It is hard having such a gorgeous family :)

It is hard having such a gorgeous family :)

Monday, November 19, 2012

The other shoe dropped..

Since I'm fairly certain no one actually reads this I am keeping this more as a journal to remember events, celebrations, and of course bad news that can change your life. We seem to be getting a lot of bad news lately and then we got some more.  About three weeks ago Keri was told my his cardiologist that upon review of his CT scan that the radiologist found something. His lymph nodes down in his chest by his ribs was abnormal. Typically when something like this shows up it is either just a benign mass or it is cancer. This is definitely not the kind additional news you want to hear after you've already found out you have a heart condition.  Well the next struggle for him has been trying to get an appointment with the Pulmonologist so we can confirm if this is nothing to worry about or if this is cancerous. Now I'm not the type to think doom and gloom. When I hear news I automatically assume it will be fine.  My dad actually had a scare a few years ago. They thought he had lymphoma. They did a biopsy right away and it was fine. Not cancer.  Now the problem we were running into was the doctors office wasn't being too helpful in scheduling this appointment so Keri could see the Pulmonologist. They were telling him they needed HIM to send over the CT scan and the reports.  He emailed them over and they said they couldn't open the format he sent it in. It has just been super frustrating to deal with. Now two weeks after trying to make an appointment he FINALLY got one but not until Dec 4th. I don't know how you tell someone you have possible cancer but then make them wait so long to find out.  The medical world can definitely be very frustrating to deal with. In this case it seems negligent as we could be potentially dealing with something deadly. It's not the sort of thing you take two weeks on to just make an appointment. 

Now we just have to wait to find out. The waiting is the worst. Luckily we have Thanksgiving at my sisters in a few days to look forward to and of course the trip to Utah for Christmas! Although thinking of taking Buddy on a plane for six hours strikes fear into my heart. He lives to run and being coped up in a seat in a plnne thousands of feet in the air is going to be torture for him and the rest of us.  In other news, due to Keri's medical problems we will definitely be getting medically retired from the military.  I have such mixed feelings about this. I truly thought we would be in the military the full 20 years. Keri already has 8 years in. I thought we'd be back overseas in a few years hating life. (Okay not hating per say..) I truly have found an amazing place in North Carolina. It isn't so much the actual location but the people. I have found and developed some amazing friendships. Cambree has some amazing friends to include a best friend who is more like a sister. This will be very sad to walk away from. The humidity on the other hand will not. It is crazy how quick the course you thought you were walking can change. The only thing that is comforting is that no matter where we go in life I have three of the most incredible children and a fabulous husband. In the end I guess that is all that truly matters. 

Thursday, October 25, 2012

The WORST decision I've ever made...

The best thing about Buddy was definitely his killer hair. He had the most fabulous locks. Whenever we would go out he was always attracting attention. Ladies were always stopping us to comment on his hair. It was to die for. These perfectly curled locks. I would just have to bath him and let it dry and it would spring into these perfect curls. The last I bathed him his wet hair came way past his shoulders. I knew I it was time for his first hair cut but I REALLY didn't want to do it.  Like really didn't want to.  Well today after the twins doctor appointment we bravely stepped into the barber shop on Base. The lady who took us to the chair was pretty hideous. Buddy had initially been crying prior to sitting in the chair so she seemed worried about cutting his hair but once we sat down he was fine.  This lady did a HORRIBLE job. It was uneven. It was a sad mess. I was almost in tears. It was awful. I knew immediately I had made a bad decision. His delicious curls were gone possibly forever. In my grief (yes grief) I took a picture of his curls on the floor. He had so much hair and now it was gone into a bad hack job! I was hoping once I got him home and tried to style it it would be better. It wasn't. I frantically texted my friend Heidi and told her I needed her help. Luckily she told me to come right over and she fixed it. It looked so much better but I just felt sad. I know this is silly to be this upset about it but I am. He had the best hair of anyone in the family. It was so sad after we got home he was doing his signature high step where his curls bounce and there were no curls to bounce. I have been doing double takes all day at him because he doesn't look like my Buddy anymore. My sister joked that we will have to call him Austin now cause Buddy is gone. Here is to hoping his hair grows back fast and curly again someday SOON!!!                              
                                                                     Before
and after


And I thought he was faking!!!

