Maybe there is someone who reads this who can relate. My 4 year olds received a nice valentine gift of gum and candy, etc... back on Valentine's Day. I have just now begun to let them chew the gum with the promise that they would not take the gum out of their mouths. They had been doing a really good job until today. One of them got it in her hair. I only found this out when I got up from checking the e mail earlier in the day and caught her "running" with the scissors. I was more concerned about that than what she may have done with her gum or her hair. She was afraid that she would get in trouble for getting gum in her hair, so she decided to try to cut it out herself. The unfortunate thing is that I have all three of them scheduled for pictures tomorrow.
I, of course could not contain myself as I laughed at what she had done with her hair and scolded her for running with the scissors.
I tried to see if I could hide the dent she made in her hair, but after combing and styling, I could not hide it satisfactorily to get us by through the pictures tomorrow.
Her pretty long locks are now cute shoulder length layers. Unfortunately for her twin sister, she had to get the same hairstyle due to wanting them to look alike in their pictures.
Like my mom said, it is probably time for a good trim anyway. Well, they got one.
Friday, June 29, 2007
Monday, June 25, 2007
The end of procrastination
Well, the procrastination has ended on my yard work. I finally got out there and did something. Granted, a very little something, but it is a step in the right direction.
My mom has the greenest thumb in the world. I think she inherited hers from her mom. I think that is one gene that I did NOT get.
When we moved into our house 5 years ago, I inherited a beautiful mature garden. Nice, I thought, boy was I wrong. It was beautiful in May when we bought the house. I assumed that it would be beautiful in August, October, and also in January. Ha, was I wrong!! There was a lot of work involved. I found out later that the previous owner pretty much spent her life outside in her garden (with all the work, you would think she would take the time to put down a weed barrier). Unfortulately this "garden" became an unmanageable jungle to me. I could not control it. Just looking at this thing would make me turn in anguish and run away.
I have spend the past 5 years (with the help of the new -- 2 1/2 years-- neighbors) getting it where I want it (though we have a LOOONNNNGGGG time until it is right).
I have always had dreams of a few small gardens on the property with maybe a nice flowering bush or tree centering them and maybe some lillies, or other pretty perennials and some annuals bordering them.
Well, I got lillies all right. I have lillies up to the wazzu and beyond. Hosta? I have lots of that too. which has come in handy. That makes a nice border plant. I used to love roses, I HATE them, now. They are everywhere. I am constantly cutting them, clipping them, growling at them, and catching myself on them. I pick up pieces of them everywhere while picking up dead plants and weeds. She put them in the craziest places.
Today, half of the garden has been rototilled under (courtesy of my neighbor). I raked it on Saturday (though it will have to be raked smooth again) to prepare it for grass. I am going to put grass on half of my garden. I will then have only half of it to work on, so it will be less overwhelming. I can design, play, etc... with what is left.
On Sunday, I took some of the hostas that lined the path and put them in a circular spot where we had a tree removed last year. I plan on lining that with the hostas and putting a nice decorative bush or flowering tree in the middle. Then I went to the remaining garden and pulled out some of the larger weeds that were cozying up to the Air conditioning unit. I want to get the maximum use out of the A/C that I can get using the least amount of energy. I had a dead bush back there, so I removed that and now ther is a big hole. In doing so, I uncovered a couple of things that I did not know that I had.
I am excited about it now. I can actually get the grass seed and small tree and work on that other half of garden. I have had a couple of neighbors offer to come and help me pull, divide, and trim my plants. I will probably take them up on their offer.
I love my neighborhood.
My mom has the greenest thumb in the world. I think she inherited hers from her mom. I think that is one gene that I did NOT get.
When we moved into our house 5 years ago, I inherited a beautiful mature garden. Nice, I thought, boy was I wrong. It was beautiful in May when we bought the house. I assumed that it would be beautiful in August, October, and also in January. Ha, was I wrong!! There was a lot of work involved. I found out later that the previous owner pretty much spent her life outside in her garden (with all the work, you would think she would take the time to put down a weed barrier). Unfortulately this "garden" became an unmanageable jungle to me. I could not control it. Just looking at this thing would make me turn in anguish and run away.
