Times Are Changing

Ok well, maybe times aren't, but my mind is. About life, career, home. . . you know, everything. (This is, by the way, Nathan, doing my annual post). We were supposed to move to Portland next month, but warning sign after warning sign kept popping up to make us reevaluate our decision. And so we did. Several times. But we kept coming up with the same thing. . . keep doing what you're doing.

Then last week happened.

Wait, you know what? It's a boring story, no matter how I try to tell it so let's just do this.

I'm going to do this:

To change this:

So people don't end up like this:

Well,  it's not actually that simple. Or that boring. I'm going back to school to get a Master's in Marriage and Family Therapy. After praying and going to the temple, two impressions came to me: 1) The most important work I could ever do is to heal/save/strengthen families and 2) I'm better at that than anything else I'm good at, or like doing.

So I'm going to incorporate everything I know into my own approach to therapy. It's going to be something like "Health, Relationship, and Behavioral Therapy." I'm going to use personality types and Sex Types* (TM and ©, suckers!) to heal relationships and body symbolism/diet/natural/holistic stuff to heal bodies and minds.

Ok I lied. Still boring. But only for now! Once my (best super duper ever) friend Ben and I finish our book and I start counseling with it, you are all going to say, "Whoa, hey that stuff that was boring three years ago is not so boring now!" And I will be there, laughing and yelling, "I told you so." And then I'll help you heal from the humiliation and guilt. For a hefty fee.

I can't wait.

Our Instagram August

I really love Instagram. The filters are great and sharing photos with friends is incredibly fun. Additionally, it's nice to have a little photographic journal of your days.

Here are some pictures to help us remember August 2012:

Baby faux-hawks

This is how we run errands

My children will be future superheroes. Yard sale success!

Breakfast with her loyal steed.

"I broke it because it was blue...and ugly."

Brothers

Hydra-Baby!

Ezra, the toy thief!

Just a Friendly Reminder

The past few days have been difficult.

I woke up on Monday with a sore throat that has not gone away. I have been coughing, sneezing, and feeling sick to my stomach all week long. Basically, I have been no fun to be around. When I woke up this morning, I was convinced I had strep throat. Unfortunately, for many parents, there are no days off. Although Nathan does work from home in the mornings, he cannot tend to three children while he teaches students. Fortunately, work was incredibly (and strangely) slow this morning, so I had plenty of assistance with feeding the babies, changing diapers, and entertaining Eliza.

After a few days of trying to entertain Eliza at home, I decided I would gather the energy to take her out to the library. As soon as the babies were down for their nap, we hurried out on our date. Eliza loves the library and choosing books to read, so I knew she would have a great time. We left with an armful of books and noticed the local thrift store, which is conveniently located next door the library, was opened. I love looking for old books, so we went straight to the children's literature section.

I scanned through the various book titles, and my heart skipped in excitement when I read a single word: "Frederick." I immediately pulled the book off the shelf and nearly clapped my hands when I saw it was the book I had in mind. It was a childhood favorite and in perfect condition.

Feeling victorious, I continued to scan every book title, searching for another treasure. Four books later, I found the winner of all winners. In fact, I told Cheryl only yesterday that I needed this book for Eliza: 

Chrysanthemum. 

I cannot put into words how much I adored this book as a little girl. I haven't seen the pages in about 15 years, but I remembered every single one of them. Coincidentally enough, I had actually considered buying this book on Amazon last night because I wanted it so badly. Ten dollars was much too much for our budget, though. I paid ten cents for it today.

The connection between these books I found at the little store was incredibly meaningful to me. These are two books my grandmother introduced me to. She worked for the school system in North Carolina and was a connoisseur of children's literature. She would go to literary conventions and come back with autographed books for my siblings and me. It was heaven for a little girl who loved to read.

When I went to her house, she would always have a new book waiting. However, she knew my favorites were Chrysanthemum, Frederick (the Mouse,we called it), Ferdinand the Bull, and Thomas's Snowsuit (which I did buy last night on Amazon for $2.00!). To unexpectedly find two of my favorite books (after searching at many yard sales and many used book stores) felt ridiculously amazing. I couldn't stop smiling, and I had the emotional boost I needed to get through the rest of the day.

If my grandmother were still alive, I would have called her to tell her about this seemingly petty news; it wouldn't mean that much to anyone other than her. What could be a seen as a coincidence, though, was a much needed reminder that we are surrounded by positivity daily and remain close to loved ones we have lost--even if it simply through our memories. For five minutes today, as I looked read through these books inside of the thrift store, I felt like I was 8 years old again in my grandmother's bed.

And when I read the stories to Eliza tonight, I knew my grandmother would be proud of me. I also knew she was close by. 

I can't say it was a bad day at all.

Babies. Beets. Battlestar Galactica.

Beets were a definite success. Ezra and Elliott couldn't stop smiling as they ate this afternoon.

I found it strange that they enjoyed beets so much...and even stranger that they refused peaches and pears as a follow up meal. No dessert for these babies.

More beets, please!!

Definitely an Extrovert

Today has been a little too quiet.

