bed and the minute I opened his door I knew I was in trouble. The smell of puke is undeniable and poor Jakey was swimming in it.

It was all over him, his hair, at the foot of the crib, on his blanket, pillow and lovey. He was a little spooked but I think it was only from my reaction. Had I not coddled him, I don't think he would have thought a thing about it. After I cleaned up that mess I was finally able to change his diaper and get Anderson out of his crib.

Now, I'm on the verge of getting sick from cleaning up the sick and I have the diarhea to deal with. Jake has a full load and it smells just like the puke. How does that happen? The rest of the morning was spent changing horribly rank diapers and obbessing over every symptom I might have. This afternoon Anderson joined in with the di di so now that poor guy has the stomach flu too. Now I just wait for my turn.

Uh-Oh

Jake's new word.

Anderson being cute.

Jake has a new word....fire truck. Only he says fire f@ck. It is precious, he is precious.

Today we bought a Christmas snowglobe. There are a handful of Christmas items my mom and grandma would put out every year that always fascinated me as a child. I looked forward to seeing them each year. I hope to recreate that with Anderson and Jake. We spent way too long picking out a snowglobe, it had to be just the right scene, song and have adequate amount of snow in it. When we brought it home the boys were smitten. They both wanted it so we tried to take turns by switching when the music stopped playing. That didn't really work but they were desperate to have it to themselves for any length of time. When it was time to put it away Jake was beyond devestated. Anderson was upset as well but not nearly to the degree that Jake took it too. I guess it is safe to say they were fascinated. :)

2 months, 2 days, till 2

Eating their first bowl of cereal

Anderson James

Jake Thomas

As we draw closer to Anderson and Jake's 2nd birthday I am sinking deeper into a mommy depression. I can't believe my bubbies are using forks and spoons, eating what we eat, saying their ABC's and counting, and telling us when it is time to go poop. This is crazy, it feels like it all happened overnight. I've been shopping for their Christmas gifts and I can't believe they are ready for trains, bowling pin sets, and matchbox cars.

Today they looked like minature men all dressed up. I'm sure I sound like a broken record but really I can't keep up with the change. I'm not ready to move on to the next stage. I want them small enough for me to hold, agreeable enough to let me shower them with kisses, and needy enough to always want their momma.

Halloweenies

Sorting through the goods.

Jake Thomas

Waiting for the siren to start the trick or treating

Nanny and Papa were having a hard time getting them to sit still.

The boys were too busy for picture taking.

Anderson James

What a fantastic day! The weather was beautiful and we couldn't have asked for a better Halloween. We started the day off at Switzer to see Grant and Claire in their Halloween parade. The boys wore their costumes and enjoyed joining in with the big kids. Claire was a flapper and Grant was Indiana Jones.

This evening they got dressed again in their costumes and played outside while we waited for the sirens to go off at 6. Anderson and Jake were running around, chasing eachother and just beside themselves with excitement. We trick or treated at about 6 houses and probably could have done more but they were dripping in sweat from the unusually warm day so we brought them home to strip off their costumes. The rest of the evening was spent handing out candy. They had mixed feelings about that. Jake liked to hand it out and so did Anderson, but then as the stash got smaller they had a change of heart. Anderson began to refuse to give away candy and Jake would fake kids out. He would put his hand in the bag but not drop the candy in. At least 5 kids got cheated out of candy.

Now I just need to figure how out erase the monkey costume from Anderson's memory. The stinker is relentless about asking for it. Today he spent most of his waking minutes asking to wear it and if he was wearing it he was telling you over and over "monkey".

Happy Halloween

Pumpkin carving time

Anderson and Jake gutting the pumpkin

Anderson digs in

Jake takes a turn

We carved our pumpkins after dinner tonight. The boys enjoyed taking the seeds out with their giant spoons. Both of them were very apprehensive about putting their hands into the pumpkin and pulling out the seeds. After we carved the pumpkins we bundled the boys up and headed to Romeo. For those that don't know Romeo is an area with many historic homes.

There are countless streets of beautiful homes from the late 1800's, but one street in particular called Tillson Street is really decked out for Halloween. About 80 percent of the homes on that street go all out for Halloween. The spooky displays are amazing and it is so much fun to stroll through the historic neighborhood of haunted houses whilst feeling the crunchy fall leaves under your feet. It was pretty busy, there were even some local businesses selling parking spaces. We were joined by Uncle and Grant so the boys were pretty excited. Tomorrow we will be going to see Grant and Claire in their Halloween parade at school and of course doing lots of trick or treating in evening.

