Ironic Fortune

The other day I had another rough day, they seem to be going around lately. Jacob and I had to make a quick run to Idaho Falls to get some fabric and luckily I was able to drop off my two older kids, I planned things out carefully, hoping to sneak in a nap for my teething twins. Well things didn't go according to plan... shocker...not.

~As I was finally headed home, Jacob noticed that the fabric store over charged us by $60, and we had to turn around, problem was that we were already a quarter of the way home. For whatever reason I lost it. Maybe it was because I was hungry, or because the twins were fussy, or because it had been a long day let alone a long week. Or perhaps, the awful drivers around me that were completely oblivious to the existence of another car on the road...so I let my poor hubby have it. I complained, I never complain... at least not recently. The last time I complained was a year ago when I found out I was pregnant, and I complained about how hard and busy my life was and then a week later I found out it was twins. So I learned the hard way, don't complain because things will inevitably just get worse. (I'm not saying twins are a bad thing... they just definitely made my life much busier than I ever could imagine.)

~Anyway, I complained to Jacob about how "ridiculously uncomfortable" my life is. I hate having to drive all the time, I hate working all the time, I never get a break, I never get any help, I can't remember what it is like to sleep at night, my house is too small, I'm under appreciated ...on and on. Poor Jacob just took it in silence the whole way back to the store and ran in, while I attacked the indescribably, uncomfortable task of nursing my twins in the car...again.

When Jacob got things cleared up, he came back to the car and suggested we get Chinese Food on the way out of I.F. I agreed, and apologized for the complaints and we picked up some takeout and headed home.

~An hour later, after I finally got the twins down, Jacob made me sit down to eat before I headed to pick up my other two kids. After the meal he gave me my fortune cookie... now usually my fortune is something real dumb like..."you will find wisdom in time." But on this particular night it was "You will have a very comfortable life."....of course. We laughed about it, and I headed out the door to pick up my other kids. On the drive to my parents house I realized my life is actually pretty comfortable. I have everything I need. I have a roof over my head, a nice car, a great hubby and four super cute kids ... what more could I ask for?

~I've decided that comfort isn't things... it is a state of mind. It is funny how we sort of predetermine "I be comfortable when....". If we always want more things, or something better than what we've got, we will never find comfort. It is all about our focus, and I just needed something as trivial as a fortune cookie to remind me of just how fortunate I am.

5 Months

I apologize for being a little behind, but life has been very busy...to say the least....but busy is a good thing in our world. The girls are 5 months old already! I can't believe it! And fortunately they are at the stage where they are getting easier to handle (in some ways) and they FINALLY are on a schedule which makes life somewhat predictable.
Lil Lydia....look at those beautiful eyes! She is such a happy baby, she loves her twin (of course) she can't help but always grab Alyssa (usually her ears.) And she loves to gurgle and coo...she is very busy and curious...this girl is already planning on what she is going to get into...thank goodness we have a little time before she figures out how to actually get there.
Miss Alyssa....my social butterfly, and too cute for words. She prefers mom, but thinks Aaron is hilarious (from a distance of course). She loves to hold Lydia's hand and enjoys her company and loves watching all Lydia's mad grabbing skills. Alyssa is very laid back but very jealous if mom is holding anyone else...especially Lydia. And she is a talker, and singer...if you can call it singing, she loves the sound of her own voice.
I need to get a picture of it... but both girls are thumb suckers...THANK GOODNESS... I've done the binkies with Aaron and we did it with the girls for the first two months... and no thank you... nights and days were way too long until they learned how to soothe themselves with their thumbs. Yes...I know, it is an impossible habit to break (I still catch Kaylie sucking hers and she is 5.) But it is totally worth my sanity!
I am now the biggest fan in the world of leg warmers....so 80s I know, but so convenient. I can leave them on for diaper changes so no messing with pants, plus they are very cute (even though they are very big)...and the more time I save the better.

More pics coming soon....when I get the time to post again!

