In Texas..

there is ONE thing that we cannot go without during the Summer, and that is AIR CONDITIONING!

Sean has been at a training all week for school so it's been me and the boys. I woke up early Wednesday morning because I felt really warm. I went and adjusted the thermostat only to realize an hour later, it had gotten warmer, not cooler. I hesitated to call about it because I dreaded getting the boys together, a bag of clothes, bottles, etc etc. I was already sweaty and I wanted a stinkin shower, a really cold one! I assumed the AC would kick back on and things would be fine. So I waited and waited and then I finally decided 81 degrees and rising was just too warm so I'd better call ASAP. I was put on hold about four times, then I finally explained to them I had infants in the house and this is was not safe.  They put me on the emergency list to have a guy come out right away. An hour passes, no knock on the door. Thermostat was now reading 83. I move the boys to the bedroom where the nursery is attached, cranked up the two ceiling fans, start fanning the boys with the warm circulating air and I put cold wash cloths on their heads .Their cheeks were starting to get rosy and they quickly became extremely uncomfortable! I was sweating, crying and trying to console them while calling the company again. Once I finally got a hold of someone, they asked me what state I was in and as soon as I said Texas, she immediately transferred me to another moron who simply said, "I'm so sorry you're having to deal with this problem in the Texas heat. There is an AC man in your area and you are next on the list."  That sure didn't help my spirits or my sweaty clothes. The boys and I got in the car and drove around the block several times while I waited for the call that the man was at the house. I took the boys to Walmart because it was close. We had just done our grocery shopping so I really didn't need anything but who goes to Walmart and doesn't buy one single thing? So I ended up buying some baskets but I sure wasn't thinking when I wanted to buy a pulethora of baskets because I'm all about organizing every cotton-pickin thing in our house.

I dont' know how I did it, but I did. I got my baskets and the boys survived. While we were still waiting for the call, I decided if I could carry all those baskets and push the boys, this stroller wasn't holding me back from anything, ANYMORE, ever again! So, we went across the street to Hobby Lobby with no intentions of buying anything but just to kill some more time. Finally, I got a call that the man was at the door knocking. We hurried home, the man checked all the switches, the fan, the freon and poof the AC was fine! The system was not broken and there was no leak; it simply needed a boost! No wonder that guy enjoys his job. I even asked him if he wanted to take a look in the attic...(only to make his time a little worthwhile). I mean, I was sweating more than he was. Sixty dollars and two hours later, our AC was still reading 81 degrees. It took several hours for our house to get back to comfortable again but let me tell you how big of a sport these boys were all day.

This is called Stress-free, tear free feeding.

Holla!

Oops! Did I say our pantry had forty bottles?

I meant seventy!




The boys are doing great. We're all enjoying our Summer very much.  The boys love their Johnny Jumper.


Happy babies, happy Mommy & Daddy.

Stocked

40 bottles

The formula we use went up in price so with our $10 off coupons that are about to expire we're stocking up. Unfortunately, all of these bottles will last about twenty days.

A couple weeks ago, we slowly started the boys on a less expensive Similac and they both had reactions. Luke became extremely fussy and unhappy and Carter's stools became really hard. So, we're sticking with the Alimentum for now. The boys are doing great with the solids we've introduced. They've eaten green beans, peas, squash, pears, carrots and sweet potatoes and haven't turned any of it down so far.

Who doesn't love a freshly bathed baby wrapped up in a towel??? 

The boys personalities are developing so differently and it is so fun to watch them interact.

Luke is 90% of the time very quiet with the exception of a few loud sounds here and there. He observes his brother a lot, loves to cuddle and loves to be sung to.

Carter is active, active, active! He loves to see how loud his voice can get or he'll get a little feisty and he  loves books.

We have some exciting news that I finally, I get to spill here on the blog.

Angie is pregnant!!! Sean and I are so excited to become an aunt and uncle.

She is due December 22nd. She is 14 weeks and feeling good.  We can't wait for the boys to have a cousin who will be close to their age.

A little spare time Fixer-Uppers

 

 

more to come..

The best babies!

Carter, Luke

The boys keep waking up around 4am which is unusual because we used to have to wake them up around 5 and 6am to feed them before we left for school. They're getting more and more active so you'd think they would sleep just as good or atleast past 4am! We still put them down between 8-8:30pm but I guess this just means they're growing lil' boys and waking up hungry. Carter is SCOOTING around on his back and  his belly. He wants to crawl so bad. If we leave him on the floor and walk to the other room, it never fails, he will be in a different spot and different position than how we left him. Luke is getting a little more vocal, still gurgling a lot but he's been laughing more now. Both boys are eating oatmeal, pears and some carrots once a day. These boys are more and more amazing everyday. They're so giggly, so content, so happy and they don't mind being held for hours or left alone for hours. (kidding! we don't leave them alone for hours.) God is so good. What blessings these babies are.

In a perfect world..

I would teach art part time (I really love my job & my 540ish kiddos there) and stay home with the boys the other time. That would truly be the best of both worlds. But, I guess we aren't living in a perfect world, are we? God has filled our lives with blessings beyond counting but he doesn't promise a perfect world. Who wants to live in a world like that anyway? Perfect world, What am I saying? We have a roof over our head, we're healthy and we're happy. That's pretty amazing in itself.

So, it's only the third day of summer and I already have a ton of jumbled thoughts and mixed feelings about using daycare in the fall. There's pros and cons to daycare but I'm not considering many of the pros at this current time. I'm not living in a bubble, I promise. I know millions of parents drop their little ones off at daycare every single day of the week but all the thoughts of doing it for the first time makes my stomach churn and my heart feels like a ton of bricks. However, we are fortunate enough to have another option. We hire a nanny for three days and my mother in law will so gladly help us out two days of the week. We have a lot to consider here.  I know there are good nannies out there, it's just hard to find a really good one. I used to be a nanny for four years so I am fully confident we could find a perfect fit for our family but we need to do a lot of interviewing in the meantime. Lots to think about... more later.

We're headed to the pool with the boys for their first dip.

Aunt Angie with Carter

Aunt Angie with Luke

    Happy Summer!

Hootie

Sean and I drove out to Winstar Friday night to see Darius Rucker in concert and he was amazing! He is such a good singer and really enjoyable to watch. He even sang a little Hootie and the Blowfish and ended with Purple Rain<----an all time favorite! We stopped at some little hole-in-the-wall restaurant and ate Mexican food; it was so good. I can't remember the last time Sean and I went on a date, Alone. Usually there's always someone else with us...don't get me wrong we love company but it was really nice just the two of us. Needless to say it was much needed! I thought about the boys the entire night but they were in great hands with Aunt Angie and Uncle John. 

Our Summer is finally here and I'm just waiting for it to kick in. We don't have any real plans but we are going to fly up to Nebraska to see my Grandparents and other family members. It'll be interesting to fly with the boys and all their baggage. I'm looking forward to getting away from this Texas heat.

Se7en

 The babies are 7 months old today!

(4 months gestational)

I made the boys little bracelets with their names on but I'm not so sure of them yet.  They might look a little girly???

 

A couple pics from the weekend.

Auntie Mel, Luke holding his bottle

Grandpa and Carter