I have spend the past 5 years (with the help of the new -- 2 1/2 years-- neighbors) getting it where I want it (though we have a LOOONNNNGGGG time until it is right).
I have always had dreams of a few small gardens on the property with maybe a nice flowering bush or tree centering them and maybe some lillies, or other pretty perennials and some annuals bordering them.
Well, I got lillies all right. I have lillies up to the wazzu and beyond. Hosta? I have lots of that too. which has come in handy. That makes a nice border plant. I used to love roses, I HATE them, now. They are everywhere. I am constantly cutting them, clipping them, growling at them, and catching myself on them. I pick up pieces of them everywhere while picking up dead plants and weeds. She put them in the craziest places.
Today, half of the garden has been rototilled under (courtesy of my neighbor). I raked it on Saturday (though it will have to be raked smooth again) to prepare it for grass. I am going to put grass on half of my garden. I will then have only half of it to work on, so it will be less overwhelming. I can design, play, etc... with what is left.
On Sunday, I took some of the hostas that lined the path and put them in a circular spot where we had a tree removed last year. I plan on lining that with the hostas and putting a nice decorative bush or flowering tree in the middle. Then I went to the remaining garden and pulled out some of the larger weeds that were cozying up to the Air conditioning unit. I want to get the maximum use out of the A/C that I can get using the least amount of energy. I had a dead bush back there, so I removed that and now ther is a big hole. In doing so, I uncovered a couple of things that I did not know that I had.
I am excited about it now. I can actually get the grass seed and small tree and work on that other half of garden. I have had a couple of neighbors offer to come and help me pull, divide, and trim my plants. I will probably take them up on their offer.
I love my neighborhood.
Friday, June 22, 2007
Heidi's Ten driving instructions for the road.
Here is just an example of some ideas for driving instructions. I am not saying that anything is written in stone or anything, they are just ideas.
1. Thou shalt always use your turn signal.
2. Thou shalt not smoke where I can smell it.
3. Thou shalt not drink and drive.
4. Thou shalt not slam on your brakes in front of others.
5. Thou shalt be courteous at all times (yeah right).
6. Thou shalt not use obscene hand gestures.
7. Thou shalt always smile at others when you pass them (yeah right).
8. Thou shalt always be patient with Grandma/Grandpa drivers as one day you will drive like
them.
9. Thou shalt not tailgate.
10. Thou shalt follow merging signs in construction zones immediately so others do not have to
wait for you.
1. Thou shalt always use your turn signal.
2. Thou shalt not smoke where I can smell it.
3. Thou shalt not drink and drive.
4. Thou shalt not slam on your brakes in front of others.
5. Thou shalt be courteous at all times (yeah right).
6. Thou shalt not use obscene hand gestures.
7. Thou shalt always smile at others when you pass them (yeah right).
8. Thou shalt always be patient with Grandma/Grandpa drivers as one day you will drive like
them.
9. Thou shalt not tailgate.
10. Thou shalt follow merging signs in construction zones immediately so others do not have to
wait for you.
Illinois drivers
I seem to never have experiences on the road like my friend Ann-Marie see www.lefthandedrabbit.blogspot.com . This comes in light of the Vatican (since I am not Catholic, it holds no meaning for me) issuing the "Ten Commandments" for driving.
This is kind of a venting post. I am not meaning to sound like a mean monster, but there are a few things that really annoy me. Maybe these things happen all over the place, but I have seen them the most here in Illinois.
My experiences today entail annoying people who brake in front of you in parking lots and tailgaters (and an occasional non turn signal user). I have several pet peeves, but tailgating and not using the turn signal are my biggest ones. HELLO people, cars (US and foreign made, so there is no excuse for those of you who drive foreign models) are made with turn signals for a reason. Do you think drivers know how to use them? NOoooo, instead they cut you off in traffic then either stop in front of you or go at a snails pace, granted in Chicago you have to or you do not get in the lane you want, but come on, people, do you have to cut people off without using the blinker everywhere you go? Also, people put on their brakes in front of you and you have to put on yours and you have no idea why until they turn.
