{A, B, C...}

Today we went to Grady and Greer's first birthday party and of course, as luck would have it, I forgot my camera AND my phone.  I was so mad at myself.  Thankfully the daddy had his phone and got a few cute pictures.  We had a fabulous time with Chris and Jami's families and G&G had a great day!  It was so fun to watch them dig in to their smash cakes, though they were so proper about it, there wasn't a lot of smashing!  Adorable. 

Coach and Fancy had their first kiss. They were side by side in a couple of cozy coups with Greer in between them. She kept going back and forth kissing Coach and Fancy. It was so sweet! Jami got some adorable pictures, I can't wait to see! Fancy is still having a major issue with sleep.  Naptime was met with screaming and only when I pulled her into our bed did she fall asleep.  Only for an hour.  She was kind of a hot mess at the party, but we pulled it off and we all had a great time.  At one point she threw herself down on their concrete garage floor.  During another spazz episode, The Daddy was holding her hand and she got mad and started kicking.  It ended up being a full circle round house kick.  Pretty awesome! 

Tonight in the tub we were talking about the party and singing our abc's.  They repeat after us, so I said a letter and Coach repeated the letter.  Well, we got to "C" and I said "can you say C?"  He thought about it for a second and said "Wee wee!" and proceeded to find it.  Later on when we tried again they got to "G".  Go babies GO!

Speaking of the bath, tonight we noticed Coach was looking like he needed to poop.  The Daddy picked him up and sat him on the toilet.  He pooped!  It was purely coincidence, but its great that he actually pooped on the potty.  Everytime we've tried this before he held it in until we put his diaper back on.  We made a big deal about it and clapped for him.  He didn't really know what just happened but he was proud of himself. 

When we got out of the bath they were running around naked and Fancy peed on the floor.  It freaked her out in a major way!  She's never really noticed when its happened in the past.  I'm thinking they are starting to figure out the whole potty thing.  We're in no way ready (or going to push) to potty train, but its great to see an interest.  I'm going to buy potties around their second birthday and keep them in the bathroom.  I think we'll really start to consider pushing it around 2.5 if they don't seem to be interested before then.  Scary. 

A new week already.  How do the weekends go so fast?

{"I don't know"}

The phrase of the day is "I don't know, Momma."  When we ask them a question they answer is always (I uhn ow, Momma:Coach, I duh duh, Momma:Fancy) "I don't know" with an exaggerated head shake.  They think its the funniest thing!  They also love to say "tant too" (thank you) when we do something for them and "bit too" (bless you) when someone sneezes.  Slowly learning "I love you", but its not as consistent.  Everyday is a new phrase/sentence.  This is such a fun age!

We played all day today.  A little bit inside, a little bit outside.  So great to watch them run around and have fun. 

Coming home from Fayetteville the other day we saw some interesting car decals/license plats.  Here's one.  I really hope its got some kind of non-crude significance, but knowing the folks here I'm not sure...

The other, which I did not get a picture of, was a family decal on a car.  The ASS family.  Mom, dad, three kids.  The Asses.  I'd bet money that it was a joke, but still pretty darn funny.  The Daddy and I were joking that it reminded us of this clip from Spaceballs:

Happy weekend!!!

{Raven Rock State Park}

A baby wearing daddy.  We tucked his arms in for the walk so he wasn't so "out there".

At the trail head going to see the rocks and the overlook.

The Daddy and Coach at the overlook to the Cape Fear River.

Me and my home girl.  

The daddy!

My boys exploring.

It was so good to get out and stretch our legs.  This is such a beautiful area.  Its about a 1 1/4 miles to Raven Rock and about a mile back.  We did it with babies on our backs.  I feel like I got hit by a truck, but I know I'll feel great tomorrow.  Yesterday we went to the local walking park and walked for 2 hours.  Its good to have The Daddy HOME!  

{A day at the beach}

My dad is visiting (leaving tomorrow, boo) and we've been waiting for the weather to clear up a bit so we could make it to the beach.  Today, despite the dreary weather, we went for it.  We decided to try Wrightsville Beach for a change.  The Daddy and I usually go the other way to Carolina Beach, so I'd never been there. 