Well life is certainly never dull. I'm happy to report Buddy is doing really good since his surgery but of course another issue has popped up.  We just found out Keri has a pretty serious heart problem. Let's start from the beginning when he started complaining of chest pains. Now granted I didn't know what to think but I wasn't thinking it was anything serious. If we are being honest Keri can be a bit dramatic at times. Well he took a few trips to the ER over the course of a month for these chest pains and finally and Keri was telling me all these things the doctors said it could be.  Of COURSE I was thinking it was probably nothing and wasn't paying too much attention to it. (I know, pretty awful.) Well they ran some tests including a "tee" which is a scope that looks at your heart and they informed him he had bicuspid aortic valve.  Boy were we ALL shocked. Here is a quick summary of what bicuspid aortic valve is according to the internet:


The aortic valve is a one-way valve between the heart and the aorta, the main artery from the heart that distributes oxygen-rich blood to the body. Normally, the aortic valve has three small flaps or leaflets that open widely and close securely to regulate blood flow, allowing blood to flow from the heart to the aorta and preventing blood from flowing backwards into the heart.

. The bicuspid aortic valve may not be completely effective at stopping blood from leaking back into the heart. This is called aortic regurgitation. The aortic valve may also become stiff and not open up as well, causing the heart to have to pump harder than usual to get blood past the valve. The heart then must pump that same blood out again, causing strain on the heart’s lower left chamber, the left ventricle. Over time, the ventricle will dilate, or over-expand. The main symptom of aortic valve regurgitation is shortness of breath during exertion, like walking up stairs.

Okay, so there are 2 scary things about him having this condition. #1- He could be fine one minute and literally have a problem and die.  An athlete that has this condition could drop dead on the court. Keri says one of his favorite wrestlers that had this was driving a car and died. So the doctor told us if Keri has any chest pains small or big.. get into the ER as soon as possible. #2- The condition is hereditary so now we have to have all of our kids checked. The doctor had heard a heart murmur in Ashley when she was little so we are mostly concerned about her. Keri's sister has to get checked as well. Luckily today we had to take the twins in for their check ups so the pediatrician put in for referrals for all the kids to get checked. How they check is they do an ultrasound basically so now I'm thinking ahead to a technician trying to do an ultrasound on Buddy. Yeah that is so NOT going to go over well. 
So the next steps for Keri now is to go to UNC to get an cardiac MRI and a cardiac cauterization to determine how severe his bicuspid aortic valve is.  If it is severe he is looking at open heart surgery immediately to replace the valve. If it is moderate he can put off the surgery for about 5 years. This also means Keri will be getting medically retired from the military. 
So that is the big news right now in our family.  The silver lining in all of this is that if one of the kids does have this as well.. it will be discovered and fixed early on. And that is truly a blessing.

Saturday, October 6, 2012

Trials of having a Buddy!

Let me start by saying I have a million pictures I need to post but that will come.  I was just sitting here amongst the chaos... you know Cambree demanding another cup AND a blanket because she is soooo cold.. Ashley standing on top of the kids picnic table talking a mile a minute in her Ashley babble... and sweet little Buddy.. who is quietly watching tv while sucking on a pacifier and clutching another one in his hands... and I thought now is the perfect time to update my blog,