Something that happened to me today was I went to a McDonalds and the person in front of me apparently wanted a certain parking space and decided at the last minute and stopped in front of me. I had to slam on my brakes and my poor kids were thrown forward. In cases likes these I am thankful for seat belts.
Another incident I was at a stop light at an intersection on one of our towns busiest streets and another one that is fairly busy. I had my turn signal ON and was waiting for oncoming traffic and there was a lady behind me. I did not turn fast enough so she huffily went around me and made a dirty face at me. At least I used my turn signal!!
On to tailgating. One of our main streets is under construction, so I was going slow because you are supposed to in construction zones, duh!!! There was this lady following me so close that if I would have slammed on the brakes, she would have backended me. Thankfuly, it would have been her fault, but still. ANNOYING!! I tapped my brakes to give her the idea to back off and she did not give an inch.
One more thing. I also hate it when people cannot read construction signs that say things like "right lane closed 1 mile". Why do you think there are traffic tie ups at construction zones? It is because of those people who don't merge at the first sign (or maybe even the second), but wait until the lane is ending right in front of them and they have no choice. They cannot wait in traffic like the rest of us. They must get in front of one more car because it just might make them have to wait a few seconds longer. Road construction is annoying for all of us, so just suck it up people and wait in line like the rest of us who follow the instructions.
I don't mean to sound like I am a saint on the road, and I am sure that my driving bugs others sometimes (like my mom and my Grandma), but I do try most of the time to be courteous and follow the rules that I would hope others would follow.
This is kind of a venting post. I am not meaning to sound like a mean monster, but there are a few things that really annoy me. Maybe these things happen all over the place, but I have seen them the most here in Illinois.
My experiences today entail annoying people who brake in front of you in parking lots and tailgaters (and an occasional non turn signal user). I have several pet peeves, but tailgating and not using the turn signal are my biggest ones. HELLO people, cars (US and foreign made, so there is no excuse for those of you who drive foreign models) are made with turn signals for a reason. Do you think drivers know how to use them? NOoooo, instead they cut you off in traffic then either stop in front of you or go at a snails pace, granted in Chicago you have to or you do not get in the lane you want, but come on, people, do you have to cut people off without using the blinker everywhere you go? Also, people put on their brakes in front of you and you have to put on yours and you have no idea why until they turn.
Something that happened to me today was I went to a McDonalds and the person in front of me apparently wanted a certain parking space and decided at the last minute and stopped in front of me. I had to slam on my brakes and my poor kids were thrown forward. In cases likes these I am thankful for seat belts.
Another incident I was at a stop light at an intersection on one of our towns busiest streets and another one that is fairly busy. I had my turn signal ON and was waiting for oncoming traffic and there was a lady behind me. I did not turn fast enough so she huffily went around me and made a dirty face at me. At least I used my turn signal!!
On to tailgating. One of our main streets is under construction, so I was going slow because you are supposed to in construction zones, duh!!! There was this lady following me so close that if I would have slammed on the brakes, she would have backended me. Thankfuly, it would have been her fault, but still. ANNOYING!! I tapped my brakes to give her the idea to back off and she did not give an inch.
One more thing. I also hate it when people cannot read construction signs that say things like "right lane closed 1 mile". Why do you think there are traffic tie ups at construction zones? It is because of those people who don't merge at the first sign (or maybe even the second), but wait until the lane is ending right in front of them and they have no choice. They cannot wait in traffic like the rest of us. They must get in front of one more car because it just might make them have to wait a few seconds longer. Road construction is annoying for all of us, so just suck it up people and wait in line like the rest of us who follow the instructions.
I don't mean to sound like I am a saint on the road, and I am sure that my driving bugs others sometimes (like my mom and my Grandma), but I do try most of the time to be courteous and follow the rules that I would hope others would follow.