It was overcast and even got a bit drizzly, but it was a perfect day.  The cloud/ocean contrast was breathtaking.  The beach was deserted and the water was warm enough to walk in.  The babies LOVE the beach.  Understatement of the century.  They screamed each time we left to each, walk, etc.  They splashed and giggled.  They played in the sand and they chased birds.  They loved every second of it.  They are seriously the coolest kids ever :)

We ate outside at the Mellow Mushroom (if you get to NC-or any of the other 20 states it exists in- you must seek one of these restaurants out) and walked along the beautiful beach homes, secretly wishing one of them, any of them belonged to us.  Oh what a life that would be!

Papa is leaving us tomorrow morning :(  He's been so fun and helpful!  Our kitchen and car has never been cleaner!  I'm trying to talk him and Nannie into moving here for retirement in a few years.  So far, if I keep taking him to the beach, I think I've got him sold on the idea...or at least thinking about it. 

Sweet big boy, Sassy little gal
Oh so cute at lunch
Fancy gabbing away, The babies with Poppi

Poppi and Coach strolling on the beach, Momma and Fancy enjoying the beach, Babies waving
Momma and the babes, Coachie enjoying the deserted beach
Funny Fancy, Babies playing, Sassy Sue, Handsome little man

Poppi and the babes, Johnnie Mercer fishing pier
Fancy playing in the sand, Momma and Fancy dancing in the surf, I found seagrass!, meeting a sweet lady
Coach running on the beach, Wrightsville Beach, Dad me and the babes

{Family Love}

A friend of ours (who is fabulous and together and ALWAYS has her camera!) was snapping pictures at the RenFair on Saturday and she got a sweet one of our family. 

The Daddy looks great in this.  Coach looks good, but he was 1/2 way to a heat stroke (not really) at this point.  Fancy was in the middle of a melt down (obv).  Me?  Well, apparently I was inflated at some point between my last peek in the mirror and this picture.  I'm not thrilled with how I look, in fact, I'm disgusted, but I love our family and therefore I love this picture :)                                

Its unfortunate that I've let myself go this far.  I've been walking and eating well/less.  Now that the heat has finally left us we've been doing more walking in our neighborhood.  The Daddy has been working everyday for the last 1.5 months and he was gone for 3.5 weeks of that.  Needless to say its been stressful.  Once the current mission ends (if it ends) we're getting back into our gym rotation (he goes in the morning and I go once the babies are down for the night). 

Excuses.  I know, they're like assholes: everyone has one and they all stink.  Its just hard with twoddlers and a husband that works this much.  The good news is, I'm motivated.  I'm committed and I'm going to succeed this time.  Goal 1 is 20lbs and then we'll take it from there.  I'm 5lbs down.  Its the same 5lbs I lose over and over again, though.  I think seeing 6lbs lost will be a big milestone for me!

I've never been thin and I've never cared.  I was healthy though.  I worked out and ate well.  My current girth isn't healthy and its not a good example to set for my children.  Sure, I'm doing this for me in part.  I don't want to look like this or feel like this anymore or ever again.  BUT I'm mainly doing this for them.  Those three up there in the picture with me (and anyone else who comes along).  They deserve a healthy momma and wife.   

{Pictures}

I found these pictures on my camera from VA Beach.  One wall in our room was a window and had AMAZING light.  I got some sweet pictures of my little dolls. 

Today we went to the RenFest.  Beautiful day!  It was fun.  It was hot.  Lotsa bugs.  Interesting Renaissance get-ups.  Great time with sweet friends.  Happy Saturday!

{why I love having twins}

These were taken on our last night in VA Beach. We had pack n plays but that wasn't working out so well so they slept with us. Let me clarify, they attempted to sleep with us. None of us really got much sleep.

I love when they sleep together though because you get pictures like this. A sly twin snuggle :). She uses to do this when they slept together as youngsters. We used to say she was holding in his paci. Comforting to see some things never change.