My focus on this blog will mostly be Buddy. Curly, browned eyed, everybody-stops-and-comment- on-how -cute-he-is Buddy. Since the second week in July Buddy has been sick. One double ear infection after another. He has been in and out of the doctor and has had at least five double ear infections and scarlet fever (which is strep throat with a horrible "scarlet" rash) twice all since July. The worst part is we had been dealing with a pediatric doctor at Pope Health Clinic that twice told us his ear infection had cleared up and twice we had to take him into an Insta Care and ER to find out it was indeed not cleared up.  This lady kept telling us she was going to put in a referal to ENT and then never did.  It was just a mess. At Buddy's worse he was completely lethargic. He would literally lay on the bed all day not moving. For a toddler that is the most abnormal and saddest thing to watch in the world. The last ear infection he had happened to be when we were vacationing in Florida for Labor Day. Buddy was back to acting sick. Laying down with his ear to the floor to play. Not eating. Not sleeping. No energy. It was hard to watch. We took him into the Insta Care and surprise... double ear infection and strep throat.  That was our final straw.  We had just seen this pediatric doctor the day we left for Florida and she had said everything was cleared up.  Keri got on the phone and the best they could do for a referral was Oct 9th which was over a month away. The whole process was just so frustrating. We took Buddy in to a different clinic on Base and we got the doctor to help us be able to take Buddy off base somewhere since they clearly were too busy on base to worry about a 20 month old with chronic ear infections.

Yesterday we took the 50 minute drive to the city of Cary and finally saw the ENT.  It was decided in a hurry that not only did Buddy need tubes in his ears but he needed to have his adenoids out in order to help him finally start to feel better.  I was so relieved we were finally on the path to help Buddy feel like a normal person again.  We were able to schedule the surgery for Friday so we had to come up with a plan really quick.  The hospital is 50 minutes away from our house and we have to be there with Buddy at 5:45 am.  Naturally the issue would be what to do with Cams and Ashley during the surgery. The thought of having to take Buddy by myself was sad. My sister lives an hour and 40 minutes away but she had her sons birthday party that day. She offered to have us drop the kids off at her house but with all the driving it really wasn't the best solution. Luckily things came together fast and Keri's mother Dana booked her plane ticket to come out and help us.  What an amazing mother in law I have! We are so lucky she was able and more than willing to help us out!!  This took so much stress off of all of us! The next few days are going to be jammed packed as we get ready for the surgery.  I have to take Buddy back up for a pre op on Wednesday and Dana will be flying in on Thursday.  Keri and I thought it would be easiest if we get a hotel close to the hospital Thursday night so we aren't having to head out at like 3:30am to get there Friday morning.  Really I feel so blessed things have worked out and Buddy doesn't have to wait long to get the tubes in.  His tonsils were already red and swollen again at the visit so I'm sure getting his tonsils out will be coming in the next few years.  It kills me that you always have that one person in your family with the medical problems.  Lucky for me Cams & Ashley may be my little diva's but they are typically pretty healthy. As I write this Cambree has been battling bronchitis however.  How we get things like scarlet fever and bronchitis while we are home 95% of the time is beyond me however!

I will update everyone after the surgery on Buddy's progress. I look forward to the day I don't have to watch Buddy lay on the floor to play with his cars anymore!!

Saturday, August 25, 2012

Beauty is pain!!

So there I was....blow drying Cambree's long hair... plugging in the pink straightener and straightening Cambree's long hair.... putting her on the counter and pulling out the pink nail polish. Painting her toes and then adding glitter. Sometimes I think I spend more time making my 3 year old pretty than I do making myself look pretty.  I put her in her new cute halloween pajama's and she slips on her cute pink butterfly wings. I have got to say she might just be the cutest 3 year old on the block but boy is it work!! One day she better look back at her cute pictures and appreciate everything :)

Tuesday, August 7, 2012

Hands full indeed!

