Radians?

I should be uploading pictures and finishing up my birthday post which I have yet to start (I'm a big slacker!) but instead I'll post this question:

Does anyone have a Radian? Sunshine Kids Radian 80 SL is the car seat I'm still contemplating. It's slender and slim and hopefully will allow my husband to stop using his knees to signal!

The girls had the one year check up and looked marvelous! Claire is 18lbs 8oz. and Emma is 18lbs 5oz. which gives me a few pounds to ponder car seats! My dear Subie, why must you make this such an endeavor? I still had serious shot-guilt and hated them having to get shots, and having to get shots because the government tells me to and all the crazy jazz I drag out. Earth mama doesn't like being told what to do! Earth mama don't trust big brotha! Ok, enough silliness, it's all for the best. Emma is a full inch taller than Claire which is becoming more apparent with them standing all the time. They are both on target developmentally and we received the all clear for big milk switch over! Goodbye $30 formula, hello COW! Seriously, I think it would be much cheaper to get a cow. It looks like we're going to be going through a gallon a day. Not to divert on to some rant, but this Mama would love some free government milk! $3.43 x 30 days = $102.90/month on milk alone! That is more than a third of my pre-babies shopping budget! Speaking of shopping budgets, what do you allot yourselves? They might be small and cute but WOW do they eat a lot. My Sam.s Cl.ub membership is certainly worth it now. I totally see us doing the monthly big shopping trip in the next few months. I am hopefully all this canning will help too! More canning this Sunday and I am excited. Peaches and green beans, 9 cases worth, what could be better! Oh, maybe my kids actually eating green beans without all the drama!!!!

Hope you all are having a wonderful weekend!

This is what we're recovering from! Birthday post coming soon!

Belly Video

I am trying to upload videos from my phone. Lets see if this works! This was a month into bedrest and two months before they were born.

Belly Video

I am trying to upload videos from my phone. Lets see if this works! This was a month into bedrest and two months before they were born.

Big Day

Tomorrow is the big day.

I've spent ALL DAY preparing.

It's going to be ridiculously hot.

I'm sick.

And whiny.

And freshly shaven!

I must really love these girls!

New Car Seats

So with this folded piece of paper that holds my mother's credit card number I feverishly search the internet for a great shipping deal. This would have been my dream in high school! Who gives their kid their credit card number-ever? I would like to take a moment and thank my mother for teaching me this invaluable lesson..."Thanks Mom!"

As thrilling as this is, I am only shopping for car seats. After settling on a nice convertible, hold-them-till-they-graduate seat I decided to look up some reviews. Crap. Why couldn't I just purchase the first ones I saw? Reviews. They kill me. After filtering out all the tard that can't read installation instructions, those who just found out kids make messes, and those who know EVERYTHING-EVER, I discovered that the seat is large. Duh, it's suppose to hold a small cow. This of course lead to more searching and prodding.

The internet told me to charge a mini-van to my mom's credit card! NO LIE!

Well, perhaps that is what I interpreted from all the blahblahblah nothing fits in my family friendly forester. I love my car. I love my kids. I don't love my kids in my car. They take up too much room. I could fit two 400lb men in the amount of room their current seats take up. The middle seat is useless anymore, it currently collects che.erios and spilled milk. Why didn't I want leather seats that wipe clean again? I certainly don't have to worry about my legs sticking to the seats because MOM's don't wear shorts that short!! My mini-van shall have leather(they make wipes for that!).

Seriously, I hate mini-van. Su.baru's hate car seats. I love Su.baru's. Mini-van's love car seats. Why do I always lose? I mean I would love a sliding door, and all the room, and I would love to have a swagger wagon of my own but I'm not ready to be a soccer mom! Do the children really need to be rear-facing till third grade? Can't I just buy a bubble for the car to protect it from accidents?

Currently we are uncomfortable in the parent land known as the front seat. We've gotten accustomed to the limited space. It makes for horrible sleeping during car rides for me, and more DH is over 6 foot and his knees hit the dash. If we did get in to a car accident I'm sure he'll come out of it under 6 foot as his femurs will shatter but those little angels will sleep though the ordeal in the crazy, super padded, shock absorbing seats! My mother told me that I faced forward from day one, and she didn't bother with boosters although someone did buy her one. So apparently from the age of 2 I just sat on the seat! They probably didn't even bother with seat belts. Ahh the good old days!

So where do you draw the line? When do you just say this is good enough? I've discovered that there are roughly 3 main makers who distribute the same shells with different covers and padding under different brands. All the seats sold meet or exceed the safety standards. Do I just face the forward and hope for the best (and enjoy my leg room and naps again)? Larger seats are not an option as DH would not be able to ride in the car anymore. He now can only drive as riding shotgun has his shins against the dash. I wish I had $600 to drop on Bri.tax or Sunshine seats but even they seem to run larger than my car will comfortably handle. I suppose I could spend that much, she told me to get whatever and not to worry about money! HA! She even wanted to buy me shoes today and I said no! What is happening to me?