For the past month, we have had a constant stream of guests come in and out of our house. First, my niece and nephew, MaKenna and Miles, came from Portland to stay for a few days. Their visit was followed by the arrival of the entire Robbins family. 28 people, 15 being children (including 4 babies), stayed under one roof for five days.

And just this past week, Hayden and Ellie, another niece and nephew, visited for several days. After they left yesterday afternoon, the house felt strangely empty. Eliza loves playing with her cousins, so she has been in heaven this month. Now, she is back to being the oldest child in the house and definitely missing her playmates.

I'm amazed at how sociable and extroverted our daughter is. She comes to life when she is around other children and cannot wait to be part of the fun. She laughs louder, runs around with a constant smile on her face, and even tells jokes. She loves watching her big cousins, and I hear her picking up new words and phrases like, "Totally" and "I'm gonna freak out!" (wasn't too happy about that one!)

I love that she is our performer. She wants to be the life of the party and around as much energy as possible. If I want a happy little girl on our hands, I need to schedule as many play dates as possible. She was in a horrible mood this morning until our friends, Natalie and her two sons, came over to jump on the trampoline. It changed the entire feeling of the day. Eliza had a playmate again and was happy. I guess Nathan and I aren't cool enough to entertain her these days; she knows all of our best tricks!

Eliza's extroversion means I cannot be a slacker when it comes to making friends in Portland. I am going to have to step it up and start planning play dates with moms in the neighborhood.

I'm an extrovert, too, so why does the idea of making new friends seem so daunting? Maybe because making friends as an adult is a million times harder than making friends as a child.

(Thanks for the great photos, Brittany!)

Conversations Like This Happen

A couple of weeks ago, Nathan and I went to the grocery store in order to load up on various baby essentials. We purchased the usual: wipes, fruits and vegetables to make baby food, jars of premade baby food, bibs, and baby powder. As we went to check out, I noticed the cashier taking in all of the baby paraphernalia. She jokingly said, "Do you have a baby?"

 The following conversation then occurred:

Me: "We actually have two babies. Twins. It's pretty awesome."
Cashier: "Oh twins? Really? That's cool. Are they boys or girls?"
Me: "Identical boys."
Cashier: "Oh neat."
Me: "Yep. It's pretty great."

----- 5 minutes pass as the cashier continues to scan all of our items-----

She then very casually states, "So...I'm a twin."
Me (laughingly): "Really!? Wow. That is so cool. Why didn't you say so sooner!?"
Cashier: "I don't know. I guess I don't really think about it much."
Me: "Oh."
Cashier: "Yeah. My brother and I are identical twins, too."

----IDENTICAL TWINS HAVE TO BE THE SAME GENDER----

Me (somewhat awkwardly): "Oh. That's really cool."
Cashier: "Yeah. We look so much alike. We love all the same things and used to do everything together."
Me: "That's so awesome. Maybe you'll have twins one day! You actually have a higher chance of having them then most people."
Cashier: "Oh no. That'd be awful....and I'm pretty sure that if you are a twin that there is no chance you can have twins. Twins don't really run in families."
Me: "Actually, they do. I know a few women who have a twin sibling that have twins themselves. With fraternal twins, there is a higher probability because releasing more than one egg is genetic. Identical twins are a random thing, but my husband's great grandmother, grandmother and aunt also have identical twins, so who knows really? Maybe some identical twins are genetic, too."
Cashier: "I really hope not. That'd be so horrible."
Me (wishing I could leave): "Yeah. I guess it isn't for everyone, but we really love having twins."
Cashier: "Yeah. Glad someone enjoys them. I bet you're so glad you didn't have triplets."

Conversation ends.

We finally get to leave.

So yes. Conversations like this do happen.

Rub A Dub Dub

Bathing two 8 month old babies at the same time is tricky business. For the past few months, bath time has either been a two person job or occurred in shifts. With Nathan returning to school in a few weeks, I really wanted to find a way for me to bathe both babies at the same time without any help. I tried putting one baby in a mesh baby bath and the other in a typical, plastic baby bath, but I didn't feel like it was safe with two squirming little ones. Ezra and Elliott did their best to roll out of the baths and wanted to sit up, rather than recline.

Then, one of my amazing twin mom friends posted a picture of her two sons in these bath seats. Genius! 

I went to Amazon to check the pricing and noticed there were none in stock. In fact, the seats are no longer sold in most stores. I was pretty disappointed. 

A few weeks later, Nathan and I went to Seattle. While there, we went to a garage sale where I found one of the Safety First seats for only $1.00. It was a steal! Bath time became easier with one baby sitting in the chair, but I felt bad for the other boy who had to watch his brother play and splash while he was held in the water. I needed another one.

I checked Craigslist and called consignment stores, but found nothing. And then last week, when I had almost given up, my sister-in-law went to a children's store and found a second bath seat. It felt like Christmas. I really was that excited.

Ezra and Elliott love the bath chairs. They enjoy sitting up and happily splash around in the tub. I can bathe them alone and enjoy watching them play, rather than feeling stressed out. 

It is apparent that I am no longer fun to play with during bath time. Water is much more exciting.