I hear that saying A LOT when I go out.  "Oh you look like you have your hands full..."  I usually nod and smile and pretend like it's not a big deal.  I can handle a 3 year old and twin 1 1/2 year olds without breaking a sweat.  The reality is most of the time I can.  It has become something I had no choice but to adapt to and make work.  I don't think anybody expects to get twins but when it happens it is amazing and a blessing.  Most of the time it isn't a big deal but then there are days when I think WHY?! To be entirely fair the twins really aren't the problem. The majority of my struggle is with my 3 year old.  I will be the first to admit I spoiled her.  When she was born I held her all day long.  You couldn't rip her from my hands.  I rarely put her in her crib in fact.  Even if she was crying none stop all day long (and trust me she was a cryer!) I wouldn't have the heart to put her in her crib and walk away for a bit.  Okay obviously I learned from that with the twins. I learned A LOT from raising Cambree and I do the complete opposite with the twins.  The twins have a schedule. They nap at 11 and go to bed at 7.  I think the thing about your first child is that it is a learning experience. You go in having no idea what to do and not to mention the fact I was clear across the ocean in England raising my first child.  I definitely babied Cambree too much and I am definitely living with the consequences now. Now I need to find a way to give Cambree structure. To enforce her being a big girl.  She hates to be alone. HATES it! I will put her upstairs playing with the twins and go downstairs for a minute to myself and she will follow me downstairs in less than 4 minutes flat. She has a lot of weird quirky things she does too. She hates drinking plain water.  If I give her a  sippy cup with plain water she says it is dirty and won't drink it! "Dirty mommy!" She inspects her food before she eats it. For example if I give her a graham cracker and if one of the corners is broken at all... she won't eat it. "Broken mommy!" She recently stopped eating chocolate chip cookies because she turns them over to inspect them and if she sees chocolate chips on the bottom of the cookie (and obviously there ISN'T a cookie that doesn't have a chocolate chip on the bottom) she straight up refuses to eat it.  I mean crazy stuff like that she drives me insane with.  Her newest thing is she has to have her food cut up into the smallest of slivers or she won't eat it.  "Too big mommy!"  I'm talking tinsy little pieces.  All these things add up to daily frustrations and someday's I just don't think I can do it.  Somedays it hits me that I am in over my head.  It makes me feel like I am a completely failure.  I try to take some deep breaths. Walk away if I need to and try to come back and be patient.  So yeah when people say "you have your hands full"... they are totally right. I do have my hands full! Here is to hoping that when Cambree turns 4 things go a little smoother. A little easier and hopefully she will start to eat chocolate chip cookies again!

Tuesday, July 17, 2012

Scarlet Fever!

A week ago Buddy started acting weird.  His behavior was just a little off.  As a mother you know your child and something was definitely wrong with mine. He also had this bright red rash on his face. At first I thought it was eczema but it was such a bring color and the look of it wasn't like when Cambree gets it. Here is what also started happening. He started laying down for EVERYTHING. We were outside drawing with chalk and he was laying completely down on the pavement to draw. While I thought it was cute I thought it was always strange.  Next we were shopping at the BX and he laid down in the cart! I have never seen him do that.  The last straw for me was when I gave him a bowl of mandarin oranges and he laid down on the floor to EAT THEM! Okay I knew something was wrong.  I called the advice nurse because it was about 4pm on a Friday and clinic would be closing soon on base.  I told her what was going on and she didn't concerned but she told me she would give me a referel to be seen off base to have some "piece of mind" going into the weekend.  A few minutes I had Buddy packed in the car and on our way to the urgent care.  Luckily the wait wasn't long and we got back to see the doc quick.  As I was telling the doctor about Buddy's weird behavior and the rash he sort of gave me a weird look like you brought him in for this? Well turns out Buddy not only had a double ear infection (which I had no idea he had) he also had strep throat and accompanied with his rash he had scarlet fever!!! I felt SO bad for little Buddy and SO thankful I brought him in.  Over the next few days the other two kids started acting a little weird (not like Buddy though) so I took them in and they got on antibotics for strep! Well then came on other bombshell. Shannon called to tell me Rylie has mono! Well THAT could explain Buddy laying down all the time.  Four days later on Antibiotics he is still lethargic so now I have to take him back in.  His rash was going away but now has spread and is worse. I don't know if this is normal or not but regardless we are going back to the doc. 