Today we celebrate our fried C's birthday at the Mellow Mushroom. Yuuum! We were quite the spectacle. We had 4 mommas (and one awraome daddy) and 8 babies ranging in age from 4 months to 18 months. The two sets of older babies had a rough time (bet you can guess who one of those sets is ;)) but it was still a great time with fabulous friends.

Happy Sunday!

{F.U. nature}

I came home from running errands this morning to find a big, dead, FEMALE black widow laying near the garage door on the driveway.  That's just fucking great.  We have a big, harmless garden spider that hangs out on the front porch, but he doesn't bother anyone, so we don't bother him.  A black widow, though?  That's a whole new ballgame. 

She was dead, but she had to have come from somewhere close.  My guess is she lived somewhere in the garage.  The daddy is going to be pretty busy cleaning that out when he gets home.  I turned on the hose and semi power washed (as much power as a hose nozzle can muster) the eaves of the roof where the creepy and crawly critters hide.  I found 2 more large spiders (both are now dead), a frog hanging out above our front door (who was spared) and a buuunch of moths. 

Here's the thing about the south.  Its infested.  Its call "dirty south" for a reason.  Spiders, roaches, silverfish, wasps/bees/hornets, red ants, moths, gnats and any other kind of disgusting fucking bug you can think of all live here in large numbers.  Our house is still mercifully bug free, but for how long?  We haven't seen roaches in several weeks, but since they left the spiders have taken over.  I don't mind the garden spiders...that stay IN the garden.  If you're on the house or porch or Heaven help them, in the house, you're a goner. 

The black widow sighting makes me very nervous given that they are the most venomous spider in the U.S.  Supposedly several times more venomous than a rattlesnake.  The venom can be deadly to humans, especially little humans.  It wouldn't be a lie to say I'm more than a little freaked out.  When the babies go to bed tonight I'm going to do a full house deep clean.  Fun.  I've never seen one inside, but that doesn't mean there aren't any.  I'm counting on the large rats we call pets to be the first line of defense. 

We have a big box of Diatomaceous Earth food grade.  <<<Click and read how this stuff works, its incredible!  We haven't used it yet because its apparently monsoon season here.  Rain every day isn't conducive for sprinkling or spraying bug killer.  That garage is going to get a big dousing of it.
Wish me luck in my deep cleaning escapades :)

UPDATE:  I found a few more.  OMG.  More than freaking out at this point.  I just drenched the foundation, front porch, back porch and garage in Diatomaceous Earth.  Well, actually, I had a bottle of rubbing alcohol on the kitchen table when I spotted her and the spider I saw got the royal (rubbing alcohol) treatment.  So did its web...and the deck...and anything else I could reach with my stream of rubbing alcohol. 

Air Force, you picked a fabulous time to take my husband. 

{Sunday Funday}

Today has been a lazy day. 

Ordinarily the daddy would get up and make the babies breakfast and let me sleep in. 

With the daddy gone, I'm worn out. 

Single parenthood is not for the faint of heart. 

Of course, Murphy's Law is in full effect. 

Murphy's law is an adage or epigram that is typically stated as: "Anything that can go wrong, will go wrong". [wikipedia]

Coach had an allergic reaction to a food he's eaten before [Oikos peach greek yogurt]

#1 - The height of the reaction
#2 - Starting to get better
#3 - After frantic texting to my friend Cara and seeing the reaction settle, I can finally chill out...maybe. 

He seems to be ok. 

I kept him up about 30 minutes past bed time and I've been checking on him constantly. 

So as soon as he started to have that reaction, I heard 3 gunshots. 

CLOSE gunshots.

There is a house full of Army bachelors that live up the street and they had a BBQ today.

I think it must have been them. 

Fingers crossed that I don't get slaughtered in my bed tonight.

Thankfully, our neighborhood is business as usual since the shots, so I'm going to try to relax. 

We hear shotgun shots from time to time, but they're off in the distance.

We live in the boonies, so that's not all that unusual. 

I'm still nervous. 