Wednesday, June 20, 2007
Forgetfulness
How annoying is this? I had it on my mind to get dish cloths because it had been years since I had replaced my old ones. I threw my last old one into the dirty pile, where it will probably end up in the trash before it gets washed, so I did not have any to use with the expectation and great anticipation on going out to get some fresh new ones. My whole family went to Wal-mart (the dreaded place) for some much needed pieces of clothing and of course the dish cloths. I could have got them at Target, but there were some other stuff that I could not get there, like ground beef. Back to the subject at hand. I had a small cart load of stuff and what did I forget, the baby formula, (thank goodness, no), ground beef, no; undergarments, no; I even added insect repellent to the cart, but did I get the dish cloths? sadly, no.
I had to run out today with all 3 children to get the dish cloths because I need them badly so I can continue to clean the table and counters with them.
I had to run out today with all 3 children to get the dish cloths because I need them badly so I can continue to clean the table and counters with them.
Pirates
Need I say more? I don't go to the theatres very often, but when I do, it better be good. I am not one of those people who go every week (not that I have a problem with that), so the movie better be worth my time. There are not many occasions that get me all excited about movie theatres, but this past weekend, my husband took me to see Pirates of the Caribbean -- At World's End. That is one that I will recommend for kids older than 13 of course and adults alike. There is nothing like the Swashbuckling skills and thrills of Johnny Depp (aka CAPTAIN Jack Sparrow) and Orlando Bloom (aka William Turner) on the big screen. Not to mention the turns and twists of this latest version fr0m Walt Disney Pictures. The excitement was trying to figure out who was on who's side and when exactly the plot changed. It definitely was not a movie that led to boredom. This time even Keira Knightly (aka Elizabeth Swann) got in on the Swashbuckling action. Definitely worth seeing.
Wednesday, June 13, 2007
air show
My husband and I used to go to the air shows in our home towns. Our dads would drag us there every year to see the planes (bonus when the Blue Angels or Thunderbirds were in town). Actually, I have always enjoyed going. The stunts were always amazing.
Last year, the Thunderbirds came to the show. We saw parts of their performance from our house and my kids seemed to really like them, but being only 3, we were not sure if they would want to see them up close since the planes are so loud.
This year, the Blue Angels came to town and we thought about taking them this year, but again were not sure how they would react. We ended up getting free tickets (including parking) and went on the first day (however, the Blue Angels were not scheduled to perform). Then we had this awful rain storm, so the place was wet and muddy, so anyone who went the first night could come back on one of the next two days of their choice. Bonus: We had free tickets and free parking and our other family members also were able to get free tickets so we could all go together on the Sunday afternoon of the show. We were able to see the Blue Angels perform anyway. The kids loved it (except for the baby). The baby did okay until the one plane came from behind and surprised us all.
I think the kids (as well as the parents) will want to go back next year.
Last year, the Thunderbirds came to the show. We saw parts of their performance from our house and my kids seemed to really like them, but being only 3, we were not sure if they would want to see them up close since the planes are so loud.
This year, the Blue Angels came to town and we thought about taking them this year, but again were not sure how they would react. We ended up getting free tickets (including parking) and went on the first day (however, the Blue Angels were not scheduled to perform). Then we had this awful rain storm, so the place was wet and muddy, so anyone who went the first night could come back on one of the next two days of their choice. Bonus: We had free tickets and free parking and our other family members also were able to get free tickets so we could all go together on the Sunday afternoon of the show. We were able to see the Blue Angels perform anyway. The kids loved it (except for the baby). The baby did okay until the one plane came from behind and surprised us all.
I think the kids (as well as the parents) will want to go back next year.
Kids grow up
Wow. It has been a while since I have posted. The month of June is just so busy for me. I have two anniversaries including my own, 4 birthdays, and one Father's day (for three fathers), so it can be a bit rough at times.
Every day I look at my kids and cannot believe that they are 4 today. It seems like just yesterday I was making that trek from my hospital room to the NICU to see one of my newborn little ones, then back to the infant nursery to see the other little one. It is so amazing to see them every day and is hard to believe that they were so tiny. As I reflect on this day, I am going to share the experience of their first days.