                                                Poor Buddy! Laying down to draw with chalk
                                                           Cambree after the doctor! 
                                                Ashley with some oranges trying to feel better!

4th of July!


 We had a fabulous 4th of July weekend! My sister's family came down and we had an amazing time! The morning of the 4th we went to our neighborhood pool to swim and then headed up to Fort Bragg for the day! Wouldn't you know it the second we get there and set out stuff down we were told that everyone had to go to their cars because severe thunder and lightening were coming.  Sure enough by the time we grabbed our stuff the rain started! Well of course Morgan and I had straightened our hair (apparently we need to check the weather forecast before doing such a silly thing next time) so picture the two of us trying to fit under a small umbrella while trying to save our straight hair. It only partial worked.  Morgs, Cambree, and I waited out the storm in my car and let me tell you it might have been the best part of the day for me.  Morgs and I were singing to songs and Cambree decided to keep honking the horn which made all the cars around us start honking back.  It was so hot and so humid after the rain but we had a great time! Gloriana performed and we all loved them (except Morgs lol) The fireworks were pretty cool and we all had a great time except for Buddy... who just wanted to run around cry! Here are a few of the pictures :)



Could Ash be America's Next Top Model or what?  Cambree is standing next to our neighbor Serena who she LOVES! 
Morgs attempting to entertain Buddy. ALL he wanted to do was run and be free!
This is poor Cambree hot & miserable but a great trooper. Naturally the cheetos helped!
Could Ashley BE any cuter? I'm here to say no!
Of course I got this drink for me and of course Ashley took it over. Cambree & Buddy fell asleep before the fireworks started but my lil Ash stayed up and LOVED them!
This was Morgs and me trapped in the car! 


Monday, July 2, 2012

It is a miracle!!!

Soooo anyone who knows Cambree knows one thing about her... she tends to be a bit lazy! For example she refused to hold her own bottle. EVER.  I'm not talking like a six month old baby refusing .. I'm talking like girlfriend was 11 months old and refusing to hold her own bottle.  If I didn't hold it... she would just go without rather than hold it herself. DIVA! Another prime example was crawling. She straight up would not crawl. We tried everything to coax her into crawling. I KNEW she could crawl but would she? NO! Infact she didn't crawl until her first birthday! True story! She was walking 2 weeks later.  This brings me to the present day issue of potty training.  When you have a baby you just assume (or at least I did) that the hardest part of having a child would HAVE to be the endless crying and lack of sleep.  I thought that once you got to the stage of them sleeping through the night that you had conquered the hardest part of having a child.  Of course then came teething and again once Cambree got all her teeth in and was sleeping all night again I thought.. yep, the hardest part is done.  Hello, the hardest part hadn't even begun!!!!!!


So when Cambree turned 2 years old I had the twins.  Life sort of revolved around these two little babies and I was not about to add potty training Cambree on top of the stress.  I wasn't too worried because she was only 2 .. but when she turned 3 I started to panick thinking I had to get her trained.  I tried to talk to her about it and I would always ask her.. do you want to sit on the potty? Her answer was always NEVER! Not even no, or nope, but NEVER! Followed by DIAPER! I swear she was having a love affair with diapers.  Well Cambree is almost 3 1/2 and I decided it was TIME! No more procrastinating! I kept asking her.. do you want to be a big girl and use the potty and of course I got the NEVER answer. Infact she had such little interest in potty training that I seriously had the thought what if she NEVER potty trains? I had visions of Cambree not being allowed to go to school because she wasn't potty trained. I'm not exaggerating. These were actual concerns I was starting to have.  Cambree is one determined and stubborn little girl but I figured I wrote the book so I could do this. It was potty training time.  