I just need a gigantic glass of wine (which I don't have), a bath (which I have no time to take-cleanup duty falls to ME and me alone when the daddy's gone) and a book (reminder:  dead Kindle). 

Pretty fun little evening ahead of me. 

The bright spot?

The season finale of True Blood is on in 27 minutes. 

In all seriousness (since I know people will read this and worry), we're doing great.

Pray Murphy and his law steer clear for another several weeks so I can come out of this unscathed, mkay?

And because, who doesn't love a sleeping baby or two? 

Today's nap. 

Gosh I love them.

Another random occurrence.  My skin is rejecting my engagement and wedding rings. 

I do a lot of hand washing (more on that someday), so I think this is just soap getting caught under the rings and causing irritation. 

It hurts.

Tomorrow Cara and I start day UNO of our new workout routine. 

As it turns out the weight of toddler twins in a stroller amps up your workout. 

Holla!

Maybe you'll start seeing more pictures of me...

{The Little Gym}

I didn't get many pictures today b/c the daddy is gone for an undetermined amount of time, so I was chasing both babies.  It was a good workout.  After seeing myself in pics I was tagged in on fb, I'm thankful for that workout and the billion others I'm going to fit in in the next several months.  Sick. 

Please ignore my annoying mom voice.

{mall walkers}

This morning we spent a couple hours hanging out in our diapers and then we went mall walking with our friends L & G.  Our twin friends who are just a month older than us.  C and I were due about a week apart and she had her boys in February.  We have the same stroller (different colors).  We got so many "are they quads?" questions.  Uh ya, my blonde babies who look like me are TOTALLY related to her dark haired babies who look like her. 

We got a lot of "you're so blessed" comments, which I appreciated :) and totally agree with.  We met 27 month old b/g twins who were just precious and an old woman who passed us and told her she had a set of g/g twins also.  I kid you not, just about every other person we passed stopped us.  Most people are just curious. 

We had a little iPhone photoshoot this morning :)

I love them. 

{Big ole' babies}

We weighed the babies today on our home scale and we were shocked when the numbers popped up on the scales.  Fancy weighs 25lbs (65th %) and Coach weighs a whopping 27lbs (69th %)!  Holy chunks!  They have always been in the 25th - 40th % for weight.  They're getting BIG!

They've been mimicking the faces we make for a while.  I started to notice it when Fancy started copying my nervous blinking habit.  Anyway, we play this game with them where we make a face and they copy it.  Its the funniest!  Watching them interpret our expressions is hysterical!  Sometimes when they're playing I'll catch them practicing the faces we do.  So cute! 

We got to skype with my dad and step mom today.  The babies said "Papa" and "Nannie" and were just generally hams.  They were in awe of the whole experience.  They've skyped several times, but I think this is the first time they've actually paid attention.  They thought it was so neat to see Papa on the screen and they kept waving and smiling.  They're the cutest. 

Watching the Hatfields & McCoys on History Channel.  AMAZING.  I can't believe thsi feud is A) factual and B) went on for so long.  Over something really dumb too.  The next time we drive home (if we ever drive home) I'm definitely going through WV.  The families reportedly get along now and have reunions to commemorate the feud.  There are even trails around the area.  Someday I'll get there :)

We live in the middle of nowhere and there are farm fields on all sides and for 10 miles each way into either town.  We've spotted corn, cotton, soybeans, sweet potatoes and a handful of other things, but the biggest fields have stumped us.  Today we figured it out.  TOBACCO.  NC is a huge producer of tobacco, so this isn't a surprise.  No real point to this paragraph, its just something we've wondered for a while.  Now we know!

Happy weekend!

{A bit of southern flair}

Today we went to check out downtown Fayetteville.  I'd heard about all these neat little southern shops (think polka dots, precious crochet dolls and monograms/initials galore!) and history.  It didn't disappoint!  We hit up Bumbledoo (formerly Sweetbottoms Baby) in search of cloth diapers.  I wasn't impressed with their selection.  They had some awesome hats (see below), adorable leather shoes, lots of breastfeeding resources and tons of baby wearing devices, but their dipes were on the $$$ side.  Its the fad, I didn't expect to get a bargain, but I hoped to at least come away feeling good.  I didn't.  They have a great natural line of diaper sprays, rash creams and other amazing whipped delights. 