I can't put a seat in the center since my car really doesn't have a center back seat, it's a rear center console parading around as seat. So what do I do?? Does anyone else have a For.ester or shallow car seats to recommend?

And again, Thanks Mom! Car seats and clothes, what else could a toddler want?

Birthday Train Ride

How else would a train-o-phobic MOM celebrate her little darlings first year on earth? I even managed to smile! Yes, it is an irrational fear of trains I have and I couldn't tell you how or why, but I sucked it up for the ladies. This was just an old steam engine, not the crazy fast, country jumping European trains that scare the bejesus out of me! I had to be sedated for those.

I'm sure this was more for us that it was for the girls, but it was (we decided) the beginning of a tradition. Since the girls' birthday falls during the summer when school is out and everyone is home, we plan to take a trip to celebrate. I would much rather give them experiences and memories over a toy they'll use for 3 months. I figure once they hit 3 or 4 they can start deciding where they want to go. I'm sure I won't be this excited when they are at odds over where to go and what to do and I'll loathe traveling with disgruntled teens but for now it's something to look forward to. So this year we started our tradition with Strausburg Railroad. Trains are a big thing in DH's family. They ride trains, they collect them, I have train sets in my attic. I loathe trains. But I learned that not all trains are faster than time and meandering through Amish country can be relaxing.

The girls were so well behaved. They seem to enjoy the train, and looking out the window. They discovered they could stick their hands out and feel the breeze. I felt a little like a slut with my v-neck shirt being pulled on and down in the sea of religious people. For part of our trip I do believe my bra was hanging out and DH didn't bother to tell me, thanks for that lover! Seriously, what is with the kiddies and tatas? You're lease is up, move on!

Then we got back to the station and planned on having lunch. We initially planned to stop at the picnic grove to eat and catch the next train back but I'm kinda glad we forgot our lunch because the rain came rolling through. We did eat outside beneath a tree. We definitely need to work on feeding the children outside of the home and out of high chairs. They had their first cheddar flavored, baked, fish shaped cracker today. I think I am going to make an effort to not name things by brand or get them used to packages. Emma already freaks over the bananas in the grocery store, I couldn't image them kirking out in every aisle over packages of food.

We browsed through the stores when the rain picked up then made our way back to the car. The stroller was left at home which gave me ample room to crawl in the back and feed the girls their muck and pears. The rain on the way home put a damper on my Amish gazing and my lack of physical cash ruined my chances for produce stand hopping! Overall it was an amazingly relaxing day.

We survived the first year! Now on to the first party-whomp whomp.

This is the GIRL coal girl/engineer/something neat that the guy sitting across from us was quick to point out and laugh! DH quickly stopped my mouth but I did manage to blurt out something I'm sure he paid no attention to. So I had to get a picture of her. Maybe I'll frame it and be artsy!

Emma and I, I love her little smirk!

Claire and I, right after she realized we could hang out the window. She was staring at a farm, in the rain, how thrilling!

Disclaimer: Please disregard the baby boobs. My children have no modesty!

The Old Way

Life has gotten much easier, and when I stumbled across the schedule in a old notebook I was reminded of that. Cue the sappy music and tears, my babies are growing up!

All ME! Long Overdue

So I was browsing around my posts and found this draft that I had saved ages ago! By draft I mean a bunch of pictures that had no real rhyme or reason-WTF? It was something Marcia(if I remember correctly) tagged me to do. Better late than never right?

I have no clue what I was suppose to do, I seem to remember needing to post pictures of myself and tell 5 things about myself. Well out the window with that. My life is boring, hence it took me months to find pictures of myself! So here I am blog world, please be kind in your comments! Sorry they're all out of order.

This was probably 2005-ish? Definitely a late night on the beach for us. I remember shivering and I was wearing his coat. Such a gentleman.

I can clean up well, thank you facebook for making an album of all my old profile pictures!

This is Ayden and I. If I can straddle that turtle again next week, I'll buy myself an ice cream!

This was our wedding dinner, lots of money well spent. Notice the thin frame, sun-kissed skin, and flowing locks.

Fat chick rockin' the bikini!

A quick picture DH took of Emma and I snuggling. I seem to remember she wasn't feeling well and we cuddle till we were both out. Disregard the muffin peeking out.

This past winter's snow storm I decided to take the obligatory self photo. I was hoping to catch the snow but only caught that second chin...Guess who's lost almost 15 lbs since then!!

4th of July, 2010. Claire and I posed during a break in the parade.

After a smooth day at the beach, the girls once again refused DELICIOUS pizza. We managed to avoid the thunderstorms they were calling for. I'm convinced that I can guess the weather as well as the weather-people. We even had sun and a nice breeze! Take that weather people! I did get a bit of a burn that will fade back to white in no time I'm sure. How horrible is it again to spend 15 minutes of my life baking in a bed? OH THE RELAXATION, I don't even care about the tan! A few more days of work and then I am off for the week to celebrate the girls birthday and plan this %&^$#@* party. Such a hassle, I'm such a bad mom.