A dash of them, a heaping spoonful of me

Anderson saying his ABC's....Jake video coming soon.

The boys have been making great strides lately. They soak up new information and seem to learn new things constantly. Both can count to 10 and say their ABC's. They usually leave out two or three letters but I still think that is pretty darn good. The funniest is when they get stuck on a letter and will repeat q, r, s over and over until they finally remember that t comes next.

This week they have been mastering their shapes and colors. They are able to identify a circle, square, triangle, heart and star. The colors they know are red, blue and yellow. I've lost count of the words that they say but I do know that the most popular ones this week are witch, pumpkin, pirate, spider and vampire. Anderson is stringing 2-3 words together and Jake is right on his heels. Last week at the library, Anderson told two strangers he had "poo butt". It was quite embarrassing but he really did have a "poo butt" so what is one to do?

While we were at the library, we realized just how much the boys LOVE trains. They played with the library's train set for about an hour with no sign of letting up. I once tutored this really strange boy who was obsessed with Thomas the tank engine. He was a pretty freaky kid so I always kinda associated the trains with weirdness. In fact I used to tell Kevin our kids wouldn't play with trains. Well guess what is on their x-mas list? My sister will be picking them up a huge set that Costco has right now and I guess Santa will have to pick up the odds and ends.

Santa is going to be pretty busy this year. Kevin has asked for lasik surgery and I am getting braces. Kevin eyes are pretty bad, poor guy can barely see a hand in front of his face without contacts or glasses. He will be having his surgery done after the first of the year.

My present is a bit more complicated. I'm treating myself to braces for the third time in my life. I was lucky enough during my childhood to have been privy to braces twice, three retainers, and a head gear contraption. After 8 years of that nonsense the orthodontist waved the white flag and told my parents that he couldn't do anything more for my severe overbite and underdeveloped jaw. Surgery would be the only answer. So when I was 19 I consulted with a maxillofacial surgeon but chickened out. A possible complication of corrective jaw surgery is permanent nerve damage. Picture being numbed up by the dentist for the rest of your life. Didn't sound fun to me.

Five years ago I went back to the surgeon thinking it was time to have the surgery. Long story short I decided not to do it for a second time. Last week I returned to the same surgeon for the third time in 13 years. I'm surprised he agreed to see me again, I was afraid he might have had enough of me.

The typical surgery takes around 1.5 hours, he anticipates my surgery will be about 5 hours. I need a lot of work. In layman's terms I will have my upper jaw expanded and pushed back and my lower jaw will need to be brought forward and some work on my chin will be needed as well. I'm saddened to say that I need every procedure that the man does. BUT before any of that can happen I need to get braces. My braces should be on in the next 4-6 weeks and at this point the surgeon and orthodontist believe I should be ready for surgery in about 6-10 months.

I have mentioned the surgery to a couple of people in my life and have chuckled at their reactions...."what for?" I appreciate the polite gesture but come on people. It is quite obvious "what for". So I'm excited at the prospect of throwing my insecurities out the window over my buck teeth, but I'm also scared sh!tless of not waking up from surgery. I cried today when I found out in two weeks I'll only see the boys for an hour on Nov. 13th due to parent/teacher conferences. I can't stand the thought of not seeing them for one day let alone missing out on their little lives.

Please and Thank You

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Trick or Treat

Anderson, Simon and Jake

Monkey and Dragon not wanting to take pictures

Family Pic

Monkey and Dragon 2008

Bumble Bees in the same spot 2007

We took the boys to downtown Rochester this afternoon for some early trick or treating. They were so excited wear their costumes despite the near heat stroke I imposed on them. They had on so many layers they could barely move. Anderson didn't care, Jake was slightly annoyed but after all he is our hot box. Baby Simon joined us this year and although he was too little to collect the good stuff, he still looked awfully cute as a little giraffe. The boys quickly learned the routine...hold open your bag, say trick or treat and move on to the next store for more goodies.

Some new pictures

Jake Thomas

Anderson James

Creative ways to play with blocks

Jake showing off his bear slippers

Anderson toutin about in his