After that we walked around a bit and ended up in a random accessories store.  They had everything and everything was monogrammed.  It was grossly over-priced, but I made out with a cute iphone cover:

I got it for $12.  I've seen in on the web for $40.  No idea why its that $$$.  I think its cute :)

At that point it was too hot to discover anymore and we came home.  The babies slept in the car sporadically so of course their nap was a disaster.  When they got up they were maniacs!  The Daddy taught them to bow (you know like "take a bow") and how to wink.  They "dance" at all of the commercials.  They're a hoot!  Sometimes a little sleep deprivation is pretty entertaining :)  They welcomed bedtime and are snoozing sweetly.  Hopefully this wicked storm doesn't wake them. 

We actually wore our new diapers today.  Only one because we were running errands, but it was a success.  I only used one insert and I should have used two.  Live and learn.  I tried to get some good pics, but they're never calm, so this is as good as it gets.  I prefer the solid colors to the patterns.  I think of all the diapers we have coming maybe 12 are patterns.  The rest are solid.  Just looks more classic to me. 



Happy weekend!  No plans here, just relaxing and enjoying the fam.  Enjoy!

{Bring in the pro's}

Our sleep issue had gotten so out of hand we decided to talk to a toddler sleep consultant.  Yep, they exist.  Two days in and I'm starting to see some big improvements.  The first night was rough and they ended up sleeping with us...shhh...but since then its been better.  Last night was a tough one for Coach, but once he finally got to sleep he was down for the night. 

Here's what I think happened.  The are at the age where they naturally drop their second nap.  We were going on as usual though, just minus a nap.  Apparently, you create a sleep deficit if you drop that nap but don't otherwise compensate.  Over time that deficit takes its toll until you're left with tired, stressed out babies.  We bumped up their bed time to 7pm and pushed back their one (lonely) nap to after lunch.  So they have a full belly for their nap.  Today they went down for their nap with no issues (NO CRYING!), but still only slept about an hour.  That should improve to 1.5-2.5 hours in time. 

I'm feeling better about it now and I'm praying we finally have a workable schedule for them.  Its heartbreaking to see your kids scream, and scream, and scream.  They are much happier and seem to be adjusting well.  Last night at bedtime and then again today at naptime it was almost like they were saying "you finally caught on, momma!".  They laid right down, butts in the air, and snuggled in for a snooze. 

I hope I didn't just jinx myself. 

I've been browsing like a madwoman for cloth diapers that I think will work for us.  I have a total of 30 in my virtual shopping carts around the web.  I'm pumped to get them!  It seems to be quite addicting.  I promised the daddy that we'd save $$$ doing this, so I better keep myself in check ;)

Tomorrow I have my HIDA scan.  Barf.  I hate this stuff.  I have to get an iv and lay completely still on a table for 2+ hours.  Fucking fun.  This is attempt #2 if you'll remember.  Lets hope we can at least get the damn iv in this time. 

Tomorrow night I'm going to a huge local consigment sale, wish me luck!  I hope to find lots of fun toys, gently loved cloth diapers and some fall digs! 

Baby funnies: 
-Currently Coach is running around the living room with his lawn mower hoisted over his head.  He stops every couple seconds to "service it".  He pulls the chain and makes the "rr rrrrrr rrr" noise and he checks the gas can and the gears.  He's strutting around, thinks he's so cool ;)

-Fancy's favorite word is "cracker", but she says it "ca ca".  Everytime she says it when we're in public where people understand spanish, we get some interesting looks. 

-My babies are now running around with dipes on their heads, bumping into each other and laughing like clowns.  I love them.

Our water bill was almost as expensive as our electric bill last month.  I'm seriously considering getting a rain barrel and catching some of this monsoon rain we get 49877 times a day.  Why am I paying so fucking much $ for water when its falling from the sky by the TON?  Yah, I don't get it either. 