To celebrate the end of the pumping era, I am going to get my hair did! Since my hair hasn't been properly 'did' for almost 2 years so I am pretty excited, embarrassed, and unsure. I'm rockin' some gorgeous SAHM hair that lives in a bun because it's scraggly mug turns small children into lawn gnomes. Thats where the best friend comes in and makes everything better. She has picked out my new hair style which I will hopefully debut this weekend! Maybe a pedi for an extra pat on the back! Hope you enjoyed your Wednesday!

All Dry on the Booby Front

Or so I hope. No pumping at all today.

I'M FREE!!!!!!

I'm also a little sad but nothing to write home about. I'm kinda upset that I didn't stick it out the entire first year, but I liken it to them not staying place the entire 40 weeks! I can't wait to start them on whole milk, buying formula is a real drag!

I definitely need to start my question list for their year check up. I have so many questions about diet and nutrition. But tomorrow is another day and this day is now over.

Sorry for the random thoughts. It's way past bed time!

Home Sick

Do you see this?? Do you see it??

I was sooooooooo excited to take this picture. It was taken in January of 2009 and I was convinced I was starting to get my "belly"! It was probably just bloated still but I was thrilled none the less! Looking back I don't even see the baby belly I was so thrilled over, and I would love to have that tummy back! Taunt, tight, ripped...all those years of sports and running. Now it looks like, well, lets not go there. I used to make fun of people who have the belly I have now. What I wouldn't give for a little nip-tuck of my own!

Chin up, I have two little excuses for my flab now. Today I stomped into patient first for my sore throat and was a bit underwhelmed to be weighted. Do they really need to know how much I way to figure out why my throat is sore? Is there some sort of correlation there that I am missing? 127.6 lbs. HOO-freakin-RAY! Somewhere I dropped 10 lbs! Suddenly my throat didn't hurt so much!!! Then the lovely nurse-y repeatedly asked me if there was any possibility if I were pregnant. Repeatedly. Gave me a chart to point out my last period. I was really hoping she'd make me pee in a cup, because if it had gone that far I would have gladly recapped the last 5 years for as I handed her my nice, warm cup of piss. Really lady, no shot there, trust me. On top of IF I have twins so any remote possibility of pregnancy after IF just died there!

Before I headed out I asked Dr. Goo.gle what was wrong with me and the good doc said tonsillitis. Throat culture said no to strep, I was diagnosed with tonsillitis, given my meds and out the door in 20 minutes. Tonsillitis is such a kid ailment. What adult misses work for tonsillitis? Do you ever remember your parents getting sick? I swear my parents were never sick, meanwhile I feel like a 5 year old and just want to cuddle with my pillow. Thank you Patient First for your efficiency!

Patient First, my doc in a box! I love it! The only thing that would be better would be a vending machine for antibiotics. I do have a good reason for not going to my gp. She sucks. No that's means, she more like a part-time doctor. She is never in the office! Fantastic! Thanks for being there! I still remember the sheer embarrassment I felt over explaining, in detail, what IVF was and why I needed it and a referral to the lovely nurses at the front desk for the entire waiting room to hear! The same ladies who told me I should go to the emergency room for a UTI. I really need to get a new doc, stat. Does anyone else have a quack doctor? I would love to have my peri or RE as my family practice doctor. I'd gladly pay their fees just to get my amoxicillin.

So tomorrow back to work, should have waited and taken tomorrow off. Then Sunday we are canning at my Aunt Bev's! This weekend we are canning 50 lbs of pickles! Sweet pickles, bread and butter, and dill. I think she is dropping garlic this year because no one ever eats them. Later we'll do applesauce, tomatoes, veggies, and some more jams. I love homemade goods, I'll have to take pictures. Hope everyone has a good weekend!

This is the reason we cut our time on the beach this morning. OHMYGOODNESS ITSHOTASHELL! This is crazy! I don't remember it being this hot ever!
Of course it is never a dry heat here on the east coast and the code red air quality warnings make me feel like I'm singeing my lungs. Did I mention we went to the beach, melted, then retreated to Lewes to peruse the shops and get some lunch? With two beautiful little girls who catch everyone's eye? Yes, yes, that was our day. I love that we can take them out, even to nicer dining establishments, without worrying over their behavior. We had lunch at a nice little seafood place, stopped in the antique shops and the toy store before heading home. The girls always attrack attention, even without the stroller, but must people ask their names and ages? I don't see why they want or need to know their names but I'll continue to soak up the comments over how well behaved they are, their blue eyes and cute smiles!
Hope everyone is cooler than me!

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Breakfast Shot

Who could resist that? I love blending things together, I never thought it would be so well loved!

Toys

A room full of toys and mats but everything out of reach is always more entertaining! I'm starting to wonder why we keep these toys. When are you suppose to clean things out and how will I know if I've gotten my money's worth or if they still like a toy I donated? I'm starting to get fet up with all the toy clutter, toys are everywhere. I know that's part of having kids but I'm afraid with their birthday party coming up that we'll be swimming in toys! I don't want to end up like one of those horders they show on tv. I'm more of a minimalist, at least I hope to be.
So when did you/are you cleaning house?