Birthday Month

February is our Birthday Month...somehow just about half the people in my family have Birthdays in February. My Sister-in-law through a Birthday party for my niece Brynnlee and Kaylie because they were born a day apart... it was a "Tangled" Party... and it was a blast...my S.I.L. is amazing...thanks Chantell. Here are some pics of the food at the party.

Brynnlee and Kaylie tearing into their presents.

Kaylie's hot pink "Nom-nom"... so I have been making stuff for two years for a living and my kids are surrounded by pillows that they love but none have ever been theirs so I finally broke down and made them some "Nom-Noms" for Kaylie's B'day... and she was very excited to finally get one of mommy's pillows for herself.
Love this picture... she wanted a big stuffed Unicorn for her B'day and here you can see by the look on her face that she got it.

And here is her My little Pony Unicorn!

Oh...how she loves this Unicorn!

Love this shot...didn't mean for it to turn out this way...just did!

Thanks to my brother Matthew...my kids are obsessed with Angry Birds.

I can't believe my baby girl is 5!!! My how time flies!

And my Birthday....by the time it rolls around I am so sick of B'days! And yes I'm 27.

I hate pics of myself but Aaron looks so cute helping me blow out the candles.

4 Months

I can't believe that my babies are 4 months old already! It has gone by so fast yet so slow at the same time! I think that the best way to describe it all is that it is just like the movie Ground Hog Day... seriously... everything just happens over and over again. But thank goodness some days are better than others. It seems like the 4 month mark has been a definite improvement over months 2 and 3. The girls have found their thumbs or fists (I got over the pacifier runs so fast.) and they can sooth themselves to sleep, which makes life much easier. We are still working on naps but at least most nights are decent. My favorite thing of all... the smiles... they make my day!
At 4 months they weight 11 lbs and are still pretty tiny for their age... but they are right on target with everything else.
Miss Alyssa! She is my social baby, she loves faces, and wants to steal the show... but that also makes her my meanie greenie ... she gets very jealous whenever I tend to Lydia and it makes getting anything done a process to say the least.
Lil Lydia, is my curious, and on the move baby, and she is my drama queen anything bad that happens will happen to her and you will hear about it for a very long time. She is constantly studying everything around her and reaching for it. She can turn herself in a full circle on her back. She just loves company especially Alyssa's company... she is always reaching for Alyssa's hand.
Their favorite thing to do it play on their play mat together. Usually Lydia does all the playing while Alyssa just sucks her thumb and watches Lydia's skills.
Here they are after a good nap... Lydia turned herself all the way upside down without moving to either side... she does this all the time. I'm sure it won't be too long before we need to set up the other crib and separate these cuties.
And I can't leave Aaron out... every time I take pics of the twins he asks to have his picture taken too. Gotta love his messy face... he is definitely my lil stinker!

Survival Mode and PreSchool!

Image two babies crying in your home for the majority of the day... everyday... and that, my friends is the reality of 2-3 month old twins. The first month was easy because they were born early and they slept all the time... but the second and third months were super tough just because these cuties refused to sleep during the days. And their protests made everyday mighty long... that is for sure!

Yep.... this is an unfortunate reality of twinfants!

Lot's of soothing... and plugs... because the crying was driving us insane!

At least they calm down pretty easy as long as they are being held. I always thought it was weird that when you ask twin moms how they got first few months they all say that they can't remember, they just did what they had to to survive, I am happy to hear that these awful memories sort of faded from their minds... because that means they were temporary. And thank goodness some days are better than others.

On the flip side... Kaylie started Pre-School Yesterday and she is in Heaven... this poor girl is so ready for school. She would stay all day everyday if they would let her. I can't believe my baby girl is almost 5!

Can't forget Aaron... and his McMissile car... he had to get in on the action!

6 Year Anniversary

~Yes, I know... we really need to get an updated picture, and we will.....eventually.