I think I'll plan a trip to Oak Island to cheer myself up ;)  Oh the joys of living in a coastal state!

{Weekend warriors}

Selfies!

Kitty!

Daddy teaching Coach to kettlebell!

Hanging out in the front yard

This morning I went to our local MoM's (mothers of multiples) meeting, had lunch with friends and came home to my babies and the daddy.  Pretty fun Saturday!  



{so sleepy}

[source]

So after my post last night things got muuuch worse. 

I started out with both, rocked them to sleep and put them back to bed.  Then all hell broke loose. 

Fancy woke back up, screaming and so I rocked her back to sleep and put her back to bed.  As soon as I closed their door, Coach starts wailing.  After this back and forth until around 2am I just drug them both into our bed and kicked the daddy out to the couch. 

Lots of tossing and turning later, the little ones were snoring.  They woke up at the crack of dawn and proceeded to be crab apples all day.  I got them down for a 3 hour nap, though.  I slept too.  I haven't done this up all night stuff since they were newborns.  Whew! 

I'm going to tell you a secret.  Now please understand, I hate that they're in pain or afraid, but snuggling with them was just so amazing.  One baby in each arm.  They nuzzled into my neck like they used to when they were itty bitty.  Light baby breaths on my neck, heaven.  I don't wish last night on any of us anytime soon, but its good to snuggle with my too cool for school toddlers. 

Not to jinx myself, but tonight's going much better.  They went down so easily and they're just snoozing away. 

So I've mentioned the storms we've been having, right?  Daily.  Today was a real doozy. 

Clouds rolling in to our back yard.  They were a lot more ominous than the picture looks.

Storm coming through from the front yard. 

Rainbows after the storm.  The sky was such an interesting color.

Beautiful sunset.



{Battlefield babies}

We wandered around rural NC this morning looking for the Bentonville Battlefield and FINALLY found it around noon.  What was supposed to take 45 minutes, took just about 2 hours.  Lets just say the road signs here are less than pristine. 

When we got there it was much like you'd expect.  The museum/visitors center were situated about a half mile from the battlefield.  The battlefield spans miles.  Most of it now farmland, much as it was then, is kind of trippy.  To be in a place where so many fought and died is heavy. 

Fancy and I took the guided tour of the home and the grounds.  The house was used as a hospital for over 500 men.  The soldiers were graded based on injury.  The mortally wounded (a miniball to the head, chest or stomach) were left on the front lawn to die.  They just didn't have the resources to heal them or even to make them comfortable.  They also did amputations and miniball extractions.  The rooms where the amputations took place had a couple windows.  The windows served two purposes.  One, to ventilate the room.  The fumes from the anesthesia were apprently heavy.  Two, as soon as the limbs were removed, they just tossed them out the window.  Convenient, no?

The house was restored to its Civil War appearance sometime in the early 1960's.  It contains about 60% original materials (flooring, windows, etc).  The furniture isn't original, but its of the period.  The original Harper family furnishings were distributed to the children when Mr & Mrs Harper passed away.  The slave hut and the kitchen also are not original, but they are authentic.  Just not to this property. 

It was hot, sticky and buggy.  Coach got too hot and The Daddy took him to sit in the car while Fancy and I finished looking around.  We drove the route that Sherman took to meet Johnston's lines.  Kind of crazy to know that so many of history's great men fought here.  I think so anyway :)

Fancy showing us Harper House (built in 1855)

They loved running around the grounds.  Creepy to remember what happened here 150+ years ago. 

Have you ever seen a cuter history buff?

Our big beautiful boy enjoying the sunshine!

Up close and personal with Fancy.

Want some water momma?

It was hot as hades, but fun.  After that we attempted a trip to the nearby outlet malls, but it was pure chaos.  We decided to just eat lunch there and forgo shopping.  On the weekends popular places get flooded.  Its best to plan these trips for week days when everyone else is at work. 