June 28th, I decided to take the plunge.  I took away the diapers and put her in underwear. What resulted was her simply peeing in her underwear and me eventually putting her back in a diaper discouraged. She didn't even attempt to try and use the potty.... and let me tell you we have a killer potty. My mother in law bought us a singing potty! Yes that is what... if you pee it will sing.  How cool is that? Well I was determined that Cambree would make this toilet sing.  June 30th I put her in underwear and every 20 minutes we decided to make her sit on the potty.  Keri started working with her that morning and would you believe by lunch time not only was she peeing in the potty.. she was telling us when she had to go!!!! IT WAS A MIRACLE!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! I seriously thought this day would never happen! By the end of the day we had zero accidents! She had successfully peed in the potty all day!!!!!! I have never been prouder in my whole life. I'm serious. Turns out my little girl is smart!!! We are now three days into potty training and she has had a total of 1 accident!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! *cue the hallelujah chorus*  Now as excited as I am now..... I just have to remember that I have twins to potty train next. GREAT.

Monday, June 25, 2012

The small notes

I'm not sure if anyone really reads this or if this is more just a place like a diary where I can write down things and come back later and remember them.  Either way I wanted to write down a few things. Things have been crazy around here.  I wrote a long blog about a week ago and just as I went to hit publish... Ashley hit the button on the CPU to shut down the computer. Isn't that just my luck? Right now we are in the twin teething phase. You know the phase where the kids are just about 1 year & 1/2 and they are sleeping SO good and then their molars start to come in.  Yep, we are in molar city around here.  Here is what typical nights are like... We put the twins to bed at 7pm.  A half hour or hour into their sleep one wakes up screaming...and I mean screeeeeeeeeaming...  a few seconds later the other one wakes up screaming.... we orajel them up, depending on the situation we give a little motrin and the cycle continues ALL night long. Waking up....orajel... trying to get them back to bed.  It's almost like you are back in the newborn stage where they only sleep a few hours at a time.  I know this is all normal but when it is double the screaming it makes for some long nights.  Last night Ashley was the culprit.  Usually when I put them down Ashley will put her pointer finger in her mouth and she is out but last night she was the one who started the scream fest.  I quickly grabbed her and decided to bring her in my bed and she went back to sleep.  An hour later Buddy woke up screaming so we put Ashy back in the crib.. grabbed Buddy and put him in bed with me. I guess it is kinda funny if you think about all the moving around and bed hopping but at the time I am definitely not laughing in the moment.


The next thing we have going on is Cambree's dance class.  Now let me begin by saying I am the second most paranoid/anxious person in the world. The first being my mother.  I am SO my mother when it comes to this.  I am talking knots in my stomach anxious.  I wish I knew the secret to relaxed mothers however I just have to point out having the 3 kids who are 3 and under probably put me over the top in my anxious category.  One thing I know for sure is Cambree LOVES to dance.... another thing I know for sure is she doesn't love ballet. Today she has her second class of ballet/ tap/ tumbling and I'm praying it goes smoothly.    I have put Cam in her ballet shoes all week in preparation for class. She dances all around the house and believe me she would tap all day if I let her.  I wish I could just relax and realize it is just dance class and it will be fine.  


Luckily my sister and her family are coming down for the 4th of July.  Fort Bragg is having a huge extravaganza! Then after that it is the countdown until I get to go home for christmas! Yes I know it is a long way off but hey it is the small things that keep me going everyday! Now back to that dance class... just kidding. 

Thursday, May 31, 2012

Dancing Diva!!