~This was our wedding announcement picture... and it is hard to believe that it is already our 6th Anniversary! We've been through a lot together... school, work, more school, Cone Dystrophy diagnosis (Jacob's eye condition), job loss, 6 moves, 4 kids (all under 4), building businesses and the list goes on and on! Even though we've been through a lot... I'm glad that I've had my Best Friend right there with me every step of the way... and the best part is we have the rest of Eternity together... who could ask for a better thing to celebrate!

~Love you tons Jacob, and thanks for everything! ;)

Christmas and Colds

One of our Christmas traditions is to open new pajamas on Christmas Eve... so we went to JoJo's (my mom) house and opened them up with the whole family! Aaron was so excited to finally get the "okay" to actually open up a present, the little stinker kept sneaking off with gifts and trying to open them... but fortunately he never succeeded.

And he got Toy Story Pj's! He was so excited about that... he loves Woody!

Kaylie got Minnie Mouse Pj's.

Kaylie is finally to the age where she understands Christmas and Santa and she was getting to excited about it, and she was working Aaron over too so both kids were super wired on Christmas Eve and by the time they got home they literally ran to bed... and crashed... I mean they ALL fell asleep instantly, I can't express to you what a miracle that was... they were so excited for Santa to come.
Christmas Morning... I had to wake all the kids up... just before 8... so that we could get everything opened and ready in time for church. Aaron sat on Santa's lap just days before Christmas and asked Santa for a toy train set... and Santa brought it and set it up right in front of the tree for him... Aaron was so excited!
"Pop-Tarts... for Christmas?" No... inside was a dress for Kaylie... so there is a story behind this. When Jacob and I where first married I thought it was so weird that the Flamm's wrapped almost all their gifts in cereal, and food boxes. But as the years fly by I see the ingeniousness of it all... it is cheap and much more fun for the kids... (they even got some things in humidifier boxes... the confusion on their faces was priceless.) Best of all they don't know if they are getting clothes because nothing is in a shirt box... and it is the only way I can get Aaron to open his clothes up at all. ;)

Lydia and Alyssa on their first Christmas... and they had no idea what was going on. But they enjoyed all the comotion of the kids unwrapping their presents. What did they get??? Clothes and more clothes... that is all they need... other than diapers.

Kaylie's big gift was going to pre-school. This girl has been begging me forever to go to school. She is extremely social. I've been intentionally putting it off, because it is expensive and with the twins... not very practical to load all four kids in the car to take her and pick her up (remember Jacob barely drives any more.) But thanks to a good friend and hopefully a good schedule (crossed fingers) I will make it work. She didn't know about it at all until she got this letter... she's so excited to start in a couple weeks! I can't believe she's old enough... and in the fall she will be in kindergarten... where does time go?
Kaylie asked Santa for a Rapunzel Doll... and he brought it... funny thing is she looks just like her doll.

Alyssa and Lydia... just kicking around and watching the fun some more.

And with Christmas came the colds... in this picture Lydia and Alyssa are both sick, but Lydia got it much worse. You'd never know Alyssa was sick though... she just kept on smiling right through it even through a bad cough.
So just two days before Christmas Lydia got a fever of 101 and it made me super nervous so I took both girls in to Urgent Care... and the doctor made me mad. He told me they just had colds and NOT to give them any acetaminophen, even though they had fevers. Okay... he explained some new guideline on letting fevers burn off infections....okay... so I asked him what I should do if the fever got worse..."just take them to the E.R."... are you serious? The Urgent Care Dr told me to let my twins suffer through high fevers... not give them any medicine and if they got bad to go to the E.R? I DON'T THINK SO!!! No offense to these doctors and their dumb, constantly changing guidelines... but I really don't think a single one of them has ever actually had to live with a super sick infant, with a high fever, let a lone two of them. So I took them home and gave them Tylenol any way... sorry, as fun as a trip to the E.R. sounds... I don't think so.
Aaron with the cold and fever that started it all... exactly one week before Christmas. the poor kids got a fever of 102... and I felt so bad for him.
Kaylie and her first cold... yes, I said first... she has since gotten another cold from family and I'm sure her cold will cycle through the Flammily too. Oh how fun! ;)