For those readers who don't know, I have a set of twins who turned 4 today. Actually in about two hours it will be official. They were my first kids, so you can imagine the shock and fear that went through my head the day I found out that there were two babies instead of one. Actually, I laughed because my dad was joking with me about it the night before.
A few months later, I was sent to the hospital for an induction. Two long horrible days later, I ended up with a c-section, not fun. Anyway, one of the little cuties ended up in the NICU for 6 days (granted that stay was short compared to many kiddos stays in that wonderful place). At the time I thought it was the worst thing, but looking back, it was the best thing for her. She got better care there than I could ever have given her. I thank the Lord for those wonderful, caring nurses. It definitely takes a special person to be able to care for the very small and fragile babies.
The identical set of twins had what is called twin-twin transfusion which is a situation (only found in identical twins) where one twin takes the nourshment from the other one. It causes one to have too much iron and the other to not have enough. Sometimes it can end up with blood transfusions and blood infusions (as in the case of mine).There was almost a pound difference in their weights and the older one was much paler than the younger one.
For 5 days, I made the painful trek between the two nurseries. I do think that is what helped my body heal from the surgery faster as I had to exercise. I did not have a choice. I had to see my babies (both of them). On the morning of the 5th day, they released me. I had to go home with empty arms. Neither baby was allowed to go home. It was one of the most heart breaking things I have ever done. However, it allowed me to prepare mentally and physically for the care of two newborns before they actually came home. The majority of mothers do not have two newborns to care for at once.
Finally on the morning of the 7th day (after taking a CPR class) they let us bring both of the babies home. That was a scary, yet wonderful day. So we brought them home, apnea monitors and all.
The day they went "cordless" was a wonderful thing.
Now, 4 years later, they are growing like weeds, and sometimes I wonder where my babies have gone. It is exciting to see how they grow and develop each day. It is exciting to see where their little minds take them. It will be awesome to see where the Lord leads their little lives in this next year.
Every day I look at my kids and cannot believe that they are 4 today. It seems like just yesterday I was making that trek from my hospital room to the NICU to see one of my newborn little ones, then back to the infant nursery to see the other little one. It is so amazing to see them every day and is hard to believe that they were so tiny. As I reflect on this day, I am going to share the experience of their first days.
For those readers who don't know, I have a set of twins who turned 4 today. Actually in about two hours it will be official. They were my first kids, so you can imagine the shock and fear that went through my head the day I found out that there were two babies instead of one. Actually, I laughed because my dad was joking with me about it the night before.
A few months later, I was sent to the hospital for an induction. Two long horrible days later, I ended up with a c-section, not fun. Anyway, one of the little cuties ended up in the NICU for 6 days (granted that stay was short compared to many kiddos stays in that wonderful place). At the time I thought it was the worst thing, but looking back, it was the best thing for her. She got better care there than I could ever have given her. I thank the Lord for those wonderful, caring nurses. It definitely takes a special person to be able to care for the very small and fragile babies.
The identical set of twins had what is called twin-twin transfusion which is a situation (only found in identical twins) where one twin takes the nourshment from the other one. It causes one to have too much iron and the other to not have enough. Sometimes it can end up with blood transfusions and blood infusions (as in the case of mine).There was almost a pound difference in their weights and the older one was much paler than the younger one.
For 5 days, I made the painful trek between the two nurseries. I do think that is what helped my body heal from the surgery faster as I had to exercise. I did not have a choice. I had to see my babies (both of them). On the morning of the 5th day, they released me. I had to go home with empty arms. Neither baby was allowed to go home. It was one of the most heart breaking things I have ever done. However, it allowed me to prepare mentally and physically for the care of two newborns before they actually came home. The majority of mothers do not have two newborns to care for at once.
Finally on the morning of the 7th day (after taking a CPR class) they let us bring both of the babies home. That was a scary, yet wonderful day. So we brought them home, apnea monitors and all.
The day they went "cordless" was a wonderful thing.
Now, 4 years later, they are growing like weeds, and sometimes I wonder where my babies have gone. It is exciting to see how they grow and develop each day. It is exciting to see where their little minds take them. It will be awesome to see where the Lord leads their little lives in this next year.
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