From the second Cambree could walk she was dancing! She use to watch the movie Rio over and over and over again and dance along with the birds. The beginning sequence was her favorite.... and let me tell you her little legs can move fast! She will dance along to any song! Her favorite right now is "I like to move it move it" from Madagascar 2.  Then she surprised me and started doing the splits during her dances... yes the SPLITS. I knew right then (okay I knew before) that she is going to be a star! A dancing star! I have been waiting for my lil girl to turn 3 so she could officially start dance classes.  I have been on the look out for a good dance class and luckily one fell into my lap.  We live in off base housing in a housing area called Linden Oaks. There is this group for it on Facebook (of course) and this lady started talking about a new dance studio that was opening up just down the street from us. How perfect is that? Fate? Destiny?? (What, I'm excited!) Naturally I signed Cambree up and dance classes start June 18th! I signed her up in a combo class of tap, ballet, and tumbling.  Luckily a cute little girl from church is in the same class as Cambree so today Kimmi and I took our girls out shopping for the class. We were on a mission to find tap shoes (could you die?! Cambree in TAP shoes?!), ballet shoes (again could you die?!) and of course a leotard.. but lets be honest at her age of course I'm buying her one with a tutu!! I wanted a cute pink one but I found this amazing black one! It is to die for! We took the girls back to try them on in the changing rooms and I heard Kimmi squeal first... her daughter found an adorable pink one. I had Cambree try on the black one and I was in love!!! I'm telling you... Cambree in this tutu... she is destined to be a star!!! Well I came back off my cloud as we tried on tap shoes. Ohhh my gosh... can you say melt down? Cambree was screaming... loudly. Naturally as any mother with a screaming child does.. I started to sweat.. and get flushed. There is nothing worse than a screaming child... unless it is a screaming child you are trying to get to fit into a tap shoe!! It was truly one of the most embarrassing moments I've had as a mom.  Anyway we purchased our items and of course Cambree insisted on wearing the tutu all day.  I let her tap tap tap in the bathroom with her tap shoes for a minute and boy was she excited when she found out the loud noise those shoes made.  I had to pry them off of her and hide them!! I am sooooo excited for these dance classes.  It is one thing to put a girl in dance classes because it would be cute... it is another to put a girl who LOVES to dance in dance classes and see her blossom! I'm so excited for my lil dancer :)


                                                                  

This is cute little Allegra & Cam in the dressing rooms trying on their tutu's
This is Cambree at home tap tap tapping away in her shoes! 

Friday, May 11, 2012

The wheels on the bus go round and round!

So I'm sitting in my amazing new Mothers Day lounge chair with my iPad on my lap and some earphones on and I thought I should jot down a few of the funny things that have happened around this crazy house before I forget. Let's start with the toilet. Yes, the toilet. It seems to be the newest fascination of my twins. If I forget even for a split second to close the bathroom door the twins will seize the opportunity and run in there. It is usually just when I have gotten comfortable on my lounge chair and I'm sipping on a drink that I will hear it. The most dreaded noise... The splish splashing noise of two little stinkers playing in the toilet. Ugh!!! They are so happy doing it too. Buddy LOVES to throw toys in there now too. That only turned into a real problem one day when I didn't feel like sticking my hand in the toilet to retrieve a Lego and a bath toy Buddy threw in there... I heard the flushing sound and was like noooooo... Apparently Keri wasn't aware of the toys lurking in the royal throne and down the toys went. Cambree is usually my source of constant entertainment. She is three years old and I'm positive she is the funniest person to have ever walked the earth. Currently she is obssessed with Octonauts & Doc McStuffins. Two shows on the Disney channel. Cambree drives me crazy all day asking to watch Octonauts & Doc McStuffin... What is worse is she demands a CERTAIN EPISODE! Apparently her favorite is the ghost whale episode. OCTONAUTS MOMMY! GHOST WHALE! Now while I knew it was crazy a 3 year old was requesting a certain episode I certainly wasn't prepared for her to have the show MEMORIZED! She can recite the episode while she watches it. This is a sign i either let her watch too much tv or she is gonna be amazing in life! The twins definately keep me busy. A day with them goes something like this.. Duel screaming around 7am... Then a race out the bedroom door to avoid a diaper change. Changing Buddy's diaper is like wrestling with an alligator. He trashes and thrashes around.. By the end of the diaper change I'm certain I've gotten my exercise in for the day. Then it is off to the sippy cup madness. I fill up two sippy and hand them out and the fun begins. Ashley will take hers and attempt to take Buddy's too. This causes crying typically. Lets face it i think Ashley is a sippy cup hoarder. She loves to take Cambree's too. If Buddy manages to hold onto his cup the second he makes the mistake of putting it down, Ashy will grab it. She is fast too. Another one of Ashley's favorite past times is taking Cambree's favorite toys and running away with them. Cambree will scream and chase after her but Ashy is strong. She will have a death grip on those toys. Ashley also enjoys pulling Cambrees locks.. Especially while cambree is getting a diaper change. Yes, I think lil Ashy is quite possibly a lil tyrant. She runs our house for sure. The thing is she is so smart too. I fear for the other two ;) Well I just noticed the time.. It is the most glorious time of the day! NAP TIME! I put the twins down for a nap and get some free time while Cambree watches.. Wait for it... Octonauts lol. I sure love these munchkins but boy do they give me a run for my money!