{Wine & Design}

Tonight I went out with some mom's of multiples (and non-multiples) and we drank some wine, ate some yummy food and painted.  So fun!  One of the ladies in our party had QUADS.  In case you're not hip to the lingo, that's four babies.  Holy moly.  She's teeny, too.  I'm amazed not only that she was able to carry them to 33w, but that she is able to keep up with 4 one year olds.  Wowza!

Here are some pics taken by the lovely Jami: 

You know this momma loves wine ;) 

Cara (b/b twins), Athena (b/g/b/g quads), Jami (b/g twins), Jen (b/b twins)

Gettin' our paint on!

Finished products! 

Here's mine :)  I love how it turned out.  Its going somewhere in the nursery. 

Even though I'm a twin mom and I know the struggles and joys of twin parenthood, it was so refreshing to be with so many women who knew exactly what I was talking about.  They get it.  We have similar stories, struggles and smiles.  These ladies rock!  Playdates are already starting to fill the calendar!  The babies will love all their new twin/triplet/quad friends!

On a sadder note, the daddy's ex-NCO is dealing with some hefty stuff.  He was not a great guy when we knew him, but its still shocking to read this.  I hope this woman finds peace.  I can't imagine the horrors she endured, but I'll be praying for her. 

Tomorrow we're headed to the battlefield.  Should be a fun morning!  I'll have the heavy duty camera, so hopefully its a good time.  Have a great weekend!

{Words with twins}

These kids are talking up a storm!  They repeat everything they hear (or try to at least).  Some new words lately include "thank you" "bye bye" "Bubba" "Sissy" "doggy" "toes" "kiss" "huggie" "booty" "Elvis"-our cat, sounds like "Ewis" and the list goes on.  I was editing some pictures yesterday and they were pointing at pictures of themselves saying "sissy" and "bubby" and "nana" (their word for Fancy's name) and "Muh" (their word for Coach's name) heart crushingly adorable.  They get so excited when they recognize themselves or each other on the computer.  They also say "baby" when I look at friend's baby pics on fb.  They're understading what we say as well.  If I ask them to go put a certain toy in a certain place, they do!  We're going to start working on helping momma clean up the living room :)

Sharing is going well.  Coach is so funny, he always brings two of something when he's playing and gives one to his sister.  Fancy is doing well, but is having a little bit of a harder time.  If she has two of something and we ask her to share she usually runs around for a little bit (with Coach chasing her) and then throws down one of whatever she has in Coach's general direction.  Usually she does really well, but that's been an issue lately.  We're getting there.  They're still the cutest little people EVER.

Its been so nice outside lately.  This rain actually does have a purpose!  Tonight we went for a nice little stroll around the neighborhood.  Pointing at some houses we'd like to mimic and others we wish would get their shit together.  Is it that hard to mow your fucking lawn and weed your garden?  I feel a little sad there isn't an HOA forcing this particular family to mow.  We live in a 100% military/cop neighborhood.  Those are some of the most together and neat men and women on the planet.  Here's to hoping there's a deployment involved and they get their act together soon.  They waved to us and said hi as we passed so I felt momentarily shitty for thinking ugly things about their yard...only momentarily though. 

Thank goodness that house is on a side street.  Anyone potentially buying our house in the distant future maybe won't see that.  We have sand instead of soil.  Nothing grows well here and after a matter of a year or so, all of our sod has been overtaken by these sand monster weeds.  Our whole front yard is some sort of mini-trees.  You know what else does really well in sand?  RED FUCKING ANTS.  Annoying doesn't even begin to cover it. 

I find myself missing Colorado lately.  Maybe its this hellish heat, I don't know.  I think another trip to Carolina Beach is in order to cure this pesky feeling.  Tomorrow I'm meeting some fun ladies for wine, hopefully that makes this hot, sticky, sandy, stormy place starts to feel more like home :)  Well, that and FINALLY buying paint for the projects we have going in our heads. 

And finally, I leave you with this because they're irresistably cute.

(source)

I mean, really.  How cute are they?  Happy weekend!