Sunday, April 22, 2012

Utah...Vegas.. and more....



 Judging from the christmas border I have up on this blog I am WAY behind!!! These three munchkins of mine keep this mommy busy! So to recap... in March my dad came out and we flew home with Ashley bug to Utah.  Dad and I LOVE to plot and plan adventures and our favorite scheme is always convincing mom and Keri to let us go to the WAC tourney!! We have been die hard Aggie fans since forever! Dad and I have been driving to Aggie basketball games and football games since at least the 8th grade when we moved back to Utah (after my dad retired from the Army) There is no better place than the Spectrum or Romney Stadium!! Well we took it a step further when one year I had the BRILLIANT idea that we MUST go to the tournaments.   For years we've been hoping in the car and driving to these tournaments.  Why should this year be any different? You HAVE keep tradition alive right? RIGHT??  Well.. it didn't hurt that the tourney was being held in VEGAS BABY!!!! So a plan was hatched... the only thing was mom insisted I bring one of the kids for her to see.  Well the twins are still under two so I can take one of them for free on my lap... and lets face it Ashley is the easiest so there we were... Dad, Ashley, and I on a plane to Utah *cue to music... Tonightttttt... we are yoooooooung....*

This is Dad and I Ashy previous to us taking off! Doesn't Ashy make THE cutest Aggie fan?! 
 Naturally I had to decorate the car to let everyone on the roads exactly where we were headed and where they were not!!


( These next few pictures snuck in out of place..) This is Ashy with her bestest friend Brynlee!   Future America's Next Top Models!!!!

 This is Ashy with her other best friend Pepper!!! How cute are they!


 This is Ashy with MY bestest-est-est friend Aubs! She is an amazing mother of four and soon to be five when i convince her to keep Ashley lol.  Jk!
 Okay back to the trip lol.... this is dad out enjoying the Vegas night life. I swear he was the energizer bunny... after the games I would be tired and he would be like... lets go!!!!!! I swear we were out til 2am everynight.  The next morning he would be out of bed before I even woke up! This is one man you WANT to take a trip with! He loooooooooooooves to go go go! 


 This was seriously my favorite picture!!! Watching the water display at Bellagio! 
Another view from the Bellagio looking out! Vegas is SPECTACULAR!!!!
 Okay so we knew going into the tournament that this was NOT our year. We had a horrible team... when I saw horrible I mean... I haven't seen a team this bad in YEARS! Buuut we have been to tournaments where they were A SHOO IN to win the tournament and didn't so you just never know! We actually did know but it was VEGAS! How could we help ourselves?! Basketball.... Vegas.... Dad's credit card????? I call that a triple threat LOL. (Kidding about Dad's card.... kindof!) Anyway we had a FABULOUS time in Utah and I got to see a lot of my friends that I MISS!!!!! See you all again for Christmas!!!!


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